24
Jihwan took off the t-shirt he was wearing and wrung it out. Water dripped into the bucket below. Since his goal was to fly without spilling or disturbing the full bucket of water, he had to come back and refill it whenever the water level dropped too low.
Jihwan truly felt like he was pouring water into a bottomless jar.
He took out the card Minjae had given him from the jacket he had carefully placed in the corner of the training room. Jihwan quietly studied Minjae’s youthful face on the card.
“Have we gotten closer?”
Jihwan recalled Minjae standing in front of him with a disgruntled expression while he himself was excited about getting to demonstrate his flying. Still, Sunbae gave me his card! Jihwan rubbed the card with his hand, polishing it.
I wonder if he’d get really angry if I lost this and said I wanted to keep it. While pondering this, Jihwan carefully put the card back in his jacket.
Shortly after, Jihwan roughly arranged the buckets and left the training room to wander around. It was because Taehyun, who would normally have visited him during his training time, hadn’t come.
After searching the entire Center without finding Taehyun, Jihwan knocked on the door of Taehyun’s dormitory.
“Hyung! Taehyun hyung!”
There was no answer. Jihwan pressed his ear to the door. He could sense slight movement inside. Jihwan enthusiastically knocked on the door again. His forehead was struck when the door suddenly opened.
“Hey, shut uuup.”
Taehyun’s voice was hoarse. Oh. Jihwan marveled at Taehyun’s hair standing up like a magpie’s nest. Taehyun pressed down his hair with irritable motions.
“Hyung, are you sick?”
“No.”
“Then help me out.”
“…What is it?”
Normally, Taehyun would have teased Jihwan or spoken with a half-joking, half-irritated voice. Thinking that something seemed off about Taehyun’s response, Jihwan blinked.
“Hyung, are you sure you’re not sick?”
“I’m not. What is it?”
Taehyun opened the door wider and gestured for Jihwan to come in. Jihwan quickly stepped into Taehyun’s room.
“Well, I’m doing the flight demonstration.”
“Right. I know because you’ve bragged about it a hundred times already.”
Coffee? Taehyun asked the simple question as he put water in the coffee pot. Jihwan nodded. After making instant coffee, Taehyun handed one cup to Jihwan and kept one for himself. Holding the coffee he received, Jihwan got to the main point.
“Hyung, do you want to try riding on me once?”
Pffft!
Taehyun couldn’t swallow his coffee and spat it out. Or more accurately, he sprayed it. Jihwan, who got coffee on his face, blinked his eyes. Taehyun, who had choked on his coffee, leaned against the sink and coughed repeatedly.
Jihwan looked around and took out wet wipes to hand to Taehyun. He also wiped his own face thoroughly.
“Hyung, you’re so clumsy.”
Taehyun glared fiercely at Jihwan. Jihwan sucked in his lips.
The impatient Jihwan pestered Taehyun until they headed together to the outdoor field. It was a dirt ground with weeds growing sparsely here and there. It’s kind of like… school. Jihwan muttered.
“Wait, but how much experience do you have carrying people while flying?”Â
Taehyun asked.
“Quite a lot?”
Jihwan answered. He didn’t mention that most of them were people who were barely conscious, except for Minjae. Taehyun, who let out a small sigh, raised both his arms.
“Safely. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
Jihwan picked up Taehyun like a princess. Taehyun, who had been awkwardly holding his arms up in the air, urgently grabbed Jihwan’s shoulders when he lifted off the ground.
“Let’s just go there and come back.”
Jihwan headed slightly beyond the field area toward the outskirts of the Center. The wind was especially strong today, making it difficult to match speed and altitude. It was equally challenging to maintain balance, so the two of them kept wobbling in the air.
Hyung, hold on tight. Jihwan said. In response, Taehyun tapped Jihwan’s shoulder.
Jihwan, who had been flying while only looking at the destination, lowered his head to look at Taehyun. Suddenly, Taehyun, with his lips tightly closed, quickly hit Jihwan’s shoulder several times. Taehyun’s eyes widened.
“…I think I’m going to throw up.”
“What?”
Whoa, whoa! Wait! Wait! Not wanting to receive Taehyun’s vomit on his body, Jihwan quickly headed back to the field. He could hear Taehyun cursing under his breath.
Ugh!
As soon as they landed on the field, Taehyun bent over and vomited on the ground. Jihwan quickly backed away.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
Taehyun mumbled something. Oh no. I must have made Hyung angry because I flew so badly. Jihwan cautiously approached Taehyun. What did you say? Jihwan asked.
“I can’t reach my noona.”
“…Huh?”
So it’s not because of my flying skills? Jihwan thought. Taehyun raised his head. Seeing the tears welling up in his eyes, Jihwan was at a loss for words. It was a side he had never seen before from Taehyun, who was always overflowing with composure.
“What if something happened to her?”
A tear fell from Taehyun’s eye.
According to Taehyun, his noona had gone down to a provincial area. Jihwan remembered that there had been a major earthquake in a provincial area recently, and many espers had been deployed there.
Jihwan carefully reached out and patted Taehyun’s back. He should have said that nothing bad would happen, but the words wouldn’t come out easily.
***
Ojun was sitting at his desk as usual. Then, noticing neatly ironed suit pants and expensive-looking shoes entering his field of vision, he thought: Here it comes at last.
Ojun tried to lift the corners of his mouth gently as he rose from his chair.
“Is there anything you need?”
“Secretary Yoon.”
Kim Jinsung called out to Ojun with a smile in return. Yes. Ojun answered.
“How is your mother? I think I heard that she was unwell recently.”
Ojun clenched his fist and dug his nails into his palm.
“Yes, she’s much better, thank you.”
“That’s good.”
Ojun didn’t ask what he wanted to say. Jinsung continued speaking, standing in front of Ojun without moving.
“Recently, children haven’t been deployed on missions.”
“…Yes.”
“And soon after, several media reporters contacted me individually. There was also talk in online communities. Thanks to that, I was able to respond quickly.”
“……”
“As Center Director, I have many responsibilities. It’s unfortunate that it’s not easy to know everything that happens within the Center.”
Judging by his words, Kim Jinsung had likely told the reporters who contacted him that ‘he was unaware of the situation.’
Telling Secretary Yoon this story was a form of pressure. It meant that he should know things the way Jinsung described them.
“…You’re very thoughtful.”
“I think how happy your mother must be to have such an excellent son like you. I feel rewarded for having trusted and hired you, Secretary Yoon.”
“You’re too kind.”
“I’ll continue to rely on you.”
Kim Jinsung patted Ojun’s shoulder. Ha-ha. Showing a good-natured smile, Jinsung went into his office. It was no different from saying he would be watching from now on.
Ojun sat down in his chair, almost collapsing into it.
“Your mother is unwell?”
Ojun hadn’t been the one to mention it. It was a question the Center Director had asked on his first day at work. Ojun had frozen on the spot.
Ojun had never written about his personal life in his resume. Of course, he hadn’t mentioned it in his interview either. He did a background check. Ojun felt a chill run down his spine.
“Building the Hero Center is not an easy task. I’ve always wanted young, capable blood like you. Let’s both work hard together.”
Capable. That word was emphasized. At that moment, Ojun realized what the Center Director wanted from him.
If it were now, he would never have taken the hand extended to him, but at that time, he needed money for his mother’s surgery and hospital bills. There was no other secretarial position that paid as well as this one.
“Ha….”
Ojun let out a small sigh. His mother’s hospital bills continued to be necessary. Knowing this, the Center Director was now pressuring him with a grip on his neck. Because if he got fired from here, he would have nowhere to go.
Kim Jinsung had that kind of influence. Perhaps he could even kill a powerless ordinary person like Ojun in an instant.
‘What would happen to my mother if I suddenly died?’
Ojun felt goosebumps on his arms. That’s why, fuck. I didn’t want to know anything. Ojun cursed under his breath, remembering Wooseok’s face as he grabbed his collar and pestered him. He couldn’t tell whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that he hadn’t been fired.
***
After putting down the heavy bucket in the corner of the training room, Jihwan was lost in thought, staring blankly at the box. He took out his phone from his pocket to check, but there were no messages.
Recently, Jihwan had been texting Minjae frequently. The main content was reporting how many hours he had been dedicated to training today, and asking if he could come to see him. But there were hardly any replies.
Hmm…. Jihwan began to wonder if he should send one more message to Minjae.
Buzz buzz-
At that moment, Jihwan’s phone vibrated. Jihwan quickly checked his phone.
-Jihwan, want to eat together?
It was a text from Hoyoung. Ah…. Just as he let out a sigh of disappointment, Jihwan gasped and had to question what he had just thought.
To feel disappointed at Sunbae Hoyoung’s text, I must be crazy. Jihwan scolded himself and replied.
-Yes, Sunbae. I’d love to!
Buzz buzz-
-See you at the cafeteria.
Jihwan stared at his phone for a moment. But no matter how long he waited, there was no other reply from Minjae. Jihwan pouted and left the training room. And as soon as he stepped outside, he ran into Hoyoung.
“Oh? Sunbae. Were you in the training room?”
“Yeah. I was in a different section. Jihwan, you’re working hard too.”
Hoyoung smiled, shaking his slightly wet hair. Jihwan, who had just been moving boxes around instead of properly training, smiled back a bit awkwardly.
“But Sunbae, you come to the training room quite often.”
“Hm? Me?”
“Yes. It seems like you’re in the training room whenever I come.”
At Jihwan’s words, Hoyoung showed a somewhat ambiguous smile. What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong? Jihwan grew concerned.
“Since my ability is rather common… I should at least put in the effort.”
“Common, you say?”
Jihwan’s face showed that this was the first time he’d heard such a thing.
“Well… there are quite a lot of flight-type espers….”
“……?”
What does it mean that there are many? Isn’t it good if there are many? It would be cool to fly together with all the sunbaes. Jihwan thought.
Seeing Jihwan quietly thinking, Hoyoung seemed to have jumped to some conclusion and waved his hands dismissively.
“Don’t worry about it! Even though you’re a flight-type, you’re not just an ordinary flight-type—you’re S-class! You’re definitely special!”
“…So having a common ability isn’t a good thing.”
Huh? Hoyoung asked, momentarily looking surprised as his eyes widened. A brief silence fell between Jihwan and Hoyoung.
Did I say something wrong? Jihwan worried.
Come to think of it, did I just imply that Sunbae Hoyoung’s ability isn’t good either? Is Sunbae Hoyoung angry? Jihwan’s mind became complicated.
“No, that’s not it!”
As Jihwan was about to open his mouth to apologize, Hoyoung waved his hands again. Oh. What isn’t it? Jihwan quickly closed his mouth again.
“Don’t think about it that way. Even though flight-types are common, it’s the ability that’s most needed….”
Jihwan felt somewhat dazed. Until now, he had been happy just to become an esper and thrilled to be paired with the famous Sunbae Minjae, so he hadn’t really thought about anything else.
He had only thought that since he became an esper, he would simply live as an esper, without knowing what kind of esper he should become or anything about the Center he belonged to.
“Sunbae.”
“Yes?”
“The Hero Center… what kind of place is it?”
When Jihwan asked, Hoyoung’s face stiffened slightly. He looked at Jihwan with an expression that seemed to be contemplating something.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
