DB Vol 2 Part 4

The Guide who asked seemed to have nothing more to say and closed his mouth. Then, as if remembering something, he pointed out harshly again.

“Also, that communicator in your ear isn’t provided by the Center, so you have to remove it. For security reasons, we can only use Center devices during operations.”

At the same time, the crackling in Won-woo’s ear grew louder.

[Damn, they’re talking about security when they can’t even manage their Espers’ dicks. These East Center bastards.]

Sang-cheon couldn’t stand it and retorted at the low curse flowing from the speaker.

“Well, they can prohibit external devices, but what does that have to do with managing Espers’ dicks?”

[Everything these incompetent bastards who can’t control internal dicks do is useless.]

“Well. Restricting external communicators is a somewhat wise method.”

[Ha, I’m telling you it’s useless.]

Wait, didn’t you hear them say to remove it? As Sang-cheon was about to shout again with his eyes wide open, he heard the Brute’s annoyed voice.

[What’s easier to get than a Center communicator?]

“Well, that’s true. It’s just expensive. Wait, are you telling me to connect you to the center communicator?”

[Yeah.]

“Well, it’s possible, but… No, it can’t be done. Center devices are only distributed on the black market. If I’m caught buying one, I’ll have to celebrate my 60th birthday in prison. Absolutely not.”

[Who said you should do it?]

Ah, I thought… Just as Sang-cheon was starting to feel relieved,

[I’ll get you a Center communicator, you just connect it.]

“You are telling me to do it!”

[I’ll lower the interest by 5%.]

Startled. Sang-cheon took a breath to hide his trembling hands. 5%?!

“Well, if it’s just tinkering with the device… If I didn’t know it was Center property when I did it, there shouldn’t be a big problem…”

[Take it or leave it.]

“I’ll do it.”

Right after agreeing, a question occurred to him belatedly.

“But why are you so intent on sticking with Ji Won-woo?”

[It’s obvious I’m monitoring him.]

“Is there something to monitor? Because of the Alpha seed? There’s no way that could be real. If not that, then maybe… are you worried because a pervert entered Ji Won-woo’s house?”

A heavy sigh was heard through the speaker. Usually, this would be followed by curses, so Sang-cheon was about to lower the speaker volume in advance. But the words that came softly didn’t include any curses.

[It would piss me off if he died to some pervert bastard before I could use him. Satisfied?]

I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem right. Just a while ago, he said he didn’t care if Ji Won-woo died or not, but now he says he shouldn’t die. Something’s off. But because he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was strange, Sang-cheon just tilted his head.

“But the fact that a pervert broke into his house could be a misunderstanding. Seeing that he brought an Alpha Seed, Ji Won-woo seems to have some delusions.”

[Old man.]

“Yeah?”

[That’s why your life sucks, distrusting everything in the world.]

That’s unfair. He didn’t want to hear this from him of all people. Isn’t the Brute is the icon of distrust? Didn’t he also say Ji Won-woo was crazy when talking about the Alpha seed?

“Do you believe everything Ji Won-woo says?”

[No.]

…Hey. Sang-cheon barely held back the harsh words that were about to come out involuntarily. His counterpart is the Brute. The terrifying blade of the Gye family.

[Ji Won-woo has already been called out to the decontamination room by that team’s pervert. The chances of another pervert latching onto him are high.]

“Well, with Ji Won-woo’s face, I guess.”

Sang-cheon nodded and then stopped abruptly.

“Is that pervert a team member?”

[Don’t know. But they say he’s an Esper.]

“Still, he won’t touch Ji Won-woo during this operation, right? All the other Espers will be there too.”

[Other Espers? It’d be fortunate if they don’t all just jerk their dicks together.]

Sang-cheon found it unexpected. Usually, there was a strong tendency for Espers to think they could treat Guides however they wanted, so the Brute’s words, coming from a fellow Esper, were quite surprising.

[Espers are never punished, even if they are caught in the act, as long as they claim that the situation requires guiding.]

Well, that’s true. Espers are valuable beings who protect humans from monsters, so anything they do is tolerated. They know this themselves and think they can do anything. Even to Guides.

“Still, it’s the Ji family. Surely they won’t openly harass him?”

[If they picked the time and place, they wouldn’t be perverts.]

Ah, he doesn’t understand perverts well. Sang-cheon was about to explain right away out of frustration.

“You know, people who bully others tend to be more…”

Ring ring― Suddenly, the phone rang and a name appeared on the screen. Ji Won-woo. Startled, Sang-cheon warned the speaker before answering the phone.

“It’s Ji Won-woo. Shh, be quiet! Ahem, h-hello? Ah, yes. Mr. Won-woo. …Yes, ah… You can’t come for two days? That’s okay. If you have to participate in an operation, these things happen. …What? No, I-I don’t know. I had no idea you were participating in the operation!”

Even though the other person hadn’t said much, Sang-cheon raised his voice, feeling caught off guard.

“…What? You thought Nani told me everything?”

Sang-cheon unconsciously glanced at the speaker. A faint ‘tsk’ sound could be heard through it. Sang-cheon himself wanted to click his tongue. Who told him to tattle everything to me?

“No, I… I didn’t hear anything. So, what’s the matter? …Those loan shark gangsters? The collection date is about three days away. …Oh, you were worried about me? Afraid they might come early?”

Sang-cheon was momentarily at a loss for words.

“Thanks, but don’t worry about me. …What? You found an Esper to help? They’re coming with you? Who is it? …Ah, okay. Tell me next time. If it’s urgent, you should go quickly. Wait, Mr. Won-woo!”

Sang-cheon urgently called out to Won-woo, who was about to hang up, and warned him in a stern tone.

“Be careful. Not just of monsters, but of people. People can be more dangerous.”

After hanging up, Sang-cheon stared at his phone for a while. At first, he thought the person crying while looking at him was just crazy. But seeing how he kept caring for and worrying about him, Sang-cheon couldn’t simply dismiss it as the actions of a madman. It had been a really long time since someone had worried about him.

[What did he say?]

“Huh? Oh… He was worried those gangsters might come back. Since the operation is until tomorrow, he’s coming the day after, but he’s concerned the gangsters might show up in between. He told me to close the shop completely until then.”

[And?]

“He said he found an Esper to help. Someone named Han Seona?”

[And?]

“That’s all.”

There was a moment of silence from the speaker. As Sang-cheon was recalling the conversation, wondering if he had missed something, he suddenly realized. With Mang Nani’s ability, it would have heard all of Won-woo’s voice through the receiver, right? Why keep confirming? As if suspecting it had missed something. Then a question came.

[Doesn’t he ask about me?]

“What about you?”

[I’ll be away for two days too.]

“…You’re a machine.”

[Won-woo chatters so much to that machine.]

What can I do about that, you’re still a machine. Sang-cheon stared at the speaker for a while, dumbfounded.

“Have you perhaps grown fond of Won-woo?”

[Why would I care about Ji Geun-oh’s son?]

Right. Ji Geun-oh is the enemy, so getting attached to the enemy’s child would be a bit much.

“I thought you were worried about Won-woo.”

[I’m not.]

“How cold.”

[What?]

“Even if he’s the enemy’s child, he’s helping you out. Can’t you worry about him a little?”

[Ha, shit. Are you trying to mess with me?]

The curse came out fiercely, but from experience, Sang-cheon knew he could still tease a bit more.

“I’m worried because Won-woo will be alone in a place without any help for two days.”

[Why are you worried?]

“Why? It’s natural to want to worry about someone who worries about me. I mean, he even called just to kindly warn me about the gangsters when he’s going to be away for two days. My goodness, am I that likeable?”

[This is annoying.]

A mutter drifted through. It was a monotonous voice without emotion, but Sang-cheon’s intuition sounded an alarm. A chill ran down his spine. Ah, it would be dangerous to cross the line any further. Sensing Mang Nani’s limit had been reached, Sang-cheon straightened up and hardened his expression.

“Ahem, if I just had the Center’s communication device, I could start working right away. Come to think of it, I have something similar to the Center’s device that I got before. Should I test it out?!”

As Sang-cheon made a commotion and fled to the warehouse, a low voice mixed with static came from the speaker.

[I even listened to his chatter while sleeping, tch.]

***

When they arrived at the destination camp, the whispers about Won-woo were mostly the same. Why did he come? He lost his memory, right? He doesn’t even do anything. Most of it was just words to ignore, but one thing Won-woo couldn’t help but react to.

“Do we have to protect that bastard too if it’s dangerous, even though he’s just a D-rank Guide?”

Won-woo barely managed to hold back a laugh that almost escaped. Protect me? Espers protecting me? Perhaps because he strained his face and pressed his lips tightly to hold back the laughter, as soon as they entered the Head 3 team’s quarters, a displeased voice was heard.

“Who told you to come? Huh?”

Won-woo spotted Yoo Geon-young sitting in a lopsided posture on a sofa in what looked like a lounge just inside the entrance, holding a mobile phone.

“Don’t mind me.”

Won-woo retorted while surveying the impressive interior. To prevent Guides from being wiped out in case of accidents, they were divided into separate quarters, usually with two teams sharing one lodging.

Being a facility used by Espers, the two-story building had private bedrooms as well as a conference room, lounge, shower room, a kitchenette for simple cooking, and even a fitness room for exercise. Won-woo etched the building’s layout into his mind while looking at the floor plan posted on the wall.

“That’s why people react like that, because of your expression, Mr. Won-woo.”

“Seems like they make anyone a team leader these days.”

“What?”

Sixteen private rooms. But with one vacancy due to a death from overload on this side, there should be one room left. Won-woo answered casually while calculating the location and advantages of each room.

“You’re wasting time observing other people’s expressions. Or are you interested in me?”

“Hey, don’t talk nonsense. Why would I be interested in you?”

“If you don’t want to be misunderstood, keep your distance and use polite speech.”

Won-woo turned his head and stared expressionlessly at the frowning Yoo Geon-young. Ji Won-woo’s dry gaze was unsettling enough to make one flinch even after seeing it several times. Despite clearly having no hostility or killing intent, it made one tense up. Yoo Geon-young couldn’t retort at first, but then let out a hollow laugh as he remembered that the other was just a worthless Guide. What am I really thinking about this bastard?

“Are you getting cocky because you caught my weakness?”

“How is that a weakness?”

“…You pretending not to know?”

“You’re still speaking informally.”

“Are you pretending not to know? Is this better?”

Only then did Won-woo turn his attention back to the building’s interior Guide. There was only one emergency staircase at the far left end of the building. The Guide rooms would probably be assigned near there. Won-woo inwardly predicted this while giving a half-hearted response to Yoo Geon-young.

“I’m not pretending. I’m saying that literally isn’t your weakness, Team Leader.”

For a moment, there was silence. As Won-woo was about to go further inside, Yoo Geon-young’s voice stopped him. It wasn’t loud, but suppressed surprise and irritation were evident.

“Why isn’t it a weakness?”

What do you mean, why? Won-woo turned to face him directly again.

“Because you’re strong even without that.”

“…”

Won-woo briefly looked over the now-rigid Yoo Geon-young and added:

“Your limbs are fine, and you have no trouble breathing. Even if what you call your weakness was revealed, you could still do everything you want to do.”

Yoo Geon-young’s eyes wavered briefly. Ignoring his agitation, Won-woo voiced his curiosity.

“Where do I get my room assignment?”

“What weakness?”

Suddenly, a sharp voice cut in from the entrance. Won-woo turned halfway, and Yoo Geon-young jumped to his feet. Seung-wook entered, his footsteps echoing. He looked at Yoo Geon-young before slowly turning his gaze to Won-woo. When Won-woo met his gaze with a tilted head as if to say ‘Why are you looking at me?’ Seung-wook’s eyebrows twitched.

“Hey, it’s nothing. We were just talking about the operation since we might fight monsters.”

Yoo Geon-young approached with a light laugh, but Seung-wook didn’t take his eyes off Won-woo.

“You discussed the operation with a Guide?”

“No, it wasn’t really a discussion…”

“Mr. Ji Won-woo. Do you have any questions about the operation?”

He asked directly, still staring at Won-woo. Won-woo didn’t want to get involved with him, but he disliked averting his eyes even more. It would look like losing a battle of wills. How dare an Esper try to get the better of me.

“Is it not allowed to be curious?”

“What are you curious about when you’re not even an Esper participating in the operation?”

“I’ll ask our team leader about anything I’m curious about, so you don’t need to concern yourself.”

“You?”

Seung-wook took a threatening step forward and looked down at him.

“You… Mr. Ji Won-woo, don’t you know who I am?”

“I know we’re distant enough for me to call you ‘you’^[1].”

“…”

“But now you’re too close. Would you step back?”

“Ha.” Seung-wook let out an incredulous laugh and turned his head, but he didn’t back down. Won-woo ignored him and turned to Yoo Geon-young.

“About the room assignment?”

Yoo Geon-young looked back and forth between Seung-wook and Won-woo with a stiff face, before belatedly returning Won-woo’s gaze with a ‘What?’ expression. Fortunately, Won-woo’s curiosity was answered from elsewhere.

“Oh, I know about the room assignments.”

Idan, who had been hidden behind Seung-wook, came forward with an awkward smile.

“Follow me. I’ll show you.”

“No need for a guide. Just tell me my room.”

“No, I’ll take you there.”

As he spoke, Idan reached out and grabbed Won-woo’s arm. The grip was tighter than expected, and as Won-woo looked down, he heard another insistent request.

“I was heading to my room too. Let’s go together.”

The hand gripping his arm pulled him strongly. Despite the other person being only in the late 160 cm range, being a man, he was quite strong. Won-woo stopped, not letting himself be dragged, and pushed the hand away. He hadn’t used much force, but Idan lost his balance and staggered backward.

“Oh?!”

As a small surprised sound escaped Idan’s lips, Seung-wook quickly moved to support him.

“Mind your manners, Mr. Ji Won-woo.”

Seung-wook reprimanded Won-woo in a sharp voice.

“You should thank people who are trying to help you. Don’t push them away like that.”