HOUSE VISIT

"WELCOME to my humble abode, Ahjuhyung," Yuno said sleepily after letting Ki Gayoon in. "I only have instant coffee and ramen." He then pulled out his phone and immediately opened his message box with Moon Noa. "I'll send a message to Sajangnim and tell him you're already here. If he says he can come earlier than planned, then I'll ask him to bring breakfast for us."

As expected, Ki Gayoon scoffed. "Why must you mooch off your boss when I'm here? I didn't come empty-handed, you know?"

Yuno quickly turned around and faced the Esper. "For real? I thought Ahjuhyung had left his manners in his mother's womb."

"I woke up early, so I don't have the energy to humor you, punk," Ki Gayoon said, and then he snapped his fingers. "Here."

Two briefcases suddenly appeared out of nowhere and were now suspended in the air.

Ahjuhyung pulled the cases from his Inventory, and then he used his telekinesis power to keep them afloat.

But…

"Ahjuhyung, people usually give tissue rolls or other useful household items when visiting for the first time," Yuno said nervously. "Just what did you bring—"

Ki Gayoon snapped his fingers again, and then the briefcases opened by themselves.

Money.

The briefcases were both filled with money.

"Each case contains one hundred million won," Ki Gayoon said bluntly while crossing his arms over his chest. For some reason, he looked proud. "Buy whatever you want to eat with this pocket money I brought for you."

Wow.

Two hundred million won was just "pocket money" to this old man?

Yuno sighed while shaking his head. "Ahjuhyung, you can't really beat the gangster allegations against you, huh?"

***

YUNO took twenty thousand won out of the two hundred million won that Ki Gayoon offered as a gift.

Then he used it to order breakfast for them.

He ordered coffee and sandwiches for two people only since Moon Noa said he'd be there after his breakfast meeting with the president of the Esper Association.

Sajangnim scheduled the meeting around noon for a reason.

But Ki Gayoon was rude enough to ruin the plan just to annoy Yuno.

I'll give Ahjuhyung an A for his dedication to get on my nerves, though.

"Just to be clear, the two hundred million won that I brought is just a house visit gift," Ki Gayoon said while they were sharing the small dining table in the kitchen. "That's not the amount I'm going to offer you when we make our contract later."

Right.

Ki Gayoon was there to buy Yuno's contract from Moon Noa.

Of course, that means I will get to negotiate my new salary with my new employer.

"I don't care even if you ask for billions of won," Ki Gayoon said. He wasn't being arrogant, though. It was as if he was merely stating the obvious. "So, don't hold back."

Yuno sipped his coffee first before responding. "Yes, of course. I know my worth as the only E-Class Guide who can give you proper Guiding, Ahjuhyung."

"I'd like to call you smart, but seeing how you live in this small place you call home, I don't think you are," the grumpy old man said condescendingly. "You always act smart with me, but why didn't you do the same with Moon Noa? That man is arguably the richest man in South Korea. And, yet, you work for his convenience store as a part-timer? If you know your value as an E-Class Guide, you should have asked for a mansion and at least a hundred billion won."

"I was a stupid nineteen-year-old orphan when I met Sajangnim," Yuno said in a lazy voice. "And I didn't have much of a choice since we met at the Lab."

Ki Gayoon flinched.

As a high-ranking Esper, Ahjussi definitely knew what Yuno was talking about.

Every Awakened Person in this country has heard horror stories about the Lab at least once in their lives.

"As you know, the Lab was a living hell for all the Guides who awakened at the time when the law that protects Guides today wasn't established yet," Yuno said nonchalantly. The past really didn't bother him anymore. Not as much as it did before, at least. "Ahjuhyung wasn't a part of the group that destroyed the Lab to save the imprisoned Guides, but I'm sure you know the group was led by Sajangnim and Esper Ryu Sungbin."

At the time, Esper Ryu Sungbin was still with Moon Noa.

Heck, Guide Bambi wasn't even in the picture at the time.

"Yes, and I also know that the brain of that group was Moon Noa," Ki Gayoon confirmed while nodding. "But I didn't hear that there were E-Class Guides saved during their operation. That's why I didn't know E-Class Guides really existed until I met you."

"I was the sole survivor."

"What?"

"I was the only E-Class Guide who survived from that incident," Yuno said calmly. For some reason, he felt at ease even though he was talking about his dark past. "When the Researchers realized that the Lab was under attack, they deleted and burned all the research. Then, for reasons I don't know, they just suddenly started killing all the E-Class Guides."

"Hey, you don't have to tell me everything if it's hard for you."

"Then should I skip to the good part?"

"Go ahead."

"I met Sajangnim when it was almost my turn to be killed. Sajangnim realized that I was being hunted, so he said he'd save me on one condition. Thankfully, the condition wasn't hard," Yuno said, and then he took a bite of his tonkatsu sandwich. "I just needed to sign a contract that says I'd let him sell me off to a suitable Esper when the "right time" comes."

"What?!" Ki Gayoon yelled, slamming his hands on the table— causing it to break into half. But, fortunately, the old man used his telekinesis to make all the stuff on the table float. So, no drinks were spilled and no food was wasted. "Why did you sign that kind of contract, you stupid little rusty shit?!"

Pfft.

'Stupid little rusty shit?'

"That's new," Yuno said, holding back his laughter. "Ahjuhyung, your vocabulary of insults improved a bit."

***

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