SOG (English)

#25

Chief Yoo asked Jae-Chan, who was still covering his mouth with his clenched fist.

— … I have a sore throat.

As he checked with his cell phone camera, his lips were tinted red, chapped and slightly swollen. Nevertheless, covering his mouth was a matter of mood. He feared his trembling heart would pop out of his mouth. Or maybe, he feared the urge to see him again would make it burst.

It was a damn useless feeling. He couldn't dispose of it to his heart's content, and could only watch it bulk up at will.

Sun Jae-Chan raised his eyes and looked up at the elevator location indicator. Staring at the dots on the elevator panel that changed from 1 to 5, he contemplated his emotions.

— Ahh. It's a bit dry, isn't it? I'll have to ask upper management if it's okay to add a humidifier to the prevention measures room.

Even though it was still a late summer when humidity was rampant, Chief Yoo spoke in a needlessly earnest way.

Entering the elevator, Sun Jae-Chan recalled Go Woo-Jin, who was struggling. After separating himself from him, the absurd feeling of 'it's nice' disappeared, and he was able to perceive the situation objectively. A brief emotion flowed from his hidden lips.

In the future, he thought that he would have to stand-by at the same place as Go Woo-Jin when working on-site. At least until Nam Hae-Sol appeared.

He didn't want to see him in pain like today again. Jae-Chan reflected on himself and vowed to faithfully fulfill his duty as a Pair Guide for the time being.

In the meantime, the sound of the elevator rang and announced that they had arrived on the first floor.

— How did Esper Go Woo-Jin become like that?

Jae-Chan asked as he left the door that opened and closed in both directions. His frowning eyes glanced out of the window. The workers were still working on the lawn. He was lost in thought, inadvertently capturing the fairly wide green area in his field of vision.

There was no way that Go Woo-Jin's wavelength would have suddenly ran out of control. There must have been an incident over the weekend equivalent to a pirate sweep operation.

Chief Yoo's slightly slanted eyes rolled strangely. It was when he opened his mouth, with a wrinkled expression.

-Ji-ing-, the sound of vibration cut through the corridor at sunset. The chief hesitated, and Jae-Chan took out his phone to check.

[Director Yoon Seo-Mi.]

It was a moment when he was puzzled by the name of the caller, Go Woo-Jin's stepmother, that appeared on the screen. Jae-Chan suddenly raised his head again.

Suddenly, he faced the scenery that just passed by out of the window. To be exact, the face of a certain worker who was just wiping his sweat with a towel.

— Guide Sun Jae-Chan. Isn't an incoming call?

Chief Yoo was curious, but he couldn't take his eyes off the window as the sun set, while his hand clutched the mobile phone vibrating intermittently.

Under the slanting sun. Only now, dozens of workers were stretching their backs in the shadow of the long wall. It was a sight that felt less painful and far more reassuring to even the beholder because,

He was there.

A truck with the logo 'Mentosa Stone Garden Landscaping', and the person who was wiping his sweat with a towel leaning against it. His face looked younger than what he* (SJC) remembered, but he was sure.