Chapter 149: Side Story – Drunken Honesty (1)

Seung Ho’s phone rang.

Seung Ho, who was reviewing the documents piled on his desk, checked the screen of the vibrating phone and then turned the page again.

It seemed it wasn’t an urgent call, as he showed no intention of answering.

Knock, knock. With a small knock, his personal secretary came in and said goodbye, saying he was leaving for the day.

Only then did Seung Ho check the clock.

It was a time when everyone would have already left work.

When he gave a slight nod to signal that he could leave, the secretary walked towards Seung Ho’s desk instead of leaving.

“You asked how to purchase it last time, so I bought it together when I was ordering mine.”

The secretary placed a small shopping bag on the desk, avoiding the high pile of documents.

The shopping bag had a cute picture of bread on it.

It was a bakery Bodam had recently fallen in love with.

It was a place that only sold a small amount online on a first-come, first-served basis, and Bodam had wailed after failing to purchase it for two consecutive months.

Tae Hwan and Ji Oh, who had seen this, had tried to buy out the store but had failed.

It meant it was not a place that did business for money.

It had to be a true gourmet restaurant.

“I bought a lot, so please have some with the guide-nim.”

The secretary bowed his head and left the office.

Although he said that, he couldn’t imagine Seung Ho eating bread.

It was clear that it would all go into the mouth of the good-eater, Guide Yoon Bodam-nim.

‘He must have asked for the ordering method of this bakery to feed the guide.’

The secretary chuckled, imagining Seung Ho’s face when he had failed the online purchase.

He had never dreamed that the infamous, cold-blooded Team Leader Han Seung Ho would be so devoted to his exclusive guide.

Not only him, but all the Espers of Attack Team 3 were like that.

They cherished their exclusive guide so much that all the past rumors felt like lies.

Among them, Esper Lee Tae Hwan practically carried the guide on his hip.

There were widespread accounts of his fierce face turning into a gentle puppy in front of the guide.

Of course, Seung Ho’s secretary had also seen it often.

In fact, he had once accidentally witnessed Tae Hwan and Bodam naked in the guiding room.

‘Ah…, th-that, ahem. I’m sorry.’

‘Shut up and get out!!’

Even now, just thinking about it made his heart pound.

If the guide-nim hadn’t stopped him, he would have been half-dead at the hands of Esper Lee Tae Hwan.

‘Who told them to do guiding in the living room without even locking the door. And so passionately at that.’

Jiiing-. Jiiing-.

Seung Ho, who was picking up the next document, furrowed his brow at the sound of his phone starting to vibrate again.

He was about to turn off the vibration but ended up checking the additional text and pressing the call button.

All the contacts were from Team Leader Kim.

“Where are you.”

– Oh, you’re finally picking up.

“I asked where you are.”

Seung Ho turned off his laptop and put the document file in his bag, getting up from his seat.

The moment he saw the picture Team Leader Kim had sent, his will to work had vanished.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate even if he sat there.

Bodam’s voice was mixed with the loud background music of a bar.

A low voice, presumed to be Jo Yeon’s, and a lively, young voice were also mixed in.

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed they had gone to ‘Aega’.

It was a bar Bodam frequented.

“It’s Aega, right?”

– It’s not there. And your guide-nim said not to tell you.

Team Leader Kim’s laughter gently grated on Seung Ho’s nerves.

He even sent another picture, as if to tease him.

In the picture, Bodam, Jo Yeon, and his cousin Yeon Yeok were holding up their glasses.

The widely raised corners of the mouths of the three, who were making a toast, looked as if they were about to reach their ears.

Especially Bodam was smiling the brightest.

That’s how it looked to Seung Ho.

“Text me the location.”

Since it was a Friday, the drinking session was sure to last long.

Even if they had started early, the problem was that once Bodam got excited, he ran without knowing the end.

‘As if he still thinks he’s in his early 20s.’

– That’s not why I called.

Bodam’s shout, telling him to hang up quickly, was heard over Team Leader Kim’s languid voice.

It seemed he had already had quite a bit to drink.

– I just called to brag.

The call ended with a cheer to the prospective Bureau Director to work hard on his overtime.

As if that was really all he had to say, when Seung Ho called back, this time he didn’t answer.

‘Anyway, that Kim Cheol Soo kid.’

Thump, thump. He tapped his phone on the desk and then finally picked up his document bag and turned off the lights in his office.

Of course, he didn’t forget to take the bread he would feed to Bodam.

***

Inside Attack Team 3’s waiting room.

The sound of a deep sigh echoed from the living room sofa of the spacious waiting room, which was used as the team’s common dorm.

“Haa…”

The owner of the sigh was Min Ji Oh.

He couldn’t sit still for a moment and was either fiddling with the remote or shaking his leg.

He kept looking at the front door, as if waiting for someone, and even bit his nails.

Like a dog that desperately needed to go to the bathroom.

After a long wait, when the front door finally opened, Ji Oh quickly stood up.

But since it wasn’t the person he was waiting for, he spat out a curse and sat back down on the sofa.

“Ah, why is it you, hyung.”

The one who had entered the waiting room was Seung Ho.

Even though he had come after handling more work than anyone else, Seung Ho was not welcomed.

Of course, he himself did not wish for a warm welcome.

“Where’s Lee Tae Hwan.”

“Exercising.”

Ji Oh, who had been expecting the person who opened the door to be Tae Hwan, let out a big sigh.

Of course, the one he was eagerly waiting for was Bodam, but since he knew Bodam would be late when he had a drinking appointment, he was waiting for Tae Hwan instead.

Because Lee Tae Hwan would know the places Bodam frequented.

“When did he go.”

Seung Ho asked.

It was a question he would not have asked in a normal situation.

“He went four hours ago, so it’s about time he came back.”

Ji Oh, who had even checked the time, answered immediately, glaring at his watch.

He seemed quite anxious.

“Ha, doesn’t that bastard even worry about Yoon Bodam.”

Ji Oh lost his temper, punching the innocent sofa cushion.

Every time he checked the time and date on his phone screen, even the nape of his neck felt stiff.

Today was not just any other day, but a Friday.

Friday.

When Bodam had a drinking appointment on a TGIF, he ran as if there was no tomorrow.

Once, he hadn’t sobered up for two days.

‘How much did he drink, for God’s sake.’

“Seung Ho-hyung.”

Ji Oh, who was massaging his neck, couldn’t stand the anxiety and shot up from the sofa.

Seung Ho was making space in the kitchen refrigerator to put the shopping bag.

It was taking some time because there was a lot in the refrigerator.

“Seung Ho-hyung!”

When there was no answer even when he called, the provoked Ji Oh raised his voice.

When a sharp gaze returned, he lowered his voice again and approached the kitchen.

“You should step up and find him, hyung. With your team leader authority.”

Ji Oh asked with a worried expression if that much was okay.

He tried to coax Seung Ho, saying they should bring him back quickly before the drinking session got any longer.

“Just cut your hair.”

But he was not an opponent who would be easily coaxed.

Seung Ho closed the refrigerator door, glaring disapprovingly at Ji Oh’s long hair that covered his nape.

Min Ji Oh was growing his hair out.

Ever since Bodam had said that a long-haired actor looked cool.

“Aren’t you worried, hyung?! It’s Friday today! Friday!”

Ji Oh, who had flipped his long hair, couldn’t hold back his anger and shouted again.

Anyone who saw him would think Bodam was out at a dangerous gate.

“Just think about it! How much will that Yoon Bodam drink, using Friday as an excuse!”

“If you have nothing to do, just go out to a gate.”

Even though he had shouted until the veins on his neck popped, only a cold reaction returned.

Seung Ho, ignoring Ji Oh, just picked up his document bag without any agitation and went into his room.

The despaired Ji Oh slumped down on the sofa.

He didn’t even feel like watching TV and just wasted time, staring at the distant front door.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

What would it have been like… if Kang Yi Jun, who was just as crazy as him, had been here.

“That bastard would have gone out to find him right away…”

Since he was a guy who lived without a care in the world more than anyone, he would have ignored the order not to come find him, regardless of whether Bodam got angry, and would have barged into the bar.

And then he would have sat right next to Yoon Bodam with a smiling face and pretended to be pitiful.

Knowing that Yoon Bodam was secretly weak to him, who had lost his ability.

Ji Oh’s face crumpled as he was lost in imagination.

Ji Oh thought that Bodam’s attitude towards Yi Jun had softened since he had left the Center.

It was because Bodam talked on the phone with Yi Jun almost every day.

‘What’s so pretty about that psycho bastard. He doesn’t even answer my calls well.’

“Agh! This is so annoying!”

He was about to throw the sofa cushion but squeezed his eyes shut and threw it back in the corner.

He gritted his teeth, recalling the team rule Bodam had set, ‘No throwing things’.

Instead, he pressed down on the cushion with his foot, thinking of it as Lee Tae Hwan’s face.

“Is he showing off that he’s imprinted or what. That f*cking bastard.”

In fact, Ji Oh resented Tae Hwan more than Yi Jun.

Probably tens of thousands of times more.

Since Tae Hwan was the only one in the team who had imprinted with Bodam, it was understandable that he was blinded by jealousy.

Even now, Ji Oh would shoot up in his sleep and look for cold water whenever he thought of the relationship between Tae Hwan and Bodam.

No matter how much time had passed, it was a reality he could not accept with a clear mind.

“I hope his wrist just snaps while he’s lifting weights.”

He barely soothed his insides, imagining the sight of Tae Hwan crushed under a barbell.

Min Ji Oh was still the same.

“Ah… damn it, I’d be less anxious if I just knew his location.”

The Espers of Attack Team 3 did not know their exclusive guide’s location.

It was because Bodam had insisted on his privacy and had the tracking function on his wrist watch removed.

They could no longer observe Bodam’s every move.

It was one of the big reasons that made Ji Oh anxious.

“Why are you out?”

Ji Oh, who was leaning his head on the back of the sofa, asked Seung Ho.

Seung Ho had changed into comfortable clothes and was sitting at the kitchen table with his document bag.

It seemed he was going to work there.

Even though he had a perfectly good desk in his room.

“Acting all f*cking cool.”

Seung Ho ignored Ji Oh’s sarcasm and sat in a spot where the front door was clearly visible, opening his laptop.

“You’re worried too, aren’t you, hyung? Huh? So let’s put that tracker back on him. For Yoon Bodam’s safety!”