# Chapter 60
No choice but to kill Heerim?
For a moment, I swallowed my breath in fear.
“I personally don’t care whether that bastard lives or dies. But you do, don’t you?”
“…”
“Are you willing to help now?”
“What exactly do I need to do…”
I felt uneasy knowing Ha Suan’s hostility toward Heerim, but I couldn’t let them kill him.
When I showed interest in this matter, Ha Suan took something out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was a small pill bottle. Inside was a single pill.
“Make him take this. We didn’t want to ask a civilian for such a favor, but you’re the only person who can approach that bastard, so we had no choice.”
“What is this…?”
“It’s a drug that temporarily restricts an Esper’s power. I don’t know how effective it will be on an S-class, but we need to try.”
“Heerim won’t get hurt or be in danger, right?”
When I asked again about Heerim’s safety, Ha Suan scrunched up his face in annoyance.
“You’re that worried about him? If you knew how much the Director likes and cares for him, you wouldn’t talk like that. The Director would never throw away Korea’s only S-class Esper.”
Ha Suan rose from his seat, irritated. Startled by his sudden movement, I hunched my shoulders and looked up at him.
“By the way, he really doesn’t remember me? Haha! I guess an A-class like me isn’t even worth remembering?”
I could feel Ha Suan’s inferiority complex toward Heerim. As if he had been suppressing his anger throughout our conversation, he began breaking and throwing objects around the small room. It was an immature way to vent. I quietly waited for him to calm down.
Ha Suan’s destructive behavior only stopped after the room was completely trashed.
“Haah. Shit.”
Ha Suan exhaled sharply and left the room. Afterward, the fox-like man I had seen earlier in the parking lot came into the room and guided me out. I followed him, drooping like a deflated balloon figurine.
“Here are your belongings, Mr. Son Jaeo.”
I took my phone from the man and checked if anything had changed. I was trying to see if they had installed any wiretapping or hacking apps. The man observed my actions but said nothing, just smiling with his narrow eyes.
Standing there, I examined my phone for changes but eventually gave up. If they had really hacked my phone, they wouldn’t have left anything obvious enough for me to notice.
“Now I’ll escort you home.”
The man politely placed the black cloth over my head again.
***
Back home, I lay on my mattress and examined the pill in the bottle. With this small pill, I could stop Heerim’s dangerous and harmful behavior. I couldn’t fully trust Ha Suan’s words, but either way, the only option NECC had given me was to “help.” If I didn’t, Heerim’s life would be in danger.
“I’d rather end it than watch you go wrong, hyung.”
I recalled Heerim’s face when he bid me farewell. Just as Heerim couldn’t bear to see me go wrong, I didn’t want to see him suffer either.
“The problem is how to make him take this.”
The task Ha Suan had assigned seemed simple yet difficult. To make Heerim take this pill, I would have to hide it in his food. But I had been fired from the Earth Peace Research Institute and could no longer perform Guiding. To administer the drug, I needed to be close to him without arousing suspicion, but now I couldn’t approach Heerim as easily as before.
While worrying about Heerim, I was reminded that things were completely over between us, and depression washed over me. My stomach hurt again. I had to spend the night thinking about how to make Heerim take this pill. Fortunately, just before falling asleep, I came up with a good idea.
The next day, I prepared to go out early in the morning and checked the mirror several times before leaving. Though I had lost some weight due to gastritis, I didn’t look too bad.
I left home and got on the bus heading to the business district. The bus, which I had taken every day until recently, now felt unfamiliar.
Leaning my head against the window, I repeatedly practiced in my mind what to say when meeting Heerim. To avoid suspicion, I needed to act as naturally as possible and not show any emotional fluctuations when facing him.
Knock knock.
Standing in front of the office door, I knocked. There was no response from inside.
Should I have called ahead?
Belatedly, it occurred to me that there might be no one in the office.
Knock knock knock.
Since I couldn’t just leave, I knocked once more. Fortunately, this time the door opened.
“Oh? Jaeo?”
Jeongmun, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, looked at me with surprise. I smiled faintly, anxious about whether Heerim might appear.
“Hello. Could I come into the office?”
“Ah, yes.”
Jeongmun, standing at the door, twisted his shoulders to create space for me to enter. Inside the office, I saw the Director and Heerim. And next to Heerim was the boy I had seen before—the boy who had been receiving Guiding from Heerim.
“Oh my. Jaeo. What brings you here? Have you been well?”
Contrary to my expectations, the Director welcomed me warmly. After awkwardly greeting her, I observed Heerim. I couldn’t see his face clearly as he wore a ball cap pulled low, but he definitely looked more gaunt and pallid than when I saw him at the café.
“Why are you here? I don’t think you left anything behind.”
I sensed a subtle attempt to distance herself from me in the Director’s words. After hesitating for a moment, I brought up what I had prepared to say.
“I’ve come… to make a request.”
“A request?”
The Director’s eyes widened as she asked. It seemed she hadn’t even imagined I would come to the office as a client. I nodded and explained the plausible request I had prepared overnight.
“I think someone has been following me lately.”
It was a lie to get into the Earth Peace Research Institute. Not even the neighborhood dogs were following me. But I needed to make this kind of request to get close to Heerim.
“Hmm. Jaeo. I’m sorry, but we’re busy these days and aren’t taking requests. Have you reported it to the police?”
“What? Oh, no…”
“Then try reporting to the police first.”
I was taken aback, not having expected to be rejected. Should I leave now?
“Jaeo, I see you’ve lost some weight. Has the heat been hard on you? Well, it has been quite hot lately. Anyway, let’s meet properly next time, with an appointment.”
“…Yes.”
I awkwardly got up from my seat at the Director’s subtle hint to leave.
What should I do now? Should I rush at Heerim and force his mouth open to make him take the pill?
That was an absurd thought.
“Wait.”
Heerim grabbed my wrist as I was walking toward the office door, feeling utterly dejected.
“Do you have any idea who it might be?”
“…?”
“The person following you, hyung.”
Heerim’s expression as he looked at me was frightening. It seemed like I’d be in big trouble if I said it was a lie.
“I-I’m not sure. There’s no concrete evidence, but lately I’ve been feeling someone’s gaze now and then…”
Despite having prepared a fairly convincing story on my way here, face-to-face with Heerim, I could only manage vague and halfhearted words. If Heerim was as perceptive as usual, he might immediately realize it was a lie.
I could feel Heerim’s gaze examining me. Meanwhile, due to the shadow cast by his deeply pulled cap, I couldn’t tell what expression he was making.
Heerim closed his mouth and stroked his chin. That brief silence made me incredibly anxious. I couldn’t properly lift my head, fearing Heerim might say something to rebuke me.
After a heavy and tense silence, Heerim finally spoke.
“Then stay with us for the time being.”
I looked up at Heerim in disbelief.
“Come to the office starting tomorrow. It’ll be safer here than at your home.”
“What? No.”
The Director stood up upon hearing Heerim’s words.
“We agreed not to involve Jaeo in our work.”
“It could be them who are following him.”
“Haah…”
The Director sighed and ran her hand through her hair. I had a good idea of who “them” might be in Heerim’s words. Probably NECC. Having already made contact with NECC and currently carrying out their orders, I kept my words to a minimum. Even though I was doing this for Heerim, I was sweating with the feeling that I was doing something wrong.
“Noona.”
“Sigh. Fine. Let’s say three days. We’ll watch over him for three days. If nothing happens by then, it ends immediately. Understand?”
“Understood.”
Seeing Heerim’s expression that suggested he wouldn’t yield, the Director proposed the condition of three days.
While I wanted to give Heerim the pill right away, acting rashly could ruin everything. For now, the best approach was to bide my time and mix the pill into Heerim’s food.
“I’ll be going out then.”
Heerim left the office immediately as if he had no further business with me. I gazed longingly at my wrist where Heerim had grabbed me just moments ago.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
