IMPRINT 56

“Espers are generally more open about sex compared to ordinary people, after all.”

“You’re changing the subject.”

I pointedly ignored Juyoung’s words. This is why people with quick wits are…

“Especially those who awaken during adolescence or even younger—there are many research cases showing they experience confusion due to a sudden, vigorous sexual drive.”

“Yes, I’m sure that’s true. But Kang Juha is twenty-eight. Isn’t it a bit ridiculous for puberty to hit at that age?”

“But Kang Juha thinks he’s seven years old.”

“Then it wouldn’t make sense for him to be overflowing with sexual desire. Seeing how your logic is failing, Team Leader, you’re definitely not in good shape today. Do you want to leave work early?”

Now he’s telling me to leave early when I haven’t even been here for an hour.

“…I’ll correct myself. Kang Juha thinks he’s thirty-forty-five years old.”

“Thirty-forty… what kind of numerical unit is that? What world is it from? It doesn’t seem to be Earth, anyway. Regardless, the point is that Kang Juha likes you, Team Leader.”

In the end, no matter which way we turned, the conclusion reached was the same.

He was right. Whatever the reason, it was a fact that the current Kang Juha liked me.

Honestly, I don’t know which is more beneficial for me: the side where Kang Juha likes me, or the side where he can’t control his overflowing sexual drive due to a late onset of puberty. Either way, it didn’t seem like particularly good news for me.

“Well, frankly, I think this is partly your fault, Team Leader.”

“…My fault? How is it my fault?”

“The fact that you’ve been acting kind, which isn’t like you. Honestly, you adore Kang Juha too, Team Leader. Unlike how you hate me.”

“That’s because Kang Juha does adorable things. You should try doing adorable things too.”

There are times when he acts bothersome or persistent, but Kang Juha was fundamentally smart, clever, and listened to me well. He handled things I didn’t even ask him to do and stepped up to handle the difficult chores himself.

Ah, not long ago, he even changed the lightbulbs in the living room. It was a fixture designed for four bulbs, but after two went out, I had been living with awkwardly dim light without changing them; Kang Juha took the initiative to change them first.

And a few days ago, we went to the center’s laundry together carrying the blankets to drop them off, and he even replaced the curtains that I hadn’t dared to touch because of the hassle. I just watched it all from behind.

But if all of that was just a slick move because he likes me… then Kang Juha liking me isn’t so bad? He should continue to like me.

No, wait, that’s not it.

“…Don’t look at me like that, I just realized that sounded very strange too.”

Juyoung was looking at me like someone who had just chewed on a bitter persimmon. No, a bitter persimmon isn’t enough. He had an expression like he’d chewed on dog dung found on the street.

“Team Leader, you don’t seriously think Kang Juha is a seven-year-old child, do you?”

“…Of course not.”

It was true that the memory of that time remained vivid. The sight of Kang Juha when I first met him was so shocking that it was still fascinating at times to see him alive and breathing normally.

However, that didn’t mean I actually believed he was seven. In the first place, if I had really thought Kang Juha was seven, I would have bitten my tongue and committed suicide the moment he shoved his tongue into my mouth.

“No matter how you look at it, he doesn’t exactly have an appearance that’s easy to mistake for that, does he?”

Thinking about it, Juyoung’s question itself had a fundamental flaw. It wasn’t as if I didn’t know what Kang Juha looked like in person; seeing him almost all day long, it was impossible to mistake him for a seven-year-old.

“That’s true. Honestly, just looking at his appearance, I wouldn’t doubt it even if someone said he was older than you, Team Leader.”

“Don’t go that far. Even if he looks like that, the kid is gentle and actually quite cute…”

There it was again. The face like he’d chewed on dung.

“Team Leader. Should we continue this conversation?”

“…No.”

“Yep. Then I’ll be going. I’ll pass on lunch today. My stomach feels unsettled for some reason.”

Juyoung left the office with that bitter expression until the very end.

“Whew…”

I exhaled a deep breath, but my insides didn’t feel refreshed at all. Why is the sky visible through the window so bright blue?

Whether Kang Juha was playing tricks because he liked me, or whether he was confusing sexual desire with affection due to various complex reasons, I realized only one thing.

That I adore Kang Juha quite a bit more than I thought.

If it were anyone else, I would never have let them cross the line—no, I wouldn’t have even let them near it. But even though Kang Juha had already crossed the line as he pleased and then crossed back, I was just letting him be.

I didn’t notice it when I wasn’t aware, but now that I am, it feels very strange. Even I think it’s behavior that isn’t like my usual self.

That day, I sealed the green grape flavored candy—the culprit behind the situation—inside a drawer. The thing I considered most pathetic in life was an avoidant person, and yet here I am doing exactly that.

Perhaps because my mind was entirely preoccupied elsewhere, I felt no emotion even when the day of Kim Kunwoo’s disciplinary committee hearing arrived.

In truth, no matter how trashy and selfish a human he was, it had nothing to do with me. It was his own problem. Living like that, his life turning into a mess was entirely Kim Kunwoo’s own burden to bear, so I didn’t want to waste any feelings on him.

In fact, I might even have to say thank you, because thanks to Kang Juha, I felt nothing even when seeing Kim Kunwoo, or even the people from the Medical Bureau standing next to him.

Director Shin fumed, saying she should go too because she couldn’t send me alone to a place full of those Medical Bureau bastards, but I was glad she didn’t come along after all. Not a single situation she would have worried about occurred.

“Since the subject of discipline has sufficiently reflected on his actions and shown a will to improve, we will adjust the level of punishment accordingly. Furthermore, as the subject of discipline is currently in charge of a major project underway at the center, we sentence him to a stay of execution until the project is concluded…”

Even while listening to the disciplinary chairman’s words, nothing came to mind.

Kim Kunwoo pointedly avoided looking this way and only looked toward his superiors and the Director of the Medical Bureau. He even looked quite confident.

Ah, he was always that kind of person.

While watching him apathetically, I felt a warm sensation in my left hand. It was the hand of Kang Juha, who was sitting next to me.

The victim was Kang Juha, and I was merely a witness, yet he acted as if he were worried about me. I’m truly fine, though.

Should I view this as a slick move? Or, an adorable act?

Well, since the judgment is mine anyway, I decided to include this one in the ‘adorable act’ category based on my flexible standards.

“Are you okay?”

That was the first thing Kang Juha asked me as soon as the disciplinary committee’s sentencing ended and we left our seats.

“About what?”

“Just… your mood, Teacher.”

“Well, it’s a bit… disappointing?”

“Yes?”

“If it had been longer, I could have gone home without working in the afternoon.”

It was a random answer I threw out hoping he wouldn’t worry, but Kang Juha immediately broke into a smile as if he had read my mind.

“I suppose so.”

“Mr. Kang Juha, wait a moment.”

I lifted my wrist and checked the time. Actually, there was something I had looked forward to even more than the holding of the disciplinary committee.

“Why?”

“Wait. 3 seconds… 2 seconds, 1 second. Ding. There. Lower your head.”

It was precisely the end date of Kang Juha’s disciplinary period. Coincidentally, because the disciplinary decision for Kim Kunwoo was delayed, it overlapped with the end of Kang Juha’s penalty.

In fact, even while the disciplinary committee was proceeding with the sentencing, all my attention had been focused on that ugly, unpleasant restraint around his neck that I wanted to rip off immediately.

When I applied the key made of a special magnet, it released weakly with a clack sound. It was something that came off so easily.

“It was suffocating, wasn’t it? Hah, you have no idea how long I’ve waited to take this off. Actually, I wanted to take it off before today. To have you wearing something like this when everyone is watching…”

When the restraint that covered half of his neck disappeared, his smooth neckline was revealed in its entirety. It wasn’t even around my neck, yet I felt completely relieved.

While I was admiring it and unconsciously rubbing the spot where the restraint had been, the gaze with which Kang Juha watched me changed subtly. Our eyes met directly, and I awkwardly pulled back my hand that had been stroking the nape of his neck.

“Ah, I just did that without realizing… I got excited for no reason.”

I’m already in a bit of an awkward state with Kang Juha as it is. My hand, having lost its place, wandered stupidly in the air before landing beside my thigh a long while later. Kang Juha’s gaze dropped thud following my hand, then came back up.

For some reason, a subtle atmosphere began to flow, much like the mood on that day when it rained heavily.

Uh oh. Isn’t this getting a bit dangerous?

…Just as that thought occurred.

“We are taking it into account because it is the first time, but if a similar case occurs again or if Researcher Kim Kunwoo causes trouble one more time, we will respond firmly.”

The Center Director, the Medical Bureau Director, and the personnel drafted for the disciplinary committee poured out of the meeting room. Thanks to that, the flow of the strange atmosphere was broken.

I didn’t miss the opportunity; I turned around first and walked quickly. I heard the sound of Kang Juha’s footsteps following behind my back.

“Ah, I want to kiss you…”

I heard his mumbling voice, sounding disappointed, with excessive clarity, but I tried my best to pretend I didn’t. Honestly, this Esper body of mine never lets even a tiny remark like that slip by.