“Fuuuck. The sky is fucking blue today.”
Yoon Palsik muttered gloomily. Gyujin, who had been quietly listening beside him, chimed in.
“Can’t really see the sky from inside the car, though, can we?”
“It’s a figure of speech! A figure of speech! Do you seriously have to point that out?”
At the sharp response, Gyujin scratched his chin. He had thought it was a joke and answered with another joke, but apparently not. Palsik’s eyes flashed viciously as he glared at Gyujin, who now looked awkward.
“Anyway, you’re the biggest problem here. I’m telling you, we can’t just blame Kwon Dajung! Isn’t he like that because you raised him wrong? Gyujin, you spoiled the hell out of him!”
Once he got started, all the grievances he had been bottling up came pouring out. Veins stood out on Yoon Palsik’s neck as he launched into his theory of “Yoon Gyujin’s culpability.”
He really is touchy today.
Gyujin let about half of it go in one ear and out the other as he turned his gaze toward the window.
Beyond the eight-lane road lay a deserted container yard. Somewhere in there, Dawn had supposedly hidden a stockpile of gold bars. Convinced the intelligence was credible, the Esper Bureau had immediately assigned the operation to Team 1. This was exactly the kind of job that called for the abilities of Kwon Dajung, an SS-rank Esper.
“Ugh! At my age, with my career, they ought to be grateful I’m even going into the field! Do you know that bastard told me he felt like throwing up while I was guiding him? That fucking asshole! No gratitude whatsoever. None!”
The bastard in question was, of course, Kwon Dajung. Gyujin patted the agitated Yoon Palsik on the shoulder.
“Try to understand, Palsik. He’s still just a kid.”
“Hey! Kwon Dajung stopped being twenty a long damn time ago! What kid?”
At Palsik’s protest that Dajung was old enough to be graduating from college by now, Gyujin quietly shut his mouth. The hand patting Palsik’s shoulder sped up a little.
“Anyway. Thanks to you, I’ve got one less thing to worry about. Seriously, thanks for helping.”
He was not saying it just to be polite. He really had managed to make it this far safely thanks to Yoon Palsik.
Given the nature of the mission, they needed someone on site who could provide field guiding in Gyujin’s place in case anything went wrong. The problem was that no one was willing to step in as Yoon Gyujin’s replacement.
Considering there was not a single person who had not heard what happened to Kim Heemyung during the exercise a few days ago, that was only natural. Maybe people had even established a formula in their heads: “Become Yoon Gyujin’s replacement and Kwon Dajung will beat the shit out of you.”
Gyujin wanted to deny it, but the same sort of thing kept happening, leaving him with little ground to argue.
What Guide in their right mind would volunteer when it could mean getting on Kwon Dajung’s bad side? At the very least, no one at the Guide Center possessed that kind of reckless courage.
Even Ko Hyeguk, whom Gyujin had been counting on as his last resort, happened to have training scheduled for the same day and could not participate. That was when Gyujin had genuinely broken out in a cold sweat.
Realizing they could not go on like this, he had badgered the team members into getting guiding in advance before they left for the operation, but they had all flatly refused even that. Apparently none of them needed guiding “right now” or some such bullshit.
It was ridiculous.
Sure, they did not need it right now. They had not used their abilities yet, so of course they were fine. But once they started fighting in the field, they would inevitably use those abilities. And when they needed guiding then, who exactly did they plan on getting it from?
Their whining that they simply did not want to, despite having no alternative plan whatsoever, had stressed Gyujin badly enough to give him stomach cramps.
He would have felt better if they could take anyone at all, but there truly was no one he could drag along even by force.
The person who finally came to Gyujin’s rescue while he was racking his brain over the problem was Yoon Palsik. If one ignored his title as Director of the Guide Center, Palsik was actually the person best suited to serve as Gyujin’s replacement.
Calling him an experienced Guide was almost redundant. On top of that, he understood Gyujin’s circumstances better than anyone. No matter how Gyujin looked at it, there was no option more perfectly suited than Yoon Palsik.
And so Gyujin made the unprecedented personnel decision to use the Director himself as his substitute. Naturally, every Esper on Team 1, Kwon Dajung included, had been displeased by Yoon Palsik coming along.
“You think I want to guide those little shits? Just wait. One day, I’m definitely getting my revenge.”
Gyujin could understand why Yoon Palsik was grinding his teeth over it. Just as Palsik had said, a man of his age, with his title and seniority, deserved a round of applause simply for going out into the field.
And instead of showing any gratitude, Dajung had looked him in the face and said something like, “I’m gonna puke.”
How could he not be furious?
Trying to cheer him up, Gyujin cautiously offered,
“Still, Palsik, compared to an Esper getting way too excited and saying how amazing it feels while you’re guiding them…”
He met Palsik’s icy stare.
“Okay. I’ll just shut up.”
Apparently that had not been particularly comforting either.
Wondering what on earth might improve Palsik’s mood, Gyujin changed the subject.
“So, anyway. We just wait here, right? Oh, there’s Youngju.”
Gyujin pointed through the window.
Song Youngju was jogging toward them between the rows of stacked containers. After skillfully crossing the eight-lane road, he came straight to the car. The moment he opened the rear door, Gyujin and Yoon Palsik turned around at the same time.
“How’s it going?”
Song Youngju, who had just been closing the door, startled and looked at them both. He fastened his seat belt before explaining the situation.
“Nothing much. We secured the gold bars or whatever, and right now Kwon Dajung’s blowing off steam by himself. Doesn’t look like the others will even get a chance to do anything.”
Gyujin’s expression immediately clouded.
If Song Youngju was putting it that way, Dajung must really be tearing the place apart.
Is Kwon Dajung okay?
“Worry about someone who actually needs worrying about, Team Leader.”
Song Youngju stretched and yawned. Yoon Palsik nodded in agreement.
“Youngju’s right about that. Worry about yourself instead of Kwon Dajung. You haven’t forgotten we’re going straight to the hospital as soon as the operation’s over, have you?”
Yoon Palsik poked Gyujin repeatedly in the side.
At the interesting topic, Song Youngju immediately straightened up too.
“I’ll keep Kwon Dajung occupied, so don’t worry about him. But it’s safe, right? It’s not going to put some huge strain on your body or leave you with complications or anything, is it, Team Leader?”
“Who knows? They’re doing it with medication, so they call it a procedure, but apparently they won’t even use a knife. The problem is Gyujin’s a man, so even the doctor isn’t completely sure how the medication will affect him.”
“Huh? What kind of doctor says that? Isn’t that way too irresponsible?”
“He said he’s never treated a pregnant man before either, so what do you expect him to do? That’s why I contacted Esper Kim Mirae too, just in case. That woman’s one hell of a healer. I didn’t tell her it was Gyujin. I just asked whether she could come to the hospital for a little while that day and help if necessary, so quit worrying.”
Gyujin’s cheeks heated at just how many people were being inconvenienced in every possible direction because of him.
“I mean, I’m grateful, but…”
Couldn’t we do this just a little more quietly? In secret?
Whether they noticed Gyujin’s embarrassment or not, Yoon Palsik and Song Youngju eagerly continued discussing the plan.
“First you get the procedure. Then Gyujin stays at the hospital for about a day. We see how he’s doing the next day, and either discharge him or let him rest another day. Tomorrow happens to be the weekend, so there won’t be any problem with the Center. As for Kwon Dajung, Youngju, you’re responsible for keeping him covered.”
“Don’t worry! Just make sure our stories match and tell him Team Leader went away on Center business. After that, I’ll keep Kwon Dajung tied down even if I have to break his ankles.”
“Breaking his ankles seems a little much…”
At Gyujin’s mutter, both of them shot him accusing looks as though he had said something absurd.
“You think that kind of half-assed attitude is going to work against Kwon Dajung? What if he figures it out? That bastard’s got instincts like a fucking ghost. What if he follows you all the way to the hospital and starts raising hell? What are you going to do then?”
“Exactly, Team Leader! If we let our guard down, we’re screwed! Forget breaking his ankles—we ought to lock him in prison!”
If the subject were omitted, anyone listening would think they were talking about an SS-rank boss monster rather than Kwon Dajung.
Gyujin hurriedly agreed, looking appalled.
“Fine. Break his ankles all you want…”
Kwon Dajung probably would not even find it particularly painful.
At Gyujin’s permission, Song Youngju smiled proudly.
Does he really like being told he can break his own teammate’s ankles that much?
“Anyway, once tonight is over, Gyujin, you’ll be free too. And this whole thing becomes our secret. Just like always. You both know what I mean, right?”
Gyujin and Song Youngju nodded.
The pregnancy, the fact that Gyujin had ever been pregnant, even the baby itself—none of it would ever have happened.
Pressing down the guilt and apology inside him, Gyujin kept his expression calm.
I was never meant to have a family or a child.
If he kept telling himself that the place had always been empty, it was not quite unbearable.
“Huh? Wait, that…!”
Yoon Palsik pointed through the rear window.
Following his hand, Gyujin turned and saw two headlights rushing straight toward them.
CRASH—!
Before he had time to brace himself, a massive impact slammed through his entire body.
The force of the truck plowing into them from behind sent the car flipping over.