Ordinary Person A

#13

Before leaving, Seong-won placed a warm coffee and some snacks in front of Ho-woo. Whoever’s taste it was, the choice of snacks was very satisfying.

“Is this a kidnapping?”

He seriously needed to consider whether this was actually an official and public kidnapping rather than protection. Ho-woo took a sip of the warm coffee and looked around.

It was an ordinary single-person office. Of course, the sharply carved marks on one wall, the cracked and broken traces, and the faint red marks were quite unique.

Aside from that, it was a normal office. At least it didn’t seem like they had put him here to harm him, so Ho-woo put one of his favorite snacks in his mouth. The thickly chocolate-coated cookie was equally delicious no matter when or where you ate it.

Although he was a bit dissatisfied about spending his precious after-work hours here. While passing time playing mobile games, Ho-woo brightened up when he heard a familiar voice as the door behind him suddenly opened.

“Captain, is that person really not a Guide?”

“No, he’s not.”

“That’s strange? I definitely felt something.”

Han Seong-won entered the office with Oh-yul, one eye completely furrowed. Ho-woo finally noticed the nameplate on the outer door.

“Esper Team 1 Oh-yul”

So this was Oh-yul’s office.

Ho-woo stood up awkwardly. Oh-yul, who approached with long strides, gently pressed Ho-woo’s shoulder to make him sit down again.

“I apologize for bringing you here like this. I should have come myself, but I couldn’t move due to an important matter.”

Unlike yesterday, his eyes had returned to a fairly dark color. His face, which had shown clear signs of illness, was back to normal. Since his face was inherently handsome, both blue and black eyes suited him well, but Ho-woo thought that strangely, blue eyes suited Oh-yul better.

“It’s okay. Looks like you’ve recovered from your illness. That’s a relief…”

“It’s thanks to you, Ho-woo.”

“Me?”

It seemed like all he had done was get drunk and pass out. Ho-woo laughed softly, thinking Oh-yul was just being polite.

“Well, if you get sick again, let me know. I’ll do my best.”

“I won’t hesitate to tell you.”

It was Han Seong-won who was shocked by the captain’s gentle response, which was as cold as ice. The softened eyes and much gentler voice as soon as he entered the office were things he had never experienced even after being assigned to the same team as Oh-yul and going on hundreds of missions.

Moreover, his captain, despite being an Esper, had never been kind to Guides even once.

“My goodness, no one will believe this even if I tell them.”

Han Seong-won pinched his cheek and shook his head. Oh-yul had already grasped Ho-woo’s shoulder with his large hand and was bending down to meet his gaze. Both his eyes and expression were incredibly gentle. Han Seong-won gaped in shock at this unprecedented sight.

Oh-yul turned to look coldly at Seong-won, who was still standing in front of the open door with his mouth agape, and furrowed his brow.

“Esper Han Seong-won.”

Even though he only called his name in a low voice, the quick-witted Esper hurriedly closed the door and left the office.

He seems to have quite a scary side when working.

Ho-woo burst into silent laughter at the sight of Han Seong-won disappearing like a startled colt. Oh-yul, who had been glaring at the firmly closed door for a moment, asked Ho-woo very carefully as he shook with laughter.

“Did that man behave rudely to you?”

“He wasn’t rude… it was special.”

It was true that he had experienced something he would never experience again, as he had been made to feel like a criminal being escorted by an Esper. At Ho-woo’s mention of it being “special,” the corners of Oh-yul’s mouth twitched slightly.

“So it was ‘special,’ you say.”

“I felt like a criminal being escorted. It’s a feeling I won’t be able to experience again unless I do something bad, right?”

Ho-woo opened one of the snacks provided to him and munched on it.

“But I was surprised. When he suddenly said he came to protect me, I thought it was something dangerous.”

It was amusing that for an A-class Esper’s protection, they had taken the subway and walked directly. Rather, during the time he had been standing close to Han Seong-won, he had probably received all the stares he would get in a lifetime.

“It’s not dangerous, but it is troublesome.”

“Because of the news?”

“Espers often receive excessive attention. There are good intentions, but there are also gazes that seek to find fault and criticize.”

Not everyone could be of one mind. Ho-woo knew this too, so he quietly listened to Oh-yul.

“This news is along those lines. Not all the people giving excessive attention are well-intentioned. I judged that you might be troubled because of me, so I hurriedly brought you here.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Oh-yul fiddled with the pager on his wrist a few times. Although it didn’t seem like he had done anything special, an unfamiliar voice came from the watch-like pager.

“Captain, what’s up?”

“Esper Moon Jin-hyuk, are you doing the task I assigned well?”

“As if I’d slack off on your orders. I’ve caught about three trashy reporters lurking around the house and thrown them to Sunwoo hyung.”

The youthful voice chattered cheerfully. There was deep trust for Oh-yul in that voice. In contrast, Oh-yul responded in a voice almost devoid of emotion.

“Good. Continue this for the next week.”

“Roger that!”

With that brief answer, the voice was no longer heard. Ho-woo vaguely realized that Oh-yul had deliberately let him hear this conversation. It was faster to make him understand the actual situation briefly than to give a thousand explanations or clarifications.

“It will get quite a few views, so everyone will be eager to know who the ‘S-class Esper’s lover’ is and what their private life is like.”

“Ah…”

“It should calm down in a week. I’ll make sure of it. So until then, you can stay here.”

Here?

Ho-woo quietly rolled his eyes and looked around the office. There was no place to sleep or wash, and he had to go to work tomorrow but had no clothes to change into.

Seeing Ho-woo’s perplexed expression, Oh-yul quickly realized what he was thinking and politely extended his hand.

“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not here.”

As Ho-woo stood up taking Oh-yul’s hand, he wiggled his fingers at the ticklish sensation that was now more like a stream flowing between his fingers rather than a tingling feeling.

Oh-yul intertwined his large hand with Ho-woo’s fingers. He should have pushed away this excessively intimate act, but strangely, he didn’t want to.

It just felt odd.

He felt a sensation he couldn’t tell whether it was good or bad. Even though Ho-woo himself wasn’t small, the man who was intimidatingly large kindly matched his pace as they walked.

Each small consideration made Ho-woo wonder if Oh-yul might really be interested in him.

No way, he’s probably just a kind person.

Feeling unnecessarily conscious, Ho-woo glanced sideways, stealing looks at Oh-yul’s profile. His neat appearance sparkled and shone today as well.

Ho-woo followed Oh-yul’s lead. Inside the building where the slightly darkening sunset flowed in through large glass windows, Ho-woo was a strange outsider.

It was rare for an ordinary person who was neither an Esper nor a Guide to enter the Management Corporation building, especially the main building where they stayed like a dormitory. Moreover, the person walking beside Ho-woo was someone even other Espers couldn’t treat carelessly, so the two of them stood out clearly.

Ho-woo walked with quick steps, rolling his eyes here and there. It felt awkward yet fascinating to be standing in a corner of a world he had never paid attention to in his life until now.

“Feel free to ask if you have any questions.”

“Is it okay for me to ask? Isn’t this place usually confidential?”

“It usually seems to be.”

“Then I shouldn’t know, right? I’m not even affiliated here.”

I’ll just quietly commute for the week I’m staying here.

Ho-woo suppressed his curiosity that kept trying to raise its head and fixed his gaze forward, which kept trying to wander off to the side. Oh-yul’s face became slightly displeased at Ho-woo’s stiffened head, but it quickly softened.

After passing through a wide hall and coming out to the back of the building, there was an even larger building. In the vast lawn and artificially created pond, a small angel-shaped fountain with half its face missing was continuously spewing water.

Although it looked peaceful, Ho-woo thought this place was like a plausibly decorated isolation facility, considering the high walls surrounding the area that he had glimpsed when entering.

“You won’t be provided with an access card, so please make sure to accompany me when leaving the room.”

“More importantly, my clothes and belongings…”

“Moon Jin-hyuk, the Esper who’s near your house, will bring them. Basic items are provided, so clothes should be all you need.”

After crossing the soft lawn, Ho-woo followed Oh-yul’s guidance into the building and up to the second floor. The spacious room, furnished like a hotel, had two room doors close together, bundled like a set, which was a very peculiar arrangement.

Oh-yul stopped in front of room 205 among these, fumbled in his pocket to take out a card, and tagged it on the security pad. A faint sound of the lock being released was heard from the tightly closed door.