Guild Leader Kim Mi-yeon didn’t bother softening her words to gauge Seo-ha’s mood. It might have come off as cold, but now wasn’t the time for such considerations.
“What if he refuses?”
The answer came from Han Ju-oh.
“This isn’t something you can decide on your own. You know that. Right now, we have to prioritize the orders coming from above.”
“So I’m supposed to just accept them cutting me off from my Guide and shoving a new one at me like it’s nothing.”
“It’s… unavoidable. They’re just trying to assign a different Guide with a higher compatibility rate because they feel uneasy about taking Guide Baek with you. There’s no hidden agenda here, so don’t overthink it.”
They all had their reasons, or so they said. But Guild Leader Kim Mi-yeon wasn’t exactly feeling at ease either. She knew why Ju-oh had brought Seo-ha in the first place, but she couldn’t exactly explain that openly to the higher-ups—an issue she found deeply frustrating.
“It’s not like we can reveal it anyway. Guide Baek wants this too…”
The fact that the compatibility rate had risen was classified, meaning there was no way to use it as leverage. Seo-ha stayed completely silent on the matter.
“So just this once, we’re asking you to go in with a different Guide.”
“No.”
Ju-oh cut her off flatly, as if the idea wasn’t even worth entertaining.
“Don’t just say no. Just this once, go along with it. We don’t have a choice.”
“And what exactly don’t we have a choice about?”
“It’s not like we’ve got only one Gate to deal with. You think they’ll accommodate our situation in the middle of all this?”
“Then I’ll just pull out altogether.”
“Han Ju-oh!”
It was a deadlock. Both sides were pulling hard, neither giving way. Frustrated, Guild Leader Kim shouted at Ju-oh and let out a sharp, ragged breath.
“You think I’m doing this just for myself? If we compromise now, it gives us leverage to push for what we want next time.”
“And why should we be worrying about next time?”
“So you’re saying we should just hold out no matter what? Collapse on the ground and say we can’t do it?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“Hey, we’re in a state of emergency! A national emergency!”
Guild Leader Kim raised her voice, one hand on her hip. How could he be so stubborn at a time like this? It’s like dealing with a child. But Ju-oh didn’t back down either.
“That’s exactly why I need Guide Baek right now. Have you forgotten? The reason I chose him in the first place.”
“Seriously… why are you bringing that up now?”
“What if guiding doesn’t work once I’m inside the Gate?”
“…”
Guild Leader Kim started to falter. She had plenty to say, but the moment Ju-oh brought up what could be considered his greatest flaw, she was left speechless.
One side was clearly gaining the upper hand, but the mood was tense and bitter. Seo-ha, who had quietly leaned back to watch, now slowly leaned forward.
“Nngh.”
The sofa had been surprisingly comfortable. A shame to leave it behind. Seo-ha glanced between the two of them.
“When I first heard it was a national emergency, I thought things were serious…”
In Seo-ha’s life, Gates appearing wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. They popped up as often as one breathed. But even he had to admit he was startled this time. Multiple Gates with high rankings had appeared—that was something worth being tense over.
“But the two of you bickering like kids really lightened the mood.”
“Kids?”
One of Han Ju-oh’s eyebrows twitched.
“Did you just call us kids?”
Guild Leader Kim’s voice sharpened like a blade.
“Yeah. You’re both whining for attention like spoiled brats.”
Seo-ha casually dismissed their protests. Honestly, it was even funnier watching them pretend they weren’t fighting after throwing a tantrum like that.
“Let me step in as the mediator and straighten things out. First, Ju-oh.”
Seo-ha extended a hand toward Han Ju-oh.
“You’ve always been stubborn, and if anything, you’re even worse now. You’ve got that typical contrarian streak too.”
The more cynically Seo-ha spoke, the darker Ju-oh’s expression became. His irritation was written all over his face, but Seo-ha clearly didn’t care.
“Still, if you think about it, he’s not wrong. We’re definitely going into a high-ranking Gate, and that means there’s no avoiding excessive energy output. I think we can all agree I’m important to Ju-oh, right? He knows it too. Honestly, it’s not that complicated.”
Guild Leader Kim shot Seo-ha a look that said, Then what are you getting at? Seo-ha simply shrugged.
“Just tack me onto the existing Guide as a ‘one plus one’ deal. That way, you don’t have to terminate the contract, and the government won’t raise a fuss either.”
Delivered in such a neatly wrapped package, the proposal visibly relaxed Han Ju-oh. On the other hand, Guild Leader Kim looked even more exasperated and pounded on her chest.
“You think we haven’t considered that? But do you seriously expect Han Ju-oh to accept working with another Guide? Especially under these conditions…”
“Then just don’t go in right away.”
“…”
Guild Leader Kim frowned. She was sure this had happened before—something just like this.
“Looks like I’m saying this twice in one day. I already said it this morning, but I’ll keep it simple. Just give me some time. If the compatibility rate goes up, we won’t need to bring in another Guide. And if it doesn’t, I’ll convince Ju-oh myself.”
Seo-ha shot a look at Han Ju-oh, as if to ask if he was okay with it. Ju-oh gave a small nod. He likely wasn’t thinking of accepting a new Guide anyway—more like he was determined to raise the match rate somehow. That didn’t matter. The real obstacle was Guild Leader Kim Mi-yeon.
“It’s not like that’s up to me.”
“Then it’s something we can look into.”
Seo-ha pointed at her phone, which had been ringing nonstop for a while now.
“There has to be a way.”
Kim Mi-yeon didn’t know where Seo-ha was getting this confidence from, but for now, she picked up her phone.
“Yes.”
As she continued the call, she glanced at Seo-ha and then stood up. Once she stepped out, leaving the two alone, Ju-oh grabbed Seo-ha by the shoulder and turned him around.
“What are you thinking?”
“I think we can buy some time.”
“And how do you know that?”
Seo-ha held up three fingers right in front of Ju-oh’s face.
“I heard from Roi—thirteen of them have appeared in that area. Including this one, that makes fourteen Gates. They’re not going to clear them all at once.”
He folded one finger down.
“There are three S-Class Espers affiliated with the Center. If they send those in first, that buys us time. And if they scrape together the other S-Class Espers from various guilds, the priority list can be shuffled.”
Another finger folded. Just one more reason left.
“And that Gate we saw… thinking back, I remember hearing about one like it before.”
While Ju-oh and Kim Mi-yeon were bickering, Seo-ha hadn’t just been watching. He’d been thinking it over, and something had clicked. Ju-oh’s eyes lit up at Seo-ha’s cryptic remark. He had figured it out too. A Gate that bewitched people—it had appeared before.
“So trust me now.”
Seo-ha waited patiently, confident they could stall for time.
Not long after, Guild Leader Kim returned with something in her hands.
“We just received the official grade assessment for the Gate the two of you will be entering. As you can see, it’s S-Class.”
It wasn’t a surprise—everyone had already expected that level. Still, the weight of stepping into something that dangerous made Seo-ha tense up again.
“And the entrance opens… in three months.”
With that announcement, Ju-oh immediately turned to look at Seo-ha, who simply raised a peace sign in response.
“In exchange for buying time, we’ll clear it ourselves.”
Kim Mi-yeon had brought back what could be the best solution for everyone.
***
After leaving the Guild Leader’s office, Seo-ha stretched his arms up and rolled his stiff shoulders. Outside, the world was in chaos thanks to the Gate, but his expression was slack and tired. It wasn’t that the tension had disappeared—it was just that the day had drained him emotionally.
“I figured I’d have to enter one eventually, but I’m actually going to experience an S-Class Gate.”
Ju-oh, walking beside him, began to slow his pace.
“It’s going to be insanely dangerous. One misstep and you won’t even have bones left to bury.”
Seo-ha’s slightly timid words brought Ju-oh to a complete stop. Unaware at first, Seo-ha kept walking, only to realize Ju-oh wasn’t following and turned back.
“What are you doing back there?”
“…I never meant to put you in danger.”
“Hm? Oh. I didn’t think that.”
What he meant was simply that they couldn’t afford to let their guard down, considering the danger. But Ju-oh clearly hadn’t taken it that way.
“Up to now, I’ve gone into S-Class Gates twenty-one times.”
It was less than the number that had appeared in Korea, but it sounded like he had plenty of experience from traveling abroad.
“I’ll never put you at risk.”
“Yeah, yeah. Got it.”
“I won’t ever let you be in danger.”
“…I said I got it.”
Seo-ha raised his hand as if to say you can stop now, but Ju-oh took a step closer.
“You’re the one person I’ll protect no matter what.”
“Didn’t you just say that four different ways? I think we can stop now.”
“No matter what happens…”
“Oh my god, seriously. Dude. I’m a Guide too, you know?”
Seo-ha glared up at him in exasperation. Why the hell did he keep repeating himself?
…Damn it, he’s making my heart flutter.
“You said you’d protect me. So think of me as your pinky finger, and don’t let even one of them get torn off.”
He rushed those words out, not giving Ju-oh a chance to respond, then turned and strode off in a hurry.
Who needs to be scared of an S-Class Gate when you’ve got a partner like that?
He must be losing his mind.
