He switched taxis three times before getting off at the bus terminal. It was all to make it seem like he was fleeing within the country, not abroad.
With his face hidden beneath a cap and mask, Eun-jo scanned the area. Fittingly enough, the last drama he’d filmed before “dying” had been a crime thriller with a chase scene. Back then, he was the detective chasing a criminal—now, he was the one on the run. Thanks to that, planning his escape had been surprisingly easy.
Blending into the crowd, he stepped up to the ticketing machine. One by one, he pulled out Jin Mu-seong and Park Se-yul’s cards and bought bus tickets—one to Gangwon-do, another to Jeolla-do.
That should buy me some time.
Tracking which way he’d gone would take a while if they had to check every surveillance camera one by one. After stopping at the convenience store to pick up motion sickness pills, Eun-jo slipped out through the back exit.
A taxi was waiting nearby. Perfect. He was just about to wave it down when—
“Excuse me.”
A woman dragging a suitcase suddenly stopped in front of him. She looked hesitant as she held up her phone and asked,
“I’m trying to catch the bus to Cheonan. Do you know which way I should go?”
“Oh, it’s over that way…”
Recalling the boarding gate he’d passed earlier, Eun-jo stepped in to point her in the right direction. That was when she swiftly pressed her phone into his hand.
“Wh—!”
Startled, Eun-jo looked up just as a familiar voice flowed out from the phone speaker.
— …Baby.
“Lee Sang-heon…?”
He whipped his head toward where the woman had been standing, only to find nothing. The moment he realized she was a Center Esper, his heart dropped like a stone.
How long have they been watching me? He’d left both his phone and pager behind. All those taxis he’d switched… was it all for nothing? Unease creeping in, Eun-jo looked around and spoke quietly.
“How did you even know to call me?”
—……
“Are you watching me right now?”
Among the bustling crowd, there was no sign of a white dog-like figure.
“Lee Sang-heon.”
He called the name again, this time with urgency. A quiet sigh came through the speaker.
— Baby, are you really going to leave me?
That low, familiar voice poured into his ears. It was the same voice that had echoed around him again and again when they’d lived together inside the Gate, raising their pups. Just remembering that warm embrace made his heart pound.
— You never even said you wanted pups. You never brought up what happened back then. But you’re still leaving?
“…Didn’t you say you didn’t remember?”
— What kind of male forgets his own mate?
He’d thought Sang-heon had forgotten everything. That’s why he’d buried the memories of what happened inside the Gate. Those days—meeting children who looked just like them, building a family together—had been precious to Eun-jo, too.
His lips wouldn’t move. Hanging his head, Eun-jo could only gasp for air. Then Sang-heon spoke again.
— So who am I supposed to have pups with, if not you? Baby.
Eun-jo’s grip on the phone tightened. His chest ached. But staying wasn’t the best choice right now.
— Don’t go.
“……”
— Please, let’s not do this.
The desperate voice over the line sounded almost identical to the one that had begged him to have pups. Eun-jo let out a shaky breath.
Get it together.
He pressed the power button. The call cut off.
Staring at the familiar number on the screen for a moment, Eun-jo finally set the phone down on the floor and turned away.
He got into a taxi headed for the airport. His stomach churned—just like it had when he examined Park Hee-won. Selfish bastard. Eun-jo pounded a fist against his chest.
“I should’ve told him I’d come back.”
Told him it wasn’t forever. That he just wanted to check on something and then return.
“He would’ve begged me not to go anyway…!”
But maybe then, he could’ve waited with less fear. It was too late for regrets now. Eun-jo’s fists pounded harder against his chest.
Still, it didn’t make the ache go away.
***
Outside the departure hall.
Fortunately, he hadn’t run into any Espers, nor had he been stopped on his way in. No one handed him a mysterious phone, either—unlike at the terminal.
Eun-jo sat nervously behind a pillar, deliberately choosing a spot that wouldn’t draw attention. His leg bounced with anxiety. He even changed seats a few times. He hadn’t done anything wrong, so why did he feel like such a criminal?
Through the tall glass windows, planes stood lined up side by side. His flight had to be one of them.
“I’m not actually running away.”
Still, it felt like he was a cheating husband escaping to another country. Maybe he should just tell the truth now. The thought crossed his mind—only for him to shake his head.
“…Like they’d ever let me go after saying I’m breaking the Imprint.”
They were lunatics who cared more about the Imprint than their own damn lives. They’d go berserk, demanding to know why he even looked into it. Honestly, they were probably already losing it.
Still, he couldn’t live like this forever—without any Guiding ability.
He’d try working things out with Heo Nan-gyeom, of course. But once the promised date passed and he officially left the Center… at that point, he might really have to consider breaking the Imprint. Help them find a Guide who suited them better. And then…
Then what about me…?
Eun-jo shoved his trembling hands into his pockets. His fingers brushed against a small handkerchief shaped like a teddy bear—the one Heo Nan-gyeom had handed him just before the end.
“Do as you wish!”
Those final words rang in his ears, and his body tensed.
What he wanted.
Until now, all he’d done was try to survive. Desperate to outrun the fate of “Yeo Eun-jo, doomed to die young,” he’d thrown himself into seducing S-rank Espers. He lured them in with calculated smiles, accepted their Imprints, and before he could even catch his breath, he was swept into a Gate—and lost his powers. After that, it was just chaos.
“I…”
Four faces flashed through his mind. Each one had whispered love to him in their own way.
A boarding announcement echoed through the terminal. One by one, people stood, grabbing their luggage and heading toward the gates. Amid the movement, Eun-jo stared blankly at the entrance. And as the crowd thinned, his thoughts crystallized.
He gripped his suitcase tighter. Then turned—not toward the boarding gate, but in the exact opposite direction.
And right then—
“Yeo Eun-jo!”
A towering figure rose above the crowd like a stone monolith. Jin Mu-seong. His face was twisted in fury, so much so that people instinctively moved out of his way. Without a second of hesitation, he sprinted straight toward Eun-jo.
The closer he got, the heavier the air around them became. Just like that first day—they met, time felt like it had stopped. The only difference now was the raw desperation etched across his face.
He can even make a face like that? Eun-jo stared at him in stunned disbelief.
Jin Mu-seong reached him and pulled him into a rough, crushing embrace. With ragged breath, he tightened his hold around Eun-jo’s frame.
“Don’t go.”
“……”
“I don’t approve. Who said you could leave?”
Eun-jo clutched the front of his shirt, heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst. He couldn’t understand how he’d never noticed this before—this complete chaos in his chest.
Jin Mu-seong exhaled deeply as he felt that tiny movement. Even counting all the times he’d run through Gates, he didn’t think he’d ever sprinted this hard in his life. And all this… for someone so small. Like a drowning man finding a breath of air, he tightened his arms around Eun-jo.
Even without Guiding, just holding him made it easier to breathe.
He lowered one hand and wrapped it around Eun-jo’s, which still clung to his collar.
“If you’re really gonna go—then kill me first.”
He brought Eun-jo’s hand to his neck. Those round eyes widened even more. Even now, in this moment, he still looked so cute—it was enough to make Jin Mu-seong think he’d lost his mind.
He pressed Eun-jo’s hand harder against his neck and murmured,
“What do you want me to do? Should I get on my knees? Would you stay then?”
“……”
“Want me to drop dead right here?”
“……”
“Say something. Anything. I’ll do whatever you want.”
Even the tiny tremble in his body was impossible to hide now. Jin Mu-seong—always cold, always composed—was begging.
When Eun-jo still didn’t respond, panic crept in. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
“So what if we can’t Guide?”
“……”
“Just look at me, baby.”
The kisses landed softly, one after another—not as affection, but as desperate pleas.
And it finally hit him. Guiding… really didn’t matter to them.
This wasn’t a bond built out of necessity. It had never been about survival.
It was real.
