By Zephyria 
“I really don’t know what he’s thinking. He’s so composed that he seems to be treating me exactly the same as he always does.”
That was why he felt anxious. What if his confession had only caused a momentary flicker of bewilderment and meant absolutely nothing to the other man, which is why his reaction was like that? The worries beginning to bloom in his heart grew like a rolling snowball.
「From what I hear, you have not received an answer from him.」
“Huh? His reaction back then was practically an answer, wasn’t it?”
「It was not a clear rejection.」
“Ah….”
「Since you responded with sincerity, it is only right that you receive a sincere answer. Even if it is not the answer you desire, delusion will no longer confuse you. It will also help you organize your feelings.」
Listening blankly, Yoo Jiha nodded without realizing it, and the boy, who had been expressionless the entire time, grinned for the first time as he stood up.
「The coffee was good.」
In the blink of an eye, the Aberration holding the coffee cup in one hand vanished without a trace, and the middle of the hallway, which had been devoid of any presence, had turned into an emergency staircase. The sound of bustling voices could be heard beyond the closed door.
“…….”
Just when had he stepped into the world of anomaly phenomena? Yoo Jiha rubbed his chilling arms and hurriedly opened the door.
Returning to the office, he searched for various terms like the Three Heavenly Treasures, bells, fake items, and knock-offs, but there was no Aberration in the Hidden World Record that matched his guess. Asking his teammates yielded the same result. Though they seemed tense at the mention of him being swept up in an anomaly phenomenon, they patted him on the back once they heard he was unharmed.
“As long as you didn’t die, it’s fine. It’s okay!”
…He wasn’t sure if he should envy this kind of mentality. A bit of worry remained regarding the unidentified entity, but since even his teammates didn’t know, there was nothing he could do. Hiding his anxiety, Yoo Jiha got back to his remaining work.
Meanwhile, the words the Aberration left behind lingered in his mind. The claim that he had not yet received an answer to his confession. With his head cluttered until the moment he left work, Yoo Jiha lay on his bed and chewed over the Aberration’s words.
That was why. He didn’t hear the footsteps of the man approaching through the wide-open window.
“Jiha, did you encounter an Aberration at the office?”
“Hieek!”
Deep in thought, Yoo Jiha was startled by the voice that suddenly sounded from above his head.
“You scared me! Why are you calling me from outside instead of coming in?”
“I was tidying up the yard.”
Perhaps he had been pulling weeds; there was some dirt on his clothes, which had been neat until dinner time.
“I heard while I was on the phone that Agent Kim needs to take an urgent day off tomorrow—that you encountered an Aberration today whose identity is unknown? By any chance, did that Aberration look like an ancient warrior or an adult male with a queue hairstyle?”
“No? He was a totally young boy. He looked about seven or eight years old, said he was a knock-off of the Three Heavenly Treasures’ bell, and his neck… was twisted 180 degrees.”
“……Sigh.”
As suspected, Jeil Heon, a high-ranking official of the Management Bureau, seemed to have guessed immediately who that Aberration was. Letting out a sigh of disbelief, he soon composed his expression.
“He is indeed a dangerous fellow, but he won’t do anything to harm you, so rest assured.”
“Is he an entity I can trust?”
“Don’t trust him. There is no such thing as a trustworthy Aberration.”
It was a strange thing. Even though he now knew the entity was dangerous enough to make Jeil Heon frown, the lingering anxiety vanished like melting snow. He knew why. Because Jeil Heon had told him. That it wouldn’t harm him.
With just those words, his fluttering heart regained its stability. This was his undeniable truth.
“……Mister.”
“Yes?”
“I like you.”
“…….”
Jeil Heon’s expression slowly sank. However, he didn’t seem to be avoiding or trying to reject the words. Looking back, the one who had run away on the day of the first confession was himself.
“Didn’t it feel awkward after I confessed to you?”
“……Honestly, I was at a loss as to how to treat you.”
“But your attitude was exactly the same as it was before I confessed.”
“Since you went down to your family home without even talking to me, I wondered if you wanted to act as if it never happened.”
Yoo Jiha let out a groan and thudded his forehead against the windowsill. He felt embarrassed that he had been strutting around, claiming he would win over Jeil Heon, not knowing this.
“……I must have been a complete eyesore for a few days.”
“I was trying not to make things awkward; how could you have been an eyesore?”
I wonder how I’m being beautified in this man’s brain… He beautifies me like this, yet he still won’t accept my heart. Yoo Jiha sensed the outcome even before his second confession. But this time, he would not run away; he would convey his sincerity fully.
“When I first met you, I was really scared, thinking I was going to be eaten, but I soon became okay. You’re a good person. I think I started liking you little by little from then. You also kept your promise to save me.”
“…….”
“I like that you’re kinder to me than anyone else, and I like that I’m the only one who can stabilize your Corruption Level. I like your face and voice, and I like that you’re tall. I like that the food you occasionally cook is delicious, and I like that you’re a good Hyung to your younger siblings. I like that you’re an adult who can honestly say sorry or thank you to someone twelve years younger than you. I like that I’m not scared at all when I’m with you.”
As he listed the reasons why he liked him one by one, he soon ran out of fingers.
“I’ve known for a while that I’m not your type… but still, would it be impossible? I’m confident I can be good to you!”
As Jeil Heon, who had been listening attentively without interrupting, moved his lips, Yoo Jiha flinched and hurriedly continued speaking. He knew what kind of answer would come, but he couldn’t stop himself from hoping for a sliver of possibility.
“Even though I’m younger, the age gap isn’t as large as it is with my youngest sibling. And if we don’t break up, we don’t have to worry about things getting awkward after an office romance ends, and the fact that you’re heterosexual, uh, uh… could one of us just, c-cut it?”
“……Huh?”
“Unlike twenty years ago, there are many transgender people now. Then wouldn’t it be okay…? Since you’re the one who’d be missing out more than I am, since I’ve never even used mine, maybe you should be the one to cut…?”
Yoo Jiha, who had been rambling whatever came to mind, only shut his mouth when he reached a point where he could no longer control himself. What on earth had he just said? As he chewed over it, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. It felt even more like he wanted to die because Jeil Heon was listening seriously without even bursting into laughter.
“Do you wish for me to have a sterilization surgery?”
“……No. Please forget it.”
A large hand gently stroked the back of Yoo Jiha’s head as he kept his head bowed low. He felt a bit upset. That his touch was so tender and embracing, even while intending to reject him.
“I am not as good a person as you think. I didn’t join the Management Bureau to save people, but because becoming an Enforcement Division Agent was the optimal way to hunt Aberrations quickly and surely.”
“…….”
“It’s a metaphorical expression, but we talked about the jewel last time, right? Just as I said then, I would probably hesitate at nothing to hide that jewel. Despite joining the Management Bureau, which tells us to be loyal to the state and protect the citizens. Ridiculous, isn’t it?”
It wasn’t ridiculous at all. Isn’t someone who values only me naturally more human and better than someone who values everyone? It was just that he felt terribly lonely knowing that he was not that ‘jewel.’
If he was this tender just by having his Corruption Level stabilized, how devoted would he be to his jewel?
“This might sound like an old man talking, but I believe there are experiences that can only be had at your age, and if possible, it’s best to accumulate plenty of those experiences. The same goes for dating. Rather than an old man like me, I hope you have a fresh, sparkling romance with people your own age.”
“……I can have that kind of romance with you too.”
He hadn’t intended to, but a childish, grumpy retort slipped out. He was already being treated like a kid; how much more of a child would the man see him as now?
The man’s bitter laughter subsided quietly. As if reminiscing about the youth that he had lost, and which the current Yoo Jiha possessed.