#110
She gritted her teeth with her yellow eyes wide open. Her tightly clenched hand was just a fist, but no one worried about that fist. The swung hand buried itself in the thick concrete with a loud noise.
Joo Si-yeo continued to swing her fist without stopping. Thud, thud – as the wall cracked, dust and fragments scattered hazily. Other espers also poured their fists or abilities into the wall. As the massive wall collapsed, the building that had been hidden behind it revealed itself to the world for the first time.
The clicking sounds of cameras rang out noisily. As Joo Si-yeo, with a refreshed face, even grinned at the journalists taking pictures of them, the shutter sounds became more intense.
Ho-woo awkwardly turned his gaze to the cameras aimed not just at her, but at himself as well.
I should really quit first, he thought.
***
“The photo turned out well.”
Where?
Ho-woo sat in Oh-yul’s office, scrutinizing his awkward face in the photo. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed a stretch to say the photo turned out well. Moreover, his photo hanging next to Oh-yul’s newly taken picture looked ugly. Placed side by side for comparison, it looked even uglier.
“Can’t we take down the photo?”
Ho-woo looked painfully at the photos of Oh-yul and himself posted on the main page of the Management Corporation’s website. He had only taken the photo because he was told to, but to think they would immediately upload it to the website.
How ruthless.
Ho-woo pouted his lips at the ruthless treatment, but Oh-yul’s tyranny didn’t stop there. He even pulled out a contract as if he had prepared it. He had even circled the signature line where Ho-woo had to sign with a blue highlighter.
In response to the look asking if he was serious, Oh-yul smiled freshly and prettily as he smoothly pushed the paper forward.
Ho-woo looked at the contract with a cool face. Although he had agreed to do it, he felt he should at least check the content, and from the first clause he read, his face hardened.
The party A, Lee Ho-woo, agrees to an exclusive contract with the party B, Oh-yul. This is a contract related to the party B’s right to life, and the effect of this contract continues even if the romantic relationship between the two parties ends, and the party A has the obligation to provide guiding to the party B.
This contract cannot be terminated in the usual way. However, it can be terminated on the condition of giving up the party B’s life.
“……”
“Let’s sign.”
Ho-woo stared blankly at Oh-yul’s bright face as he placed the pen in front of Ho-woo.
What exactly is wrong here?
Ho-woo was dumbfounded, feeling as if he had received an incomprehensible test paper, much like Lee Ho-yeon’s hatred towards espers.
The contract assumed from the beginning that they would break up. In other words, it meant that Oh-yul was always thinking about when Ho-woo would abandon him and leave.
Love is not eternal. Human relationships are like heavy stones placed on a flimsy board; if both parties don’t support that board, it breaks. There are limits to trust, and Ho-woo felt like he had encountered the end of Oh-yul’s trust.
Ho-woo calmly put down the contract for now. He needed to figure out exactly what was wrong.
“It’s strange from the start, isn’t it?”
“Strange? A lawyer wrote it and I reviewed it, so there shouldn’t be any such issues.”
Looking at Oh-yul’s genuinely puzzled face, Ho-woo held his forehead. He really, truly didn’t feel it was strange? Laughing in disbelief, he pointed to the first line with his hand.
“Isn’t the first clause strange?”
“No?”
“Really?”
“Really.”
As Oh-yul looked at him as if wondering what the problem was, Ho-woo took a deep breath.
“‘It can be terminated on the condition of giving up the party B’s life.'”
Unless one wanted to kill the other person, no one would terminate a contract with such an insane condition. In other words, Oh-yul was now presenting Ho-woo with a contract that used his own life as collateral.
“You really don’t think this is strange?”
Even as Ho-woo’s face hardened, Oh-yul stared at the paper pushed back to him and slowly tilted his head.
“It’s just a standard contract that will be used in the future.”
“This…?”
“It’s a contract that will be drawn up between imprinted espers and guides. You know, Ho-woo, imprinting is…”
Absolute.
Especially fatal for espers. Nevertheless, espers wanted imprinting. They desired a sense of belonging that didn’t hesitate to offer their lives to be bound to one person.
“Emotions are not eternal, and hearts are fickle. But since imprinting can only be ended by death, it’s a natural clause.”
“……”
“If the relationship ends, there’s no life either.”
“But we didn’t imprint.”
Then this contract would have no effect even if he signed it. Oh-yul wouldn’t be unable to receive guiding just because Ho-woo left. He could continue to live, albeit painfully, and Ho-woo would simply return to normalcy, away from the extraordinary.
“Then that clause doesn’t apply, so you can sign with peace of mind, right?”
A round water droplet formed in mid-air and gently pushed the pen lying alone towards Ho-woo’s hand, as if urging him.
To be honest, he didn’t like it. Even if it was a clause that wouldn’t apply, it still felt unsettling, and it was strange that the other party seemed completely unbothered.
“You promised, didn’t you?”
He certainly had promised, but…
Somehow, it bothered him until the very end. Ho-woo held the pen and pondered for a long time. Oh-yul didn’t rush him anymore. He just sat across from him, sending a quiet gaze, waiting for Ho-woo’s choice.
“…Alright.”
Ho-woo signed with a trembling hand. He had pressed so hard that the ink had even smudged at the end of the letters.
“Thank you.”
Oh-yul smiled brightly and sincerely at the black ink traces left on the paper. The paper that left Ho-woo’s hand was put into a brown envelope and disappeared into his desk drawer. The sound of the lock clicking shut echoed in the quiet room.
“What’s there to worry about? You just need to stay by my side. Right?”
Oh-yul asked with a fresh smile, and Ho-woo couldn’t say anything. He was just at a loss for words. Something didn’t seem right, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
“Ah! And I have something to return to you.”
Oh-yul opened another desk drawer. From it, he took out a familiar phone and a pager and handed them to Ho-woo.
“I found these in a subway trash can. I cleaned them well after finding them, so they should be clean.”
The white phone was turned off. The pager also didn’t respond when he tapped the screen, which had turned black.
“I charged them, but kept the power off. There were a lot of unnecessary calls coming in.”
Unnecessary calls?
At most, it would be from work, his father, and Do-hyun…
Kim Do-hyun!
Ho-woo belatedly panicked and turned on the power. He had been out of contact for two weeks and had left his house empty, so Do-hyun must have been calling nonstop. As soon as he turned on the power, the phone rang loudly as if it had been waiting. The three characters of the name that appeared on the screen put intense pressure on Ho-woo.
“He must have seen the broadcast.”
Since it was broadcast throughout the city, he must have been calling since then.
Oh-yul muttered leisurely, and Ho-woo’s face turned pale. The continuous calls ended, leaving only missed calls. He should have answered, but thinking about all the curses that would fly at him the moment he picked up made him dizzy.
The phone, which had stopped ringing for a moment, immediately rang again. This time, Ho-woo took a deep breath and answered the call.
“…Hello?”
“You!!”
“―!”
Ho-woo pulled the phone away from his ear at the loud voice, but the heavy breathing made him feel sorry instead.
“Um… Do-hyun, I should have contacted you first… I’m sorry about that.”
“……”
Just get angry, you fool.
Ho-woo tensed at the silence that returned.
“You, I really… *sigh*.”
“It wasn’t intentional. I just got my phone back…”
“Forget it, you’re really okay, right?”
“I am. I spent the two weeks well and came back.”
A sigh returned instead of an answer when he quickly replied. That sigh was mixed with all sorts of emotions. From worry to relief, and even irritation and anger.
“That’s a relief. I heard you’d be fine, but it was hard to believe.”
“You heard? From whom?”
Ho-woo reflexively looked at Oh-yul. He shrugged lightly at Ho-woo’s gaze.
“Who else? That annoying…”
Do-hyun paused for a moment.
“Is he next to you?”
Somehow, he felt he knew who the annoying person was.
“He is, isn’t he?”
Ho-woo didn’t answer, but Do-hyun seemed to have already noticed and clicked his tongue. Then he continued speaking as if for Oh-yul to hear.
“He was so nonchalant even when we couldn’t reach you. Later, he even turned off the phone, saying not to worry. Anyone would think he had kidnapped you himself. Really impressive.”
Do-hyun sneered at Oh-yul. Ho-woo looked at Oh-yul with an awkward face. He couldn’t coldly end the call saying he’d talk later because he knew why Do-hyun was angry, nor could he avoid Oh-yul, so he was in a dilemma. As Ho-woo was in difficulty, Oh-yul lightly patted his shoulder as if to say it was okay and naturally took the phone.
“Oh-yul!”
As Ho-woo urgently called Oh-yul’s name after having his phone taken away in a moment of carelessness, Oh-yul gently pressed down on Ho-woo’s shoulder to make him sit.
‘It’s okay.’
His lips moved silently, forming a smile.
“Kim Do-hyun.”
“Well, if it isn’t Oh-yul, the esper who became a minister today.”
