The atmosphere was like walking on thin ice. He tried to force a smile, but sensing that it would only make things worse, he simply hung his head in silence.
“How worried do you think we were after you disappeared like that? You think just saying ‘Don’t worry, nothing happened’ is enough?”
Kim Geon-ung looked like he was struggling to contain his anger. Though he didn’t raise his voice, it was impossible to miss how furious he was.
“…I’m sorry.”
Even if he had ten mouths, there would have been nothing he could say to defend himself. Right now, he was getting scolded. After promising to meet up, he had suddenly cut off all contact and only showed up again after three days—of course they were mad.
Being kidnapped had been out of his control, but even after the fact, he had been too preoccupied with just keeping himself together to think about his friends. That was clearly his fault. He fully understood why everyone was so upset. Even after getting a new phone, he had been so caught up in his own emotions that he hadn’t considered theirs.
“I’m not doing this just to hear you say you’re sorry.”
Kim Geon-ung roughly raked his hands through his hair, his face stiff with anger. His body expanded and deflated with each sharp breath he took.
Honestly, it was the first time he had ever seen Kim Geon-ung this furious, and he had no idea what to do. It wasn’t just him—Jo Ha-eon and Park Yeon-ho, who were equally upset, seemed just as lost.
“Hey, you’re gonna kill him at this rate. Let it go, seriously.”
Jo Ha-eon, who had been ready to tear him apart just moments ago, shook his head and tried to calm Kim Geon-ung down. Park Yeon-ho quickly joined in, clearly waiting for the right moment.
“Yeah, he’s probably learned his lesson by now. Right, Lim Haeyul?”
“Yeah. I’ll never do it again. I’m really sorry.”
“Haah…”
Kim Geon-ung let out a long, heavy sigh. His expression was still rigid, making it impossible for Lim Haeyul to relax.
“It’s not just about whether we should beat you up or not. You’re still not telling us why it happened.”
“He said he lost his phone. Something came up suddenly that day.”
“He’s got all our numbers memorized. He could’ve called at least once. No matter how chaotic things were, it’s not something that should take three whole days. You guys know that too, right?”
The defense Park Yeon-ho had tried to offer fell flat as he closed his mouth, unable to argue further. It was an awkward and uncomfortable situation in every way.
In truth, Lim Haeyul hadn’t told his friends that he had been kidnapped. Just like Park Yeon-ho said, he had merely claimed that the Guide Association had contacted him unexpectedly, so he had rushed over, and coincidentally, lost his phone at the same time. Afterward, he said he had been too busy to reach out.
But they knew him too well. He wasn’t the kind of person to break a promise like that. Even if something urgent had come up, he would have at least spared a moment to call them.
The fact that he had been completely out of contact meant that the situation had been seriously bad. Kim Geon-ung wanted to hear about it.
But Lim Haeyul didn’t want to say. If he told them the truth, they would only worry more. It would’ve been better if he could come up with a convincing lie, but unfortunately, that wasn’t a talent he possessed.
“I swear, I’ll never let it happen again.”
At his words, Kim Geon-ung exhaled deeply.
“So it really was something serious, huh.”
Hearing that, Lim Haeyul immediately shook his head.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Would you believe that if you were me? It’s not like we’re talking about just anyone—we’re talking about you.”
But there was nothing more he could say.
Realistically speaking, Lim Haeyul going completely silent like that was basically unheard of. And no one understood that better than Kim Geon-ung.
Suddenly cutting off contact. Then, after a long wait, finally hearing from his parents. Those memories had become a trauma. At the time when his parents passed away, Kim Geon-ung had been right there, watching over him. There was no way he could’ve forgotten that.
“Seriously, let’s just stop.”
Seeing Lim Haeyul at a complete loss for words, Park Yeon-ho waved his hand dismissively. At the same time, Jo Ha-eon stepped forward.
“He’s probably not telling us because he doesn’t want us to worry. He’s fine now, right? You know what kind of guy Lim Haeyul is.”
His body flinched involuntarily. He worried that things might escalate into a fight, and, strangely enough, it also felt awkward seeing Jo Ha-eon acting so serious.
“Come on, stop acting all weird, yeah? It’s just Tto-yul being Tto-yul again.”
“You think this is something to just laugh off?”
“Then what, you’re gonna keep dragging it out with a guy who clearly doesn’t want to talk?”
The mood quickly turned grim. Should he just come clean right now? He hadn’t expected the situation to grow this tense, and anxiety crept in.
“……”
At that moment, Lim Haeyul’s eyes met Kim Geon-ung’s. Kim Geon-ung wore a look of pure irritation, but the instant their gazes locked, he clamped his mouth shut. Though his trembling shoulders betrayed how furious he still was, once he stopped speaking, the small commotion gradually died down.
“Tto-yul. You know Kim Geon-ung really worried about you, right? He even went all the way to Cha Jae-woo’s house looking for you. But there was no way to reach you, and even though everyone said you were probably fine, there was no real word from you. Then you finally contacted us and acted like nothing was wrong—of course he’s pissed.”
Taking advantage of the lull, Park Yeon-ho spoke in a calm, coaxing tone.
“…I’m sorry.”
Lim Haeyul quickly nodded, feeling nothing but guilt for making them all worry so much.
“I get it—it’s Guide work, and it’s probably something you can’t talk about easily. But think about the people who are worrying about you too, okay?”
“That’s right. Park Yeon-ho’s got it spot on.”
“Stop killing the vibe, bastard.”
“Nooo! I hate it when Ha-eoni gets all serious!”
Thanks to Jo Ha-eon’s antics, the tense atmosphere finally loosened up a bit. Lim Haeyul let out a small laugh at Jo Ha-eon’s exaggerated whining. Even Park Yeon-ho, despite grimacing, couldn’t help but chuckle a little.
“Guide work…”
Meanwhile, Kim Geon-ung muttered under his breath. When Lim Haeyul turned to look at him, he saw Kim Geon-ung staring downward with a hardened expression.
It wasn’t long before their eyes met again.
“Can’t you quit it?”
The question came out of nowhere. Still, it wasn’t like he had never heard something like this before, so Lim Haeyul responded calmly.
“How could I? I’m under contract and all…”
“You don’t have to quit completely, but you don’t have to be Cha Jae-woo’s personal Guide either, do you? Can’t you at least stop doing that?”
He had no idea why the topic had shifted like this. Maybe because guiding Cha Jae-woo looked dangerous? Wanting to put Kim Geon-ung’s worries to rest, Lim Haeyul quickly answered.
“It’s fine. I’m really not in any danger at all. I’m good at regulating it, so there’s no risk of my mana getting drained! Besides, even Cha Jae-woo said my Guiding suits him best. So—”
“Not anymore.”
“…Huh?”
“The Guide Association was hiding Guides with higher compatibility rates, right? So now they can find someone even better for him, can’t they?”
No. Cha Jae-woo himself had said there was no better Guide for him than Lim Haeyul. Because Haeyul had been offering him a very special kind of Guiding.
Of course, Jo Gyeong-hoon had found out about it, but for now, they had agreed to keep it secret. Which meant he couldn’t tell the others. And so his lips pressed tightly shut again.
“Instead of being Cha Jae-woo’s personal Guide, why not just work with other Espers whose Rank matches yours? Get out of that house too.”
Kim Geon-ung continued. Lim Haeyul gave a clumsy laugh and slowly shook his head.
“This whole thing isn’t Cha Jae-woo’s fault. There’s no reason to go that far. Don’t worry so much. Nothing like this will ever happen again.”
“……”
“I actually like living at Cha Jae-woo’s place. The house is huge, he drives me everywhere, picks me up too. The food’s great, and there’s nothing I have to worry about. So—”
“I seriously regret it.”
Kim Geon-ung let out a long sigh and rubbed his face. The abrupt halt in his words left Lim Haeyul staring at him blankly.
“I used to think it might not be so bad. You were always struggling with money, and at least this way, you wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. That’s why I didn’t push harder to stop you…”
Kim Geon-ung’s face, stiff with deep regret, was plain to see. He looked straight at Lim Haeyul and murmured:
“I had no idea it would turn out like this.”
Lim Haeyul couldn’t say anything in response. Neither could the others. A heavy, oppressive silence settled over them.
Had they all realized something was off? Or was he the only one reading too much into it? Was it just him, or did Kim Geon-ung’s words and actions seem… almost like he had feelings for him?
Of course, it was natural for friends to worry about each other. But Kim Geon-ung’s attitude today was undeniably strange. Every look, every expression, every gesture radiated an intensity that couldn’t be explained away so easily.
“…I’m sorry.”
After what felt like an eternity, Lim Haeyul finally managed to force the words out, quickly turning his head away.
No, this wasn’t it. It couldn’t be.
He frantically tried to erase the thought from his mind. Why was he suddenly thinking this way? Strictly speaking, Kim Geon-ung’s behavior wasn’t any different from before. He had always worried about him and fussed over him. Even Jo Ha-eon and Park Yeon-ho had teased Kim Geon-ung about being overly dramatic when it came to Haeyul.
So he should just brush it off like he always had. But for some reason, he couldn’t do that today. For the first time, he found himself entertaining a hypothesis he had never even considered before.
Maybe it was because he now accepted the possibility that he could fall for a man. Maybe it was because he now knew what it felt like to have those kinds of emotions—and how someone in love might behave. Maybe that’s why he was starting to see Kim Geon-ung’s feelings through a different lens.
“…I’m really sorry.”
Crushing down the thoughts bubbling up inside him, Lim Haeyul repeated himself toward Kim Geon-ung, who remained silent. Behind the words wrapped in apology, he prayed desperately—that he was just imagining things.
