EFME 51

Sunyul followed Jaehee to the cafeteria with Jaehoon.

The Ability Management Office’s cafeteria wasn’t as luxurious as Cheongyeon Guild’s, but it had a clean atmosphere. The food was pretty good, so even though it wasn’t the peak lunch rush, there were quite a few people. Because of that, he could feel gazes from here and there. He was used to getting stared at in the guild, so it was familiar.

Sunyul brushed off the gazes of others watching him and looked around. This place, too, felt strangely familiar.

As if he had come here often.

Sunyul got his food and sat down. He waited a moment, then picked up his spoon only after watching Jaehee start eating.

He took a bite, and it was quite good. It was a strangely nostalgic taste, even though he had no memory of ever eating it.

“Is it good?”

“It’s incredibly delicious. Really.”

When Sunyul answered so enthusiastically, Jaehee made a peculiar expression.

“It looks like it. The food here isn’t that good. Does Hunter Muyoung starve you or something?”

“No, of course not!”

It was a joke, but Sunyul was startled and shook his head. Jaehee chuckled, said it was a joke, and focused on his meal again.

While they were in the middle of eating, a murmur arose from the cafeteria entrance. Sunyul naturally turned to look that way.

A strikingly tall woman was entering. Her spiky hair made her look even taller than the men around her. The woman, who had a cool and refreshing impression, looked toward Sunyul’s table and walked straight over.

“May I sit next to you?”

“No?”

Jaehoon replied curtly. A look of utter disdain appeared on the woman’s face.

“I wasn’t asking you, Mr. Gravity.”

“If you’re not asking me, then who are you asking?”

“Mr. Jeongwol, of course.”

Jaehee, who had been eating beside them, put down his utensils.

“You can sit.”

“Thank you.”

The woman claimed a seat and went to get her food. Sunyyul lowered his voice and asked the clearly displeased Jaehoon.

“Who is she?”

“The Eunha Guild Master. A woman with a really nasty personality.”

“That’s biased. Whining just because you got hit a few times.”

Jaehee said as if it were no big deal. Jaehoon glared at him.

“How can you say that when you haven’t even been hit by her?”

“You got hit?”

Sunyul asked in surprise, and this time Jaehoon shook his head.

“No, hey. It wasn’t a one-sided beatdown, okay? I gave it right back to her.”

“It was a headache. Both of them ended up in a holding cell side-by-side.”

Jaehee briefly recalled that time. Sunyul became extremely curious about what on earth had happened.

“How in the world did you two get into a fight?”

“Sigh… Don’t even get me started. It’s all because of Kwon Muyoung.”

“The Guild Master?”

“Yeah.”

Jaehoon shook his head back and forth.

“That woman stormed into the Cheongyeon Guild, claiming Kwon Muyoung stole her girlfriend.”

“…Pardon?”

The sentence was incomprehensible in many ways.

For Kwon Muyoung to steal a woman from her.

Doesn’t that mean Kwon Muyoung took the woman?

The Muyoung that Sunyul knew would never do such a thing. Sunyul’s pupils shook violently in confusion.

“Wh-when…”

“Let’s see… was he twenty-five? It was a long time ago. Seriously, barging into a guild over a personal matter, she must have been completely crazy.”

“Shut your mouth.”

The Eunha Guild Master appeared from behind them. She shot him an icy glare and sat in her seat.

“It’s an issue I’ve resolved with Mr. Muyoung, so don’t be so pathetic about it by yourself.”

“The spot where I got hit still hurts, so I can’t do that.”

“How hard could I have hit you… Get some exercise. I know you’re a ranged attacker, but you’re completely flabby…”

“Ha! Are you kidding me? Flabby? Want me to show you my abs?”

Provoked, Jaehoon grabbed his shirt as if he were about to lift it right then and there. The Eunha Guild Master looked disgusted.

“Don’t say such gross things.”

The two bickered back and forth. Next to them, Sunyul just rolled his eyes from side to side.

“Let’s stop with the childish talk.”

In the middle of their squabbling, the Eunha Guild Master said primly. Jaehoon grumbled.

“You were talking up a storm yourself, what are you saying.”

Ignoring Jaehoon’s complaints, the Eunha Guild Master turned to Sunyul.

“Hello, you must be Mr. Lim Sunyul, right? I wanted to meet you.”

“Ah… Hello.”

“I’m Anes. I’m the guild master of Eunha Guild. My real name is Kim Huieun.”

“I’m Lim Sunyul.”

“I came to see your face out of curiosity. I was in Seoul for the first time in a while, and the timing was great since I heard you were here at the Ability Management Office.”

Why did she want to see me? Not knowing the reason, Sunyul was somewhat wary. Huieun thought Sunyul’s guardedness was like that of a small animal and smiled as kindly as she could.

“Ah, I didn’t come here to gawk at you because you’re strange. I came because I was curious, hearing that Mr. Muyoung cares about you a lot.”

At the mention of Muyoung, Sunyul became a little afraid. Was she planning to get revenge for having her girlfriend stolen by Muyoung?

Seeing the tense Sunyul, Huieun tilted her head.

“…Why are you so scared? Did Mr. Gravity say something strange?”

“He was talking about you getting your girlfriend stolen.”

“Ah.”

At Jaehee’s explanation, Huieun glared at Jaehoon. Soon, Huieun sighed.

“There was a bit of a misunderstanding back then. My girlfriend was trying to two-time me and was one-sidedly hitting on Mr. Muyoung, and I thought Mr. Muyoung knew everything and was just letting it happen.”

“…She was hitting on the Guild Master?”

“Yes. It seems it didn’t work out, though.”

“Muyoung hasn’t dated since then, you know.”

Jaehoon, who had been listening, clicked his tongue, tsk tsk. A ‘what if’ hypothesis popped into Sunyul’s head.

“Is he not dating because he was shocked by that?”

“I don’t think that’s it? Only he would know the exact reason.”

Jaehoon, who was nodding at Huieun’s words, suddenly raised an eyebrow as if he just remembered something.

“But why come see this kid just because Kwon Muyoung cares about him?”

“Isn’t it something to be curious about? We’re talking about the Mr. Muyoung caring about someone.”

Jaehoon thought deeply for a moment and then conceded.

“I guess you would be curious what kind of oddball he is.”

“See?”

“Let’s not treat him too much like a spectacle. This is stressful for him too, you know.”

While agreeing with Huieun, Jaehoon was still diligently looking out for Sunyul. A hint of a smile played on Huieun’s lips.

“Mr. Gravity worries about things like that?”

“Muyoung gave me a warning.”

“Amazing, really.”

A peculiar light flashed in Huieun’s eyes.

“There’s a lot I want to ask, but it’ll be difficult here. Let’s see each other again if we get the chance.”

“Hmph.”

Jaehoon cut in before Sunyul could even reply. Huieun scoffed.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Mr. Gravity.”

“I’m his spokesperson for today.”

“That’s not even funny, seriously.”

“It’s true, though?”

Jaehoon started bickering with Huieun again. While squabbling with Jaehoon, Huieun ate elegantly, and soon she finished her meal and stood up.

“Well then, I’ll be going. See you again, Mr. Jeongwol. You too, Mr. Lim Sunyul.”

“Hurry up and go.”

“I didn’t say goodbye to you, Mr. Gravity.”

After snapping at him, Huieun turned away without hesitation. Once Huieun was completely out of the cafeteria, Jaehoon sighed.

“Ha, what a headache.”

“That’s my line. Hurry up and eat. We need to go up too.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Sunyul, who hadn’t been talking, had already cleaned his tray. Jaehoon inhaled his food as if drinking it and soon stood up, saying he was done. As they put their trays away and left the cafeteria, Jaehoon sidled up to Sunyul and whispered.

“Don’t believe what Kim Huieun says. There’s no way she came to see you just because she was curious on account of Kwon Muyoung.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

Sunyul thought of Huieun, who hadn’t shown any sign of that. It really didn’t seem that way… a person’s thoughts were truly unknowable.

When they arrived at the examination room, the researchers were already there waiting for Sunyul. All that was left was the Q&A, so he sat down without changing his clothes again.

The researcher sitting across from him flipped through a questionnaire and opened his mouth.

“How have you been feeling lately?”

“Good.”

“Is there anything inconvenient about your daily life?”

“Not really.”

“I heard you had a meal. Do you feel hunger?”

“I don’t really know if I’m hungry. I just eat because I feel like I want to eat.”

“Do you feel full?”

“Yes.”

“You said you haven’t excreted anything you’ve eaten. Do you know how it’s being digested?”

“No, not at all…”

The questions continued endlessly. There were probing questions, as if trying to find out everything about Sunyul, and questions whose purpose he couldn’t understand.

“Do you ever dream?”

It was a rather sharp question, and Sunyul tensed up a little.

“Sometimes.”

“What do you dream about?”

“A dream where I’ve become an ordinary person.”

Sunyul answered honestly. Though he only told a part of the truth. The researcher didn’t seem very suspicious and continued with the questions.

“What do you think when you have that dream?”

“I’m a little envious of the me in the dream.”

The researcher jotted something down. And then the topic immediately changed, and another question followed. Thinking it had gone over more smoothly than expected, Sunyul sighed in relief internally.

“If we promise a humane research method, are you willing to cooperate with the Korea Ability Research Institute?”

In the middle of the questioning, the researcher asked as if it were nothing.

“…A humane research method?”

“A research method that would not cause you any harm.”

“Hey, ignore him.”

Jaehoon offered his advice from the side. Sunyul silently stared at the hands resting on his lap. Then, he clenched his fists and raised his head.

“…Do you think I need to be researched?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

The researcher didn’t answer Sunyul’s question right away. Instead, he coolly pushed up his glasses and seemed lost in thought for a moment. Soon, the straight-on gaze peculiar to people who believe they are doing the right thing was directed at Sunyul.

“Are you aware that the 6th cycle of the Fissure is coming soon?”

“Yes, I heard.”

“The Fissure is an unexplained, unknown event. Just like you.”

“…”

“We don’t know what kind of influence an unknown being like you will have on us. We can’t just sit back and do nothing, can we?”

His voice was sharp, as if it were digging into his heart. Sunyul tightly clenched the fists that were on his lap.

“…I am not a being that will have a bad influence.”

Sunyul’s voice trembled slightly. But his thoughts did not waver.

‘Don’t doubt yourself, believe in yourself. I’ll believe in you too.’

That’s what Muyoung had said to Sunyul when he was doubting whether he was even human. Sunyul decided to believe Muyoung’s words.

“I am human.”

The researcher stared intently at Sunyul. As if observing someone telling an interesting story. Sunyul knew his words weren’t reaching the researcher, but he wasn’t disappointed.

Because even if other people didn’t believe him, Muyoung would.