Where Beans Are Planted, Beans Grow

Lee Sa-young knocked on the door just as Cha Eui-jae finished washing dishes and cleaning up, and even got ready for tomorrow's business. It was such perfect timing that he wondered if Lee Sa-young had been watching him.

Cha Eui-jae peeked out from the kitchen to check the door and widened his eyes when he saw the black gas mask floating on the glass.

"What's going on? All of a sudden."

"I have something to say."

A whisper-like reply came back. Was he going to ask for a favor again? Cha Eui-jae untied his tightly knotted apron strings and headed toward the door. Lee Sa-young stood quietly in front of the door, waiting to be let in.

As soon as Cha Eui-jae slid open the door, the dark figure took a step inside. Without sitting down, Lee Sa-young said,

"Have you ever been to Songdo?"

That was it.

With a reluctant face, Cha Eui-jae alternated his gaze between the glossy black ticket and the black glove holding it, and the black gas mask. Every time he thought he could welcome this guy with a bit of affection from their accumulated acquaintance, Lee Sa-young would pull out a bomb from his pocket. Besides,

'Why are these black tickets so common?'

Weren't these supposed to be rare and extremely coveted tickets worth tens of billions? Regulars at the soup restaurant would go to great lengths to get just one of these pieces of paper, but somehow, three of them had fallen into his lap for no reason.

Cha Eui-jae averted his eyes from the burdensome ticket and changed the subject.

"Why did you come so late today?"

"Hmm?"

Lee Sa-young tilted his head slightly and answered earnestly.

"You'd glare at me if I came during business hours and ruined the business."

'Damn it, why does he put it like that?'

Cha Eui-jae, who was trying to change the subject, glanced at the ceiling.

Actually, Lee Sa-young was right. If this guy had come during dinner hours, there would have been a "Lee Sa-young ZONE," the dinner service would have been a bust, and Cha Eui-jae would have looked at him reluctantly. Just like now.

Lee Sa-young muttered as if he wanted Cha Eui-jae to hear.

"They avoid me because they're scared, what can I do?"

Somehow, the gas mask holding the black ticket looked dejected. Even though gas masks have no expression!

Nam Woo-jin's words floated like mist in Cha Eui-jae's mind. And the thoughts continued to lead to more thoughts.

Lee Sa-young that kicked people in the alleyway, Lee Sa-young showing his black tongue, Lee Sa-young brazenly showing his face in public service ads, Lee Sa-young as Prometheus's experimental subject, Lee Sa-young carrying blankets and pillows, Lee Sa-young sitting alone in the ruins melted by poison, Lee Sa-young who melted the master of the rift and asked if he was okay, Lee Sa-young murmuring with his face buried in J's shoulder in the fragment shard, and…

J saved him, but he was no longer J; the child who could no longer be found was hopelessly tangled amidst the chaos.

From the first meeting until recently, Cha Eui-jae had seen Lee Sa-young as a rude, annoying, weird, and crazy person who disrupted his small and quiet life just by existing. Their first meeting was the worst, and the hangover soup restaurant, which was relatively quiet except for being crowded with customers, started to get chaotic thanks to Lee Sa-young.

But as they say, you see more as you know more. Unintentionally getting entangled with Lee Sa-young, Cha Eui-jae learned more than he expected.

"Think of it as a kind of shackle."

Was this what he meant by shackle? A shackle of conscience? Did he have nothing else to shackle me with, so he used Lee Sa-young as the means? Cha Eui-jae was deeply realizing the truth of the saying that those with power are even worse lately.

'I need to re-educate these rankers… They're too greedy…'

Whether or not Lee Sa-young knew Cha Eui-jae's troubled thoughts, he muttered again, this time louder.

"Do you even know how considerate I am to you?"

"Yeah, I know."

Cha Eui-jae answered soullessly and quietly stepped back. But Lee Sa-young noticed even that small movement like a ghost. His eyes sparkled behind the gas mask.

"Where are you going?"

"Huh? To the kitchen."

"Aren't you going to answer my question?"

"You have plenty of time. Let's talk over a cup of coffee. Do you drink coffee?"

Despite his vague words, the sharp atmosphere instantly softened. Lee Sa-young rolled his eyes, as if recalling a very old memory, his gaze lingering in the top left for a long time. After a considerable silence, he murmured.

"…I don't know?"

What kind of ambiguous answer was that? Cha Eui-jae, also becoming serious, folded his arms and gestured.

"…Sit down and wait for a moment."

Surprisingly, Lee Sa-young sat down without a word. After confirming that he had taken off his gas mask, Cha Eui-jae stood in the kitchen, lost in thought.

'Is it okay to give him coffee at this late hour?'

Of course, caffeine wouldn't affect an S-grade Awakener's body, especially not Lee Sa-young's, but… there's a matter of feelings. Just look at the regular hunter customers who drink soju even though they don't get drunk, insisting on having more than two bottles every time.

Moreover, recalling what happened at Lee Sa-young's house, it seemed he wasn't a good sleeper. Like most sensitive S-grade Awakeners.

There was no choice. He had to show his ultimate recipe that even captured the picky palate of a nine-year-old elementary schooler. Cha Eui-jae took out a black package and acacia honey from the fridge. Holding a spoon resolutely, his back shone with golden light.

[Trait: Battle Integrated into Life (S) activated.]

After a while, Cha Eui-jae confidently placed a paper cup in front of Lee Sa-young. Lee Sa-young, who had been leaning his chin on one hand and tapping his phone with the other, hesitated and asked.

"What's this?"

"Misugaru1."

Not just any misugaru, but a special misugaru made with honey and fresh white milk he had bought as a snack for Park Ha-eun. And since it was served in a disposable paper cup, there was no worry about dishwashing. Taking care of Lee Sa-young and saving money. Two birds with one stone.

But Lee Sa-young, looking at the cup before him, had a suspicious expression.

"What about coffee?"

"You don't sleep well, do you?"

"…"

Lee Sa-young stared at Cha Eui-jae with a strange look. Cha Eui-jae clicked his tongue.

"How can you drink coffee when you don't even sleep well, drink misugaru instead."

Putting down his phone and holding the paper cup, Lee Sa-young murmured.

"Seems like you don't sleep well either."

"That's why I drink water."

"…"

Without another word, Lee Sa-young obediently took off his gas mask and placed it on the table. Then, after inspecting the liquid in the cup again, he began to sip the misugaru.

Cha Eui-jae sat across from him, sipping water while observing his face. Lee Sa-young licked his lips with his black tongue and blinked. His long eyelashes fluttered with the movement.

"Anyway. Have you been to Songdo?"

Recalling the ticket he had stashed away in his blanket, Cha Eui-jae shook his head.

"No."

He had traveled all over the country as J, but surprisingly had never been to Songdo. And he had no intention of going in the future. After putting down the empty paper cup, Lee Sa-young propped his chin on his hand.

"That's perfect. You should go this time."

"Songdo? Why?"

"It's going to be noisy everywhere these days."

He gestured towards the wall plastered with autographed pictures and posters. It would be strange to say he hadn't heard about it. Intentionally indifferent, Cha Eui-jae replied.

"The Artisan Exhibition or whatever?"

"Yeah, that."

"Why would I go there?"

"For a date."

"Is the misugaru spoiled or something, you piece of shit…"

Regardless of Cha Eui-jae's crumpled expression, Lee Sa-young continued shamelessly.

"It's a date proposal worth tens of billions."

He gestured towards the ticket neatly placed on the table. But for Cha Eui-jae, who had about a hundred billion won worth of tickets stashed away in his blanket, it didn't feel like a grand date proposal.

There was no reason to go, and plenty of reasons not to. Cha Eui-jae sighed deeply and brought out the biggest and sturdiest shield.

"I don't have time to go to Songdo. I have to run the business."

"Just say you're taking your granny to the hospital and close for a day. You only need to go to the Artisan Exhibition anyway."

Lee Sa-young had an immediate answer without any hesitation, as if he had expected this conversation and prepared questions and answers in advance! Lee Sa-young smiled leisurely.

"Just say the granny is sick, what are they going to do about it?"

"Using grandma as an excuse…"

"If you're really worried, I'll have Choi Go-yo take her to the hospital. What's next?"

Fortunately, Choi Go-yo seemed to have woken up well. Given that a lot of time had passed since the Incheon Port incident, it was understandable. Cha Eui-jae brought out the second shield.

"How can a D-grade hunter go to the Artisan Exhibition? What if they ask where I got the ticket?"

"That's also fine."

Lee Sa-young rifled through his inventory and then placed a new-looking gas mask next to the ticket. On the old, shabby green table, there were now two gas masks and several billion won worth of tickets lined up neatly.

'Is this what cognitive dissonance2 feels like?'

Cha Eui-jae was confused, just as he had been on the day he first saw Lee Sa-young's public service advertisement on TV. The very person causing all this turmoil, Lee Sa-young, casually continued.

"You can wear this and introduce yourself as a secretary team member from Pado Guild."

"…You want me to wear this?"

"It's mandatory for the secretaries to go out on fieldwork with me, so it's not that unusual. People will just think it's normal."

But wouldn't two gas masks walking around together be extremely noticeable? Even Cha Eui-jae would turn to look if he saw two people in gas masks walking down the street.

By this point, Cha Eui-jae was debating whether to kick Lee Sa-young out with a curse or to reject him more tactfully. As he pondered, Lee Sa-young, who had been resting his chin in his hands and staring at him, spoke up.

"Hey, Hyung."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you one thing?"

"What is it?"

"When you went to the Seowon Guild."

Lee Sa-young asked with a soft smile.

"What did that bastard Nam Woo-jin say?"

"…"

"Why are you being so nice to me today?"

◄☰►Misu is a beverage made from the traditional Korean grain powder misu-garu, which is a combination of 7–10 different grains. It is usually served on hot summer days to quench thirst or as an instant nutritious drink for breakfast or as a healthy snack.

↩︎Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person's behavior and beliefs do not complement each other or when they hold two contradictory beliefs.

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