# 27
“Do we have to write down what we learned every day?”
“Your experiences will be used as a basis for developing magicians on Earth, so please write with that in mind.”
“But we haven’t really learned anything proper yet, so there’s nothing to write.”
“The results of these reports will affect your future promotions and salary increases.”
“I’ll write diligently!”
Jin-ha smiled at the 22-year-old young magician who clenched his fist. While civil servants typically had salaries determined by their rank, the Anomaly Management Agency was somewhat different. They couldn’t attract Hunters by offering the same salaries as regular civil servants.
So, to compensate for the disadvantage of this “Low Risk Low Return” job—safer than regular guilds but with lower pay—the Anomaly Management Agency had a different system that allowed for salary increases and performance bonuses based on achievements. Of course, contract terms varied for each individual.
“And everyone, I’m not sure if you’ve heard…”
Jin-ha trailed off, unsure how to explain the rumor currently circulating.
“Oh! The rumor?”
“You’ve heard. That is actually…”
“It’s not true, right?”
“You’ve heard that much?”
A small child, whose documents indicated had just turned 18, nodded.
“The teacher explained it to us. When we were learning about the history of the Magic Tower and the Master’s achievements.”
“I see. Was this gentleman also there at that time?”
Jin-ha grabbed the wrist of Seo Ji-seop, who was trying to sneak away, and asked sweetly.
“Huh? Of course. He attends classes with us, so naturally.”
Hearing the expected answer, Jin-ha tightened his grip on the wrist, causing its owner to flinch. Ignoring him, Jin-ha asked again.
“What kind of story was it?”
“They said there are genders called alpha, omega, and beta here, and the Master is an alpha. Alphas and omegas influence each other through pheromones that only they can sense, and this usually happens in romantic relationships.”
“And?”
“And people suspect a relationship between the Master and you, Administrator, because the Master sprayed pheromones on you.”
“That’s right. But I am not in a romantic relationship with the Master. Absolutely not.”
“You don’t have to be. Because the Master is somewhat peculiar—he dislikes omegas and has a habit of fixating on odd things. They said he once spent three months and ten days hugging a sheep.”
Jin-ha froze. However, the young magicians, not noticing his reaction, laughed and chattered away.
“They say he’s raising it now in the garden area.”
“One time it was a large teddy bear, they said.”
“It was a broom at some point too.”
“What was the very first one? Was it a rock?”
“Anyway, they say it’s because the Master is a genius.”
Jin-ha pressed his lips tightly together, feeling an eerily cold sensation down his spine that he found difficult to understand himself.
It was unpleasant to be treated the same as animals or inanimate objects. Yes, this was definitely displeasure—there was no other reason to feel this way. And it was somewhat shocking that Legas hadn’t mentioned any of this when discussing the contract terms.
Jin-ha consciously smiled to reassure the children.
“That’s right. Currently, I’m just playing the role of such a… toy. I’m glad no one is misunderstanding.”
“The teacher clearly explained that strange misunderstandings would be disrespectful, so don’t worry. We know that you’ve voluntarily taken on this role for our sake. Thank you.”
“Well, it’s my job.”
At Jin-ha’s matter-of-fact reply, the boy beamed and said:
“Fortunately, the periods when the Master fixated on something in that way were short—as brief as two or three months, or as long as a year.”
“Two or three months to a year…”
“Yes. The teacher told us to tell you that you only need to endure that long.”
“I… see. Thank you for letting me know.”
“No problem!”
The young magicians returned to their rooms, saying they needed to write reports or review. Now only Jin-ha and Seo Ji-seop remained in the living room.
Once they were alone, Jin-ha threw aside Seo Ji-seop’s wrist, which he had been holding all this time, and asked:
“Why did you say such nonsense when you knew the truth?”
“Well, I was curious about your true feelings…”
“Guild Leader.”
Jin-ha cut off Seo Ji-seop’s flimsy excuse.
“I don’t care how you behave within the guild, but I would ask that you not extend your harassment of subordinates, which relies on your authority as Guild Leader, to me.”
Though he called it a request, it was clearly a warning.
“But the people I’ve talked to…”
“I said stop.”
Seo Ji-seop couldn’t continue in the face of Jin-ha’s irritated rebuke. Intimidated by Jin-ha’s fierce demeanor, Seo Ji-seop only slumped down on the sofa and muttered dejectedly after Jin-ha had gathered his pile of documents and disappeared into his room.
“…They said it’s the first time the Master has done this to a person…”
* * *
Jin-ha focused on work. Since electronic devices mysteriously didn’t function in this other world, he had to write the contents of his reports by hand on paper.
As he organized information about this world’s magic level, resources that could be obtained from the Magic Tower, and a list of resources from Earth suitable as trade compensation, the pages soon became filled with dense writing. After writing for a long time, Jin-ha irritably put down his pen, which had started to scratch across the paper without leaving ink. It seemed he had used up all the ink.
“…I’m tired.”
Jin-ha muttered, pushing up his neatly arranged hair.
When he stopped working, useless thoughts invaded his mind. He was about to get up to find a new pen but realized he would have to go to the living room to find supplies, so he sat back down.
He didn’t want to leave his room. Jin-ha had no choice but to face the distraction that kept invading his thoughts.
Thoughts about the man who had been treating him like a toy all along.
“I’m not really angry.”
It was true. He already knew that the man had been playing with him all along, so there was no reason to be newly angered.
The man had been tormenting him for two days already with the question of whether Jin-ha had anything he wanted to ask. Jin-ha had already guessed that there must be an intention to tease him—if the man had something to say, he could just say it directly.
So what he had just heard merely added certainty to his certainty.
“Hah…”
From what he had heard, alphas had to satisfy their desires through physical relationships whenever they went into rut, their heat period. The man, being an alpha, would be the same. Having to find a partner and spend bestial nights whenever the rut came, such things…
“Damn it.”
Jin-ha squeezed his eyes shut.
No, the truth was that he was angry. Not at the man, but at himself.
He was angry that he had become troubled by this rude man whose moods constantly fluctuated and who arbitrarily controlled others with his fingertips. He was angry that he had dedicated thoughts to something not worth deep consideration.
“At least his face is decent.”
Jin-ha muttered inadvertently.
The man was tall with broad shoulders and jaguar-like eyes. Although his impression was somewhat fierce, it softened into a completely different impression when he smiled—if one had to say, he had a very handsome face.
“Just his face. Just his face…”
Jin-ha laughed self-mockingly and shook his head. Until now, he had thought he didn’t particularly have a type when it came to appearances, but perhaps that man was his type. He had been captivated by a face that matched his preferences for the first time in his life. There was no other explanation.
He wasn’t particularly disappointed. Even if the man had been a proper person, Jin-ha wouldn’t have been able to share his heart with him.
Because.
‘Having secrets is fine. But because of them, you always keep one step back.’
‘When I’m with you, I always feel a wall.’
‘You want a serious relationship? Say that after removing your mask.’
All the serious relationships he had built ended with people leaving him because he couldn’t be truthful, even though he desired a truthful relationship. The secret about his father always made him take one step back in relationships, which ended up hurting the other person. It was his fault without any room for excuses.
Jin-ha truly wanted the truth. If he could learn the perfect truth about his father, not just speculation, perhaps he wouldn’t hurt others by keeping silent when he should be truthful. That’s what he thought.
That’s why he had started investigating his father’s past, facing the truth he had been avoiding. Any relationship formed before obtaining the truth would be futile. So Jin-ha had no intention of having any serious relationship until everything was certain.
So, really.
Lee Jin-ha shouldn’t get hurt.
‘Then why am I like this?’
Jin-ha jumped up from his seat and opened the window. Even cooling his body with the cold night breeze didn’t relieve the tightness in his chest. He had difficulty breathing and felt a heaviness in his chest. Loosening his tie didn’t help either.
‘Two to three months or a year.’
His hand gripping the windowsill tightened. As his little finger began to tingle painfully, he inhaled almost like a gasp.
After repeated slow deep breaths, his irregularly beating heart soon regained stability. Jin-ha looked up at the moon, ridiculously large and bright unlike on Earth, and repeated to himself.
It was true.
Lee Jin-ha was not hurt.
There was no reason to be hurt in the first place.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
