Chapter 28 – ​The ​Price ​of ​Misjudgment

‘What ​could ​he ​possibly ​want ​to talk about, coming ​all ​the way here?’

He ​had absolutely no ​inkling. ​Moreover, ​the ​person ​who ​had come to ​see ​him ​was none other ​than Seo Yi-kyung.

An S-class ​Esper affiliated ​with the ​Center, a ​colleague whose ​only ​interaction ​with him had ​been providing ​guiding whenever a schedule ​was set.

That was the ​extent of his impression ​of Seo ​Yi-kyung.

If ​he had to be precise, he ​felt a relatively slight ​fondness ​for ​him ​simply ​because his aura ​was so ​opposite ​to that of ​Jeong ​Si-jun, who was also an ​S-class Esper ​and ​held the rank ​of ​Team ​Leader.

Yoon ​Ki-hyun ​did not ​take ​Seo Yi-kyung’s ​claim that he had something to say ​at face value. ​Having worked at ​the Awakened Management Center ​for about ​a year and ​a ​half, he had ​seen quite a ​lot of ​the ​good, the ​bad, ​and the ​ugly. ​He was ​particularly ​disgusted ​by Espers.

The sense ​of ​entitlement among ​Espers ​was ​incomparable ​to that of so-called traditional elite professions. Since one could not be called an Esper or a Guide no matter how hard they tried if they didn’t awaken, their egos tended to swell.

Intoxicated by their ability to perform supernatural feats that non-awakened people could not, they divided people into non-awakened and awakened, insisting on establishing a hierarchy. They even coined vulgar neologisms like “awakened spoon” and such.

‘Something feels off.’

Of course, anyone could concoct a reason to talk, but this didn’t seem like an important conversation. Having no intention of letting Seo Yi-kyung into the guiding room, Yoon Ki-hyun stepped outside and closed the door, causing Seo Yi-kyung to hesitate.

Seeing his upper body slightly leaning forward, it seemed he had naturally tried to enter before stopping. Glancing at his expression, Yoon Ki-hyun was surprised to see that he looked a bit flustered.

‘What’s this?’

The flustered one was equally Yoon Ki-hyun. Due to the nature of the guiding room, entry by unregistered persons was generally forbidden.

He wasn’t some rookie who had just started at the Center; he was a seasoned Team Leader who couldn’t possibly be unaware of this. The fact that he still tried to enter meant one of two things.

Either he knew that Jeong Si-jun was currently absent, or the matter was something that didn’t matter if Jeong Si-jun overheard.

Neither was a topic that would pique Yoon Ki-hyun’s interest.

“What is it that you wanted to say?”

At Yoon Ki-hyun’s question, Seo Yi-kyung glanced at the firmly closed door and curled the corners of his mouth. He was smiling, but it didn’t seem sincere. In reality, he was bewildered.

‘Ah, this isn’t easy.’

Having visited the guiding room after confirming that Jeong Si-jun had left to handle a nearby gate, Seo Yi-kyung had assumed Yoon Ki-hyun would naturally let him in.

However, a scene slightly different from his expectations unfolded before his eyes. A firmly closed guiding room door and a gaze looking up at him warily.

“Hmm.”

Seo Yi-kyung cleared his throat briefly to buy time to compose his expression. The glimpse he caught through the gap when Yoon Ki-hyun opened the door to look outside wasn’t much different from the rumors he had heard.

‘I heard Team Leader Jeong has practically built a nest in the guiding room.’

‘Really?’

‘They say he shuts himself in the guiding room immediately after training and conditioning. He even goes out to eat with him all the time.’

The news of Jeong Si-jun’s long-term rental of the guiding room was already a hot topic among the Espers. This was because many had not known that such a benefit existed for S-class Espers. Even Seo Yi-kyung himself had only just learned that such a clause existed.

Not only had he hired Yoon Ki-hyun as his personal Guide, but he had practically nested by keeping him in a long-term rented guiding room. Even though he could only see a small part of the room, it was enough to know the rumors were true.

“I’d like to talk over a drink at a cafe, how about that?”

“A cafe.”

“The cafe in the main building is fine, or we can go outside; I don’t mind. Whatever is most convenient for you, Ki-hyun.”

As Seo Yi-kyung presented the options, Yoon Ki-hyun’s eyes narrowed. There was a cafe for employees in the main building of the Awakened Management Center. But if the scene of him drinking something with Seo Yi-kyung there reached Jeong Si-jun’s ears…

‘Ugh.’

Just imagining Jeong Si-jun pouting and grumbling gave him a headache. He wanted to avoid the worsening of the headache that was slowly improving with his prescribed medication.

“Is it a very important matter?”

“If you feel it is, then it is; if you feel it isn’t, then it might not be?”

What kind of nonsense is this now?

Yoon Ki-hyun’s cheek twitched. Seo Yi-kyung’s way of speaking sounded somewhat cunning.

Compared to Jeong Si-jun, who mixed curses and sarcasm into every sentence, he was certainly more mannerly Read on Read BL Novelsaria-label="stolen content">stolen contentand sensible, but it left him with a strangely unsettling feeling.

‘What kind of story is it that might be important or might not be? Is he joking? He didn’t come all the way to the guiding room just to play twenty questions.’

If it were truly important, he wouldn’t have spoken in such a lighthearted, joking tone. He should have realized it when Seo Yi-kyung acted friendly when they met near the Center’s main gate a few days ago.

Thinking that Seo Yi-kyung was just another type of pest, he felt no value in continuing the conversation.

“If it’s not important, please leave now.”

“…Ah.”

Perhaps not expecting Yoon Ki-hyun’s boundary-setting attitude, Seo Yi-kyung smiled with a troubled face.

It seemed he was carefully considering his next words, or perhaps he was smiling out of habit to mask his embarrassment. Whatever the reason, he couldn’t state his business right here, but he didn’t seem inclined to leave either.

‘If you have something to say, just say it. Why do you keep smiling? What do you want from me?’

As the strange standoff between Seo Yi-kyung and Yoon Ki-hyun continued, the gazes of people passing through the hallway where the guiding rooms were located began to gather one by one.

Everyone already knew that Yoon Ki-hyun, who had resigned, was [stolen content]holed up in the guiding [unauthorized copy]room as Jeong Si-jun’s personal Guide. And now, an S-class Esper had come to visit that guiding room. It was the perfect topic for people who loved gossip to chatter about.

“Team Leader Seo Yi-kyung.”

“Yes.”

“What exactly are you trying to do with me right now?”

When Yoon Ki-hyun asked irritably, Seo Yi-kyung slightly bowed his head. Due to the sudden closeness, a sweet floral scent brushed against the tip of his nose. It was a perfume that suited Seo Yi-kyung’s gentle impression, but he couldn’t shake a feeling of incongruity.

“There is something I want to discuss with you alone, Ki-hyun. Listen to it first, then decide.”

Yoon Ki-hyun’s pupils wavered slightly. He decided he would at least hear what this “discussion for just the two of them” was. Yoon Ki-hyun checked the time on his phone.

There was still plenty of time before lunch. He figured he could settle the conversation with Seo Yi-kyung before that and then head to the Chinese restaurant at the address Jeong Si-jun had sent.

“Fine. Let’s go to the main building cafe then.”

“Yes. Sounds good.”

Seo Yi-kyung replied with his usual friendly smile. Looking [unauthorized [stolen content]copy]at him, the way he smiled all the time was irritating.

While it was much better than throwing a temper tantrum, smiling incessantly like that didn’t seem sane either. Yoon Ki-hyun managed his expression while harboring slightly twisted thoughts.

‘Ah, I’m really going to be pissed if this turns out to be nothing.’

As he walked down the hallway keeping some distance from Seo Yi-kyung, Yoon Ki-hyun sighed inwardly.

When he was with Jeong Si-jun, at least no one bothered to talk to him, which was nice. Even though he didn’t want to rely on Jeong Si-jun, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret at a time like this.

When Seo Yi-kyung and Yoon Ki-hyun entered the cafe in the main building of the Awakened Management Center, the interior was relatively quiet.

At Seo Yi-kyung’s offer to buy the drinks, Yoon Ki-hyun ordered a chamomile tea and took a seat. The main building cafe, which he hadn’t visited often because he was always busy working, felt strangely unfamiliar.

“So, what exactly is it that you wanted to say?”

“…Ah. Straight to the point?”

Seo Yi-kyung smiled, looking a bit surprised. He seemed to find it hard to adjust to Yoon Ki-hyun’s attitude of asking for the main point before the ordered drinks had even arrived. He observed the beauty sitting before him, who had a calm yet cold impression.

His face was still eye-catching, just as it had been when he worked as a Team Leader at the Center, but the [Read on Read BL Novelsclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">stolen content]atmosphere was strangely different. Should he say he seemed a bit more on edge…?

“Hmm, how do you find working as a personal Guide?”

Under the gaze that seemed to urge him for an answer, Seo Yi-kyung finally spoke.

“What do you mean by how I find it?”

“I was wondering if the workload or the treatment is satisfactory.”

Despite Seo Yi-kyung’s gentle tone, Yoon Ki-hyun’s expression did not soften.

“Of course it’s satisfactory.”

“Ah, I hope you don’t misunderstand. I just asked because I wondered if Team Leader Jeong is taking good care of you. That fellow has a very free-spirited and tough side to him.”

Knowing Jeong Si-jun’s personality, Yoon Ki-hyun knew that assessment was accurate. However, he couldn’t bring himself to agree. He felt that Seo Yi-kyung’s intention in saying such things was clearly unsettling.

The alarm bell rang indicating the drinks were ready, and Seo Yi-kyung returned with the beverages and placed them in front of Yoon Ki-hyun. Then, unable to withstand Yoon Ki-hyun’s gaze any longer, Seo Yi-kyung posed a question closer to his main point.

“By any chance, in the contract you signed [unauthorized visit our sitecopy]with Team Leader Jeong, is there a penalty clause for termination?”

A penalty clause. As soon as he lightly moistened his lips with the tea, Yoon Ki-hyun set the cup down.

The intention of that question was clearly to test him. Asking if Jeong Si-jun took good care of him, mentioning the workload and treatment—it all converged into a single intention.

‘Is this some kind of headhunting for a personal Guide?’

Yoon Ki-hyun stared at Seo Yi-kyung in silence. That friendly smile now looked a bit different.