Two Glasses, Then Two Hearts
Hyeryun had just stepped out of the taxi and was flipping through the documents she’d brought. She muttered to herself, “Oh, I left them.”
She picked up her phone and dialed.
Beep… beep… beep…
“Why won’t you pick up? Is there no answer?”
She tried plugging in her earphones and pressing the speaker button.
“Jiwoo-ssi. Jiwoo-ssi.”
After a moment, Jiwoo’s voice came through.
『What? Hyeryun Nuna.』
“Ah, there you are. I was worried about the connection. I left some papers at the office, so send them over, okay?”
『Sure, I’ll send them right now on the phone.』
“Mmm. Thanks.”
Ding.
She checked her email right as she was about to walk into the building.
A man’s voice called out from behind her.
“Hey. Isn’t this Hyeryun-sunbae?”
Hyeryun frowned and turned around.
“Yoon Taeo.”
There stood a man in a sharp suit—slicked-back hair, perfect posture.
“What brings you here? I hope you’ve been well.”
“Yeah, well. Just some business.”
Yoon Taeo flashed an easy smile and asked, “I heard you’re still clinging to that tiny little office. Must be tough?”
“Hmm… not really tough.”
“Don’t say that. Come over here. I’ll set you up with a proper space.”
“No thanks. I’m good.”
“You know the boss hates seeing you still stuck in that shabby office—”
“Enough. Stop right there.”
“Okay, whatever.”
“Hey, how long are you going to keep acting like this, sunbae?”
“What?”
“How long do you plan to keep acting like a criminal? I’ve been cleared! That night was your choice—”
Hyeryun grabbed the front of his collar.
Yanked him up hard. A tall man was suddenly pulled off his feet.
His shoes barely touched the floor while his heels lifted.
She leaned in close to his face and whispered, “Still pretending to be tough?”
Yoon Taeo grinned and tilted his head to the side.
“Why? Gonna hit me right here? You’re still as explosive as ever.”
Hyeryun let go of his collar. He straightened his tie and brushed off his suit.
“I wasn’t the one chasing debts, though. All the other seniors got better positions, but you’re the only one dragging your feet.”
“I’ve told you I’m done a million times.”
“Why? Anything not working out? Got in trouble? I can hear you out on that too.”
Yoon Taeo plucked a stray hair off her shoulder, blew on it, and smirked.
“You know how popular I am, right?”
“Really, huh.”
Hyeryun narrowed her eyes, touched her ear for a second, then shook her head.
Ding.
A new message popped up on her phone.
「Hero Headquarters staff insurance scandals. Illegal lobbying. How far does this go. Internal whistleblower exposé.」
She hesitated, then turned the screen toward him.
“You should watch out. Looks like someone’s spreading rumors about the illegal lobbying of the central heroes’ insurance ties. This one’s about you, isn’t it?”
He glanced at the screen, face draining of color.
“Y-yeah… no… this is…”
Hyeryun pointed at the building behind them.
“Want to go up and do a little tango?”
“Nuna…”
Yoon Taeo couldn’t finish his sentence.
Hyeryun turned on her heel. “I’m leaving. Don’t try to pretend you know me next time.”
**
Clap.
I high-fived Ho Eun.
That’s right.
“Ho Eun is the best!”
“Jiwoo-oppa is the best!”
“Haha, who’s best now? Ho Eun is amazing! I’m jealous! Just call me Ho Eun!”
“R-right. Ho… Ho Eun-ah.”
We clasped hands and stood up again.
I replayed that greasy voice in my head and pictured the face—slicked-back, sleazy, the type I’d never actually met but knew for sure.
“Ugh… I almost died from that sleazy voice.”
Ho Eun leaned in closer and held up her phone screen.
“Look at this article photo! It’s even sleazier in person. And the way he’s so shameless!”
The guy on the screen was exactly the face I’d been thinking about.
…What?
I heard the voice and instantly recognized the face.
Ugh. What a cursed ability.
I didn’t want anything like that.
Static.
Hyeryun Nuna’s voice crackled through the headset.
『Jiwoo. Ho Eun, stop it. Throw that weird data away. It’s over.』
Ho Eun got even more excited.
“Why? You’re supposed to spread that rumor all over the place. Kya kya.”
『Hey!』
Ho Eun nodded while laughing.
“Hehe. Okay, got it.”
『I’m hanging up now.』
…Just like this? Even improvising like this isn’t bad.
“Hyeryun Nuna, why not just come inside? We can listen together.”
『You think that setup is that flimsy? We’ve inspected the equipment thoroughly.』
Fine, then. I have no choice.
“Oh, I see. Just so you know, there’s the CCTV issue from that day. The air-defense network problem.”
Ho Eun suddenly poked her head in right in front of my microphone.
“The unified news article issue. And the siren problem!”
A warm breath brushed my cheek.
『Got it. I got it. I’m not a kid, am I? I’ll call later. Thanks, both of you.』
Click. Beep beep.
The call ended.
Ho Eun was still standing right in front of my face.
She stared at me with wide, sparkling eyes.
I stared back the same way.
What else could I do?
A tiny, sharp nose peeked out of those bright eyes.
Her pink lips curved into a soft smile.
Ugh… don’t smile at me so close.
I froze.
Ah.
Cough.
I coughed and quickly turned my head.
“W-what? How did you know that sleazy guy’s name? Ho Eun. I mean, Ho Eun-ah?”
She glared at me once while I stammered, then continued.
“I went to the office once before. He looked at our place like it was a trash warehouse and rubbed Hyeryun-unnie the wrong way.”
So you two are close?
“You go in and out of the office? Oh, so that’s it.”
“Yeah. Since then I’ve collected a few bits of info about him.”
“Yeah, I heard rumors too when I worked at the central call center. So I searched based on what I heard back then.”
“Good. Next time, I’ll really punch him.”
Still, that guy’s an A-rank hero.
I worried out loud, watching Ho Eun make cute little fist punches in the air.
“Even so, he’s an A-class hero. One wrong move and—”
Ho Eun’s fist froze mid-air. She planted her hands on her hips and spoke.
“What’s the point? Big shots walk all over everyone, and even B-ranks get dragged around by A-ranks. Tch. Actually, Lady G’s way stronger than that guy.”
Hyeryun Nuna—Lady G. Yeah, I heard she used to be B-rank.
Truth is, the system here isn’t just about raw power. It also factors in popularity, influence, and all sorts of other stuff.
That’s why heroes need to sell themselves, not just fight.
This rigged competition.
No easy job.
“Wow… Hyeryun Nuna’s that strong?”
“Of course! If that A-class creep actually qualified, he’d be out there fighting monsters, not hiding in the office doing nothing.”
Ho Eun was right a hundred percent.
But right now I was still stuck in the office.
Sigh.
I asked, a little bitter, “If you get A-rank too, you’ll be stuck in the office playing with drones?”
She tapped her chin with one finger and glanced sideways.
Was she picturing her own future?
“Hmm. That doesn’t sound too bad.”
She must have seen a decent future.
Ho Eun shook her head, then looked at me and her eyes sparkled.
“But I still love the field! I’ll fly all over the place until I die! Shwoom! Shwoom!”
For a second, the girl in front of me looked like pure light.
Her words sounded like a joke, but they didn’t feel playful at all.
Someone who could say “until I die” so easily.
Who could still love the field even if they got hurt and broken.
It was dazzling.
And beautiful.
Her mindset.
That youth.
Could I ever be like that?
I wondered to myself.
Maybe.
First I’d need an ability.
On that front I was already out.
Hah.
No, I could still dream big.
I could make that shining Ho Eun shine even brighter.
I wanted Inseo-ssi to sparkle too, and Hyeryun-nuna, and what about Yoon Young-ssi.
If this was my choice, then… no, it was mine.
Ho Eun was staring at my dazed face.
“Oppa, what are you thinking so hard about?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing.”
This is crazy. I was openly admiring Ho Eun’s face.
No, no.
I was just dreaming about my grand future.
The starting point just happened to be Ho Eun’s face.
“What? You’re blushing again? Hehe.”
“Not this time!”
“Eh? This time? Then last time it was true? When was that?”
“Ah, no, not that… Don’t say unnecessary things!”
Ugh.
My grand dream is bullshit.
A guy who can’t even talk straight.
Kkuk.
Still.
“Hehe. Yay.”
Ho Eun, laughing at me, suddenly turned toward the entrance.
“Yahoo! The new drone delivery’s here!”
Probably because of the drone I smashed on my first day.
“Ah… the one I broke.”
She lifted the big box outside and wobbled back inside.
The door was narrow; it looked like it would get stuck.
I rushed over, caught the box, laid it on its side to pass through, then stood it up carefully on the table.
“Hehe. Thanks! The broken Kong-i is gone now. Couldn’t help it.”
“Kong-i?”
She acted like unwrapping Christmas presents.
We peeled away the bubble wrap and packaging, and the drone body appeared.
Ho Eun picked it up, turned it over, and looked at my face.
She smiled brightly.
Ears… cute.
It was like the face of a kid opening a new toy.
“Ah. I named the ones I customize. Last time it was Kong-i. This one’s gonna be Shwoongae. Hihi.”
“Shwoongae?”
She gently placed the drone back in the box, then looked at me with firm eyes.
“This time I’m trying to add special attack functions. That way you can control the drone and attack at the same time.”
“Wow, awesome.”
“Hehe. I’ll play with it once it arrives. You can watch.”
Excited, Ho Eun carried the drone box inside.
Hey, that’s my room.
“Ah, right. So this is my room now?”
“It’s fine. Use it however you want~”
“Yes. Hehe.”
Ho Eun hesitated in front of the curtain, then pulled it open and stepped inside.
I folded the outer box from the table and carried it out to throw away.
“Eh?”
Ho Eun’s eyes stopped on the nameplate above the curtain.
「Operator-nim’s Private Space」
「Knock required. Enter with caution!」
“Whoa! That’s Yoon Young-unnie’s writing!”
I was still holding the box by the entrance when our eyes met.
She was narrowing her eyes at me.
“The two of you are getting cozy… hehe. What is this?”
“Ah. That was… Yoon Young-ssi gave it to me because he felt bad. Um… last night…”
I was stammering when Ho Eun pointed at the nameplate again and slowly examined it.
“This wasn’t just something bought and given away? It’s completely handmade?”
Thanks… thanks, Ho Eun.
Ho Eun stared at me with sparkling eyes. I pointed at my swollen cheek and said,
“This isn’t visible?”
“Ah. That’s… an apology. An apology. Hehe.”
Ho Eun giggled to herself, pulled the curtain open, and stepped inside.
She must like small things like that.
I followed with a chuckle and went back to my seat.
About an hour passed.
Vrrrrr.
My phone—set on vibrate—rang.
「Badgirl Hero Agency Representative Jang Hyeryun」
The saved number for Hyeryun Nuna looked a bit off.
I thought I might change it to “Representative-eye-nuna” later and answered.
“Hello? Yes? Did your business wrap up already?”
『No, Jiwoo-ssi. I came without making an appointment and it’s dragging on. This is so annoying. Really.』
“Eh? What’s annoying? Then why did you come?”
『That’s what I said! I said I’d come, now what? I have to go back tomorrow anyway. I’m going in too, so if you have nothing to do, wrap it up. There’s no mission today.』
“Ah. Okay. I’ll try. Take care.”
『Mmm. You too.』
Beep beep.
This was the frustration of a small agency.
Sigh.
I refreshed the company email inbox for no reason.
No mission requests. Nothing.
Just tons of cost-related emails demanding money.
I shut off the monitor screen and shouted toward Ho Eun behind the partition.
“Ho Eun, no work today. If there’s nothing left to do, let’s wrap it up.”
**
In the dark office, I was lying on the bed scrolling on my phone.
Ho Eun had already gone home after checking drone options for hours, and Yoon Young-ssi had said there was nothing from the police and he was looking elsewhere.
No contact since then.
‘Yeah. There should be some days like this, right?’
I was just about to lie down and sleep when—
Beep beep beep beep.
Dingly dingly. Ding. Ding.
Knock knock.
That late-night door lock sound… was it Yoon Young-ssi?
Did she leave something?
I checked that my lower half wasn’t wearing underwear and headed to the entrance.
Dingly dingly dingly. Ding ding. Knock knock.
Ah, it keeps ringing. She can’t remember the code?
I just unlocked the door and opened it.
Dingly.
“Ah… why can’t you open the door…”
When I opened it, a woman with her head bowed stood there.
Eh?
On closer look, it was Hyeryun Nuna.
One hand held a bag stuffed with bottles, the other kept sweeping her messy bangs.
Her heavy breathing carried a strong alcohol smell.
She was clearly on her second glass. Her upper body swayed.
The problem was that sway.
Her once-perfectly starched white blouse had two buttons undone because of the alcohol.
Every time she gasped for breath or twisted to regain balance, the open front slightly parted.
Ah… no.
She’s drunk!
Don’t do this, Jiwoo.
Turn your eyes away!
But before I could look away, she lifted her head.
I startled and quickly corrected my gaze.
“Oh?”
At first her face looked surprised.
Then she recognized me, and her eyes slowly softened.
A smile spread across her lips.
Half-lidded eyes. A flushed face.
And her lips moved.
“Sorry. Jiwoo-ssi. Were you sleeping? I came in secretly to grab something.”
That sharp alcohol smell I remembered…
Why did it now smell sweet?
And before I could answer,
Thump.
My heart reacted first.
Thump.
Hyeryun Nuna slowly lifted the bag in her hand.
Then she smiled brightly and said, “Want to have one drink?”
Those words sent my heart into overdrive.
Thud thump. Thud thump.
Shit, Hyeryun, I’m dead.
