# Chapter 18
It was a timid voice, barely audible. With those words, the cold atmosphere that had prevailed collapsed as if it had never existed.
“Welcome! We are the Earth Peace Research Institute, working for everyone’s peace. Please sit here.”
As soon as the Director realized the visitor was a client, she jumped up from her seat with a bright smile.
“I’m surprised. No one has ever come to the office directly with a request before.”
Jeongmun spoke to me apologetically, as if embarrassed for having been wary of the client. I was surprised to learn that no one had ever visited this office before, but it wasn’t exactly shocking. Despite being their first office visitor, Heerim and Jeongmun just sat there doing nothing, staring blankly.
I released a shallow sigh and checked the refrigerator. Fortunately, there was an orange juice. I poured the juice into a paper cup. Heerim, who was standing nearby, suddenly spoke up.
“Hyung, are you thirsty? Should I go buy coffee?”
“No. This isn’t for me.”
“Then who’s it for?”
“It’s for the client. We should treat our rare visitor well.”
Heerim paused at my words and only then observed the client sitting on the sofa.
“We have to… treat them well?”
“What? Of course.”
You’re asking the obvious.
I laughed hollowly and approached the client sitting on the sofa. Judging by how stiffly she was sitting, she seemed very nervous.
“Please have this.”
“Ah, thank you.”
I handed the drink to the client with a slight smile, hoping to ease her tension. It was a business smile ingrained in me after countless part-time jobs. Only then did the client return a faint smile.
“Jaeo hyung.”
As I finished my task and returned to my seat, Heerim called out to me. For some reason, his lips were jutting out in a pout.
“Do you know that client?”
Heerim’s voice was as sullen as his expression. Did something suddenly upset him? I shook my head in confusion.
“What? No. I’m seeing her for the first time today.”
“Why are you smiling at someone you’re meeting for the first time? You could just give her the drink. Is she your type?”
“What?”
What nonsense is this.
Someone might think I had given the client my number instead of a drink. I frowned at this absurd leap of logic and countered.
“You smile at me all the time too. Does that mean you like me?”
“Of course I like you.”
I was at a loss for words at Heerim’s answer, which came without a moment’s hesitation. Even knowing it wasn’t meant in a romantic way, I instinctively held my breath when I heard him say he liked me. Is it okay to just blurt out that you like someone?
While I was fumbling in bewilderment and embarrassment, Heerim continued.
“You’re my Guide, after all.”
That’s right. Why was I nervous?
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding in a feeling that was either relief or emptiness, I couldn’t tell which.
“Jaeo hyung. What if. If that person asks for Guiding, you shouldn’t do it. Not for other Espers either! Got it?”
“…I don’t think I’ll ever meet another Esper in my life.”
I deliberately muttered in an indifferent tone to avoid showing Heerim that I was affected. Even though Heerim knew I had no intention of continuing the conversation, he kept lingering around me. When I deliberately didn’t respond, he looked ready to lie down on the floor in protest.
“You should only Guide me. Answer me. Say you’ll only Guide me.”
“Okay, I get it. Now please go back to your seat.”
Only after getting confirmation from me did Heerim return to his place. I swallowed a sigh and rubbed my tired face. As the distance between Heerim and me had decreased due to the Guiding, Heerim’s affection and interest in me had intensified to what could be called obsession. Such behavior from Heerim was annoying and concerning, but having received 100 million won, I couldn’t in good conscience say anything negative.
After forcibly detaching Heerim from me, I observed the client sitting on the sofa. Since no requests had come in since catching the Sea Squirt Man, I was curious about why the client had come.
“Haah—”
Dressed in neat office casual wear, she gulped down the drink I had given her in one go and sighed. Dark circles lay heavily under her eyes as if she hadn’t slept properly, and she looked extremely tired. It was a face commonly seen in downtown cafes during lunch hours.
“So, what brings you here?”
The Director asked in a frighteningly gentle tone. The client bit her lip tightly and couldn’t readily answer. What kind of request could she be here for that made her act like that? The attention of all staff members, including myself, was focused on her.
“Person…”
After hesitating for a while, the client carefully opened her mouth.
“Is it possible for you to… kill someone?”
“What?”
The Director flinched at the unexpected response and met the client’s eyes. Tears quickly welled up in the client’s eyes.
“There’s someone I want dead. You said you protect peace, right? To do that, that bastard needs to die.”
The client wiped her eyes as her shoulders trembled. Her voice was filled with resentment and hatred. She was serious about wanting someone killed.
I nervously checked the reactions of the other staff members. Despite hearing a request to kill someone, they all seemed unfazed.
Especially Heerim, who was looking at the client with eyes full of interest. It suddenly reminded me of Heerim breaking the Sea Squirt Man’s leg without blinking an eye.
Surely they don’t accept contract killing requests, do they?
With an Esper’s abilities, killing someone without a trace would be easy.
“Who is it that you want dead?”
The Director asked while stroking her chin. Her tone was remarkably calm, showing no signs of being flustered. I felt my mind go blank.
“Manager Kang Seokgi at our company.”
“Ah, I see. Your boss?”
“Yes. But… he’s a fucking asshole.”
Suddenly, the client clenched her fist and took something out of her bag.
“I’m taking anxiety medication because of that bastard.”
What the client pulled out in pure anger was a crumpled medication envelope. After taking a deep breath, she listed the things she had endured from her manager.
“At first, I wasn’t sure. He would casually touch my shoulder or pat my head, but it didn’t seem intentional. But that was just the beginning. When I didn’t say anything, the physical contact became more excessive.”
“He’s the kind of bastard whose wrists should be cut off.”
The Director uttered these vicious words without changing her expression. Though she wasn’t fiercely angry, there was a subtle rage that could be felt. That made it scarier. I felt like the Director might actually cut off someone’s wrists.
“I thought this wasn’t right, so I told him I’d prefer if he didn’t do that, and he stopped. But then…”
The client paused momentarily and squeezed her eyes shut. The Director didn’t rush her and silently waited for her to continue.
“From that day on, all the work started pouring onto me. I’m just a new employee who’s been there for only two months, and I haven’t even been properly trained yet, but he started handing me all the important client accounts. It was impossible to handle alone. So I asked for help, but… whatever that bastard said to others, no one would help me. When I honestly said I couldn’t do it, now he doesn’t give me any work at all.”
“Have you tried reporting it as workplace harassment?”
“I’ve thought about it, but… if I did that, I don’t think I could stay at the company much longer. I got this job with so much difficulty. You have no idea how happy my parents were when I told them I got into A Trading Company. I can’t quit.”
Tears finally rolled down the client’s eyes. Jeongmun, who had been in the corner, brought tissues and discreetly handed them to the client.
“I feel like I’m going to die first at this rate, so I came here. Please help me find my peace.”
While I’ve never worked in a company, I could understand how trash-like Manager Kang’s actions were. If I were her, I’d want to kill the manager too. However, we couldn’t accept a request to kill someone.
“Hmm.”
The Director crossed her arms and put on a serious expression. I quietly moved to Heerim’s side and nudged him in the ribs. Heerim lowered his head and looked at me as if asking what was wrong.
“We, we don’t kill people, right? You don’t do that kind of thing, right?”
Heerim just mischievously wrinkled his nose, without giving me the answer I wanted.
“From what I’ve heard, it’s not just his wrists—his neck should be twisted right now.”
“No! Director!”
I exclaimed in shock at the Director, who seemed ready to hunt down Manager Kang Seokgi immediately. The Director looked at me as if I were pathetic, then turned back to the client with a slight smile.
“But unfortunately, we don’t do anything that violates the law.”
“I see. I figured that wouldn’t be possible in Korea.”
At the Director’s words, the client nodded her head bitterly.
Having gotten ahead of myself thinking they might accept a contract killing request, I collapsed into my chair in disbelief. Heerim looked at me and whispered quietly.
“I don’t kill them.”
“What?”
“I don’t kill ordinary people.”
“…You shouldn’t kill anyone, ordinary or not.”
Is he saying he’s killed people who aren’t ordinary? I forced an awkward smile at Heerim’s incomprehensible statement and shifted my gaze elsewhere. It was embarrassing, and I didn’t want to continue this conversation on the topic.
“I’m sorry. I asked for something unreasonable. Then I’ll be on my way…”
“Just a moment.”
It was just as the client was about to get up with a face that couldn’t hide her disappointment. The Director reached out and stopped her.
“We can’t kill him, but we can make his life miserable.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
