The relationship with the man continued for about six months. Whenever Park Hae-jun tried to reject the man, he would threaten him: “You deceived the nation. This is equivalent to a crime of espionage or treason. If caught, you too will be sentenced to life imprisonment.” Park Hae-jun, who was only fifteen, truly believed those words.
“I see, so that’s what happened.”
Secretary Yang muttered as if talking to himself. Park Hae-jun nodded his head too. It was an absurd lie he wouldn’t have fallen for now.
“Anyway, that’s fine.”
Secretary Yang organized Park Hae-jun’s resume by tapping it on the desk, as if shaking off the lingering sentiment of the story.
“Before proceeding with the test, I’ll confirm once more. Mr. Park Hae-jun, can you unconditionally follow whatever we ask you to do, no matter how unreasonable?”
“Yes. As long as it’s not illegal.”
Park Hae-jun answered, adjusting his posture.
“Nothing matters as long as it’s not illegal?”
“Yes.”
He had come prepared to that extent. Knowing fully well how assistance worked, he was fully prepared even for physical relations.
He hoped his subject would be female, but he was aware that the probability was low. This was because while the gender ratio of assistants was 6:4 with slightly more males, the gender ratio of powered individuals was 8:2, overwhelmingly male-dominated.
“Good. Then let’s proceed with the test now.”
As Secretary Yang opened the door, a man entered the room. He was nearly 2 meters tall and bear-like in his stature. He was wearing a suit and tie, but he didn’t look like an ordinary person at all.
Park Hae-jun stood in front of the 2-meter man. The 2-meter man looked down at Park Hae-jun with an expressionless face, like an overturned lid.
“Ability is telekinesis. Between D and F class. Normally, it takes him 30 minutes to tear a single sheet of paper.”
Telekinesis was the most common ability. He had heard that there were extremely rare individuals with more than two abilities, and one of them was always telekinesis.
“May I have your hand?”
The 2-meter man silently extended his left hand to Park Hae-jun. In his other hand, he held a sheet of white A4 paper.
Park Hae-jun held the 2-meter man’s hand and channeled energy into it. Immediately, the test paper stood upright and trembled, making a fluttering sound as if caught in the wind.
In less than a minute, the paper made tearing sounds and tore itself into dozens of pieces before falling to the ground. Park Hae-jun looked at Secretary Yang as if to say, “Is that enough?”
“Good. Now let’s talk about the contract.”
Secretary Yang looked satisfied. Park Hae-jun was about to approach his desk when his hand got caught and he stopped. Wondering what it was, he looked up to see it was the 2-meter man. Even though the test was over, the 2-meter man was still holding his hand.
“Excuse me.”
“…”
“Excuse me. Excuse me? My hand, please.”
He raised his caught hand to show it and gestured for the other man to let go, but the 2-meter man kept staring at Park Hae-jun regardless. This man had definitely had a very expressionless face, but now he seemed somewhat dazed.
What’s going on? Left with no other choice, Park Hae-jun forcibly removed his hand from the 2-meter man’s grip. As if coming to his senses only after the hand was withdrawn, the 2-meter man blushed and stepped back.
“Before signing, I’ll go over the terms that were agreed upon over the phone once more. From the moment the contract is established, Mr. Park Hae-jun’s personal affairs will be managed by our side, and until the contract is terminated, Mr. Park Hae-jun will stay with our client in a safe house. Do you understand?”
Park Hae-jun nodded. For him, it was better to intensively provide assistance through cohabitation for a short period and then part ways. However.
“Before that, I have something I’d like to ask. Senior Yang said that if I accept this request, you could solve my problem. Is that true?”
“By problem, are you referring to the issue with Professor Seok?”
“Yes.”
Park Hae-jun clenched his fists under the table. Just hearing the name Professor Seok made his hands tense up.
“As for that, of course, we will clean it up as soon as Mr. Park Hae-jun completes the request.”
“Are you saying you will restore my honor?”
Secretary Yang laughed at the word honor.
“Mr. Park Hae-jun’s honor is none of my concern. What I can do for you is return the screenplay that you claim Professor Seok stole.”
“Can I get it back?”
“Yes.”
Secretary Yang nodded lightly, as if the matter was no problem at all.
“Can you also clear my false accusation?”
“Yes.”
“Then…an apology too?”
“That’s not something we can force, but if you wish, we can arrange a meeting.”
Park Hae-jun bit the inside of his lip hard.
He knew from the moment he received Secretary Yang’s business card—more precisely, from seeing the company name printed on it—that they had the ability to easily solve his problem. This was his last chance.
“Can you really, really solve it?”
Park Hae-jun asked one final time. Secretary Yang let out a small sigh.
“Mr. Park Hae-jun. You want to get your screenplay back and return to your original status as a student. Correct? Frankly speaking, handling such a trivial matter won’t even take a day. It could be finished with just one phone call right now. So please stop asking and listen to the explanation about the job.”
One phone call would solve it. It turned out to be less than a day’s work.
What required him to stake his entire life was merely that little effort for them. Park Hae-jun lifted his head and straightened his posture.
“Alright. Please explain.”
As Park Hae-jun firmed his resolve, Secretary Yang took out a photo from an envelope and showed it to him.
“This is the person you’ll be assisting from now on.”
“…”
“Age twenty. Currently not employed. Ability level is estimated to be A-class, and the name is…”
“Lee A-gon?”
Park Hae-jun unconsciously muttered.
“This person, is it possibly Lee A-gon?”
In the photo was a boy. Wearing a school uniform, the boy was standing in the shadows with his head tilted downward, but despite this, Park Hae-jun immediately recognized the person in the photo. It was Lee A-gon.
“Do you know this person?”
“We worked together when we were young.”
“When you were young?”
“He’s a former child actor, Lee A-gon. So am I.”
“Then are you also from ‘Dawn’s First Light’?”
Park Hae-jun nodded with an uncomfortable expression on his face. It was the expression that typically came up whenever he had to talk about his child actor days. Because it was clearly an embarrassing part of his past.
“Yes. I’m also from ‘Dawn’s First Light.'”
“Dawn’s First Light” was an epic drama depicting the period from the outbreak of the Korean War in the 1950s until the protagonist became an adult, telling the story of a poor shoe shiner who eventually built a major corporation.
Of the total 52 episodes, the childhood period took up 8 episodes, and one of the villains essential to this type of growth drama was him. Park Hae-jun played the role of a rich young master who bullied the protagonist.
Lee A-gon played the childhood version of the protagonist. At that time, Park Hae-jun was eleven, and Lee A-gon was eight.
Playing the role of a shoe shiner, the boy always had to have soot on his face. Coincidentally, it was the time when he was losing his baby teeth, so he was missing a front tooth. Because of that, his pronunciation occasionally slipped, which was very cute.
“Dawn’s First Light” was the last production Park Hae-jun acted in. After that, he no longer tried to act according to his mother’s expectations.
For some unknown reason, Lee A-gon also didn’t appear on TV after that drama. He was a childhood friend, someone he once admired. A relationship naturally pushed aside as time passed, but with enough fondness remaining to recall the face and name the moment he saw the photo.
“Were you close?”
Park Hae-jun nodded, then shook his head. They were close, but in truth, the friendship he showed then wasn’t genuine. Park Hae-jun approached Lee A-gon with a purpose, and when that purpose disappeared, he cut off contact.
Their ending wasn’t good. That period was probably a memory both of them wanted to forget.
“Then please take a look at the contract.”
Of course, the past wasn’t important. Secretary Yang took out a document from the envelope and handed it over. Park Hae-jun carefully read through the text.