Chapter 27 – ​The ​Price ​of ​Misjudgment

Still, ​it ​was ​better ​to ​have something to do ​than ​to be stuck ​in a desolate ​guiding ​room.

Moreover, ​since ​the ​other ​man had taken ​care ​of ​various things for ​him, he didn’t even ​feel like ​throwing a ​fit and ​telling him ​to ​clear ​it all out ​because it ​was an eyesore. He ​was simply curious.

“Team Leader ​Jeong.”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t it have been ​nice if ​it ​were like this before?”

“……What?”

Jeong Si-jun’s eyebrows ​twitched as if asking ​what ​that ​was ​supposed ​to mean. He ​didn’t seem ​to ​fully grasp the ​meaning ​of Yoon Ki-hyun’s words.

“Then should ​I just ​clear ​all this out?”

As ​expected, ​Jeong ​Si-jun ​misunderstood ​it as ​a ​provocation and ​mumbled with a grumpy face, to which ​Yoon Ki-hyun simply ​shrugged.

Why on earth ​would he clear it ​out? When ​someone provides for ​you, ​you have to ​be Read Read on Read BL Novelson Read BL Novelsfrugal and ​take full ​advantage ​of it.

“No? ​I ​just mentioned ​it ​because I ​remembered ​how ​you used to ​be ​with me ​in ​the ​past.”

“What ​the— I thought…”

“The TV is nice. Can I connect my account and watch movies later?”

Yoon Ki-hyun rummaged through the basket, looking for the TV remote. At that, the corners of Jeong Si-jun’s mouth twitched, and he began to chatter in a cheerful voice.

“Of course. There’s a tablet in there too. ……Here it is. It’s fun to read comics on this. It’s perfect for killing time.”

The way he pulled out the tablet box, still wrapped in plastic, made him look exactly like a child. Watching his slightly flushed cheeks from excitement, Yoon Ki-hyun let out a small sigh.

He truly couldn’t tell where his life was heading.

‘It’ll work out somehow. I don’t know anymore.’

Who lives their today knowing the future? He decided to focus on living the reality right in front of him.

“What do you want to watch first? A movie?”

Yoon Ki-hyun looked at Jeong Si-jun, [unauthorized copy]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[stolen content]unauthorized copy -->who had already registered an OTT account and was scrolling through the screen, and quietly held out his hand.

“Watch that later; we have to work. Give me your hand for guiding.”

Jeong Si-jun stared blankly at Yoon Ki-hyun’s palm, and only then did he seem to snap back to his senses. He set down the remote and muttered softly.

“Ah, right. Guiding.”

‘“Ah, right. Guiding.” Give me a break.’

Yoon Ki-hyun shook his head as he took the calloused hand that rested cautiously upon his palm. He wondered how the man could even think about movies when his wavelength had become a mess again in the meantime.

‘You should at least do something about your wavelength before watching movies or comics.’

As Jeong Si-jun’s personal Guide, his wavelength was now his responsibility. Therefore, he had no intention of guiding half-heartedly.

He intended to do his absolute best, yet the party in question was distracted by something else.

He felt he needed to keep his wits about him. Otherwise, he felt he might lose his balance and be swept away by Jeong Si-jun’s reckless behavior.

Yoon Ki-hyun now looked quite comfortable sitting on the sofa with his back leaned back.

He had become surprisingly accustomed to the plushness of the sofa, which had become his designated seat, [unauthorized [visit our site]copy]BL Novels" style="display:none;" aria-label="Read on Read BL Novels">Read on Read BL Novelsand the luxurious scent emanating from the expensive diffuser.

‘Anyway, that guy comes here to play whenever he’s bored.’

In the center of Yoon Ki-hyun’s gaze, as he chewed over his lukewarm impressions, was Jeong Si-jun.

Seeing him lying face down on the folding bed, completely immersed in a comic, sometimes made him forget that this was a guiding room at the Center.

Over the past few days, the guiding room had changed so much that it was hard to recall its original appearance.

Since Yoon Ki-hyun didn’t refuse the clumsy things brought in for his convenience, Jeong Si-jun began bringing in items in earnest.

From a plush folding bed to neck pillows, heated eye masks, and massagers—it was absurd how he would boldly walk in with these things tucked under his arm.

It was ridiculous, but instead of criticizing his employer’s lavish spending, Yoon Ki-hyun left him be. It was unclear whether this was welfare provided to a privately hired Guide or simply a waste of money, but he calculated that it was better than having nothing.

“Ah, right. What do you want for lunch today?”

Jeong Si-jun, who had been engrossed in a comic on the tablet, lifted his head. Asking about the lunch menu had become a routine between the two over the last few days.

Initially, after accepting the position as Jeong Si-jun’s personal Guide, he had intended to just grab a quick meal at the cafeteria. The prices were cheaper than restaurants, and he wanted to minimize his movement as much as possible. However, Jeong Si-jun had reacted with horror upon hearing Yoon Ki-hyun’s answer.

‘What kind of crazy person makes Read visit our siteon Read BL Novelstheir personal Guide eat at the cafeteria? Don’t talk nonsense.’

He had glared, reminding him that they had already agreed he would buy the meals from now on, to the point where Yoon Ki-jun could vaguely recall Jeong Si-jun’s nickname at the Center. The cafeteria food tasted exactly like its price point.

Furthermore, there was no clear justification to refuse when someone insisted on buying him food. Thus, he naturally began having lunch with Jeong Si-jun every day.

“Whatever you want, Team Leader Jeong.”

Yoon Ki-hyun wasn’t a picky eater. Since he didn’t have any particular food preferences, he always left the choice of menu to Jeong Si-jun. Every time, Jeong Si-jun would grin, wondering what would be good.

“I’m kind of craving sweet and sour pork today. How about Chinese? I know a place that’s great at Guobaorou.”

“Sounds good.”

“Then Chinese it is.”

“Okay.”

True to his status as a rich young master, Jeong Si-jun’s taste was high-end. Every restaurant he recommended was a fantastic eatery.

Thanks to that, Yoon Ki-hyun was gradually regaining the weight he had lost during his bouts of binge drinking, which had been nothing short of self-torture. Since he needed to improve his diet and could save on food expenses at the same time, it was like killing two birds with one stone.

Once the lunch menu was decided, Yoon Ki-hyun stared at the TV standing in a corner of the guiding room. It wasn’t [stolen content]a program he enjoyed, but he had stolen contentturned it on to serve as background noise.

As he stared blankly at the screen where the sound of boisterous laughter spread faintly, an alarm rang.

“Ah, why is a gate opening again? This neighborhood is insane, seriously.”

Jeong Si-jun bolted up from the folding bed, muttering to himself with irritation. During the few days he had spent holed up in the guiding room as his personal Guide, Yoon Ki-hyun had learned a few things about Jeong Si-jun.

One of them was that Jeong Si-jun worked far more than he had expected.

Even excluding the time spent raiding gates, including travel time, he was often away for physical training and drills.

Of course, whenever he had a spare moment to rest, he would barge into the guiding room where Yoon Ki-hyun was and cackle while reading comics.

“It’s a B-rank gate, so I think I’ll be back before lunch at the latest. If I’m late, give my name at the restaurant and eat first. I’ll send you the location.”

Jeong Si-jun said as he retied his combat boot laces. Yoon Ki-hyun simply nodded slowly.

There was still plenty of time until lunch. Because he hadn’t slept well last night, his eyelids felt heavy, and he was pressing them with his fingers.

“Are you tired? Want me to turn off the lights so you can get some shut-eye?”

“No, I’ll… just stay like this for a bit.”

He felt that if the lights went out, he would fall asleep immediately. The contract only specified that work should not exceed legal working hours; there were no clearly defined working hours.

If Yoon Ki-hyun wanted, there would be no problem with him going home immediately after finishing Jeong Si-jun’s guiding. However, he was voluntarily aligning his schedule as much as possible with Jeong Si-jun’s commute.

Even though Jeong Si-jun had said it didn’t matter as long as he was notified in advance when he was tired or had errands, Yoon Ki-hyun could not allow himself such autonomous work.

His iron rule was that since he had received something, he had to show as much sincerity as possible.

‘The test results come out next week, so I’ll go to the hospital… and then come back.’

The schedule for trying to live again was more relaxed than he had thought. At first, his heart was anxious, feeling a pressure and nervousness as if someone were chasing him at full speed with a knife behind his back, but as he tackled things one by one, things that had seemed impossibly daunting became manageable.

“Then I’ll be off. Leave a message if anything happens.”

“Okay.”

Jeong Si-jun lightly tapped the floor with the toe of his combat boot and grabbed the door handle of the guiding room. Despite moving as if he were about to bolt out, he hadn’t opened the door yet.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

When Yoon Ki-hyun opened his eyes and asked, sensing the presence still unauthorized [stolen content]copystolen content -->stolen contentlingering at the entrance, Jeong Si-jun grinned.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.”

Only after finally hearing Yoon Ki-hyun’s response did Jeong Si-jun leave the guiding room.

Left alone in the guiding room that had quickly become quiet after the door closed, Yoon Ki-hyun chewed over Jeong Si-jun’s voice, which seemed to still cling to his ears.

‘His way of speaking seems to be getting softer.’

The way of speaking Yoon Ki-hyun remembered from Jeong Si-jun was always sharp, sarcastic, and sounded like he was picking a fight.

Should he call it the voice of someone who is chronically dissatisfied and naturally prone to anger? In any case, he made even kind words sound negative.

But now, the traces of that manner of speaking were gradually fading. Although he still had a foul mouth and mixed in curses throughout the conversation, the tone itself felt softer. It was a change that Jeong Si-jun himself had acknowledged.

‘Is it because my body barely hurts after getting guiding from Mr. Yoon Ki-hyun? I’ve become fucking generous. Even today, I was about to rip into my team members like dogs, but I let it slide on my way here.’

‘……Do you really rip into your team members like that?’

‘Ah, well, if they don’t listen, I have to. If you space out inside a gate, you could die instantly, so we can’t visit [visit our site]our sitejust be laughing and chatting, ha ha ho ho.’

Jeong Si-jun often warned him to thoroughly ignore his team members if they tried to acknowledge him on the way to or from work, just as he had done. Since Yoon Ki-hyun had no intention of being friendly with Jeong Si-jun’s team members anyway, he said he would do so.

‘What on earth… is it like inside a gate.’

Yoon Ki-hyun sank into thought, half-lying on the sofa. Although Guides were classified as awakened along with Espers, they didn’t enter the gates together. This was because a Guide’s physical abilities were no different from a non-awakened person’s.

He had often waited at temporary field bases for field guiding, but he had never personally seen the carnage that unfolded inside.

Should he subtly ask Jeong Si-jun after he returns? While he was thinking this and massaging his temples, there was a knock on the door.

The neat and tidy sound was not Jeong Si-jun’s. In the first place, Jeong Si-jun tended to barge in by scanning his access card instead of knocking.

When he stood up and opened the door, he saw the face of an unexpected man.

“Ah, you were inside.”

“Team Leader Seo.”

It was Seo Yi-kyung, one of the only two S-rank Espers at the headquarters.

“Ki-hyun. Do you have a moment to talk?”

Seo Yi-kyung murmured with a bright smile.

What is this bastard doing all of a sudden? Yoon Ki-hyun looked up at Seo Yi-kyung with a puzzled expression.