Churu for the Angry Guide

27

To make an excuse in advance, I didn’t take it with the intention of selling the gold.

Although selling it would greatly help with the tight finances, Siwoo wasn’t that unscrupulous. Is that something a cat would do? Maybe a human, but not a cat.

“Ahem.”

Siwoo narrowed his eyes, looked around, and discreetly took out the collar. He gauged the weight of the quite heavy pendant and hid it in his palm before anyone could see.

He had never properly seen the pendant before.

Because it had been fastened around his neck, he hadn’t been able to see its shape in detail. After that, he was too preoccupied with his cold to check the pendant.

Gulp.

Siwoo swallowed dryly while continuing to scan his surroundings. He hunched his shoulders and peered at the pendant, opening his hand just slightly so only he could see it.

To touch real gold in his lifetime.

“…”

After examining the pendant with curious eyes, Siwoo slowly clenched his fist. The faint expectation that had flickered in his eyes quickly faded.

“That stupid mutt, really…”

Heat began to rise again in his stinging eyes. The letters engraved inside the gold pendant made Siwoo’s heart even heavier.

‘Kang Geonho.’

That guy had boldly engraved his three-syllable name on the pendant. It was indeed foolish.

“My name isn’t Kang Geonho… you dumb idiot.”

Since it was before he had been named, he could have at least left it blank or engraved the guild name. It was laughable that he stupidly engraved his own name on a cat’s collar.

“He could have at least written his phone number.”

Thinking of the fool who must have been excited to engrave his name on a cat’s necklace made his chest feel heavy.

“Instead of making this thing, he should have bought a carrier. The kid has no sense.”

Siwoo grumbled, trying to alleviate the stinging guilt.

Every time he remembered how Geonho had cared for him so deeply, his insides ached. At the same time, the image of his angry face flickered before his eyes, making his heart race.

Siwoo bit his lower lip as he rubbed his face dry. As time passed, he became increasingly fearful of the situation where he might encounter the Baekya Guild.

I should quickly go to the team leader and ask for work.

“Yeah… let’s do that.”

It seemed better to quickly join a new guild and hole up in the guiding room. It would be terrible if he accidentally ran into the Baekya Guild while wandering around.

With a solemn expression, Siwoo stuffed the necklace back into his pocket and picked up his chopsticks.

Let’s eat first. Eat a lot, gather strength… and then run away.

Just as he was about to put a full bite of noodles in his mouth, having made this firm resolution…

“A white cat?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Siwoo dropped his chopsticks. At the same time, he burst into a coughing fit as if he had choked.

“Yeah, just a plain white cat without any markings. What color were the eyes again?”

“Sky blue.”

“Right, they said sky blue.”

Siwoo’s pale face, which was covered as he coughed, turned red. Red soup from the ramen splattered all over his tray.

A group of guides had just taken seats at the table opposite Siwoo and were talking. They looked to be in their early 30s, seemingly with quite some experience.

“Why are they looking for such a cat?”

“How should I know? I guess they lost it, so they’re looking for it.”

One of the guides who shrugged made eye contact with Siwoo. It was because Siwoo was staring at them with a terrified expression.

Siwoo immediately averted his gaze, tightly covering his mouth as coughs erupted.

“Maybe it’s their pet cat, so they’re looking for it.”

“The Baekya Guild with a cat? Doesn’t suit them at all.”

A guide who shook his head snickered, saying a big dog would suit them better.

“You know, there are a lot of rumors that that Kang Geonho esper likes cats.”

“Right. I heard that too. They say he’s often seen carrying cat food around.”

“He’s probably going to eat it himself.”

When Geonho’s name came up, Siwoo’s eyes grew even rounder. He tried his best to suppress his surprised expression and perked up his ears.

The Baekya Guild was looking for Siwoo. They had even been circulating photos for the past week.

“Look at this. Isn’t it pretty? I’ve never seen a cat like this before.”

“Wow, is that not a doll? It is pretty.”

“Let me see.”

The grown adults passed around the cat photo, deeply admiring it.

Even as he heard compliments about his own face, Siwoo only wiped away cold sweat. The more he listened to their conversation, the more his heart, which had calmed down, started to pound again.

“Is that why he’s been in such a bad mood lately, looking for this one? From what I heard, it’s no joke.”

The guide who finished looking at the photo let out a deep sigh. Affected by that sigh, the other guides followed suit, exhaling heavily.

“I heard Kang Geonho esper went crazy yesterday too. They say a maintenance esper had to stop him when he was about to blow up even the espers near the gate.”

“I heard that too. They say he’s in the mood to beat up anyone he catches.”

Siwoo’s pupils shook greatly as he eavesdropped on their conversation. His hand gripping the tray was trembling too.

“What if his levels go up and something happens?”

“Ah, why are you being so anxious? The gate atmosphere is already bad enough these days.”

Their conversation topic shifted from the cat to the gate site. As expected of experienced guides, they seemed to understand the situation in detail, almost as much as the espers.

For Siwoo, the content of their subsequent conversation didn’t register in his ears.

Only the information that the Baekya Guild was looking for him, and especially that Geonho’s condition wasn’t good, stuck in his mind.

“Cough…”

In the end, he left the cafeteria without eating even a single bite of the now cold ramen. He wasn’t in the mood to put food in his mouth.

* * *

Siwoo went straight to find his superior.

After hurriedly buying and taking fever reducer at a convenience store, he headed to the guide team leader’s office. It was to immediately seek work.

“Team Leader!”

Siwoo, who had flung open the door without even knocking, shouted loudly. With his body suffering from a cold and his mind added with urgency, he was in a half-crazed state.

“Give me work! I’ll start right away from today. Assign me to the place furthest from the main building!”

Siwoo abruptly asked the team leader for work. Naturally, the guide team leader had a dumbfounded expression upon hearing this.

“You… Han Siwoo, you…!”

The team leader stammered, pointing at Siwoo. He had an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

“Didn’t you leave the center?”

He seemed to think Siwoo had quit the job altogether. It was understandable, as he had been rejected by several guilds repeatedly.

Unlike espers, guides could freely quit their jobs as there was no risk of going berserk. If they had any other skills besides guiding, they could leave anytime to find a different job.

“I don’t care about anything else, just put me anywhere!”

However, Siwoo’s only skill was guiding. Because of this, he couldn’t bring himself to think about leaving the center.

“As long as it’s far from the main building!”

Siwoo wanted to go to the place farthest from the main building where the Baekya Guild stayed.

Since they were even circulating his photo to search for him, he would surely be caught eventually. To postpone that day as much as possible, he had to run far away no matter what.

He didn’t mind even a lower-ranked guild away from the main building.

“I don’t mind if the pay is low! Hurry—!”

The team leader covered Siwoo’s mouth as he shouted and quickly sat him down on the sofa. Then he even locked the office door. As if trying to hide Siwoo.

“Hey, Han Siwoo.”

He pulled up a chair and sat in front of Siwoo, lowering his voice. He seemed to have guessed what situation Siwoo was in without explanation.

“The cat the Baekya Guild is looking for. It’s you, right?”

He shot a sharp gaze at Siwoo.

Feeling the sting, Siwoo lowered his eyes and only moved his lips. It was as good as an answer.

“I knew you’d cause big trouble someday! But why of all things…!”

The team leader, trailing off, took a deep breath and lowered his voice again.

“What on earth did you do?”

He had expected that this guy would cause a big problem someday. There was no way there wouldn’t be issues when he was always fighting with his assigned espers at every opportunity.

But he never dared to imagine he would get involved with such big shots.

“Right now, the Baekya Guild is turning the whole center upside down because of one cat.”

It seems a separate notice had been issued to guide team leaders. He scanned Siwoo, who had turned pale, and asked what kind of trouble he had caused.

However, the more he asked, the more tightly Siwoo’s lips remained sealed. It was maddening.

“Guide Han Siwoo.”

The team leader, letting out a long sigh, rubbed his tired face.

“Kang Geonho esper has properly lost it now. When that person gets angry, a bloodbath occurs at the gate.”

When he threatened that it was already happening, it had the opposite effect.

“Give me work…”

Siwoo, who had been keeping his mouth shut, mumbled. With an expression that looked like he might burst into tears at any moment.

“I’ll do well. I’ll accommodate everything and even hold hands… Give me work.”

His mumbling voice trembled faintly. Seeing how tightly he clenched both hands, it seemed he was trying his best not to cry.

It was a very unfamiliar sight to the team leader. Until now, no matter how much he scolded him, Siwoo never listened. Seeing him show such a weak side made the team leader’s heart soften a little.

“Well… wait a bit.”

“Right away today. I can start right now.”

“Hey, what can you do in that condition?”

His face, much thinner than two weeks ago, looked very haggard. Although it was mostly covered by a hat and mask, even at a glance he looked quite sick.

“Is it a cold?”

“I’m all better.”

The guy who claimed to be better kept bursting into coughs.

The team leader frowned, pondered something, and then tapped on his tablet PC screen.

“Well… there is one guild that requested a new guide today.”

“As long as it’s not a high-ranking guild, it’s fine.”

Most high-ranking guilds had their guiding rooms in the main building. Siwoo needed to go somewhere far away from the Baekya Guild no matter what.

“From the main building… well, yes. It is far.”

“I’ll go now.”

Siwoo showed great enthusiasm, looking ready to emit guiding energy right then and there. The team leader calmed him down while scratching the back of his head. He seemed to be hesitating about something continuously.

“I can do well. I won’t get kicked out and will work for a long time.”

Siwoo, with reddened eyes wide open, pleaded with the team leader. Worried that he might cry again if refused, the team leader finally nodded.

“Then just have a conversation today. I’ll be waiting outside the door.”

He contacted the guild with an uneasy expression.

The reply came immediately. As if they had been waiting.