Confinement Constitution Guide

A Perfect and Wise Life in Confinement (8)

Seeing me staring at the screen with a blank expression, Sa Hae-geon turned his attention to the TV. Just then, the broadcast showed the scene of a press conference by the Department of Abilities. The Minister of the Department of Abilities was sitting with a solemn face, spouting absurd words.

[The reason for Guide Chae Do-min’s disappearance is indeed kidnapping. But strictly speaking, it can be seen as closer to an “unauthorized vacation”. …In fact, Guide Chae Do-min has shown an irresponsible attitude of enjoying vacations stemming from kidnappings. Therefore, the Department of Abilities has tried to give him repeated warnings, but to no avail. Isn’t it only Guide Chae Do-min who boasts a high kidnapping rate?]

At the absurd words uttered by the Minister, the reporters fell silent, forgetting to even flash their cameras. And I had no choice but to shut my mouth for a different reason.

‘No, is it possible to guess this…?’

It was no different from catching a mouse while backing up a cow.

[Uh, that’s why the Department of Abilities had no choice but to deal with this Guide Chae Do-min’s disappearance case carefully. We ask the public to understand this with an open mind.]

As the Minister finished speaking, a reporter asked.

[What do you think is the reason Guide Chae Do-min has come to enjoy vacations stemming from kidnappings?]

[Ahem. As I mentioned earlier, I think the reason lies in Guide Chae Do-min’s irresponsibility.]

[Then could you tell us where Guide Chae Do-min’s irresponsibility was revealed?]

[Are you certain that Guide Chae Do-min enjoys being kidnapped?]

[Is it the official position of the Esper Management Headquarters that Guide Chae Do-min enjoys being kidnapped and is irresponsible?]

[Do you know how many hours per week Guide Chae Do-min works?]

[Minister, you…]

Under the barrage of questions from the reporters, the Minister’s face gradually turned red. He opened his mouth, seemingly trying hard to suppress his embarrassment and anger.

[Hmm…! One thing is clear: Guide Chae Do-min is receiving an excessive amount of trust from the public. That’s why the Department of Abilities is even being called the ‘Incompetent Department’! And the Department is also devising measures to prevent the kidnapping of Guides, but isn’t the number of Guides woefully insufficient compared to the number of Espers? We can’t solve that problem right away, can we? We are working hard to train new Guides to resolve that very issue.]

[Are you aware, Minister, that there are unfavorable words circulating about the treatment of Guides?]

[That, that… Phew, the Department of Abilities thinks that even now, Guides are working in sufficiently good conditions.]

[What do you think about the fact that the higher the grade of the Guide, the unreasonably high their working hours and intensity are? Are high-grade Guides not included in the ‘Guides working in sufficiently good conditions’ that you mentioned?]

[That is also a big misunderstanding. Of course, we believe that it is inevitable for high-grade Guides and high-grade Espers to make sacrifices for the people and the country. But that doesn’t mean we specifically instructed to increase the working hours and intensity of high-grade Guides and Espers or fostered such an atmosphere…!]

The Minister protested with a truly aggrieved face. As the fierce debate between the Minister and reporters continued, the announcer’s expression hardened. Sa Hae-geon was the same. He stared at the TV screen silently, then picked up the remote control and turned off the power.

Then he looked at me with complicated eyes. It was a gaze that seemed to pity me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I already knew that the Department of Abilities was called the Incompetent Department.”

“And?”

“You’ve been exploited by that kind of group until now?”

“Not exploited, just… worked a little more than others.”

“I didn’t know it was this bad. I’m sorry for kidnapping you so late, hyung. It’s all my fault.”

There was no need for Sa Hae-geon to apologize, so I was perplexed. Anyway, thanks to Sa Hae-geon, I was now resting away from the swamp of high-intensity labor and overwork.

“Oh, um. It’s comforting to hear you say that. But it’s not something you need to apologize for, so don’t worry too much.”

“How can you say that. You suffered for 8 more months because I was late.”

“That’s all in the past, so it’s okay. But how did you know my last kidnapping was 8 months ago? Don’t tell me, did you do a background check or something?”

“Did you want me to do a background check on you, hyung? Then next time, if there’s an opportunity, I’ll do a background check…”

“No. No, no. I was just curious. It’s not information that can be easily obtained.”

As I waved my hands and strongly denied it, Sa Hae-geon let out a small laugh. Not just smiling, but laughing out loud, I unconsciously stopped and stared at him.

I even felt a faint sense of closeness from Sa Hae-geon, who seemed to be genuinely having fun.

“And as you said, hyung, I think it’s better to bring Cream here. She likes people so much, so she must be very lonely being alone. I looked it up and it says cats can suffer from loneliness too.”

“Wh-what? Really?”

“Yes. She may feel unfamiliar when the environment changes, but I think she’ll be okay soon because you’re here, hyung.”

It was truly eye-opening news. The bad mood caused by the Minister’s nonsense was momentary. My heart raced at the fact that I could bring Cream to this paradise-like space.

Although he occasionally showed aspects that were difficult to understand, Sa Hae-geon was a kidnapper who could be called decent in his own way.

“When are you going to bring her?”

“Well… Wouldn’t it be good to go before dinner?”

“Yeah, yeah. As long as you bring her, the time doesn’t matter. But hey, you.”

“Yes.”

“You’re an Esper, aren’t you?”

When I spoke out loud what I had only been guessing, Sa Hae-geon’s eyes widened. He stared at me with a somewhat dazed face and stuttered, which was unlike him.

“How, how did you know? Don’t tell me, hyung, you remember me, no. Did you do a background check on me…”

“What? Background check? Me on you? That can’t be. How could I know and do a background check on someone I met for the first time yesterday?”

I firmly shook my head at Sa Hae-geon, whose face had turned red as he mumbled. Why did he think I had done a background check on him? Did he think I was someone with dark ulterior motives like himself? His thought process was very strange.

“Then how did you know?”

“When we shook hands yesterday, I felt a wavelength. But if you’re an Esper, don’t you have to go to work? Oh, are you affiliated with a guild? I heard guilds are more free than centers.”

“No. I’m not affiliated with any particular place.”

“…An unaffiliated Esper? Why?”

“There’s no particular merit to it. Is it a problem to be unaffiliated? Do I have to be affiliated?”

Sa Hae-geon tilted his head with innocent eyes. As if he didn’t know how being unaffiliated was interpreted in the world of Espers. Moreover, Espers who were not Guides received even worse looks. Unaffiliated Espers were usually considered terrorists, illegal organizations, or brokers.

The world always needed Espers, and there were many centers and guilds to accept them. Not only that, there were even training schools specifically to educate them. So unaffiliated Espers themselves were rare, and even if there were any, they couldn’t help but be suspected for their reasons for remaining unaffiliated.

“Well, not necessarily, but unaffiliated Espers aren’t viewed favorably, so…”

“Actually, I was going to apply to the central center where you are, hyung, but they said they weren’t recruiting Espers for the time being, so I gave up.”

“…Oh, is that so?”

It was unfortunate that the timing happened to coincide with ‘that period’ when the atmosphere at the center was grim.

“But there are guilds. They have good salaries and benefits, and there are far more Guides than centers, so there should be merit, right?”

“But you’re not there, hyung. I only want to receive guiding from you.”

Although he denied it, I felt like pairing was his goal after all, but Sa Hae-geon’s eyes were purely innocent. It seemed like he was expressing his true feelings, not hiding dark intentions or speaking indirectly.

Facing those docile and sparkling eyes, I almost lost my words for a moment. But I pulled myself together, clearing my throat.

“Hmm. If you’ve been unaffiliated, who did you receive guiding from?”

If he had received it from an illegal Guide connected by a broker, my position could become somewhat difficult. The Department of Abilities would never overlook the fact that an unaffiliated Esper was receiving Guiding from an illegal Guide. Even if the Department was slow to respond to Guide kidnappings, they reacted very sensitively to matters related to brokers, so they would definitely make a move.

“I didn’t receive any.”

“…What?”

“I didn’t receive it from anyone.”

I couldn’t help but jump up from my seat at Sa Hae-geon’s absurd words.

How could an Esper have never received Guiding even once? Unless he was lying, this made no sense.

“That can’t be possible….”

But looking at Sa Hae-geon’s innocent face, it seemed he was telling the truth this time as well. No matter how preposterous it was.