SOGCh 36

“In case you didn’t know, what you’ve been doing is sexual harassment, and in case you also didn’t know, I’m Seon Jae-chan, son of Sun Min-yeol, Esper of the Shield of the Union, and I’m going to report you to the sexual harassment counseling center.”

*

In the resting room after returning, Park Yu-ram was bursting into laughter.

“Did you see how that asshole ran away?”

That guy’s face, which had been turning pale until the words of sexual harassment came out, rotted as soon as the name of Seon Jae-chan’s father came out. It was only natural for him to run away. It was so funny how the amplifier electrodes that had not been removed from the back of his head were dangling.

Yu-ram, who was laughing while holding her stomach, gradually stopped. A rather serious voice soon followed.

“Wow. Our society still has a long way to go. We are more afraid of connections and power than the law. Oh, this is octopus bread?”

Park Yu-ram took out the shopping bag. It was late afternoon, and the evening was approaching. She became hungry as soon as she smelled custard cream, which was similar to corn manju.

“Hurry. You should try one too.”

Her face brightened and she repeatedly suggested it, so Jae-chan reluctantly put the shrunken octopus bread into his mouth. The soft texture crumbled in his mouth. It was light and tasted good, but somehow it didn’t appeal to him.

Yu-ram said that this kind of thing should be eaten with coffee. Seon Jae-chan pushed the octopus bread to her side. He unfolded the snack bag he bought at the convenience store.

The special news was still playing on the TV screen.

[President Gyeong Jeon-seok, inauguration ceremony tomorrow afternoon ‘Resolution to maintain domestic and foreign security’]

Yu-ram, who was pouring boiling water from an electric kettle, pointed her chin to the screen.

“You’re also hired, right?”

“Yeah.”

Jae-chan affirmed. He’d been handed an official letter by Team Leader Hong Ye-deok yesterday upon arrival at District 1. The postponed 30th-anniversary ceremony was scheduled to be held at the same time and place as in the past. Since Go Woo-jin seems to be attending the ceremony as an Esper belonging to E-SOF, he was also planning to join. Of course, it wasn’t a field mission, so it was an event he had attended before his regression.

“Hmm? What are you worried about?”

Yu-ram asked while taking a sip of steaming coffee. She pointed to the second medicine that went into Jae-chan’s mouth.

“It seemed like you were eating it when you were thinking a lot.”

“Ah.”

Jae-chan only nodded as he peeled the chocolate candy after eating the honey medicine.  However, he didn’t seem willing to say much more, so Yu-ram easily changed the subject.

“Come to think of it, why didn’t you contact me. I was worried that something happened.”

Seon Jae-chan had not been in contact for nearly ten days. She didn’t text very often, but she did leave a missed call because she didn’t even get a read mark. It was when Jae-chan was trying to respond after putting the round chocolate in his mouth.

Jiing.

Both of their gazes were drawn to the center. Jae-chan’s cell phone, which was placed on the break room table, was vibrating.

[Seon Eun-soo]

Seeing the name on the screen, Seon Jae-chan’s throat tightened.

He swallowed the sticky chocolate. He immediately put his phone down. He knew that he can’t avoid it forever, but he keep delaying it.

Shortly after the call ended, the phone began to ring repeatedly. Seon Jae-chan stopped the vibration again with an insensitive face.  He would normally have turned off his phone, but as Go Woo-jin’s pair guide, he had promised to be contacted at any time, so it was the best he could do.

“Did you avoid my phone calls like this??”

Yu-ram raised her glasses and asked. While Go Woo-jin took away his cell phone, among those who left missed calls was Park Yu-ram in front of him.

“Yeah.”

“What?”

“I’m kidding.”

Hong Ye-deok, team leader of Team 2, Lim Jung-wook, team leader of Team 5, Gyeong Chang-hyun and his followers, etc. Seon Jae-chan had selected some of the people who left missed calls and left text messages explaining the situation roughly. He had to deliver octopus bread to Yu-ram anyway, so he didn’t bother to contact her.

One fun fact.

Even in the midst of all kinds of people leaving their regards, there was not a single phone call or text message from Director Yoon Seo-mi.

Even though they were in a cooperative relationship, she must have been aware that Seon Jae-chan was staying at Mentosa Island, which was scheduled to be demolished. Of course, from her point of view, Seon Jae-chan, who was blinded by love, could steal Go Woo-jin, so she couldn’t have said it easily. It didn’t feel nice to be treated as an object that doesn’t matter even if you die.

“My cell phone is broken. I’m sorry.”

“Hmm. You wouldn’t say that to the person whose phone calls you just ignored, right?”

The corner of Seon Jae-chan’s mouth curled up in amusement at Yu-ram’s unsure tone. Yu-ram smiled and shook her head in disbelief. She bit into the mouth of the octopus bread leg. Jae-chan put his hands behind his back and leaned back comfortably. He was deep in thought as he ate the melted chocolate candy.

“…”

No matter how much he thought about it.

He needed strength.

The strength to support himself until he can stand against the Black Swan, not someone who was swayed only by their own interests like Director Yoon.

It wasn’t just because of Director Yoon that he felt the need. After the incident on Mentosa Island, he realized that he lacked strength.

He jumped in to change the future with curiosity, but how was it? Even the things he was confident he already knew were full of variables. What if the person who planted the bomb wasn’t Go Woo-jin? What if he had the will to kill? His current life would have ended sooner than his last one when he died young at twenty-seven.

If so, who should he go to?

Seon Jae-chan was deep in thought as he folded the wrappers of various snacks neatly. ‘True power comes not from a surface, but from a living spirit toward the allied people.’ The image of the president holding hands with the First Lady was being broadcast on the screen.

Several powerful people’s faces began to emerge just beyond the president kiss the graceful first lady on the cheek.

*

At approximately 1:00 p.m. The following day. The Capitol’s Central Square was the site of a ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of the inauguration of the President of the Republic of Korea.

It was a sunny day in late October. The domed stone roof of the National Assembly was bronzed by sunlight in a cloudless sky.

The whole area was crowded with citizens who came out to watch, supporters celebrating the inauguration ceremony, and reporters from small media outlets. Originally, the huge lawn, which would have been proud of deep green up to the Arc de Triomphe in the distance, was covered with people’s footsteps without showing a single piece of green.

But despite the blue skies, the atmosphere was strangely somber. It was a commemorative ceremony postponed in the aftermath of the bombing incident, and the placards that accounted for part of the crowd contributed to shaping the atmosphere.

[19-year-old boy sentenced to prison for insulting the president, what a joke!]

[Where is the truth about the burying of the Mentosa bomb?]

[Guide human rights, another 30 years behind]

It was the protesters.

Seon Jae-chan was in a place where he could get a bird’s eye view of the turbulent atmosphere. It was the large terrace of the Capitol where the president’s speech, which could be called the core of the ceremony, would begin.

The terrace, which can seat close to 1,000 people, was covered in blue velvet fabric for an official event like today. Huge coalition flags, parliamentary flags, and general flags fluttered slowly in the rearguard. Over a thousand purple ceremonial seats had already been half-filled.

It was as loud as the plaza, which could be seen through the bulletproof glass installed on the railing. Cabinet members, key military officers, and pro-government journalists arrived one after the other, creating a commotion. Seon Jae-chan was ushered to his seat after waiting on the side with E-SOF’s Espers and their pair Guides.

“This way.”

Seon Jae-chan, who had his eyes on the bustle of the protocol officers, turned his gaze to the front again.

The back of Go Woo-jin’s head came into view as he walked ahead. The dazzling white elite uniform and the golden ceremonial epaulets on the shoulders were all sparkling. All of the Espers belonging to E-SOF were dressed the same, but it was a unique look.

It must be because he is so tall and has a good body. Seon Jae-chan tried to look elsewhere and thought. Right. Certainly not because of his selfishness.

Espers were seated in the front row, close to the president’s family, while Guides were seated in the back row. Jae-chan coughed and sat down directly behind Go Woo-jin. Most of the Guides were sitting around looking for their Espers, so he figured it would be fine. Satisfiedly pouring his gaze on his tall back, he soon regretted sitting close to Go Woo-jin.

“Hey.”

Gyeong Chang-hyun sat down beside him as the sound of the luxurious ceremony chair was pulled out. Jae-chan looked at him disapprovingly. Gyeong Chang-hyun was in charge as a pair Guide of  A-class Esper belonging to E-SOF, and Jae-chan had no idea why he was sitting here and leaving his Esper.

“If you ignore my phone call again, I’ll kill you.”

As usual, the chattering guy’s overpowering cologne wafted through the air. Unlike usual, he took off his flashy fluorescent track top and had a decent appearance with a Guide uniform, but it was proof that he was still the same on the inside. Seon Jae-chan replied.

“Whatever.”