“You know, your eyes look a little swollen.”
“Guess I’m just tired.”
“Well, yeah. You barely rested at all since we got here. And you even pulled night watch. No wonder.”
The swelling had gone down a lot, so people took Rion’s explanation at face value without any real suspicion.
And to be fair, no one had struggled more in this Gate than Rion had.
“We should all get our act together so you don’t have to suffer so much. We can’t just keep whining while you’re the one busting your ass.”
“No, it’s okay. I know you’re all working hard, even if you say otherwise.”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s the spirit.”
Tae-hwan stretched with a loud groan, then placed a hand on Rion’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“Don’t carry it all on your shoulders. Even when they complain like hell, A-rank and S-rank Espers have all gone through this. They think they’re hot shit, but S-rank Gates are a whole different beast—it throws people off. Happened during my time too.”
“Especially that old guy over there. He was the worst. Bawling his eyes out in front of everyone, saying he was gonna quit.”
Hee-soo chimed in, grinning as she mimicked Tae-hwan’s old breakdown, hamming it up for laughs.
“‘I’m just not cut out for this! What good is being S-rank?! I’m trash! I quit! I’m turning in my resignation as soon as we get back!’”
“Seriously? You’re bringing up something that happened twenty-one years ago? You think that’s funny? Like you weren’t sobbing and going, ‘I’m not even a real Esper, and I don’t even have the stamina to run away if something goes wrong! Waaah!’”
“If I had the kind of strength to fold steel like a piece of paper, I wouldn’t have cried like that! Besides, I was barely twenty back then!”
“Well, Yu-won’s twenty, and he’s doing just fine.”
“I’m telling you, if only I could fold a steel plate in half, I’d have folded someone by now.”
Their familiar bickering—practically a daily routine—eased the tension among the younger Espers.
It was comforting to know they weren’t the only ones struggling. And having seniors who’d been through the same thing and were still here, helping others—it soothed their unease.
“Yu-won’s the exception. And for a civilian, he’s actually pretty strong. Did you see his muscles the other day? That was no joke.”
“Come on, don’t exaggerate. He’s skinny as hell.”
“You can’t compare him to some bulky old man and call him skinny. That body’s impressive. I saw him take off his shirt for a second ‘cause he spilled something, and the muscles were…”
“You do realize he’s young enough to be your son, right?”
“I’m just stating facts. Facts.”
The air turned lively in an instant, and a few team members tried to stifle their laughter as they watched the exchange.
“Back in the day, this guy was…”
“Let’s save that story for later and get moving. It sounds hilarious, but I’d rather hear it at that barbecue place once we’re done here.”
“Exactly. These stories go better with drinks. Ugh, I’ve got a bunch of dirt to dish on that lady from back in the day too.”
Tae-hwan nodded in agreement.
Not long after, the group resumed their march—and their steps felt noticeably lighter than the day before.
“Hey, you okay after last night?”
“About what?”
“Yu-won. You two are always awkward.”
At the front of the group, Jin-ha matched pace with Rion and struck up a conversation.
Normally, Rion would’ve immediately started ranting about how much he couldn’t stand Yu-won, maybe even claimed the awkwardness was killing him. But this time, he hesitated.
“…Well, I guess he’s not as bad as I thought.”
“You said if you ever thought that again, you’d be out of your damn mind.”
“…Right. I did say that.”
It would’ve been easy to explain if he just told the truth. But that would mean talking about how he’d broken down in tears—or even digging into things he’d never told anyone about his past.
Instead, Rion just tried to laugh it off.
“Ha… Yeah. Life’s funny like that. I dunno, Joo-chan was passed out and Yu-won was just… holding it down on his own. I guess it made him seem kind of admirable.”
“Really?”
Jin-ha gave him a suspicious look. The same guy who’d once ranted about how he’d rather be San Rion than try to get along with that guy now suddenly seemed like he was warming up? No wonder Jin-ha was side-eyeing him.
Rion was clearly hiding something, still fumbling over his words.
“Sure. If you say so.”
But Jin-ha didn’t press. He figured if Rion didn’t want to talk, there was no need to force it.
Still… watching him squirm is kind of entertaining.
“What? What are you looking at me like that for?”
“You really okay though? Your face is puffy from exhaustion. Especially your eyes. Someone might think you cried all night or something.”
“…Seriously?”
He’d only been joking, but Rion’s reaction was way too earnest.
Jin-ha was now certain—something had definitely happened last night.
“Did you and Yu-won get into a fight?”
“No. Why would I fight with him?”
“You guys fought all the time.”
“…Not so much lately. We barely talked at all, actually.”
Rion mumbled, unable to deny it outright.
But he couldn’t exactly protest Jin-ha’s line of questioning either—not after all the things he’d said before.
“It’s just… we ended up on night watch together, started talking a bit… and he didn’t seem so bad.”
“Yeah?”
“I thought he was just being an ass for no reason, but turns out… he’s got his own reasons, too…”
Rion’s voice trailed off. He suddenly stopped, puzzled by a strange realization.
But… why would he care that much? If he was that worried from the start, even back when we first met… why?
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing. Just overthinking.”
Rion shook his head, brushing it off.
He had a temper, sure. Maybe Yu-won just had his own sensitive spots, too.
“Anyway, I think I won’t be getting mad as often anymore. It’s not like the fact that Yu-won’s my matching Guide is gonna change, right? Might as well get along.”
“Right, exactly. Look at Tae-hwan and Hee-soo. They bicker all the time but still get along. You don’t have to be madly in love or anything.”
“Like Su-jin noona and Min-ho hyung?”
Rion said, glancing behind at the couple, who were practically glued together.
The team had three matching Guide pairs and two full Esper-Guide pairs. One was Tae-hwan and Hee-soo, the other was Su-jin and Min-ho.
Su-jin and Min-ho were so lovey-dovey it sometimes made others uncomfortable. It was almost too much.
Apparently, though, it was normal for matched partners to be that close. Meanwhile, Rion and Yu-won could barely get through a conversation without fighting.
Maybe not that close, but… maybe we could be at least somewhat like them.
His gaze drifted to Tae-hwan and Hee-soo, who were still teasing and poking at each other.
They bickered constantly, but their trust and affection—built over many years—was obvious.
“Yeah. Maybe we won’t be like those two, but still. Since he’s my matching Guide, it’d be nice to get along.”
“Exactly. And hey, you’re the hyung. Maybe it’s on you to take the first step, yeah? Whew, I really hope we can finish this Gate and leave on good terms this time.”
Rion muttered, remembering all the drama that had unfolded every time they’d cleared a Gate over the past six months.
There were times when he had passed out, and others when Yu-won had. But more often than not, they’d end up fighting, and Rion would storm out of the Gate without even glancing back.
This time, he hoped they could finish it without any fights—and actually leave while saying “good job” to each other.
“Yeah… I really hope so.”
“We’ll get there. Don’t worry too much.”
“Still, we gotta clear the Gate properly first. That’s top priority.”
Rion clenched his fists, full of motivation. Seeing this side of him—so fired up compared to his unusually quiet self the day before—made Jin-ha smile. He reached over and ruffled Rion’s hair.
“Good. That’s the spirit.”
“Wow, you two are really vibing. Someone might think you’re the matching pair, not Yu-won.”
“Oh, come on, don’t be ridiculous.”
At Min-cheol’s careless remark, Rion instinctively glanced over at Yu-won, who was trailing behind at a distance. Whether he’d heard it or not was unclear—he was just silently following the front group.
He probably didn’t hear that… Right? And even if he did, I wasn’t the one who said it, so whatever…
“Well, just having a matching Guide is already a stroke of luck.”
“True. I mean, maybe I’m just jealous. You guys are the same age, and you got close pretty quick. Meanwhile, the one person my age already has a partner, so it’s hard to even talk to her.”
The person Min-cheol was referring to was Su-jin. She and Min-ho were practically in their own world most of the time, making it hard to approach her outside of battle or group activities.
“Just thought I’d say it, y’know.”
“Aw, are you bored? Poor guy. Guess I’ll have to keep you company.”
“Please do.”
Before they knew it, Min-cheol had caught up and was now walking right beside Rion. Rion shook his head with a grin and continued chatting with him.
