HISTORY 101

THIS PUNK is laughing?

Ki Gayoon couldn't believe that Noh Yuno was laughing as if he just didn't say the most ridiculous thing Gayoon had heard in a long while.

But it was nice to see and hear Noh Yuno laugh without being sarcastic.

Wait.

Why is this obnoxious punk starting to look adorable— no! What the fuck, Ki Gayoon? You should really donate your eyes to someone who needs them like that little shit said if you suddenly find him pleasant.

"Ahjuhyung, you're paying for the table you broke."

"It's made of wood, so it's something I can fix," Gayoon said, placing his hands on the table. "Easily."

Golden light soon shot out of his palms, then the light spread and "spilled" on the table— quickly filling the cracks. After that, the golden light pulled the broken parts together to work its magic.

It was a boring show, though.

After all, the table was fixed in an instant.

"Wow," Noh Yuno said while clapping his hands. "Ahjuhyung, your skill is really amazing."

Gayoon raised an eyebrow while observing the punk.

Is he being sarcastic again?

Noh Yuno looked up at Gayoon with sparkling eyes. "Ahjuhyung, I think I understand now why you prefer to use your ability to run a business than be fully dedicated to your duty as an Esper."

Oh, he's being genuine.

Even so, Gayoon wanted to tease Noh Yuno again.

It just felt weird that they were talking normally— by their standards— without exchanging insults or sarcastic remarks.

"You just called me a capitalist pig a few days ago," Gayoon reminded Noh Yuno while snapping his fingers. And then all the floating objects carefully landed on the table. "That's what most people call me after I stopped reconstructing buildings and other properties destroyed by a Dungeon Break for free."

And that was the reason why the government wanted to steal his company— the Beom-seok Constructions— from him.

"Ahjuhyung is a capitalist pig, and so I am. What can we do? We live in a capitalist society," Noh Yuno said, shrugging. "But I heard Sajangnim doesn't charge Civilians when you fix their private homes or small businesses that got destroyed during a Dungeon Break."

"Where did you hear that from?"

"Ahjuhyung knows my boss is a blabbermouth, right? He also said that even though you have a slush fund, at least you give back by donating a huge month of money to several charities and foundations—"

"If I can't kill Moon Noa, then I'll at least sew that big mouth of his shut."

"Sajangnim wasn't always like that, though. He used to be a cold-hearted bastard when I first met him. But he suddenly changed and became crazy after Esper Ryu Sungbin-ssi abandoned him for Guide Bambi-ssi who appeared out of nowhere three or four years ago? I can't exactly remember when."

Right.

However…

"Moon Noa is still a cold-hearted bastard underneath his fake bubbly persona that he started wearing after Ryu Sungbin abandoned him," Gayoon said, scoffing. "How could you forget that? You realize that Moon Noa is selling you off to me, don't you? I know I don't have the right to say this because I'm a willing participant. But I didn't know the blabbermouth has always planned to sell you off to the Esper with a high matching rate with you."

"Maybe because I was young and naïve back then, but I believed Sajangnim that he'd choose a decent Esper," Noh Yuno said nonchalantly as if they weren't talking about him. "Ahjuhyung, you were from the First Generation of Espers, right? If I remember correctly, you were the youngest Esper to awaken at the time."

"What does it have to do with anything?"

"You and your generation were the reason why the Lab was created."

"Excuse me?"

"Ahjuhyung was only fifteen years old when you awakened. The government turned a huge interest in you and the other naturally awakened S-Class Espers. Then they turned you into lab rats while sending you to the most dangerous dungeons."

Gayoon wasn't offended that Noh Yuno was talking about his past so casually.

Anyone can search about the First Generation's history on the internet anyway.

"But after five years of working for the government like dogs, Ahjuhyung and your fellow naturally awakened S-Class finally snapped. All of you went on a Rampage and destroyed the government facility that tortured you for five years," Noh Yuno continued in a monotonous tone. "Then Sajangnim, a naturally awakened S-Class Guide, appeared and brought of all you back to your senses. That was when the government realized the importance of Guides. But they panicked when they realized that Guides are lower in number compared to the abundance of Espers in our country."

Ah, right.

"That was why the government suddenly declared that all Guides belong to them," Gayoon added. "It happened ten years ago, so you were probably fifteen years old around that time."

"Yes, and I awakened a few months after the First Generation's first Rampage," Noh Yuno said, pausing for a moment. "The government gathered all the Guides that awakened after the First Rampage and created the Lab. I stayed there for four years, and it was hell."

"I said you don't have to tell the ugly parts of the story."

"Yes, I'm just saying that the treatment the E-Class Guides received from the Lab was so horrible that I chose to grab Moon Noa's hand even though I knew I'd be sold off in the future."

"You're probably regretting it now since the Esper who's buying your contract is me."

"Ahjuhyung, you're a saint compared to the Researchers from the Lab," Noh Yuno said, chuckling. "Anyways, I'm an adult who knows how to repay my savior."

"Even if that savior is a cold-hearted bastard like Moon Noa?"

"Yes. I need to pay for the meals he bought for me. And for this house, too."

Tsk.

"And it's not like Sajangnim is selling me off to a slaughterhouse where a butcher is waiting for me."

"I hope you don't see me as a saint because I am not."

"Don't worry, Ahjuhyung. In case you turned out to be a twisted scumbag, I won't let you hurt or kill me," Noh Yuno said nonchalantly. "Don't overestimate my will to live— I can just off myself before you do me any harm."

That, again.

This punk is so careless with his life!

"Noh Yuno, rule number one," Gayoon said, clenching his hands tight. "As long as you're my exclusive Guide, you're not allowed to kill yourself or talk about it— even as a joke."

***

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