KEG 58
I wanted to brush my teeth and smoke a cigarette. I had a lot to do, so I hoped he’d get it over with quickly. Moon Nagyeol, who probably knew what I was thinking about, asked,
“Do you smoke?”
When I nodded, Moon Nagyeol grinned and took me to a convenience store, where he bought me a pack of menthol cigarettes. It felt much better than being handed a bribe in cash.
So this is how kickbacks work.
“How’s Jigu doing these days?”
In the smoking booth near the convenience store.
Moon Nagyeol and I tore open the pack and each took a cigarette. I put the cigarette in my mouth and replied noncommittally that he was doing okay.
“What did Jigu do that caused you to get hurt, Seongho-ssi?”
“Lee Jigu tried to jump off the roof, so I tried to stop him, and this is how it ended up.”
Moon Nagyeol paused as he was about to light his cigarette. I lit my own cigarette and took a drag while watching him.
The cigarette tasted good. It was even sweeter because it was free.
“Why? Why did he do that?”
“It’s a personal matter.”
Moon Nagyeol tried to light his cigarette with a complicated expression. However, his hands fumbled, and he could not light it properly.
It was only when I lit the lighter and held it up that he was finally able to burn the tip of the cigarette.
“Jigu and I met in the military. We got paired through the Guide Assignment Order, but we were pretty close. So…”
“You want me to tell you?”
“Yes. Please.”
I stared at the pack of cigarettes Moon Nagyeol had bought for me. closed my eyes, savored the cigarette in my mouth, and answered as I exhaled the smoke.
“Lee Jigu said you wouldn’t come.”
“Huh?”
“I told him to call his Pair because I thought he might go berserk, but he said you wouldn’t come even if he called.”
I stubbed out the shortened cigarette butt in the ashtray of the smoking booth.
“You can hear the rest directly from him.”
Then I took out my toothbrush case.
I’ll brush my teeth, take a nap, and get back to cleaning when I wake up.
As I briefly went over my to-do list for the day, I heard Moon Nagyeol mutter dejectedly.
“…He confessed to me.”
He didn’t smoke the cigarette and just held it in his hand.
“He said he loved me and asked me to be his lover.”
The way he smoked looked awkward, it looked like he was just skimming it. The kind of person who pretends to smoke just to fit in.
“We were paired by force… Jigu is too young, and I’m too busy, so…”
Moon Nagyeol muttered absentmindedly.
It was a valid reason, but it felt like an excuse. Because it sounded like words meant to get him out of the situation.
Reasons change their nature depending on how they’re used.
“What’s so great about an old man like me?”
Right or wrong doesn’t matter.
As long as the reason was plausible, it fit the situation perfectly, allowing one to draw their own conclusion and bring things to a close. This was commonly called rationalization.
“Can I go now?”
“It’s simply a kind of deficiency stemming from family relationships, manifesting as an overcompensation mechanism toward the object. You could see it as a typical complex-based behavioral pattern.”
“Is that so?”
Conflicted, Moon Nagyeol ran his fingers through his hair. I didn’t listen any further and stepped out of the smoking booth.
I thought that was the end of it.
“It’s Moon Nagyeol.”
Moon Nagyeol, looking a bit messy as if he had been crying, grabbed me in the lobby.
It was now 6:20 p.m. That meant he’d been here for well over ten hours.
“Husband, is this your mistress?”
And then Baek Yejun arrived as well.
“Hello, Hunter Baek Yejun. My name is Moon Nagyeol.”
“I’m the legitimate wife, Nagyeol-ssi.”
Moon Nagyeol paid no heed to Baek Yejun’s crazy remark and politely handed him his business card. Baek Yejun stared at it for a moment, then looked at me.
“Hyung, did you eat canned peaches with this guy?”
“I ate alone.”
Upon hearing that answer, he took Moon Nagyeol’s business card.
Baek Yejun looked at the information on the card, let out an “Ah” and said,
“So you’re the one who created the ‘Moon Nagyeol Act’?”
“That’s right. Thank you for your interest.”
The ‘Moon Nagyeol Act’.
It was a bill that recognized the right of emergency evacuation for Guides when they faced physical or mental threats from Espers.
The first law to grant Guides the right to immediate isolation and legal defense.
“Aren’t you busy, Moon Nagyeol-ssi?”
“I’ve been working nonstop, using every tablet, watch, and laptop I have to review bill amendments and go over public hearing materials. I haven’t been slacking off.”
“Do you think the public saw you working?”
“……”
His profession was one where appearances mattered in many ways. He knew that better than anyone.
Moon Nagyeol lowered his head and roughly ran his hand through his hair. His already disheveled appearance became even more of a mess.
“Wow~ Why is he like that~”
Baek Yejun linked arms with me.
I raised my arm and shook him off.
As I did that, my arm detached from my torso, and the guy stuck right up to my side.
He’s an even worse leech than Moon Nagyeol.
“Jigu… What do I do about Jigu? Ha…”
Moon Nagyeol even cursed, saying, “This is driving me crazy,” with that neat face.
“What did Jigu do today? No, since yesterday… Actually, can you tell me everything about how he’s been living here?”
“If I tell you, will you stop bothering me?”
“Maybe…”
Moon Nagyeol trailed off. I got the gist of what he meant.
He was the kind of person who would come tomorrow and the day after tomorrow even if I told him.
He was the kind of guy who would sit in the lobby like a stone statue and wait for me to show up.
“Lee Jigu’s family hasn’t been coming to visit him.”
Telling him would be a problem, but not telling him would be an even bigger one. With his stubborn personality, there was no telling what he might do to get me to open my mouth.
It was usually the quiet types who ended up doing the strangest things.
“The hospital bills are sometimes overdue, and there’s no nurse.”
“The compensation and pension should have been paid in full… Why….”
“He’s adapted to life in the ward, but he spend a lot of time holed up alone, watching whatever these virtual idols are.”
“Virtual…”
An old wristwatch and a pair of silver ring bracelets glinted on Moon Nagyeol’s wrist. Lee Jigu didn’t have the bracelet on his wrist, but Moon Nagyeol did.
“He asked me to take him to a virtual idol concert.”
Baek Yejun, who was clinging to my side, rubbed his head against my shoulder. It seemed like a signal to stop talking and leave. Even without being urged, I was tired and wanted to rest.
“I refused. It’s dangerous for Lee Jigu, and if his condition were to worsen due to an unexpected accident and he were to release contaminated energy in such a crowded place, it would be a disaster.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine if he’s careful? Could you take him there?”
“It’s a hassle.”
I didn’t feel like saying anything else, so I walked past Moon Nagyeol. I heard Moon Nagyeol shouting from behind me.
“I’ll compensate you! I’ll pay you enough to satisfy you!”
“How much are you willing to pay?”
I didn’t say that line.
Baek Yejun said it.
It was something I would have said if he hadn’t.
“My hyung is really expensive.”
He looked at me as if to ask if he’d done well.
He actually negotiated a price. Honestly, he did a good job.
“A kiss?”
Forget it.
He did a shitty job.
Stop acting so cocky.
***
“You want me to wear this? We’re going to see my babies?”
When I held out the specially coated anti-contamination protective suit, Lee Jigu recoiled in disgust. At first glance, the suit looked like a jumpsuit worn by blue-collar workers.
“They won’t even see you, so why are you making such a fuss?”
“What are you talking about! They’ll see everything, the stage is wide open!”
“It’s virtual, it’s not like they’re standing there themselves.”
“The characters are them! Don’t talk nonsense!!”
Lee Jigu ranted and raved about the “red pill” or something. Even so, he put on the protective suit over his carefully chosen civilian clothes, donned a mask, and sprayed perfume on himself.
“Hmm, this should cover up the smell of the pills.”
He sprayed quite a lot, so it actually smelled like alcohol.
However, what kind of smell it was didn’t seem all that important. The act of spraying perfume to go there seemed to be what mattered.
“By the way, who is this person?”
Lee Jigu, who had climbed into the backseat of my old AvanXX, pointed to the person wearing a rabbit costume crammed into the seat next to him.
“He’s a virtual idol fan too.”
At my words, the rabbit nodded once.
“Since you’re a rabbit, you must like Luna, right? I’m a fan too.”
Lee Jigu fiddled with the rabbit’s ears. The person wearing the mask was startled and curled up further in the corner.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“It’s part of his concept today not to speak.”
“Oh… that’s seriously awesome.”
You’re absolutely right.
That busy guy’s devotion is truly something else.
As expected, the strangest things were always done by the quietest people.
“You must leave after watching the concert.”
“Yes.”
“Yeees~”
The white-haired bastard wearing a rabbit headband in the passenger seat also answered.
A large-scale event held at the Jamsil Gymnasium.
A high-class Hunter deployed for civilian safety at that event.
“Hyung.”
Baek Yejun moved his bunny ears and looked at me. Then he suddenly leaned toward me.
My movements suddenly stopped when I felt him get really close.
Click.
The sound of the seatbelt locking.
“You should buckle up~”
With his hands still on the headrest and his chest pressed against my shoulder, he laughed, his body trembling slightly.
His sense of personal space had always been wrong, but lately, he had been acting like it had completely gone to hell.
“It’s gonna be fun today. Right?”
It was the morning of the virtual idol concert, and those words felt ominous.
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