SOG Ch 27

[Go Woo-jin]

The last chat with him was still the message he had sent before returning.

He glanced back and stared at the clothes neatly hung over the chair. The uniform jacket and tie that Woo-jin lent him. Jae-chan hoped Woo-jin come to pick it up tomorrow. He may come to pick it up, or he may not. If he came to pick it up, he would see his face one more time, and if he didn’t pick it up, he’ll still have his clothes. Jae-chan resisted the feeling of wanting to run right away and cling to his jacket like a pervert.

Anyway, the thought of giving it back himself… was none.

As he gazed at the jacket, the events of that day came to his mind again.

They had kissed. Seon Jae-chan’s dry palm covered his lips again. His body temperature. His warmth. His touch. His breath. His lips. Even the soft moans that echoed in his ears. His thoughts flowed uncontrollably. The appreciation that lasted for a long time came to overflow to the other side, like the stream of a river during the rainy season.

Was Go Woo-jin always like that when his wavelength was unstable?

Like a wanderer across the desert, unable to see anything but the person in front of him. Had he kissed her so desperately?

A kiss that gave the impression that one side of the heart was collapsing even though it was foolish. Seon Jae-chan, who did not know that Go Woo-jin did it to the guide for the first time, had a crack between his eyes. His inside went back and forth between hot and cold. When he thought that Woo-jin would have kissed Nam Hae-sol that way, his heart felt like it was on fire.

“…”

So annoying.

He stretched out his tired body and rolled over on his side. Come to think of it, being an Esper is a very extreme job.

‘So what. It must have been because he wanted it.’

No matter who he kissed, it was probably only because his instincts told him to. Likewise, Woo-jin couldn’t help but kiss him.

That’s right.

It was unavoidable.

It was a time when he was putting it behind him and making up his mind. Jiing. The phone next to his stomach rang. It was a reply from Park Yu-ram.

A bunny emoji holding a loaf of bread in both hands and eyes twinkling. He gave a short laugh and put the phone away. He turned his gaze again and lay flat on his face.

For such an old facility, the interior was quite luxurious. In the ceiling, recessed lights twinkled in a nice geometric symmetry. As he traced the shapes formed by the neat lights with his eyes, he suddenly remembered the square grass work site under the sunset.

‘That’s right. Mentosa Landscaping company is a start-up that mainly employs islanders as laborers.’

Seon Jae-chan recalled the information about the landscaping company he had asked from Department Head Yoo at the dinner table just before.

‘The upper management seems to have a lot of interest in the Mentosa environmental project.’

Of course, they will. President Gyeong Jeon-seok was eager to hold a splendid 30th-anniversary ceremony here.

He remembered Nam Myung-seong’s tanned face.

Is Nam Hae-sol also on the island?

When he asked Department Head Yoo about the Guides who would have been rescued by Go Woo-jin, he replied:

‘Yes. I heard that there are more guides in Siren Village than I thought. Still, since they are talented people, I’m expecting them to become part of the center after undergoing the national guiding inspection.’

If so, did Nam Hae-sol become a guide along that path? He was worried about being kicked out. Jae-chan wondered whether she will hate him. He was worried that Guide Nam Hae-sol was a victim of the pirates or Siren Village.

He thought about the girl. Most people called Nam Hae-sol a strong beauty. She had a soft and fragile appearance, but she had a sharp personality. She probably didn’t get caught easily. Furthermore, her father, Nam Myung-seong, was attending the lawn with a relaxed expression.

In the past, Nam Myung-seong, who worked as a gardener in Seon Jae-chan’s family home, was a very talkative person. Even though he hadn’t been to his parent’s house in a while, he had been force-fed information about his father-daughter relationship.

As far as he know, Nam Myung-seong and Nam Hae-sol were closer than any other father and daughter. If something had happened to his daughter, Nam Myung-seong, who has a secretly fiery side, would not have cooperated with the military… hold on.

“…What about the bomb?

Suddenly, Seon Jae-chan remembered his original purpose.

According to media reports, the bomb was found buried. The landscaping contractor was just digging through the ‘ground.’

All possibilities had to be considered. What if Nam Myung-seong or the landscaping company employees were part of the protesters hiding with their resentment over Siren Village? Of course, the islanders who have been isolated for a long time may not be wealthy or skilled enough to build bombs, but they may have become vengeful and become pawns of a large group like the Black Swan.

This was not the time to lie down. He had to monitor the landscaping company right away.

Seon Jae-chan grabbed some painkillers from the first aid kit he kept for emergencies and scrambled to his feet. He will go out for a while and come back. He pulled on a thick hooded jacket, chewed and swallowed the vitamins and energy pills he’d packed without water, and opened the door.

*

For the next few days, Seon Jae-chan relentlessly monitored the Mentosa Stone Garden Landscaping company.

Suspiciously, the landscaping company worked very late, even past 11 p.m. It could have been a simple overload of workers, but the numerous trucks that kept moving and transporting materials bothered him.

In fact, what Seon Jae-chan knew about this incident was extremely superficial. In early October, right before the inauguration ceremony, a headline news report that a mass-buried bomb was found under the Mentosa Castle, but all the media fuss was over the fact that no explosions had occurred and that the hunt for the culprits had eventually ended.

‘I guess I misunderstood.’

Because of this, the more Seon Jae-chan monitored the landscaping company, the more he became convinced that there was nothing suspicious about the workers, and rather doubted his own memory.

He started to look around the wall just in case. On the pretext of visiting the island, he borrowed a military vehicle from Department Head Yoo and drove around the wall day and night, but he could not find anything suspicious even outside. Disguising as an islander and hiding among the protesters, there was no clue.

He stayed up all night and drove around, but there was no result. In the end, Seon Jae-chan Jae-chan Seon came to the conclusion that he had to come back to the base and take a thorough look at the inside of the Mentosa Landscaping company. Even if he couldn’t find the cause, he wanted to stay at the scene of the incident.

‘If they’re still burying the bomb… I can only think of the landscaping company.’

Based on what he had seen in the previous days, there were only two ways to deliver the bomb. Mentosa landscaping vehicle and military vehicle. Only vehicles with these two types of logos frequently came and went. The gates were kept under control because of the protesters, so that’s for sure.

Time continued to pass with no clear clues. Finally, in early October, more than ten days and three nights after arriving on the island, a press release was issued.

[<Breaking News>The location for the 30th anniversary of the inauguration of President Gyeong Jeon-seok… “Mentosa Island”]

[The ‘30th-anniversary Ceremony’ will be held in District 4]

– President Gyeong Jeon-seok expresses condolences for the suffering of the people of Mentosa Island… It will be a quiet and noble ceremony.]

The President of the Republic of Korea was dressed in a very polite, almost black military uniform on the portal site’s main screen. The silver phoenix epaulet, which represents the commander, was also attached to it, and it appears to be very ‘noble,’ as the person himself stated.

“Guide Seon Jae-chan. Did you hear? The president will celebrate the 30th anniversary of his inauguration at Mentosa Castle. Here!”

That day, Seon Jae-chan was having a late dinner with Department Head Yoo. Somehow, they told him to spread the grass generously! Hearing the Department Head’s excited muttering, Jae-chan wondered if he should give up at this point.

It wouldn’t hurt if he couldn’t figure out how the bomb was buried before the incident. There’s no evidence that they’re definitely connected to the Black Swans, and there’s still quite a bit of time before they show up.

He appeared to have been moving too fast since his return. He parted ways with Department Head Yoo after finishing the meal and returned to the dorm, where he stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment. Due to a lack of sleep, he has an eye bag under his eyes.

‘No. Still, I have to try to the end.’

He got up, washed up, and went outside. He put on a coat after taking nutritional supplements. He crept out of the darkness. In autumn, the night air on the island was quite cold.

Today, the landscaping company worked until midnight. He used to watch from a distance, hiding in the inn’s window or the shade of a building, but these days he just walks among the workers and observes them. He moved closer.

“Hello.”

He greeted the workers who looked him in the eyes. In fact, the employees of the company appeared to be completely absorbed in their work and didn’t seem to care whether Seon Jae-chan arrived or not.

He crouched down and brushed the moist, soft night grass, pretending to be interested in the quality of the leaves. Now was the time to secretly consider whether or not to flip the grass board.

“Sir Guide.”