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44. Unofficial Work 4
44. Unofficial Work 4
When Yoon Taeha turned around, Hong Eunsoo spoke in a tone of genuine confusion.
“Why is my friend so pretty?”
“Everyone can hear you.”
“You’re not denying it?”
“If I deny it, people usually get mad.”
“This is kind of cute….”
A girl three years younger was fawning over her. Yoon Taeha looked at Hong Eunsoo with a strange expression, realizing she was now on the receiving end of the same treatment she had once given to Winter.
Is this how Winter felt back then?
It felt like karma for her past actions, leaving her unable to retort.
The two moved to the side. While focusing on another video, Hong Eunsoo nudged her and gestured toward something.
“It’s Kwon Heesung.”
Yoon Taeha turned away, pretending to be completely uninterested.
From a distance where faces were recognizable, Cheon Geonyoung, Hwang Sungbin, and a few other Guides whose names she only knew were clustered together.
Even without Hong Eunsoo pointing it out, she would have quickly noticed Cheon Geonyoung’s presence.
A cloud of female students surrounded him—literally, like a cloud. Like fluffy clouds rising against a bright blue canvas. All of them had pink blushes of affection blooming on their cheeks.
“Look at all the girls who want to devour his face.”
“Piranhas? Let them eat him up.”
“There’s plenty for them to devour. Don’t you think he’s attractive?”
Cheon Geonyoung, standing a head taller than the others, was casually responding to Hwang Sungbin’s comments with an indifferent expression.
Somehow, he gave off the vibe of someone ready to abandon his duties as a student the moment class ended. Even though his uniform was neatly worn, there was a sense that something about him didn’t quite fit.
Was it because he looked like he’d just finished exercising?
Yoon Taeha, who considered herself to have average taste, answered honestly.
“He’s handsome.”
“Right? I’m super sensitive about bone structure and proportions, and his facial structure is flawless.”
“Are you interested?”
Hong Eunsoo waved her hand dismissively.
“My tastes are very specific!”
“In what way? Hwang Sungbin?”
“Him? No, he’s not my type. That’s not why I asked him to partner for the evaluation.”
She trailed off awkwardly. As Yoon Taeha watched Hong Eunsoo ramble, she felt a gaze from across the room.
Cheon Geonyoung had spotted her and tilted his head slightly. The girls chatting with him hadn’t yet realized his attention had shifted elsewhere.
“Heesung-ah, do the evaluation with me! I’m really good.”
“I ranked 11th last year. For reference, that’s 11th overall.”
One of the girls from Class G giggled shyly beside him. Hong Eunsoo clicked her tongue, saying that Choi Anna had already started making her move.
“Choi Anna uses Guides like blankets.”
“Blankets?”
“She changes them with the seasons. Sometimes she uses a winter blanket in spring.”
Yoon Taeha marveled at the creative analogy. Hong Eunsoo glanced between Cheon Geonyoung and her before asking curiously,
“Weren’t you going to do the evaluation with Kwon Heesung?”
“The ‘Me’ category?”
“Yeah.”
“No. We never talked about it.”
“Really? Then why were you laughing so much in the cooking area? Didn’t you think you’d conquer the evaluation together?”
She couldn’t recall such a happy memory. As Yoon Taeha searched her mind, Hong Eunsoo spoke with conviction.
“He seemed like he wanted to do it with you.”
Pulling Yoon Taeha forward by the arm, Hong Eunsoo spoke in a tone reminiscent of an HR manager.
“If you’re thinking about grades, Woo Joo Han would be better. He’s ranked first among Guides. I heard he still doesn’t have a partner.”
It was time to leave for the next class. When Yoon Taeha glanced back one last time, Cheon Geonyoung was looking at her with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
---
Yoon Taeha had grown accustomed to life at Shelter. However, she was still getting used to students recklessly using their powers in the hallways, obstructing passage.
Sometimes, while crossing the hallway for a class change, she would run into Cheon Geonyoung.
Each time, they treated each other like distant cousins who only met once a year, passing by without much acknowledgment.
They only exchanged light greetings when Hong Eunsoo or Woo Joo Han happened to be by their sides.
There wasn’t much to look forward to, given that Yoon Taeha crossed Cheon Geonyoung’s dorm threshold at least every other day.
Since they were infiltrating in different ways, they needed to share detailed reports of their daily experiences.
Before entering Shelter, Cheon Geonyoung had harbored a small concern.
He worried that an Esper accustomed to handling missions alone might operate on a different wavelength in tasks requiring trust and teamwork.
But his concern turned out to be unnecessary.
“…So lately, I’ve been trying to locate Kwon Min-gi. There’s a chance he’s being held somewhere outside the volunteer unit.”
Yoon Taeha reported without being asked, having prepared her favorite cola-flavored candy in advance to show extra sincerity.
“I don’t think he’s in any place accessible by teleportation.”
“Does Building H really have no windows? Not even ones disguised as part of the walls?”
Sitting on the couch, sucking on the candy Cheon Geonyoung had prepared, she shook her head.
“No. That building houses Espers classified as high-risk. It was designed without windows for safety reasons.”
“So it’s true that it’s the most heavily secured location in the West.”
“Yeah.”
She took a short breath.
“At first glance, the National Office Center Director seems to hold the highest authority, but that’s not entirely true.”
“I’ve heard that real decision-making power lies in Hawaii.”
“…That’s correct.”
She inhaled softly.
“The National Office is like a franchise branch. They follow directives handed down from above.”
“The headquarters sure picked a nice vacation spot.”
“The ocean there is beautiful. Maybe that’s why the old men stationed there consider being sent to the National Office a death sentence.”
“Do you prefer that side too?”
“No.”
Her answer came without hesitation.
“I like it here. I don’t have to worry about English. Staring at the ocean all day gets surprisingly boring…”
The topic naturally shifted to the numerous favorite restaurants she had established near Yeouido. It was a smooth transition, but Cheon Geonyoung sensed that Yoon Taeha felt uneasy discussing the headquarters.
---
Other than the search for Kwon Min-gi being obstructed by the rigid and high-ranking officials of the Audit Bureau, Yoon Taeha expected no other significant incidents.
It didn’t take long for that assumption to be proven wrong.
During the practical training session for telekinetic users in orbital proficiency—where students practiced lifting balls into the air and precisely dropping them onto target points—a 15-kilogram defensive auxiliary device came flying toward Yoon Taeha’s head.
Thud. The heavy shield plunged vertically into the ground right next to her. Students nearby let out small screams and scrambled away from her.
Yoon Taeha slowly straightened her body after having bent to dodge it.
“Student Jeon Sung-ha! Are you hurt?”
The teacher, who had been busy cleaning up the balls students were haphazardly throwing around, rushed over to her.
With a stiff expression, she gave a slight nod.
“Are you sure? It looked like it grazed your head.”
“I’m fine. I dodged it perfectly.”
Her reflexes were sharp enough that avoiding it hadn’t been difficult. But if it had been another student instead of her, it would have undoubtedly caused serious injury.
“Who launched that shield? Own up and find redemption.”
The orbital proficiency teacher placed his hands on his hips and spoke sternly.
“It was us! We accidentally slipped while practicing defense!”
From the back, Kang Jin-ho shouted loudly.
Yoon Taeha tilted her head to see another student from a different class hiding behind Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho pulled the student forward by the shoulder and spoke again.
“It was Yongjin’s mistake. Please forgive him just this once.”
Did he want to become some kind of puppet master of darkness? Kang Jin-ho was speaking on behalf of others. The excited chatter of students tossing balls around gradually quieted down.
All eyes turned to the transfer student and Kang Jin-ho. The teacher asked wearily,
“Was it Yongjin who launched it?”
“Yes. He miscalculated the trajectory—it was supposed to move vertically.”
“Kang Jin-ho. Did I ask you that just now?”
“Yongjin, you explain it.”
The accused student, trembling with blue lips, stammered an apology in a barely audible voice.
“I’m sorry… I made a calculation error…”
The teacher sighed deeply. Most of the students whispering nearby seemed to believe Kang Jin-ho was the one who had launched the shield. Even the teacher standing beside Yoon Taeha appeared to share that suspicion.
Caught in unwanted attention, Choi Yong-jin turned to Yoon Taeha and muttered,
“Sorry.”
Without evidence, there was nothing she could say.
Intentionally harming or injuring another student using powers was, of course, a serious violation of school rules.
However, catching every instance of such behavior was nearly impossible, so these incidents often went unchecked.
Ignoring Kang Jin-ho, she addressed Choi Yong-jin directly.
“It was a mistake. It’s okay.”
“I-I’m really sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Choi Yong-jin looked anxious, worried he might have gotten on the bad side of the transfer student, who seemed quite intimidating when she wasn’t smiling.
She was somewhat aware that she became a difficult person to deal with when she wasn’t smiling. She didn’t want to unnecessarily unsettle an innocent student.
“I told you—I’m nice, right?”
Kang Jin-ho smirked faintly and patted the other student’s shoulder hard, pretending they were close. As he turned his body, he shot a sharp glance at Yoon Taeha.
Yoon Taeha tilted her chin slightly, as if asking, What do you want with me? His gaze grew fiercer, but he didn’t approach to pick a fight.
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