"Someone you know?"
Su Iseul asked Wi Hajoon, who didn't reply immediately. Rim Young walked over to the vending machine, ignoring the laser-sharp glare in his way.
"No, we don't know each other."
Wi Hajoon spoke after a moment when he was standing before him. Disabling Rim Young from saying more to him. He was just declared a stranger. How could he act like he knew him now?
"Is that so?"
Su Iseul muttered, looking at him. Rim Young stood prim and proper, catching the radiance oozing from the main character. He never had anything against the main character, so for him, Su Iseul was also a good character. The definition of beauty and brains.
"I know of Esper Wi Hajoon. I'm a bit of a fan of his."
"Hajoon, you have fans inside the center too? Woah..."
Su Iseul laughed, elbowing Wi Hajoon softly.
"You're becoming quite the name."
"I'm also an S-Class after all."
Wi Hajoon proudly said. Rim Young could almost see his nose rising higher from the praise. Su Iseul noticed the stare, a habit he had yet to fix. He would, without knowing, stare fixedly at Wi Hajoon whenever he was in close proximity. Wi Hajoon also didn't like that.
"A guide? Which class?"
Shifting his gaze, Rim Young faced Su Iseul to answer him.
"B-Class."
"B-Class isn't that bad. Wi Hajoon, what do you think?"
"Think what?"
Su Iseul pointed to Rim Young with his eyes.
"Him. Let him guide you. I don't think he is afraid of you."
A flame of hope burned in Rim Young's eyes as he heard Su Iseul's suggestion, but it only took a few seconds for Wi Hajoon to turn him down and blow out that flame.
"No thanks. B-Class guides can't handle me."
"Mm... is that so?"
Su Iseul skipped past Wi Hajoon over to him. Rim Young's body unconsciously stiffened as Su Iseul ran his thumb on his forehead with a serious expression.
"How did you get this bump? Does it hurt?"
He had actually forgotten about the bump, but there was a noticeable red mark on his forehead. Su Iseul had always noticed the little details that were easy to look over.
"It's nothing. I just accidentally hit my head on a smart pole in the morning..."
It was somewhat nice to see the characters behave exactly as he had read about them. It made them feel less like strangers to him.
"That must've hurt."
"Thank you for worrying, but I have always been clumsy in this way."
"Why are you acting flustered all of a sudden? Gross."
Not realizing he was smiling at Su Iseul, at Wi Hajoon's retort he started mumbling, taken aback by being called 'gross'.
"Ah... I'm just..."
"You find everything gross. This is why no guide wants to guide you. Fix that attitude of yours first."
That wasn't true. Wi Hajoon purposely scared away the guides by threatening them because he wanted to be guided by Su Iseul only. Su Iseul, unaware of the fact, joked around, but Wi Hajoon's eyes fixed on Su Iseul explained everything. Rim Young felt a pang of pain in his chest, but he quickly disregarded it. Shaking his head slightly and lowering his smile.
"Be careful on the streets, alright."
Su Iseul said before grabbing the cans from the vending machine's delivery bin.
"Let's go now."
Su Iseul looked over at Wi Hajoon. Rim Young was checking what drinks the vending machine had when he heard Wi Hajoon's response from the side.
"You go. I'll be there in a few minutes."
He glanced at Wi Hajoon, though a bit unnoticeably this time. Selecting a drink, he began to insert his coins when out of nowhere his arm was gripped and he was taken into the inconspicuous corner of the vending machine. Suddenly pushed into the corner, Rim Young dropped the coin on the floor somewhere. He was way too close to Wi Hajoon. He squirmed around instinctively, though his eyes were stuck on staring at Wi Hajoon. He couldn't get used to being this close to the person he had been loving with his everything.
"What is your deal, you bastard? Stop pretending like we are friends. We don't know each other. I let you join the center, not so you can do this shit. If this happens again, prepare for the repercussions accordingly."
"Sorry... I won't call you by your first name again."
"That too, and getting in my way."
Rim Young stared into Wi Hajoon's eyes without an instant reply and then slowly exhaled. He knew this wouldn't be easy.
"I only wanted to get something to drink. I'll be more careful in the future."
It would be better if Wi Hajoon got used to being around him, but it seemed his first impression had made Wi Hajoon hate even the sight of him. Maybe his plan wasn't that good...
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Wi Hajoon gazed at him for a few seconds before walking away. Rim Young dropped his hands to his sides, seeing him walk away.
For now, he needed Wi Hajoon to hate him a little less. Since the memory of being dragged into a fake report against him was too fresh, it was only natural. He'd give it a few days and decide to work his way in a roundabout way.
***
Rim Young had another plan. He was going to sneak into the restricted zone.
There was no other way. He was still in training, far from being Wi Hajoon's guide and requesting to go down to the restricted zone with him. Only two days after he joined the center, he heard the news of Wi Hajoon and Hyeong Ki heading out to clear the zone as the fissure was about to close down soon.
He packed everything he might need for the trip in a crossbody bag. After attending his classes, he called for a cab and went to the location. Wi Hajoon and Hyeong Ki had already gone into the restricted zone early in the morning. He was a little late, but there was time. They would have a fight in the evening when they're both tired and irritated after a long day of clearing out the monsters.
The area of the fissure was quite large, and he was sure a few spots of the barrier around the area would have less security, as there were a few who would try to sneak into the zone full of monsters. Espers could enter through the front door. Guides had to show a permit to enter, and civilians were too scared to even come here. Even the cab dropped him a few blocks away from the restricted zone. He had to walk the rest of the distance.
"If I go from here, wouldn't this be a short cut?"
Looking at the maps on his phone screen, Rim Young deduced that he could go from a short cut straight into the restricted zone instead of taking the main road. Squeezing through the narrow alley, Rim Young glanced up at the dead end. On the other side was the restricted zone.
Backing away a few steps, he gauged he could probably climb the wall. Pulling the dumpster in the alley to the wall, he used it as a boost as he ran to the wall, jumped on the dumpster, and grabbed the top of the wall at once with one hand. Grabbing the wall with both of his hands, he peeked to see if there was anyone on the other side of the wall. Seeing no one, he immediately climbed up and jumped down the wall.
Since he had made a lot of noise just now, he quickly ran to find a place to hide. The monsters would be coming here if not the security!