Confinement Constitution Guide

Life in Confinement, Hard Ver. (2)

It was so absurd that I couldn’t even muster a hollow laugh. Sa Hae-geon tried to act nonchalant, but his reddening ears showed he was embarrassed by what he wrote himself. Or perhaps he was just being shy after writing it.

“Don’t just stand there, come sit down.” 

Contrary to his self-rationalization just now, Sa Hae-geon was once again testing my resolve. 

‘This guy… he does well then trips up in weird ways.’

Though the ketchup writing annoyed me, I had nothing else to say. Rather than grumbling, it’d be simpler to just eat it quickly and make it disappear.

Watching Sa Hae-geon carefully place the egg garnish on the oxtail soup, I picked up my chopsticks and went for the rolled omelet first. Scooping up the ketchup with the thick egg roll and putting it in my mouth made the annoying writing vanish.

It was a bit salty from eating too much ketchup, but I had no regrets. As soon as I chewed and swallowed the still steaming egg roll, Sa Hae-geon set the oxtail soup bowl in front of me.

“Here’s the oxtail soup. Salt and pepper are over here. But…”

As he pointed to the salt and pepper on one side of the table, Sa Hae-geon stared at the egg roll with the ketchup gone. I was about to drink some water to rinse the salty taste in my mouth when a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

“Actually, I had another version in mind too. Good thing I did. One sec.”

He then took out the ketchup from the fridge again. The guy even hummed as he started writing on the egg roll once more.

“It’s salty… so don’t put too much, just a reasonable amount…”

“I thought you liked ketchup, guess not.”

“I do… like it, but I don’t want anymore today.”

“Well, I feel like having a lot of ketchup today of all days.”

Sa Hae-geon spoke firmly as he put the ketchup bottle on the table. The egg roll was once again plastered with ketchup, a sorry sight.

‘♡Haegeon♥Domin♡’

He said it was a different version, but who knew there would be two more hearts than before. As I held my spoon, unable to continue speaking, Sa Hae-geon explained in a lively voice.

“The previous one was the clean version, this is the fancy version. How is it?”

“Your handwriting is nice…”

“Really? Thanks.”

Even at my non-compliment, Sa Hae-geon beamed innocently. It was impossible to tell if he was truly pure-hearted or scheming something sinister. I started eating, mirroring Sa Hae-geon as he adjusted the seasoning of the oxtail soup with a relaxed face.

Even by lunchtime, Cream was desperate to show she was upset with me. The girl who never even snorted when I called her now peeked her head out from under the bed at the sound of Sa Hae-geon’s footsteps to confirm his presence.

And when Sa Hae-geon and I were in the room together, she wouldn’t spare me a glance and just clung to his feet, rolling around as if asking him to play. Since when was she so proactive about playtime?

“Chae Cream, are you really gonna be like this?”

“Meow.”

Cream even tapped the floor with her tail as if she was the angrier one. Her eyes were quite sharp – if I said one more word, it seemed I would be hit by her furious little fists.

While Cream and I had this absurd standoff, Sa Hae-geon took out a fishing rod from the cabinet. He then tempted Cream, waving the fishing rod around as if to show off.

The spiteful cat stopped her staring contest with me and swiftly turned to face Sa Hae-geon. It was a clear defeat. No matter how upset she was with me, how could she choose that brazen kidnapper and lousy fishing rod over her owner right in front of her?

The way she glanced at me occasionally as if gauging my reaction, while chasing after the fishing rod Sa Hae-geon waved around… it was really frustrating. At the same time, I was dying to know what underhanded method Sa Hae-geon used to steal Cream’s heart.

‘Was it catnip after all? Or silvervine? If not that, did he lure her with Churu?’

I forlornly watched Sa Hae-geon and Chae Cream, then left the room and headed to the living room. Seeing the two acting all lovey-dovey like newlyweds was too depressing, I had no choice.

This time Sa Hae-geon didn’t follow after me either. It felt comfortable to have no one interfering, but also strange at the same time. Perhaps because Sa Hae-geon’s gaze that used to trail after me for every little thing was now completely focused on Cream.

‘Have I gotten used to Sa Hae-geon already?’

I quickly shook my head at the thought that gave me goosebumps. I sat on the living room couch and turned on the TV. The simple routine of being cooped up in a spacious house – eating, watching TV, resting, then going to bed – was so comfortable.

Why was I not getting tired of lazing around? As I freely flipped through the TV channels without Sa Hae-geon’s interference, a news channel caught my eye.

[Next news. Around 5pm yesterday, a strong gust of wind in the middle of the city has become a hot topic. Amidst the prevailing opinion that it was not a naturally occurring wind but an Esper’s ability, the ESP Ability Management Headquarters stated they are investigating, but have yet to present any conclusions. In response, citizens are…]

The video shown by the broadcast station was CCTV footage of a road quite close to the Central Center. In the scene of cars and people busily passing by, a gust suddenly blew. The wind was so strong that not only the pedestrians but even the trees swayed.

The bodies of cars waiting at the traffic light also shook.

“An illegal organization?”

Occasionally, unaffiliated Espers with the same goals would gather to form illegal organizations and operate. Though annoying, most aimed to steal money or rare artifacts, so subduing them wasn’t too difficult. 

However, illegal organizations rarely revealed their existence in such a flashy manner.

“Do they have some romantic notion of becoming famous?”

Normally, they would move covertly to achieve their goals. I wanted to know more related information, but the news just kept playing the CCTV footage on loop while criticizing the ESP Bureau’s defensive attitude, without providing any substantial information.

Even if the broadcaster knew something, there was a high chance an embargo was placed on it.

Still, this situation didn’t make me particularly impatient or worried. Although the ESP Bureau is called the Incompetent Bureau for their sluggish actions in various aspects, they handle matters related to illegal organizations or brokers properly.

“What are you watching so intently?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing much.”

Sa Hae-geon, who seemed to have successfully finished his hunting game with Cream, sat on the couch with a satisfied face.

“You were watching the news. A gust of wind in the middle of the city?”

“Yeah. They said a gust blew near the Central Center. Seems it wasn’t a natural wind but an Esper’s ability.”

“Is that so?”

“The ESP Bureau will be busy for a while.”

Sa Hae-geon chuckled at my words.

“I hope the ESP Bureau people become very busy.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re the main culprits who made things hard for you.”

“What? No, not the main culprits… Those people are busy too. They just happened to get a bad minister, that’s all.”

Sa Hae-geon looked at me as if asking for an explanation. At some point, he had picked up his crocheting again. I glanced at the knitted vest that was starting to take shape and opened my mouth.

“The current ESP Bureau Minister isn’t a bad person, but he’s a bit self-righteous. Maybe because he’s a Flame Esper, his temper is fiery and he tends to focus only on one thing when fixated. Right now, he’s putting effort into discovering and nurturing new Guides rather than improving the treatment of existing Guides.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Increasing the number of new Guides is a good thing from the perspective of existing Guides, but it doesn’t provide immediate help. And the support existing Guides used to receive is also being focused there, so many have left for Guilds.”

“What kind of support did existing Guides receive?”

Sa Hae-geon listened to the story with an even more serious face than me, continuously moving his hands. Under his delicate touch, the knitting grew line by line.

“Well, things like guaranteed one day off per week or being able to use vacation days? Most of the manpower for training new Guides comes from existing Guides. Even at our Center, ten people volunteered and six of them were selected and left.”

“Guaranteeing days off or allowing vacation use isn’t support, it’s a given. Isn’t it a violation of labor laws if they don’t follow that?”

“You really have no interest in this field, huh? Did you graduate from a training school? ESP users are exceptions to labor laws. That’s why everyone transfers to Guilds.”

“Then why didn’t you transfer?”

“Well, I do have a contract… but Guilds have strict regulations and don’t allow Pairs. It’s a contract violation.”

When the word ‘Pair’ came up, Sa Hae-geon abruptly turned his head to look at me. I blinked at his somewhat dissatisfied expression and he asked,

“A Pair? Who are you trying to Pair with?”

“What?”

“Who are you staying at the Center to Pair with?”

Sa Hae-geon put down his crocheting and demanded an answer from me.

“No, you never know what will happen in the future… I’m just staying because even if there’s no one now, someone might appear later.”

Despite giving him an answer, Sa Hae-geon’s impertinent gaze didn’t waver and his face became even more displeased.

“What? What’s the problem?”

I was the one who felt wronged by Sa Hae-geon’s look. Really, why does he keep making innocent people feel wronged since earlier? This is truly absurd.