As expected, when I looked around, the place was filled with young couples gazing lovingly at each other, despite it being an awkward, early hour for dinner.
Among them was a couple who seemed desperate to feed each other fruit jelly.
‘Wow, that fruit jelly looks so delicious… No, get a grip, Kim Wonwoo!’
To come to a place like this alone with Jinho.
It felt like I could hear whispers from somewhere, ‘Look over there, two guys came together! Oh my god, isn't that Esper Han Jinho?’ Would it have been a little better if three guys had come instead of two?… Or not. If Yonghyun were here, would it have caused a huge commotion, like ‘Two S-class Espers?!’
But even so, three guys would have been better than two. Wonwoo missed Yonghyun. Even though it hadn't even been a day since they met, he wanted to take out the business card he had just received, call him right away, and ask when he was coming.
However, that thought changed when an employee handed him a menu with a very careful and disciplined posture.
‘The problem isn’t that two guys came here. We, we need to get out of here!!!’
The menu was filled with the words "Price: Ask the sommelier" and "Chef's recommendation" instead of prices and numbers. The few numbers that were written were so staggering that Wonwoo’s hands trembled as he thought to himself, ‘Did I read that wrong?’
‘H-h-how can I eat at a place like this? If I eat my fill here, it would easily cost more than my entire monthly living expenses…?’
The most expensive meal Wonwoo had ever eaten was Korean beef sirloin, which he got when a senior student said, "I don't have time because I'm working now... I'll buy you a meal instead, so can you put my name on the group project?" Even then, he couldn’t eat comfortably because he was worried about the senior’s wallet and felt self-conscious.
Wonwoo swallowed dryly.
"Ah, perhaps there isn't a menu item you like?"
"Ah, n-no. No? That's... that's not it.... I'm really not a picky eater. I like everything."
Wonwoo's eyes darted around as he tried to calculate how much money was in his bank account. Splitting the bill? Could he even pay for a third of it…?
"If you're having trouble choosing a menu, how about the recommended course?"
"The recommended course?"
Wonwoo scanned the menu, found the word ‘Recommended,’ and had to doubt his eyes once again.
‘It’s insanely expensive!!’
"Um, if it's alright with you, I'll pay for the meal."
"Ah, um... that...."
Wonwoo felt a sense of shame, as if his financial situation and his shock at the menu prices had been exposed.
‘Right, just nod your head!’ Reason screamed, hugging Wonwoo’s bank account. ‘But how can a person shamelessly nod right away!’ The last shred of conscience in Wonwoo’s heart cried out, sobbing.
Reason shouted back at that conscience once more. ‘But he's an S-class Esper! He must make a lot of money! To an S-class, this is probably the price of a simple soup and rice!’ At reason’s cry, conscience had nothing left to say.
"It's okay, I have a lot of money!"
Because the person in question had shouted it himself.
Heard the wrong way, it was a statement that could make the speaker sound incredibly arrogant, but hearing it while looking at a harmless, bright smile that resembled cherry blossoms made one nod and think, 'I see!'
-Bbirong bbirong!
[User ‘Wonwoo’ doesn’t know….]
[Just one dispatch mission for an S-class Esper costs □■□■….]
[This number cannot be retrieved as it is classified information of the Bureau.]
[■□■□… Anyway, he earns more than what user ‘Wonwoo’ would spend lazing around for half a century! ( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`)]
...Wow, I'm jealous. No one had challenged me to a competition, and it wasn't something to be won or lost, but I felt like I had lost anyway.
[But don't worry! (o゜▽゜)o☆]
[Because there’s a path to hitting it big with a startup! A life-changing reversal, the path of entrepreneurship!]
[This SYSTEM will be with user ‘Wonwoo’ on his journey! ( •̀ω•́)✧]
Wonwoo turned off his phone screen without a second thought.
As the saying goes, the words you should never trust are "co-sign my loan" and "let's start a business together." The first time he received a message about starting a business as a GUIDE, he was too out of it to pay attention, but thinking about it again, the startup proposal was just as absurd as he’d initially thought.
Perhaps misinterpreting Wonwoo’s silence while he was looking at the system as something negative, Jinho spoke up, slightly flustered.
"Ah, no. Hyung, I mean. It's... it's not bragging, I just meant you shouldn't feel too burdened, so...!"
"No, it's... I was just so, so grateful. I was so moved I was at a loss for words...."
Wonwoo decided to accept Jinho’s kindness.
‘Right, just like how I buy my juniors boiled pork and rice soup. To Jinho, this is like that soup and rice....’
When someone offers a kindness and says it's okay, it's polite to accept it with a happy heart. No, in fact, worrying about the finances of someone who earns a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times more than him was, even by his own standards, an incredibly unproductive thing to do. It was better to use that time to exchange a word or two with the system and plan for the future.
When he was treated to the beef sirloin, he felt self-conscious because the other project members were not just eating wildly but also drinking heavily, but it was different now. Wonwoo decided to be a little more relaxed.
At first, he was restless, thinking, ‘Is it okay for me to fill my stomach with something this expensive?’
But the moment the course began and he put the food in his mouth, all his worries became futile, and the last shred of conscience that had been screaming, ‘You still can’t just eat it!’ was swept away. The food was too tender, melting gently in his mouth, and his hungry stomach clouded his judgment.
And so, Wonwoo enjoyed a spectacular course meal.
‘When something is truly delicious, you’re left speechless….’
It felt as though a snow crab was still waltzing in his mouth with basil, drizzled with olive oil, twirling pasta strands against a seaside backdrop. He could feel flavorful white wine splashing with every rhythmic move of the crab and basil, and he found himself smacking his lips, chasing that movement. Wonwoo shed a tear at this first-ever experience of sublime cuisine.
‘I can’t go to the pasta place in front of my university anymore….’
"Was it to your liking?"
"Gasp, yes. Of course! It was incredibly delicious."
Then, suddenly, Wonwoo felt like he had forgotten something very important.
‘Ah, right. Chief Shin…!’
Yonghyun hadn't arrived by the time Wonwoo and Jinho had finished their meal and ordered crème brûlée, panna cotta, and jelly with heaps of fresh fruit for dessert.
‘How could I be so distracted by delicious food that I forgot about the Chief…!’
"Um, speaking of which, Jinho-ssi. Chief Shin Yonghyun is...."
"Ah, the Chief contacted me earlier, but I forgot to tell you.... It seems like his work isn't wrapping up as smoothly as he thought. He said we should go ahead and eat first. He'll contact us when he's done."
Hearing Jinho's words, Wonwoo checked his own phone. Just as Jinho said, there was a message from him, too, telling him to eat first.
Is it okay to be eating something this delicious while someone is working so hard? Wonwoo felt uneasy. Noticing Wonwoo’s discomfort, Jinho spoke in a bright voice.
"Hyung, should we order more ade? Or how about a latte? They have milk tea, too. The drinks here are also amazing."
"Oh, really? Um... then since I have dessert, I'll have a latte."
There was still a lot of dessert left to put down his spoon and fork to wait for Yonghyun. The fruit jelly that the couple had been making a fuss about feeding each other a while ago was so springy that it made him wonder why they hadn't just eaten it right away, and the sweetness of the fruit melted wonderfully in his mouth.
In the face of such exquisite cuisine, worries about the place feeling like a date spot, getting roped into the Bureau, going freelance, starting a business, or whether Chief Shin Yonghyun would even arrive today all became meaningless.
And Jinho, not missing a single one of Wonwoo's reactions, kept placing additional orders. When only a spoonful or two of jelly and panna cotta remained, he would unfailingly call an employee to order more, and he made sure Wonwoo's ade glass was never empty.
The moment Wonwoo realized that Jinho was taking care of him like this was right after he had emptied his twelfth dessert plate. Only then did Wonwoo quietly put down his spoon, place his hands neatly on his lap, and have a moment of self-reflection.
"Are you all done?"
"Uh, yes. Yes...."
Of course, he could have eaten more, but the swept-away shred of conscience had somehow returned and started shouting, ‘If you have any shame, you should stop eating!’ It was already too late, but after his self-reflection, Wonwoo decided to follow his conscience.
"Then, shall we talk while we wait for the Chief? To be honest, I wanted to take advantage of the Chief not being here to say, ‘The great things about being a freelancer! Let’s work together!’… but I thought that might be too burdensome for you, Wonwoo-hyung."
"Oh, shall we? I'd be happy to."
Wonwoo, who had been tense wondering if they had to talk about work right after the meal and if he had to decide his future right here, was able to relax at Jinho's words.
Although there was the condition "until Chief Yonghyun arrives," with his stomach full from a delicious meal, Wonwoo wanted to spend some time more leisurely, even if just for a little while. As Jinho suggested, it would be nice to chat with him and get some information about S-class Espers.
"Wonwoo-hyung, do you believe in destiny?"
"...Huh? Yes?"
But at Jinho's next words, Wonwoo almost blurted out, ‘Shall we just talk about work instead? So, where were we, joining the Bureau or a freelance partnership?’
Destiny, so suddenly? He wondered if it was some kind of slang among Espers. The question reminded him of being asked, "Do you believe in God?" and Jinho needlessly scratched his cheek.
"Well, I... I don't know. I've never really thought about it. What about you, Jinho-ssi?"
"I believe in destiny. Strongly. And I think my destiny is you, Wonwoo-hyung."
"...What?"
Whether the timing was good or bad, a waiter approached, excused himself, and refilled their empty glasses with water. As soon as the glass was full, Wonwoo gulped it down.
‘…When is the Chief coming? Should I try contacting him?’
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