SOG Ch 87

His chest clenched as he remembered the two main Black Swan leaders. The Technician who had used Blink was a more difficult figure than that. Furthermore, if he were unable to capture Black Swan’s mastermind, whether the Angel or Technician, they may develop another piece to replace Blink.

The leader of the hostage takers who escaped from the fishing spot has not yet been caught. Perhaps he had hidden under the wings of the Angel or the Technician. Jae-chan felt the need to review the investigation records of this case.

“This concludes the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the United Guide Committee. A reception has been prepared, so we hope that all guests attend without fail.”

After the event was over, he followed Team Leader Hong Ye-deok of Guide Team 2 to the inner hall where the commemorative banquet was scheduled. Jae-chan felt an unpleasant sense of being watched on the fringes of his vision.

“…”

However, he quietly followed Team Leader Hong without paying attention to it. He maintained an expressionless face as if he felt nothing.

He had been followed recently.

He hadn’t figured out who was behind it yet. There were too many suspicious possibilities. 

But he never thought they would follow him to the ceremony. Thanks to this, Seon Jae-chan lightly scratched the bridge of his nose as he removed several people from the candidate list. He entered the banquet hall without even looking at the follower.

Hundreds of bright dinner tables sparkled under the soft, dim lighting. Well-polished wine glasses and orchid pots decorated with ornaments added a subtle glow, yet the space lacked substance. For Jae-chan, it felt like a place full of temporary displays of friendship, with people like his father, Seon Min-yeol, and others chatting noisily.

Of course, there were notable individuals among them. For example, this was the case with Han Tae-hoon, who had just come through the polite commotion.

“I heard you refused to move to Guide Team 1?”

The man who had just saluted in front of the president with Jae-chan a while ago asked in a relaxed tone. Han Tae-hoon exchanged a brief greeting with Team Leader Hong Ye-deok before approaching Jae-chan. Leaning against the back of an empty seat, he sent an intrigued glance before lowering his voice.

“They say the Esper-Guide special training curriculum you proposed is scheduled to be introduced within the center in August.”

Jae-chan’s puzzled gaze reached him. If it was that curriculum, it referred to the report he had submitted to Han Tae-hoon half a year ago during winter.

Jae-chan was still in a state where he hadn’t given a definite answer to both Han Tae-hoon and Goo Woo-jin regarding the sponsorship proposal. Han Tae-hoon was the first to reach out in that situation. Despite his refusal to join Guide Team 1, he took in the curriculum he had rejected into the Center. It was time to express his doubts.

Suddenly, Han Tae-hoon slowly removed his hand from the backrest. He gave Jae-chan a quick goodbye and left the place.

The distinct scent of his cologne faded away, and a scholarly-looking man took Han Tae-hoon’s place.

“I wanted to express my gratitude, Guide Seon Jae-chan.”

A gentle face wearing rimless glasses smiled softly. Han Roy’s father, Han Ji-hoon, offered to shake his hand.

Shaking hands with the young-looking Han Jihoon, Jae-chan thought he appeared much younger than when he was confronted by Han Taehoon in the interrogation room. It wasn’t as simple as going back in time, but the period of his son’s kidnapping, which had been cut in half compared to the past, seemed to have alleviated a lot of his worries.

As a result, Jae-chan was not surprised when Han Ji-hoon asked to move to the terrace in secret and then said the following as soon as the door closed.

“To be straightforward, I want to repay the debt. To be precise, I want to repay it with a favor.”

The rain had ceased, but the air was still humid. The humid wind swept between the garden trees, which had turned an even darker green due to the rain. Feeling the cool air rush into his lungs, Seon Jae-chan briefly remembered Han Ji-hoon from the past, who was desperately looking for his son. He was also a man who was willing to hand over billions of dollars to terrorists to get his son back.

Suddenly, Han Ji-hoon’s voice, which he had heard in the interrogation room in the past, seemed to overlap in Jae-chan’s ears.

‘The only amount given to the kidnappers five years ago was 2 billion won. Instead of asking innocent civilians, why don’t you look for the Technician or the Angel?’

Han Ji-hoon’s testimony could have been true. The 20 billion won intercepted by Jae-chan from the Zone Z submersible had a higher possibility of becoming Black Swan’s initial growth funds than the probability that Han Ji-hoon delivered additional funds to the kidnappers.

In the midst of organizing his thoughts, Han Ji-hoon made an additional comment.

“Say what you want. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Jae-chan had anticipated that Han Ji-hoon would come out like this and had already decided what to propose.

“I want to review the investigation records of this case, focusing on the testimonies of the culprits.”

Because of this, the negotiations progressed faster than the wind blowing in the ears of the two people.

Jae-chan had two main requests he had thought about in advance. The first was related to the investigation records. Since his son Han Roy was deeply involved in the case, Jae-chan believed that Han Ji-hoon could easily obtain it with a little exercise of his authority.

The problem lies with the second one.

Jae-chan carefully conveyed his second request, paying attention to word choice. Han Ji-hoon squinted his eyes suspiciously for a moment, but it was short-lived. He willingly responded.

“Is that really all you want?”

“Yes.”

Jae-chan answered readily. The gaze behind the well-polished lenses, like glass marbles, lingered on Jae-chan for a moment before falling away.

“It might take a while because it’s not my field of expertise,” Han Ji-hoon explained. Jae-chan was okay with it because it didn’t matter.

The firmly closed terrace door opened again.

The person who naturally entered the semicircular space as if it had been promised in advance was a face that had become more familiar to Jae-chan these days.

Go Woo-jin closed the door behind him. The deep blue military uniform tightly wrapped around his broad shoulders felt almost ascetic. The bronze medal hanging on his chest shimmered with a dark light as it moved. The president had specially awarded it to the E-SOF unit for their involvement in the recent hostage crisis.

At the same time, Seon Jae-chan unconsciously took a step back. He has avoided meeting Woo-jin as much as possible since discussing his sleeping partner in the car 15 days ago, but things were not going his way.

“Ah, Esper Go Woo-jin.”

Han Ji-hoon didn’t seem bothered by the unexpected arrival of an unwelcome guest. The unexpected guest was not just someone who had saved his son, but… Han Ji-hoon noticed both the Esper who bowed to him and the stiff Guide at once. His eyes twinkled as he recalled the second favor Jae-chan had requested.

“…It might really work if that’s all.”

Go Woo-jin’s quiet eyes hinted at an unknown story, but Han Ji-hoon left Seon Jae-chan a refreshing farewell, saying, “See you later.”

The terrace door closed again. Since no one had touched the door, it was likely that Woo-jin closed it using his abilities. No, considering the continuous strong winds since earlier due to the typhoon, it might have closed conveniently.

“…”

Seon Jae-chan moved his fist nervously as the wind cooled his back. He didn’t realize it when he was with Han Ji-hoon, but the space suddenly felt too small.

The distance between him and Woo-jin was also considered too close. It was when he took one step back again, trying not to show it.

“You’ll fly away.”

Go Woo-jin grabbed the hem of his clothes.

Fly away. Jae-chan forgot about feeling uncomfortable and looked up at Woo-jin. Woo-jin, who had been looking at him with clear eyes as if asking if he was serious, gave a faintly meaningful glance. Then, he extended his long arms and embraced him as if to completely fix him in his arms.

Feeling the sturdy embrace more than a stone wall with his whole body, Jae-chan tried hard to maintain a poker face, but his eyes kept wavering. It had been like this since about two weeks ago. No matter how much he tried to avoid Woo-jin, they kept crossing paths, and physical contact kept happening even without guiding.

Jae-chan felt that Woo-jin was trying to show that he had no reluctance to touch Jae-chan through frequent skinship. It felt like he was trying to prove that he was worthy of being a sleep partner other than a sponsor. In fact, aside from Nam Hae-sol in the past, Woo-jin seemed to not be cautious about physical contact.

At first, Jae-chan didn’t realize Woo-jin’s intention, so he didn’t know how awkward it was for him to approach with physical contact.

‘But Woo-jin, do you really know that this is only good for me?’

Feeling the firm strength tightly wrapping around his waist, Jae-chan deliberately averted his gaze to somewhere on Woo-jin’s solid neck. Jae-chan’s heart began to tremble foolishly as he faced those calm eyes that were silently examining him.

His heart started pounding. His breathing became faster, and his heart swelled up like a balloon. He realized he was on the verge of falling completely to Woo-jin.  Even though he had come prepared with suitable combat boots today, his feet were shaking precariously like a tree with a broken base.

Meanwhile, Woo-jin had a grim look in his eyes as he stared at Jae-chan’s agitated eyes. Jae-chan didn’t reject him every time their bodies touched after Woo-jin said he enjoyed skinship, but he seemed a little troubled.

Such an appearance seemed like a sign of rejection.

How could he gain more trust? How could he make Jae-chan choose him instead of a stranger?

Woo-jin looked back at the terrace door, hiding a slight sigh. He wanted to ask about Han Ji-hoon, but he couldn’t ask a single question because he was afraid it would make Jae-chan feel burdensome.