Chapter 23: A Fragile Moment of Happiness

“By the way, the sooner you get a health checkup, the better, so make sure to go down to the medical center and schedule an appointment. If they decide a medical opinion letter is necessary, there’ll be a few extra documents you’ll need to submit too, alright?”

“Yes. Then I’ll be going now.”

“Take care. Stay safe.”

After briefly saying goodbye to Kim Su-gyeom, I checked the notes he had written on the sticky note in case of any unforeseen situations.

I already knew the procedures inside the center were complicated, but I never expected them to make life this difficult even when someone influential was pulling strings behind the scenes.

Ding—

“…Come to think of it, tomorrow is Kwon Yiyul’s birthday, isn’t it?”

As I stepped into the elevator and watched the numbers rapidly climb upward, it suddenly occurred to me that tomorrow was Kwon Yiyul’s birthday.

It felt strangely ironic that someone who could easily pass as the embodiment of Satan happened to share a birthday with Jesus Christ.

The fact that I was still thinking about things like this even after everything I’d suffered probably meant I still hadn’t completely let go of my feelings for him.

Thud—

“??”

“Jaeyoon-ssi, where are you going?”

Just as I stopped in front of a vending machine to buy coffee and clear my head, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist tightly from behind.

Lately, it really did feel like people had been grabbing my wrist far too often.

Thinking that, I turned to check the identity of the person calling my name so familiarly.

“Uh….”

“It’s been a really long time, hasn’t it?”

“…Ahn Yijeong-ssi?”

The moment I cautiously spoke his name, the man who had been staring blankly at me immediately brightened.

The tension between his brows vanished at once, and like a giant puppy, he greeted me enthusiastically.

“So you did remember my name. Back then, when I gave you candy in front of the gukbap restaurant, I even wrote my phone number on the wrapper, but you never contacted me once, so I thought I got completely rejected.”

“…You wrote your number on the candy wrapper?”

“…Wait, don’t tell me you never saw it? Actually… maybe that’s better. At least it means you didn’t deliberately ignore me after getting my number.”

I was genuinely flustered.

Who would’ve imagined there was a phone number written on the wrapper of that tiny candy he had given me as a birthday present that day?

Ahn Yijeong’s expression kept brightening and darkening repeatedly while he muttered things under his breath absentmindedly.

I suddenly regretted cursing him out in my head back then as just another damned Esper without even knowing the circumstances.

“I clearly said I’d buy you a meal someday. You even told me to buy you something expensive, so I prepared plenty of money in my wallet and kept waiting, but there were no signs of you contacting me, so I’d almost given up.”

“You could’ve looked for me by name. I had no idea….”

“Ah, how could I do that? No matter what, barging into someone’s department out of nowhere would be rude. Besides, why do you think I gave you my number in the first place? I gave it to you so you could reject me if you felt uncomfortable or didn’t want to contact me. Didn’t you realize that?”

Honestly speaking, I wasn’t a thoughtful person.

To be precise, I lacked flexibility.

Maybe because I’d spent so much time being cursed behind my back, I’d become too accustomed to doubting people’s intentions. Unless someone directly stated their thoughts aloud, I never tried to interpret their hidden meanings on my own.

That habit had gradually hardened into instinct, leading to an awkward misunderstanding like today’s.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize….”

“No, it’s alright. We met again like this anyway, so it’s fine.”

“…….”

“But honestly, Jaeyoon-ssi, you’re way more amazing than I expected. I never imagined you were the Guide for Attack Team 3.”

Ah.

Fear crept into me at the thought of what Ahn Yijeong might say next after hearing the rumors about me and my position.

That I slept my way into the team.

That someone influential was backing me.

That a refugee like me was arrogant.

Whenever the name Han Jaeyoon came up, good things were never said alongside it.

And there was no guarantee that Ahn Yijeong, who had only recently been assigned to this district, hadn’t already been influenced by those rumors too.

Just as animals imprint on the first person they see after birth, there was a high chance he had already formed his image of me based solely on hearsay.

“…Are you disappointed?”

“Huh? Disappointed?”

“Yes.”

“No? Why would I be? I actually think you’re really cool. Seriously. Guiding that many people isn’t something just anyone can do, and you’re still young too. I think you’ve done more than enough.”

The shock that hit me felt like someone had punched the back of my head with full force.

How long had it been since someone looked at me for who I truly was instead of the rumors surrounding me?

But at the same time, anxiety crept in.

“Jaeyoon-ssi? Are you alright?”

I wasn’t supposed to be happy.

Things shouldn’t feel this peaceful.

Whenever unexpected happiness came my way, other people might celebrate it, but not me.

I became anxious.

Was I really allowed to spend a calm day like this?

Why were people suddenly treating me kindly today?

I kept questioning it over and over again.

Because every time even the smallest bit of happiness brushed past me, even greater misfortune always followed behind it.

Again and again, I denied it, convincing myself this sort of fortune could never truly belong to me.

It was pathetic to think this way, but what could I do?

This was simply the kind of person I was.

“Ah, I’m fine. Really.”

“Since things turned out this way anyway, and it’s around lunchtime, would you like to eat with me?”

“…Pardon?”

“You said it yourself last time. That next time we met, you were going to make me buy you something really expensive.”

“…Yes. I did say that.”

As I slowly nodded, Ahn Yijeong suddenly spoke with unusual intensity, like someone who had held onto a deep grudge.

“Do you know how long I’d been waiting for that day? I’m seriously not the type to freeload off strangers and embarrass myself like that.”

“Yes, I believe you.”

“No, really. Seriously.”

Ahn Yijeong inserted a coin into the vending machine, bought a hot cup of coffee, and handed it to me.

After staring at his wristwatch for a while, he began persistently asking what I wanted to eat.

Truthfully, despite my earlier words, I had rarely eaten outside the cafeteria while staying at the center.

I couldn’t ask for something expensive when I barely even knew what kinds of food existed around here.

To me, the height of luxury was simply adding glass noodles to an 8,000 won bowl of seolleongtang.

Even then, I’d agonize at the register over spending that extra thousand won.

I secretly worried Ahn Yijeong might notice just how pitifully poor I was.

“If nothing comes to mind, I already looked up a few places nearby. Want to trust me and come along?”

“…Would that really be alright?”

“Why not? It’s not like there’s an urgent mission right now. And even if something happens later, we can just return then.”

His whisper tempted me.

After eating cafeteria seolleongtang every single day for nearly a year, I was honestly sick of it, and for once I wanted to eat something rich and satisfying.

It was true that this sudden meeting with Ahn Yijeong felt uncomfortable, but passing up a free meal felt far too wasteful.

‘Should I go or not?’

Behind my calm expression, reason and instinct fought fiercely inside my head.

I seriously found myself weighing whether food was worth sacrificing my dignity as a human being.

“Jaeyoon-ssi, come with me. Please?”

“…Ah, well….”

Just as I was about to reluctantly accept Ahn Yijeong’s pleading invitation—while he circled around me like a large dog begging for a walk—I spotted Choi Siram running toward us from afar with a bright expression.

“Jaeyoon-ssi! Jaeyoon-ssi!”

“What happened, Choi Siram-ssi?”

Ahn Yijeong’s gaze crossed with mine.

Perhaps he had followed me all the way from the west wing where the management department was located, because Choi Siram looked terribly pale as he staggered forward clutching his temple.

As I slowly rubbed his back and guided his breathing, the strained expression on his face gradually softened.

Ahn Yijeong looked down at Choi Siram leaning against me with an odd expression before smiling brightly again and asking if we knew each other.

“He’s a Guide from the same team.”

“Wait, if he’s from the same team, then is he the A-rank Guide everyone was talking about recently?”

“Yes, that’s correct. More importantly, Choi Siram-ssi, are you alright? What was so urgent that you ran all the way here without caring about your condition?”

The timing couldn’t have been worse.

By instinct, Espers naturally gravitated toward higher-ranked Guides, but the Espers of Attack Team 3 definitely wouldn’t appreciate their dedicated Guide interacting with another Esper.

If anything, they’d probably become hostile and turn the entire center upside down trying to find the guy shamelessly hovering around Choi Siram.

Even when their brainwave levels were stable, traces always remained on a Guide’s body whenever Guides and Espers spent time together in the same space.

The thought that the team members might once again criticize me for carelessly exposing Choi Siram’s existence made my stomach churn.

“Urgh—”

“??”

“Jaeyoon-ssi, what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly gagging…?”

The moment my stomach twisted unpleasantly, violent nausea suddenly surged upward.

My eyes instantly filled with tears, and my nose burned sharply.

Drip. Drip.

Bright red drops of blood began falling from beneath my nose.

Panicking, I quickly covered my nose with the back of my hand, but the blood kept pouring endlessly between my fingers in thick streams.