40
Wooseok gulped down whiskey. It felt like his throat was burning up.
After finishing his meeting with Seoyeon, Wooseok, unlike usual, left work early and headed straight there. It was the bar where he had drunk with Ojun. Today felt like a day he needed to drink.
He thought he had put in effort in his own way, even though he became department director just because of his guide rating. Wooseok was angry at himself for discovering too late that supplies were running low.
“Acting like you’re playing hero when you got a job that others would kill for without even trying.”
Suddenly Ojun’s words came to mind. They stung like daggers.
“Playing hero…”
It wasn’t wrong. The problem was being a hero who couldn’t save anyone. So it was just play-acting? Wooseok thought self-mockingly.
“Are you still chewing on that?”
Wooseok turned his head to the side. Ojun was looking down at him with an annoyed face. Huh? Wooseok was a bit surprised.
Ojun sighed, pulled out a chair, and sat down next to Wooseok.
“Is this a personal occasion now?”Â
Wooseok asked. He was quoting what Ojun had said outside the Center Director’s office last time.
Ojun took Wooseok’s glass and gulped down some whiskey.
“You know you tend to have a lot of bite in your words? And you hold grudges for a while too.”
“Me?”
Wooseok pointed at his own face with his index finger.
“Who else would I be talking about? Your sense of direction isn’t great either.”
Pfft. Wooseok let out a small laugh.
“Were you always this caustic? And articulate?”
Wooseok asked.
“I’m still not over it. You used the Center Director’s summons to mess with me.”
Ojun said, shrugging his shoulders. Ah. Wooseok nodded.
“But that wasn’t really… there were circumstances…”
Wooseok trailed off. Ojun was looking at him. It seemed like he was waiting for an explanation. But Wooseok couldn’t tell him about those circumstances.
“I’m sorry. Seems like I unintentionally caused you trouble again.”
Wooseok apologized. Ojun’s eyes narrowed slightly. Tsk. The sound of him clicking his tongue was heard.
“What?”
“…Don’t take what I said to heart.”
“Pardon?”
“That hero play-acting thing. At least you’re making an effort, unlike me who just pretends not to know.”
After saying that, Ojun fidgeted with his glass as if embarrassed.
Wooseok looked at him and asked a question that sounded like a complaint.
“Do you think effort will be enough?”
“Probably not. But I think it’s better than doing nothing.”
It was quite a pessimistic comfort. Still, Wooseok felt consoled. It was better than saying things would definitely work out. His mood, which had been plummeting all day, seemed to be improving.
“Why are you being nice to me today?”
“What did you say?”
Ojun said with an expression of disbelief.
“There are many seats in this bar, why sit next to me?”
Wooseok smiled. The alcohol he had gulped down earlier was starting to affect him.
“That’s… because you had that kind of face.”
“…What kind of face?”
“Well… the kind of face that would make all the patrolling police officers get out of their cars if you were standing on the Han River bridge.”
“…Are you saying I look like a criminal?”
Wooseok was playing dumb on purpose. Was I making that kind of face? He felt a little embarrassed for some reason.
Ojun shook his head and didn’t respond.
Wooseok quietly observed Ojun’s profile as he sipped his drink. He’s such a strange person, Wooseok thought. He runs away when things seem good, suddenly scratches at people, and then soothes them again.
“Secretary Yoon, what are we to each other?”
Wooseok asked a childish question.
“We’re nothing to each other.”
Ojun answered firmly.
“But we slept together.”
“Shut up.”
“Why? This is a personal occasion so I’m separating work and private matters correctly. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Wooseok leaned his face toward Ojun. He could see Ojun’s pupils shaking. Wooseok thought it was quite cute.
“You seem to have recovered, so I’ll be going now.”
Wooseok pulled on Ojun’s arm as he was about to stand up. Ojun neither pushed him away nor pulled back strongly.
Wooseok didn’t miss the opportunity.
“Can’t you just stay with me a little longer?”
Ojun’s lips quivered. Wooseok slowly pulled on Ojun’s arm.
***
Minjae was reciting the character for patience in his mind. His junior who had somehow managed to show up for the final flight demonstration training had been acting like a jerk since earlier.
Jihwan was expressing with his whole body that he didn’t want to train with Minjae. He kept turning his gaze toward empty space, causing his flight direction to be misaligned, and Minjae had to bend his waist several times due to the recoil of the rope.
To make matters worse, the side of Jihwan connected to Minjae by rope was his left side, so Minjae had to keep facing the cheek of Jihwan that he had hit yesterday.
Seeing that his cheek was slightly reddened and swollen, Minjae’s conscience pricked him. Ah, shit. Why did I hit him and make a scene yesterday? Minjae blamed himself.
“Wait a moment.”
At Minjae’s words, Jihwan stopped in mid-air. Minjae swallowed a sigh and grabbed Jihwan’s cheek. Jihwan tried to avoid it by twisting his head.
“Hold still.”
“I’m fine.”
“We have to do the demonstration in front of people tomorrow, and it can’t be swollen.”
At Minjae’s words, Jihwan stopped moving. Minjae applied Hill to Jihwan’s face. Jihwan was glaring at the empty space, turning his face slightly away from Minjae.
“I didn’t know you cared so much about appearances.”
Jihwan said sarcastically. Seriously, this bastard. Minjae had to suppress the urge to slap the cheek he had just healed.
It had been impossible to take all the children at that time. Espers on the verge of manifestation are sensitive to external physical stimuli, and considering that, they couldn’t be carefully carried out one by one.
And espers whose guiding was being controlled through unknown methods were likely unfamiliar with how to use their abilities.
The chances were too slim, and if they failed, The Crow might completely realize their identities, making it impossible to gather information again. Despite appearing somewhat sloppy on the outside, it wasn’t a small group.
“Hah… take it easy.”
Minjae wanted to move past this situation. He didn’t want to sympathize with Jihwan’s naive sense of justice, nor did he want to deliberately trample on it.
But Jihwan seemed to have no such intention as he didn’t answer and changed direction to start flying. And he deliberately changed direction as if to prove a point. He didn’t move according to what he had agreed with Minjae beforehand.
“Hey!”
Finally, Minjae shouted.
“Fuck this. If you’re going to be like this, just quit!”
At the top of the control tower, Minjae untied the rope fixed around his waist. Unlike usual, Jihwan was holding Minjae carelessly and when Minjae struggled to untie the rope, Jihwan lost his grip on him. Minjae began to fall.
Jihwan looked at his arms and then downward, widening his eyes. Then he began to catch up to Minjae at a fast speed.
“Are you crazy??”
Jihwan grabbed Minjae and landed on the control tower, shouting.
“I guess you don’t want to let me die that badly. I thought you wanted to kill me since your flying was so shitty.”
Minjae said.
“A hero’s most basic duty is to save people.”
Jihwan fired back without backing down. He seemed to want to criticize Minjae as a hero who didn’t even fulfill his basic duties. How typical. Minjae suddenly felt a wave of fatigue.
“Fine, I’m not a hero. Happy?”
“……”
“It might seem trivial to a hero like you, but the flight demonstration is your assigned mission, so take it seriously.”
“What are you saying…”
Jihwan stopped mid-sentence and looked hurt. He seemed to feel wronged by someone who wouldn’t fire back at his anger.
Minjae said nothing and handed the rope to Jihwan, noticing that a yellow warning light had come on at Jihwan’s wrist.
“Make sure to receive guiding before the flight demonstration tomorrow.”
Jihwan said nothing and took the rope. Minjae opened the control tower door and walked down.
***
The cheers of the crowd could be heard. People gathered in the square were painting wing designs on their faces with blue paint. Minjae was standing behind a screen on the rooftop of the building where the flight demonstration would start.
Jihwan walked over with the rope and connected it to secure Minjae’s waist and his own. For a while, Jihwan kept his head down, pulling on the rope as if checking it wouldn’t come loose.
“Did you receive guiding?”
Minjae asked.
“I took the medicine.”
Jihwan answered briefly and looked ahead. A green light was lit on Jihwan’s wrist. His condition was fine, so it didn’t matter. Minjae turned his head.
The screen fluttered in the wind. The crowd’s cheers grew louder. Minjae always hated this sound.
[Today, there will be a flight demonstration event at the Hero Center. Many people have gathered at the square, looking forward to meeting the heroes. The blue wings painted on faces symbolize the Hero Center, representing those who protect.]
The news anchor’s voice leaked from a large electronic display. Soon after, the event MC’s voice resounded.
“Everyone! Are you ready!”
With the sound of fanfare and fireworks, Jihwan and Minjae parted the screen and began to descend.
As Minjae and Jihwan appeared in mid-air, people pointed at them and cheered. After descending to a safe height, Jihwan sharply changed direction and soared upward again. Then, as practiced, he did somersaults while drawing figure eights horizontally.
Jihwan’s flight was clean, just as they had practiced. Except for slightly adjusting his posture when turning directions due to nervousness, there was nothing special for Minjae to be wary about.
“Wave your hands!!!”
Someone shouted in a loud voice. Minjae waved his hand toward the crowd in mid-air. The people were endlessly shouting something toward the two, who were barely visible.
Minjae didn’t like those gathered, mixed sounds. He glanced at Jihwan. Jihwan was enthusiastically greeting people with a soft smile.
Minjae found it fascinating that Jihwan liked people so much and enjoyed all of this, which was nothing more than a show.
Next was the sequence of ascending up to the clouds, flying about 2.5 kilometers, and then descending again. Since the crowd occupied the square and connecting roads, it was like an event where they disappeared and then reappeared elsewhere.
Jihwan flew up above the clouds. The air became slightly cold. The wind was getting a bit stronger. Unfortunately, the wind direction was opposite, so they had to fly against resistance.
“Will you be okay?”
Minjae asked. Performing well was important, but safety was the priority.
“I can do it.”
Jihwan answered. And he started to move forward little by little.
The sound of the rope’s ring rattling due to the wind kept coming. As their rope swayed, it pulled at both their waists, and Jihwan and Minjae’s trajectory also wobbled slightly.
The buzzing sound made their ears feel muffled. The cheers from below were not coming through well.
Something feels off. As Minjae was thinking this, a small electronic sound reached his ears. A beeping sound.
Is it tinnitus from the pressure? Minjae thought it seemed dangerous.
“…you hear me?”
Whatever Jihwan was saying wasn’t clear.
“Wait—”
Just as Minjae was about to say “let’s descend,” a white light burst in front of his eyes. A tremendous wind engulfed Minjae and Jihwan.
BOOM!
Belatedly, the sound of an explosion rang out.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
