Deal Breaker - Chapter 66
“Ah.”
The temporary Guide was a man. It was embarrassing to ask an unfamiliar man to undo it. Come to think of it, she hadn’t even registered the temporary Guide’s DNA in the suppressor, so he wouldn’t have been able to remove it anyway. The principle was to put it back on after removing it on site and using one’s abilities only when necessary, but there were exceptions when a dedicated Guide was absent.
“Yes.”
The moment Hyeji replied, Kanghyeon pulled the car over into a reasonably secluded spot in the parking garage. He tugged the waistband of his training pants down, and while Hyeji slid her hand into the gap to undo the suppressor, Kanghyeon kept his gaze fixed on the opposite side from her the entire time.
Even between people who knew each other, doing this after things had become awkward was embarrassing.
“All done, sir.”
Even the familiar polite “sir” ending felt awkward now. After Hyeji placed the suppressor into the storage space behind the gear, Kanghyeon started driving again. The car came to a stop in front of the elevator hall of the building where Hyeji lived. She reached for the car door, about to say they would see each other later, when words came as if he had read her mind.
“You don’t have to go out of your way to come see me off at the airport during the day. Your vacation starts today.”
A line was drawn between them again.
Right, of course. This man was regretting it too.
“I hope your grandmother’s surgery goes smoothly and that she recovers quickly. Contact me if anything comes up.”
“Yes, sir. Have a safe trip.”
Only after getting into the elevator did Hyeji stare at the departing car until it disappeared. It was a relief that she wouldn’t have to see his face for a while.
The operation period was scheduled for up to one week. In a week, last night would become something that never happened.
* * *
In a shabby lodging in a desert city in southwestern Libya, Kanghyeon opened his eyes. It was his third morning in Libya.
The local staff at the lodging thought the foreigners staying there were businessmen and a group of bodyguards, but in reality, they were soldiers under NATO command leading this operation and mercenaries from the International Esper-Guide Center. The team Kanghyeon belonged to was in charge of intelligence gathering for this mission.
Having stayed up all night finishing interrogations of related witnesses and the culprit, they sat down at the breakfast table waiting only for instructions from command, their expressions bright. However, the moment the food arrived, most of them looked as if they were about to die.
A thick stew with lamb and chickpeas, couscous, and a strange porridge of an unidentifiable color.
Kanghyeon’s temporary Guide, who was French, quietly spat out a curse. As he forcibly shoveled the food into his mouth, his face looked exactly like someone eating garbage. Libyan local food didn’t suit Kanghyeon’s palate either, but he ate mechanically. Being picky about meals during an operation was a luxury.
Come to think of it, Noh Hyeji had never complained about food when she came along on operations.
There were countless reasons why Hyeji was a good Guide, but one of them was her uncomplaining steadiness, even in operation zones that exhausted both body and mind.
She even ate my share without batting an eye…
As soon as his thoughts shifted back to that night, Kanghyeon put down his spoon. He stood up and went out to the balcony, putting a cigarette between his lips.
Noh Hyeji, you weren’t in your right mind. Of course, thinking about what I did right after that, I was neither more nor less than completely insane.
Kanghyeon took out the cheap prepaid phone he had bought for local use and checked it. There were no new messages. The message thread with Hyeji contained only four texts. One message saying he had arrived safely, one asking whether her grandmother’s surgery had gone well. That was all, along with Hyeji’s brief replies to each.
Noh Hyeji wasn’t the type to contact first.
Kanghyeon let out a dry chuckle with the cigarette still in his mouth.
Not the type to contact first. If it wasn’t about work, there was no reason for Hyeji to contact him in the first place, so it was ridiculous to think that way while looking at her short replies. On top of that, she had always been the type to give brief answers, so worrying about it now was even more ridiculous. Though there were reasons for it.
No matter how much guiding brought beast-like instincts to the forefront, he had never shown all of his ugliest depths until now.
Moments from that night passed before his eyes one by one, in chronological order. Then even what happened after he woke up at dawn. The image of Hyeji putting her torn bra back on was agony every time it surfaced.
Han Kanghyeon, why did you do that.
On top of that, he had left without keeping his promise to buy her a new one. He couldn’t very well ask his secretary to do it when Hyeji herself was that secretary. Buying it for her himself would also be absurd. If he didn’t buy it, he would be a bad guy, but if he just gave her money and told her to buy whatever she wanted, that felt even worse.
She isn’t angry at me, or disappointed, right?
As a Guide, she was someone he needed to be wary of, but as a human being named Noh Hyeji, he liked her. That was why he had wavered between familiarity and caution with Hyeji. Now, he didn’t know where this relationship stood.
