“What do you mean ‘what’? Your shoulder, obviously…”
Rion’s words trailed off, but the way he acted—like he was hyper-aware of every little thing—was all too clear. He looked completely flustered, and despite how unfamiliar it was… it felt good to see.
But if Yu-won teased him too much, Rion might just snap again. So instead of poking fun, Yu-won chose to address it head-on.
“If it bothered you, I won’t do it again.”
“No, I didn’t say I didn’t like it…”
Watching him stammer, cheeks turning red—it was kind of adorable. Yu-won could’ve watched that face forever, but if he did, the warmth spreading across Rion’s face might just jump over to him too.
Even when he tried to look away, the excitement in his voice refused to hide.
In the end, it wasn’t until Rion scolded him with a few childish words that Yu-won finally shut his mouth.
He no longer expected to come off as mature to Rion, but… he still didn’t want to seem like a kid.
Looking a little sullen, Yu-won spoke up about something he’d nearly forgotten.
“…It wasn’t that I didn’t like it. I just… I…”
“You what?”
“…It just felt weird.”
Such a simple action, such an offhanded line—and yet, the moment Rion became the subject, nothing felt simple anymore.
Why was it that saying one little thing made him lower his head like it was some enormous confession?
He’d never really thought of himself as stupid before in life, but lately… he couldn’t go a day without feeling like an idiot.
***
Regardless of how messy their feelings were, time marched on. It had already been about ten days since Rion and Yu-won started living together. Rion, after that brief period of awkwardness, had quickly adjusted like nothing had happened.
“So what I’m asking is—when are you letting me back into a Gate?”
“Gotta observe a bit longer.”
“‘A bit longer’? Are you seriously leaving a high-tier agent like me just sitting around? It’s been two weeks since I was discharged.”
Now that he was used to living with Yu-won, and had achieved his goal of getting in a few casual touches, Rion’s interest had shifted. Currently, his focus was on just one thing.
“I’m an Esper. I didn’t apply for some office job.”
“I know. Like any office worker goes around clearing roadside trees.”
“But those people aren’t part of the Central Center. What’s the Central Center’s core job? Gate management, right? You even have it written on the official site.”
“When did you go and read that?” The Center Director raised his eyebrows. “Well, yeah, it’s true. But even if that’s the main job, that doesn’t mean every Central Center Esper has to be handling Gates all the time.”
He shrugged like it was obvious, but to Rion—who was desperate to get back into the field—it was maddening.
“Sure, for now, it’s fine if you get hurt and just take some time off. But what if a dangerous Gate opens and you get injured again? You know better than anyone how bad it can get if you let your guard down before you’re fully healed. So wait. Also, while you’re off Gates, we’re putting together a Gate post-processing team.”
“What, you mean that thing with Yu-won and Min-hyeon?”
“Oh, you already know? Yeah. Usually, when a Gate’s big, we link up with a nearby hospital or private emergency crew and have Min-hyeon on standby. But after what happened with you, I figured we need a more structured plan. And hey, we’ve got a new healing-type Esper in, and you’re not in Gates right now—perfect timing.”
The Director looked smugly satisfied as he laid out his carefully crafted plan. And honestly, even Rion had to admit—it sounded useful.
“Now that we’ve got two healing Espers, and two S-rank Guides came in this year, if we build the team right, they can handle both emergency guiding and first aid. That’s efficient.”
“Right? And someone in particular’s gonna benefit most from all this.”
“Who?”
The Director stared meaningfully at Rion, who quickly realized he was the “someone.” His expression soured.
“I haven’t even come back with serious injuries that many times.”
“Oh please, you’ve got the highest injury count.”
“And the team planning’s solid, sure—but Yu-won’s my matching Guide. It’s not like I’m never going into Gates again. If his role shifts, doesn’t that mess with my operation zone too?”
“Sure, he’s your matching Guide, but you’re not a pair. So technically, there’s no issue with him guiding other people. Plus, he’s S-rank. He’s got more than enough guiding energy for most Gates, and we’ll work his schedule around it as much as possible.”
The Director’s tone was light, like it was no big deal. Rion mulled it over, then suddenly asked:
“Then if I did pair with him, wouldn’t that screw up the whole post-processing team?”
“Not totally… but yeah, it’d get tricky.”
“And you’re deciding all this without even telling us? What if we suddenly decide to register as a pair?”
The pair registration had been canceled right before the deadline, but they were still working together practically as if they were paired. It felt like they were doing general guiding work as a side job to their pseudo-pair status.
“You’re not planning to do it, though.”
“Well, right now, I’m not. But who knows?”
“Yeah, no. Not happening. I’ve known you for five years, Rion.”
“Still, you never know what’ll happen.”
“You’re too simple. No variables with you. The only ‘twist’ is when you blow something up—right on schedule.”
The Director delivered the line with zero hesitation. Sure, Rion had completely forgotten about the pair registration too, but hearing someone else say it still rubbed him the wrong way.
“So, how’s the whole living-together situation? No reports of damaged Center property recently, at least. You’re not breaking the house or anything, right? The Center doesn’t reimburse for off-hours destruction.”
“Hey, come on. Give me some credit. What kind of guy do you think I am?”
“You’re the guy who’s wrecked more Center property than anyone, and you are asking me that?”
Rion made a thoroughly offended face. But, in truth, back when fights with Yu-won were constant, he’d broken his fair share of stuff around the Center.
To be more honest, there were a few incidents that went way beyond “a little,” but Rion figured there was no need to bring those up.
“…Well, to be fair, he really knew how to push my buttons back then.”
“And now?”
“Now he’s a bit more mellow. I think I’ve got more patience, too.”
“Wow. You’re actually growing. Maybe people do change if they live long enough. I mean, I’ve seen the dumbest duo in the Center give advice to juniors now. And I’ve even seen Kang Rion calm down.”
“…You’re starting to sound like Yu-won, Center Director.”
Rion muttered with a grumble. Sure, the Director had always had that smiling-while-threatening vibe, but lately, even his tone was starting to sound eerily like Yu-won’s.
Yu-won himself had been relatively quiet lately, though.
“Feels like we don’t argue as much, now that we’ve stopped talking about work all the time.”
“Huh. That’s a surprise. Well, if that’s the case, good. But I’ve dealt with enough of your past shit to not trust just a week of peace.”
“If you’re that skeptical, how can you trust me with work?”
Rion pouted.
“You don’t know what the future holds. Maybe I’ll march right over and turn in that pair registration form.”
“Even if the whole world changes, you won’t. That damn temper of yours—if someone could fix it, they would’ve by now. I’ve been trying for years with no luck.”
“Then… maybe Yu-won will change instead.”
“He’s not much better in that department… Anyway, you’re not even uncomfortable now, are you? Who was it who said he’d rather die than pair up?”
Rion shut his mouth. He didn’t have a comeback for that.
If it was only about efficiency and compatibility, then pairing with Yu-won would’ve been the smarter choice. But there were reasons he didn’t want to.
First, registering as a pair would mean Yu-won could only guide him. Usually, when Espers and Guides pair up, they stop working with others—just in case something urgent happens and they need all their energy for their match.
Even helping out here and there in other Gates was fine—but once officially registered, the Center’s guiding system would take your name off the rotation.
And Yu-won was an S-rank Guide. A major asset to the Center. It didn’t make sense to hog him for himself.
Second, timing.
Sure, things between them had improved. They were getting along better than before. But they still weren’t that close.
And if he brought up pair registration now, it might look like their whole cohabitation was just a setup for better matching rates.
They’d been working fine even without registering, and it wasn’t like anything major had happened to justify making it official.
Yu-won hadn’t brought it up. The Director was just talking offhandedly. Who was he to rain on that parade?
“…Want me to go grab a pair registration form?”
“Forget it. Can’t say anything around here without it blowing up.”
Having opened his mouth for nothing, Rion backed off.
Pair.
A word that sounded like magic, something that could define a powerful relationship—yet somehow, it still felt impossibly distant.
