# Chapter 48
For the first time in his life, he had received Guiding, and it happened to be from Ko Eungyo, who was presumed to have the highest matching rate with him. This somewhat explains why Lee Seungwoo seemed to go crazy as if drugged. He probably feels that future Guiding must be done by Ko Eungyo, and he might be extremely anxious and nervous about Ko Eungyo potentially dying in some unfortunate accident.
But people don’t die that easily. Even while fighting terrible illness, he had accumulated plenty of achievements. Moreover, he had grown completely sick of Lee Seungwoo circling around him like a child and being overprotective.
Lee Seungwoo wasn’t the only one who met a Guide with the highest matching rate. Ko Eungyo also met his destined Esper for the first time—throughout his life as Jang Iju and his current life.
In his own way, he had tried to treat Lee Seungwoo with more care than any other Esper he’d met.
Though it hadn’t worked out well.
After eating breakfast at the hotel and returning to his room, he packed his backpack and left the hotel. There was no need to check out. He had already booked a long-term stay of one week.
Coincidentally, there was a place near the hotel where a faint gate signal had been detected. He looked around the beach slowly, checking for any meaningful traces.
‘The place with the first signal has the highest possibility.’
A gate entrance wasn’t an ordinary door. It was like a shimmering light cluster. Think of it as closer to a black hole or white hole.
Therefore, before a gate formed, stone fragments, monster fluids, and very rarely, monsters themselves would escape from it.
That’s exactly what the detector was detecting.
The gate by-products that escaped outside would disappear over time or assimilate with Earth, losing their abnormal power they possessed inside the gate. He knelt on one knee and fingered the sand on the beach.
Next, he drove the rented car and explored every corner around the hotel.
He walked around holding a small detector, but the detector never picked up a signal. After roughly searching the entire area near the hotel, he widened the radius and examined the surroundings again. But eventually, he had to return to the hotel.
The morning had already passed, and it was afternoon. He ate bulgogi set meal for lunch at the hotel restaurant.
After filling his stomach, he didn’t give up and slowly explored Jeju Island. Jeju was quite a large island. Especially, searching for something like this required even more effort. Exhausted after just one day, Ko Eungyo returned to the hotel and passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
He repeated the same routine for about three days.
‘Is it really not here…’
Tuesday evening, after visiting the place where the gate signal was last detected, he looked at his notes with a serious face.
The gate signals were detected in sequence, starting from the outskirts of the island. The most signals were at the beach, and particularly, sand and stone fragments presumed to be from the gate were found on the sandy beach. They reportedly changed into Earth-like sand as soon as they touched the waves.
As he stared intently at the spots marked in red where gate signals had been detected…
Beep-
The small detector he had casually placed on the desk upon returning to the hotel room emitted a very faint light and then turned off.
“…Ah.”
Ko Eungyo quickly got off the bed, grabbed the detector, and left the room. He was too excited to bother packing his backpack.
The place where the signal was faintly detected was the cliff right behind the hotel. He carefully looked around the cliff area, then stood in front of the towering cliff and looked down.
Despite it being early evening in early winter, the surroundings were already getting dark. He couldn’t see well what was below, and to make matters worse, the small detector was no longer responding.
‘But, it’s here…’
Could he go down a bit further?
After contemplating, just as Ko Eungyo leaned his body slightly forward—
Crumble.
With an ominous sound, the ground beneath his feet suddenly gave way. Ko Eungyo was startled and tried to step back, but a hand grasping his arms and waist was faster.
“…Ah, than—”
“…”
“…Thank you.”
Although he had reflexively stepped back, if he had slipped, it could have been a major accident. If he had fallen down the cliff into the pitch-black seawater…
Lee Seungwoo’s eyes were rippling like the dark seawater. His face looked extremely shocked, so Ko Eungyo couldn’t help but express his gratitude repeatedly.
“…Where’s your phone?”
“Ah…”
In his rush to grab only the small detector so the signal wouldn’t disappear, he hadn’t had the presence of mind to bring his phone. He mumbled with a slightly embarrassed face that he had left it behind.
“I didn’t know you contacted me. What’s the matter?”
“…”
“Did you find me while looking for me because you couldn’t reach me?”
Lee Seungwoo remained silent. He seemed to be in a completely foul mood. Was it because he was too shocked? Anyway, his efforts to console Seungwoo and speak kindly seemed to work, as after a long while, Seungwoo finally opened his mouth.
“No.”
It was an utterly blunt voice.
“I was following you, Professor. I know you don’t like it, but I was worried something might happen. But I didn’t expect you to come to such a dangerous place… without even your phone.”
“…”
“If I hadn’t been here… if you had fallen… since you don’t have your phone, you wouldn’t have been able to call for help.”
He reflexively countered.
“Well, if you fall from here, wouldn’t it be instant death…”
“Instant death?”
“…Ah, did I just say that out loud?”
“…”
Lee Seungwoo’s face grew even paler. Simultaneously, the hands gripping his waist and arms tightened, pulling him closer. Ko Eungyo involuntarily let out a sound.
“Ah!”
Regardless of Ko Eungyo’s surprise, Lee Seungwoo, having secured a safe zone, looked at him and asked.
“What are you looking for?”
“Huh? Ah, that’s…”
“Is it something you can’t tell me?”
His claim about following and watching him seemed to be true. He must have seen Ko Eungyo wandering around searching for something over the past few days.
He should really stop stalking already. He obviously hadn’t listened at all.
…But thanks to that, he had avoided an accident.
Ko Eungyo didn’t know whether he should be pleased or displeased about this.
Still, since he had been rescued, he felt he should explain, so he opened his mouth.
“Fine, what’s the point in hiding? Gate signals were detected here. It’s the Jeju Island gate that I was supposed to enter with a powered team. Originally, I thought the gate had disappeared because the gate signal vanished, but now that I’m here, I see the gate signal has been detected again. So I came to check.”
“…Why would the Professor be with a powered team…”
“I told you I have an on-site Guide license, didn’t I? I want to experience the field. That’s why I’m searching for the gate. The Center doesn’t really like rookies, and Esper Lee Seungwoo said he doesn’t want to enter gates with me, right?”
“…”
“Isn’t that why you’ve been interfering all this time?”
Lee Seungwoo seemed unable to deny it, so he kept his mouth tightly shut.
‘Yeah, you wouldn’t have anything to say even with ten mouths.’
Keep your mouth shut like that. Ko Eungyo repeatedly turned the small detector off and on, which no longer gave any signals. Still, no signal was detected. He stretched his arm out towards the cliff.
Lee Seungwoo’s gaze slowly alternated between Ko Eungyo and the bottom of the cliff.
“Then, why are you alone now? Is the powered team nearby?”
Ko Eungyo, busy moving the small detector around to check if the signal would be detected again, didn’t notice Lee Seungwoo’s eyes flashing. And completely distracted by what was below the cliff, he answered.
“No, well… Actually, I’m not sure if there’s a gate or not… And just because we want a gate doesn’t mean it will definitely appear. I was planning to call the powered team if the gate’s existence was confirmed, but it’s not easy. I think it might be down there…”
As he smacked his lips regretfully, Lee Seungwoo abruptly suggested.
“Then shall I go down and check for you?”
It was a surprisingly welcome offer. Ko Eungyo looked Lee Seungwoo up and down with half-belief. Was Lee Seungwoo the type to make such thoughtful suggestions?
“By yourself?”
“Yes. In return, please include me in that powered team.”
‘What’s this suddenly?’
That was… not a bad idea. After all, it was impossible for him to go down to the bottom of the cliff.
‘Why did he suddenly become so cooperative?’
This guy who had been preventing him from going anywhere near a gate, using safety as an excuse.
Anyway, it was an offer with no downsides for Ko Eungyo. He nodded readily before Lee Seungwoo could change his mind.
“I’d be happy if you joined, Seungwoo-kun.”
“You’ve promised.”
After making Ko Eungyo step back one more step for safety, Lee Seungwoo stood at the edge of the cliff where the pitch-black seawater was splashing.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
