The vibrating phone lay between them as Lim Haeyul and Kim Geon-ung’s eyes met.
“Are you going to answer it?”
Though he didn’t feel particularly inclined, there was no reason not to, so Haeyul nodded.
Still, he couldn’t shake off the unpleasant feeling gnawing at him. Why was Kim Sol contacting Kim Geon-ung now? After all, he had been the one completely ignoring Geon-ung’s messages.
“Hello?”
Could something have happened?
Anxiety surged within him at the unexpected situation. It didn’t seem likely that Kim Sol would be calling just to scold Geon-ung for not delivering a message after all this time.
“……Yeah. He’s not here right now.”
As expected, it seemed Kim Sol was looking for him.
Kim Geon-ung glanced sideways at Haeyul for guidance. Haeyul quickly made an ‘X’ with his arms and shook his head. He decided it was better not to take the call.
However, Kim Sol showed no signs of ending the conversation. A back-and-forth ensued, and Geon-ung kept stubbornly repeating that Haeyul wasn’t there, like a broken record.
‘This isn’t like him.’
The longer it dragged on, the stronger the sense of unease grew.
Kim Sol wasn’t the type to stubbornly insist on speaking with someone who wasn’t there unless something serious had happened. Naturally, Haeyul’s anxiety deepened.
He thought about telling Geon-ung to just hand over the phone, but instead, he grabbed his own phone first. If something had happened to Cha Jae-woo, he figured he could check the news online.
[Gate forms near Ilsan, citizens evacuated.]
[Another unpredicted gate appearance leaves citizens anxious.]
[S-Rank Esper Cha Jae-woo steps in at Ilsan gate—the second time today…]
[Suddenly formed gate, difficulty level unmeasurable; concerns over Cha Jae-woo’s unstable gauge post-closure.]
He had desperately hoped there would be no news.
But the moment he searched Cha Jae-woo’s name, articles freshly published just minutes ago flooded the screen. Even just reading the headlines made it clear what was happening.
Haeyul urgently grabbed his bag and stood up. Kim Geon-ung, who had been trying to fend off Kim Sol by insisting he didn’t know Haeyul’s whereabouts and that they hadn’t been in contact for some time, stared at him in surprise.
Without hesitation, Haeyul snatched the phone out of Geon-ung’s hand.
“Where are you?”
—Haeyul?
“I said, where are you?!”
His heart, which had been beating normally, suddenly thudded so violently that he feared he might have a heart attack. His head spun, and sometimes he found himself gasping for breath.
Even after returning from gates, Cha Jae-woo usually maintained a stable condition. So much so that Haeyul often wondered if he was deliberately keeping his energy at that steady level.
Of course, Jae-woo was never perfectly stable, but it was never to a dangerous degree either. Haeyul had always wanted to help him reach a better state, but since Jae-woo kept insisting he could manage it himself, he had decided to trust him.
But had things gone according to Jae-woo’s plan this time?
There was no way Cha Jae-woo could have predicted the sudden gate. Which meant—after stepping into an unanticipated gate, there was no telling what condition he might be in now.
“You’re in danger, aren’t you? They said it’s already the second time today! Then Cha Jae-woo must be—mmph!”
In his panic, words were spilling uncontrollably from his mouth until Kim Geon-ung quickly covered it with his hand. He then motioned for him to quiet down, but Haeyul couldn’t even see straight. He struggled to pry Geon-ung’s hand away.
Meanwhile, Kim Sol’s voice came through the phone, calm and steady.
—It’s not dangerous. But just in case, we’re preparing for any possible situation…
“Ha! If it’s not dangerous, why would you need to prepare for anything?!”
Despite Kim Geon-ung’s efforts to keep him quiet, Haeyul’s voice only grew louder, practically shouting in exasperation.
A sigh could be heard through the phone. Following my demand for a clear answer on where exactly they were, a response finally came.
“I’m coming now.”
As if to prove he was half out of his mind, Lim Haeyul crashed into a desk with a loud thud! while grabbing his bag and bolted out of the classroom. Kim Geon-ung followed behind him, but Haeyul didn’t have the capacity to care.
Meanwhile, Kim Sol’s voice continued.
—Looks like you saw the article. But it’s not a dangerous situation. It’s just that when an Esper uses too much of their ability after entering consecutive gates, the rules say Guiding has to be performed immediately after they exit.
“So it is dangerous! You’re saying there’s a chance something could go wrong, that’s why you have to guide them right away!”
—That’s just the rule. Honestly, for Cha Jae-woo, it’s not that necessary. Usually after clearing the gate, he just takes a brief—
“I’m on my way. I’m in a taxi. It won’t take long!”
—Haa… You’re not hearing a single word I’m saying, are you.
Just as he said, Haeyul wasn’t hearing anything at all. All he could think was that Cha Jae-woo was in danger.
He felt like something was definitely wrong. The chilling premonition refused to fade. His fingertips trembled from the anxiety.
It was only when a hand tapped him that he realized Kim Geon-ung had gotten into the taxi with him. Whether he had or not didn’t matter right now.
“What’s the gate’s difficulty level? The article said it couldn’t be measured, so you don’t even know? How many people went in?!”
—……Cha Jae-woo went in alone.
“Alone? Alone?! That’s impossible! How could you let him enter a gate by himself?!”
Not even the taxi driver’s glances fazed him, so what was Kim Geon-ung to him right now? Haeyul slapped away the hand that kept trying to calm him and screamed.
His rage-filled voice echoed through the taxi.
“Jang Gijun pushed him into this, didn’t he? Otherwise, Cha Jae-woo would never have gone in alone! He’s not even that righteous a person! He’s not someone who would throw his life away to clear a gate!”
—Haeyul, pull yourself together. Why are you getting so worked up?
“How am I supposed to stay calm?! Shit! If anything happens to Cha Jae-woo, I’m not going to let any of you off the hook! I’ll blow up the entire Guide Association and Esper Association, I swear it!”
—Haa……
Kim Sol’s sigh rang heavily through the phone. But Haeyul couldn’t have cared less. He was completely losing control.
The mere thought that something could happen to Cha Jae-woo had driven him to the brink. His anxiety was eating away at his rationality. All that mattered now was Cha Jae-woo’s safety.
***
The moment he stepped out of the taxi, Haeyul sprinted toward the scene.
Barricades had been set up to prevent civilians and reporters from getting too close, but Haeyul bulldozed through like a man possessed.
“You can’t go in!”
“Please move! I have to get inside! I’m Cha Jae-woo’s—mmph!”
“Fuck, what do we do with this crazy kid?”
Luckily, Kim Geon-ung caught him just in time. If he hadn’t, Haeyul would’ve screamed out that he was Cha Jae-woo’s Guide right there in front of all the reporters and civilians.
He didn’t have the mind to consider the consequences.
All he could see was the image of Cha Jae-woo’s energy completely destabilized, eventually losing control and spiraling into a rampage. It felt so real it was suffocating.
“You cannot proceed any further.”
“Mm, ngh!”
“Don’t you have anything to prove your identity? Stop talking and show me something. Anything.”
Kim Geon-ung muttered urgently while keeping his hand firmly over Haeyul’s mouth.
Only then did Haeyul fumble toward his bag.
He didn’t have time for this. He had to see Cha Jae-woo with his own eyes—only then would he be able to breathe.
His anxiety tore through him like a violent storm.
Haeyul yanked out his wallet and tossed his bag onto the ground in his haste. Inside was his Guide registration card—issued so he could enter and exit the Guide Association easily. It would be enough to prove his identity.
He shoved the card toward the staff member and stomped his feet impatiently.
“Please let me through.”
His desperation showed no signs of calming.
What had happened to the gate? What about Cha Jae-woo’s condition?
Worry flooded him relentlessly, but the staff member verifying his ID moved at a maddeningly slow pace.
He felt like he could break down crying at any moment.
Cha Jae-woo was the strongest Esper he knew. He tried to reassure himself that there was no way anything could happen—but his mind kept spiraling toward the worst-case scenarios.
“You may enter.”
At last, the barricade was lifted.
Without wasting a second, Haeyul dashed forward.
“Hey, you idiot!”
The Guide registration card he had left with the staff and the bag he had thrown to the ground—Kim Geon-ung would pick them up. If he didn’t, so be it.
What mattered now was seeing Cha Jae-woo with his own two eyes.
Haeyul had completely lost all sense of composure.
“Haeyul!”
Soon, he reached the tent set up near the gate—the same one he had seen before.
At the same time, he heard Kim Sol’s voice calling out to him.
Haeyul came to an abrupt halt like a car slamming on the brakes, whipping his head around.
Kim Sol was running toward him.
“Cha Jae-woo… Where’s Cha Jae-woo?”
It had been quite a while since they last met, but there wasn’t even time for pleasantries.
Seeing Lim Haeyul charging toward him, Kim Sol let out a sigh. He patted Haeyul’s shoulder as if to tell him to calm down.
“Where is Cha Jae-woo?”
But it was no use. The faster Haeyul’s heart pounded, the faster the words tumbled from his mouth.
Judging from the composed look on Kim Sol’s face, it was clear that nothing serious had happened to Cha Jae-woo. Rationally, Haeyul knew that. Yet, the gnawing anxiety refused to subside.
“He’s inside the tent. Receiving Guiding.”
Kim Sol pointed toward a tent.
Following the direction of his finger, Haeyul clutched at his chest, then immediately tried to sprint toward the tent Kim Sol had indicated.
“Haeyul. Wait a moment.”
If Kim Sol hadn’t grabbed his arm tightly, he surely would’ve dashed straight in.
“We don’t have time for this! How serious must it be for him to be getting Guiding—that barely even works—right now? I need to go—”
“No, Cha Jae-woo is fine. He’s just getting Guided as a trial. By a Guide who matched with him at thirty-four percent.”
“Thirty-four percent? Does Guiding even work at that rate?”
It wasn’t Haeyul who asked that; it was Kim Geon-ung, who had somehow followed them all the way here.
Kim Sol looked momentarily startled by his sudden appearance but nodded anyway.
“It’s not entirely ineffective. The Guide is B-Rank, so he has a decent amount of mana. It should definitely help somewhat.”
It seemed Kim Sol didn’t realize that Kim Geon-ung had been the one constantly contacting him, because his tone remained relatively polite.
“Why are you letting someone else guide him when I’m here?”
But those words barely registered with Haeyul.
Even though they said Cha Jae-woo was fine, Haeyul knew he wouldn’t be able to relax until he saw it with his own eyes.
And the fact that someone else was Guiding Cha Jae-woo grated on him more than he expected. It wasn’t a familiar feeling, but if he guessed correctly, it could only be described as jealousy.
“I’ll go. You said he’s inside, right?”
“No.”
“I’m going in!”
“Guiding’s not finished yet. Wait here.”
“I don’t want to! Let go of me!”
“It’s actually a good thing if another Guide can handle Cha Jae-woo’s Guiding. Why are you being like this?”
“Shut up!”
The struggle continued.
Haeyul tried to break free and rush into the tent, but Kim Sol’s grip was stronger than he expected, and he couldn’t shake him off.
“Haeyul. If there’s another Guide who can manage him, that’s good news for you too, right? So why—why are you acting like this?”
“Because I’m jealous, damn it!”
In the end, the raw voice of his heart burst out. It was loud enough to echo around them.
Ah, if only he had stopped there.
“I like Cha Jae-woo! That’s why I’m worried about him, and that’s why I can’t stand someone else Guiding him!”
“Uh……?”
“Huh……?”
Even when faced with their dumbfounded reactions, he should have kept his mouth shut.
“I’m Cha Jae-woo’s Guide! Why should anyone else be Guiding him instead of me?!”
