Deal Breaker - Chapter 102
It happened back when Kanghyeon was deployed on a mission in the operation zone and Hyeji was waiting at the rear command center.
An Esper urgently needed guiding, but the Guide who had come with him had stepped away, so they asked if Hyeji could do it instead. Of course, that person didn’t know she was only capable of contact-type guiding and asked for radiative guiding, but Hyeji was an F-Class who couldn’t even catch a wave.
He looked desperate, so she at least held his hand. She didn’t know how high their matching rate was, but maybe thanks to contact-type guiding being S-Class for her, there was an effect. She had thought it was a relief.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?”
Right up until Kanghyeon returned and witnessed Hyeji holding another Esper’s hand.
That was the first time she learned this man could make such a ferocious expression. And back then, since she was deeply mired in unrequited love, her heart had even raced.
‘Could it be the Director likes me too?’
“Noh Hyeji, did you forget the contract? You’re my exclusive Guide.”
When she realized he was angry purely over a contract violation, it completely took the wind out of her sails.
“That incident is exactly why I was able to end my crush. How could I forget?”
“…What?”
Shock rippled through Kanghyeon’s eyes like an earthquake. He soon dragged a hand roughly down his face, heedless of how precious it was, and let out a sigh.
“I know. I went too far… But I apologized that very day.”
Honestly, the contract violation had just been an excuse. Even Kanghyeon couldn’t understand why, when he saw Hyeji sitting there holding another bastard’s hand, he had, in crude terms, completely lost it. The conclusion he reached after thinking it through was, ‘I’ve started feeling an abnormal sense of possessiveness toward my Guide.’
That was why he apologized.
“What happened earlier today was on me, and Secretary Noh, you did nothing wrong. As soon as we’re back in Korea, I’ll add a clause to the contract stating that in emergencies, you’re allowed to provide guiding to other Espers. But if it’s a situation or method you don’t want, refuse it. Don’t forget. In any situation, in front of any Esper, you’re the one in control.”
Adding advice that was very much like Han Kanghyeon.
‘Ah… so this man really has no feelings for me at all.’
Because she felt that so painfully clearly, Hyeji was able to start sorting out her feelings.
“So I was actually grateful.”
“I’m not grateful at all. Isn’t Han Kanghyeon an idiot?”
He seemed regretful that because of that, their feelings had crossed and they’d missed their timing, but Hyeji didn’t feel that way at all.
“If I hadn’t given up on my crush, we would’ve ended up in an awkward relationship.”
He was the kind of man who would have politely kept his distance if he’d realized Hyeji’s feelings before recognizing his own.
“I think it worked out better because now is the right time.”
“I guess so… You, who had been meticulous about contraception for six years, ended up having Saebyeok, and I, who came back safe no matter what dangerous place I went to, got kidnapped. Fate really tied us together.”
He pushed his cringe worthy fate theory again. Instead of proving she was still hopelessly inexperienced, Hyeji smiled faintly. Then she thought of another path that sometimes crossed her mind.
“If you hadn’t gone to Libya and never realized your feelings, and then you found out I was pregnant, what do you think would’ve happened to us?”
“Hmm… Wouldn’t I have proposed to you?”
“Because of that awful sense of responsibility?”
“Even if it looked that way on the outside, back then I already loved you on the inside. So I would’ve realized it eventually.”
“I probably would’ve refused, saying I didn’t want to become a burden you had to take responsibility for.”
“Wow… I guess almost dying after being kidnapped was actually a good thing. I’m suddenly grateful to the terrorists.”
Unbelievable. Hyeji couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Thanks to that, we get to lie here holding hands and even go on our honeymoon together.”
After that, they cuddled and fell asleep holding hands, even though guiding wasn’t necessary. Because holding hands was no longer just for guiding.
When they woke up, the chief attendant and even the captain crowded over and bowed repeatedly to Kanghyeon.
“Thank you very much for your tremendous help with the in-flight emergency. Thanks to you, we were able to operate without incident. And we sincerely apologize for causing inconvenience on your once in a lifetime honeymoon.”
After that, they showered them with lavish treatment, as if they were first class passengers that didn’t even exist on that flight, and when it was time to disembark, they even saw them off, saying they would ensure an even more comfortable experience next time.
The man who valued propriety smiled and accepted their greetings, but the moment they stepped out onto the jet bridge, his expression hardened.
“As if I’d ever fly this airline again.”
From the moment he’d had to rush through his marriage ‘first night’ as emergency guiding in an airplane bathroom because of an airline with inadequate anti-terrorism response, his regular airline had effectively changed.
