Kang Rion glanced at Lee Yu-won’s face. Yu-won wore his usual calm, indifferent expression, but for some reason, Rion found it oddly discomforting.
“What are you doing? Not going in?”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah, we should. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but… it kinda feels like the sign changed or something. Just a weird feeling, haha.”
At Jin-ha’s call, Rion mumbled an awkward excuse and stepped into the restaurant. He hadn’t blurted anything crazy in front of the owner last time, so there was no reason to think he would now—but still, Rion couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling about Yu-won’s behavior that day.
Meanwhile, the restaurant owner greeted Oh Tae-hwan warmly, having recognized him.
“It’s been a while. I thought you’d retired.”
“Ah, I just came back for an S—ow!”
“Excuse me?”
Tae-hwan, who’d been about to tell the truth, was pinched in the back by Joo Hee-soo. She gave him a pointed look—The Gate hasn’t even opened yet, are you trying to blab that to a civilian?—and covered it up with a smile.
“I’ve got a little teaching to do for some juniors.”
“Oh, I see.”
The owner, who usually greeted customers with bright energy, now wore a slightly wistful expression. It was because both Tae-hwan and Hee-soo had been new recruits at the time of her husband’s death, and she’d seen them fall apart at his funeral more than anyone else.
“Oh dear, I’ve left all the customers standing outside. Come in, come in—it’s about that time, you must all be starving.”
Forcing a brighter tone, she ushered everyone inside.
***
“No drinking, right?”
“Drinking? Are you serious? Did you forget training starts tomorrow?”
“I was just saying it, just saying…”
Tae-hwan’s awkward face said it all—he’d brought it up and instantly regretted it as Hee-soo scolded him. Watching the two bicker playfully yet stick together so well, Han Seo-ha cautiously asked,
“I heard you two registered as a pair right after your matching rate test?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I met my matching guide when I was just a rookie Esper and we registered as a pair immediately. Back then, all you had to do was apply.”
“Then… are you two married?”
Seo-ha took the bullet for a question everyone had been wondering. All eyes turned to Tae-hwan and Hee-soo.
“What?!”
Both of them stared at Seo-ha like the mere suggestion was infuriating. They didn’t even have to answer—their expressions said enough.
“Ha! As if. With this weirdo? I’m married. Got two kids, even.”
“Speak for yourself. I’ve got a middle schooler and a daughter at home. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make statements that threaten my peaceful family life.”
“Just to be clear—we’ve never dated. Not even once. Sure, a lot of pairs end up that way, so I understand the confusion, but… seriously, we’re not like that.”
Hee-soo emphasized every single word. She never imagined she’d hear that worn-out misunderstanding again, let alone from juniors who were practically kids.
“S-Sorry! It’s just… you two seem so…”
Close? Good together? Seo-ha trailed off, trying to read the room. Watching this, the Center Director let out a booming laugh and said,
“Well, it happens. Just because you’re paired doesn’t mean you’re glued at the hip. Hey, look—there’s a perfect example right next to you.”
“Director…”
“……”
Strictly speaking, they weren’t a pair, but all the conditions were there. Both Rion and Yu-won’s expressions stiffened. Rion especially looked like he might flip the entire table at any second, eyes flashing.
“Oh? They’re not a pair?”
“It didn’t say ‘pair’ in the files.”
“Still… with a 99 percent matching rate and they’re not a pair?”
Tae-hwan looked genuinely surprised. And understandably so—a 99 percent match was practically unheard of. That they weren’t officially paired didn’t make any sense to him.
“Come on, even with a 100 percent match, people don’t always register. We paired at 89 percent, didn’t we?”
“Is there some special reason? Or… is it because Yu-won’s too young?”
“No, it’s just…”
Because the guy’s a smug little brat and I can’t imagine working with him long-term. But Rion couldn’t exactly say that, so he kept his mouth shut.
“I just wanted to think about it a little longer. And… honestly, Rion-sunbae’s the type who works better unbound, doing things freely.”
It was Yu-won who stepped in to smooth things over. Everyone here—aside from Tae-hwan and Hee-soo—already knew why the pair registration had been withdrawn, but Yu-won lied without batting an eye.
“……”
The most surprised by Yu-won’s behavior… was Rion. It was just one strange action after another today. He couldn’t figure out what the hell Yu-won was doing.
“Is that so? Well, yeah, it’s smart to think carefully. Look at us—we haven’t been inside a Gate in nearly ten years, but because we’re paired, we got called out together.”
Hee-soo and Tae-hwan eagerly advised them to be cautious and deliberate… then immediately started snapping at each other again.
Their petty bickering only settled down once the food arrived.
“Eat up, everyone.”
“Thank you, ma’am!”
“Director! We’ll eat well!”
“Yeah, yeah. Eat up and make it worth the cost.”
Rion, seated a bit away from Yu-won, kept stealing glances at him while eating. Jin-ha, sitting beside him, leaned in and said in a low voice,
“Yu-won seems to be speaking pretty kindly about you, though?”
“…That’s not like him. He’s just putting on a face ‘cause we’ve got seniors around.”
Rion’s expression twisted with doubt. He’d been fooled too many times thinking Yu-won was finally decent, only to get sucker punched later. He wasn’t ready to let his guard down.
“You think? Seems sincere to me.”
“No way. Even last time we came here—”
“Last time?”
“…Forget it. This meat’s really good.”
Rion had started to mention what Yu-won said the last time they were here but closed his mouth. It wasn’t something to talk about with so many ears around, and besides, the restaurant owner was now standing by the Center Director and the two seniors, chatting.
There was no way he could say it in front of her.
“So, retiring doesn’t always mean stopping completely, huh?”
“Right. Usually it just means relocating to the provinces. Most don’t fully retire right away. They just stop entering Gates, but still work.”
“Then do most people leave the Central Center before they hit forty?”
“Pretty much. Especially Guides—they quit even earlier. Going into a Gate unarmed isn’t easy, and since Guides can’t protect themselves, it gets scarier the older they get.”
“My husband too… Ah, forget I said anything. Want me to bring more meat?”
Maybe it was seeing her husband’s old colleagues, but the owner was unusually talkative today. Rion just stared at her, looking slightly dazed.
His eyes met Hee-soo’s, and he quickly looked away.
“You don’t seem like someone who’d retire early, Rion.”
“Huh?”
“You’re in your fourth year already. Have you ever thought about when you’d leave the Central Center?”
Hee-soo asked in a light tone.
Just as she said, Espers and Guides rarely worked long at the Central Center. Entering Gates took a physical and mental toll. Most left due to injuries or PTSD from failed missions or compulsion disorders.
Among the current Central Center staff, the oldest Esper was 33, and the oldest Guide was 31.
“…I plan to keep working as long as I’m able. Unless I’m too injured to go inside a Gate, I’ll probably keep going.”
“Knew it.”
“The record was what, forty-one? The longest anyone stayed with the Central Center? At this rate, you might break that.”
“Don’t say that. He needs a break. The guy’s obsessed with work, it’s a problem.”
The Center Director let out a deep sigh.
“It’s a relief Yu-won’s around now. Back then, without a matching Guide, the kid insisted on working anyway, ran around like a maniac. I was seriously worried I’d be burying a corpse.”
“A lifesaver, really. I mean, with a 99 percent S-rank Guide around, it’s a miracle he matches well with anyone else.”
Rion couldn’t laugh along with the joking tone of his seniors—because Yu-won was staring straight at him with that annoying, unreadable expression.
“If Rion’s going to stick around the Central Center, Yu-won’s gonna have to stay too. Yu-won, are you planning to stay in this job for a while?”
“Yeah. Even if Rion wants to stay long-term, if he doesn’t have a guide…”
“There’s Jin-ha, right? His match rate isn’t bad either.”
Cutting off the Director, Rion abruptly gestured to Jin-ha.
Caught off guard, Jin-ha pointed to himself with a startled look—Me?
As the air grew a bit tense, Yu-won quietly opened his mouth.
