Ordinary Person A

#41

[More importantly, you’re lovers, right?]

At that moment, Ho-woo was certain he had all the question marks in the world planted in his head. This was because Joo Si-yeon’s question was out of the blue and, considering Oh-yul’s current situation, it was a question that absolutely shouldn’t come up.

[???]

Three question marks representing Ho-woo’s state of mind were sent to the other party with the send button. Joo Si-yeon seemed equally confused by these question marks, as the same three question marks came back. Then, after a few strangely typed messages sent in succession, a normal message arrived.

[Sorry, I’m an electric type so electronic devices don’t listen to me well. Anyway, Oh-yul isn’t your lover?]

[He’s not.]

Ho-woo didn’t buy the coffee he was going to get and arrived at the office, sitting in his seat and leaning back in his chair, holding his phone. With about twenty minutes left in the lunch break, there was ample time to deal with Joo Si-yeon.

[He’s not my lover.]

Ho-woo tried to think of a word to describe his relationship with Oh-yul after that. They weren’t friends, they were neighbors, but it felt a bit closer than just neighbors. When Ho-woo didn’t continue, Joo Si-yeon followed up.

[Then a lover candidate?]

Joo Si-yeon’s guess was close. Until recently, Oh-yul had seemed determined not to give up on Ho-woo. If he had kept sticking close and pouring out sweet and affectionate words, Lee Ho-woo would have eventually given his heart. Ho-woo neither affirmed nor denied this question.

“Mr. Deputy, did you eat lunch alone?”

Seong-jo, who seemed to have finished lunch, discovered Ho-woo sitting in the office first and offered him the coffee he was holding.

“Have this.”

“Didn’t you buy it for yourself, Seong-jo?”

“No, I bought it to give to you because you looked especially tired today.”

Ho-woo gratefully accepted the kindness. Putting Americano into an almost empty stomach wasn’t the wisest choice, but he desperately needed caffeine due to lack of sleep.

“By the way, did you see the news?”

“Ah… Yes, well, with everyone talking about it, it’s hard not to see it.”

Ho-woo smiled awkwardly to hide his slightly stiffened face. The only news everyone knew about right now was that story.

“I told you before, didn’t I? That it’s hard to work out with an Esper.”

Seong-jo made a triumphant expression as if to say ‘See?’. Ho-woo maintained a smiling face on the surface while trying to figure out if Seong-jo had come to deliberately irritate him or if he had other intentions.

If he was trying to make Ho-woo feel bad on purpose, it was very successful. Not just successful, but a great success.

If it hadn’t been for the conversation with Joo Si-yeon just now, Ho-woo might have been able to say something like “I guess so.” Ho-woo glanced at his phone screen. There were no more messages from Joo Si-yeon. It might be natural since she was using someone else’s phone, not her own.

“Mr. Deputy?”

Seong-jo, who had been enthusiastically saying something, voiced his curiosity towards Ho-woo, who was fiddling with his turned-off phone screen.

“Ah, what were you saying?”

“I asked if you’ve heard from that Esper since the news came out?”

Whether it was to add confidence to his words or to consume it as gossip like others, Ho-woo stared at Seong-jo’s face for a moment before smiling nonchalantly.

“That’s private. Besides, lunch break is over, so we should work, right?”

At Ho-woo’s clear answer drawing a line, Seong-jo sat down with a disgruntled face.

And I thought he was a decent person.

Ho-woo inwardly clicked his tongue and thought he should keep a proper distance from Seong-jo as he picked up his phone again to check.

He unblocked Joo Si-yeon’s number that he had blocked and saved the new number just in case.

“Joo Si-yeon”, “Ha Eun-chan”

Although he hadn’t directly conversed with this person named Ha Eun-chan, he saved the number anyway since Joo Si-yeon said it was his. Both of them being S-class Espers, he had a big “just in case” feeling.

Ho-woo left a short message to Ha Eun-chan’s number.

[I’ve unblocked Joo Si-yeon’s number.]

He was certain that she would contact him again once she confirmed the unblocking, as she seemed to have a lot to say to him.

More importantly, what did Oh-yul mean by always carrying what he gave?

Among the things given, there was only one he could guess.

However, the question of why that specifically also arose, so Ho-woo struggled for a while before finally trying to concentrate on work again.

***

[You’re asking why Oh-yul contacted you using my phone?]

Ho-woo subtly inquired about Oh-yul to Joo Si-yeon, who sent another message at the evening quitting time. Ho-woo expected to hear that he had lost his phone or some other ordinary reason.

[Because he’s being monitored.]

Not this spy movie-like answer.

Ho-woo felt dizzy and tried to gather his thoughts. Being monitored, who by whom? Aside from such questions, the connotation of the word ‘monitored’ itself wasn’t good.

[Who’s monitoring whom?]

[The Management Corporation monitoring Oh-yul? Didn’t you, the potential lover, see the news? They’re doing everything to make him imprint with the minister’s daughter. But the person in question doesn’t seem very interested.]

Having seen Oh-yul smiling prettily, Ho-woo smiled bitterly at this. Would he really have no interest, with a Guide whose matching rate was so high?

Ho-woo typed listlessly with his suddenly weakened hands.

[But isn’t it good for Oh-yul? The matching rate was high. They said it was the first time it came out so high, right?]

[Just because the matching rate is high, does that mean he has to like that Guide? We also have our own preferences and feelings.]

It made sense when he heard it. Still, Espers couldn’t live without a Guide’s guiding, so it was true that it had a significant influence on choosing who to stand beside.

[But you can’t live without receiving guiding, right? If it’s going to work out anyway, isn’t it good to work out with a Guide with a good matching rate?]

[Well, that’s true. But it’s not an absolute measure of choice. A high matching rate just makes you more attracted. Even for me, my matching rate isn’t that high with the person I want to imprint with. If it weren’t for this damn imprinting ban clause, I would have imprinted long ago and marked them as mine, but because I can’t, all these Esper bastards are eyeing them, so arrogantly.]

If Joo Si-yeon had been in front of him, Ho-woo might have witnessed her beautiful face, which he had seen on TV, all scrunched up and growling like a beast.

The Joo Si-yeon he had seen on screen was a woman with a pure-looking face and perfect body. Her long eyelashes and the yellowish eyes characteristic of electric types made her look like an elegant predator.

[About imprinting, what exactly is it?]

He had first heard about imprinting from Oh-yul, and he knew that the Corporation banned it, but he didn’t know exactly what function this imprinting served. Even the news seemed to consider the act of ‘imprinting’ itself important, not covering at all what function it served.

[It’s nothing special. From an Esper’s standpoint, it’s completely entrusting your life to a Guide, and for the Guide, it means they can’t guide any other Esper except that one.]

Is that really nothing special?

Ho-woo bit his lip hard at the heavier content than expected. The soft flesh turned red as it was pressed between his teeth.

That’s what Oh-yul was going to do with that girl. Not right away, but in 5 years. But why 5 years? It was the year when a child currently exactly 15 years old would become an adult.

[But can only adults do imprinting?]

[Well… yeah? Because it’s a crime.]

Joo Si-yeon quickly added, as if making an excuse. It was the fastest speed in all their message exchanges so far.

[No, I don’t mean imprinting itself is a crime, but the procedure for imprinting is a bit inappropriate between an adult and a minor.]

What could it be, to be inappropriate?

Ho-woo thought about a few things that would be inappropriate between an adult and a minor, then remembered that guiding usually proceeds through contact, and let out a short sound like a gasp. If what Ho-woo imagined was correct, it was indeed an inappropriate act.

[No matter how crazy Oh-yul is, he’s not without common sense. He probably doesn’t even think about imprinting in the first place, and even if he really wanted to do it, he shouldn’t unless we all want to die together.]

She seemed to know another reason why the imprinting between Kim Seon-young and Oh-yul should not proceed. Judging by the several angry emoticons attached at the end of her message, it seemed even more so.

[This circus act won’t last long either.]

[I have to go now. They’re giving me looks for resting too long.]

It was surprising that there was someone who could give looks to her, an S-class. Ho-woo left a short reply under her stream of messages.

[It was fun.]

Rather than fun, it was an informative time. Perhaps because Joo Si-yeon was an Esper like Oh-yul, she was closer to Oh-yul than Ho-woo, an ordinary person. Thanks to that, after picking up a few stories, it became quite awkward to just resent Oh-yul.

Being monitored…

Feeling very uneasy, Ho-woo pulled the message window back to the top and checked Oh-yul’s message again.