Chapter 26 – ​The ​Price ​of ​Misjudgment

It ​was ​training ​for ​personal ​Guides, but there were ​only ​two participants.

Unlike Yoon ​Ki-hyun, who arrived ​slightly ​earlier ​than ​the ​scheduled ​training time, Jeong ​Si-jun ​arrived ​at the meeting ​room a bit late. ​Upon entering, ​he naturally ​perched himself ​in the ​seat ​next ​to Yoon Ki-hyun.

Instead ​of a ​friendly greeting, his gaze ​was chilly, as if ​something had annoyed him ​again. Thanks ​to ​his protruding pout, however, he wasn’t ​scary at all.

“I heard ​you ​two ​were ​hitting ​it off with ​Team Leader ​Seo ​Yi-kyung out front.”

Jeong ​Si-jun ​grumbled, his lips jutting out. ​They had ​only ​spoken a moment ​ago; ​it ​was ​surprising ​that it ​had ​already reached ​Jeong Si-jun’s ears.

He wondered where this level ​of intelligence-gathering came ​from. Yoon Ki-hyun ​responded calmly, staring at ​the man ​who was the ​polar ​opposite of Seo ​Yi-kyung.

“Unlike some people, ​she is ​very ​well-mannered, [unauthorized copy]aria-label="stolen content">stolen contentso ​I ​greeted her unauthorized copy​since ​we met. ​Why?”

“No, ​I ​was just wondering ​if ​Team Leader ​Seo ​Yi-kyung ​said ​anything weird.”

“What would she have to say that’s weird? She’s not like you, Team Leader Jeong, who carries a curse word at the end of every sentence.”

“……What’s wrong with the way I talk.”

“Not many people talk like that in a professional social setting.”

As Yoon Ki-hyun muttered this objective fact, Jeong Si-jun slightly turned his head away. Between his straight bridge of the nose and prominent jawline, his lips were still pouting.

What is it this time that he doesn’t like, making him stick his lip out like that? Yoon Ki-hyun chuckled inwardly and ignored Jeong Si-jun’s gaze. Looking closely, he was a man whose inner thoughts were transparent.

Until now, Yoon Ki-hyun hadn’t been interested enough to look closely, but it seemed his exterior and interior were exactly the same.

‘If you have a complaint, say it with words. So what?’

Yoon Ki-hyun looked away from Jeong Si-jun, who was needlessly fiddling with his phone. His head already ached at the thought of listening to a lecture since morning, and he had absolutely no intention of bickering with Jeong Si-jun.

Just as he was gauging when the staff member providing the lecture would arrive, an alarm sounded from Yoon Ki-hyun’s phone. Sure enough, Jeong Si-jun had deposited money again.

“What is it this time?”

“I just suddenly felt sorry again.”

“In what context, exactly?”

“You said I carry a curse word at the end of every sentence. Thinking about it, I think I did swear a bit.”

So he is self-aware. As Yoon Ki-hyun looked at him with surprise, Jeong Si-jun crossed his legs and asked back.

“Why? You said before that as long as unauthorized copythere were no tax issues, it stolen contentdata-wm="unauthorized copy" style="display:none;" aria-label="unauthorized copy">unauthorized copydidn’t matter. Did you change your mind in the meantime?”

Would he refuse when a building owner with overflowing wealth gave money of his own volition? Yoon Ki-hyun shook his head slightly.

“No. Well… if you’re giving it, I’m happy to take it. It’s your money, Team Leader Jeong, so it’s up to you how you spend it.”

The amount was a bit high to be just money sent because he swore a little, but he didn’t want to refuse a gift.

If he saved well the “settlement money” that Jeong Si-jun sent so frequently, he might be able to clear a significant portion of his loans soon. If that happened, it would be more than ideal.

Maybe he should try stimulating Jeong Si-jun’s guilt a bit more. Just as he was swallowing a sigh, feeling pathetic for having such materialistic thoughts—

“Ah, you’ve both arrived?”

The Awakener Center headquarters employee who entered the meeting room smiled brightly. Looking at the color of the ID badge around his neck, he was a non-awakened member of the operations team.

While the employee began preparing for the training, neatly placing the educational materials unauthorized copyclass="wm-strong" style="position:relative;display:inline;">[Read on Read BL Novels]wm: Read on Read BL Novels -->in front of Yoon Ki-hyun and Jeong Si-jun, Jeong Si-jun whispered indifferently.

“I don’t know why I have to listen to this when it’s all stuff I already know.”

Judging by his appearance and behavior, Jeong Si-jun was certainly not the type to enjoy staying put in one place. He was a typical man of action who preferred buzzing around.

Still, since this was mandatory training that must be completed when an Esper hires a personal Guide and registers them with the Center, it couldn’t be skipped.

“Have you ever had a personal Guide other than me?”

“Uh, no? You’re the first, Yoon Ki-hyun.”

“Then you have to listen. There might be things you don’t know.”

Yoon Ki-hyun took the educational materials out of the file placed in front of him. The phrase printed on the first page caught his eye.

[Awakened Management Center Personal Guide OJT Training Materials (Headquarters Use).]

The familiar document format gave him the illusion of acid reflux. To think he would walk back into this tedious Center of his own accord to receive training…

The only positive part was that since he only had to guide Jeong Si-jun, the level of work fatigue was incomparable to before.

“……Well, that’s just what I’m saying.”

Jeong Si-jun glanced at Yoon Ki-hyun, who was scanning the materials with a straight posture. Because they were sitting close, he could see every single eyelash. The features arranged on the small face were stunning.

He still couldn’t believe that a face he could stare at for hours without realizing time was passing was sitting right next to him—and as his own dedicated personal Guide, no less.

“Now, I’ll start by introducing myself. I am Assistant Manager So Ji-won from the Headquarters Operations Team of the Awakened Management Center. I will be in charge of your OJT training today. The training will proceed for about two hours based on the materials distributed.”

Following Yoon Ki-hyun, who was looking at the headquarters employee announcing the start of the training in a cheerful voice, Jeong Si-jun also adjusted his posture.

He was terrible at studying, but since this was training unauthorized [Read Read on Read BL Novelson Read BL Novels]copyhe had to receive as an Esper with a personal Guide, he intended to listen as closely as possible.

Although he received a headquarters ID badge as Jeong Si-jun’s personal Guide, the spaces he could access were limited.

He could only enter limited areas, less than 20% of the spaces he had accessed as a team leader. He couldn’t even enter the floors where the Guide team office and lounge were located.

Whether he had kept that in mind or not, Jeong Si-jun had monopolized an entire guiding room in the Center’s central building. The Center’s guiding rooms were typically used via hourly reservations, but there were always exceptions.

“I didn’t know either, but apparently, this is possible for S-class Espers.”

Jeong Si-jun shrugged his shoulders with a boastful tone. He thrust his phone screen forward as if to show off, drawing Yoon Ki-hyun’s gaze.

[Guiding Room Reservation Status (Special Team 2_Team Leader_Jeong Si-jun (S))]

[Awakener Center Headquarters Central Building A, 3rd Floor, Room G110]

[Guide: Personal_Yoon Ki-hyun (A)]

[Reservation Info: Until termination of contract]

It stated that this guiding room could be used at any time until the personal Guide contract between Yoon Ki-hyun and Jeong Si-jun ended. Yoon Ki-hyun looked up at Jeong Si-jun with somewhat surprised eyes.

“It’s amazing, but what on earth is all this?”

He hadn’t known that a guiding room could be reserved long-term. However, the part that surprised Yoon Ki-hyun upon entering the room was something else.

The furniture in a typical guiding room consisted of a comfortable recliner, a two-person sofa, a small table, and a small refrigerator. There were some snacks and wet wipes, but…

‘Isn’t this practically like building a nest?’

The scenery inside the guiding room that Jeong Si-jun proudly guided him into was completely different from the guiding rooms Yoon Ki-hyun knew.

The furniture was the same, but there was a mobile TV, a trolley full of snacks, and even several [stolen content]content">stolen contentbaskets filled with things like cozy-looking blankets and sleep masks.

“I hurriedly filled it with a few things, but it’s still lacking.”

“That’s why I’m asking what all this is.”

“I’ve been thinking about it a fucking lot, you know?”

Thinking about what? While Yoon Ki-hyun mentally questioned him, he obediently followed Jeong Si-jun, who took his hand and led him to the sofa.

Perhaps pleased that Yoon Ki-hyun was following him, Jeong Si-jun’s voice became a bit more cheerful.

“I thought you’d be uncomfortable while at the Center. That shitty nickname and all… seeing people might be stressful.”

“…….”

“But you have to come here to get guiding, right? Because I belong visit our sitehere. I [unauthorized copy]don’t Read on Read BL Novelsmind getting guiding outside, but you said you hated that.”

Jeong Si-jun chattered away while covering Yoon Ki-hyun’s lap with a blanket that smelled of fragrant fabric softener. Looking down at the blanket on his lap in silence, Yoon Ki-hyun glanced up at the man who had taken the spot next to him.

As Jeong Si-jun said, the contract was a standard employment agreement where he received a monthly salary in exchange for providing guiding as Jeong Si-jun’s personal Guide. The place of work was not explicitly specified.

However, personal Guides of Espers belonging to the Center were issued personal Guide ID badges to register their identity, and the Center recommended guiding within the facility to prepare for emergencies.

Since Espers belonging to the Center must return to the Center after a gate raid, moving outside the Center for guiding was a waste of time and movement in many ways. Knowing this, Yoon Ki-hyun had decided to commute to the Center.

“So, I hurriedly put some things here so you could be comfortable while you’re here. I wanted to bring in more, but I thought you might hate it.”

Jeong Si-jun slightly averted his gaze first. It was funny that a man who usually stared intensely into people’s faces would be the first to avoid eye contact at times like this.

Yoon Ki-hyun checked the things clumsily filling the guiding room. For something put together in a hurry, it was obvious that more thought had gone into it than expected.

‘…Why is this bastard doing things he’s never done before?’

Yoon Ki-hyun fidgeted with his hands, smelling the scent of fabric softener wafting from his lap. Since meeting Jeong Si-jun again, he had been suffering from daily emotional swings.

Indefinable emotions repeatedly surged and subsided, turning Yoon Ki-hyun’s mind into a chaotic mess.

“……If you don’t like it, I’ll put it back the way it was.”

Whether he interpreted Yoon Ki-hyun’s silence negatively, Jeong Si-jun’s voice sounded withered.

The way he was tentatively checking his reaction was exactly like the look of a puppy that had caused an accident. Seeing him glance sideways with the whites of his eyes showing, Yoon Ki-hyun let out a hollow laugh.

How did he end up entangled with a guy like this again? His head throbbed for no reason.