Chapter 11 – ​The ​Price ​of ​a ​Misjudgment

As ​Yoon ​Ki-hyun ​gave ​a small nod, Jeong ​Si-jun ​let out a ​hollow laugh.

“I’ll admit ​I’ve ​spoken ​to ​you ​like ​a total prick. ​I ​can’t ​even lie and ​say I didn’t call ​you a ​public good. ​When I’m ​around other ​guys, ​we ​just swear our ​heads off, ​so I guess I ​got influenced. Anyway, I ​apologize for that too. ​Sorry for ​having ​a mouth like a sewer.”

It was ​almost like being forced ​to ​receive ​an ​apology.

Yoon ​Ki-hyun’s expression turned ​lukewarm at ​Jeong ​Si-jun’s apology.

He had ​expected ​the man to never admit ​his faults ​even ​if he were ​dying, ​but ​since ​he ​had admitted ​them ​so easily, ​Ki-hyun felt that getting angry now would ​only make him ​look petty.

Moreover, Jeong ​Si-jun seemed like the ​type who ​could never bring ​himself ​to say something ​insincere; thus, that ​apology—which seemed ​to ​lack genuine ​sincerity—looked ​like the ​best ​he could ​possibly ​do.

Honestly, ​he wondered how ​many ​people in ​the ​Center ​had ​ever actually received an apology from Jeong Si-jun.

“I’m not asking you to apologize.”

“I have a rough idea of how you see me, but I haven’t thought about calling someone who says they’re sick just to pin them down [stolen content]our site" style="display:none;" aria-label="visit our site">visit our siteand fuck them. I just need Team Leader Yoon to provide guiding when I need it. I’m not asking to be your sponsor.”

For someone claiming they had no such intentions, weren’t the positions described a bit too detailed?

Questioning this internally, Yoon Ki-hyun cast a sidelong glance up at Jeong Si-jun. As if reading his mind, Jeong Si-jun countered.

“I said I’m not, seriously.”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

“Your face looks fucking unbelievable.”

“This is just how my face looks.”

Caught up in a childish spat, Yoon Ki-hyun gave a trivial response and ended up letting out a short laugh.

He never imagined things would flow this way in his life.

Regardless, if he accepted that proposal, there were too many things to consider, and he needed time to organize his thoughts.

“I’ll think about the proposal for now.”

Yoon Ki-hyun answered with a nuance of putting it on hold. Jeong Si-jun gave a handsome smile, casually draped an arm over Yoon Ki-hyun’s shoulder, and whispered in his ear.

“Try to think positively if you can. Positively.”

Was acting friendly so subtly a habit?

Yoon Ki-hyun shrugged his shoulder, shaking off Jeong Si-jun’s arrogant arm. He then scanned Jeong Si-jun and replied.

“Well… depending on how Team Leader Jeong behaves.”

At that peak level of haughtiness, Jeong Si-jun let out a short breath and grumbled.

“Wow. You’re driving me crazy again, seriously.”

The slouchy tone of his voice was, strangely, not as unpleasant as before. That was probably because of the money the guy was offering.

What the hell is with this money. Yoon Ki-hyun smiled bitterly and lowered his gaze.

‘No, fuck it. Fine. People can have drunken sex once in a while.’

Yoon Ki-hyun decided to bury last night’s events. No matter how hard he tried to remember, nothing came to mind, and he couldn’t undo what had already happened.

If that was the case, he had no choice but to just let it go. The fact that the other person was Jeong Si-jun didn’t seem to affect him anymore.

‘Honestly, I’d be a crazy bastard if I didn’t do this.’

The salary, which was enough to make anyone’s eyes spin, felt as if it were grabbing the hair of the Yoon Ki-hyun who wanted to be submerged in messy self-pity and dragging him back up.

Even if the sky fell, there was always a way out. Although that way out had been carved by Jeong Si-jun, there were many things in the world more important than pride.

The reason Yoon Ki-hyun had continued working at the Center, despite knowing what the Espers called him, was because he wanted to survive somehow.

Because that had become impossible due to his circumstances, he had tried to escape through the extreme means of death, but now it was different.

“My stomach is burning; do you want to go get some hangover soup?”

Jeong Si-jun spoke up abruptly. His tone had become noticeably closer.

He felt more drawn to hangover alcohol than hangover soup. unauthorized copyYoon Ki-hyun [visit visit our siteour site]pondered for a moment before deciding to suppress the urge for a drink.

Since an option had appeared that made it feel okay not to die, it didn’t seem bad to postpone the binge drinking that was akin to self-harm.

“It’s on me. Just in case it helps you consider my proposal more positively.”

Perhaps feeling that Yoon Ki-hyun’s short silence was a rejection, Jeong Si-jun added an unnecessary comment.

Combining his softened tone with his non-verbal gestures, he looked much better than before. At the very least, there was no feeling of looking down on or ignoring the other person.

He thought that if Jeong Si-jun had consistently behaved with the attitude he was showing now, his status at the Center might have been great in a slightly different direction.

“Sure, then.”

Yoon Ki-hyun didn’t bother rejecting the offer for a meal. His stomach was burning just as much, and he wondered when he’d ever get a free meal from Jeong Si-jun again.

“I heard there’s a great hangover soup place nearby; shall we go there?”

Jeong Si-jun held out his phone as if he had been waiting.

When did he even look that up?

Yoon Ki-hyun checked the name of the restaurant on the map app and slowly nodded.

The restaurant was not far from the hotel. As they passed the sign indicating 24-hour operation and sat at a table, his stomach churned.

He didn’t want to sit for long in the humid air where various food smells were mixed.

It was after the ordered menu arrived and Yoon Ki-hyun was stirring the boiling pot with a spoon.

“Is there anything else you want to ask me?”

Jeong Si-jun asked while moving kkakdugi to a side plate.

Yoon Ki-hyun blinked slowly. Only one thing immediately came to mind that he wanted to ask.

“Team Leader Jeong… you must have a lot of money?”

He didn’t have the courage to ask if he could consistently pay that amount every month. It felt too pathetic and desperate.

“I’ve inherited a lot of things since I was young.”

It was a typical answer a rich young master would give.

Just how much had he inherited to offer such a sum as a monthly salary?

While chewing over the question he couldn’t ask, he noticed that Jeong Si-jun’s expression was unexpectedly calm. He had expected him to be arrogant or laugh smugly, so it was surprising.

“But why do you work at the Center?”

He wasn’t entirely sure, but the salary Jeong Si-jun proposed was an amount that would be somewhat burdensome even for the few S-class Espers in the country.

If he had inherited wealth from a young age, he must have been a pampered young master of his family; so why on earth was he engaged in a dangerous profession with such massive hazard pay?

Due to pure curiosity, a spark of life briefly returned to Yoon Ki-hyun’s eyes. Watching that moment, Jeong Si-jun’s cheek twitched slightly.

‘It seems he only shows life when talking about money?’

It was a quite interesting change. The Yoon Ki-hyun he met again here always had withered eyes. It was the same when they met by chance at the bar.

Separate from his alluring atmosphere and sharp features, his eyes had been dead. But what [unauthorized copy]wm: unauthorized copy -->about that brief moment when the salary was proposed, and now?

His dark pupils sparkled like jewels, and his face looked more interested in his words than ever before.

“Well, that’s just…”

Jeong Si-jun paused for a moment, then smiled brightly and quirked an eyebrow.

It wouldn’t be fun if he just told him simply.

Since he was the one in urgent need of a Guide, he had to make sure Yoon Ki-hyun accepted the proposal by any means. If so, he had no choice but to package his trivial family history to make it sound plausible.

“If you agree to be my personal Guide, I might tell you…”

As he played along, he glanced at Yoon Ki-hyun’s face, which had turned cold again.

Ah, was that a bit too much?

Since he had rarely had to ask for favors from anyone in his life, he still lacked finesse.

Still, he was a quick learner, so he was confident he could do it if given time. Of course, unauthorized copyhe Read on Read BL Novelsdidn’t know how much time the beauty sitting in front of him would give him.

“Forget it. I was just asking.”

Yoon Ki-hyun replied indifferently and continued eating his soup. He wanted to ask more, but it felt like the more he spoke, the more he lost the initiative.

It was a childish thought, but it couldn’t be helped. If he accepted the proposal, Jeong Si-jun would become his employer, and he didn’t want to be swayed by trivialities.

Jeong Si-jun, who glanced at him while pretending to pour water, seemed strangely deflated.

He had probably thrown the bait expecting more questions, and he seemed disappointed when there was no reaction. He truly had a peculiar personality.

‘Looking at this, he seems interested in me. It’s a bit ambiguous.’

Jeong Si-jun was the type whose thoughts were difficult to guess. Still, since he was going to be his employer, it seemed like it would be easier if he knew him a bit, but he still lacked the energy for that.

Even after eating hot and spicy food, the headache showed no sign of subsiding. His stomach still felt faintly nauseous.

Still, it had been a long time since he’d had a proper meal, so he felt good. It was just as Yoon Ki-hyun was glancing at the half-empty pot.

“…Uh.”

Jeong Si-jun, sitting opposite him, made a sound as if catching his breath.

Why is he acting like that suddenly while eating? Did he get a call that a gate opened somewhere?

As he blinked with those thoughts, he belatedly felt a lukewarm liquid flowing down his philtrum.

Reflexively raising his hand to wipe it away, a bright red liquid seeped between his fingertips.