“Shall we prepare the contract now?”
The contract was between me and Do Wonjin, but Jo Hail seemed even more excited as they helped with the paperwork. My hand holding the pen trembled like I had a palsy when I reached the signature part, but I somehow managed to finish signing.
Once the contract was finalized, Jo Hail immediately left for their next appointment. As they hurriedly exited the hospital room, just before closing the door, they winked at me and mouthed, ‘Good luck.’ I had no idea what that signal meant or what they wanted me to do well at, but it left me feeling very uneasy.
“I should get going too.”
With the contract finished and Jo Hail gone, there was no reason to stay any longer, so I got up from my seat. Out of habit, I took my phone out from my pocket to check it and found a text from Woo Jeonghyun saying, ‘Hyung, dinner?’
‘Instead of dinner, hyung got a piece of crap called Do Wonjin, little brother.’
I felt depressed at how pitiful my situation was—missing dinner and being pushed around by a guide I’d just met for the first time.
‘And I even got flirted with by a civil servant. Why did they wink at me? So unsettling.’
I had a lot I wanted to say, but I only sent back the two characters ‘soon’ before putting my phone back in my pocket. The thought that only my younger brother cared about my dinner made me want to go home quickly.
“Leaving already?”
I had rushed all the way to the door, eager to escape this place as soon as possible, when I heard Do Wonjin’s voice from behind. I stopped in my tracks and turned my head slightly to see him putting on an outer layer over his hospital gown.
“Yeah. Don’t come out.”
Despite acknowledging my words, he still followed me to the door, and when I tried to stop him again, he just smiled brightly and waved his hand.
Leaving him behind, I stepped out of the hospital room and walked down the corridor when I felt something off.
Glancing back, I made eye contact with Do Wonjin, who was still standing by the doorway, waving. His bright smile in that white hospital gown looked completely out of place. The source of my unease became clearer.
He looks perfectly fine, so why is he hospitalized?
Once curiosity reared its head, I couldn’t bring myself to walk away.
“Why are you hospitalized?”
What injury do you have?
At my question, Do Wonjin glanced around cautiously before beckoning me over. Though there was no one in the corridor, his careful behavior made me take the situation more seriously, and I retraced my steps to stand in front of him. With a very serious expression, Do Wonjin whispered in my ear.
“It was a minor contact accident, so I’m not hurt anywhere.”
I almost asked why he was hospitalized then, but immediately realized.
‘You’re a fake patient?’
‘Yes.’
I only mouthed the question, but Do Wonjin understood immediately, giving me a fresh smile and making an OK sign with his hand.
“So you can call me whenever you need me. I’ll come running right away.”
This was the moment when the plan I’d made while signing the contract went up in smoke.
‘I was going to use his hospitalization as an excuse to avoid guiding.’
I looked at his enthusiastic attitude with a disgusted expression, then immediately left the hospital without looking back. Feeling completely stifled, I found an empty alley. After taking a deep breath, I shouted “ARGH!!” with all my might.
Fearing someone might report me, I only screamed for exactly three seconds before quickly leaving the spot.
When I arrived home, Woo Jeonghyun came rushing to the entrance in his socks to greet me, which was unusual.
“Hyung, how did the contract negotiation go today?”
Though I saw his face dying of curiosity, I didn’t have the energy to respond to his question. I could feel Woo Jeonghyun’s gaze fixed on me, but I walked past him and collapsed on the living room sofa like a pile of laundry.
“Come on, tell me what happened!”
“I’m hungry. Make me some food, little brother.”
I had no energy, but I was hungry. Thinking I wanted to eat something before falling asleep, I made the request, and Woo Jeonghyun showed signs of internal conflict. He clearly wanted to hear my answer but didn’t want to prepare food.
Eventually, Woo Jeonghyun stomped off to the kitchen with heavy, angry footsteps.
“I’ll make ramen!”
“Sure.”
I really only have my brother.
With that thought, I closed my eyes for a moment.
Today had been an incredibly long day.
- Things Have Changed
Someone was shaking my shoulder. My mind, which had been entering a state of light sleep, instantly came back, and I frowned as I opened my eyes.
“Get up quick and eat your ramen.”
Sleepiness or hunger—which was greater? I asked myself, but before I could answer, my body was already getting up at the smell of ramen reaching my nose.
“Your phone’s been ringing non-stop.”
My brother said as he followed behind me while I made my way quickly to the kitchen.
“Who is it?”
“Don’t know. Just a number showing.”
I froze just as I was about to sit at the table and pick up my chopsticks when I heard Jeonghyun’s answer.
‘No way.’
My heart pounded heavily as I recalled Joo Seolhyeon’s number that had called earlier today.
Ring—
As if on cue, my phone rang again.
“Oh, another call.”
I put down my chopsticks and jumped up from my seat. Woo Jeonghyun, who was already about to hand me the phone, looked somewhat surprised as I snatched it away.
“Hah.”
Looking at the number on the phone, I felt self-deprecating. The sliver of hope that it might be Joo Seolhyeon shattered when I saw an unfamiliar number. Then I realized that I had been waiting for his contact without even knowing it, and bit the inside of my cheek with my molars. I didn’t think I bit that hard, but the inside of my mouth must be sensitive because I tasted the metallic flavor of blood.
“Hyung, aren’t you going to answer it?”
As I just glared at the phone, Woo Jeonghyun came over and looked back and forth between me and the phone, interfering.
There were already several missed calls from this number, so deliberately not answering felt uncomfortable. But I had absolutely no idea who it could be. This many repeated calls meant they had urgent business with me, and the only sudden situations I could think of were either a gate opening nearby or a villain appearing.
But unlike before the regression, the current me was an Esper with no field experience, so there was no way I’d suddenly be assigned an emergency mission. Moreover, it was my direct supervisor, the Center Director, who delivered missions. I first met the Center Director when I was 17, and at that time, he personally saved his contact information in my phone, so there was even less chance of a mission coming from an unknown number.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer. Meanwhile, my phone stopped ringing momentarily before starting again. Woo Jeonghyun was covering his ears, saying he didn’t want to hear that sound anymore, so I sighed and pressed the answer button. During the brief moment when the call had disconnected, I noticed a notification showing 10 missed calls.
“Hello?”
—Hyung!
A bright and cheerful voice. The way he called “Hyung” sounded so much like a “Woof!” that I unconsciously pulled the phone slightly away from my ear before bringing it back. I could immediately guess who it was without needing to confirm their name.
“Yang Garam?”
At my voice, Woo Jeonghyun, who was covering his ears next to me, exclaimed in disbelief, “What? That was Yang Garam?” He sat down first at the table with the ramen and gestured for me to sit down as well. I plopped down on the chair at the table with the phone still at my ear.
—You said you’d call me after your schedule was over.
When Woo Jeonghyun mouthed ‘speakerphone,’ I picked up my chopsticks and flicked him on the head.
Where do you get the nerve to try and eavesdrop on someone else’s call?
—You completely forgot that I was going to call, didn’t you?
Hearing his once excited voice now sounding dejected and gloomy, I rested my chin on my hand. In the pot, the ramen noodles had already started to swell and were drying out.
“I fell asleep after getting home.”
It wasn’t a lie or an excuse, but the truth. His call had come during that brief moment when I was asleep and Woo Jeonghyun was cooking ramen.
Woo Jeonghyun, despite being hit on the head, couldn’t seem to give up and was still perking up his ears trying to listen to the conversation. I stirred the overcooked noodles with my chopsticks.
—I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were sleeping. Did I wake you up?
Yang Garam, seemingly surprised by my answer, apologized awkwardly. I started to want to end the call. I couldn’t bear watching the ramen turn into udon any longer.
“No, you don’t need to apologize. My brother woke me up to eat ramen, so I didn’t wake up because of the phone. But I haven’t had dinner yet, so talking is a bit difficult—if you have something to say, could you text me instead?”
In response to my rapid-fire words, Yang Garam repeatedly apologized. Despite my assurances that it was fine, he was excessively submissive. I touched the inside of my cheek where I had bitten it earlier with my tongue. The bleeding had stopped, but it felt rough compared to the rest of my mouth, indicating a wound. A sudden thought occurred to me: this wound resembled Yang Garam.
I found my own thought a bit amusing. I put down the chopsticks I had been playfully stirring with on the table. Woo Jeonghyun sneakily took my chopsticks and started eating the ramen that had been meant for me.
“Garam, don’t hang up just yet. I’m curious about something.”
Fearing he might dig himself into a hole if I ended the call now, I gave up on eating the ramen and leaned back comfortably in my chair. His voice, responding with an energetic “Yes!” to my request not to hang up, was full of life again.
I wouldn’t normally play such tricks, but the moment I chose to talk with Yang Garam over eating ramen, a mischievous impulse rose up.
I can’t say for certain that the feelings I have for Joo Seolhyeon are the same as what Yang Garam feels for me, but what’s clear is that—whether it’s fan admiration or adoration—Yang Garam likes me. That made it easy to guess why he had called.
“Did you call because you missed me?”
“Pfft!!”
Woo Jeonghyun, who had been eating ramen straight from the pot, suddenly sprayed the noodles in his mouth toward my face.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
