For some reason, there was a gust of cold wind in the room afterwards. Rim Young scratched his neck. The expression on Wi Hajoon had frozen too.
"Is-"
"Don't you dare say a word more!"
Seemingly scared, Wi Hajoon straight up yelled at him, jolting Su Iseul, who had never seen him react like this.
"But-"
"Shut your mouth!"
Every time Rim Young opened his mouth, Wi Hajoon yelled at him. Too exhausted to even get a word out now, he picked up his things to leave when Su Iseul got in his way to stop him.
"Wait, don't leave. Wi Hajoon has always been a little hard to break into, but he's not a bad guy, trust me. You did really well on your first time..."
Su Iseul glanced behind him for a moment before finishing.
"If you think you can guide him again, I would be indebted to you."
"Iseul, hey, are you crazy? I'm not letting anyone guide me. If he tries again, I'm going to reject his energy."
"I will train some more and try again."
"Really? Thank you! Find me first thing in the morning. I will give you my number. Oh, and don't worry about not being able to instantly purify the energy in your body right now. It will automatically purify itself in a guide's body, though it might take a lot of time."
"Yes, thank you."
Bowing respectfully to his seniors at work, Rim Young finally walked out of the room. Even with such a small amount of polluted energy, he felt like he'd collapse, and he was a guide. How was Wi Hajoon handling it so well even as an Esper? Does being high class really make you that resilient? He kind of wished he had awakened as a high class guide too now.
Rim Young texted his older sister first thing as he made it out of the safe zone. Rim Junhee told him to grab a cab because it was too late at night, but outside the safe zone, not a single soul lay in his way. This place was close to the restricted zone; obviously, there wouldn't be anyone here. Most of the people from the center drove here, unlike him. For Rim Young, he had to walk for 3km before he could catch a cab.
["Why are you overworking already? Quit your job tomorrow."]
"I can't do that, Nuna..."
["Why? What's the problem? Tell me."]
"....I signed an employment contract. I can't quit for the next six months."
["Gosh, you're such an idiot! Why did you join the center anyway? Since when were you a guide!"]
Woah... my head hurts...
Rim Junhee continued to scold him until he got to their neighborhood, which was definitely new to him as he never had someone to care about what he did with his life. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not.
"Haah...."
Tired already by the second set of stairs leading uphill to the house, Rim Young crouched down to catch his breath. The only downside to their house had to be that it was uphill with five different stairways. His phone in his hand kept vibrating as Rim Junhee asked where he was every two seconds, maximum.
"I'm almost here, Nuna. Stop messaging me."
On another thought, it was a bit annoying to live with someone else, especially with a family member who was this nosy. Are all siblings like this? Rim Young stood up to climb the stairs again when he heard footsteps behind him, prompting him to glance back. The neighborhood was usually dark at night, so he couldn't see well, but there was no one directly behind him.
The footsteps sounded quite close, though...
He was already paranoid by the way his sister constantly told him it was dangerous at night here in the neighborhood, which was why he had to come home early. However, as a grown young man, he had brushed it off. He was already a captive; he couldn't get kidnapped twice now, could he?
Although he told himself that, his pace had quickened significantly. Without stopping or looking back, he marched forward, wanting to reach his house already, when a heavy hand grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Why are you running? You will fall to your death if you continue this."
"Ahjussi?"
It was still hard to see clearly, but Rim Young recognized the voice. It was the man with tattoos who had come to their house to demand the loan payment.
"Why? Did I scare you just now?"
"Yes."
"When are you planning to pay me back? Did you get a job?"
"I will give you my first salary. That's all I can do for now. I'm working for the Seoul Center. They pay well."
Rim Young continued to walk with the gangster-like man by his side, feeling less scared now. Even serial killers avoided people who were buff and tall, so having someone like that on his side ultimately made him safer than anyone.
"You must have worked hard. Here."
The man handed him a carton of milk from the plastic bag he was carrying. Without any thought, Rim Young took it, opened it from the side, and downed it. After a few more minutes of stair climbing, he saw the gate of his house. The lights were all on, and Rim Junhee stood by the gate with her arms crossed. Seeing them, she put her phone down.
"Why weren't you replying to me?"
"I was almost here, Nuna..."
"All the more reason to inform me. Go inside now."
Rim Young was forcibly shoved through the gate into the house, barely catching himself before falling face down on the ground.
"Where do you think you're going?"
The man that had come with him was instantly blocked by Rim Junhee's arm at the entrance of the gate.
"Inside."
The man replied, towering over Rim Junhee with his hands tucked in his coat.
"You can't."
"Why?"
"You have no business going inside. Why were you following Rim Young anyway? Don't bother him."
At that moment, the man's eyes met Rim Young's, who was watching them, and then Rim Junhee turned to him.
"Go inside your room."
"Why can't I listen? I'll be quiet."
"Elders are talking here. You go rest now."
Narrowing his eyes, Rim Young still listened and, changing his shoes into house slippers, entered the house.
"What elders? Are they over a hundred now?"
Grumbling about this and that, he showered, changing into comfortable clothes. He had to get up early tomorrow too, and it was almost midnight. Getting into the bed, he listened to see if there were any voices outside but, hearing nothing, he laid down.
"Can I see my chance of succeeding now?"
["Your current chances of succeeding are 26%.]
"Ah, it increased. As long as it doesn't drop, I'm good."
Satisfied with the result, he immediately fell asleep afterwards.
*
"I see you're back at it."
As Rim Young waited for Wi Hajoon outside the entrance of the center, he encountered Park Taehee again, who was with his familiar animal that sat at his shoulder completely still. It almost appeared to be a figurine.
"Yes, I have something to say to Esper Wi Hajoon."
"Well, good luck catching him."
"Thank you. Have a good day, Taehee Sunbae."
Park Taehee, who always seemed bright and smiled, passed by him, clocking in on time. Rim Young continued to wait for Wi Hajoon with a pink roses bouquet in his arms that he had bought specifically for Wi Hajoon. He realized that their relationship was still quite rocky, and as the plot was progressing, he would soon need to convince Wi Hajoon to take him on the countryside business trip instead of Su Iseul. As of right now, that seemed kind of impossible, so Rim Young had to build up their relationship. First and foremost, he was going to apologize properly to Wi Hajoon for reporting him.
That was the main reason Wi Hajoon didn't like him. Though he couldn't reverse time and he'd probably choose to do the same, he could ask to be forgiven. Rim Young stood for another hour with no signs of Wi Hajoon nearby and decided to crouch down as he waited. Right then, another car drove into the parking lot. Though it wasn't the same car Wi Hajoon used, he had hopes that it would be him, but it wasn't.
The person who got out of the car was the male lead. Hyeong Ki was casually walking to the entrance when he ran into Rim Young.
"..."
"Hello."
"What are you doing?"
"Uh... have you seen Wi Hajoon?"
Hyeong Ki glanced around the parking lot before speaking.
"He hasn't arrived yet? That's strange."
So he hasn't seen Wi Hajoon either?
Rim Young slumped, resting the pink roses under his chin. What a waste of fresh roses, being dried by the open air. Hyeong Ki was still standing by his side for some reason. Thinking he should have a friendly relationship with the male lead too, he picked out a rose from the bundle and stretched it to him.
"Would you like a rose, Sunbae?"
Hyeong Ki stared at him for a second before reaching to receive the rose. He should hand one to Su Iseul too later.
"Rim Young, that's your name, right?"
"Hm? Yes."
Confused by the sudden question, Rim Young gazed up at Hyeong Ki, who spoke out immediately after his response.
"Were you secretly dating Wi Hajoon?"