Will he really be okay? I mean, it’s rare for a Guide to get hurt inside a Gate, but when they do, it’s usually serious. And he’s already had a close call once…
But that resolve didn’t even last a few days before it crumbled.
Rion found himself anxiously gnawing at his already battered nails, thoughts consumed by Yu-won.
Yu-won didn’t seem the least bit awkward about Rion not being there, but Rion—stuck outside the Gate—couldn’t stop his imagination from running wild.
What if he gets hurt again? Sure, Hyeon-seo sunbae is strong, but she’s a close-combat type. And if anything goes wrong, she can’t just pick him up and warp out of the Gate. Is there even anyone in the Busan Gate team who can do something like that…?
Rion had gone over the assigned team members for Yu-won’s Gate multiple times, conjuring up countless what-if scenarios. But the more he thought about it, the more anxious he became.
“This is stupid. I’d feel way better just going in myself.”
With nothing else to keep him busy, his mind had more than enough room to spiral. When he’d chewed his nails down to the quick, Rion let out a heavy sigh.
“You’re really not the type to worry about others, Sunbae.”
“He’s my matching Guide.”
“Never thought I’d hear that from you. Weren’t you the one who used to say it’d be better not to have a matching Guide at all?”
“That was then, and this is now. Whatever.”
Still lounging in the break room, Rion shot a sharp glare at Joo-chan. Caught off guard by the intense look, Joo-chan flinched before continuing.
“How can someone change so fast? It’s honestly freaky. Something definitely happened the night I got kicked off night watch, right?”
“…”
“Come on, can’t you just tell me what happened? It’s killing me not knowing.”
“Well, who told you to fall asleep while on night watch? People’ll think I knocked you out or something.”
Joo-chan muttered under his breath, unable to argue with that. It was a grumble so low it barely registered, but Seo-ha, sitting beside him, suddenly chimed in.
“You’re this worried? You barely spared a thought for us.”
“You guys are Espers who can protect yourselves. He’s not.”
“Still, Yu-won’s not exactly weak and helpless either, you know…”
“Yeah, but he can’t fight monsters.”
It was out of character, but Rion kept taking Yu-won’s side. His juniors couldn’t help but find the change in him over the past few months not just awkward—but downright bizarre.
“Something’s definitely off since you two started living together. Are you sure you weren’t brainwashed or something?”
“Exactly what I was thinking…”
While Rion was lost in thought, Seo-ha and Joo-chan exchanged quiet, mouthing comments to each other. Honestly, if someone said Yu-won had used his mental Esper powers to brainwash Rion while they were living together, it wouldn’t be that hard to believe right now.
“You guys are heading into a Gate next week, right?”
“Yeah, the Busan team leaves tomorrow… We’ve still got a bit of time before we go.”
“So I’m the only one left at the Center, huh.”
“Hey, it’s not that bad. All the new Gates popping up are A-rank, so most A-rank and higher got pulled in. But there are still plenty of people left.”
“Yeah, but I am an A-rank or higher Esper. Ugh, I feel so lonely.”
Rion sighed deeply. Just as they’d said, only one day remained before Yu-won was set to depart.
Rion had asked a close junior who’d be in the same Gate to look out for Yu-won, but the kid was still a rookie, so he didn’t exactly feel reassured.
Yu-won, of course, didn’t seem fazed at all, and Rion knew how ridiculous it must look—him fussing around more than the one actually going in.
Most people found it amusing, even astonishing, to see someone like Rion care this much about someone else. But not everyone felt the same.
No matter how much he worries, Yu-won probably doesn’t even care.
Seo-ha still wasn’t fond of Yu-won. She thought of him as a colleague without an ounce of empathy, and though she didn’t say it aloud, she secretly believed Rion’s concern was just plain foolish.
“What did Yu-won say?”
“He’s totally chill about it. Said he’s not a rookie anymore, so why worry—just super calm and composed.”
“That’s kinda cold. You were just trying to show concern.”
“Huh? No, I mean…”
Rion had only been half-joking, exaggerating for effect, but Seo-ha took it seriously, and now he felt the need to defend Yu-won.
“No, he just said that to reassure me, that’s all.”
“Still. He could’ve at least said something like, ‘Don’t worry,’ or ‘I’ll be back safe.’ Doesn’t take much, right?”
Rion blinked, caught off guard by her unexpected reaction. Usually, when he got a bit upset about Yu-won like this, the people around him would calm him down with, “I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that.”
But this time, Seo-ha was the one expressing her own disappointment toward Yu-won.
“He’s your pair, or at the very least, a teammate. He should be warmer to you.”
Rion looked startled as he replied.
“It’s not like he’s as annoying as he used to be these days… And I wasn’t exactly perfect either. But living together, I’ve realized he’s got some good sides too.”
“Seriously? Now that you mention it, I haven’t heard about you two fighting since then.”
Joo-chan chimed in, and Rion nodded.
“Yeah, we don’t talk about work, so there’s not much to fight over. It’s been better than I expected.”
But Seo-ha’s expression didn’t change. She even muttered under her breath.
“Still… I saw something that time.”
“What did you see?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Rion caught her whisper somehow and asked again. Seo-ha shook her head, insisting it was nothing, but Rion kept pressing.
“Come on, what is it?”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“If it’s not a big deal, then just tell me. Why’re you being so secretive?”
After being hounded for a while, Seo-ha finally gave in with a sigh and mumbled.
“It might just be me overreacting…”
“Okay.”
“But when you were still out of it, everyone was really worried. Even after you were moved from the ICU to a regular room, people kept checking on you. That’s all anyone talked about.”
Her voice was small, but her words painted a vivid picture of that time. Even Joo-chan, who hadn’t thought much of it, nodded slightly in agreement.
“So it kinda bothered me after that. I knew you two weren’t exactly close, but… still, you were lying there unconscious, and he…”
“…”
Rion had never really thought about what happened while he was unconscious. Now he was remembering how Yu-won, despite being in the same hospital wing, never once visited his room.
Yeah… doesn’t feel great thinking about that.
“But things are good now, right? Don’t think about it too much.”
Trying to ease the tension, Joo-chan spoke up—looking like he regretted bringing it up in the first place.
“You can’t not think about it. I’m sure Yu-won was worried too. He’s just not the type to show it. And seriously, why are you still holding on to that?”
“It’s fine. It’s in the past. No point dwelling on it now.”
He said that, but his tone was far from convincing.
Joo-chan tried to smooth things over, but it was pointless.
And just like that, Rion ended up spending the whole day feeling vaguely unsettled.
Before he knew it, the workday was already over.
Is it already time to go home? Ugh, I don’t wanna go back.
Even if he went home, it wasn’t like he could bring up what they’d talked about. It was an old wound, weird to reopen now.
Still, he couldn’t shake the lingering hurt.
Yu-won had seemed so calm heading into the Gate alone, and that alone had stung. But this on top of it made things worse.
Back then… it wasn’t like we were getting along this well. But still, we talked inside the Gate. I thought we understood each other, at least a little. At least, I thought so.
He’d believed that was when things had started to change between them. But now, hearing that Yu-won didn’t even bother to check on him after that Gate, the whole thing felt hollow.
Then why the hell did he cry back then?
The more he thought about it, the more bitterness and resentment bubbled up. Maybe that’s why he dawdled so much that day, putting off going home.
He never expected a day would come when he didn’t even want to go home—not because of a fight, but because he just didn’t want to be there.
Rion didn’t even check his phone as he aimlessly wandered around. By the time he got home, it was two hours past the end of his shift.
“I’m home.”
He sluggishly punched in the door code and stepped inside. The lights were off.
Yu-won should’ve finished work as usual. Why was the place empty? Maybe he was exhausted and already asleep?
“Lee Yu-won?”
Rion gently knocked on Yu-won’s door before peeking inside—but it was empty.
Only then did he check his phone and saw Yu-won’s message.
[Asshole: I called but you didn’t pick up, so I’m texting instead. The Gate team was originally supposed to leave tomorrow morning, but the schedule changed last-minute, so I left a bit early. I’ll be fine, so don’t worry and good luck at work tomorrow.]
5:03 PM
Rion remembered the missed call but had ignored it on purpose. So this was what Yu-won had been trying to say.
Since this was his first solo Gate, Rion had planned to say something encouraging—maybe even give him a proper send-off as his sunbae. But he’d gotten too lost in his own thoughts and forgot.
He couldn’t have already gone in, right? Maybe I can still—
Rion tried writing a reply several times, deleting it each time.
He had known what he wanted to say before hearing Seo-ha’s story. Now, the words wouldn’t come.
Eventually, he gave up, still sitting there in the dark, holding his phone.
And then, without ever sending a reply, he quietly walked into his room.
