IGWKE Episode 14

Episode 14

Yoon-ui had witnessed dozens of Espers in training lose sleep over their crushes on senior guides who provided them with guidance.

However, seeing it happen to others and being the target of such affection were entirely different things. This was the first time he had been the direct target of a junior Esper’s romantic interest, and Yoon-ui had spent hours tossing and turning in bed last night, unable to sleep.

And it wasn’t just any junior Esper. Heon-ju was male, an S-class, and twelve years younger!

Out of all the issues, the age gap was the most glaring. A twelve-year difference was quite a bit, almost making him feel guilty. It was like being pursued by someone a full zodiac cycle younger, which was uncomfortable, no matter how one-sided the affection might be.

Come on… there are plenty of guides his own age.

Watching Heon-ju enter the office once again with his face lit up like a beacon, Yoon-ui couldn’t help but think to himself.

Not that he couldn’t understand why Heon-ju liked him. First, the high-quality guiding Yoon-ui provided must have given Heon-ju the emotional and physical stability he lacked. Second, although Yoon-ui was older than Heon-ju, who was only twenty, being thirty-two wasn’t so old as to ruin his appearance.

Sure, I guess I could see why he likes me. I’m good-looking, skilled, and kind to him. But still…

“Don’t give him a chance to make this a big deal. Don’t let him confess.”

Joo-min joked, watching Heon-ju leave the office with a bright smile.

Yoon-ui’s face flushed as he burst out.

“What? I haven’t given him any chances!”

“You’re keeping your distance pretty well, but… Heon-ju might seem innocent, but he’s pretty persistent.”

“He’s not just persistent. He’s like a tank.”

Jung-woo chimed in, having overheard the conversation.

“He even pestered me for your work schedule,” Jung-woo added.

“Ah… That explains why he always knows when I’m working late…,”

Yoon-ui sighed. He had prided himself on not being completely oblivious, but recently, caught up in his own career concerns, he had failed to notice the young man hovering around him.

No wonder it had seemed strange that, despite being an S-class, Heon-ju would show up at the office at odd hours, seemingly certain that Yoon-ui would be there.

“You really are clueless, sir.”

Jung-woo teased again.

This kid… But even though Yoon-ui wanted to snap back, he couldn’t deny the truth. The fact was that for almost two months, the entire office had picked up on the obvious approaches of the overly eager young Esper, while he himself had remained completely unaware. With no comeback, Yoon-ui frustratedly refreshed the list of returnees on his monitor.

“Why are so many people coming back from leave today?” he muttered loudly, a weak attempt to shake off the awkwardness. His transparent efforts were quickly seen through, and Joo-min snickered from behind, laughing at Yoon-ui’s reddened face. After all, an Esper’s first love was a common joke around the office, but it was even more amusing when the object of affection was a mature, knowledgeable twenty-year-old—someone who made people question whether this “first love” might be something more.

“Does our Heon-ju have a thing for sensitive, slender types?”

“Maybe he likes older people.”

Jung-woo replied, jumping in on the joke.

Their banter was perfectly in sync, and Yoon-ui, who raised his fist over the partition in mock threat, was ignored as the teasing continued.

Regardless of whether the person pursuing you was twelve years younger or whether their feelings were just a phase of an Esper’s first love, once you learned that someone liked you, it was impossible not to become self-conscious.

That morning, Yoon-ui had spent a long time checking his face in the mirror before leaving his dorm. He even applied hair gel and styled his hair, something he would never have done before. After showering twice in an attempt to fix it, he barely made it to work on time.

“Are you wearing cologne?”

Joo-min sniffed suspiciously as she passed by.

Her sharp nose startled Yoon-ui, but he tried to play it cool, sniffing his own shoulder.

“Must be the new shampoo?”

“Really? I thought maybe you sprayed something special.”

She said, exchanging a knowing smile with Jung-woo.

“I thought you were trying to impress our dear Heon-ju.”

“Hey! Really, stop it!”

Annoyed by their relentless teasing, Yoon-ui jumped to his feet, his face flushing red. Though Yoon-ui had no trouble baring his teeth and snapping at people who meant harm, he had no defense against these friendly, teasing attacks. He was the type who was strong against the strong, but weak against the weak.

“Who knows? Maybe Heon-ju will walk in and clap, saying you look great.”

“Oh, come on. Just go do your work.”

Yoon-ui muttered, having no further retorts. He slumped back into his seat, grumbling under his breath.

“Seriously… Having a kid cling to me, I’m going through all sorts of nonsense.”

---

It was truly something else.

“Good morning!”

“Heon-ju, you’re here?”

“Yes!”

With a bright smile, Heon-ju once again opened the office door and entered. Even without lifting his eyes from his monitor, Yoon-ui could tell from the amused voices around him that Heon-ju had clocked in for the day.

Though Yoon-ui pretended not to notice, Heon-ju cheerfully dragged a chair over and sat right next to him.

“Did you have breakfast, sir?”

Before Yoon-ui could even answer, a cup of coffee and a banana appeared in his line of sight, making it obvious that Heon-ju had already prepared for the situation.

It wasn’t hard to figure out where the information leak came from. From the other side of the partition, he could sense the restless movements of someone trying to peek over at them.

‘Jung-woo, I can’t ever trust him with confidential work’.

Yoon-ui reaffirmed to himself.

“I figured you probably hadn’t eaten, so I brought some breakfast for you when I was grabbing mine before training.”

Even though Yoon-ui was deliberately pretending to be busy and didn’t meet his eyes, Heon-ju didn’t seem the least bit discouraged, as the sound of him rummaging through his bag filled the air. ‘He’s really cute in his own way’, Yoon-ui thought. But there were too many nosy onlookers for him to just appreciate Heon-ju’s innocence. With the instincts of a guide, he could feel that nearly everyone in the office was watching them.

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” he muttered, reaching out for the banana without turning to look at him. But instead of the banana, a warm, large hand settled into his outstretched palm.

The unexpected warmth and weight made Yoon-ui instinctively turn his head and lock eyes with Heon-ju, whose round eyes held a slight smile.

“Your hand… what’s this?”

“Aren’t you going to guide me?” Heon-ju asked, as if that were the most natural thing.

“I-I meant the banana…”

Before he could stammer out a proper response, the sound of laughter erupted around him. The loudest laughter, of course, came from his nemesis, Joo-min. ‘Oh god, how embarrassing.’ Yoon-ui’s face flushed with heat as he quickly pulled his hand away from Heon-ju’s grasp and hid it behind his back.

“Today’s a non-contact guiding day. No need to hold hands.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, uh, Jung-woo’s not feeling well today.”

“Me?”

From across the partition, Jung-woo stood up and pointed at himself, confused. Yoon-ui shot him a dark look. ‘Do you want to feel sick?’ Jung-woo quickly caught on and chuckled as he played along.

“Ah, yes, I’m not feeling great today, right.”

“Oh… I see…,”

Heon-ju replied, his tone dejected. Though he understood, it was clear that he was disappointed at missing the chance for their usual physical contact during guiding.

Trying to ignore Heon-ju’s slumped shoulders, Yoon-ui refreshed the list of returnees for the third time, just to distract himself. Several familiar names popped up, and he latched onto the first one he could.

“Park Hyung-gyu? How many times does he go on leave?”

“Well, his house is outside the complex. He probably goes home.”

“What’s the point of living outside if he’s alone? Waste of rent when the company dorm is right there.”

“Not everyone wants to spend 24/7 in the office building like you, sir.”

Jung-woo’s gentle yet pointed reply left Yoon-ui with no comeback, while it opened the door for Heon-ju to jump into the conversation more actively. Seizing the opportunity, he leaned even closer to Yoon-ui.

“Do you live in the dorms, sir?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“Is it a one-room?”

“No way. I’ve been here long enough…”

Yoon-ui said, raising two fingers to indicate that he lived in a two-bedroom apartment. Heon-ju’s eyes widened with awe, and he scooted his chair even closer to Yoon-ui.

“I’m planning on moving into the dorms too!”

That was news to Yoon-ui, who raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Really? But you live in Seoul, don’t you?”

“Yes, but training ends late, and it’s hard to come in early in the morning. Plus, the commute overlaps with civilian rush hour, so I run into too many people. That’s why I’m thinking of moving into the dorms. I’ve never lived on my own before, though.”

“Uh-huh…”

The way he was rambling didn’t quite add up, and Yoon-ui subtly turned to meet Joo-min’s gaze. From what he knew, basic Esper training schedules were designed with minors in mind, so they weren’t too grueling for a daily commute. Of course, Heon-ju’s training might be a bit different from the usual, but still, the timing didn’t seem right.

And now that he thought about it, no matter how specialized his training was, the hours he showed up were always a little too convenient—either too late or too early.

Turning back, he caught a glimpse of Joo-min’s barely contained smirk. She seemed to be thinking the same thing.

‘So, the reason he shows up so early and so late isn’t because of training… How did I not realize this until now?’