Episode 1
“Seo Ijae.”
“Yes.”
“You applied for the Seongun Group’s special Guide recruitment, correct?”
“…Yes.”
“Then why did you not attend the pair matching test?”
Lee Goeun looked the bear-like man sitting before her, lips pressed firmly shut, up and down and asked.
Unkempt hair that made one wonder when he had last set foot in a salon. Black horn-rimmed glasses with frames so thick they seemed to hide half his face. He looked a couple of heads taller than her, yet his posture was so hunched one had to wonder why.
‘At that size, eighty-one kilograms? No, his clothes are loose, so maybe the seventy-six-kilogram class…’
Squinting, Goeun gauged Seo Ijae’s physique through his clothes. His frame wasn’t bad. It was just that his somewhat baggy outfit made him look a bit skinny.
‘By the way, why does it smell so delicious…’
“Excuse me.”
“Ah.”
Startled by Seo Ijae’s voice, Goeun hurriedly snatched her hand back. She had been staring blankly and, without realizing it, had placed her own hand over the back of Ijae’s.
‘I took my medicine before coming, and this still happens.’
Today, expecting a long schedule, she had deliberately taken double her usual dose of sedatives and suppressants, yet she still couldn’t pull herself together. At first, she had thought it was the scent of desserts from the café, but the sweet fragrance was coming from Seo Ijae.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I have a habit of guessing someone’s weight class the moment I see them…”
“Weight class?”
“Do you not exercise by any chance?”
Ijae furrowed his brow at Goeun’s words. Had the Seongun Group’s special Guide recruitment requirements included weight class? No, why would they divide weight classes to hire Guides in the first place? It wasn’t as if they were doing martial arts. If anything, weight class was something that mattered for Espers, not Guides.
“No, I don’t.”
“Why? You look like you have a good body. And you’re tall.”
“I don’t have time.”
“What a waste. Taereung is missing out on talent like this.”
She wanted to concentrate on what Ijae was saying, but truthfully, the situation made that rather difficult. Goeun, who had been looking at Ijae’s body and wondering why he didn’t exercise, couldn’t hide her shock at his outfit that caught her eye next. She had been so utterly captivated by Seo Ijae’s energy that only now did she notice the state of his attire. No matter how much Goeun cared only about exercise and had no interest in fashion, she wasn’t at Seo Ijae’s level.
Seo Ijae was wearing a red, fine-plaid dress shirt that Goeun had never once given a second glance in her life. Seeing the checkered shirt, Goeun finally took in Seo Ijae’s overall appearance. He truly looked as though he had jumped straight out of a comic—not the handsome male lead of a romance comic, but a stereotypical, hardcore engineering student… no, a nerd.
But there was something even more shocking.
‘Whoa… is that a tattoo?’
For a moment, Goeun thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. His sorry excuse for an outfit was the spitting image of an engineering student, yet a long English-lettering tattoo stretched down from beneath Seo Ijae’s right ear. What kind of combination was that?
“I truly apologize for failing to attend the matching test without notice… Excuse me.”
“Ah, sorry. Ah, yes. You said you were sorry.”
This time, she was so absorbed by the tattoo that she didn’t even hear what Ijae was saying. Goeun hurriedly straightened her posture and stared intently at him. His eyes, visible beyond the lenses, seemed to glance up at her briefly before sinking right back down to the floor.
“An unavoidable circumstance arose, so I couldn’t attend.”
“What circumstance?”
“It’s a personal matter. Must I speak of it?”
No, there was no need. Goeun nodded.
He looked like a model student who would listen well to his teacher, but he seemed to be a man with surprisingly firm convictions. As expected, that tattoo wasn’t there for nothing, Goeun told herself.
“Alright. Then I’ll skip the small talk and get straight to the point, Seo Ijae.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s take the pair matching test right away.”
The longer Ijae’s silence lasted, the more Goeun burned with anxiety inside.
‘What are you thinking about to hesitate like this? Hurry up and say yes. And take my hand right now and go to the center. Go and take the matching test immediately!’
Goeun felt like a swan at that moment. A swan that elegantly sipped its iced americano above water, pretending nothing was wrong, while paddling its feet like crazy beneath the surface.
It didn’t show on the outside, but Goeun was so anxious and filled with unease that she felt like she was going mad and bouncing off the walls. She felt like screaming right then and there in the café.
“You want me… to take the matching test right away?”
It was a voice drenched in fatigue. The deep, cave-like bass emanating from within was quite sharp. No, perhaps it was better to say it was bristling.
Surprised by his slightly irritated tone, Goeun opened her eyes wide. His large, lumbering frame looked just like a bear, yet his attitude toward Goeun somehow felt like that of a sensitive cat.
“Surely ‘right away’ doesn’t mean today?”
“Why wouldn’t it? I do mean today.”
“Is this how all big corporations operate?”
“…Excuse me?”
Goeun was incredibly flustered. Seo Ijae’s reaction had not been part of her plan. Until yesterday evening, she had only thought about meeting Seo Ijae, immediately taking the matching test, and checking the matching rate; she hadn’t anticipated him getting angry like this.
“I mean pushing someone to take a matching test without any regard for their schedule.”
“Uh, um… that’s…”
“It’s nothing. I spoke out of turn.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
Surprised that someone who had been bristling with sensitivity just moments ago was suddenly showing a softened attitude, Goeun echoed back. Wondering if it was a refusal, she anxiously scratched beneath her thumbnail. Ijae silently looked down at her hand and let out a deep sigh.
“Since I cannot take that matching test, it would be best for you to return now.”
“What? Why, why?”
Goeun leaned forward sharply and asked. Startled by Goeun’s abrupt action of suddenly thrusting her face toward him, Ijae flinched and shrank back.
Because of that, the chair Ijae was sitting on screeched against the floor. At the unpleasant noise that suddenly rang out, the surrounding customers’ attention naturally gathered on them.
“My part-time job shift starts soon.”
“Par… time, what? A part-time job? Again?”
Wow, I’m seriously going to go mad!
In the end, Goeun shot up from her seat. The empty chair was roughly pushed back before toppling over with a loud clatter. Now, everyone in the café was looking at the two and muttering.
“Hey, isn’t that Seo Ijae?”
“Seo Ijae?”
“Why, the part-time king of the engineering department.”
“Oh, that loser?”
Among the café customers, whispers were heard from a group who recognized Ijae. They alternated glances between Goeun and Ijae, chattering amongst themselves.
“I didn’t know a major corporation like Seongun Group would personally seek out an applicant who missed the exam. I apologize for causing unnecessary trouble.”
“Hey, Seo Ijae. Where are you going? I’m not done talking yet!”
As Ijae, having quickly gathered his bag, stood up from his seat, Goeun grabbed the hem of his gaudy checkered shirt in her haste.
“Let go of thi—”
Ijae turned his head with surprised eyes. It wasn’t because Goeun had suddenly grabbed him. The strength of Goeun, who was much smaller and skinnier than him, was truly enormous. He actually wondered where such grip strength could come from that small physique.
“I… I can’t let you go like this, Seo Ijae.”
This was Seo Ijae she had found with great difficulty. She couldn’t send him away empty-handed like this. She had to get him to take the matching test. Otherwise, Goeun felt she would be so resentful of her efforts that she wouldn’t be able to sleep for days.
Moreover, there was the sense of stability she felt from Seo Ijae. From the moment she met him until now, it felt as though her churning stomach was settling down. The air surrounding Seo Ijae was unusually comfortable. So Seo Ijae absolutely had to take the matching test.
“Please let go.”
“Ah, no.”
“At this rate, I’ll really be late for my part-time job.”
Damn part-time job, part-time job! I’m literally dying here, and you’re worried about a part-time job! You’re just an extra whose name was never even mentioned in the novel, so why do you work so many part-time jobs!
Goeun swallowed the words that had risen to her throat and forced an awkward smile. Bear it. She had to endure.
“What’s the hourly wage for that part-time job?”
“What? Why would you…”
“It’s minimum wage, right? Nine thousand won? Ten thousand?”
“It is, but…”
“One hundred thousand won!”
Ijae, who had been trying to overcome Goeun’s grip and lean toward the exit, froze dead in his tracks.
Nice!
Seeing this, a smile finally tugged at Goeun’s lips.
“If you take the matching test, I’ll give you one hundred thousand won!”
“What?”
“Is it too little? Then two, two hundred thousand won!”
It was insane inflation. Goeun looked up at Ijae with desperate eyes. Ijae’s eyes, visible beyond his high-prescription lenses, shook violently.
“What exactly are you trying to do with me right now…”
“Ah, come on! Then three!”
“I’ve had this part-time job for over half a year. If I don’t show up, the owner will be in trouble, and it’s a time when it’s hard to find a replacement…”
He sure was a man with a tremendous sense of responsibility.
Goeun gave Ijae full marks for responsibility.
“Where is the store?”
“It’s Nice Chicken at that intersection, but why would you ask…”
“Then what if I cover that store’s entire daily revenue and let it close for the day?”
“What?”
Money wasn’t the problem right now. She had to do everything she could. She had begged her grandmother to open a special Guide recruitment just to find her pair Guide. Compared to that, a chicken restaurant’s daily sales were hardly enough to make her fingertips tremble.
“…May I ask just one thing?”
“Anything. Everything is fine. What are you curious about?”
Goeun was desperate. Please, let Seo Ijae accept the matching test. And quickly save her life, which didn’t have much left.
“What on earth is your reason for going this far for me?”