PARADOX 38

Baekgu, captured by Gu Jeyi, eventually lifted the brainwashing he had placed on “Mom.” However, Gu Jeyi was in a position where he could neither leave this highly dangerous mental-type Esper unattended nor report him to the Center.

So, what should be done? After deep deliberation, Gu Jeyi decided to monitor this dangerous criminal himself.

Thus, the close surveillance began. It would have been easier if he had locked him in a cell or watched him from a distance. However, under the objective of monitoring Baekgu, Gu Jeyi decided they would stay together in the same space 24 hours a day. Consequently, rules became a natural necessity, and so, rules were established between Gu Jeyi and Baekgu.

‘I’m going to tell you the rules you must follow from now on, so remember them.’

‘What happens if I don’t follow them?’

‘You die.’

‘Ha! You’re always all talk, aren’t you? Since you aren’t going to kill me anyway.’

‘…’

‘Wh-what are you going to do, looking at me so scarily? Fine, then what if you don’t follow them?’

‘That won’t happen.’

‘What if it does?’

‘I said it won’t.’

‘If you break a rule, you have to use formal language with me. And call me hyung.’

‘…’

‘You use formal language with everyone else. And you said you’re 21. I’m four years older than you, you know?’

‘…Fine. Let’s do that.’

Thinking back, he could have just demanded that only Baekgu follow the rules, but Gu Jeyi applied them to himself as well and followed them strictly. He was like that in his past life, so would he be any different this time? Once the rules were set, Gu Jeyi followed them without much complaint.

Hanseo shook his head to emerge from his past memories. Gu Jeyi had already entered the guest room.

At 그 moment, Hanseo realized something strange.

That guy, why isn’t he sleeping?

If he didn’t leave at 6 AM but just returned then, exactly what time did he go out? Did he even sleep at all?

Hanseo looked back and forth between the clock pointing at 6 and the firmly closed guest room door… then simply turned away.

Well, it’s Gu Jeyi of all people. He’ll surely take good care of his own body.

Even if Gu Jeyi himself didn’t care, those around him would make a fuss. Unlike Hanseo, Gu Jeyi had parents, a maternal uncle, and plenty of fans. Hanseo shook his head. Let’s just worry about myself.

Breakfast this morning was a delivered lunch box. He had decided not to order from the side-dish shop he used before. It was because Gu Jeyi had flatly stated it tasted bad.

It definitely tasted fine to me, though. He really was a guy with a picky palate. Fortunately, Gu Jeyi moved his chopsticks toward this delivered lunch box about four times. He only ate a bit of rice along with one meat pancake and one rolled omelet, but even that was a lot for Gu Jeyi.

It was almost fascinating at this point. How does he survive while eating so little with that physique? Especially since Espers have high energy consumption and are usually big eaters. He was a truly extraordinary guy in many ways.

“Mister Yeo Hanseo.”

Gu Jeyi, who had been waiting for Hanseo to finish his meal, spoke quietly. Hanseo was momentarily tense at the low voice, but what came out was something completely different from what he expected.

“Could you give me the account number to deposit the guiding fees?”

“Ah! Just a moment.”

Since he was receiving a separate living allowance from Gu Jeyi, he had completely forgotten about the guiding fees.

Hanseo quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket. There was a time he lived far away from the benefits of civilization, but that was in the past. Now, Hanseo was a civilized person who knew how to use a smartphone.

Following what the social worker had taught him, he accessed the bank app, checked the account number, and read it out; Gu Jeyi tapped on his phone.

“I’ve sent the deposit.”

Hanseo checked the account with a fluttering heart.

“…?”

A number he had never seen before was displayed on the screen.

What? How many zeros are there? One, two, three, four…

“Two… thousand?”

It wasn’t 20,000 won; it was 20 million won.

Hanseo stared at Gu Jeyi with wide eyes. Recalling his salary back when he worked as a Center janitor, he wondered if an extra zero had been added by mistake. Gu Jeyi furrowed his brows.

“I gave you the amount according to the contract. Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no.”

Judging by the reaction, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Come to think of it, the guiding fees were written in the contract.

To be honest, he had forgotten because he wasn’t interested.

The people in dramas and movies all loved money. They suffered because they didn’t have it, or did things they shouldn’t do because of it. So Hanseo knew that money was very important to ordinary people.

However, separate from understanding it intellectually, he had never thought of money as something significant. Especially back when he first escaped the laboratory and used his abilities indiscriminately.

‘Wow, this looks good.’

‘I will give it to you!’

‘I’m taking all of this.’

‘Pardon? Customer, the payment… Yes! Please, take it!’

In that manner, he could have anything just by speaking, so there was no way for him to know the value of money.

Thinking about it now, I was quite reckless.

If he hadn’t been caught by the Cult Leader first, he would have eventually been caught by the Center. To be used like a slave by the Cult Leader versus being caught by the Center, having a chip implanted, and living under surveillance for life—which would be worse?

Anyway, Hanseo checked the balance in his bank account with a novel feeling. Since he considered it money he earned himself, a strange sense of pride even welled up.

During all that time, he had lived without knowing the value of money, but in this life, he had made up his mind to live normally like others. Therefore, the more money, the better.

I wonder if I’ll be able to live without worrying about money two years from now?

Hanseo imagined a life like those often seen—holding a wine glass in a high-rise penthouse and looking down at the city view spread outside the window—but soon shook his head. That didn’t seem very fun.

In dramas, it seemed everyone dreamed of such a life, but was the reason he didn’t feel that way because he had never even lived a normal life?

Come to think of it, he had never thought concretely about the future in his life. He had simply hoped to live happily, like others.

But now, he could dream of a future. Since he had a proper identity, he could get a phone, a bank account, and a card. Someday he would be able to buy a car and a house, and he might even travel to other countries.

If the difficulty level of living as Baekgu was five stars, the difficulty level of living as Yeo Hanseo was like one star.

Of course, Gu Jeyi has to not die for that to happen.

“Mister Yeo Hanseo.”

The timing was as if he knew Hanseo was thinking about him. As Hanseo looked at him, Gu Jeyi put down his chopsticks and spoke.

“Are you busy today?”

“Huh? No.”

“Then come somewhere with me for a moment.”

At the unexpected suggestion to go out, Hanseo blinked blankly.

Living Quarters Building 3.

The members of the so-called ‘Gu Jeyi Team’ were enjoying their most pleasant time lately. Because their workaholic team leader was forced to take a break, they had also entered a rest period along with him.

Of course, none of the team members disliked Gate conquering. Rather, they participated diligently in Gate conquering for their own reasons. However, no matter how much you like something, you’re bound to get exhausted if you keep doing it without rest. Unfortunately, a certain S-rank Esper who knew nothing but work didn’t seem to know this fact.

Anyway, for that reason, the team members accepted this forced rest period very positively. Like other ordinary office workers, they were in a situation where money accumulated in their bank accounts because they worked without rest, but they had no time to spend it. Now that they could finally spend it properly, everyone was deep in thought about how to spend this time most enjoyably.

“So, Taegyu, what did you decide to do?”

“I’m planning to visit all the mountains I’ve wanted to go to 이번 기회에 (at this opportunity),” Woo Taegyu answered, his clear eyes sparkling in a way that didn’t match his rugged appearance. Seong Semin let out a hollow laugh.

“What’s with the hiking? You’re not an old man.”

“How can you say that when the mountains are so great! The air is clear, the mind becomes at peace, and the thrill when you reach the summit is beyond words. Would you like to come with me this time, sunbae?”

“Am I crazy? I’m going to grab a nice hotel and lounge around all day. Speaking of which, I need to make a reservation today. Otherwise, the Team Leader will definitely call me at night and beat me to death again.”

“It’s training, not beating. But why does the Team Leader train like that every night?”

“I guess he has so much energy left that he can’t sleep. People say there are shadows under his eyes because his eyelashes are long, but what a joke. If you look closely, those are dark circles.”