Chapter 23 – ​The ​Price ​of ​Misjudgment

I ​had ​already ​selfishly ​sent ​the settlement money because ​I ​wanted my own ​mind to be ​at ​ease, ​but ​after ​hearing ​the Espers’ shitty ​trash-talking ​today, ​I felt the ​urge to atone a ​bit more.

Last ​time, I ​almost got ​into an ​argument ​because ​I sent the ​money arbitrarily, ​but this time was ​different.

Jeong Si-jun felt proud ​of himself, thinking he ​had made ​some ​progress by asking for the other ​person’s intent beforehand. He ​had ​no ​clue ​that ​Yoon Ki-hyun, upon ​seeing the ​message, ​was probably baffled.

‘I’m ​kind ​of like an adult, aren’t ​I?’

He admitted ​that ​he had treated ​Yoon ​Ki-hyun ​poorly ​and ​dismissed him ​at ​will. Since ​words already spoken cannot be taken back, ​he had to ​make up for ​it in some way.

However, ​Yoon Ki-hyun ​had already accepted ​his ​verbal apology, and ​if he wanted ​to apologize ​further, ​money was ​the ​only way.

Because ​half ​of his ​blood ​came ​from gangsters, he ​had ​inherited far ​too ​much ​money. ​Although Jeong Si-jun spent it like water, the interest accrued faster than he could spend it.

As a smile leaked from his relaxed lips while waiting for Yoon Ki-hyun’s reply, the Espers passing by quickened their pace.

Contrary to Jeong Si-jun’s expectations, however, Yoon Ki-hyun replied instantly upon reading the message. Moreover, the content was the exact opposite of the answer Jeong Si-jun wanted.

• Mr. Yoon Ki-hyun

• I believe we finished talking about that then. No thank you.

He thought that since the topic was money, Yoon Ki-hyun’s eyes would light up and he’d give a positive response, but Yoon Ki-hyun refused again.

Was it a matter of pride? Jeong Si-jun recalled the face that had snapped at him, pale and strained, in the cafe at dawn.

‘Even if I live a miserable life, I still have something called pride. Do you think I actually want to use honorifics consistently while receiving a salary from a brat three years younger than me?’

A brat three years younger.

Objectively, not a single word was wrong, but if anyone else had said that, he would have responded with curses or a kick first. It was only natural, as that was all he had been taught.

He came from a wealthy family, but at the end of the day, it was a gangster family.

Just before Jeong Si-jun was born, his father had a change of heart and, claiming he would reform, showed Jeong Si-jun the finer things and raised him with indulgence. However, it was contradictory to expect normalcy from gangsters whose cognitive circuits were broken.

The only thing his father took pride in was that, among the siblings, Jeong Si-jun was the most human.

With a face that was impossible to tell whether it was frowning or smiling, Jeong Si-jun moved his fingers quickly.

• Ah, why? I’ll send more, so can’t you just take it? I feel like my ap[[Read on Read BL Novels]on Read BL Novels -->class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]ology wasn’t enough.

• Mr. Yoon Ki-hyun

• I don’t want to get heated over that matter again.

• Ah, seriously, why the fuck are you so nice?

The notification showed it had been read, but Yoon Ki-hyun did not send a reply after that. Jeong Si-jun stared at the message window for a long time before scowling.

‘Hah, if I say I’ll give it, can’t he just take it?’

Tilting his head back and letting out a long sigh, Jeong Si-jun kicked a can rolling around in the Center’s garden.

These sons of bitches should throw trash in the trash can, fuck. I wonder how bastards who haven’t even learned basic manners plan to beat Kaijus to death in the gates.

His foul mood showed no sign of improving. Just as he felt like smoking—something he hadn’t learned because his parents forbade it—an alarm rang.

It was an order to deploy to a nearby gate. At that moment, a very good idea popped into his head.

To instill something into Espers most quickly and surely, crushing them with power was the best way.

Fortunately, Jeong Si-jun had the advantage of being born into a family specialized in exactly that. Everything his older brothers [unauthorized [visit our site]copy]had taught him behind their parents’ backs before he grew up was in that vein, so now was the perfect time to utilize his aptitude.

‘Those sons of bitches, I’m going to really put them through the wringer today. I’ll show them what a real meltdown looks like so they’ll shut their mouths.’

Jeong Si-jun added two members of Special Team 4, assigned by Team Leader Kang Hae-mun, to the team list. Now that Yoon Ki-hyun was his Guide, he couldn’t just stand by and let him be treated poorly.

It might take some time to eradicate the nickname that had already spread throughout the Center, but he could certainly speed up the process.

Jeong Si-jun lightly checked his body, which had improved thanks to Yoon Ki-hyun’s guiding. He intended to set an example of what happens to those who dare mention Yoon Ki-hyun carelessly.

Upon hearing that the Awakened Management Center access badge had been issued, I made an appointment to meet Jeong Si-jun. Since he mentioned he wanted to treat me to a meal he couldn’t buy last time, the location naturally became a restaurant.

Arriving at a traditional Korean restaurant that looked expensive even from the outside, I gave Jeong Si-jun’s name to the employee who asked for the reservation name.

“I will lead you to the private room.”

Under the polite guidance of the employee, I felt awkward, not knowing where to look. Even if I wanted to spend money lavishly, my knowledge was shallow, so I had never truly spent money in a serious way.

Conceptually, I only knew that whiskey or wine was expensive; naturally, my hand always reached for soju, and my luxuries were mediocre, with the food being more or less the same.

When I arrived at the room the employee guided me to, Jeong Si-jun was already seated. He looked unfamiliar in an oversized hoodie and jeans. It was because I usually saw him in pitch-black combat gear.

“The traffic was unexpectedly light, so I arrived first.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Is it very cold outside?”

“……I suppose so.”

I stiffened at Jeong Si-jun’s suddenly affectionate questions. It was the first time I had seen his face since signing the contract, having an argument with him, and parting ways.

I still didn’t have a sense of how to treat Jeong Si-jun. Looking at him made me annoyed, yet thinking about the money he promised to give me every month made me feel uneasy.

“I picked up the badge as soon as it came out. They said it would take a while, but I think they gave it to me quickly because I threw a fit.”

Jeong Si-jun chuckled and pulled a familiar access badge from his hoodie pocket. It was a necklace-style badge similar to the one I had returned a few months ago, but I noticed a difference in the design from my memory.

“I guess this is the design for personal Guides.”

“What’s different?”

Jeong Si-jun tilted his head. He didn’t seem to pay much attention to things like access badges.

Feeling exhausted at the thought of explaining the difference, I simply nodded, and Jeong Si-jun shrugged. He didn’t seem inter[stolen content]data-wm="visit our site" stolen contentstyle="display:none;" aria-label="visit our site">visit our siteested in what the badge design was.

“This place specializes in course meals, so I ordered in advance. Do you have any seafood or other allergies?”

“No.”

As soon as I finished answering, Jeong Si-jun familiarly ordered from the server. It was a request to have the meal prepared immediately. After the server left, silence descended upon the room of the traditional restaurant, where only the subtle scent of tea lingered.

Jeong Si-jun looked at me as I touched the badge with a complicated expression, then cleared his throat to start speaking.

“Hmm, rumors have spread like crazy at the Center. That you’ve received a badge as my personal Guide.”

“I thought that might happen.”

It wasn’t something I hadn’t expected. It was part of what I had decided to endure when I accepted the position of Jeong Si-jun’s personal Guide.

I could sufficiently endure being the subject of gossip again by those nauseating people at the Center.

As long as I could cure my illness and live, it didn’t matter what others blabbered. Anyway, since I wasn’t returning as a Center-affiliated Guide, I wouldn’t be called by that nickname anymore.

‘Hah, fuck.’

Still, it would be a lie to say it didn’t bother me at all. Just as I was touching the edge of the badge with my unauthorized copycopy -->unauthorized copyfingertips, thinking that it couldn’t be helped…

“And I’ve decided that if I see any bastard calling you that from now on, I’ll handle it myself.”

Jeong Si-jun muttered while noisily pouring tea into his cup. It was an action far removed from the art of tea. I blinked at the sound of the loudly falling stream of water and asked back.

“Handle it? What… how…?”

“In my own way. Anyway, hmm, I’ll clean it up soon.”

The corners of his well-defined lips curved upward, but my pupils shook slightly. I’m sure he’d handle it well if left alone, but for some reason, I felt uneasy.

‘Ah, it’s not like I’m raising a child. Whatever. Let him do whatever he wants.’

My throat felt dry, so I picked up the teapot and poured some tea. Compared to Jeong Si-jun, whose tea splashed here and there, my movements were far more refined and neat.

Glancing at that, Jeong Si-jun emptied his cup in one gulp and then poured and drank tea, as if imitating my movements.

‘What the…’

Watching Jeong Si-jun silently, I closed my eyes for a moment as I pressed my lips to the teacup.

No matter how desperate I was for money, I wondered for a moment… if accepting unauthorized copystyle="position:relative;display:inline;">[visit our site][Read on Read BL Novels]pan>a proposal from a guy like this was the right thing to do.