Chapter 24
His mood, which had been fine until moments ago, crashed to the floor. It felt as if his heart had dropped with a thud too.
He knew that even real family didn’t stay together for a lifetime, yet the words of this man, a complete stranger to him, somehow stabbed at every sore spot.
Baek Jin let go of the doorknob and quietly turned back. He stood blankly in the living room, then walked into the bedroom. Seo Young-woo might think he’d overheard the conversation, after all.
Just as he was about to get under the covers, the door opened.
“Jin-ah, you’re done washing?”
It was a completely different voice from the one on the phone.
“Let’s take your medicine and sleep. While you’re asleep…….”
“Do you have sleeping pills too?”
Baek Jin cut Seo Young-woo off. A flicker of worry crossed his face, which looked a little taken aback.
“I think it’d be better to just take painkillers for now.”
“I want to sleep deeply. Can’t I……?”
When Baek Jin asked with his clear face, Seo Young-woo thought for a moment, then nodded. Then he brought the weakest of the pills he himself sometimes took and handed it over.
“Let’s not take these if we can help it. I’m only giving you one today because you had a lot going on.” “Yes, thank you.”
Baek Jin quickly swallowed the pill and lay down.
“Good night.”
Seo Young-woo had meant to talk with him about the bracelet and about the plans going forward, but seeing Baek Jin close his eyes, he decided to put the conversation off until tomorrow.
“Sleep well, Jin-ah.”
Seo Young-woo turned off the bedroom light and left. Left alone in the darkened room, Baek Jin slightly lifted his eyelids. As he stared blankly at the ceiling, his eyes grew hot, and he quickly closed them.
***
“Breakfast is the food I set out, so eat that, and I’ll order lunch for you.”
“Yes, have a good day.”
“If you want to move around, go down to the basement and work out.”
Smiling, Seo Young-woo stroked the cheek of Baek Jin, who was seeing him off, and left the house.
He’d heard a lot that morning. That he no longer had to wear the ability-restriction bracelet. But also that if he used his ability in daily life he’d be punished, so he had to be careful, and that his arm couldn’t be guided right away.
Baek Jin didn’t ask why, only nodded. Adults sometimes disliked being argued with. He intended to stay quietly until his next place was decided.
Dragging his feet, which didn’t want to part, he headed to the living room. On the dining table sat sandwiches that looked store-bought.
Whether because he’d eaten a lot last night or because he had no appetite, he didn’t feel hungry.
Wondering what to do, Baek Jin went back into the bedroom and lay down on the bed. He couldn’t sleep anymore, but he kept his eyes tightly shut.
After dozing on and off, he finally sat up because of his uncomfortable arm. The house was quiet. Baek Jin hugged his knees and almost snapped his fingers out of habit before stopping himself.
“If I end up setting the bedding on fire…….”
He didn’t want to be hated before he left this place. Even if he felt hurt, if he had any shame at all, he should be grateful for everything Seo Young-woo had done for him.
At a buzzing message alert, he groped the bedsheet for the phone. Seeing a scratch he hadn’t noticed yesterday, Baek Jin’s brow furrowed. He should have been more careful with it.
With a deep sigh, he checked the phone screen. Sadly, it wasn’t a message from Seo Young-woo. Ignoring the app advertisement notification, he was about to get up when he connected to the internet on the phone instead.
Republic of Korea awakened treatment awakened salary
Republic of Korea esper salary
B-rank fire attribute
As he scrolled down, a title in bold letters caught his eye.
Frustrated with himself for not even being able to look after something he’d been given to use, sighs kept escaping him.
Staring at the darkened screen, Baek Jin let out an “Ah,” as if something had occurred to him, and his fingers moved quickly.
How awakened people earn money
Esper application qualifications and things to note, how to become affiliated with the Bureau
This time, even more posts came up than before.
He quickly tapped a title, and the screen appeared.
Hello! Today I’ll be telling you about esper application qualifications and things to note, and how to become affiliated with the Bureau!
First, if you want to become affiliated with the Bureau, you have to awaken, you know. Does your body feel different from usual? If you’re shivering and trembling…….
Seeing content that had nothing to do with the title, and winking stickers plastered all through it, he backed right out. Only after browsing a few other blogs did he gradually learn the information he wanted. First, the salary was bigger than he’d thought. Reading that they even provided insurance and benefits for family, life finally came back into Baek Jin’s eyes.
For espers, joining a team doubled the salary. On top of that, the post finished by saying that a dormitory where awakened people lived together was provided, and that if you contacted them, they’d connect you with the Bureau.
After debating whether to call, Baek Jin copied the number and saved it separately for now, then flopped face-down.
“I wish I could keep living with Mister…….”
Seo Young-woo was more of an adult than any of the adults he’d met as a child. He didn’t get angry, and he didn’t hit. And he always spoke kindly to him…….
Forcing down his regret, Baek Jin picked up the phone again. Looking closely, there were numerous scratches not only on the side but on the corners too.
@@Esper preferred construction site daily wage 300,000 won@@ Hiring espers. Moving center. Daily wage 500,000 won, no reports filed, same-day possible, esper side job^^
Startled by the larger sum than he’d expected, Baek Jin quickly tapped the blog and saved the number in a rush.
***
At that same time, Seo Young-woo, who had arrived at the office, let out a stifled breath as he recalled the face that had looked lower in energy than usual.
“Is it because his arm hurts?”
He’d never raised a child, and he had no younger siblings or nephews either, so there was no way for him to know what Baek Jin was feeling.
I’ll just have to go and ask him, nothing else for it. Shaking off his thoughts, he was about to write a report when the screen on his sub-monitor kept moving.
It was the screen of the phone he’d linked remotely that morning so he could check for any calls from the phone he’d given Baek Jin. He didn’t particularly want to know what Baek Jin was doing on the phone, and he was about to turn the screen off when his mouse stopped dead.
“Well, look at this.”
Letting out a hollow laugh, Seo Young-woo propped his chin on his hand and watched the screen.
@@Esper preferred construction site daily wage 300,000 won@@ Hiring espers. Moving center. Daily wage 500,000 won, no reports filed, same-day possible, esper side job^^
Watching him go into the blog, copy the phone number, and neatly organize the daily wage and number in a memo made his head ache.
“What am I going to do about this…….”
Once he’d gathered all the information he wanted, the screen stopped moving. But Seo Young-woo kept his chin propped, lost in thought.
The gap was too big. The way he was careful about every little action was innocent, but his cruelty when facing variants was hard to believe of the same person.
“His nature seems clearly kind, though…….”
But before variants, Baek Jin was mercilessly cruel. As if he shut his emotions off entirely once a battle began. Just the fact that he’d completely broken his own right hand to get the bracelet off was proof enough that he wasn’t ordinary.
He was already on the Bureau’s radar, so he couldn’t live like a civilian, but Seo Young-woo wanted him to live at least a little ordinarily. An esper didn’t necessarily have to go out and fight. Other teams had espers who worked in back-office roles, too.
Seo Young-woo closed his eyes for a moment, then straightened at the notification sound from the monitor not long after. The email that had just arrived formally approved the lifting of Baek Jin’s surveillance, recognized him as an awakened of the Republic of Korea from now on, and even detailed the dismissal and legal punishment of Deputy Kim Hyeong-seop.
If not for the screen he’d seen remotely earlier, he could have been purely glad. Now that Baek Jin was a free man, picturing him running all over carrying moving boxes made his heart heavy on its own. He’d be lucky not to get scammed out there.
“Hah……”
Sighing, Seo Young-woo rubbed his frustrated face and called from his watch.
– Hello?
Before long, a cautious voice was heard. Seo Young-woo knew everything but pretended not to, and opened his mouth casually.
“I called because I was curious what you were doing.”
– Ah, right now I’m just…… watching TV.
But there wasn’t a single sound coming through the phone. He might have turned the volume down, but from everything Seo Young-woo had seen of Baek Jin so far, he could picture him plainly, just sitting there doing nothing.
Hmm, Seo Young-woo hummed low, and at some point picked up a ballpoint pen rolling around on the table and spun it between his fingers.
“Aren’t you bored?”
– I’m fine.
“Mister is bored right now, so I wondered how Jin is doing.”
– You’re… bored…..?
His tone made it sound as if he found it strange that Seo Young-woo could feel boredom.
I’m free, with nothing to do. Seo Young-woo deliberately looked away from his overflowing inbox and said something he didn’t mean.
“Want to come watch Mister work?”
– Can… can I go?
At the tone that had clearly risen compared to before, Seo Young-woo smiled too.
“Of course. I’ll send a car, so ride it over.”
***
“Is there anywhere you’re uncomfortable?”
“Ah, no. Not at all.”
As if he would be. Just riding in a car driven by a driver, instead of the cargo bed of the military truck the mercenary company always used, was an enormous luxury in itself.
He’d said he understood when asked to speak up if he needed anything, but Baek Jin had no intention of opening his mouth until they arrived. Partly because he wasn’t used to asking anyone for things, but mostly because his head was already busy with other thoughts.
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