Chapter 34: Everyone Wants Him, and I Hate That

“Today was really exhausting. Our cafeteria is fine, sure, but eating out just feels different. There are a lot of good places near the center.”

“Well, that is…”

“I was thinking of introducing you, too… How about Guide Jin Su-ha taking Chaewon out?”

Eunho looked at Su-ha with pleading eyes, desperately hoping he wouldn’t knock over the table Eunho had just set.

Eunho still didn’t like Su-ha much, but as a member of the Esper Management Team, he knew he had to rein in his personal feelings for the sake of an esper’s well-being.

More than anything, Eunho hoped Su-ha would regain the same sense of “professionalism” Eunho believed he himself upheld.

Chaewon’s eyes began to tremble uncontrollably. He was already awkward to the point of wanting to disappear because of the conversation he’d just had with Su-ha, and he couldn’t understand why Eunho was suddenly making such a reckless suggestion.

Chaewon looked at Su-ha with anxious eyes. Su-ha, his expression stiff, said nothing. He must be annoyed. Of course he’d be annoyed. Chaewon’s heart grew restless.

Su-ha’s apology and his promise to do his best were, after all, words spoken strictly in the context of guiding Chaewon as a guide. Just as Chaewon had obligations he had to fulfill as an esper, Su-ha surely had standards he set for himself as a guide.

From Chaewon’s perspective, taking him outside and eating alone together didn’t seem like something that would ever fall under a guide’s duties.

Eunho looked ready to press Su-ha for an answer, but Chaewon, unable to leave Su-ha to face such an ordeal, hurriedly spoke up first.

“No. I’ll just eat at the cafeteria.”

Su-ha’s expression twisted in brief confusion. He immediately looked at Chaewon, but Chaewon, unaware of his gaze, continued speaking to Eunho.

“I’m still not really used to the center yet, so… I just want to eat at the cafeteria.”

No one noticed, but Su-ha’s earlobes quietly turned red.

When he first heard Eunho’s suggestion, Su-ha had instinctively started wondering which restaurant he should take Chaewon to.

He usually ate at the center cafeteria rather than going out, so he didn’t know many places. On top of that, he didn’t know a single thing about what Chaewon liked or disliked.

In a fleeting moment, restaurants he’d been to and nearby eateries flashed through Su-ha’s mind. He’d eaten alone with other awakened individuals before, yet for some reason, his head felt dizzy as if this were his first time.

It was only when Chaewon said he wanted to go to the cafeteria that Su-ha realized something, while he may have been flustered, he had never once thought about refusing to go with Chaewon.

Normally, Su-ha should have been the one to decline first. He should have said that he had no intention of eating separately with Chaewon and told Eunho to take him instead. Spending private time with Chaewon was something Su-ha had always been most wary of.

And yet, in this moment, Su-ha was about to accept spending time with Chaewon as if it were only natural. What surprised him even more was the faint sense of disappointment he felt when Chaewon refused.

“…Well, okay then. Our cafeteria food is good enough to hold its own anywhere.”

Even though Chaewon was the one who had declined, Eunho shot Su-ha a dissatisfied look as he spoke, as if blaming him for having scared Chaewon into backing out. The expression clearly said, Just how badly did you treat him for him to retreat like this?

To be fair, Su-ha didn’t have much of a defense. It was true that he’d treated Chaewon worse than a complete stranger up until now. Instead of arguing that he’d been planning to take Chaewon out, Su-ha silently accepted Eunho’s reproach.

In the meantime, wearing a genuinely gentle expression, Chaewon spoke.

“Have you eaten yet, Eunho?”

“Yes. I ate early with the team leader. If you get the time next time, go out with me. I’ll show you around.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll be going.”

Eunho waved with a smile at Chaewon, who bowed politely, then turned to Su-ha with a cold expression and said, “We’ll be going now.” Su-ha returned the stiff greeting in kind.

Come to think of it, Su-ha couldn’t shake the feeling that Eunho was unusually attentive toward Chaewon. As a member of the Esper Management Team, it was natural to pay attention to a newly recruited S-rank esper, but in Su-ha’s eyes, Eunho was going a bit overboard.

That train of thought led Su-ha to realize that Eunho wasn’t the only one overly concerned with Chaewon.

Though people spoke of Chaewon in terms of necessity or usefulness, Su-ha, who had watched the preliminaries for quite some time, could clearly see the personal fondness in the evaluators’ eyes when they talked about Lee Chaewon.

And what about Min I-hyeon? He was generally kind to everyone, but he wasn’t the type to show special interest in people outside his own team. Yet he’d taken time out of his personal schedule to help train Chaewon.

Even if it had been at the evaluators’ request, if Chaewon had meant nothing to him, I-hyeon would never have accepted.

“Su-ha…?”

Lost in thought, Su-ha found Chaewon staring at him with a puzzled expression. Su-ha fixed his gaze on him.

What was it about this esper? What was it that made people grow fond of him so quickly?

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

For reasons he didn’t fully understand, Su-ha felt thoroughly irritated as he turned away, deliberately ignoring the images of Chaewon he’d seen over time, and started walking ahead.

****

“Hey? Esper Lee Chaewon! Why is it so hard to see your face these days?”

Already in a bad mood and unable to settle it, Su-ha’s irritation spiked when a man suddenly pulled out a chair and sat right next to Chaewon. The man was Joo Giyoon.

Chaewon, cheeks slightly puffed as he chewed his food, put down his spoon and bowed his head.

“Hello, Team Leader Joo.”

Despite the previous disturbance, there was no trace of displeasure in Chaewon’s expression or voice. Seeing that, Giyoon curved his snake-like eyes into a smile. Su-ha also set down his spoon and tensed his body.

If Giyoon showed even the slightest threatening behavior toward Chaewon, Su-ha was ready to step in.

But Giyoon completely ignored Su-ha, propped his chin on his hand, and spoke to Chaewon.

“I heard you trained with Min I-hyeon?”

Caught off guard, Chaewon looked at Giyoon with surprised eyes. Even Chaewon himself had only learned about the training once he arrived at the training room, it had been conducted quietly, yet the rumor had already spread.

Given I-hyeon’s reputation, though, it wasn’t surprising that everyone paid attention to his every move.

Instead of answering right away, Chaewon quickly composed his expression and glanced at Su-ha sitting across from him. His eyes were clearly asking whether it was okay to tell the truth.

From experience, Chaewon knew that no matter how obvious something was, those at the bottom shouldn’t casually acknowledge matters decided by those above.

The fact that Chaewon was seeking his permission in front of Giyoon sent an oddly thrilling sensation through Su-ha. He hurriedly ignored that feeling and spoke.

“If you’re curious about the training, you should ask Team Leader Woo.”

“Yes. I don’t really know anything anyway, so it’d probably be more accurate to hear it from Team Leader Woo.”

Chaewon echoed Su-ha’s words. Su-ha was a veteran incomparable to himself, and if he refused to convey even a simple fact to Giyoon, there had to be a reason. Chaewon didn’t want to go against that.

Giyoon’s gaze flicked briefly to Su-ha, then returned to Chaewon. His attitude clearly said he had no interest in talking to Su-ha. Shrugging lightly, he continued.

“Well, that’s not really important anyway. The really important thing is something else.”

Su-ha found Joo Giyoon’s casual tone toward Chaewon, like they were close, deeply irritating.

Of course, in this organization, it was natural for Joo Giyoon, the leader of Crisis Response Team 1 and a highly skilled S-rank esper, to speak casually to Chaewon. No one would consider it rude. Su-ha knew that. It still annoyed him regardless.

“Something important?”

As if Su-ha were the only one feeling irritated, Chaewon responded normally, prompting Giyoon to continue.

“Yeah. What’s really important is that your next training will be with me.”

“What?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Caught completely off guard, both Chaewon and Su-ha asked at the same time, staring at Giyoon. Only then did Giyoon look directly at Su-ha.

“If you want to know about the training, ask Team Leader Woo.”

With both their gazes fixed on him, Giyoon wore an utterly smug expression.