Han Ju-oh, who showed up in the evening, was no different from usual. Monochrome clothes, that characteristically indifferent face. He was handsome, but hopeless at putting it to any real use. That was Han Ju-oh in a nutshell.
“You’re just standing there, but you look like you’ve got a ton of complaints.”
Seo-ha casually said what came to mind upon seeing Han Ju-oh, which instantly drew his gaze.
“If you’ve seen enough, could you move aside?”
The moment their eyes met, Seo-ha spoke as if he’d been waiting for the opportunity.
It was nice to see him, sure, but wasn’t it a bit much to just stand there like he wasn’t blocking someone from leaving? Han Ju-oh had broad shoulders and a solid build, so even if Seo-ha turned his body sideways, he still couldn’t get past him. And of course, Han Ju-oh was standing right in the way.
When Han Ju-oh didn’t budge an inch, Seo-ha let out a sigh.
“Seriously? What’s your problem?”
For the record, Seo-ha had been on his best behavior today. He’d decided to take it easy for a while, so even at work he didn’t overdo it. As soon as it was time to clock out, he headed home, and that’s when he ran into Han Ju-oh.
He probably hadn’t seen Seo-ha spacing out alone in the perfectly isolated guiding room, which meant there shouldn’t be anything to pick a fight over.
“Something’s off.”
Han Ju-oh tilted his head, muttering to himself.
“Speak so I can understand you. What’s off?”
“Why didn’t you do anything?”
“Didn’t do what?”
“Why did you let the people who’ve been disrespecting you get away with it?”
“……”
Han Ju-oh looked at him like he was the weird one, so Seo-ha gave him the same look right back.
“So what, you’re saying I should’ve responded to every single one of them?”
Was he supposed to snap and confront everyone who talked behind his back? Seo-ha made it very clear through his expression that he didn’t like how this conversation was going. He didn’t know where Han Ju-oh had gone off to just now, but it was obvious he’d heard something about him.
…Did he go off and punch someone again?
Remembering how oddly quiet the guild had been today, Seo-ha pushed away that suspicion and said,
“It’s not like I sat there stupidly and just listened to all of it… but still, getting into arguments with everyone isn’t exactly fun.”
That was how Seo-ha had survived in the workplace—letting things go when necessary, picking his battles carefully.
“It’s a fact that my compatibility rate is low. That’s not changing anytime soon. If people don’t like it, well… what can I do?”
“Still, I feel like you could’ve turned the situation around.”
“How? By doing what you do and launching Espers into the air?”
Seo-ha threw the question back at Han Ju-oh. But he wasn’t really looking for an answer.
“Unless you shut that kind of talk down immediately, it never stops. You know that. The easiest way is to just let it slide.”
Having said his piece, Seo-ha gave Han Ju-oh a glance. It meant: I’m done talking, now move. But instead of moving, Han Ju-oh stepped closer—blocking the doorway even more and standing right up against him.
The conversation was going nowhere, and now the guy was standing way too close. Seo-ha sighed again, then grabbed Han Ju-oh by the wrist and dragged him inside. He closed the door, brought him over to the sofa, and sat down next to him.
“Talk. What the hell is your problem?”
Seo-ha looked at him with an expression that said he was ready to hear anything—heart wide open. The best way to fix things was to talk. If there were misunderstandings, all they had to do was explain what they’d been through and how they’d lived.
At least, that’s what Seo-ha believed.
“It pissed me off seeing someone like Kang Kyung-hoon talk about you like that, and I couldn’t believe you just took it.”
“Kang Kyung-hoon? Oh, him… but why are you suddenly bringing him up…”
Hearing that name for the first time in a while, Seo-ha nodded slightly, only for a grim suspicion to surface.
“Did you… hit him too?”
Han Ju-oh didn’t answer.
***
Seo-ha sat with his face buried in his hands. He’d just gotten off a call with Moon Roi, who had explained the situation and how things would be handled. Supposedly, since Director Kim Beom-hak was involved, the matter wouldn’t escalate too far—but that wasn’t exactly something to be relieved about.
“So…”
He wasn’t sure where to start. Seo-ha opened his mouth several times, but the words never came out. And when they finally did, it was practically nothing. Frustrated, he pressed his lips back together and frowned.
There was a reason the guild had been so peaceful today—Han Ju-oh had been out. But Han Ju-oh himself had been anything but peaceful. Apparently, he’d stormed Seo-ha’s old center and completely wrecked the place. Including Kang Kyung-hoon, who got thoroughly torn apart.
“Ugh. All I can do is sigh.”
Seo-ha pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a humorless laugh. Han Ju-oh had always left him speechless, but today, it was for an entirely different reason.
“Ju-oh.”
After letting his thoughts spiral again, he finally called out. He could feel Han Ju-oh’s gaze shift toward him. Turning his head to face him, Seo-ha flinched—there was something dangerously intense in Han Ju-oh’s eyes.
“Why are your eyes like that?”
His gaze, which usually lacked intensity unless he was in a fight, was now sharply defined. It wasn’t unsettling to look at, but the change was strange simply because Seo-ha couldn’t figure out why.
No matter how long he stared, he couldn’t find the answer, so Seo-ha gave up first.
“Anyway, I’m going to finish what I was saying. Ju-oh. The thing is, the world doesn’t always let you live the way you want. Sure, some people get to live like that. But if you want to coexist with others, you have to compromise to some extent.”
“You’ve got quite the talent for sugarcoating things.”
“That’s why you can’t just go around throwing punches every time something pisses you off.”
Seo-ha had no idea why he had to explain this to another grown man his age, but he continued with a gentle smile.
“I know you do this for me. And I know you’re not someone who throws your strength around carelessly. But what happened at the guild is one thing. The center, though… that’s a no.”
This time, Director Kim Beom-hak managed to smooth things over, but what if something like this happened somewhere else? He also worried about the image that might cling to Han Ju-oh because of all this.
“So, seriously, stop throwing people around. Got it?”
Seo-ha figured he’d explained enough by now. He’d calmed himself and laid things out pretty gently, so he felt a little proud of how he handled it.
“No.”
“…Huh? That’s not the answer I was looking for.”
Seo-ha asked with a smile on his face, almost in disbelief. Did you seriously just say no?
“If you don’t plan to live your life as a spineless pushover, sometimes you need to draw a firm line.”
“So you’re saying I’m spineless and easy to walk over…? Anyway, just don’t. Seriously. Don’t go causing incidents. Cleaning up after them is a whole other mess. Just live like a normal person.”
Since Han Ju-oh’s response wasn’t what he hoped for, Seo-ha dropped the gentle tone and spoke the way he usually did.
“I was trying to hold it in because it was for your sake.”
“If you let that shit fester just because you can’t wipe it all out, it’ll keep piling up. That garbage will eventually drown you. You still think doing nothing is better?”
“I know. I know it won’t go away nicely. But that doesn’t mean going off the rails is the answer either.”
It wasn’t like he hated Han Ju-oh’s way of doing things, but you couldn’t handle everything like that. Also, the fact that this was now the second time something like this had happened because Seo-ha hadn’t been firm enough the first time—it meant he needed to be more careful.
Han Ju-oh didn’t look like he’d back off easily. Seo-ha knew things couldn’t keep going like this, but he also didn’t know how to stop him forcefully…
After thinking for a moment, Seo-ha held out his pinky finger to Han Ju-oh.
“What is that?”
He stuck his little finger out like he was a child making a promise.
Even with Han Ju-oh’s disapproving glare, Seo-ha didn’t withdraw his hand.
“Guiding. Come on, let’s start.”
When he brought up the fact that they still hadn’t done the guiding, Han Ju-oh finally relented and reached out his hand. He didn’t look like he wanted to link pinkies, but Seo-ha had no intention of letting him choose.
With his other hand, Seo-ha forced Han Ju-oh’s into a fist, then pulled out just the pinky finger. Before he could bend it again, Seo-ha hooked his own finger around it and sent energy through.
“Thanks.”
Seo-ha knew Han Ju-oh’s eyes had shifted from their hands to his face, but he didn’t meet his gaze.
“Next time, tell me first.”
Seo-ha offered this as a compromise. Han Ju-oh didn’t seem even the slightest bit remorseful for what he did to Esper Kang Kyung-hoon. And frankly, if someone said, “Well, it was trash, so I treated it like trash,” Seo-ha wouldn’t have anything to argue with.
“If it’s because of me that you’re getting so worked up, then I deserve to know.”
Seo-ha continued gently. Thinking back to what Kang Kyung-hoon had done to him in the past, it wasn’t surprising that something like this happened eventually.
But if he could stop Han Ju-oh before he acted, that would be better. So Seo-ha patiently kept trying to persuade him.
“If you just promise me that, I won’t bring up what happened today again.”
As a final touch, he offered a sweet deal—one Han Ju-oh wouldn’t be able to resist. The energy was flowing nicely now, and Seo-ha had a good idea of what Han Ju-oh’s answer would be.
“No.”
“……”
“If I tell you in advance, it’s obvious you’ll try to stop me. So why would I?”
…Yeah. We just don’t see eye to eye.
