* * *
As soon as Hyunsoo read the message, he immediately called Minchan.
Although the director and Minchan often bickered, they generally got along well. It was natural since they were uncle and nephew.
‘It seemed like things were going well for a while. What happened this time?’
Fortunately, the call connected quickly. Before Hyunsoo could even say a word, Minchan’s explanation poured out rapidly.
“Hyung, it’s not what you think. Let me explain first. Kim Yoon misunderstood.”
“What misunderstanding?”
“Uncle was nagging me again. I was just listening, but it went on too long, so I made one comment, and he blew it out of proportion. You know how Kim Yoon overreacts, right?”
Hyunsoo scratched his cheek.
“The director does tend to nag a bit too much. Hmm…”
Once he started, it was at least 10 minutes. Especially towards his nephew, Minchan, it was severe. It was never short, to say the least.
In simple terms, Minchan’s uncle, the central director, was a typical old-fashioned man.
-Kim Yoon seems to be making a fuss on his own.
“Did you send Yoon somewhere else alone?”
-Things are chaotic everywhere right now, so we have to move separately due to a manpower shortage. Who’s the one who should be scolded right now, and who’s asking to be scolded? Good grief. I can’t just beat him up, can I?
When Minchan grumbled, Hyunsoo chuckled quietly.
“You know there’s no violence allowed within the team, right? But as the team leader, you should embrace the youngest with love.”
-I’m thinking of embracing him with a fist full of love soon.
“Oh dear.”
Hyunsoo sighed deeply. When they lived together, he could handle things as he saw them, but now he couldn’t even figure out what was going on.
It was a mental struggle even after death. Would there ever be a day of peace? His mind was dark.
-Anyway, I might not be able to contact you until next week. But I’ll get in touch whenever I can.
“Don’t worry. I’m busy with classes too.”
-How does it feel to take classes with younger juniors?
“How does it feel? They’re just cute, all of them.”
While Hyunsoo was answering, Sejoon, who had finished his cold shower, wandered out of the bathroom.
Hyunsoo decided it was inappropriate to continue the call. It never hurts to be cautious. Feeling both relieved and sleepy after dinner, he decided to end the call.
-Let’s talk later.
“Got it.”
After ending the call, Hyunsoo rolled around on his bed. He didn’t distrust Minchan, but he still sent a message to Yoon for cross-verification.
[Minchan said he just made one comment because the director’s nagging was too long. Is that true?]
[Yoonie♡: It looked like a big argument to me. Strange~]
Judging by the reaction, it seemed like a simple exaggeration. He sighed, wondering when Minchan would ever mature. Once he realized it was nothing serious, the tension quickly dissipated.
‘Might as well sleep.’
Hyunsoo buried his face in the soft pillow and closed his eyes. Thankfully, he soon felt drowsy. Just when he was half-asleep…
“Jaehee hyung, are you sleeping? Should I turn off the light?”
Sejoon, seeing Hyunsoo close his eyes, asked gently.
“No… your hair is still wet.”
“I’ll dry it in the bathroom.”
Objectively, Sejoon was an excellent roommate. His polite and unpretentious personality and respectful attitude towards elders pleased Hyunsoo.
Even in his half-asleep state, Hyunsoo spoke to Sejoon.
“Sejoon.”
“Yes?”
“You said it’s hard to manage the backlash whenever you guide, right?”
Sejoon, surprised by the sudden topic, responded honestly.
“Yes, just dealing with the backlash coming my way is overwhelming.”
“Well… first, what you need to do is…”
Sejoon, thinking he might get some tips, listened attentively. Jaehee excelled in both theory and practice.
His proficient guiding and extensive knowledge earned praise from all the professors. Moreover, he was sociable and the perfect model student.
“Hyung?”
But there was no response.
“Jaehee hyung?”
Even calling his name didn’t get an answer.
“Did he fall asleep?”
Sejoon approached his bed and looked at his face. His eyes were tightly closed, and his chest rose and fell steadily.
It seemed he had fallen asleep mid-conversation out of sheer exhaustion.
“What the… Leaving me hanging.”
Though Sejoon smiled in disbelief, he turned off the lights.
The room, illuminated only by a soft mood lamp, was filled with the sound of steady breathing.
It felt oddly peaceful to Sejoon.
***
It felt like he had just dozed off, but Hyunsoo slept soundly until morning.
As soon as he woke up, Sejoon asked what he had started to say last night, prompting Hyunsoo to give him a one-on-one personalized lesson from the morning.
As expected, Hyunsoo’s tips were incredibly helpful, and Sejoon kept asking him various questions.
Every time, Hyunsoo, though sometimes annoyed, answered sincerely.
“Hyung, how do you know all this?”
“I studied hard.”
When Hyunsoo answered that way, Sejoon shook his head, treating him like a model student.
‘This guy? He doesn’t believe me even though it’s true.’
The tips Hyunsoo shared were all things he learned the hard way, struggling in the field to survive.
They were incomparable to the trivial know-how handed down patronizingly by senior guides when he was an intern.
‘Still, it’s rewarding to teach a kid who appreciates it.’
Hyunsoo lounged on the sofa, munching on snacks Sejoon had offered as thanks. He glanced at his phone, now unusually quiet.
The D Team members’ contact frequency had noticeably dropped, indicating their busyness.
The ones who used to call constantly now only sent occasional survival reports.
Even Jiwon hadn’t contacted him for days, likely having broken his phone again.
“Oh, by the way, Jaehee hyung.”
“What?”
“After we finish our training, we’ll join a team as interns, right?”
“Right.”
“Then will we go on missions too? To places where monsters appear?”
Typically, fresh graduates from the basic training center started with patrol and surveillance teams.
Even though guides were relatively scarcer than espers, they weren’t sent to the field immediately.
Guides were considered valuable assets.
“Would you put an inexperienced intern straight into the field?”
“I saw on the news that the situation is severe lately, so I was just wondering.”
“No matter how severe, there are many guides at the center.”
Hyunsoo reassured Sejoon while tidying up the empty snack bags.
There had been alarming news lately, but after ten years in the field, Hyunsoo didn’t find it too serious.
“Ah, the practical test is making me nervous.”
“You’ve been doing well lately, so why worry? You’ll do fine as long as you stay calm.”
Encouraging Sejoon, Hyunsoo stood up. It was almost time for the practical test Sejoon mentioned.
***
“Today, as announced in the previous class, we will conduct the test using the wave measuring device.”
While the assistants set up the measuring device, the new espers, hastily drafted due to a lack of experience, stood nervously.
The order was randomly assigned, and Jaehee’s turn was near the beginning.
After the tests of his tense peers finished, Jaehee’s name was finally called.
Hyunsoo sat in his seat, attached the patches, and looked at the esper sitting across from him.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jaehee.”
“Wow, I’m lucky to have such a beautiful person as my guiding partner. I’m glad it’s not someone else.”
Hyunsoo raised an eyebrow slightly.
‘Is this idiot not even polite? Making comments about someone’s appearance right off the bat?’
Moreover, his remarks subtly disparaged the other trainees.
Even the instructor nearby seemed to find the comment inappropriate and warned the esper.
The esper then apologized with an unwilling expression, claiming he meant no harm.
‘It’s a waste to guide this jerk.’
Although displeased, the test proceeded.
At the professor’s signal, Hyunsoo took the esper’s hand across from him.
He intended a light handshake, but the other quickly interlaced their fingers.
A wave of discomfort washed over him. Such behavior on a first meeting showed a lack of basic manners and consideration for the other person.
How did someone like this get to parade around as an esper?
Hyunsoo clicked his tongue internally.
‘What a world. Let’s just get this over with quickly.’
As he steeled himself to draw in the esper’s wavelengths, Hyunsoo frowned. More wavelengths than he intended to absorb flooded into his body.
‘What the hell is this jerk doing?’
This bastard was forcibly dumping his wavelengths onto Hyunsoo.
As Hyunsoo glared at the esper across from him, the esper smiled with twitching eyebrows.
It was an obvious, intentional provocation. Hyunsoo stared at the smugly grinning esper and thought.
‘What should I do with this bastard?’
Hyunsoo’s gaze turned deadly in an instant.
* * *
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