DP Episode 78

Deep Pivot Episode 78

“Yes, please proceed that way.”

After finishing his call with the insurance company representative, Seo-joon looked at Yeon-woo, who had just come out of the shower. The basement studio apartment, bathed in the morning sunlight, had long since cooled from the heat of the previous night, but faint traces of their presence were still visible, dried on the bedspread.

“What are we going to do with the stains? You’ll have to wash the blankets this weekend, Yeon-woo.”

Yeon-woo glanced at the marks as he dried his wet hair. The rims of his ears, visible through his snow-white hair, blushed deeply.

“…I want to keep them.”

Lieutenant’s traces. His mumbling words could be heard through the noise of the hairdryer. Seo-joon gave a playful smile.

“How can you be sure these are my traces?”

Yeon-woo whipped his head around, looking at Seo-joon with wavering eyes. Seo-joon looked at him with a serious expression and continued.

“You came twice on your own, Yeon-woo. So, these could be your traces too.”

“…”

Yeon-woo opened his mouth to respond but closed it sullenly. Turning away from Seo-joon, he resumed drying his hair. Seo-joon noticed Yeon-woo’s slightly pouting lips and chuckled inwardly.

How much longer would it take for Cha Yeon-woo to realize that his adorable reactions only made Seo-joon want to tease him more?

Seo-joon hoped to stay by Yeon-woo’s side and watch him grow until he was no longer shy and could handle these jokes with ease. If that wasn’t possible, Seo-joon at least wanted to do everything he could while he was still with Yeon-woo.

“…The suspected drugs that your’s father possessed.”

After a long silence, Seo-joon finally spoke up. Yeon-woo, who had been tidying up the room and folding the blankets after drying his hair, turned to face him.

“We can report it and have it investigated.”

“…”

“Or, if you prefer, we can send him to a treatment center overseas.”

Yeon-woo parted his lips, but his face revealed deep internal conflict, unable to give a quick answer.

“Whatever it is that you want, tell me. That’s all that matters.”

“…”

“Then everything will be okay for you.”

Seo-joon looked into Yeon-woo’s clear, kind eyes.

“…Are you saying that you’ll listen to whatever I say, Lieutenant?”

Nodding calmly, Seo-joon said something he didn’t really mean.

“Yes, I’ll do whatever you want, Yeon-woo.”

“…Thank you. Let me think it over for a bit.”

Is this really something that needs thinking over? Seo-joon was certain that even if Yeon-woo’s father died in the streets or was kidnapped and his organs harvested, it wouldn’t be a loss. In truth, Seo-joon had already made his own decision, regardless of what Cha Yeon-woo chose.

…He had already heard what Yeon-woo wanted the night before.

But when it came to the method, Seo-joon gave Yeon-woo some leeway because he intended to respect his wishes.

However, Seo-joon’s patience, shown so generously, soon shattered.

✽✽✽

“Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a life this messed up.”

Cheong-oh said this while looking through the file.

“Cha Kyung-soo’s debt is staggering, and he even has several loans under Cha Yeon-woo’s name. Does the Baby know about this? It’s been overdue for a while now.”

It’s quite amusing, but a person’s entire life can be summarized just by looking at their financial records. Add a few extra pieces of information to that, and a profile of Cha Kyung-soo quickly comes together.

As expected, all aspects of an awakened person’s life are managed by the government. This naturally includes their families. In some cases, it is even possible to alter their identity records entirely.

“If we imprison Cha Kyung-soo for drug-related offenses, the debt collectors may come after his son.”

Nodding at Cheong-oh’s words, Seo-joon looked at the file and pondered.

Death is out of the question. If Cha Kyung-soo dies, that debt will be passed directly to Cha Yeon-woo.

“He has a habitual gambling record and is currently on probation. And now drugs too? Wow… He’s really gone all out to ruin his life.”

Imprisoning him for drug offenses or sending him to a treatment center abroad wouldn’t fully erase him from Cha Yeon-woo’s life.

Seo-joon remembered the glass door of Cha Yeon-woo’s house, held together by torn box tape. That miserable life was not Yeon-woo’s fault but Kyungsoo’s. Seo-joon wanted to completely and cleanly cut Kyungsoo out of Yeon-woo’s life.

“…Can I ask Colonel Jin for a favor?”

Cheong-oh, who had been looking at the file with Seo-joon, turned to look at him. It was obvious what Seo-joon was going to ask, so Cheong-oh shook his head awkwardly.

“Identity records can only be changed for good reason. We can’t just change them because we feel sorry for Cha Yeon-woo, Lieutenant Ji.”

“There’s a habitual gambling record and drugs. Yeon-woo is a No-Named-dedicated guide, and given his father’s track record, it poses a significant risk to national security, doesn’t it?”

Cheong-oh frowned, seemingly unconvinced.

“If No-Named is classified, then the dedicated guide should receive the same level of protection. But Cha Kyung-soo regularly abuses Yeon-woo’s name to take out loans.”

“Well, there’s that, but…”

At that moment, the door opened, and someone entered. It was Cha Yeon-woo, clearly not a refined man.

“Hey, our Baby is here!”

Cheong-oh waved at him with exaggerated friendliness.

“Hello.”

Seo-joon closed the file, put it in a drawer, and locked it. Turning around, he looked at Yeon-woo.

…Maybe it was because he hadn’t seen him for a week, but Yeon-woo had gotten even cuter.

“Welcome, Yeon-woo. Have you eaten?”

“Yeah, I ate at school.”

Yeon-woo replied with a slight smile. Cheong-oh brought a coffee carrier in front of him, pulling out a single colorful drink among the Americanos and handing it to Yeon-woo.

“Try the new menu.”

This limited-edition drink, something like “Fondant Snow White,” was initially ordered for Yeon-woo.

“The Baby should have something sweet,” he added playfully.

“Thank you.”

Seo-joon observed Yeon-woo carefully as he inserted a straw into the drink, covered in whipped cream, and sipped eagerly. He never realized this while they spent time together regularly, but meeting again after a while, he was freshly struck by Yeon-woo’s good looks.

“Have you been well?”

Yeon-woo turned his round, innocent eyes toward Seo-joon.

“Yes. What about you, Lieutenant?”

Seo-joon had asked out of concern that Cha Kyung-soo might have sought him out in the meantime, but Yeon-woo’s immediate and sincere response indicated that nothing bad had happened.

“I’ve been all right, too.”

“…It’s so nice to see you after such a long time, Lieutenant.”

While Cheong-oh was briefly out of the room, Yeon-woo quietly slid into the seat next to Seo-joon and whispered. Seo-joon gazed at him silently, thinking Yeon-woo had spoken for him too. His shy smile when they made eye contact was cute.

“Hey there, Baby.”

“Hello.”

The other team members started arriving. Seo-joon handed them their coffee and moved to sit apart from Yeon-woo.

Today was the day for regular training. In reality, though called training, it was just a regular event meant to foster camaraderie with members of other teams.

“Oh, right. Did you hear?”

Cheong-oh came in excitedly and patted Seo-joon’s shoulder.

“New guide Jang Hyun-soo got matched with Kang Mi-yeon. He switched teams last week.”

Jang Hyun-soo. Seo-joon recalled the name and nodded with a hum. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Jang Hyun-soo or the other new guides. After contracting exclusively with Yeon-woo, he’d wondered where they had ended up. But since then, with all the commotion, it felt like a distant memory.

Cheong-oh spoke proudly, as if it was still a matter to boast about.

“They’re a good pair, even in hindsight. Now, Hyunsu just has to deal with Kang Mi-yeon.”

Considering what happened at the Yeonseon My Park Mall site, Hyunsu probably needed more training, but it seemed unfortunate that he’d been immediately tasked with guiding Kang Mi-yeon.

“What about the other rookies?”

In response to Seo-joon’s question, Cheong-oh replied succinctly.

“Some were reassigned to other teams, while others voluntarily returned to the training center.”

Most resigned from the SAU without complaint. The newcomers had also witnessed Yeon-woo’s guiding at the Yeonseon My Park Mall site, so it was only natural that they recognized their limitations.

“Listen carefully, Baby. No matter what, we must beat Kang Mi-yeon’s team. Got it?”

Kang Chaewon grabbed Yeon-woo and began a long rant about the members of Kang Mi-yeon’s team. Though she spoke with a sense of solemnity as if preparing for battle, their “training” today was just a survival game with paintballs.

“All right, all right. Let’s gear up and head out.”

Cheong-oh got up and clapped his hands to gather attention. Apart from Seo-joon and Yeon-woo, everyone was genuinely enthusiastic about the game. Seo-joon, following the busily moving team members to gear up, felt a hand grab his fingers from behind.

“…”

Seo-joon looked down at the hand holding his and tried to keep from smiling too much as he turned to Yeon-woo.

“…I’m a beginner, so you’ll have to look after me.”

Seo-joon smiled silently.

“There’s a truckload of people here to take care of you, Yeon-woo, so don’t worry.”

Even just sitting still, Yeon-woo was cute, and adding in his playfulness, it was almost too much.