“Anyway, is that any good?”
After Joo-chan’s guiding session ended, Jin-ha stood up and pointed to the health drink Rion was holding.
“It’s not like I drink it for the taste… but I’ve gotten used to it after taking it regularly.”
“You buy that all the time?”
“Nah, people at the Center just keep giving it to me like a habit. I don’t think I’ve ever really bought one myself. Kang-woo hyung still brings me one from time to time, and there’s also this secret fairy who used to leave a whole box in front of my dorm.”
Rion tossed the empty bottle into the trash as he spoke. Now that he thought about it, he used to find a box outside about once a week. But not anymore.
“If it’s totally out of sight, it’s fine. But once you see it, you keep reaching for it… And it’s good for your health, right? Gotta stay fit if you want to survive inside the Gate.”
“I think I’ll be assigned to a Gate next week too… I’m kind of nervous.”
Jin-ha glanced down at his notification tablet. It had been almost a month since he joined the Center.
“Don’t worry. I doubt you’ll end up in the same Gate as Rion sunbae, but if you get assigned with me, I’ll protect you like a hero.”
“Worry about yourself first.”
“Aw, come on, sunbae! That’s so mean!”
Joo-chan jumped up in protest, looking wounded, but Rion just snorted.
“Who was it again that almost set an entire forest on fire?”
“Ah, that was just a momentary lapse…”
“And before that, weren’t you the one who singed Ye-rin noona’s hair while trying to light a campfire? She’s still wearing her hair short because of that, isn’t she?”
“…She said it was fine…”
Defeated, Joo-chan shrank into himself. Rion, thinking about Gates, asked him,
“So, what’s your matching rate with him?”
“It’s not bad. Around 54%?”
“Then you’ve got a decent chance of being assigned to the same Gate. Anyone else in the Center have a good match rate with him? Haven’t heard anything about a matched Guide, so I doubt it goes over 70.”
“Hmm… There are a few, but the Esper with the highest match rate with me apparently doesn’t enter Gates often.”
Jin-ha shrugged. Who doesn’t go into Gates? The Center Director? No, that’s a stretch…
“Ah, could it be Min-hyeon?”
“You know him?”
“There aren’t many Espers like that. And among them, he’s the one who really avoids Gates.”
Rion pictured the soft-spoken Esper Min-hyeon in his mind. Was he twenty-two? Twenty-three? He was probably younger than them… They hadn’t met often, so he wasn’t sure.
Giving up on remembering, Rion asked,
“Have you met him much?”
“Not a lot, but I’ve run into him a few times.”
“He’s really quiet, huh? I’ve never seen an Esper that timid before.”
Min-hyeon, who had joined the Center the previous year, was an extremely rare healing-type Esper. Whether his powers reflected his personality, or vice versa, he was excessively timid and scared.
He did enter Gates occasionally, but every time he did, he looked like a death-row inmate being dragged to his execution—and came back pale as a ghost.
And since his ability wasn’t useful in combat—he’d just get in the way in a fight—he was usually assigned to other kinds of support duties.
“He’s the one who treated your arm when you got hurt, by the way. You were unconscious, so I guess you don’t remember.”
“No, I know. I thanked him afterward. So what’s your matching rate with Min-hyeon?”
“Sixty-nine percent.”
Seriously? That weirdly specific number. Rion asked again,
“Sixty-nine? Like, exactly 69%?”
“Yeah. I heard anything over 70 is considered a high match rate, so I’m just 1% short.”
“Min-hyeon’s just… one of a kind. Didn’t they say he also barely missed qualifying as an A-rank?”
Rion clicked his tongue. Min-hyeon was the kind of Esper whose stats were just shy across the board.
Too strong to be called B-rank, but not quite strong enough for A-rank. A healing-type ability that felt a bit off for a combat Esper. And now this—barely missing the matched pair threshold by 1%.
“You couldn’t hit that number on purpose even if you tried.”
“Right? But still… Min-hyeon’s got pretty decent match rates with most people. Not like you, sunbae—your match rate’s basically a disaster zone.”
“You think I want to be like this? It’s been rough, okay?”
Rion leaned back on the couch, grumbling. Matching rate… That damn number had always been the problem.
“But still, if your best match is Jin-ha—wait, never mind. Doesn’t matter, he’s S-rank.”
Rion had been wondering if being Min-hyeon’s match would mean Jin-ha wouldn’t be assigned to Gates often. But he quickly shook his head. Jin-ha was a bonafide S-rank Guide. Even a 40% match rate was better than what most A-rank Guides could offer. There was no reason to keep him out of Gates.
“So much for match rates meaning anything.”
“I did get to see a lot of Gates, though. Whenever the Gate’s color started to shift, Min-hyeon would rush over to wait—so I’d follow him.”
When the boss inside the Gate was cleared, the color of the Gate outside changed. Healing-type Espers and standby Guides would rush over to check for any injured parties.
“But why wasn’t he there yesterday? Were there other Gates ending at the same time?”
“He was on a work trip to the Busan Center with the Center Director.”
“Ahh, that explains it.”
Since Min-hyeon rarely went into Gates, he helped out with administrative duties at the Center. That trip must’ve been part of that work.
“No wonder the Director didn’t rush over yesterday. Even when I said I’d start training, he didn’t call me to his office—just told me over the phone.”
So that’s why. With his personality, Rion had half-expected the Director to storm the hospital and tug his ear off. The fact that he hadn’t said a word had been suspicious.
“Well then, today’s my day. No Center Director, no Lee Yu-won. Time to strut around a bit.”
“You already do that on the regular.”
“Shut up.”
Rion smacked the clueless Joo-chan on the head and stood up with a refreshed expression.
He figured he’d just loaf around the Center for a bit, then go help out if any requests came in. Looked like it’d be a peaceful day.
Up until that very moment.
[Beep-beep-beep—]
Peace didn’t last. Rion saw “[Center Director]” pop up on his phone screen and frowned, a sense of dread creeping in.
“Hello? Didn’t you say my training starts tomorrow?”
[That’s not the issue. Are you at the Center right now?]
“Yeah. Yu-won’s out on sick leave, and I showed up for work…”
[I’m on my way back to the Center now, but it’ll take an hour or two. Don’t leave the building today—stay put. There’s something important I need to talk to you about.]
The tone in the Director’s voice held no trace of his usual playfulness. Rion immediately knew something was wrong and grew serious.
“What happened? Something at the Busan Center?”
[Their Director said he had something urgent to discuss… I went down thinking it’d be nothing, but it doesn’t look that way. Is Yu-won seriously sick?]
“…I wouldn’t know. I haven’t checked in. From what I heard, it’s just a bad cold or flu.”
[Dammit… No, maybe it’s still okay.]
“Can you please just tell me what’s going on? I’m not waiting two hours in this state—I’ll lose my mind.”
Rion had never heard the Director sound this anxious before. Not even when a high-level A-rank Gate had opened, or when Rion had gotten into trouble during his early days at the Center.
Before he realized it, Rion was gripping his phone tightly, waiting for the Director’s reply.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Shh. Let him finish the call first.”
Joo-chan and Jin-ha, still in the guiding room, noticed Rion’s pale expression and could tell something serious was up. They both waited, watching his anxious face.
[Sigh… This hasn’t been officially released yet, and it’s still not confirmed. I’m only telling you for now—don’t let anyone else know. If it turns out to be true, I’ll make an official announcement myself.]
“Okay. Just tell me what it is already.”
[It looks like… an S-rank Gate might be opening soon.]
Rion froze, not believing his ears.
An S-rank Gate?
Did he hear that right?
“…It’s not April Fools’, is it?”
[It’s the middle of summer. And do you think I’m the kind of person who jokes about stuff like this? Anyway, I’ll get back to the Center as fast as I can. Wait for me in my office. Don’t go anywhere—stay put, got it?]
The call ended.
Joo-chan started pestering him, asking what could’ve made him go that pale, but Rion didn’t have the energy to answer.
An S-rank Gate.
For the first time in 21 years, that kind of disaster was returning to Korean soil.
And Rion couldn’t bring himself to tell anyone.
