Chapter 14 – ​The ​Price ​of ​a ​Misjudgment

By ​the ​time ​he ​looked for real estate ​near ​the Awakener Center, ​Yoon Ki-hyun was ​feeling ​increasingly ​drained. ​Jeonse ​fraud ​was still rampant, ​making ​it ​harder than expected ​to find a decent ​place.

Even when ​a rare, ​good listing ​appeared, he ​wouldn’t ​give ​it a second ​glance if ​the realtor let slip ​any messy details, such ​as collateral mortgages.

He had ​tried to ​squander ​the considerable amount of money he ​had come into, but ​as ​the ​saying ​goes—those ​who have spent ​money know ​how ​to spend it ​better—Yoon ​Ki-hyun’s attempts at luxury were ​clumsy at ​best.

Thanks ​to that, a ​significant ​sum ​still ​remained ​in his ​bank ​account. He ​felt it was better to live in ​a goshiwon than ​to hand that ​money over entirely to ​some scammer’s ​pocket.

Every time he ​imagined ​losing his remaining ​funds to a ​Jeonse scam, ​his ​stomach churned; ​he ​wanted to ​avoid ​risky variables ​as ​much ​as possible. The ​problem ​was that ​once ​he ​filtered ​out all such listings, there were no houses left to live in.

“The one you posted is already gone? Other listings… Ah, yes. That’s fine. I’ll call you back.”

Yoon Ki-hyun sighed as he hung up the phone. He had parted ways with the realtor who had shown him several properties with no real gain.

He settled into a corner of a cafe and tried contacting other real estate agencies, but there were no major breakthroughs. He had heard that neighboring agencies shared listings to some extent, and indeed, they only informed him of things that were all pretty much the same.

He knew that finding a house required legwork and time, but he lacked the energy for it. Just imagining commuting back and forth from the rented accommodation he had until the end of the month made his limbs feel limp.

‘Should I just move into a goshiwon?’

Recalling the advice to avoid caffeine, he sipped the tea he had reluctantly ordered, and [[stolen content]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]that thought suddenly occurred to him. Now that a way to survive was becoming visible, he wanted to pay off his debts as quickly as possible.

Since his only possession was a single suitcase anyway, a goshiwon wasn’t such a bad choice.

On a whim, he looked around a few goshiwons, and they were cleaner than expected. Though the exteriors were shabby, the interiors seemed to have been recently remodeled.

Yoon Ki-hyun pretended to deliberate for a moment before signing the move-in contract. The most surprising part was that the deposit was the same amount as the monthly rent, but other than that, it was fine.

Because it was an impulsive decision, by the time all the contracts were finished, he was even able to stop by the community center and complete his move-in report.

With everything proceeding smoothly, he felt much lighter. He stopped by a cafe to book a train ticket back to his current accommodation when it happened.

Jeong Si-jun

What are you doing?

Jeong Si-jun’s message popped up on his phone.

Since receiving the offer to be a personal Guide, he had been exchanging messages with Jeong Si-jun from time to time. He had secretly thought that the man might rush him for an answer, but surprisingly, Jeong Si-jun didn’t.

He simply sent a few messages every day using trivial excuses.

Generally, the replies were fast, but on the occasions they were late, it was after he had entered and exited a gate. There were even times he sent messages complaining that the guiding from Team Leader Seo Jin-tae, assigned by the Center, didn’t suit him and was difficult.

I’m booking a train ticket

Yoon Ki-hyun tended to reply diligently. Since he had already decided in his heart to become Jeong Si-jun’s personal Guide, he didn’t want to openly clash with his future employer.

It felt like he had botched the first button of the shirt quite badly, but it wasn’t beyond repair. Maintaining an amicable relationship was Yoon Ki-hyun’s goal.

Jeong Si-jun

Are you going somewhere for fun?

He wished it were for fun, but it was for moving preparations. Though he wasn’t sure if this even qualified as “moving.”

No. I just have a place to visit personally

He didn’t have the energy for detailed explanations. Since there was no reason to do so, he sent a brief reply, and almost immediately, Jeong Si-jun’s response arrived.

Jeong Si-jun

Did you pack the wet wipes?

Why on earth was he suddenly talking about wet wipes? Yoon Ki-hyun blinked, then let out a short laugh.

‘Ah, those wet wipes. He really loves taking credit for everything. Typical bastard.’

The phrase written on the pastel-toned packaging was still vivid in his memory. [unauthorized copyclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">Read on Read BL Novels]He had long since thrown away the baby wipes Jeong Si-jun had bought him when his nose started bleeding at the hangover soup restaurant.

I’ll buy some later. I don’t have any right now.

He didn’t know why he had to inform Jeong Si-jun about his wet wipe inventory, but he decided to give a vague answer. Then, Jeong Si-jun abruptly threw out another question.

Jeong Si-jun

Can I call you now?

Yoon Ki-hyun scoffed as he scanned the message.

‘As if. Why the hell does he want to call all of a sudden?’

Just as he was typing a reply to ask what the purpose was, an additional message arrived from Jeong Si-jun.

Jeong Si-jun

It’s because it’s something important.

However, if it was “something important” from his future employer, the answer naturally changed. Yoon Ki-hyun deleted what he had typed and replied immediately.

Yes

As soon as he sent the reply, a popup appeared on his phone indicating an incoming call.

[Jeong Si-jun]

Thinking about it, this was their first time speaking on the phone, and he strangely began to feel very nervous.

“Hello.”

-Ah, you picked up right away.

Jeong Si-jun’s voice over the phone was soft. It sounded even softer because of the subtle hint of amusement mixed in.

Just as he was having a vacant thought about whether it was because the voice was filtered through a machine, his field of vision suddenly turned dark.

It wasn’t a precursor to fainting or anything like that. It was simply because a large man in pitch-black clothes had come to a sudden halt near the cafe window where Yoon Ki-hyun was sitting.

Turning his head reflexively, he saw the face of an unexpected person. It was the man Yoon Ki-hyun had been thinking about just moments ago.

-What are you doing alone in a cafe?

Jeong Si-jun tilted the phone in his hand. His lip movements were clear, but his soft voice was flowing out of the phone.

Yoon Ki-hyun pulled the phone away from his cheek. It was to check the time. Checking the time, it was an hour when Jeong Si-jun should have been at the Center or in a gate.

Why is a guy who should be at the Center wandering around outside?

As soon as that thought occurred, his lips moved.

“What is this?”

-Hmm?

“Why are you outside?”

As soon as Yoon Ki-hyun finished his question, Jeong Si-jun began to chuckle. He stifled his laughter to the point where the area around his Adam’s apple, prominent between his firm neck muscles, felt tight, before taking a deep breath.

‘Damn, what kind of question is that? What does he even mean by “why are you outside”? He really says the cutest things.’

Of course, he was outside because he was in a situation where he could be outside. Despite that simple fact, Yoon Ki-hyun remained sitting in the cafe with a blank expression, as if he couldn’t understand it.

‘Ah, maybe he’s asking like that because he’s never really used annual leave before?’

If that were the case, it made sense.

Since he was a workaholic who practically lived at the Center and didn’t mind working on holidays, it might seem strange to see a Center employee wandering around at this hour.

Even so. He didn’t know the man was capable of making such an openly cute expression.

Every time they met again, Yoon Ki-hyun defied his expectations.

Even when he felt certain about how the other would react, Yoon Ki-hyun would casually say something that completely shattered that certainty. Jeong Si-jun found that immensely enjoyable.

-Can I tell you why I’m outside after I go inside?

To the question asked with the resolve that it was fine even if he were rejected, Yoon Ki-hyun nodded instead of saying yes. Jeong Si-jun immediately hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket.

‘Ah, maybe I should have just told him to answer from there.’

Yoon Ki-hyun regretted it belatedly as he watched Jeong Si-jun enter the cafe. It wasn’t a topic that required a face-to-face conversation, and unnecessary encounters were still psychologically burdensome.

He didn’t know to what extent he had shown his unsightly side to Jeong Si-jun while drunk, and despite shouting that they should never see each other again, his heart had wavered when offered a large sum of money. He had even shown him the sight of his nose bleeding while stuffing his face with hangover soup—all in a single day. It was awkward in every way.

Still, since he had told him to come in, he waited with the intention of having a mature conversation. However, Jeong Si-jun, who he expected to come straight to the table, bought a bottle of mineral water from the counter.

It was a product he hadn’t even known was on the menu. Come to think of it, it seemed they were neatly aligned on the bottom shelf of the showcase. He had wondered if anyone actually bought that at a cafe, and it turned out the person was unexpectedly close.

“You bought mineral water?”

“I don’t drink coffee much because caffeine doesn’t agree with me.”

Jeong Si-jun, who naturally sat opposite Yoon Ki-hyun, replied nonchalantly.

He didn’t open the cap of the water bottle immediately but placed it quietly on unauthorized copystyle="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[Read [stolen content]on Read BL Novels]the table. From the look of it, he hadn’t bought it because he was thirsty, but rather as a courtesy.

Seeing this, he knew the man understood basic manners and etiquette, so he couldn’t understand why he acted like such a lunatic at the Center. They say people are multi-dimensional, and Jeong Si-jun was exactly that.

“So, what is this ‘important thing’?”

“Ah. That.”

Jeong Si-jun stroked his chin as if stalling for time, then let out a smirk. In that moment, Yoon Ki-hyun had an intuition. He might have been fooled by this bastard’s prank.

“I just happened to see you while walking by, so I just said that to try and call you.”

This son of a bitch. Yoon Ki-hyun slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.