There was no need to ask his teammates to understand why Rion had gotten hurt. Just typing those three syllables—Kang Rion—into a search bar brought up detailed articles outlining his condition and exactly how he’d gotten injured.
Yu-won had read those detailed articles over and over, recalling everything he’d experienced firsthand. Still, he couldn’t make sense of it.
He knew what kind of person Rion was. Knew that the man held a conviction more important than his own life. That his sincere, worried words in that moment were probably just fleeting noise to Rion—barely even worth remembering.
Yu-won knew that. But accepting it? That was a different story.
No, he didn’t want to accept it.
He wanted to ask—did it have to be that way? Couldn’t he at least have gotten treated properly before going into battle? But the only person who had the answer to that question had been asleep for days.
Staying at the hospital any longer, Yu-won felt like he’d end up running to Rion’s room, grabbing his shoulders, and begging him to answer. That’s why he gave up his remaining leave and went home.
“You worked hard to get that time off. Just rest until tomorrow as scheduled.”
He’d thought that returning to work might help clear his mind, but the Center Director had given him one extra day to rest.
Still, Yu-won thought maybe he should’ve insisted on returning early.
He understood what it meant to be an Esper. But imagining Rion, choosing without hesitation to sacrifice himself—it left a tight, aching weight in his chest.
At times, he found himself imagining Rion leaping straight into the boss’s mouth. It left him disturbed for a long while afterward.
They said it wasn’t life-threatening, that he’d wake up soon…
Tomorrow would mark one full week since the S-rank Gate had been cleared. They’d said he’d probably wake up in a week, but with each passing day, Yu-won grew more and more worried that Rion’s recovery was taking too long.
“Hey, Lee Yu-won.”
“I told you—go away. I’m not in the mood to talk.”
Yu-won had been sitting quietly for a while when Ji-won knocked on his door and called his name. Yu-won, assuming he was about to get nagged again, tried to brush him off.
But at Ji-won’s next words, his head snapped up.
“He woke up. Just now. It’s on the breaking news.”
Yu-won immediately opened the door and turned toward the living room TV. Just as Ji-won said, a headline was scrolling across the bottom of the screen.
[Esper Kang Rion regains consciousness]
Kang Rion had awakened from his long sleep.
***
“Uwaahh! I seriously thought you were gonna die, sunbae!”
“Ah, damn it, don’t throw yourself at me! This time I really might die!”
“Why are you crying? People are gonna think you actually did die… Sniff. Whatever…”
Joo-chan and Seo-ha were on the verge of tears as they stood beside Rion’s bed.
The others weren’t crying outright, but their faces betrayed the emotion welling up inside.
“I’m fine, guys. You all heard what the doctor said.”
“Yeah, now we know you’re fine. But back then, we really thought it was over.”
“Seriously. You can’t just brush it off like it’s no big deal.”
“But it was something I had to do. I’m really okay. If I hadn’t done that, it could’ve been a lot worse.”
Among everyone in the hospital room, Rion himself was the calmest. He leaned against the bed, trying to comfort the others, who still looked visibly shaken.
“I said I’m fine. You’re all overreacting.”
“You can’t even walk properly.”
“They said my legs’ll be fine in two weeks. It’s whatever… I just won’t walk for a bit.”
Rion patted his legs lightly as he spoke.
Even with a healing-type Esper, recovery wasn’t guaranteed to be perfect. Their abilities worked best on fresh injuries.
In Rion’s case, Min-hyeon had drained himself just keeping him stable in the field, so his legs weren’t completely healed by the time they got him to the hospital. Thankfully, the emergency treatment had been enough to prevent further damage—as long as he was careful for the next two weeks, he’d be fine.
“Someone who didn’t know better would think both your legs were shattered.”
“…Still, I should’ve finished healing you no matter what you said…”
“Don’t blame yourself. I told you I was fine, didn’t I? And it’s a good thing you saved your strength. If you hadn’t… I probably wouldn’t have even made it into the ambulance.”
“Hyung!”
“Kang Rion!”
Rion’s joke made the team gasp and cut him off immediately. They didn’t even want to imagine a scenario like that—not even as a joke.
“Don’t say stuff like that.”
“Okay, okay. I’m just saying I’m well enough to joke now. You’re all acting like it’s a funeral in here.”
“That doesn’t matter. No one’s gonna laugh at a joke about your life.”
“Haa… Still, I’m glad we got to see you awake before our break ended. We’re heading out tomorrow.”
Hyeon-seo let out a quiet sigh. She’d been terrified they’d have to return without knowing if Rion would wake up—but at least the worst-case scenario had been avoided.
“We’re all going back to the Center tomorrow. You should stay a few more days. There’re still tests you need, and even if there weren’t, you need rest.”
“I feel fine. I could just… Well, okay, yeah, maybe not going back right now.”
Rion trailed off, wilting under the firm stares of his teammates.
He’d thought he might be okay as long as he took it easy, but with those looks? He was afraid they might actually carry him around if he tried anything.
Rion had been unconscious, so he didn’t know what he’d looked like back then—but the others had seen it all, and that was something they couldn’t just forget.
Even if his recovery seemed fast, he’d undergone surgery. It wasn’t something to take lightly.
“You don’t need guiding? It’s been almost a week without it.”
“Hmm? Oh… Maybe because I haven’t used my ability? I feel fine. Actually, I feel refreshed—like I got a full recharge while I was out.”
Rion glanced around the room at Jin-ha’s question, his eyes searching for someone. When it came to guiding, there was one person he couldn’t not think of.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked,
“…Where’s Yu-won?”
“Oh, he got discharged yesterday. Said he wanted to go straight back to work. Of all the traits to share, he had to inherit the workaholic gene.”
“At this rate, I’m afraid he’s gonna start yelling at us like a hothead, too.”
“You wanna die?”
Rion raised a fist at Joo-chan with a grin. But his smile didn’t reach all the way.
He already went back, huh. Well, the Center’s always short-staffed, and this was a huge group on leave all at once… He probably felt guilty.
“That’s what professionalism is. Clearly, I trained him well.”
“You did?”
“Wanna test me?”
The room was lively and full of banter, but for some reason, Rion felt uneasy.
He and Yu-won were a matching pair. And inside the Gate, they’d gotten a bit closer—or so Rion had thought.
There are so many people here, but the one person I was kind of hoping to see isn’t among them…
“So how long do I have to rest?”
“The Center Director’s on his way now. He’ll tell you.”
“Yeah. You’ve still got a bunch of tests left. We just asked for a few minutes to talk, and they made an exception. As soon as dinner ends, you’re off on a tour of the testing wing.”
“I really am fine though…”
“Yeah, and we don’t trust you. Anyway, we’re being discharged tomorrow morning, so we’ll say goodbye before we go.”
Min-cheol gave Rion’s hair a rough ruffle and smiled. Usually full of mischief, today he looked both serious and a little emotional.
“Got it.”
“Rest up and ace those tests.”
Rion nodded. His teammates, who had filled the room with noise and warmth, gradually filed out.
Not long after, the Center Director arrived—and to Rion’s surprise, he was crying.
“Can you please try not to get yourself killed, you brat?”
“This… isn’t a dream, right?”
“Don’t even start.”
“Ow!”
The Director smacked Rion’s head, his tears vanishing instantly as he launched into an update about the Gate’s aftermath—the very news Rion had most wanted to hear.
“…So yeah, you took the worst of it, and a few other Espers had minor injuries. But for an S-rank Gate, the outcome was surprisingly decent.”
“That’s good. I’m glad no one else got seriously hurt.”
“No one got hurt? You got hurt, didn’t you?”
“I’m fine now.”
Rion gave a beaming smile.
It was frustrating how little he valued his own life, but the Director figured he could save the scolding for later.
Today, he just wanted to be happy that Rion had woken up.
“Fine. But take a few more days off. I’ll set your return date for the Monday after next. I’d give you more time if I could, but… if I let you rest any longer, you’d probably show up unpaid just to work anyway.”
“Monday after next, huh… Haa. That’s a long break. I’m gonna start feeling stiff.”
“Oh, and working non-stop doesn’t make you feel stiff? No room for negotiation.”
Rion nodded, albeit reluctantly.
He did want to shave a day or two off and return early, but refusing the Director’s kindness outright would’ve been rude.
“You’ll get bored by yourself, so I’ll drop by again when I have time. Get plenty of rest.”
“Okay. Take care heading back.”
Rion saw the Director off.
After that came a series of tests. At one point, he casually asked if he could just return to work now—and got a brief scolding from the doctor in response.
Back in his hospital room, Rion flopped onto the bed. Maybe because he’d been asleep for so long, he didn’t feel the slightest bit tired.
He checked his phone for the first time in nearly a week. Messages from friends and acquaintances were piled up.
As he scrolled through the older ones, he suddenly noticed something new—and read the most recent message.
[Asshole: I’ll come by.] 10:31 PM
The message had just arrived.
It was short and direct, with no pleasantries. So perfectly in character that Rion had to smile.
Knock knock—
He was still staring blankly at the text when someone knocked.
Before Rion could even respond, the door to his hospital room slowly opened.
