SOG Ch 143

“That’s right.”

Hearing those words, Jae-chan also recalled experiencing the artificial earthquake. He thought he should have asked Gyeong Hye-in about the earthquakes occurring within District 5 Center when he met her.

As they chatted about various things, the two reached the entrance of the research building. Yu-ram patted his back and asked:

“Well, I’m heading home now. What about you?”

“I’ll have dinner and then head back in. There’s a lot to do on the first day.”

“If the people here give you a hard time, be a little crafty. Make some mistakes and say you didn’t know because you’re new. And when you work in the field, make sure to claim overtime pay in 30-minute increments!”

Jae-chan smiled weakly at Yu-ram’s earnest advice. Something must have happened in just over a month, as Yu-ram had become much sharper compared to when she was in District 1.

Jae-chan nodded in agreement and waved goodbye. Yu-ram hugged her half-finished sweet latte preciously and slipped into the ‘Full Body Contamination Detector’.

As he walked down the hill towards the Guide Department, Jae-chan fiddled with his phone.

He usually had a brief call with Woo-jin around this dinner time every day. He wondered why there was no call today, but he could just make the call himself. A smile crept onto his face, already excited before even hearing Woo-jin’s voice.

Wasn’t the Zone Z operation starting next week? From then on, daily contact would be difficult, so he should listen to Woo-jin’s voice as much as possible now.

As he was smiling sheepishly and approaching the entrance of the Guide Department, he noticed the departing employees’ movements becoming oddly hesitant. When he looked up, Jae-chan discovered the person he had been picturing in his mind all this time.

“…Woo-jin?”

Even as he approached, he wondered if he was seeing things.

But the Go Woo-jin before his eyes was real. Woo-jin, who had been sitting on the bench near the building entrance with his cap pulled low, looked up upon hearing Jae-chan’s voice.

“What’s this, when did you get here? You should have called. How did you get in?”

A flurry of excited questions poured out. Amidst this, Jae-chan, recalling District 5 Center’s particularly strict security, asked. In response to his bright expression, Woo-jin smiled back and answered.

“They let me in when I showed my face.”

“Well, I guess your face is like an ID card.”

The cheerful voices of the two lovers meeting after a long time continued. Their voices were innocently bright, in contrast to the setting sun.

*

At the same time, in the large mansion in the northern part of District 1.

In the reception room where long shadows stretched, Seon Min-yeol put down his ceramic teacup. He raised his dim gaze. While the scenery, perfectly maintained by the servants as usual, remained unchanged, the form of his life that had changed in just half a year felt terribly unfamiliar.

Lately, Seon Min-yeol hadn’t been going out. Calls seeking him had noticeably decreased. Cut off from communication with the outside world, all he could do was ruminate on past glories in the secluded mansion he had personally cultivated.

Today, like every other day, he spent his time in the impeccably arranged drawing room, deluding himself into believing that his status remained intact.

“It’s time to stop ignoring reality.”

At least until his eldest son, Seon Eun-soo, abruptly shattered the silence.

There was a hint of madness in his light-colored eyes. Seon Min-yeol, not bothering to mount a mental defense, met his son’s gaze. He recognized the presence of his son’s psychic abilities clinging to him but lacked even a shred of will to fend off the venomous influence.

What conversation had they been having? Seon Min-yeol barely recalled the context of their dialogue and twitched his dry lips.

“What are you saying we should do? If we go any further, your maternal grandfather won’t stand idle.”

“Then are you going to endure this humiliation as it is?”

However, his eldest son, with gleaming eyes, didn’t even allow for rebuttal. Normally, Seon Min-yeol would have roared about how dare a son interrupt his father, but now he just raised an eyebrow, finding everything merely bothersome.

“It’s not just your maternal grandfather.”

He barely managed to speak again in a dry voice, driven by the will to prevent his eldest son from further tarnishing the family’s reputation.

“Go Woo-jin is also an issue. Jae-chan is still with your mother.”

“Ah, Go Woo-jin.”

Seon Eun-soo once again cut off his father’s words.

“How do you think I returned to the country?”

“…”

“An S-class Esper, the background of the J Group. Such things aren’t omnipotent, you know.”

In the growing shadows of the setting sun, Seon Eun-soo’s smile, marred by numerous facial reconstruction surgeries, twisted unnaturally.

“And we’re not trying to oppose Go Woo-jin or Chairman Go Young-chang. We’re punishing a weak and insolent possession that slipped from our grasp.”

Seon Eun-soo’s hands, which had been tapping on the armrest, slowly clasped together.

“Think of it positively. You get your wife back, and I get my ‘mother’ back.”

“…”

“Don’t worry about the aftermath. We have an excellent collaborator, you see.”

Seon Min-yeol could only watch motionlessly as his son stood up and approached him. The laughter predicting revenge against his mother and younger brother continued.

“You just need to stay still, Father. I’ll take care of everything. You were just caught up in my plans, after all.”

Was the submission voluntary or forced?

A dark curtain created by Seon Eun-soo enveloped Seon Min-yeol’s barely continuing thoughts. Everything went dark.

*

Seon Jae-chan was all smiles even while handling the miscellaneous tasks that the District 5 Guides and this year’s apprentice guides had dumped on him. It was thanks to Woo-jin waiting for him outside.

Not wanting his loved one to endure more boring time alone, Jae-chan quickly finished the remaining work, to the point where the team apprentices he was assisting him were left in awe. His guiding enthusiasm might have been a bit excessive, as there was an unfortunate incident where the last Esper being guided let out a high-pitched groan saying they felt like going to Hong Kong, but it was neatly resolved when the assisting apprentices quietly placed a dental splint between (from who knows where) between the Esper’s teeth. It was a promising apprentices with exceptional quick-wittedness.

After notifying Detective Kwon that he wouldn’t be able to make time today, Jae-chan hurriedly left the Guide Center. Woo-jin was still waiting on the same bench.

“Why are you here? I thought you were watching a movie in the car.”

Jae-chan spotted Woo-jin as he was heading towards the parking lot. As it was quite cold, he quickly took out the scarf he kept in his cross bag and wrapped it around Woo-jin.

“I finished watching. Just came out for a walk.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Jae-chan asked worriedly. The two had hurriedly eaten dinner with a few cup noodles from a convenience store just before 7 PM, when his evening work was set to begin. It was because Jae-chan had spent most of his dinner time getting a tour of the Center from Yu-ram.

“Not really. Just seeing your face makes me happy.”

Woo-jin reached out his large hand to cup Jae-chan’s cheek.

Jae-chan’s face lit up at the warmth in Woo-jin’s voice. Any lingering worries about their long-distance relationship melted away.

Jae-chan had planned to go up to District 1 as soon as he got time off, but he didn’t expect this sweet guy to come visit first. He should do better, Jae-chan resolved anew.

With the work day long over, there was no sign of life in the Center where only those on night duty remained. In the dim space lit only by streetlights, Seon Jae-chan stepped back after accepting the touch caressing his hair and cheeks. Lowering Woo-jin’s large, warm hand, he said:

“Let’s go for a guiding session.”

He held onto Woo-jin and took the lead. He had been sensing Woo-jin’s slightly unstable wavelength for a while now.

They walked towards the emergency guiding center where the guiding rooms were located. Woo-jin followed in confusion, furrowing his brow.

“But you’re tired.”

“That’s why.”

Jae-chan replied. He quietly crossed the corridor past the deserted back entrance and grabbed the doorknob of an empty room. As he pushed Woo-jin in, he added:

“Under the pretext of guiding… I want to indulge my selfish desires and recharge.”

As soon as it became a perfect space for just the two of them, Jae-chan answered while gently embracing Woo-jin. His dark brown eyes, which looked almost black in the darkness, darted around as if checking the situation. Due to the guilt of having forced skinship on Go Woo-jin in the past when there was a knife-like coldness between them, Seon Jae-chan was still cautious when initiating skinship.

“Ah, I feel like I can live now…”

Jae-chan murmured. Hugging Woo-jin and wetting his nose with the guy’s unique cool scent, he really felt like he could live. He thought he was going to die wanting to do this since they met earlier.

Meanwhile, Woo-jin, who had been surprised at Jae-chan’s actions of hugging him first without even turning on the lights, ended up laughing.

He carefully hugged the guy back with both arms. As he rubbed his nose against the ticklish hair, Jae-chan’s unconcealed emotions spread through the guiding along with their touching chests. ‘This feels so, so good.’ Strongly agreeing with that warm thought, a smile naturally bloomed on Woo-jin’s face as well.

Suddenly, Woo-jin thought it was really fortunate that Jae-chan had come to work in District 5.

He recalled the day Jae-chan left District 1. More precisely, the night of the welcoming ceremony for new Guides.

Jae-chan had gifted an expensive dress to Guide Nam Hae-sol. Not to any other junior, but specifically to her who seemed to have feelings for Jae-chan.