SOG Ch 25

Department Head Yoo asked Jae-chan, who was still covering his mouth with his clenched fist.

“… My lips are sore.”

As he checked with his cell phone camera, his lips were only slightly swollen from all the sucking and biting. Still, covering his mouth was a matter of comfort. He was afraid his pounding heart would come out of his mouth. Or maybe the urge to see him again might explode.

It was a completely useless feeling. He couldn’t get rid of it completely, and it just grew at will.

Seon Jae-chan raised his eyes and looked up at the elevator location indicator. Staring at the dots on the elevator panel that changed from 1 to 5, he contemplated his feelings.

“Oh, my. It’s a little dry, isn’t it? I’ll have to ask the upper management and ask if it’s okay to add a humidifier to the prevention measures room.”

Despite the fact that it was still late summer and the humidity was high, Department Head Yoo made unnecessarily serious remarks.

As he entered the elevator, Seon Jae-chan remembered Go Woo-jin, who was having a hard time. The absurd feeling of ‘good’ disappeared as he separated from him, and he was able to perceive the situation objectively. A brief emotion tugged at the corners of his covered lips.

From now on, he thought that he would have to stay in the same place as Go Woo-jin when he worked in the field. At least until Nam Hae-sol appeared.

He didn’t want to see him suffer like today again. Jae-chan reflected and made a new resolution to faithfully fulfill his duties as a pair guide for the time being.

In the meantime, the sound of the elevator announced that they had arrived on the first floor.

“Why did Esper Go Woo-jin become like that?”

Jae-chan asked as he left the door that opened and closed in both directions. His frowning eyes glanced out the window. Workers were still working on the lawn. He was lost in thought, inadvertently capturing the fairly wide green area in his field of view.

There is no way that Go Woo-jin’s wavelength suddenly ran out of control. It was clear that something similar to a pirate hunt had taken place over the weekend.

Department Head Yoo’s slightly slanted eyes narrowed strangely. It was when he opened his mouth that his expression wrinkled.

Ji-ing, the sound of vibration cut through the hallway at sunset. The Department Head hesitated, and Jae-chan took out his phone to check.

[Director Yoon Seo-mi]

It was the moment he was confused by the caller’s name, Go Woo-jin’s stepmother, which appeared on the screen. Jae-chan raised his head again.

He looked out the window and looked at the scenery that had just passed by. To be precise, the face of a certain worker who was just wiping his sweat with a towel.

“Guide Seon Jae-chan. Aren’t you getting a call?”

Department Head Yoo was puzzled, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the window as the sun set with his mobile phone vibrating intermittently.

Under the sinking sun. A dozen laborers stretched their backs in the shade of the long ramparts. He was there in a sight that made even the viewer feel relieved because it was less painful.

A man unloading a towel wiping his sweat with his back to a truck with the ‘Mentosa Stone Garden Landscaping’ logo on his back. He had a younger face than he remembered, but it was certain.

A gardener who once worked for Seon Jae-chan’s family. Nam Hae-sol’s father has an impressive expression that looks as calm as a plant.

It was Nam Myung-seong.

*

“Hello, ma’am.”

Jae-chan thanked Department Head Yoo for letting him leave for a while before answering the phone. “It’s been a long time, baby!” He was distracted by the cheerful voice of Director Yoon Seo-mi. His gaze was drawn to Nam Myung-seong, who was cleaning up the lawn board debris outside the skylight.

Why is that person here.

The reason why he was able to concentrate a little bit after talking mechanically out of doubt was that Director Yoon Seo-mi brought up the main topic.

– If it’s Mentosa Island. Did you already guide Woo-jin?

Jae-chan’s mind became complicated with a different sense after hearing the sonorous voice.

As the contact name ‘mother’ indicates, he was at this point struggling to be seen by Go Woo-jin’s stepmother. In order to keep Woo-jin, who was drifting away from him, he formed an unspoken alliance with Director Yoon Seo-mi.

To put it simply, now she was Seon Jae-chan’s ‘sponsor.’ No matter how he acts, he does his best to be a pair guide for Go Woo-jin, an S-class Esper.

The director was essentially someone who sought Go Woo-jin’s misfortune. Go Woo-jin, who manifested as an S-class Esper, was ahead of her own son, Go Se-jin, and couldn’t stand the possibility of him being the J Group’s successor. Seon Jae-chan, who tried to restrain Woo-jin by guiding, would have made an excellent team in such a situation.

“I couldn’t help it. Woo-jin’s condition is serious. You would be surprised if you had seen him.”

He responded in a friendly tone. Yoon Seo-mi, like the previous ties, was the one that needed to be cut off, but for the time being, he intends to pretend to maintain the relationship. He didn’t want to overpay for vigilance. A short snort could be heard.

Following that, only simple greetings were exchanged before the call ended. The topic of Go Woo-jin was dropped as if Yoon Seo-mi was also attempting to conceal her hatred for him.

After the phone was cut off, Seon Jae-chan stared blankly at the screen, which had been turned off for some time.

‘Don’t tell me the director has planted people on the island.’

The call appeared to have arrived early. Because he didn’t bother to hide his whereabouts, she would have been able to hear the news from the people at the center as well. Director Yoon Seo-mi, whom Jae-chan knew, was the kind of person who could plant a spy all the way to the front lines.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been on the phone for a long time.”

Seon Jae-chan apologized to Department Head Yoo as he approached him again.

“No problem.”

Department Head Yoo replied. Jae-chan was fiddling with his hot cell phone in his pocket, then hinted at Department Head Yoo.

“If you don’t mind, can I buy you dinner?”

Thank you for today. He walked up to the front door and approached Department Head Yoo. As a member of the Ministry of Information, he knew at least six years later that there was no connection between Department Head Yoo and Yoon Seo-mi.

“That’s great.”

A pleasant answer came back. Nam Myung-seong’s presence outside the window was still clear, so Jae-chan tried to keep his gaze straight ahead, which kept drifting toward it.

It seemed that there was a lot to hear from Department Head Yoo.

So after about 15 minutes.

The two sat across from each other at a modest eel restaurant. Department Head Yoo, whose goal was to somehow make the connections strong and wide, could not refuse to sit down for a meal.

“This restaurant is a famous eel restaurant.”

Whether or not the protesting islanders were a part of it, the restaurant owner who received the order reacted normally even after seeing the military uniform. Seon Jae-chan chose the single item menu to avoid burdening Department Head Yoo, who had said he would buy it.

Soon, eel rice topped with sesame seeds, chopped green onions, radish sprouts, and seasoned onions was placed one by one in front of the two of them. The salty steam coming up looked appetizing.

“I’m sure you’re tired from the guiding. Eel is the best health food. I hear that a lot.”

Department Head Yoo gave a worried look. In the meantime, the gold spoon Guide had turned pale like a sheet of paper, and the outline of his poor face stood out even more. It was natural since he had just been guiding an S-class Esper.

“Department Head too. Thank you.”

He rolled up the sleeves of Go Woo-jin’s large jacket, which Seon Jae-chan was wearing, and took up a spoon. He was worried about how hot it would be, but that made him feel better. He’d been dizzy for a while, and a chill was creeping in. It was the aftereffect of guiding.

“You asked why Esper Go Woo-jin got to that point earlier?”

The glistening seasoned eel was thick and firm, so it tasted very good. Jae-chan nodded as he gulped down the savory lean meat and took a spoonful of the hot soup that came with it. Department Head Yoo’s voice continued.

“You know there were quite a few Espers among the pirates, right?”

“Yes.”

This was the reason why, as soon as the subjugation was decided, E-SOF’s special operations unit, including Go Woo-jin, was immediately deployed. Department Head Yoo pushed a large spoonful of rice into his mouth, mumbled, and asked.

“If the pirates had an Esper, what would they need?”

“A Guide.”

Jae-chan, who was inadvertently answering, put down the spoon he was using to scoop the soup.

No way. Because there was no mention of Guides in the news, he mistakenly mistook them for pirates…

“It seems that the pirates were digging around to see if any of the islanders had manifested themselves as Guides. They’ve been hanging around the shores of District 4, trafficking in humans and looking for Guides.”

“…”

“They kept the guides they kidnapped imprisoned on an island, which they called Siren Village.”

The Guide’s rights have been established at the current level for less than 40 years. Those who kidnapped the Guides are also unregistered pirate Espers. The horrors that would have occurred on the isolated island were obvious.

“… Did Esper Go Woo-jin find out about that?”

“Yes. It was Saturday last week.”

If it was Saturday, it was the day after they met at the pub.

“I heard that he visited this place even when it was not a working day and contacted the protesters.”