“My best bud, Moon Roi, is here.”
As soon as Seo-ha saw Moon Roi’s face appear on the wall pad, he rushed barefoot to the door, personally opening it with a warm, welcoming smile.
“What’s with you all of a sudden?”
Instead of stepping in, Moon Roi took a step back. His body language said he’d bolt at any moment, and Seo-ha gave him a side glance.
“I give you a warm welcome and this is the thanks I get?”
“When did you ever greet me that enthusiastically? If you’ve got time for this crap, just buy me some beef.”
“Why beef? You’re not a pig.”
“You forgot. You seriously forgot.”
Seo-ha snarked back, thinking there was no reason he owed Moon Roi beef, but judging by that reaction, it looked like there actually was a reason.
“Oh…”
It came back to him.
He had not only stayed at Moon Roi’s place but even had the nerve to ask Roi to pack his stuff.
“Drink a lot tonight.”
When Seo-ha suddenly became all soft and friendly as if nothing had happened, Moon Roi’s eyes narrowed further. His expression practically screamed, You remember, so why haven’t you said you would buy it yet?
“Anyway, just come in and sit down.”
Trying to appease Moon Roi’s rising complaints, Seo-ha gently pushed him on the back and led him into the living room. The two men who had been chatting looked over. Ian stood up and extended his hand toward Moon Roi.
“Nice to meet you.”
Moon Roi didn’t take the hand right away—probably because the guy was a foreigner. Seo-ha nodded slightly in understanding and added,
“Bit awkward with the hand, huh?”
Only then did Moon Roi shake Ian’s hand.
“I’m Moon Roi.”
“Ian Poulter.”
“You’re really tall. It’s not often I have to look up this much to talk to someone…”
Almost immediately after the brief greeting, Moon Roi blurted out a remark about Ian’s height, clearly fascinated. Sure, Han Ju-oh was also taller than Moon Roi, but Ian was over 190 cm, making the difference feel even greater. Not to mention, Ian’s build was even more imposing than Han Ju-oh’s, making Moon Roi look even smaller in comparison.
“It’s been a while, Esper Han Ju-oh.”
Moon Roi gave a quick greeting to Han Ju-oh as well before glancing at the cluttered table and finding a random spot to sit down.
‘Yeah, he’s the type you don’t need to fuss over,’ Seo-ha thought as he casually slipped out of the house. Returning quickly to his own place, he grabbed a pack of meat from the fridge along with lettuce, ssamjang, and whatever else was within reach. Arms full, he re-entered Han Ju-oh’s home. Moon Roi glanced over and shot him a look filled with dissatisfaction.
“Just buy it from a restaurant.”
“I’m the best at grilling it.”
Telling Moon Roi to wait a little, Seo-ha stepped into the kitchen, but he could soon feel someone following him. There was no need to check who it was.
“Why did you come in here?”
“Don’t grill it.”
“Huh? Ahh. This is to fulfill my promise to buy Moon Roi beef.”
Honestly, grilling it himself was cheaper than buying it, but Han Ju-oh’s eyes were filled with quiet protest. What was with all this damn fuss—from both Moon Roi and Han Ju-oh?
“I’ll go buy it, so stop.”
“What are you on about? You had no complaints when I grilled beef for you, so what’s the problem now?”
Was Ju-oh saying not to use his kitchen? But that didn’t seem to be it either. It was obviously just petty jealousy, and once Seo-ha figured that out, he stared at Han Ju-oh for a moment before it clicked.
‘He’s jealous. And seriously, really jealous.’
Now that he understood, there was no reason to hesitate. He tore open the meat pack and laid the slices one by one onto the preheated frying pan. Sizzle! The sound of meat grilling cut through the conversation happening in the living room.
“Don’t just stand there like that. Go sit down. Or do you wanna rinse the lettuce?”
As the rich scent of grilled meat wafted through the air, Han Ju-oh’s irritation became even more obvious. Seo-ha ignored it and smoothly changed the subject.
“You like Ian?”
Eventually, out came a childishly worded question from Han Ju-oh’s mouth.
“Yeah.”
It wasn’t said to provoke Han Ju-oh’s jealousy—it was just the truth.
“He’s polite and easy to talk to. Makes you feel comfortable. Makes you wonder where the hell he’s been this whole time.”
Something you could never expect from Han Ju-oh. Gentlemanly? Not even close. The man was stubborn as hell, always saying whatever he wanted, and never let you relax for a second.
In that sense, Ian was basically the polar opposite of Han Ju-oh.
As Seo-ha transferred the perfectly grilled meat onto a plate, he picked up a slice and popped it into Han Ju-oh’s mouth. Sure, meat tastes best when eaten hot—but more than that, it was a way to shut him up.
“You said you two get along well, right? Then wouldn’t you make a good pair for dungeon runs?”
Seo-ha’s question made Han Ju-oh’s brows draw together, then relax.
“If you’re worried about this gate, there’s no need.”
Even with his lips still glossy from the meat, his voice carried a serious weight.
“No need? What do you mean, no need? You’re the one who said you don’t want two Guides.”
He was talking about the time Han Ju-oh had flat-out refused to be Guided by anyone else.
“So, I figured I’d bring two Espers in with me.”
Seo-ha’s plan was to enter this S-Class gate with Ian as well.
Han Ju-oh stared at Seo-ha in silence for a moment. A swirl of emotions flickered in his eyes, then vanished. ‘Two Espers instead of two Guides?’ The absurdity of that, combined with the fact that the other Esper was Ian, was already irritating—but that final twist left him looking like he’d just been betrayed.
“I’m your partner.”
“Yeah.”
“Then why do you keep trying to wedge someone else between us?”
“Tch. Like I’m in any shape to handle even you, let alone bring someone else into the mix.”
Seo-ha shoved another bite of beef into Han Ju-oh’s mouth. He took a bite himself too, savoring the flavor as he chewed, then spoke again.
“I just reconsidered things. I thought maybe if we had two S-Class Espers, even an S-Class gate would be manageable.”
The whole point of assigning gate grades was to match them with Espers of appropriate levels. If an E-Class Esper entered a B-Class gate, they’d get annihilated. That grading system existed to balance those risks.
So does that mean only S-Class Espers can go into S-Class gates?
Of course not. S-Class Espers weren’t lying around like loose change—you couldn’t possibly form full teams with just them. That’s why the official threshold had been lowered to include A-Class Espers.
In cases where a gate’s rank couldn’t be lowered, like now, it was standard to send one S-Class Esper supported by a number of A-Class Espers.
The boss monster inside was the kind that only an S-Class Esper could handle, so it had to be taken down. If both Han Ju-oh and Ian were part of the mission, it would be the perfect combination.
Han Ju-oh realized why Seo-ha had shown such interest in Ian, and shook his head. He had two pieces of meat stuffed in his mouth, so he couldn’t respond right away.
“I can handle it just fine on my own. So you don’t need to try and impress anyone.”
“I know you can. But isn’t two better than one?”
Han Ju-oh still didn’t look happy about it, but the tension eased a little.
“Just because you’re trying to impress him doesn’t mean Ian’s going in. Don’t get your hopes up and end up disappointed. Might be better to let it go, yeah?”
“Disappointed? I’m not disappointed.”
Seo-ha dipped a fresh-grilled slice of beef in ssamjang and fed it to Han Ju-oh as he spoke.
“I already got a definite yes.”
Han Ju-oh’s brows scrunched into a frown.
***
“A reply from the National Security Department.”
As Kim Mi-yeon checked the tablet handed to her by her secretary, she immediately muttered a soft curse.
“So they’re just going to toss Han Ju-oh into a meat grinder, huh?”
They’d requested additional overseas reinforcements to fill the personnel gaps for the upcoming gate, but the only response was that there would be no second dispatch. Once they’d sent someone, that was it. No extras. It was a clear stance: If you want help, you’d better be prepared to pay for it.
“I’ll reach out directly to overseas guilds myself.”
“Of course you will. But start with Black Mamba. Tell them we’ll meet whatever demands they have, to the best of our ability…”
Her phone rang, cutting her off. She glanced at the screen. The name “Ian” was displayed. Kim Mi-yeon motioned to her secretary that she’d call them back and answered the phone.
“Having fun?”
– Ju-oh’s got a great new partner.
“Sounds like you’re pretty fond of Guide Baek.”
Ian’s voice, brimming with excitement, made Kim Mi-yeon smile as she responded. It was good to hear he was having a nice time reconnecting after a long while.
“Let me know before you leave. Let’s grab a meal.”
– I’m going to be here for a while.
“Huh?”
– I’m going to clear a dungeon with Ju-oh.
He skipped over a lot of context, but it was obvious Ian was talking about the S-Class gate Han Ju-oh was assigned to.
“You’ve already gone into a gate. Are you even allowed to? I doubt your guild will be thrilled.”
He’d already completed his duties as part of the dispatch. If he went back in and something happened, it could become a massive liability for his guild.
– I want to show how well Ju-oh and I fight together.
Show? To who?
“Hey. Say it properly. Are you drunk?”
– What if I outshine Ju-oh? Roi might faint from the shock.
“What the hell are you even talking about? Faint?!”
Even though it was just a phone call, it already felt like pure chaos.
