#86
Ho-woo let out an inaudible exclamation at the conclusion he reached after slowly organizing his thoughts.
Minister Kim Dong-cheol.
Or should he be called the former minister now?
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t think of anyone else currently opposing Oh-yul. Was he trying to regain control before Oh-yul became the new minister? If they were planning to use Ho-woo for blackmail, it could be quite a troublesome situation.
“This is different from the plan.”
The man in the driver’s seat grumbled. Bae Gi-hong shrugged lightly at the complaint, as if to say, “What can we do?”
“The world never goes according to plan. And sometimes, deviations from the plan can turn out better, so don’t be too fussy.”
“If this goes wrong…”
“Hyeon-deok.”
At the low call, the man closed his mouth. An uncomfortable atmosphere briefly lingered in the small car but soon dissipated. Bae Gi-hong glanced at Ho-woo in the back seat through the rearview mirror. When their eyes met, he smiled slightly, appearing quite friendly.
A kidnapper’s friendliness isn’t exactly welcome.
Ho-woo tried his best to roll his eyes to check outside the window. It was a minimal effort to gauge his location if any familiar roads or buildings appeared.
However, rendering such efforts futile, the car that had left the training center drove non-stop to the outskirts of the city. When it finally stopped in front of an old, shabby building, Ho-woo felt cold sweat running down his back.
“Let’s get out.”
Ho-woo’s body responded to Bae Gi-hong’s words as he jumped out, and Ho-woo got out of the car. Ho-woo followed them as they strode into the shabby building. Although Ho-woo wasn’t walking of his own will, his diligent eye-rolling confirmed that the inside of the building looked like an old-fashioned hotel.
After riding an elevator that looked unsafe just by looking at it and getting off at an ambiguous floor, they entered the room at the very end of the corridor and turned on the lights. Fortunately, electricity seemed to be working, and the brightened room was relatively neatly arranged.
Why did they bring him to a hotel of all places?
Bae Gi-hong chuckled when he noticed Ho-woo’s face turning pale.
“It’s not like that, so for now, sit over there.”
“Why go to such lengths?”
“Well, he is an important guest after all.”
Bae Gi-hong gave a warning look to the man who was grumbling, apparently annoyed by his kindness, and leisurely sat down across from Ho-woo on the sofa.
“I’ll let you go if you promise not to scream or try to escape.”
Bae Gi-hong acted deliberately kind and polite. Though these weren’t words fitting for a kidnapper, Ho-woo rolled his barely movable eyes in response to Bae Gi-hong’s offer, agreeing to do so.
Satisfied with Ho-woo’s answer, he blinked his deeply purple-tinged eyes quickly. Without any warning, Ho-woo regained control of his body and glared at the person sitting across from him while keeping his mouth shut.
“Don’t glare like that. This is all for our survival.”
At Bae Gi-hong’s words, the other Esper guarding the entrance sneered, “Wasn’t this about dying?” His tone seemed full of self-mockery at first glance, but it felt desperate.
“So, what’s the reason for kidnapping me?”
Ho-woo asked calmly. For now, the two Espers in front of him didn’t seem to have any intention of harming him. Of course, this was just Ho-woo’s guess. They could probably take Ho-woo’s life in a matter of seconds if they wanted to.
Nothing would be solved by just trembling in fear. With the pager left behind, it was also difficult to expect Oh-yul to find him anytime soon. Then the only option was to fulfill the kidnappers’ conditions.
Whether he would survive after that was uncertain, but…
It would be far better than doing nothing.
Ho-woo faced Bae Gi-hong with determined eyes. His light brown eyes, which had been tinged with anxiety and impatience, instantly found their focus.
“Shall we introduce ourselves again before we start the real conversation? I’m A-rank Esper Bae Gi-hong. Over there is Gi Hyeon-deok, an Esper of the same rank.”
When his name was mentioned, Gi Hyeon-deok, standing by the door, briefly raised his eyebrows but didn’t add any comments. He just remained alert, keenly sensing the surroundings without lowering his guard.
“We are, so to speak, Espers from Kim Dong-cheol’s faction.”
As expected.
Ho-woo didn’t know whether to be pleased or displeased that his guess was correct.
“Are you planning to use me for blackmail?”
“Hmm… Do you think that would work on that madman?”
You mean, would blackmail work on Oh-yul?
……
Well.
Ho-woo fell into thought for a moment. He might try to come rescue me, but would he even blink at blackmail?
Oh-yul was kind and gentle, but that was limited to Ho-woo only.
Unless you’re a fool, you can’t help but notice when it’s not thoroughly hidden.
“No.”
At the short but resolute answer, the corners of Bae Gi-hong’s lips rose a bit more.
“I think so too.”
Why did you ask if you knew?
“You’re wondering why I asked if I knew?”
Oops.
Ho-woo composed his expression. He didn’t forget to grumble inwardly that Joo Si-yeo was like that too, and these damn Espers were exceptionally good at reading others’ expressions.
“It’s a kind of confirmation process. Everything needs to be accurate, doesn’t it?”
His wide smile with his face cupped in his hands was quite annoying. Ho-woo relaxed his slightly stiff posture. The atmosphere wasn’t bad.
“But right now, there’s only one person who doesn’t know that blackmail won’t work. How about that? Sounds really pathetic, doesn’t it? Sounds stupid, right?”
“Fucking idiot.”
Gi Hyeon-deok, who had been quietly listening to the conversation from afar, spat out the curse as if chewing on it. It didn’t seem to be directed at them; he had his head turned away with his brows deeply furrowed.
Could it be that the one who doesn’t know is Kim Dong…
drrr… drr….
“There’s a phone call.”
“……”
Bae Gi-hong, who wouldn’t miss even the slightest vibration, nodded as if telling Ho-woo to answer it. Ho-woo took out his phone from his pocket, checked the name on the screen, and swallowed quietly.
Just like last time, the timing is impeccable.
“…Yes.”
-Ho-woo, did you get home safely?
As soon as he answered the call, a gentle voice softly tickled his earlobe. Ho-woo glanced at Bae Gi-hong sitting across from him, trying to answer as calmly as possible.
“Of course.”
Still, he couldn’t completely suppress his tension, so only a brief answer came out. Even with that short answer, Oh-yul seemed pleased, his voice resonating low.
-Really? Then my shirts are in the bedroom closet. They’re in an easy-to-find place, so you’ll discover them quickly.
Ho-woo wanted to retort and tell him not to say such nonsense, but the words wouldn’t come out.
-Seeing how you’re hesitating to answer, it seems you’re really going to do it.
If saying he’d do it could help him escape this situation, he’d be willing to wear his boyfriend’s shirt a hundred or even a thousand times. His eyes met with Bae Gi-hong, who was likely listening to the entire conversation. He mouthed a short exclamation. His purple eyes were grinning.
‘Wow~’
……
If only I could punch that smirking face just once.
Ho-woo, who had unknowingly clenched his fist, snapped back to reality when Oh-yul called out, “Ho-woo?”
“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”
-I’ll be looking forward to it. And I’ll come find you as early as possible.
“Pardon?”
Come find me, not come back?
Sometimes Oh-yul’s choice of words was unpredictable.
-Don’t worry, just think about me. I’ll deal with the guest quickly and come.
Oh-yul said he’d see him later and hung up first. He was the first to call and the first to hang up. Ho-woo stared blankly at the ended call for a moment, then sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“You heard that, right?”
“Yes, I heard.”
“If I don’t return home today, he’ll surely come looking.”
Bae Gi-hong expressed genuine admiration. Was this overconfidence or great courage?
“Don’t you think you might die before he finds you?”
They won’t kill me.
No, they can’t kill me.
Ho-woo was certain. The Esper in front of him couldn’t kill him. The context was briefly interrupted by the phone call, but that clueless person was clearly Kim Dong-cheol. He seemed quite discontented, so persuasion might be possible.
“Stop wasting time and tell me what you want.”
“…Oh.”
“Then shall we have a little chat?”
Bae Gi-hong feigned a surprised expression.
How detestable.
***
Moon Jin-hyuk yawned widely out of boredom.
It was the second day since he started monitoring Ho-woo.
It was boring, but he couldn’t afford to be distracted. His superior, who was stuck with the surveillance target, showed no signs of leaving all day.
If it was going to be like this, why did he assign me? He felt self-loathing.
Moon Jin-hyuk momentarily suppressed the rising despair. What could he do? He just had to keep his mouth shut and do as he was told.
“Yaaaawn…”
Moon Jin-hyuk, who had been hiding his body on the rooftop of a tall building near the training center, made a small sound of “Hmm?” as he saw Oh-yul, who had been annoyingly attached, leave his post after receiving an emergency call.
Is something happening at the corporation?
Due to Oh-yul’s orders taking priority, he wouldn’t have gone even if he had received a call, but his own pager remained quiet. He briefly checked his pager, then widened his eyes at the familiar face following behind Ho-woo.
“That guy!”
It was clearly the A-rank mental Esper Bae Gi-hong. He had left the city following Kim Dong-cheol and now he’s back!
