“Hyeon-seo… haa.”
“I heard he was injured.”
“Sounds like you got in touch with Yu-won. Yeah. They say the surgery just finished, and I sent Min-hyeon and a rookie over right away, but… you know this too— even a healing-type Esper can’t restore someone completely if they’re not treated immediately after the injury, right?”
“I know. That’s why I was under enforced rest this whole time.”
“Anyway, with things like this, we need to restructure the Gate roster. The Gate Hyobin went into is on the higher end even among A-ranks, so there’s a good chance he’ll be in there for the full seven days…”
The Center Director let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. Hyeon-seo’s injury alone was a problem, but the timing couldn’t have been worse.
“We should probably bring Hyobin along at least, but if he goes in right away, efficiency will drop.”
“But there’s no helping it. It’s not like I can go into an S-rank Gate alone. Or… maybe the people who helped last time—”
Rion spoke while recalling Oh Tae-hwan and Joo Hee-soo. But the Center Director only shook his head, saying he’d already considered that himself.
“That won’t work either. I wondered why he was adamantly refusing to come up and grab a meal with me… Turns out he aggravated his bad back pushing himself too hard. When the pain’s severe, he can’t even use physical transformation properly.”
“Another obstacle after another…”
“Exactly. One problem stacked on top of the next. In that case, there’s only… one option left.”
“What option?”
Is there really another way? Rion asked skeptically. Reinforcing the team by deploying a large number of A-rank Espers? But even if it was an S-rank Gate, throwing that many A-ranks into it would leave them with no manpower if another Gate erupted elsewhere.
Just within the past week alone, three Gates had appeared. They couldn’t afford to send everyone into a Gate that would almost certainly consume an entire week.
And they still needed personnel to handle the cooperation requests that came in several times a day.
In a situation like this, what kind of method could he possibly be thinking of? Rion held his breath as he waited for the answer.
“I may be A-rank, but if we’re talking raw strength, I don’t fall behind S-ranks.”
“That’s what people say. But what does that have to— wait. Don’t tell me.”
“I’ll go in myself. It’s an emergency. I can’t just sit around.”
At the words I’ll go in myself, Rion looked up at the Center Director in shock. He knew the man had been a famous Esper back in his active days.
But it had been a long time since he’d last entered a Gate. Would it really be okay?
“I went into an S-rank Gate twenty-one years ago. I’ve got experience, and even though I don’t enter Gates myself these days, I get enough reports to have a general picture.”
“Still… are you sure? The Center probably won’t like that.”
“What does that matter right now? Whoever’s even remotely capable needs to go in. For now, it’ll be me, you, and— sorry to him— Hyobin as well. We’ll form the core Esper lineup like that and try rebuilding the rest of the team.”
“Hyobin sunbae won’t come out injured too, right?”
“Think about his ability. He’s more than capable of protecting himself.”
Hyobin, currently the Center’s second most senior S-rank Esper, possessed a binding-type ability. If he weren’t S-rank, it would’ve been closer to a support-type power, but its overwhelming output allowed him to attack as well—a long-range Esper of terrifying strength.
At the same time, he was also an Esper who had almost no direct overlap with Rion.
“I guess close-range types do have a higher risk of injury.”
“Right. As long as he doesn’t charge in like someone who’s got two lives to spare, that’s usually how it goes.”
“……”
Even in a situation like this, the Center Director didn’t miss the chance to slip in a subtle jab. Rion pressed his lips together and pretended not to hear it.
“The Gate should appear around the time Hyobin comes out… Since he’s long-range and relatively lower risk, we’ll have him adapt through live training, but first we’ll need to restore his stamina.”
Having hastily secured a second-best option, the Center Director smacked his lips. Watching him, Rion checked the time.
“I think I should get going now.”
“Huh? Why? Help me look over the roster.”
“Lee Yu-won said he’s coming up right away.”
“Already? The Busan team’s flying back tomorrow.”
“He said he’s taking the train and coming back early.”
Rion replied casually. There was still some time before Yu-won arrived, but he figured he should clean the house properly—something he hadn’t been able to focus on while Yu-won was gone—and prepare something to eat, since Yu-won would be tired.
“He may not be as bad as Hyeon-seo, but didn’t the report say that whole team was injured? Is it really okay for him to come back without proper treatment?”
“If he’s coming back, he must be fine. Anyway, I’ll head out first. He’s going into the Gate with me anyway, so let’s talk tomorrow.”
“Yeah, sure. Keep an eye on him, and if he seems off, send him straight to the hospital. He’s starting to resemble you more and more.”
The Center Director nodded. After all, assembling the S-rank Gate roster was entirely his authority, and Hyobin hadn’t even exited his Gate yet, so there was no need to rush.
More than that, just thinking about the S-rank Gate that would appear in a few days—how they’d report it, the inevitable uproar—made his head ache even more.
“It’s been a while since I last entered a Gate… better prepare when I can.”
An S-rank Gate for the first time in twenty-one years, followed by another S-rank Gate just two months later, without a moment to breathe.
There was no need to think too hard to know how massive the ripple effects of this Gate would be.
***
“Not here yet.”
After arriving home and cleaning, Rion checked the time. Yu-won said he’d catch the 7:20 train, which meant he’d arrive at the station around ten, and even taking a taxi, it would take nearly thirty minutes to get home.
“It’s not even ten yet… maybe I should prepare something simple to eat.”
Seeing he still had some time, Rion opened the refrigerator to see if there was anything easy to throw together.
Since no one had been home and he’d often eaten out, there wasn’t much left inside.
“…Should I just order delivery? Ah, thirty minutes is kind of awkward… maybe I should go downstairs and grab something…”
There was nothing suitable for a quick meal. As Rion mechanically rummaged through the fridge, he spotted something and reached for it.
“Oh, haven’t seen this in a while.”
It was the health drink pack his secret benefactor used to leave in front of the dorm door for him from time to time.
It wasn’t a product custom-made for Rion. It was just from a brand known for decent results—something he’d tried once when he was barely past being a rookie and had kept drinking out of habit since.
“I’ve seen him bring this before too, but… it’s still surprising he drinks stuff like this.”
Everyone knew health was important, but Yu-won seemed like the type who wouldn’t care about things like this at all, which made it oddly surprising.
“But why’d he shove it so far back? Ah—did it get pushed back while cleaning?”
Rion placed the health drink somewhere visible and closed the fridge door. It seemed making a proper meal with what he had was a lost cause.
After buying some suitable late-night food from a nearby shop, Rion returned home. It was 10:30 now—Yu-won should be arriving any time.
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
Sure enough, not long after, the sound of a keypad being pressed echoed through the apartment. Rion sprang up and headed for the front door.
“I’m back.”
“Oh, you’re ba—ck…”
It was the face he’d been wanting to see, yet when they actually met, Rion had no idea what to say. After staring awkwardly at Yu-won for a moment, he reached out and took his bags.
“Go wash up. Did you eat?”
“No. Not yet…”
“Then shower first and eat this afterward. I picked it up from the tteokbokki place downstairs.”
Rion said it, thinking it was a good thing he’d prepared something in advance. Yu-won nodded and headed into the bathroom with his clothes.
After setting Yu-won’s bag down in his room, Rion waited for him to finish showering.
When he comes out, I should ask what happened inside the Gate first. Right— and about Hyeon-seo sunbae too.
As he organized what he wanted to say in his head, Rion nodded repeatedly. Just as he thought he’d be able to talk without sounding dazed, Yu-won called out to him.
“Hyung.”
“Uh—yeah?”
“Could you grab any T-shirt from the third drawer of my wardrobe?”
“Didn’t you bring clothes in?”
“I thought I did, but I only brought two pairs of pants.”
Yu-won’s troubled voice echoed from the bathroom. Guess he was really tired. Rion paused just as he was about to pull out the drawer.
“Just come out. We’re both guys—what’s the big deal.”
“……”
“What are you so embarrassed about?”
They said the best way to reduce awkwardness was to show a little embarrassment. And besides, they were both men—what was the issue with seeing each other naked?
“With a body like yours, why do you hide it so carefully?”
“That’s not the—!”
His voice echoed back, thick with flustered embarrassment. Rion shut the drawer he’d opened and said,
“Just come out. It’s not like the bathroom’s far from your room.”
Hearing Rion speak in a tone that made it clear he had no intention of fetching clothes, Yu-won let out a sigh. But no one could live in a bathroom forever—before long, the bathroom door finally opened.
