# Chapter 26
8:50 AM.
Heerim and I had been waiting for Kang Seokgi since early morning, not at the office but in front of the A Industrial building. Since it was peak commuting time, many tired-looking people walked like zombies on the road. I adjusted my sunglasses and looked around, searching for Kang Seokgi.
With less than 10 minutes until work hours began, there was still no sign of Kang Seokgi. Surely he hadn’t gone straight to the meeting location? I was getting anxious.
The plan was incredibly simple and crude:
Steal Kang Seokgi’s bag and replace the USB inside.
I’d casually asked the Director if we could use Heerim’s ability, but she said it wasn’t possible because Heerim wasn’t in good physical condition. It was a reckless plan that made even the voice phishing hack look sophisticated in comparison, but we had no other options.
It was fortunate that Jeongmun-ssi couldn’t join us since he had to help the Director. If I’d had to travel in his car, I would have run away, mission or not.
“Heerim-ssi. You brought the USB, right?”
“…Yes.”
Heerim answered my question with a deflated voice. For some reason, he didn’t look well today. He wasn’t in a state requiring Guiding like yesterday, but he seemed down, as if in poor condition. Even so, he kept glancing at me as if he had something to say. I deliberately pretended not to notice Heerim fidgeting beside me. I thought I knew the reason.
Last evening.
While resting at home after work, I received a message from Heerim.
[Heerim: Jaeo Hyung.]
Even though it was just text, it felt like I could hear his voice in my ear. It was the first time we had communicated through text rather than voice, and the word “Hyung” displayed on the screen felt unfamiliar and made me uncomfortable.
Should I reply? While I was contemplating, Heerim immediately sent another message.
[Heerim: Thanks for the Guiding today. I survived thanks to you ã… ]
It was truly an innocuous message, but the moment I saw the word “Guiding,” my chest tightened and I felt uneasy.
See? In the end, my Guiding is his only purpose.
Although I too was by Heerim’s side because of money, realizing that Heerim’s emotions were purposeful made me feel disappointed and betrayed. I wondered if this was hypocrisy.
I was going to ignore Heerim’s message, but a strange sense of spite welled up, and I typed a reply.
[Me: No need to thank me. I’m just doing a job I get paid 100 million won for.]
[Me: And it’s not polite to contact someone this late.]
It was only 8 PM. Though I had finished work, it wasn’t late enough to be considered rude. I was just being petty. I had no right to be annoyed at him, yet I was irritated. I didn’t understand why I was acting this way when I’d decided not to think deeply about how Heerim felt about me.
If he was showing this affection just because I was a Guide, then his gaze—drenched in rain, tender yet greedy—must have been fabricated. I didn’t want to admit that.
Why? Could it be that I wanted Heerim to genuinely like me? Why?
My chest, which had felt constricted, now throbbed with pain.
[Heerim: Ah…..]
[Heerim: I’m sorry.]
Heerim’s reply came after a long pause. I unconsciously exhaled a breath I’d been holding and tossed my phone onto the bed.
Before understanding Heerim’s feelings, I needed to understand my own, but that was difficult.
Perhaps because of my harsh message, Heerim kept fidgeting beside me in a way that was unlike him.
“Um… Jaeo Hyung.”
“What?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
After hesitating for a while, he seemed about to say something but then abruptly closed his mouth.
“Do you have something to tell me?”
I had intended to keep ignoring him, but I couldn’t anymore. It seemed better for my sanity to comfort Heerim somehow.
“If you have something to say, go ahead. It’s okay.”
I forced a kind smile as I spoke. Even so, Heerim remained dejected and wouldn’t smile. If anything, he looked even more serious.
Heerim moved his lips a few more times before letting out a deep sigh. It was frustrating, but I waited patiently for his words.
“Hyung, I’m sorry.”
“What? Oh, if it’s about contacting me yesterday, it’s fine—”
“You’re angry because I kissed you again, right?”
“Huh?”
My thoughts came to a halt at Heerim’s unexpected words.
“No, no. Heerim-ssi. That was Guiding. I think it was unavoidable.”
“Then why are you mad at me?”
Heerim looked into my eyes for the first time today as he asked, but I couldn’t answer his question. I didn’t understand why I kept getting irritated at Heerim either.
“I’m not angry.”
I spoke in a deliberately calm voice to prove I wasn’t upset. Still unable to properly grasp my feelings for Heerim, I swallowed a bitter sigh and looked toward the entrance of A Industrial.
After some time had passed, just three minutes before 9 AM, a man appeared in the distance, waddling along with his protruding belly pushed forward.
It was Kang Seokgi, whom we’d been waiting for.
“Heerim-ssi!”
I urgently called to Heerim. He seemed to have spotted Kang Seokgi too, as he nodded and stared at our target in Kang’s hand: the briefcase.
“I’ll grab the bag and run first. Hyung, please lure Kang Seokgi toward where I’ll be.”
“Got it.”
By now, Kang Seokgi had walked to the main entrance of the company building. Unaware of what was about to happen, he yawned languidly and pushed the large glass door with his shoulder.
“Hyung! Now—!”
At Heerim’s signal, I rushed toward Kang Seokgi.
“Aaaahh! W-what the—!”
Startled by us suddenly jumping at him, Kang Seokgi stumbled backward and fell on his backside. At that moment, Heerim snatched the briefcase from his shoulder. In the process, Heerim grabbed Kang Seokgi’s head, and something flew off in front of my eyes.
“…”
“…”
“…”
A momentary bewildered silence ensued. It had happened so suddenly that everyone froze in place.
What had flown in an arc and fallen to the floor was…
A wig.
“Hyung! Follow me!”
Heerim, who regained his senses first, tucked Kang Seokgi’s bag under his arm and quickly fled. I picked up Kang Seokgi’s wig from the floor and looked at him. He stared at me with a “you can’t be serious” expression, and I nodded as if to confirm that yes, I was serious, before running after Heerim.
“Th-thief! Stop, thief!”
Kang Seokgi, belatedly grasping the situation, shouted loudly. However, on a weekday morning, especially during the tiresome commuting hours, there were no heroes willing to chase after thieves in response to such a cry.
Instead, employees who saw Kang Seokgi’s gleaming bald head were busy whispering and quickly spreading the news. No one was interested in his bag.
In the end, Kang Seokgi had no choice but to run after us himself.
“Stop! You bastards! Huff. Gasp.”
We hadn’t gone far when Kang Seokgi, who seemed to be running at a decent pace, began gasping for breath. I slowed down and looked toward where Heerim was. He appeared to have successfully found and replaced the USB in Kang Seokgi’s bag. Heerim approached the panting Kang Seokgi at a leisurely pace.
“Huff. Gasp. You damn punks. I’m going to report you to the police!”
“Huh? Why are you cursing? Don’t you want your bag back?”
Heerim took out a lighter from somewhere and held it near the bag. Kang Seokgi, who had been about to lunge at Heerim, hesitated.
“Your face is ugly, and I don’t want to see it up close, so don’t come any closer.”
The corner of the leather briefcase was slightly singed by the lighter flame. Seeing this, Kang Seokgi jumped in alarm.
“You crazy—! I paid a lot for that!”
“Oh? You keep cursing. And now you’re speaking informally too. Do you know me?”
Heerim confronted Kang Seokgi very calmly and leisurely. Acting so brazenly after snatching the bag made him seem quietly deranged. I felt a strange sense of disconnect. Whenever I encountered these unfamiliar sides of Heerim, I felt somewhat uncomfortable.
“Ah, I understand… sir.”
Realizing he shouldn’t provoke Heerim further, Kang Seokgi took a step back. Then, forcing a smile, he tried to coax Heerim gently.
“Listen. I have an important meeting today, and there are documents in that bag. So please return it. There’s no cash inside anyway, just cards.”
“Hmm. How important is this meeting?”
“It’s a meeting where our company’s first-half performance is at stake… sir.”
“Is that so? That sounds really important. Well then, I’ll give it back.”
Heerim appeared to think for a moment, then nodded and tossed the bag he was holding to Kang Seokgi. After receiving the bag, Kang Seokgi’s gaze turned to me.
“M-my wig? My wig! You need to give me back my wig too! No, I mean, please give me back my wig! Please!”
Kang Seokgi pleaded more desperately than when asking Heerim for the bag. My heart softened, and my hand holding the wig twitched involuntarily.
“Hyung, can I have the wig for a moment?”
Before I could answer, Heerim took the wig from my hand and clicked the flint of the lighter he was holding in his other hand. A small flame appeared and disappeared repeatedly in Heerim’s grasp.
“This isn’t necessary for the first-half performance, right?”
“What?”
Heerim spoke while grabbing and twirling the wig’s hair. Kang Seokgi’s face instantly turned pale. Watching Heerim play with the wig made my palms sweat, even though it wasn’t my own hair.
“Heerim-ssi, you’re not going to—”
“No, wait! What are you trying to do?! Hey, hey! You’re not— Shit! Won’t you put out that fire?!”
“Oh my. You cursed again. And I told you not to speak informally. I’m not old enough to be your friend.”
“Nooooo! Don’t do iiiiit!”
Whoosh.
With Kang Seokgi’s scream, the lighter’s flame caught the wig. Heerim tossed the burning wig in front of Kang Seokgi.
“Huh, gasp. My, my hair! My hair!”
Kang Seokgi urgently stomped on the wig with his dress shoes to extinguish the fire, but the wig, already burned and trampled, was beyond salvage.
“Well then, good luck with your meeting today.”
Heerim took off his sunglasses and smiled with his eyes. Kang Seokgi, looking like he was about to cry, stood in that spot for a long time until we had left.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
