Ordinary Person A

#30

It was a painful act both for Do-hyun, who had rushed over after a tiring day at work in response to his invitation, and for the person who had shown his sincerity to him. The attempt to casually handle the promise he had made with Oh-yul wasn’t very pleasant.

The TV was still playing outdated catchphrases that were painful to hear.

Even though Do-hyun was in the same space, the two stared at each other for a long time as if forgetting his presence. Although it should have been awkward for their gazes to meet without either backing down, neither of them looked away first.

The dark blue eyes that persistently captured Ho-woo’s gaze blinked slowly without wavering, even at distracting sounds, as if reluctant to part even for a moment. Then they gradually narrowed.

A red tongue emerged from between slightly parted lips to moisten them before retreating. The persistent gaze made Ho-woo feel as if that tongue was licking his entire body. He had no idea how much time had passed.

The subtle atmosphere that seemed like it would continue forever was broken by Do-hyun, who had been sitting quietly in the corner.

“Ah… shit.”

With a curse, Do-hyun abruptly stood up, put on his coat, and left the house with loud, stomping steps.

Ho-woo, bewildered by the sudden situation, ran out belatedly, but Do-hyun was nowhere to be seen, having apparently gone down the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator.

After a short while, a car smoothly pulled out of the parking lot. The car that disappeared leaving a trail of red lights was certainly Do-hyun’s.

As Ho-woo stared blankly at this, a long shadow fell across his back.

“That was quite interesting.”

A firm hand completely enveloped Ho-woo’s stiff shoulder. Oh-yul briefly looked down at the apartment entrance dimly lit by streetlights, then stared directly at Ho-woo. There was a faint hint of amusement in his gaze.

“You tried your best in your own way, I see.”

This reaction made Ho-woo shift his eyes uncomfortably. If Oh-yul had gotten annoyed or angry, Ho-woo could have acted more brazenly, but Oh-yul’s response painfully pricked Ho-woo’s conscience.

“Did you perhaps choose the movie intentionally as well?”

Ho-woo felt wronged by the question of whether he had personally chosen a boring movie for this sloppy plan.

Surprisingly, the movie currently playing alone in the living room had high ratings. It was a movie he had chosen without much doubt because it was full of praise, saying it was really funny. Come to think of it, he had been duped by those reviews too.

“I did invite Do-hyun on purpose, but I feel wronged about the movie. …It had good ratings.”

Ho-woo’s expression filled with indignation. Really, he had put effort into choosing it. This expression quickly turned gloomy. Oh-yul gently lifted Ho-woo’s deeply bowed head with his hand. Out of guilt, Ho-woo couldn’t meet his gaze and looked down.

“Shall we go back and finish the movie? Since we’ve already paid for it, let’s watch it together till the end. Although we’re down one person we intended to watch with.”

Oh-yul smiled gently as he released Ho-woo’s chin. His smiling expression even in a situation where he should be angry made guilt curve sharply and pierce Ho-woo’s chest.

“…I’m sorry.”

It was a very small murmur. An ordinary person would have barely heard and missed it, but the Esper heard the voice clearly. Nevertheless, he pretended not to hear the apology and returned to his seat, resting his chin on the sofa.

The movie was still spewing out unfunny slapstick comedy and exaggerated dialogue trying to force laughter. Oh-yul spoke with his gaze fixed on the screen.

“It’s your choice to push me away as much as you want. So do your best. I’ll do my best too.”

“……”

“But next time, let’s definitely watch that movie we originally planned to see. This one is really not interesting.”

Oh-yul, looking thoroughly bored, smiled at Ho-woo, who was still standing blankly in the entrance, showing his neat teeth.

It was a declaration of war that had continued from the park, and a firm expression of will that he would never back down no matter what Lee Ho-woo did.

***

Sigh.

Siiigh.

Sighs kept escaping from Ho-woo’s mouth. At the parade of sighs that seemed like he might sink into the ground at any moment, Seong-jo, working nearby, kept glancing over. He seemed curious about why someone who had just returned from a week of paid vacation, a dream for office workers, looked so gloomy, but didn’t have the courage to ask directly.

Unable to concentrate on work during the morning hours, Ho-woo finally managed to read through some documents in the afternoon, but still couldn’t focus.

Before going to sleep on the day he had involved Do-hyun, Ho-woo had sent an apology message to Do-hyun, and received a reply telling him to go die. It was a small consolation that although Do-hyun was a bit annoyed with Ho-woo, he wasn’t seriously angry.

To the question of why he suddenly left, Do-hyun had said something astounding: ‘You two were rolling around with your eyes,’ which Ho-woo desperately denied, saying it absolutely wasn’t like that. Of course, his denial wasn’t believed.

Siiiiigh.

He let out another long sigh. The internet search history clearly showed traces of searches like ‘How to reject someone without hurting them,’ and ‘How to remain friends with a friend who sees me as a romantic interest.’ It was something that would have earned him a scolding if the department head or team leader saw it, but with the reality he was facing being more urgent, he didn’t care much.

“Mr. Lee, the department head is calling for you.”

At the light tap on his shoulder, Ho-woo shook off his reverie. It wasn’t strange to be called in after being in a daze all day. Still, to minimize potential scolding, he tidied up his clothes and straightened his tie before entering the office.

After a light knock, a gruff voice from inside told him to enter. Ho-woo carefully opened the door, taking care not to let nervousness show on his face.

“You called for me?”

At the polite inquiry, the department head slightly raised his head from the monitor screen to look at Ho-woo. Somehow, there was curiosity and a bit of awkwardness in his gaze. After keeping Ho-woo standing for a while, the department head, uncharacteristically cautiously, asked:

“Do you have any family members affiliated with the Management Complex?”

In a world where Espers appear not infrequently and Guides rarely emerge, it wasn’t unusual for family members to become Espers or Guides. However, no one in Ho-woo’s family was an Esper or a Guide.

His father, whom he still visited occasionally, certainly wasn’t, and his frail mother from his childhood probably wasn’t either.

“No, there are no Espers or Guides among my family members.”

Ho-woo’s face also showed confusion at the unexpected question. It was strange that after suddenly calling him in, he was asking about manifested individuals in his family rather than work-related issues.

“Then why was your vacation request submitted by the Management Complex?”

“Ah…”

A small sigh escaped between his lips. It seemed to be the aftermath of the vacation Oh-yul had arbitrarily applied for.

“This time…”

Ho-woo paused for a moment, closing his mouth. Rumors spread faster in the company than gossip in the marketplace. Ho-woo quickly chose his words in his mind. However, the department head quickly asked another question.

“There won’t be any more contact from the Management Complex in the future, right?”

From the company’s perspective, they wouldn’t welcome involvement with a government agency that people didn’t view very favorably. Moreover, the sharp look in his eyes as he examined Ho-woo suggested he might be considering an employee associated with such a place as a potential future headache.

“Of course not.”

This incident was just a minor event, so there shouldn’t be any problems in the future. At the department head’s dismissal, Ho-woo bowed his head and returned to his seat. Looking at the time, only about 5 minutes had passed, but fatigue washed over him as if he had spent a whole day’s energy.

“What did the department head say?”

To the curious question from Yu Mi-yeon, the deputy manager sitting across from him, Ho-woo vaguely replied, “He just asked if I had a good vacation.” It was the most appropriate excuse, as the department head wouldn’t go around talking about this matter either.

“Is that so? More importantly, what did you really do during your vacation? I had such a hard time because you suddenly took a week off~”

Mi-yeon complained that she had taken over all of Ho-woo’s work.

“Ms. Yu, I’ll treat you to a meal later.”

“Later? How about today instead of later? You can tell us about your vacation too. Seong-jo, you’re coming too, right? You don’t have the right to refuse. I fixed all your mistakes after all.”

Seong-jo looked embarrassed at Mi-yeon’s words. It seemed he had made some mistakes while his supervisor was away for a week, and Mi-yeon, another supervisor, had covered for him.

“That’s right, Seong-jo. We couldn’t go for drinks last time, remember?”

When Ho-woo also suggested it, Seong-jo glanced around and then nodded. His expression clearly showed some discomfort.

“I’ll look for a place to go. Everyone can eat anything, right?”

Mi-yeon, already looking forward to getting off work, started browsing through restaurants near the company. As it had been quite a while since they had a simple drinking session with dinner, Ho-woo also picked up the work he had been putting off. Not wanting to be late due to work and disappoint the two, he tried his best to push Oh-yul out of his mind.