After coming home, washing up, and grabbing a can of beer along with a bag of snacks, Chi-yu dropped onto the sofa, aimlessly flipping through TV channels in search of something worth watching.
He’d already been delayed earlier thanks to fans lurking outside his building. He wasn’t used to signing endless autographs or posing for awkward photos, and it left him drained.
He never thought being popular could be this exhausting.
When S-rank Guides used to complain they were dying from obsessive fans, Chi-yu had always thought of it as a problem belonging to some faraway world. But now that he’d somehow gained a swarm of hyperactive fans himself, he started worrying that even something as simple as going to and from work was going to become a hassle.
Taking a sip of beer to wet his throat, Chi-yu considered whether it might be smarter to stay in the Central Bureau’s on-duty quarters for a while.
He’d just about finished half the can. With another handful of snacks, he raised the beer to his lips again—when suddenly something whooshed into existence right before his eyes.
Hyun Tae-oh.
Chi-yu was so startled that he spat out his beer and began coughing like he was choking.
“You were drinking?”
“You—! Cough, cough! How the hell…!”
Even as he struggled to force the words out, Tae-oh casually walked over, snatched the beer from his hand, and took a gulp himself. Looking around, he muttered something about the place being way too cramped.
Wiping the spilled beer with tissues, Chi-yu snapped,
“How did you even get in here?”
“Teleport.”
“No—I mean you don’t even know the passcode. How’d you get inside?”
“Teleport.”
“Teleporting still needs coordinates. Or a password if it’s indoors. You can’t just pop in out of nowhere.”
“If you’re there, I can.”
Tae-oh sat down beside him as he said it.
“What??”
“If you’re somewhere, I don’t need coordinates. It auto-teleports me to you.”
That was the first time Chi-yu had ever heard of such a thing.
“How??”
“Because I marked you.”
“Marked? What marking?”
Chi-yu’s eyes widened.
Tae-oh raised the can again, speaking casually.
“Back in Academy. I marked you then.”
This is the first I’m hearing of this…??
As Chi-yu stared at him in disbelief, Tae-oh continued.
“Remember when we first learned teleportation? During class?”
“……”
“They taught us that even without Imprint, you could prepare for emergencies by marking a partner or Pair. That way, you’d always know where they were and teleport to them. Ring a bell?”
“……”
Now that he thought about it, they had done a practice like that.
Normally, only an Esper who had Imprinted with their Guide could sense their location. Imprinting created a telepathic-like bond that opened a direct path between them.
But with so many Espers demanding a way to do something similar without Imprint, RISG developed a one-time technique called Marking.
By embedding their wavelength into a Guide’s energy, the Esper could always find and teleport to them. It wasn’t as deep as Imprint, but the benefit was the same: being able to appear instantly in front of their Guide during danger.
“And it was supposed to be a one-time thing…”
He remembered clearly: the professor had reassured them it was disposable, nothing to stress about. They practiced once—teleporting to their hidden partners—and that was it.
Though some teams occasionally used Marking in the field, it wasn’t common. Chi-yu had long since forgotten about it.
“You mean you’ve been using it this whole time??”
When he demanded in disbelief, Tae-oh nodded.
“Normally, yeah, it’s one-and-done.”
“Normally? Meaning you’re different?”
“Not because I’m different. I’ve just kept marking you.”
“…What??”
What the hell did that mean?
Seeing Chi-yu’s dumbfounded expression, Tae-oh shrugged.
“There’s a duration limit. Every time I got Guiding from you, I renewed it.”
“……”
“So since that first time, I’ve kept it going. What—eleven years now?”
“…Are you serious…!”
“If you were ever in danger, I needed to get to you instantly.”
“…No, but still…!”
Chi-yu had had no idea.
That for nearly eleven years, Tae-oh had been quietly embedding his wavelength into his energy. Always preparing. Always worrying something might happen.
Hearing that, how could anyone stay indifferent?
A flush of gratitude rose in Chi-yu’s chest. Tae-oh had been quietly, tediously, looking out for him all this time.
But at the same time—the fact that such an important Marking had been wasted just to break into his apartment left him utterly dumbfounded.
“You kept a Marking for eleven years just to get through my front door?!”
“I can just redo it. And how is this place trivial? This was the first apartment you got after running away from me. And I didn’t use it right away because I thought you’d freak out.”
What kind of twisted logic was that?
“You seriously gonna keep talking like that? You’re really pissing me off.”
The guy had barged in, but he was the one acting offended.
Scowling, Chi-yu asked,
“So why are you here?”
“You agreed to be a regular on PairBorn.”
Exactly what he’d guessed.
When he signed the contract, he knew the news would reach Hyun Tae-oh immediately.
“Yeah.”
Nodding, Chi-yu popped another cracker into his mouth, feigning indifference.
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
Chewing, Chi-yu gave him a baffled look. But Tae-oh’s eyes lingered on his lips as he pressed again.
“Why did you agree?”
“Why else? The money’s good.”
“You’re not exactly broke.”
“…Well, after trying it once, I figured it wasn’t that big a deal.”
At that, Tae-oh gave a low, bitter laugh.
Ignoring it, Chi-yu grabbed another cracker.
“After doing a Temporary Pair, I realized maybe being in a Pair isn’t so bad. Thought maybe I’d use the chance to find someone.”
“The fuck is wrong with you?”
Tae-oh’s voice rumbled with real fury this time.
Startled, Chi-yu swallowed quickly and muttered, “What?”
“Did I ever wrong you somehow?”
“What are you talking about—”
“Is this about me asking to Imprint? Is that why you’re sitting here telling me, to my face, that you’ll Pair with someone else—just to spite me?”
“What the—spite? I’m just—”
“You sit here and say it like it’s nothing. And that’s not spite?!”
“How is that spite? Why would it be spite? Who the hell are you to—!”
At that, Chi-yu finally snapped.
Why was it that Tae-oh kept insisting they were just friends, but the idea of him Pairing with someone else enraged him this much?
Why was it fine for him to do whatever with Min Yu-hyun, but Chi-yu couldn’t Pair with anyone?
And above all—what gave him the right to dictate who Chi-yu could or couldn’t Pair with?
It was absurd, infuriating. His head spun with anger, though he didn’t want to spill it all out.
Because if he did, the answer would only ever be the same old line—We’re friends, aren’t we?
“What are you even saying…”
Tae-oh looked shaken by Chi-yu’s outburst.
And then, those smug lips parted again, ready to spout it—
“We’re frie—”
“Yeah, we’re friends.”
Chi-yu cut him off, sharp and cold.
“And that means it’s none of your business.”
“What……?”
“Who I Pair with, who you Pair with—it doesn’t matter. Because we’re friends.”
“What the hell does that even mean?”
“We’re friends.”
“……”
“Friends. That’s all we are.”
“Yeah. Friends.”
“And friends don’t Pair. Much less—”
“Jesus, who gives a shit what ‘friends usually do’? Why does it matter what anyone else does?”
“The kind of friend I mean is the same as everyone else means.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Brows knitted in confusion, Tae-oh frowned.
“Friends don’t Pair. And they sure as hell don’t Imprint.”
“What? Why not? Pairing I get, but why not Imprint?”
“You’d Imprint with a friend?”
“Why not?”
God, this endless circle.
At this rate, they’d keep running in loops.
Chi-yu sighed, trying to find a way to make him understand.
“Why not, you said. Don’t talk like an idiot who doesn’t know what Imprint is.”
“Of course I know. I got A++ in theory back in Academy.”
“Exactly. So don’t toss around ‘Imprint’ like it’s nothing.”
“I’m not.”
“Then tell me—why the hell would you and I Imprint?”
“Why not?”
“Do you love me?”
“I do.”
No hesitation.
Chi-yu’s eyes widened, but before he could even react, Tae-oh cut it off.
“You’re my only friend.”
“…God.”
A weary sigh slipped out.
“Imprint isn’t something you do with a friend you like. It’s for the person you love so much you can’t live without them.”
“Why not with a friend?”
“Do I really have to spell this out?”
“……”
“I’ll Imprint with someone I can’t imagine life without. Someone I want beside me forever. To fall asleep and wake up together. To share the day, or if we can’t, then at least share dinner, dessert, and conversation after. Someone who comes to mind whenever something good or bad happens. Someone who makes my heart race every time I see them.”
“……”
“That’s who I’d Imprint with.”
“So what you’re saying is, I’m not that person.”
“Of course not. Like you said, we’re friends.”
“Then what would I have to be?”
“What?”
“What would I have to be, if not a friend, to be that person?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Then say it.”
“A lover.”
“……”
At that single word, Tae-oh’s face went rigid.
Seeing it, something in Chi-yu’s chest tightened painfully. And Tae-oh’s next words doubled the ache.
“Does it have to be that? That kind of relationship?”
“…What?”
“Does it have to be something that ends? You’re saying only that kind of relationship is enough?”
“That question’s absurd. Because yes—that’s the only relationship that makes it possible.”
“Even between friends, it could be—”
“And that’s exactly why! No one in their right mind Imprints with a friend!”
Chi-yu’s voice rose, sharp with frustration.
Tae-oh stared at him, then asked, quiet but deadly serious,
“So you’ll only Imprint with a lover?”
“I’m saying when you’re with someone you love, it naturally leads to Imprint. Not the other way around.”
“So only if they’re your lover, you’d Imprint.”
“…Which is why this whole conversation is pointless. We’re just friends. There’s no reason for friends to Imprint. If someday I fall in love, then—”
“You.” Tae-oh exhaled heavily. “Do you want to date me?”
The words hit like a blow, silencing him completely.
What kind of twisted definition of relationships did this guy even live by?
“How the hell did you turn it into that?”
“By your own logic—if we’re to Imprint, we’d have to be lovers. So, do you want to?”
“I…”
Even if he did, he couldn’t admit it. But wasn’t that the condition, if Imprint were ever to happen? He opened his mouth—
“How could we ever do that, Chi-yu?”
Only for Tae-oh’s next words to crush him completely.
