JKA 43

The store owner, who had displayed several of the latest model cell phones and was pitching them with flashy eloquence, finally handed over the model 1129 wanted, as if he had met a formidable opponent. It was the same model as the cell phone Jiwoon was using; it was not a completely ancient model, but it was still an older one that had been released about four years ago.

Since it was a model from about two generations ago, the popular colors were gone, and he took out the only one left in the store, a red one. It seemed to have been quite popular at the time of its release, so it was strange that there were no common white or black ones left, only red. So he inwardly muttered, ‘This store seems peculiar.’

In front of the store owner who had presented the cell phone and the contract, 1129 naturally took out his wallet. To Jiwoon, it was a completely foreign and strange sight, but to others, it would not seem so at all. How could taking out a wallet look strange? The store owner only asked the cliché question, ‘Are you really Korean?’

‘Maybe it’s not such a cliché question.’

Jiwoon muttered inwardly. Even with a hat on, the blond hair sticking out was vivid, and above all, his eyes were a distinct blue. If anything, he looked like a foreigner to anyone, so if he said he was Korean, it would look even more suspicious due to his strangely fluent Korean. Come to think of it, the store owner who just accepted it after a single mention of being Korean was more suspicious.

Regardless, 1129, who had activated his cell phone, kept looking at it on the way back home. Jiwoon stood next to him, sneaking glances at 1129’s face. It was a strange feeling. It was like seeing a young child who had gotten a cell phone for the first time. No, it was more similar to witnessing his parents, who used to tell him to stop looking at his phone, watching YoutTube even more often than he did.

Besides, a man with white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes holding a bright red cell phone was incredibly conspicuous. It was to the point where he wondered if it was okay to be this noticeable while using a phone on the street. Therefore, Jiwoon thought it was inevitable that his gaze kept going there.

Around that time, 1129 opened his mouth, his eyes still fixed on the cell phone screen.

“If you have something to say, say it. Don’t just stare like a dog that needs to go.”

“I-it’s not that I have something t-to say.”

Jiwoon’s face flushed for no reason, and he quickly turned his head, feigning ignorance. At that, 1129 glanced at Jiwoon and snorted. He wanted to ask why he was laughing, but he felt the answer would not be satisfying even if he asked, so Jiwoon decided to ask something else.

“…W-why that one, o-of all things?”

“What is.”

“Wh-why that m-model.”

“Ah.”

“…”

“Because I know this one the best.”

Each model is slightly different, and if the company is different, the functions are different too. 1129 added. There was nothing in the human world that he did not know. But just because he knew of its existence did not mean he knew how to use it all. It did not take a long time to learn, so even if he had chosen a phone made by a different company than Jiwoon’s, it was not as if he would have to spend days holding onto the phone.

He had handled Jiwoon’s cell phone once or twice, so he already knew how to use it. But that was not the only reason. There were other reasons, but he had no intention of explaining them one by one, so he just substituted it with the words that he knew it best. 1129 had no human-like desires, nor did he have preferences. So no matter how much the store owner tried to sell him, it was useless.

Listening to all sorts of explanations did not make him want one, nor did he have a particular company’s model he insisted on. And it was not like any company’s interface was particularly comfortable for him. Besides, it seemed less of a hassle to just clearly state that he wanted one specific model. And he just wanted to have the same cell phone as Jiwoon.

The reason he did not want to say all this was because of the last thought he had. I wanted to use the same cell phone model as you—that sentence was the problem. It was not because it was difficult to say, but because he did not want to say it, as such a thought would ultimately contradict his statement that he had no human-like desires or preferences.

‘I’m telling you that this side of you is the problem!’

1129 recalled 17’s words. He himself knew better than anyone what the problem he was talking about was. He was changing. He could be sure it was not in a very good direction. The wound made by Egersis not healing right away, the scar from the cut-off wing remaining, and the unfamiliar sensations surging in his chest. All of these things were not suitable for a being like him.

What would happen to him after he resolved all of Jiwoon’s civil complaints? 1129 suddenly had that thought, but he quickly erased it from his mind. At that time, he would be given a mission appropriate for that time. He was not a being who thought and moved on his own, was he? It was a question with no answer no matter how much he pointlessly agonized over it.

“Before asking useless questions, why don’t you think a little more about your crappy sense.”

1129 changed the subject for no reason. At those words, Jiwoon blinked as if bewildered.

“Wh-what sense?”

“You were about to name me like a dog.”

Jiwoon clamped his mouth shut at 1129’s scolding. He had nothing much to say on that point. Stopping 1129, who was about to just go with whatever name he saw on a nearby sign, Jiwoon had pondered and pondered a name that would suit him, and proposed them one by one.

First of all, his current name was 1129. So, reading it as is, Cheon-i-baek-i-ship-gu, his first idea was to change the order to create a name. But every single one was rejected by 1129.

“Cheon Ibaek, Baek Icheon, Cheon Baekgu, I Baekgu… Do you really think a name like this suits this face?”

1129 recited the names Jiwoon had proposed as candidates one by one. In response, Jiwoon, who was desperately turning his head away from 1129, felt his ears turn bright red. He had just picked the name Gwak Cheolgu, so he thought that level would be fine. Honestly, wasn’t Cheolgu and Baekgu much of a muchness?

So the second idea he came up with was just a foreign name. Like James or Leo. But that too was rejected flat out by 1129, saying he did not like the sound of Kim James or Kim Leo.

“I-I th-think something like James or Leo is good.”

The first one, okay, let’s say it was a bit tacky, but the second one was honestly fine. Anyone could see his face was not Asian, so wouldn’t it be better to just go with a Western name? And that thought was still valid now.

“That’s why I’m saying you have no sense.”

Stopping at a traffic light, 1129 pushed his cell phone into his pocket and spoke. Jiwoon also stopped with him, turned his head to look at 1129, and said.

“Th-that’s why I also suggested names like Yohan or Y-Yosep.”

“Would you want to change your name to that of someone you know?”

“…Ah, I didn’t know you knew them.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Jiwoon, for his part, did not like the names 1129 came up with, and 1129, for his part, did not like the names Jiwoon came up with. 1129, who had snapped at Jiwoon asking why he was making such a fuss over a fake name just for activating a cell phone, ended up just storming into the phone store.

While 1129 kept insisting on the same cell phone model as Jiwoon and the owner kept recommending the latest model, Jiwoon continued to ponder a name. Cheon-baek-i-ship-gu, his idea was to take one syllable as the last name and mix and match the others.

And in the brief moment the store owner went to get the phone after failing to sell 1129 on a different one, he whispered the name he had come up with. 1129 said nothing after hearing the name, and Jiwoon had given up, thinking it would end up being Gwak Cheolgu.

“A-anyway, you used the n-name I made, didn’t you.”

As the traffic light changed and they crossed the crosswalk, Jiwoon shouted towards 1129. That was right. On the fake ID that 1129 took out from his wallet, the name Jiwoon had made was written. Jiwoon had clearly watched from 1129’s side as he signed the contract with the name he had given him.

Lee Zeo.

The one who activated the cell phone was not Angel 1129 but the human Lee Zeo. And that name, Lee Zeo, was given to him by Jiwoon. 1129 now had a name.

1129 gave a hollow laugh at the sight of Jiwoon looking at him with a rather triumphant expression. The moment Jiwoon told him the name Lee Zeo, 1129 felt a wallet appear in his pocket. That was not his own doing. It was the power of the One above.

“You like it?”

1129 said, tapping the hat Jiwoon was wearing, and Jiwoon pressed down on the hat that had almost come off and lowered his head. After the crosswalk, the uphill road leading to their home began. Jiwoon smiled as he walked up that road side-by-side with 1129, no, with Lee Zeo.

“…Yes.”

“…”

“I-it’s better than c-calling you that person, or you.”

“How impudent.”

That person my foot, you should have been calling me Angel-nim from the start. 1129 added, but for some reason, he was silent after that. Jiwoon’s heart kept pounding, whether it was because he was out of breath from climbing the hill, or for some other reason. Then he secretly tried calling 1129 Mr. Lee Zeo in his mind. It was an overwhelming feeling.

*

The days were so busy he barely had time to breathe. As the midterm exam period began in earnest, assignments poured in, and the days were spent preoccupied with studying for tests. In the meantime, as Hanbyeol officially started doing Seungyoon’s video editing work, Jiwoon also took on the role of checking his editing midway through.

Fortunately, Hanbyeol definitely had a good sense for video editing. Starting from Seungyoon’s very old videos to the recent game YouTuber videos, he mastered them all and was adapting to the editing work much faster than Jiwoon had expected. Of course, he was not proficient yet, so he either worked with Seungyoon sharing a screen or did semi-collaborative editing with Jiwoon. This was possible because Seungyoon was accommodating.

In truth, Seungyoon was a YouTuber, and since it was his livelihood, he was not in a position to fully understand Hanbyeol’s situation. He had said he was desperate enough to borrow a cat’s paw, but he was not in a position to teach someone while already short on time. However, he highly valued the fact that Hanbyeol was not a complete novice when it came to video editing, and above all, that he worked hard.

After being introduced to the job, Hanbyeol often thanked Jiwoon, but Jiwoon said that if Hanbyeol had lacked the ability, he would not have introduced him at all. He was not just saying it to flatter him; he was sincere. Hanbyeol had said he just entered whatever department, but in Jiwoon’s eyes, Hanbyeol definitely had talent.

He was different from himself, who had chosen this work simply at Seungyoon’s suggestion and because he wanted to leave home but lacked the confidence to make a living while jostling with others outside. In any case, it was because Hanbyeol was now studying with a clear goal, saying he had found a dream here.

He had good relationships with his peers, and the professors liked him too. He himself worked hard and had good sense. On top of that, he was handsome, so there was nothing to fault. Honestly, it seemed like it would be good for him to start his own YouTube channel. There was just one problem, and that was the existence of the demon that was still lingering around him.

The demon only revealed itself in front of Hanbyeol, so unlike Hanbyeol, who had seen Jiwoon’s angel, Jiwoon had never once seen the demon attached to Hanbyeol. 1129, no, Zeo, showed a strangely sharp attitude whenever the topic of that demon came up, so he was too conscious to ask about it properly.

Besides, at some point, he himself became too busy to even think about Hanbyeol’s situation. Zeo was still in charge of all the housework by Jiwoon’s side, and he would only nag Jiwoon when he unerringly sensed his thoughts of just dying while in the middle of an assignment.

It was a strange peace. Although less than before, the thought of wanting to die did not disappear so easily. But if he had to quantify it, Jiwoon’s personal opinion was that it was not as severe as before. It even made him wonder if this level still counted as a civil complaint being sent up.

Are there people who live their lives without ever thinking they want to die? Jiwoon sometimes wondered. Jiwoon could not comprehend that the thought of wanting to die was not an emotion that could just surge up out of nowhere while sitting still, like wanting to eat a hamburger.