SOG Ch 118

“Yes, it’s over.”

“… Yes.”

“If you need guiding, apply anytime. I’ll tell the team leader to put my name on your guide list.”

Jae-chan, who spoke so softly that it made the second-team interns wonder if their senior had eaten something bad, tapped Esper Ahn Ha-rin on the shoulder.

Ahn Ha-rin was the Esper whom Jae-chan had briefly encountered with the sideburned Guide at the Alien Hotel. Since that sideburned Guide got caught, the situation of that son of a bitch who cheated being exposed was splashing mud on her as well, making her the subject of gossip.

It was an added bonus that she still suffered from the aftereffects of canceling the imprint with medication. As a result, Ahn Ha-rin’s matching rate with almost all Guides was extremely low, and she had to rely on an amplifier.

Jae-chan, who happened to witness her struggling state today, couldn’t help but come forward himself.

“Avoid using an amplifier. If you receive normal guiding, you will be fine soon.”

“… Thank you.”

Ahn Ha-rin, whose wavelength was much more stable, smiled faintly. Jae-chan inwardly sighed. Even though she was in a state where she should be taking sick leave, she insisted on taking on her duties.

‘Well, there are times when the mind suffers more than the body.’

He had heard that the waste-level sideburn guide was to be forcibly transferred to District 11, so he could only hope the two would never face each other again. This was when Jae-chan was consoling the esper who had suffered from stepping on a landmine(trouble).

“Sunbae, sunbae. Did you know? The E-SOF unit is going to be dispatched to Zone Z tomorrow.”

The approaching apprentice of Guide Team 2 Song Se-in whispered to Jae-chan.

“The apprentices from Team 9 are going too! I heard there are bonus points for the upcoming newcomer guide evaluation, but we don’t have anything scheduled…?”

“Just pack your bags.”

However, the senior’s response was nothing but harsh. Se-in shrugged her shoulders and retreated.

Instead, Han Myeong-gyu took her position.

“Sunbae, Esper Go Woo-jin came for guiding.”

“Over there,” Myeong-gyu gestured with his eyes towards the large tent set up a little further away.

“Should I let the other seniors know?”

Jae-chan took out his phone to check the time. It would soon be 3 o’clock, so the Operations Department vehicle would arrive. The Guide Team 2 had received orders to move to Building A of the training camp.

“Yeah. Leave first if I don’t come.”

Jae-chan nodded because he had some things he wanted to ask Woo-jin.

Han Myeong-gyu just looked at his senior, who immediately took a step forward. He ended up not mentioning that ‘Nam Hae-sol went in first.’

“…”

Myeong-gyu let out an uncomfortable sigh. Even he was not sure what the motive for this unhealthy behavior was. He just felt like Nam Hae-sol harbored feelings beyond mere respect for that senior… He hoped his senior would dislike Nam Hae-sol.

“What, did you get accused of having eaten lunch first?”

Se-in, who was packing her belongings, asked.

“… No.”

“Then why are you standing there with a gloomy face? We’re so busy. When you feel tired, the answer is to move.”

Han Myeong-gyu stared at the tent with three people in it with an uncomfortable expression and then moved with Se-in to get the guiding equipment.

Meanwhile, Seon Jae-chan, who had just entered the temporary tent, encountered Nam Hae-sol, who was guiding Go Woo-jin.

“… Ah, Sunbae.”

Nam Hae-sol, who was guiding, looked up with startled eyes. Woo-jin, who was keeping an arm’s length from her and had a tired gaze fixed on the floor, also lifted his quiet eyes.

Seon Jae-chan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he caught a glimpse of the two people at an unexpected time. He took a few breaths and then opened his mouth.

“I came because I wanted to ask you a favor, but I didn’t know you were guiding. I’ll wait outside.”

He then exited the tent again, leaving Nam Hae-sol half-risen behind him.

Jae-chan looked up at the sunny late autumn sky and saw a fighter jet flying at a high altitude in the distance.

Things about Gyeong Hye-in, things related to a drug distribution group that has been making no progress for some time, if something happens to his aunt, etc. He had a lot of things to say to Woo-jin, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, but he couldn’t organize his thoughts.

The only thing that went through his mind was Woo-jin receiving guiding from Nam Hae-sol.

For some reason, he felt this way over something so trivial. Moreover, it was just radiation guiding, so the two weren’t even holding hands…

‘No, so what if they were holding hands?’

Go Woo-jin and Nam Hae-sol were lovers who boasted a strong affection that never wavered even once during their nearly five years of dating. It was natural for two people who would have already developed good feelings around this time to become closer.

Moreover, wasn’t Nam Hae-sol’s matching rate much higher? If Woo-jin wanted to change his pair guide, Jae-chan would gladly accept that decision.

He had never forgotten that since his regression, but seeing a momentary twinge of jealousy… Perhaps the recent shock had been quite significant.

“…”

Seon Jae-chan thought about the past few months. After a dreamlike summer and early autumn passed, it had gotten a bit cold recently in November.

Jae-chan had concluded that he was just some strange delicacy that Woo-jin ate once in a while. There was no way that Woo-jin, who had only dated women, actually liked his body, it seemed he had vainly expected something given Woo-jin’s fervent reaction.

‘Well, I did indulge like that, so it’s only natural he’d get sick of it.’

A bitter smile came out. The number of times they had sex in the past few months had long surpassed the number before his regression – they had been constantly entangled. His idea was to do it a lot while they could, but looking back now he regretted not exercising more restraint.

Jae-chan looked back at the closed entrance with regret. It would be nice if they could at least remain friends, but Jae-chan didn’t know if that would even be possible. Lately, his very existence seemed to be a burden to Woo-jin.

The increasingly infrequent contact, avoidance of even casual touching, darkening expression whenever he looked this way, and so on. Woo-jin was clearly uncomfortable with Jae-chan’s presence. And the fact that Woo-jin, who had always insisted on only Jae-chan’s guiding, was receiving guidance from someone else for the first time only reinforced that conviction.

From the start, he should have just wished for Woo-jin’s happiness from afar, but seeing Woo-jin, whom he had been close with, grow distant stung a little.

“Sunbae… Sunbae!”

Then the tent entrance was flung open.

“Please come in…!”

Nam Hae-sol came rushing out, shouting even though it seemed like only 30 seconds had passed since he went in.

Jae-chan could barely raise the corners of his lips at the somewhat combative tone of his apprentice’s voice.

“Is the guiding already over?”

If it had been Woo-jin who called him, he wouldn’t have even been able to feign a smile. Jae-chan never thought he would feel more welcome hearing the voice of Guide Nam Hae-sol than Go Woo-jin.

“…”

Nam Hae-sol was unable to answer her senior’s question honestly.

‘Senior, actually I didn’t do any guiding…’

To be precise, she couldn’t. Esper Go Woo-jin had politely refused.

In the midst of that, she had insisted on principles as a guide. Go Woo-jin had let out a somewhat cynical sigh, and the moment she began radiation guiding without his consent, her senior happened to barge in.

“You worked hard. The Operations vehicle should be here.”

Nam Hae-sol bit her lip while listening to Jae-chan’s sweet voice. The senior didn’t like guiding Esper Go Woo-jin, so she just stepped forward like a volunteer. If she had known it would be revealed like this, she wouldn’t have tried at all.

Meanwhile, Go Woo-jin, left alone in the tent, was also frantically pacing while listening closely to the sounds from outside.

It wasn’t a situation that urgently needed guiding, and he had no intention of receiving guiding from another Guide when Jae-chan was nearby. If the other person had not been Guide Nam Hae-sol, she would have been kicked out of the tent right away.

It was at the same time that Woo-jin, who had become anxious after only a few seconds, was about to go outside. The tent entrance opened again.

“…”

The two people met at a distance so close that they almost collided. Surprised, Jae-chan took a step back and spoke first.

“You are going to Zone Z?”

Woo-jin nodded after carefully examining Jae-chan’s face, which showed no particular emotions. Woo-jin had actually come to directly tell him he’d be away for 3 weeks.

It was just yesterday morning that he told team leader Jin Dae-ho that he would volunteer to go on a mission.

After his stepmother visited Seon Jae-chan, the inner turmoil had become unbearably worse. To the point that he occasionally felt the wicked selfishness of wanting to blame Jae-chan for everything. He judged it better to put some physical distance between himself and Jae-chan, if only temporarily.

“Should I come along too?”

So when Jae-chan jokingly made the offer, Go Woo-jin was extremely flustered.

“No.”

And he ended up answering much more decisively than he had intended.

Realizing he had just outright refused him to his face, Woo-jin slightly parted his lips before hurriedly adding,

“It’s dangerous. …Stay here.”

Jae-chan fell silent.

It was because he had too much to say. Unlike the assassination mission Woo-jin had undertaken at the beginning of this year, the risk level of this Zone Z dispatch was clearly lower. To the point that, as he had heard from Se-in, apprentice Guides from other teams were also on the dispatch list.

‘Does he not want me to come along?’

Jae-chan knitted his brows in concern. He was also bothered that Woo-jin hadn’t mentioned this mission beforehand.

Given the scale of the dispatch, the mission overview would have been handed down at least a week ago, if not a few weeks ago. If he hadn’t come out to the site today and heard the news, he might not have known Woo-jin had left until later.

Why didn’t he tell him in advance? And why would the idea of him tagging along provoke such a rejection?

Despite the swirling questions, Jae-chan couldn’t say anything.

‘I resolved not to burden him, after all.’

He had vowed to discreetly keep his distance if Woo-jin no longer wanted this relationship. In fact, the current Woo-jin was practically 6 years younger than him. To cling shamelessly to such a Go Woo-jin would be pathetic.

Even now, Woo-jin clearly looks uncomfortable with the current situation. Jae-chan didn’t want to cause more trouble.

“…You said you had a favor to ask. Let’s sit down and talk.”

Woo-jin carefully spoke to vent the awkward atmosphere.

Due to various reasons, Woo-jin was unable to give an honest answer about things related to TZ or about Gyeong Hye-in. Having heard the word ‘favor’ from him for the first time in a long while, he wanted to do his best to fulfill whatever Jae-chan wanted. Anything.

Unable to bring himself to pull Jae-chan in, he moved one of the best chairs in the tent.

“Ah, never mind, it’s nothing important after all.”

Jae-chan smiled and retreated. Only then did Woo-jin sense something was off. The conversing distance had been a bit far from the start. Now it was even farther.