Ordinary Person A

#33

“Are you curious?”

It was the humid whisper of a snake. Once heard, you can never back out. Yet curiosity captured Choi Seon-woo. What on earth did he do to an ordinary person?

As Choi Seon-woo slowly nodded, Oh-yul smiled cunningly, his eyes curving.

***

Ho-woo stretched and curled his toes at the pleasant, languid sensation spreading through him. The large, gentle hand touched his forehead, then slowly slid down. It brushed his cheek, passed his neck, and caressed his shoulder exposed by the loose t-shirt.

Then, as if having completed its task, it slowly retreated. Even in his sleep, Ho-woo reached out and grabbed the other person, not wanting to let go.

“A little more…”

The owner of the hand that had been grabbed by the wrist seemed to hesitate for a moment, then sat back down on the edge of the bed and carefully caressed Ho-woo’s fingers one by one. The movement of the hand, massaging the slender, long fingers, was slow.

Sensation concentrated on his hand. At the ticklish, yearning feeling, Ho-woo gripped the hand tightly, and a low laugh returned. The sound was quite familiar, so Ho-woo slowly opened his eyes.

Oh-yul was sitting at the head of the bed, holding Ho-woo’s hand tightly and smiling pleasantly with his eyes curved. He seemed about to say something, his lips moving slightly. Finally, he leaned down and brought his lips to Ho-woo’s ear.

“Good morning pa-pa-pa!!”

“Aaagh!!”

Ho-woo jolted upright at the alarm sound hitting his ears. He frantically turned his body this way and that, thoroughly scanning around the bed. Of course, Oh-yul wasn’t there.

Damn, what a dream.

Curses rose unbidden. The phone set as the morning alarm was now practically screaming. Ho-woo roughly ran his hand through his throbbing head as he irritably turned off the alarm.

The beer he hadn’t drunk enough to get drunk was twisting his stomach. After showering in cold water to clear his head and leaving home for work, Ho-woo peeked at Oh-yul’s apartment, noticing the black envelope hanging on his doorknob again today.

When does this man go to work and come home? There was still no sign of life beyond the tightly closed door with not a single light visible.

Come to think of it, didn’t he have a room at the Management Complex too? Why did he move to this shabby apartment in such a hurry? Ho-woo tried to think of a plausible reason for the sudden question that occurred to him, but no prediction quite fit.

If he stayed at the Management Complex, it would take only 5 minutes to commute.

Now that he thought about it, there was something a bit strange. Still, Ho-woo didn’t jump to conclusions. You never know about other people’s circumstances until you hear them, and sometimes even after hearing them, they don’t make sense.

Ho-woo took the elevator down and walked towards the subway, peeking into the envelope. It contained a few drink-type hangover cures and some energy bars good for a quick meal.

He had been waiting in front of the apartment complex yesterday, but it was unclear when he had bought and hung these. It seemed like he had gone straight home. Since he wouldn’t have had these stocked at home, it meant he must have bought and hung them before Ho-woo left.

“Such devotion…”

The words that came out without much thought were accurate. Oh-yul was devoted to Lee Ho-woo. He showered Ho-woo with kindness and affection to an extent that made one wonder if it was okay to be this attentive.

Yet he didn’t force himself on Ho-woo. He acted as if he was standing one step away, hoping Ho-woo would walk into that narrow gap on his own.

Somehow, his heart fluttered again. It seemed the effects of alcohol hadn’t completely worn off. Ho-woo was about to put the empty envelope in the trash but instead folded it neatly and pushed it into his bag. It was an action born from the thought that he should fill it with snacks and hang it on the doorknob in return, feeling bad about always receiving.

He stepped down the stairs leading underground and boarded the still crowded train. As summer approached, the heat from the tightly packed people was stifling in the increasingly warm weather. He could vividly feel sweat running down his spine.

Summer is coming this year too.

Summer, hot and humid with the rainy season, was a season impossible to like. It was even more so because it overlapped with the anniversary of his mother’s death.

With almost no memories from before he was 10, all he knew of his mother’s face was from photos. She was a graceful beauty with light pigmentation like himself. In the photo, his mother was holding his hand tightly with a bright smile, while Ho-woo himself was captured with a large bandage on his face and a very grumpy expression.

Of course, he had no memory of taking such a photo. When he cautiously asked his father about the strangely missing memories, as if someone had sharply cut them away, he gave up asking further upon seeing his father’s rapidly darkening expression.

It was an unspoken rule. The rule of not asking about his mother had become more firmly established over time and was still maintained. The only thing Ho-woo could hear from his father was that it was “an unfortunate accident.”

Clunk-!

The subway’s big jolt pulled Ho-woo out of his reverie. The thoughts that didn’t seem to have lasted long apparently had, as they had already arrived at Ho-woo’s stop.

As it was an area densely populated with companies, he was swept onto the platform by the disembarking crowd, finally getting some relief from the heat generated by human warmth.

“Phew.”

This summer is going to be tough too.

Ho-woo came out, flapping the slightly damp hem of his shirt, and craned his neck to look up the stairs leading out of the subway at the sound of murmuring.

Whatever was happening, people were moving out slowly. Checking the time, he saw it was a bit tight until work started, so he climbed the stairs steadily, suppressing his impatience.

When he was almost at the top, Ho-woo was startled to find two men in black Esper uniforms standing at the entrance with indifferent faces. When he only saw the edge of their clothes, he thought it was Oh-yul. But there was no way he would be here.

The Espers were staring intently at the people coming out of the subway, as if comparing them to papers in their hands. The sudden congestion seemed to be caused by people trying to avoid them.

Ho-woo tried to walk past them like everyone else. However, his gaze met squarely with one of the Espers who was slowly scanning the surroundings out of slight curiosity.

The Esper’s eyes gradually widened, and he soon poked his companion’s side to redirect his attention. Now they were staring at Ho-woo “piercingly” instead of at the paper they were holding or the faces of the people around them.

“It’s definitely him, right?”

“I think so?”

Their muttering voices sounded very loud. Since it was a loud voice with no intention of hiding in the first place, Ho-woo looked up blankly at the Espers who strode up to him.

“Is there a problem?”

“Not really a problem, but aren’t you a Guide? We were wondering why you’re here and not at the Complex.”

Their expressions became subtle. Ho-woo, dressed in a neat suit with a bag in hand, looked every bit an ordinary person.

At the Espers’ words, a look of dismay first appeared on Ho-woo’s face. He hadn’t directly encountered many Espers, but from what they were saying, it seemed they had seen Ho-woo wearing a Guide uniform before.

“Um…”

Ho-woo took out his phone to check the time. There were only about 10 minutes left until 9 o’clock. If he quickly explained the situation and hurried, he might just avoid being late. His words sped up as his mind became urgent.

“That day, I borrowed the clothes due to circumstances. Ask Yu Hee-eun.”

“You mean the Team Guide of Team 1?”

“Yes. I’m in a hurry, so I’ll be going now.”

Ho-woo left the dazed-looking Espers behind and quickened his pace, eventually breaking into a run. When he boarded the elevator that had just arrived, panting with his breath up to his chin, there were 5 minutes left until 9 o’clock. It was a close save.

As he sat down at his desk in the office, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, his legs, which had overexerted themselves from the morning, turned to jelly. The pitiful body of an office worker lacking exercise even trembled.

“You’re late?”

Seong-jo, who had arrived earlier, smiled and handed him a can. It was a hangover cure. Mi-yeon, sitting across from him, was also drinking from the same kind of can with a not-so-good look on her face.

“Thanks.”

“I bought two more when I bought mine.”

Although he had already drunk one that Oh-yul had provided, Ho-woo opened the can and gulped it down in appreciation of Seong-jo’s thoughtfulness. The tart-sweet taste wasn’t bad. After putting the empty can in the trash, he hurriedly booted up his computer.

“Mr. Lee, I’m not sure about this…”

As soon as work started, Seong-jo came over with one of the tasks assigned to him. It was last year’s client ledger. It was given as reference material since similar orders came in every year, but what was he unsure about? Ho-woo leaned towards Seong-jo to look at the monitor next to him.

“What is it?”

“This. I was wondering why the numbers are like this. This year’s orders came in much less than this.”

“Ah, this… This can be a bit confusing. This isn’t a fixed value, it varies each time, so you need to coordinate with the client. Another manager or I will handle it, so just leave it.”

As Ho-woo finished explaining and was about to return to his original position, he raised an eyebrow at the hand placed on his shoulder.