Chapter 6

“It’s a bit late. Sorry. My tutoring session ended late.”

As Hee-beom entered the sashimi restaurant, he set down the heavy bag that had been weighing on his shoulders. Then, quickly slipping on a pair of rubber gloves, he positioned himself in front of the stack of dishes piled up in the kitchen. Using the tip of his foot, he pulled over the trash bin and scraped off the fish bones stuck to the plates.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just ten minutes. Have you eaten?”

Seong-jin, who was wiping down a cutting board with a white bandana tied around his head, asked. He was a man in his late 30s and the owner of the small sashimi restaurant.

“Uh…”

Hee-beom hesitated, unable to give a straightforward answer. At that, Seong-jin clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Geez. If you haven’t eaten, just say you haven’t.”

“I feel bad always getting free food.”

“What’s there to feel bad about? It’s not like I’m grilling you premium beef or serving you a twelve-course meal. It’s just rice in soup. Don’t make it awkward.”

“…….”

“I’ll whip something up real quick.”

“Thank you.”

Hee-beom turned toward Seong-jin and gave a small bow before promptly resuming the task of organizing the dishes. Watching him, Seong-jin shook his head.

“You’d be a lot better off if you were just a little friendlier.”

“…….”

“Then again, with your looks, you probably don’t even need to be friendly, huh? Guys and girls alike must just flock to you.”

“…….”

“If I had even just your height, let alone your face, I’d have at least tried my luck somewhere. But here I am, chopping up halibut heads all day… No, wait. Halibut, don’t listen to that. It’s not your fault, okay? You’re a perfectly delicious fish…”

Seong-jin murmured, staring wistfully at the freshly chopped halibut head. Hee-beom, who hadn’t uttered a single word for a while now, just listened as Seong-jin kept the conversation going on his own. For someone as quiet as Hee-beom, he was the perfect conversation partner.

Hee-beom washed the dishes quickly but thoroughly. Just as he was rinsing the last plate, Seong-jin came up behind him and gave him a light pat on the back.

“Once you’re done, go eat.”

“Oh, okay.”

Hee-beom gave a short reply and finished organizing the dishes. After removing his rubber gloves and flipping them inside out, he stepped out into the dining area.

The sashimi restaurant wasn’t very big. There were fewer than ten tables, most of them two-seaters. It was 10 PM, the perfect time for drinking with sashimi, yet only two tables were occupied.

It wasn’t the kind of place that really needed a part-time worker, but Seong-jin had hired Hee-beom anyway—simply because he hated dealing with fish bones more than anything.

Hee-beom headed toward a secluded table where a meal had already been set for him. It was simple: kimchi fried rice served straight from the pan and a bowl of bean sprout soup. But it was enough.

He gave a small bow toward Seong-jin, who was watching TV in the dining area.

“Thank you for the meal, boss.”

“Yeah.”

Seong-jin, sitting at an empty table with one leg crossed over the other, absentmindedly pressed the buttons on the remote.

Hee-beom took a sip of the soup first. Then, just as he reached for a steaming spoonful of kimchi fried rice—

Ding. The entrance bell rang.

“Welcome.”

Without even looking up to check, Hee-beom greeted the customers. His tone wasn’t particularly warm; it was as mechanical as a programmed response. Without hesitation, he set his spoon down, stood up, and grabbed a menu while checking the number of customers—two.

He retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge and two cups from the sterilizer before approaching their table.

“We’ll have a small halibut sashimi and a bottle of soju, plus a cider.”

The customers placed their order before even setting down the menu.

“Got it.”

Instead of placing the menus on the table, Hee-beom simply set down the water and cups. Then, as he made his way to the liquor fridge, he called out to Seong-jin.

“Boss, do we have a small halibut?”

“Yeah.”

Seong-jin got up from his seat and stepped outside. He pulled a lively halibut from a small tank and carried it into the kitchen.

Hee-beom served the customers their soju, cider, and side dishes before returning to his kimchi fried rice.

He was starving. Between his delayed lecture, the sudden appearance of I-young, and his tutoring session, he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch.

Just as he took a big spoonful of kimchi fried rice and put it into his mouth—

– Up next, our news report. Esper Kwon I-young appeared at a university.

The moment he heard the name on the news, Hee-beom’s spoon hit his lower teeth. He lifted his eyes to the TV. A news anchor, dressed sharply in a suit, was clearly stating I-young’s name.

– The sudden appearance of a high-ranking Esper led to a misunderstanding among students, causing them to believe a Gate had formed, resulting in a brief panic. For more details, let’s go to reporter Kim Seong-deok.

– Yes, this is Kim Seong-deok. …Three incidents of students tripping and falling occurred as they tried to evacuate, and two students were injured after being caught in the crowd that gathered to catch a glimpse of Kwon I-young.

– …Although there was no Gate or monsters, the confusion among students did not subside easily. Footage of Esper Kwon I-young wandering the campus continues to go viral on social media.

– In response, the Korea Ability Association stated that Kwon I-young was merely visiting a friend at the university and expressed their apologies to the frightened students.

– Currently, Esper Kwon I-young is en route to Japan to assist in a Gate conquest at the request of the Japan Ability Association. Despite the late hour, Japan is preparing a warm welcome for him…

The broadcast cycled through numerous short clips.

I-young stepping into a Gate.
I-young emerging from a Gate.
I-young standing at an official event, impeccably dressed.
I-young wearing a white dress shirt and tie, holding a bouquet of roses.
I-young signing autographs for students.
I-young handing someone a rose.

And in one of those clips—Hee-beom was there.

His face was blurred out with a mosaic filter, but there was no doubt. It was him.

“…….”

On the news, of all things. He never thought he’d end up on the news again in his lifetime. And to be caught so off guard, in such a ridiculous way.

It left a foul taste in his mouth. Annoying. Frustrating.

His grip tightened around the spoon. He let out a slow breath through his nose and was about to take another bite when—

“Beom-ah. The halibut’s ready.”

Seong-jin called him.

“Okay.”

Hee-beom took the halibut to the customers and refilled an empty soy sauce dish.

As he returned to his seat, Seong-jin, having finished cleaning up, wiped his wet hands on his apron and sat down across from him.

The news was still buzzing about I-young. Seong-jin, watching with half-lidded eyes, finally spoke.

“Hey, Beom-ah.”

“Yeah.”

“Is that you by any chance?”

“No.”

Hee-beom lied with brazen confidence and stuffed more kimchi fried rice into his mouth, focusing on how perfectly golden and crispy it was. But Seong-jin narrowed his eyes skeptically.

“Bullshit. That silhouette is exactly you.”

“…….”

“You think guys who are 188 cm tall are common in Korea?”

“…….”

“It’s you, isn’t it? It totally is. Yeah, it’s you.”

“…….”

The more Seong-jin spoke, the slower Hee-beom chewed. Eventually, Seong-jin turned his whole body to face him.

“You know Kwon I-young?”

“Not… exactly.”

Hee-beom reluctantly answered.

“Not exactly? Then why the hell did he come looking for you?”

“Beats me.”

“And what’s with the flower? Did he give it to you? Why?”

“Beats me.”

His tone was dry, almost rude, but instead of getting angry, Seong-jin just gave him a long look, pulling his chin in as if to say, What’s with this guy today? He’s acting weird.

“What kind of answer is that?”

“I really don’t know.”

“…….”

The conversation fizzled out there. Seong-jin didn’t press further—he could tell something was off with Hee-beom. Instead, he grabbed the remote and flipped the channel. A random drama started playing.

Hee-beom quietly finished his kimchi fried rice. Just as he was about to eat the last bit of bean sprout soup, he suddenly looked at Seong-jin.

“Boss.”

“Huh?”

“Have you ever seen an Esper before?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Seong-jin let out a drawn-out, “Uh…,” before answering casually.

“Well, yeah, a few.”

“What did you think of them?”

“They just seemed like normal people.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, but the ones I saw were all C-rank or D-rank. Stronger than regular folks, tougher too, but that’s about it. None of them could float objects around like that Kwon I-young guy.”

“…….”

Hee-beom gave a short nod. An unreadable affirmation.

Seong-jin, sensing an opportunity, smirked and leaned in.

“What about you? You saw Kwon I-young up close. The guys and girls are all losing their minds over how cool he is. Is he really that impressive? Like—oh? Does he have a different aura? Does he shine or something?”

“…….”

“Why aren’t you answering? How was it?”

“…….”

Hee-beom didn’t respond easily. He bit down on his lower lip before releasing it and stared blankly at the black frying pan in front of him. The empty pan didn’t look like a pan at all. Meaning… he wasn’t even sure himself.

After a long silence, he finally spoke in a low voice.

“It was scary.”

Seong-jin’s eyebrows shot up at the unexpected answer. The bandana on his head shifted slightly with the movement.

“Huh?”

But Hee-beom didn’t say anything more. Instead, he gathered his empty dishes, stood up, and gave a slight bow.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“…….”

Seong-jin watched, dumbfounded, as Hee-beom disappeared into the kitchen.