“You’re going to go through all this, only to cancel it again before a month is up—what’s the point, then? Is this your way of protesting?”
“No. I’m not going to cancel it.”
Without hesitation, Rion continued filling out the paperwork. The Center Director watched him for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh.
Honestly, it would be a relief to tie the two together this way, even if just temporarily—but forcing a pair registration wasn’t something that could be done lightly.
Even so, seeing Rion—face gone pale like he’d been hit with a sledgehammer—silently pushing forward with the documents, the Center Director couldn’t bring himself to stop him. He turned his head toward Yu-won.
“…And what about you?”
The question was asked out of frustration, but with Rion taking it seriously, the Center Director was just as thrown off.
Yu-won might be blunt, but he was a gentle kid—he’d probably go along with it. But was it really okay to push forward with pair registration like this?
While the Director was still mulling it over, Yu-won answered without the slightest hesitation.
“No.”
“What?”
Rion looked up, startled by the firm answer. The nearly completed paperwork crumpled in his hands.
“I don’t want to register as a pair with hyung. I’ll make sure he gets guiding properly, so please reconsider the registration.”
Yu-won spoke in his usual calm tone, his expression unreadable. The Center Director felt a bit relieved, but Rion’s face crumpled into a mess.
“From what I understand, both parties’ consent is essential for a pair registration.”
“Why? I said I’d do it. Doesn’t make a difference to you either way, right?”
“Not anymore. I didn’t care back then, but now I do. I don’t want to.”
Hearing the blunt I don’t want to right to his face, Rion bit his lip, looking a little hurt.
Did Yu-won think he wanted this because he liked him? He was doing it because it was the right decision. That was all.
But even Rion, who was usually loud and quick to anger, couldn’t lash out—because Yu-won wasn’t wrong.
This time, Rion had no excuse.
He’d ignored Yu-won’s repeated insistence to get guiding, snapped at him like What, you think I’ll die without you?, and now it had come to this.
“……”
Rion lowered his head, unable to say anything.
In front of his junior—and worse, in front of a guide he’d always rejected as irritating—he felt pathetic.
Seeing Rion deflated for once, the Center Director cleared his throat uncomfortably.
“That’s enough. Put it away.”
Forcing them into a pair at this point would only make things worse.
Snatching the paperwork from Rion, the Center Director crumpled it up and shoved it into a desk drawer, afraid Yu-won might change his mind.
“You know this isn’t how things should be done. I’ve said it over and over—the Espers and Guides at the Center need to work with a sense of duty and responsibility. If we fall apart, it’s the civilians who’ll suffer from the monsters pouring out of the Gates.”
Sure, there were Espers and Guides out there who got drunk on their own power, threw away any sense of duty, and acted like hotshots—or treated the job like a paycheck.
But Rion was never one of them.
If anything, his sense of duty was so overdeveloped that he’d work himself into the ground. People had to beg him to take care of himself.
To be saying this now, of all times…
The Center Director pressed on.
“That salary you get, the fame you enjoy, the pride and sense of achievement every time you come out of a Gate—none of that comes free. Knowing all that, how can you work like this?”
“I’m sorry.”
Rion bowed deeply.
The Center Director wasn’t exactly feeling great about this, either. But this was something that needed to be addressed.
“If anything like this happens again, you’d better be ready to sign those pair registration papers on the spot. Freedom comes with responsibility. You’re not at an age where that’s news to you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry.”
Both men bowed their heads.
The Center Director spent another full hour lecturing them before finally letting them go.
Even Yu-won, who’d firmly rejected the pair registration, sat quietly like none of that had happened.
In the end, both were given punishments that could be seen as either light… or painfully awkward.
Three-month salary reduction, additional on-call shifts. And for the next day or two—do not show up at the Center. The two of you are to stay together. No one else. Just the two of you.
The salary cut and extra duty? That was fine. Rion could handle that.
But being stuck alone with Yu-won for an entire day? That was soul-crushing.
Still, the Center Director wasn’t wrong.
With slumped shoulders, Rion turned to Yu-won.
“…We should probably talk. Where would be the most comfortable place?”
Every time he’d seen Yu-won lately, he’d either gotten angry or picked a fight. Now it all felt pitiful.
Why had he started all this? To think he almost hurt people because of that dumb reason—he was ashamed.
He’d always known that his short temper would come back to bite him one day, but realizing it could affect other people’s lives? That was something he couldn’t stomach.
“Wherever’s comfortable for you. I don’t mind.”
It wasn’t the kind of talk to have in a public place. So the two moved somewhere more private.
“My place… Uh, it’s pretty cramped though, is that okay?”
“…This might take a while. I don’t mind going to my place instead. It’s not far from the Center, so it won’t take long.”
Rion nodded.
That’s how he ended up at Yu-won’s home. Sitting awkwardly on the couch, he looked around.
Even at a glance, the place looked well-off.
For a 20-year-old living alone, this was way nicer than the house he grew up in with his whole family.
“Here.”
Yu-won handed him a drink. Rion stared at the familiar packaging, a bit dazed, before speaking.
“I think I got something like this as a gift once. Is it popular?”
“…Maybe.”
It was a different container—bottle versus pack—but he was pretty sure it matched one of the health drinks stacked like mountains in his dorm.
What a weird coincidence.
Rion took a sip, thinking about it.
Well, Yu-won had a solid physique. It wasn’t strange that he’d care about his health.
“…I was stubborn and stupid. Honestly, even if you think I’m pathetic, I wouldn’t blame you.”
Rion’s voice was uncharacteristically calm.
Truth was, he’d been drilled for years on how important guiding was.
He didn’t have any Guides with high matching rates, so he’d felt it even more acutely.
This was the first time something like this had happened inside a Gate, but back in his early 20s, not long after starting out as an Esper, he’d collapsed from lack of guiding once before.
Since then, he’d made sure to get even minor guiding regularly and kept up with checkups at the Center.
But after finding a matched Guide… he’d gotten complacent.
Using that match as an excuse, he’d neglected his guiding and even avoided the one person who could actually help him. No wonder this happened.
“I’m sorry. I really was just… being an idiot.”
“…No. I know how important guiding is for Espers. I should’ve been more persistent.”
Rion had expected sarcasm or a jab—but Yu-won admitted fault in a calm voice.
Rion looked up slightly, peeking at Yu-won.
“You’re really okay now?”
“Huh? Oh—yeah. We handled the Gate just fine, didn’t we? As long as I get proper guiding, I’ll be alright.”
Yu-won looked carefully at Rion’s face.
He’d been genuinely shocked when Rion collapsed inside the Gate.
He’d always seen him as strong, unshakable. To see him fall apart, powerless—it had shaken him.
“Your face.”
“…?”
“Your face was really pale. But it’s better now.”
Rion instinctively touched his cheek. Pale? He hadn’t noticed—there were no mirrors in the Gate, after all.
“Even after guiding you, and earlier too—your face was ghost-white.”
“Ah…”
He must’ve meant after the Center Director’s scolding.
Rion gave a small, wry smile.
“Been a long time since I got chewed out like that. Guess I wasn’t ready for it.”
The Center Director had always been like a father—scolding, yes, but also forgiving when Rion got snappy or acted up.
To see him that angry… it really had been a while.
“I won’t give him a reason to get that mad again. Not ever.”
Rion sighed softly.
