21
Bang bang bang!
Bang bang!
Minjae, who had finally managed to fall asleep after suffering from a headache and downing some vodka, was awakened by someone knocking on his dormitory door.
After turning on his phone screen to check the time, Minjae swallowed a curse.
“Which fucking bastard is banging on my door at three-thirty in the morning?”
I’ll kill them if it’s not a real emergency. With that thought, Minjae roughly yanked the door open. And then he lost his words.
In front of Minjae, who was still frowning with sleep, was Jihwan floating in midair while holding a large box.
Judging by his flushed face and the alcohol smell emanating from his entire body, he was completely drunk. Minjae couldn’t tell whether what was floating in front of him was a person or just alcohol.
“Sunbae.”
Jihwan called out to Minjae.
“What.”
Minjae responded.
“Minjae sunbae~”
Jihwan’s voice trailed off. Minjae didn’t answer.
“I carried this, you know.”
“I know. I can see that.”
Huff. Jihwan let out a big sigh and suddenly started to fly backward. What the hell. Minjae muttered.
After backing up, Jihwan turned around again and flew back toward Minjae. The entire time, the box made no sound.
Jihwan set the box down in front of Minjae. Thud. The sound of the box being placed down echoed through the corridor. Kong, kong, the sound of balls hitting the walls inside the box could be heard.
“I told you I could carry it.”
“And?”
So you carried it all the way here? Minjae thought.
“You said to call you if I could carry it!”
Suddenly Jihwan shouted loudly. His voice reverberated through the corridor.
“Keep it down.”
Minjae warned in a low voice.
“When you say to call, that means come over, right?”
“…Are you crying?”
Jihwan spoke with a voice that sounded like he was on the verge of tears. This is driving me crazy. Minjae was at his wits’ end.
“I… I…”
“What.”
“I even gave up my first kiss to save you, sunbae!”
What? Minjae covered Jihwan’s mouth with his hand as an incredibly loud voice burst out.
“Are you insane? What are you saying?”
“Mmph!”
Jihwan mumbled and then bit Minjae’s hand. Ack! Minjae shook his hand in the air while glaring at Jihwan. Should I hit him? Minjae hesitated for a moment.
“That was… my first…”
“……”
“Take responsibility.”
Take responsibility for what? Minjae was dumbfounded.
“You really…”
Just as he was about to ask if Jihwan had a death wish, Jihwan squirmed and then thrust his face forward. Jihwan’s gaze was fixed on Minjae’s lips.
Hey, hey. Startled by Jihwan approaching as if to kiss him, Minjae grabbed his face and pushed him back.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
When Jihwan’s face was covered by Minjae’s hand, he kissed Minjae’s hand. With his eyes closed and everything. He didn’t seem to be able to tell whether he was kissing a hand or lips.
Minjae felt Jihwan’s tongue lick his palm. He quickly pulled his hand back. Then he grabbed Jihwan by the collar.
“You crazy bastard, can’t you control yourself?”
“After I did this…”
Not even realizing his collar was grabbed, Jihwan looked at Minjae with dreamy eyes. Huh. Minjae let out a hollow laugh.
Because sunbae couldn’t take the medicine… I… I… Jihwan’s face suddenly contorted. He started to drop tears.
Minjae stared at Jihwan, completely losing his will to fight back because the situation was so absurd. What the hell happened inside that sinkhole? Minjae wondered.
“I… how much…”
Jihwan stopped mid-sentence and made a sobbing sound. Then he began to cry bitterly, his shoulders trembling.
This is really driving me insane. Minjae supported Jihwan’s body as he was about to collapse and lifted his head. There, there. Minjae tried to comfort him first.
“Why do you hate me so much, sunbae?”
Jihwan, who could barely stand straight, looked up at Minjae’s face. His eyes were bloodshot. In that moment, Minjae felt as if he was the one who’d been grabbed by the collar, unable to move.
There was something tenacious in Jihwan’s tear-soaked eyes.
Does he even know what kind of look he’s giving right now? When Minjae just stared at Jihwan without saying anything, Jihwan roughly wiped his tears away with his hand.
“…I don’t hate you.”
Minjae said. Jihwan stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at Minjae.
“…Really?”
Jihwan asked. He straightened up and took one step closer to Minjae. The box at Jihwan’s feet made a thudding sound as balls hit against it.
“…I said I don’t hate you.”
Minjae said. Jihwan’s upper body was gradually leaning forward again. Because he was getting too close, Minjae had to pull back slightly.
“Then…”
Jihwan kept dragging out the end of his words. Minjae gently pushed Jihwan’s upper body back. Jihwan’s body suddenly toppled backward. Minjae had to quickly grab his collar again in shock.
He almost cracked his skull. What is he, some kind of roly-poly doll? Minjae sighed. Feeling that Jihwan must have been upset enough to fly over with the box while drunk, Minjae opened his mouth.
“…I had you carry the box because you couldn’t maintain your center of gravity while flying. You need to get the basics right, believing that you’re an S-class…”
“…I could carry that box more than a hundred times.”
Jihwan cut off Minjae’s words with a solemn expression. So what am I supposed to do about that?
“Okay, I get it, now get lost.”
Minjae said, suppressing his fatigue.
“Then, please come with me.”
“What?”
Jihwan caught Minjae’s hand as he was about to close the door.
“…We’re a pair, right? Why do you always go on missions with Hoyoung sunbae…”
Tears welled up in Jihwan’s eyes again. This guy’s drunk behavior is really pathetic. Minjae thought.
“Alright, alright. I get it.”
There wasn’t even 1 gram of soul in Minjae’s voice. But Jihwan’s eyes sparkled at the answer and he pulled Minjae’s hand even more.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Really…”
“I said I get it.”
Minjae was about to say that one more word and Jihwan would be dead, but he stopped. This was because Jihwan’s body completely tilted forward and collapsed onto Minjae as he was asking for confirmation again.
Catching him in the confusion, Minjae muttered a curse.
Maybe I should just push him out into the hallway and close the door. It’s a hallway, so he won’t freeze to death. Just as Minjae made up his mind and was about to push Jihwan away.
“Minjae sunbae…”
Jihwan called out to Minjae in a slurred voice, as if talking in his sleep. Minjae looked down at the head buried in his chest, mumbling.
Hah. With a deep sigh, Minjae grabbed Jihwan by the collar and dragged him inside. The sound of the lock clicking shut could be heard.
***
Having lost sleep because of the unwelcome visitor at dawn, Minjae walked to work like a zombie. When he reached the top floor on the elevator in the Center building, he ran into Secretary Yoon, who somehow looked like a zombie just like himself.
“Hello.”
Minjae greeted him first. Ojun flinched when he saw him and then produced a smile that couldn’t be more awkward.
“Hello, Director Woo.”
Director Woo. It was an unfamiliar title as no one in the Center except for Secretary Ojun called him that.
After greeting Minjae, Secretary Yoon stared blankly into space. After waiting in front of him for a while, Minjae spoke up.
“Secretary Yoon, is something wrong?”
“What? No? Why do you ask?”
Ojun answered at an incredibly fast speed. Well, it wasn’t an answer, more like a question back.
“You look very tired…”
“Ah, I…”
Ojun, who was about to say something, trailed off again and then bit his lower lip so hard it turned white. Minjae felt a bit embarrassed because of Ojun’s continually strange behavior.
“You must be quite busy these days.”
“What? No, not particularly…”
This was the first time he’d denied it. Having blurted out something stupid, Ojun seemed to feel embarrassed himself and smiled awkwardly.
“Umm… is the Center Director in?”
“Ah, yes!”
Ojun opened the door to the Center Director’s office. Minjae gave Ojun a slight bow and entered.
“You called for me.”
“……”
The Center Director did not acknowledge Minjae’s greeting as he entered his office. He didn’t even invite him to sit. Regardless, Minjae sat down in the chair opposite the Center Director’s desk.
Thud. The Center Director lightly tossed a newspaper onto the table in front of the chair where Minjae was sitting. It was an article with the headline ‘Rumors of Discord Between SSS-class Esper and S-class Esper Surface.’
So it’s about this. Minjae thought that the Center Director, who was sensitive about the media, was a bit slow to react this time, and shrugged his shoulders.
“You, are you doing this deliberately?”
“Why would you think that?”
“I thought I made myself clear last time.”
“……”
“Make sure this kind of story never comes out again.”
“Understood.”
Minjae answered in an insincere tone. The Center Director, as if he had anticipated Minjae’s response, added:
“You and Jihwan will do the upcoming flight demonstration.”
“I refuse.”
A flight demonstration was, simply put, like a parade performed by espers. It was similar to a show put on by flight-type and strength-type espers for gathered citizens to watch.
The intention was to improve the image of espers, but it was no different from making espers into beasts in a cage.
“I’ll assume you understand you’ll be doing it.”
The Center Director lightly dismissed Minjae’s words. What an asshole. Minjae swallowed that thought.
“You’re not asking about the 977 situation.”
The Center Director would have certainly heard that Minjae had captured a terrorist at the sinkhole site. Yet today he only spoke about the “discord rumors” when he called Minjae in. Minjae found that strange.
“You should report that without me asking.”
How much and what kind of report had already gone in? Minjae wondered. He didn’t want to report every single detail. Minjae chose to remain silent for now.
“You arrested someone based on mere suspicion and didn’t get any results. I heard that terrorist died. Was he even really a terrorist in the first place?”
What?
Minjae doubted what he had just heard.
“…He’s dead?”
“You didn’t even know he was dead? He was found dead early this morning. They say he committed suicide.”
“…That’s impossible.”
That man was definitely not in a state to commit suicide. When he saw him in Dr. Jo’s laboratory, he couldn’t remember anything.
The suicide part was also strange. The face of the man who had asked to be released because his family would be worried came vividly to mind. That face didn’t look like someone who lacked the will to live.
“What’s impossible is your way of handling this situation!”
The Center Director slammed his fist on his desk.
“We made you the Center’s mascot, saying how cute, how cute, and then you go and cause this kind of accident. One more time—”
The Center Director paused briefly, then raised his hand and extended his index finger toward Minjae.
“If something like this happens again, I won’t let it slide like I did this time, Woo Minjae.”
It seemed he had even dropped the “Mr.” that he usually used when pretending to be dignified.
“This is a warning.”
The Center Director added, extending his index finger once more. You’re the one who put me in a mascot position I didn’t even want, and now you’re threatening me with that position? What bullshit. Minjae thought.
“You may go now.”
Ahem. After clearing his throat, the Center Director straightened his slightly disheveled clothes. Minjae slowly rose and headed toward the door.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
