Chapter 106
“Hyung, by any chance…”
I was about to ask if he was seeing someone, but his answer was even more surprising than I had expected.
“I got married three years ago. I even have a baby.”
“Wow.”
My mouth fell open at the unexpected answer.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Even if I couldn’t attend, I would have congratulated you wholeheartedly…”
When I expressed my disappointment, half-joking and half-serious, Gi-jun hyung scratched the back of his neck with an embarrassed expression.
“I left for America almost like I was running away from you. But until then, I hadn’t even properly established myself, so I felt too ashamed to tell you I was getting married.”
“Come on, how could that be? Just getting into the Federal Awakened Research Institute is an incredible achievement.”
I wasn’t just trying to flatter him; I genuinely meant it. In the early days of the Chaos, America had already quickly established the Federal Awakened Center (FAC) and Research Institute (FARI), and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all kinds of information from around the world flowed into it, as befitting a hegemonic nation in many ways.
So I imagined the hiring hurdle must be somewhere up in the unreachable sky, and just for entering such a place with his skills alone, hyung was a figure worthy of my respect.
But it seemed that Gi-jun hyung’s goal, who had left everything behind, was much higher than that. I couldn’t tell what or how far he had achieved, but seeing him come to meet me like this, I could guess that he had probably achieved the results he wanted.
Perhaps my sincerity was conveyed, as hyung said “thank you” with a shy smile and belatedly offered something to ease my disappointment.
“Want to see a family photo?”
“Yes, please show me.”
Soon, his phone screen was extended toward me. On the display, a couple—no, a married couple—in matching white shirts and blue jeans, and a child who resembled both of them equally, were smiling as brightly as sunshine.
“Wow, your wife is absolutely beautiful. And the baby is so cute.”
Just looking at the photo seemed to convey the happiness of the family of three. After viewing a few more photos, I suddenly looked at Gi-jun hyung’s face and burst out laughing. He must really enjoy even just looking at the photos—the mouth of this usually composed man was stretched almost to his ears.
“It would have been nice if your wife had come along too. That’s too bad.”
“She actually wanted to come, but she couldn’t leave because of an important project. Let’s meet together next time.”
“Sure, hyung. When are you planning to return?”
Gi-jun hyung paused for a moment with an “Oh?” before smiling slightly and making an offer.
“I’m planning to stay for about a week. Why, do you want to get rid of me already?”
“No way, how could that be?”
There was only one reason I asked about his departure schedule. I needed to buy a toy for the baby before he went back.
Our catching-up continued as we ate. Both the stories about his family and his life at the research institute were fascinating to me.
I knew from his emails that hyung had achieved his goal of joining the Awakened Research Institute, but after that, even though we occasionally kept in touch, there was absolutely no discussion about his duties. Since I had been hesitant to ask first and had been careful with my words, every story Gi-jun hyung shared today was fresh and interesting.
Of course, there were familiar anecdotes. Like how the center lobby would get as noisy as a marketplace whenever he went out, how people would roar with joy when they received an A-rank assessment, how scouts from each guild would rush to hand out their business cards, and how people who couldn’t control their tempers would occasionally get into fistfights.
Thinking that ‘people live the same lives everywhere,’ I listened attentively to hyung’s words, when suddenly a question arose.
“What’s your research field, hyung? I know someone who works as the Guide Research Team Leader at the Korean Awakened Research Institute.”
Gi-jun hyung showed a surprised reaction at my words.
“You know someone at the Awakened Research Institute?”
“Yes. To be precise, it’s someone I know through a mutual acquaintance.”
“…I see.”
After seeming lost in thought for a moment, hyung looked into my eyes again.
“Can we talk about that a little later? I think we should probably get going now.”
Hyung and I had already finished our meal and were drinking the tea that came as dessert. Since it wasn’t polite to occupy a table at an open restaurant for too long, I agreed with hyung’s suggestion without protest.
As night fell, more people were walking the streets. I was checking my watch discreetly when I heard Gi-jun hyung’s voice.
“Do you need to go home early?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Then would you like to have some chicken and beer at my place? My accommodation is right over there.”
The place hyung pointed to was a hotel towering across the street. Going there wasn’t a problem, but there was another issue.
“I’m really full right now.”
As I placed my hand on my stomach to show him, Gi-jun hyung smiled faintly and said he felt the same.
“Actually, the chicken and beer is just an excuse… I have something I want to discuss in private.”
The thought ‘What is it?’ reflexively crossed my mind, but I stopped before saying it out loud. If it were something that could be discussed while standing here, he wouldn’t have needed to find a quiet place.
“Sure, hyung.”
So once again, without much deliberation, I accepted hyung’s proposal. As soon as we entered the room after passing through the hotel entrance and elevator, hyung ordered room service first.
Meanwhile, I glanced around the interior of the room. It was set up like a reception room, and with no bed in sight, it seemed the bedroom was separate.
‘Hyung must have really made it.’
Hyung, who had just hung up the phone, looked at me and invited me to sit comfortably. I didn’t hesitate to sit on the sofa and honestly expressed what I felt.
“Your accommodation is really nice, hyung.”
I didn’t want to wear an unnecessary mask or put on airs in front of Gi-jun hyung, with whom I was as close as a real brother. Hyung also sat down on the sofa next to me and replied.
“Want to stay over? There are two bedrooms.”
“Wow, there are two bedrooms?”
“That’s what I found when I arrived.”
“Hyung, you’ve really made it…”
When I spoke candidly once again, Gi-jun hyung laughed out loud. He soon subdued his laughter slightly and continued the conversation.
“Su-hyeon, are you still living alone?”
I hesitated slightly for a moment but then answered honestly.
“I’m living with my pair Esper. Oh, I made a pair contract a few months ago. Surprising, right?”
I smiled, expecting hyung to be much more surprised than before. But guess what? Once again, I was the one who was surprised. It was because of hyung’s next words.
“I know. You contracted with an S-rank Esper.”
“How do you know?”
Only after reflexively asking did I realize what a foolish question it was. As mentioned, all sorts of rumors and news from around the world would gather at the research institute where hyung worked, and among them, matters related to S-rank awakened ones would be top-tier information.
No, even aside from that, anyone with even a slight interest in this world would know about Song Ji-hyeok’s existence. After all, the entire country had been abuzz about it for a while.
Since the topic came up, I told him how I was able to become Song Ji-hyeok’s pair Guide. While I recited the major events I remembered, omitting the trivial parts, Gi-jun hyung listened to my story with the utmost serious expression. And like a veteran, he didn’t forget to ask piercing questions about the core issues.
“But with such a significant rank difference, they recognized you as a pair without much resistance?”
“No way.”
I denied hyung’s words with a resigned face. The hardships I had gone through flashed through my mind like a panorama.
Maybe I should write an autobiography when I retire? It might sell like hotcakes.
“Why, were there many incidents?”
“Not few, haha. But we’re doing well now.”
While I could have tattled like a child about every little detail, I decided to hold back this time. These were now things I could laugh about as memories, but I thought hyung might feel guilty, thinking ‘it’s because I left.’ The Gi-jun hyung I knew was exactly that kind of person.
As I was wondering what else to talk about, hyung, who had been watching me, quietly called my name.
“Su-hyeon.”
“Yes?”
And then he hit the bull’s eye with something I hadn’t expected.
“By any chance. Are you experiencing any guiding side effects?”
“…What?”
I froze mid-smile. As I couldn’t hide my agitation, hyung calmly continued.
“The larger the rank difference, the more I’ve seen cases where there are no problems at first, but increasingly serious side effects or after-effects appear. I was asking if that might be the case for you too… It seems my guess was right.”
I missed the moment to refute or deny it. I belatedly moved my lips, but I still couldn’t say “that’s not the case.” It was because of hyung’s almost 100% confident attitude.
Without even realizing it, I avoided Gi-jun hyung’s eyes, though I hadn’t done anything wrong. No thoughts came to mind. As I sat stiffly like a broken robot, not knowing what to say or how to react, hyung broke the silence and continued.
“I’ll be straightforward because it’s you. I heard that you recently went to a regular dungeon and suffered severely from guiding side effects.”
It was no longer particularly surprising that rumors about me were circulating. But that didn’t mean it was okay. There must be at least dozens more people working at the research institute besides Gi-jun hyung, and it wasn’t pleasant to think that people I didn’t even know were privy to my personal information under the pretext of security.
But it wasn’t something to confront hyung about either. After clenching and unclenching my fists a couple of times with hands that had gone cold, I finally managed to force a smile toward hyung.
“You even know about that? You’re really something.”
I couldn’t hold out for long and soon bowed my head again. I could feel the heat rising through my neck to the tips of my ears from the overwhelming embarrassment and shame.
If he already knew that much, he probably also knew that Song Ji-hyeok had received guiding from Guide Ham Seo-ryul instead of me, and that my Guide rank had dropped to D-rank. It hadn’t even been 30 minutes since I had proudly told hyung about my pair contract, and to think that he already knew my current situation made me want to hide in a mouse hole.
He could have just pretended not to know. Just as I was about to feel an unwarranted resentment, Gi-jun hyung’s calm voice reached me again.
“So, Su-hyeon.”
I flinched slightly for a moment. Gi-jun hyung grasped my loosely interlocked hands as if embracing them. When I raised my head again, I saw hyung’s eyes, dark and calm like the night sea.
“Would you like to come to America with me?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
