OMH Chapter 31

Oh My Hero – Episode 31

31. The S-grades I Ended Up Raising (12)

Knock knock.

Opening the door to the Guide Bureau Director’s office, I saw the Director standing in the middle of the room.

Behind her, a fancy mother-of-pearl nameplate that read “Kim Hana, Director of the Korean Branch of the Guide Bureau” reflected the fluorescent lights.

Kim Hana, who had been reading documents, looked up at us when she heard us enter.

“Did you all eat well? First, have a seat over here.”

Kim Hana gestured with her chin towards the sofa in front of her.

Sitting across from us, Kim Hana placed the documents she had been reading on the table and clasped her hands together. The documents were personal identification papers, and their contents were obviously related to Cha Woojin.

“So, I see he’s still a person with a weakened mind and body. It hasn’t even been a week since he was discharged from the Medical Bureau.”

The Guide Bureau Director sat on the sofa, leaned back against the backrest, and scanned Woojin with arrogant eyes.

I felt sorry to see Woojin tense up like a chick that had been rained on under that gaze, so I held his hand tightly. The heartless Guide Bureau Director Kim Hana didn’t seem to care at all and opened her mouth again to assess Woojin.

“Looking at him, his frame is good. His build is decent too. If he recovers well, we could use him in a project we’re planning. But you see…”

Then, she prepared to say something that would make him nervous again.

“I think this is the biggest problem.”

As Kim Hana said those words, she pressed her index finger against Woojin’s forehead.

Thanks to that, a tension and silence settled that couldn’t even compare to what had come before.

Kim Hana nonchalantly cut through that and delivered what she had to say.

“His body will recover quickly, I’m sure. But this is the problem. If you’re going to use someone, isn’t it most important what kind of mentality that person has? You never know when or how someone might change, right?”

The Guide Bureau Director pressed down on Woojin’s forehead with her finger, then sat back on the sofa again, leaning back and folding her arms.

I wanted to flip everything over, director or not, but I had to hold back.

If I didn’t want to get shot by the gun at the director’s side, that is.

The Guide Bureau Director was famous for being quick to order executions.

Well, I wouldn’t mind being used as the director’s target for target practice, but Woojin wouldn’t be able to handle that.

So, I had to endure the director’s nonsense for now.

“Besides, he’s skipping the entire week-long basic training. He’s rotten from the start. If he’s like this from the beginning, what won’t he do later? Right? I usually just send these yellow sprouts to the Research Center. Should I do that for you too? Do you want to live like a lab rat being raised?”

Kim Hana, like a wicked witch, suddenly stood up, stroked Woojin’s chin, and smiled.

Seeing Woojin, who was so frightened that he had turned as white as a sheet of paper, I couldn’t take it anymore.

I jumped up and blocked Kim Hana.

“Please stop! What did Woojin do so wrong!”

The aides and security personnel who were in the director’s office with her immediately pointed their guns at me. Whether they shot me with live ammunition or electric bullets, I had to say what I needed to say.

“He just came to see me. Like you said, Director, he just got here, so how would he know anything? And he might be thinking about leaving because he’s not used to it! How many people here haven’t had that thought?”

“What gives you the right to interfere in the Guide Bureau’s affairs? Brat, I let you observe because you were acting like his guardian, and now you’re climbing all over me? And you, you chose your words well. Everyone thinks about it, but not many people act on it. But that guy over there, seeing an opportunity as soon as he arrives, he must be quite something!”

“No! I called him! He seemed to be having a hard time adjusting, so I called him to where I am!”

I could sense that the Guide Bureau Director’s mood was not good, so I just started making things up and insisting.

Director Kim really hates it when variables arise in her work.

Woojin skipping class must have really displeased her.

If things continued like this, he’d be headed to the Research Center.

If he was sent there, he would be guided day and night according to the researchers’ instructions, with unpleasant machines dangling all over him in a place where everyone could see. I had to prevent that at all costs.

“All he has to do is not run away, right? And follow the Association’s instructions well. He’s just not thinking straight right now. He’s a person with a weakened mind and body. I’ll take good care of him. Okay?”

Kim Hana put her fist to her mouth and pondered for a moment. That’s a good sign. I was relieved that I seemed to have overcome a crisis.

I turned to Woojin and saw him looking at me with a bewildered expression.

‘See? Why are you scaring a kid who doesn’t even know how things work?’

Woojin’s bewildered face was as cute as a puppy seeing falling snowflakes for the first time. Kim Hana, who was watching me admire Woojin, said,

“Then I’ll take it that you’ll be keeping a close watch on him.”

Kim Hana received a document from her secretary and immediately scribbled something on it.

Then, she handed a document to me and Woojin and said,

“Sign this. It’s an agreement for the Esper and Guide to live together.”

*

Kim Hana ordered me to keep a close watch on Woojin and changed all of Woojin’s living arrangements to match mine.

The first and most noticeable change that was decided was related to Woojin’s accommodations.

Guides usually live in the Guide Facility building connected to the Research Center.

The Association doesn’t prevent Guides from going outside the facility, but few Guides go outside the facility.

Moreover, I heard that the inside of the facility has all sorts of amenities, from dormitories and restaurants to exercise facilities, so there are no inconveniences for Guides to live there.

The Association put all the amenities in a building that no one can enter to protect the Guides’ lives, but the Guide Bureau Director herself is averse to the Guide Facility itself.

According to Director Kim, this would only become a policy of confining Guides.

Anyway, the Guide Bureau Director is quite favorable towards Guides living outside the facility.

Thanks to that, Woojin was able to leave the Guide Facility immediately.

We moved to the Guide Facility to take out Woojin’s belongings.

However, the Guide Facility’s dormitories, where about 3-4 people share a room, can only be entered by Guides and healing-type Espers dedicated to the facility.

So, Woojin, Cha Wooreen, and I couldn’t follow Woojin to pack his belongings.

We had no choice but to stand in front of the facility entrance passage and wait anxiously for Woojin to come out.

At the end of our wait, the door opened and Woojin came out.

There was a stranger with Woojin. I didn’t know who that person was, but Wooreen and I welcomed Woojin, who had finally come out.

“Oppa!”

However, Wooreen, who immediately ran to hug him, was faster than me.

This is something I can’t help. I can’t push aside a 6-year-old child and stand in front of Woojin, right?

Wooreen, who was full of aegyo today, grabbed her brother’s pants and hugged him tightly.

Because she was a child and short, the top of her head reached Woojin’s thigh. The affectionate Woojin held onto his pants, which were slipping down because of Cha Wooreen, with one hand and hugged Wooreen with his free hand.

The man standing next to Woojin interrupted the heartwarming reunion of siblings with a dry cough.

The man who destroyed the atmosphere looked at Woojin and said,

“Can I give the luggage to this person here?”

While Woojin was answering yes, I took the bag that the man handed me.

The bag contained the clothes I had bought for Woojin.

Woojin told me that this person was his roommate in the dormitory where he had stayed.

The man said that he helped Woojin because he looked like he was having a hard time carrying his luggage.

Also, that man told me that Woojin only had one bag of clothes as luggage. We thanked the man who moved the luggage and parted ways.

Woojin left the Guide Facility after spending only two days there.

*

Woojin’s new accommodation that we are moving to is my room.

Although there is only one bed, it will be livable since I can sleep on the sofa.

From morning, I took Woojin and Wooreen to the Audit Bureau, then to the Esper Bureau, then to the Guide Bureau, and then to the Guide Facility, before finally returning to my room.

At the moment we finally arrived in front of the door, the door to my next-door neighbor opened.

It was my next-door neighbor, Kim Sanghyuk.

Kim Sanghyuk greeted us as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Wow, everyone, hello! It looks like Woojin is visiting the Esper dormitory today. Wooreen must be happy~”

In response to Kim Sanghyuk’s greeting, Wooreen, who is a polite child, greeted him.

“Hello. Uh, uh…”

Wooreen, who is still 6 years old, couldn’t seem to find a suitable title for her next-door neighbor.

I kindly told Wooreen, who was in a difficult situation, what title she could use for Kim Sanghyuk.

“You can call him ‘Sanghyuk Uncle’, Wooreen. Say ‘Kim Sanghyuk Uncle~’.”

“Why am I the only one who’s an uncle? I’m the same age as her brother. Tell her to call me ‘Oppa’ too.”

“You can’t because your face value is different.”

While Kim Sanghyuk was making unreasonable demands and bickering, Woojin seemed to sense something strange.

Woojin, who looked slightly serious, asked Kim Sanghyuk a question.

“How do you know my age? I don’t think I’ve ever told you.”

“Ah~ That’s because when Woojin first came to the Association, we checked everything. Woojin is originally a citizen of South Korea, so his identity is all registered with the country. If you take his fingerprint and run it, all the information comes out~ Everything from his age of 26 to his birthday on March 20th comes out.”

Kim Sanghyuk excitedly chattered away, not caring that Woojin’s face was gradually hardening and turning white with each sentence he uttered.

‘I can accept memorizing his age, but why did he memorize his birthday too?’

Kim Sanghyuk’s creepiness has been upgraded to a new level today.

Woojin, unable to bear it, seemed to have something to say and tried to open his mouth. But that Sanghyuk quickly shut Woojin’s mouth.

“Should we talk about important things inside? It’s dangerous to say it out loud. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, there are many listening ears~”

Kim Sanghyuk spat out those words, and with Woojin’s mouth still shut, dragged him into his dormitory.

I held Wooreen and the bag of clothes as they were and followed Kim Sanghyuk inside.

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