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Ordinary Person A – Chapter 47

#47

“No, the Oh-yul I know is a rude bastard.”

“Your assessment of me is harsh.”

While speaking with a genuinely regretful tone and shrugging his shoulders, his expression remained utterly cold. Meanwhile, he calmly wiped his cheek that Joo Si-yeo had touched with water gathered in his hand.

“Seeing that your charm has evaporated, it must be Oh-yul.”

“Didn’t I say so?”

“Yul hyung, then are you suggesting we go for a drink?”

Ha Eun-chan’s eyes sparkled with a mix of joy and anticipation. Although he was the second Esper to manifest as S-class, he was the youngest of the three and had always wanted to have this kind of gathering.

Both Joo Si-yeo and Oh-yul knew this, but Oh-yul preferred to stay quiet unless it involved Ho-woo, and Joo Si-yeo was confined to the power plant. Ha Eun-chan smiled freely, excited by this sudden opportunity.

“I suppose that’s what it amounts to.”

Oh-yul, who wasn’t really intending to drink with them but was trying to time when to borrow their phones to contact Ho-woo, smoothly changed his expression as he sensed someone approaching. Joo Si-yeo shook her head, looking nauseated at the change in expression that seemed like putting on a meticulously crafted mask.

“Guide Kim Seon-young.”

Kim Seon-young’s prim expression turned triumphant at Oh-yul’s kind and gentle demeanor.

“It seems you’ve reflected a bit during the week?”

Is there anything to reflect on? He had just spent some boring time, but he didn’t bother to correct her misunderstanding. The more complacent they were, the more he stood to gain.

Rather, Joo Si-yeo’s expression, listening nearby, changed more dramatically than Oh-yul’s, who was directly involved. Her face twisted unpleasantly, making Ha Eun-chan fidget nervously.

“We’ll be spending a lot of time together from now on, so it’s not good to harbor negative feelings.”

He smiled like a polite gentleman. His voice, resonating low in his throat, was as attractive as soft velvet, and his curved eye corners appeared to hold special affection for Kim Seon-young to anyone who saw.

“Shall we go?”

He extended his hand to Kim Seon-young, palm up. The girl’s expression was bright as she placed her hand on his as if it were natural. Had there ever been a time when everything didn’t go her way? The arrogance of a girl who had gotten everything she wanted so far, riding on her father’s power, would eventually eat away at herself.

Amidst the incessant camera flashes, Oh-yul’s eyes met those of the doctor who had been slapped by the minister. He narrowed his eyes and gave an annoying look. His eyes, mixed with mockery and derision, could be mistaken for a smile of great satisfaction with the current situation at a glance.

How are you going to package a 13% matching rate?

His eyes, now perfectly black, asked briefly. Only the S-class Espers noticed that the doctor’s hands were trembling slightly as he stood at the podium. It was the last trembling of conscience of someone who knew full well how absurd a lie he was committing, yet couldn’t refuse.

“We will now begin the press conference.”

With the doctor’s words, the well-orchestrated play quickly heated up. Oh-yul watched with amusement, knowing that question rights would only be given to those who had become the minister’s dogs, wondering what lies they would use to tighten their own leashes.

The doctor unhesitatingly pointed to hands raised to ask questions. The questions were pre-delivered content, and the answers would be too. After a few trivial questions passed, a reporter from the largest media outlet was selected.

“I’ve heard that Oh-yul, an S-class Esper, hasn’t been able to find a suitable imprinting partner due to low matching rates with Guides. What percentage matching rate did he record with Kim Seon-young?”

This was the most important question and the reason they were gathered here. Even Oh-yul, the person in question, perked up his ears while robotically smiling at Kim Seon-young, filled with anticipation for what story they would spin.

“It’s 72%. This is a groundbreaking difference from the previous record, which never exceeded 40% with most Guides. They will make a good pair. The imprinting will proceed after Guide Kim Seon-young becomes an adult, and the management of existing S-class Espers will be carried out more thoroughly.”

Although his tone was tense from lying, the words flowed smoothly. Rather, thanks to his slightly trembling voice, the doctor seemed like someone excited about the discovery of the century.

This entire farce was so ridiculous it was unbearable. Oh-yul pulled the corners of his lips tight in a smile. He tried hard to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out.

72%.

It was a dramatic rebound from 13%. Even for other Espers, such a matching rate was rare. The reporters’ hands moved quickly at this dramatic development. He met the gaze of several cameras focused on him and creased his eyes.

He hoped Ho-woo wouldn’t see this play, but with Kim Do-hyun around, it would probably inevitably reach him. So he needed to contact Ho-woo as soon as possible, even if just briefly.

He had to move carefully, as the moment Oh-yul used the pager to contact someone, the minister’s dogs would expose this. It would be good if Ho-woo contacted him first via pager, but that was asking for too much. His pair had long abandoned the pager.

Oh-yul glanced back at the two Espers standing in the corner, dumbfounded by the inflated matching rate. He had long since memorized Ho-woo’s number, so all he needed was a phone.

As Oh-yul was pondering what to say to Ho-woo, Kim Seon-young’s voice brought his thoughts back to reality. She was being quite annoying.

“I heard you’ll be receiving Guiding from other Guides for the next 5 years?”

“Is that so?”

Oh-yul responded indifferently, not having heard any explanation about his own situation.

“I want to do it for you, but I’m too busy.”

Kim Seon-young was quick to cover up her lack of ability with busyness. Her tone was full of youthful impetuousness and pride. The doctor was still trying hard to make the two look plausible. All of this was unbearably boring.

He wanted to see Ho-woo.

He wanted to see his shy smile, his troubled expression, his sympathetic gaze, and lick every part of him.

The more Oh-yul thought about Lee Ho-woo, the more he was plagued by the urge to escape all of this as soon as possible. Killing all of these people would be easier than catching flying insects. The murderous intent that sometimes surged up was the instinct of a ferocious beast.

But what after killing them all?

Could Lee Ho-woo, who had lived an ordinary life, handle him? He didn’t want Ho-woo’s life to be disrupted by a shattered peace. There was a limit to controlling the situation with ability, and ultimately, suspicion and truth followed the same trajectory.

So he quietly held his breath. Opportunities for counterattack always come, and this opportunity could be a painful mistake but also the best chance to attack.

However, proceeding with the plan would inevitably expose Lee Ho-woo’s existence to the world. He had originally intended to bring him to his side, but the timing was too early. But that meant a more dramatic stage was set for his appearance.

Oh-yul didn’t resist the feeble force pulling him and stood in front of the cameras. At that moment, he imagined Ho-woo standing beside him and smiled the happiest smile in the world.

A sparkle contrasting with the man’s pitch-black interior covered his face.

The boring time ended sooner than expected. Oh-yul still had to escort Kim Seon-young, who was acting like an excited girl instead of saying nasty things, perhaps conscious of the gazes on them.

Her shoulders rose endlessly at the Esper’s docile attitude after a week. Oh-yul passed by these pathetic individuals who were too confident in the leash they held to be suspicious, acting like a polite gentleman until the very end.

As they passed the high walls of the management complex, out of sight of the reporters, the girl tapped Oh-yul’s cheek and smiled nastily.

“It’s nice that you’re so obedient.”

“……”

A cruel expression, unbecoming of her age and disgustingly so, settled on the girl’s seemingly plain face.

“Keep acting like this from now on. Bark when I tell you to bark, laugh when I tell you to laugh. Then I’ll make sure you don’t lack Guiding for the next 5 years.”

It was obvious what she had heard from her father, Kim Dong-cheol, without needing to hear more. They really milk that one thing well. No, that’s all they had to milk. It was like desperately clinging to a short rope and exerting force.

If it weren’t for Lee Ho-woo, he might have decided to go berserk just because of this tiresome predictability. Meanwhile, Kim Seon-young’s mention of a 5-year period was so blatantly revealing her true intentions that it was laughable.

He could clearly see the likely development where they would try to blame Oh-yul when the limits of their lies would be exposed after 5 years.

“They said you can rest here today.”

“……”

“Aren’t you going to thank me? It’s thanks to me, you know?”

“Thank you.”

Even when she shamelessly demanded gratitude for stating the obvious, Oh-yul didn’t stand on his pride. It would only tire him out to engage with her anyway, so he might as well just humor her a bit.

“You have to appear on TV tomorrow, so dress properly and don’t embarrass me. Though you’ll probably just wear those drab clothes anyway.”

Hyacinthus B
Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus

Ordinary Person A

Ordinary Person A

일반인A
Status: Ongoing Author: Released: 2022 Native Language: Korean
“Mr. Ho-woo.” “Yes?” “Have you had dinner?” “I’m about to eat.” A simple instant meal was something Ho-woo was used to. He lacked the cooking skills to prepare dinner, and as a modern-day office worker, he didn’t have the energy to learn cooking. “I…” Oh-yul pressed his lips together for a moment as if choosing his words, then spoke again. “I think I’m going to make too much food.” “…?” Not ‘made’ but ‘going to make’ – what an odd choice of words. Ho-woo tilted his head slightly as he looked up at Oh-yul. The esper before him wore a slightly troubled expression. “So, would you like to have dinner together?”

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