3) Modulation
“Wow… seriously, today’s on another level.”
“What is?”
It was an early autumn morning, and barely any time had passed since the end of the long, tedious summer monsoon—yet here came the rain again, pouring relentlessly. As a team member groaned, shaking off her compact umbrella and stepping into the office, Assistant Manager Kim, now in his fourth year at the Seoul Central Branch’s Chief of Espers Team, peeked his head over the partition.
Esper Moon Ji-na, tapping the raindrops off her bag with the back of her hand, was still frowning deeply.
“It’s a record-breaking Monday—for how much I don’t want to be here, Assistant Manager Kim.”
“Mondays always suck, though. Why? Something happen?”
“Something? Tons, obviously. I didn’t even do anything after leaving work Friday, and now it’s already Monday? That’s one. Then there’s the fact that I finally break out my new bag and shoes, and boom—surprise rain. Totally unforecasted. That’s two.”
She counted each reason off on her fingers, then stopped abruptly and gave a subtle glance toward the team leader’s office, still dark.
Assistant Manager Kim caught on immediately.
“Ah… the Team Leader. Right, today’s his office day, isn’t it?”
“Yep. That’s the biggest issue of all. Ugh, I’m already exhausted.”
She shivered dramatically, then looked around. “Come on, I’m not the only one, right?”
A few Espers already at their desks chuckled and nodded in agreement.
“Why? Our Team Leader’s not that bad. He’s a bit stiff, sure, but he’s a good guy. Better than the last one, no?”
“What? You think that’s good? Please. Maybe to civilians he seems decent.”
Unlike the Guide Management Department, which was mostly staffed by Guides, the Chief of Espers Team had a near fifty-fifty split between Espers and civilians. Many of the Espers in this department focused on administrative work and didn’t get involved in combat—even in dungeons. Moon Ji-na was one of those non-combat Espers.
“Ask any Esper here—we’d rather work ourselves to death under Kim Joon-young than deal with that guy.”
Sure enough, only the Espers were nodding. The civilians looked confused, still not quite getting it.
Park Woo-jun might’ve been a breeze for the admin team—he delegated everything to his assistant and only came in to stamp approvals. But to the Espers? Kim Joon-young, who pulled in massive external budgets and regularly had them working late three or four nights a week, was way easier to work under.
At least Kim Joon-young didn’t suffocate the air with lethal pressure just because his Guide wasn’t standing beside him.
Park Woo-jun didn’t mean any harm, sure—but he was high-ranking, and it only took the slightest flicker of irritation on his face for the B-Class Espers in the room to instinctively tense up. Just being in his presence was enough to keep them on edge all day.
“Ugh… should’ve used that last vacation day…”
Not that sighing helped. Used-up days off didn’t magically replenish, the rain kept pouring, and it was still—unfortunately—Park Woo-jun’s office day. Accepting the inevitable, Moon Ji-na gave up and powered on her work PC.
And right on the dot at 8:30 a.m., the number-one reason why today truly deserved its “record-breaking” title appeared.
“Good morning, everyone! Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
Radiating cheer, completely unfazed by the gloomy, slanting rain outside.
Moon Ji-na found herself smiling back before she even realized it. Ugh. That face is criminal… even if he’s a walking stress bomb.
“Mmm, on days like this, nothing beats a warm drink.”
Park Woo-jun actually looked happy. Normally, on his in-office days, his face might as well have had Worst Day Ever tattooed across it.
“Oh, by the way. Our Han-seo—sorry, I mean Guide Lee Han-seo—is dropping by later today. Just a little morale visit…”
Ahh. That explained it. The Espers, as if rehearsed, all perked up. The mystery behind the Team Leader’s good mood had been solved, and with that, some of their own tension melted away. Maybe this Monday wouldn’t be so bad after all.
And that guess turned out to be dead on.
“Long time no see. Here, help yourselves.”
“Whoa, Han-seo! It has been a while. Wait—what is all this?”
“No way. I know this café! It’s super trendy right now. Doesn’t it have like, hours-long wait times?”
A little past 10 a.m., Lee Han-seo arrived with a delivery driver in tow, arms full of goodies.
“Thanks so much. Now get inside—our Team Leader’s been practically vibrating at the door all morning waiting for you.”
“Hehe, alright. Enjoy, everyone! I brought a mix, so pick whatever you like. If there’s extra, feel free to share or take some home.”
Barely pausing to respond to the greetings, Han-seo handed off the drinks and desserts and made a beeline for the Team Leader’s office. Inside, Park Woo-jun was standing right by the door like a puppy desperate to be let out.
“Baby!”
“Tch. Get in here. Didn’t I tell you not to be so obvious?”
“B-but…”
“But what? What kind of example are you setting for your subordinates like this? Inside. Now. I’m shutting the door.”
“Okay…”
Park Woo-jun melting into goo the moment his Guide showed up was nothing new—but no one commented. Not when they were sipping expensive coffee and nibbling on high-end desserts.
In the end, no one complained. A little PDA was a small price to pay for good snacks.
***
“What’s for lunch at the cafeteria today?”
“Uh, give me a sec.”
“You seriously didn’t check the most important thing before coming in? What were you even thinking?”
Even though Lee Han-seo had clearly eaten a full breakfast, his eyes sharpened like a hawk’s the moment lunch was mentioned. Park Woo-jun quickly started digging through the file folders in the work messenger. He was pretty sure he’d saved the cafeteria schedule somewhere… Since it was his first day in the office this month, he hadn’t gotten around to printing it out yet.
“Aha, found it. Let’s see… today’s menu is tuna kimchi stew, rolled omelet, stir-fried anchovies, grilled ham, and multigrain rice.”
“Tuna?”
“Yeah. Should we just eat at the cafeteria?”
“Mmm… no. Now that you said ‘tuna,’ I really want actual tuna. I want sushi.”
“Alright. I’ll book a table at the place we went to last time.”
“Wait—it’s raining. I don’t want to go outside.”
“……?”
How were they supposed to eat sushi without going out…? But if there was one thing Park Woo-jun knew better than anyone, it was that once his boyfriend fixated on a craving, there was no talking him out of it. He’d already lost count of the nights Han-seo would wake him up saying he dreamt about food and needed bibim noodles or kimchi pancakes immediately—so there he was, bleary-eyed at the stove, cooking half-asleep.
“Let’s get delivery!”
“Ah.”
Of course. So simple. God, my boyfriend is a genius. The smartest man alive… Park Woo-jun stared at him in awe, lips slightly parted in admiration. Han-seo casually squished his cheeks like clay and nodded, saying they might as well order for the whole team while they were at it.
A quick call to the upscale Japanese restaurant—an old favorite on his mom’s side of the family—was all it took. Even though they didn’t normally offer delivery, they were happy to make an exception for him. The rest of the department, now suddenly enjoying a luxurious lunch, practically fell over themselves praising Han-seo, some even joking he should be Team Leader instead of Park Woo-jun.
“Next time I want fatty tuna.”
“Okay. Ah—”
“Ah—”
Lounging back on the plush sofa that was practically his personal throne, Lee Han-seo opened his mouth obediently for every piece of sushi Woo-jun fed him, while casually playing a mobile game. This was his ideal setup—down to the last detail.
After polishing off the sushi bento, he yawned and declared he was sleepy, then promptly curled up for a nap. The thick lap blanket and pillow always stashed in the corner cabinet were practically his by now. Honestly, whether it was Park Woo-jun’s office or the living room at home, there wasn’t much difference.
Park Woo-jun glanced at the peacefully sleeping Han-seo, then back at his monitor, clicking the approval button in a kind of rhythm. Whenever he had to spend the day in the office without any field assignments, the hours always dragged unbearably. But on days like this, when Han-seo came along just to keep him company, even a quiet workday seemed to fly by.
The internal phone, which rarely rang, buzzed unexpectedly just under an hour into Han-seo’s nap.
“Chief of Espers Team, speaking.”
– Hello, Team Leader. This is security at the main gate. Sorry to bother you, but we’ve got a lawyer here saying he has an appointment with you. Just calling to confirm.
“Ah! He’s here already? Yes, please let him through. Thank you.”
The client who said he wouldn’t be free until after hours had shown up way ahead of schedule. Glancing at the still-sleeping Han-seo, Park Woo-jun quickly grabbed his tie and hair wax and rushed off to the restroom.
Thank God he’d had the foresight to wear a dress shirt and blazer today. If he’d shown up in his usual hoodie… Ugh. He shuddered at the thought and adjusted his reflection in the mirror.
“Uuugh…”
No matter which way he styled his hair—left, right, middle—he couldn’t decide. As he stood there, agonizing, someone called out to him.
“Team Leader? What are you doing here?”
“……!”
The timing was perfect—and the person even better. It was the ever-camera-ready spokesperson from the PR team, always looking sharp. Park Woo-jun quickly began shifting his part around and asked for a second opinion.
“How about this?”
“You look handsome.”
“Okay, but what about this? Or maybe this?”
“Still… very handsome.”
“No, no, not the obvious! I need an actual opinion!”
Yeah… probably wasn’t going to be much help.
