Long live hate

Chapter 3

It has been exactly 5 years since that date.

"... this sucks."

Ji-young began the day with a swear word.

He slammed his fist on his late alarm. His fist struck the beeping electronic clock, causing it to turn upside down.

He awoke before the alarm went off again today. It feels bad to wake up before the usual time when he could have slept better.

If there was a 10- or 20-minute time difference, his temper would flare. Ji-young's temper, which was never particularly good, has deteriorated over the years.

There were several incidents like that.

However, no matter how much he despises his life, the dawn remains the same and work is unavoidable.

Ji-young quickly stood up and took off his clothes. He broke out in a cold sweat last night, most likely due to an awful nightmare. So he chose to take a shower first.

Now that he was naked, he crossed the living room to the bathroom.

He lived alone in this flat. When a guide is assigned to a team, they usually stick with it, but Ji-young was not high enough in the rankings to be assigned to one.

Because most guides of all ranks have teams, his guide-only accommodation was empty.

Ji-young treated the quiet accommodation as if it were his own home. He stole the master key from the security office and opened the door to a neighboring flat, which he used for storage.

Fortunately, this accommodation was Ji-young's only source of joy. It was comfortable here, and no one was concerned about Ji-young.

Ji-young does not have to be concerned about anyone else.

Ahn Ji-young's sole source of comfort and friend had been loneliness. It's the type of clothes he's grown accustomed to and can't get rid of.

After washing the cat's face and brushing its teeth, Ji-young will change into his guide uniform in the public guiding room. It took him less than ten minutes to get out of bed and prepare.

"I fucking hate work."

Ji-young muttered some classical words for those who live alone. He muttered as he steadily tightened the Converse laces.

While most guides wore military boots inside the center, Ji-young mostly wore Converse or slippers.

He has no team and has never received any missions or training, so Converse should be sufficient for his job at the Guiding Room.

After confirming that his door was locked, Ji-young slowly exited the dorm. There was a bus that ran throughout the center at all times, just for the guides.

Ji-young is the only person to board at the guide-only accommodation stop.

The cart travels around the center. The bus only carries guides who have not yet been assigned to a team.

They must be new recruits. It was adorable to see them chatting amongst themselves as if they were excited to meet an Esper.

Ji-young also had a separate department.

The Dongjukongjukdae, where Colonel Ki Baek-yeon, a guide and esper, led the team,.

The Dongjuk Department is comprised of Esper and Guide combat guides who have graduated from the Department of Medicine or Nursing at the Esper and Guide Special College and are licensed doctors and nurses.

Dongjuk Department, despite being a nursing unit, is one of the top three teams in the center, even if only based on combat power.

Ji-young was a member of the Dongjuk Department. Even though he is a low-ranking guide, this does not cause him to yawn.