‘I figured it’d be the usual suspects, but this is overkill.’
Seated on a collapsible chair he’d pulled from his bag, Seo-ha propped his chin on his hand, watching the crowd. Beyond the tape marking the Gate’s perimeter, the people who’d gathered weren’t just wearing top-of-the-line protective gear—their credentials were just as dazzling.
‘Yeol-jin must’ve been sent from Incheon…’
S-Class Esper, Baek Yeol-jin. Their eyes met by chance, and he offered a cheerful wave.
‘Kim Jun-hyuk? Oh, sure. Makes sense they’d send him.’
Kim Jun-hyuk was an A-Class Esper—the lowest-ranked among the group assembled here—but thanks to his rare ability type, he could easily hold his own.
‘No way Senior Han Yeo-on wouldn’t be here.’
Han Yeo-on, one of only three S-Class Guides in the entire country.
One by one, Seo-ha identified them—name, rank, ability, even what region they’d come from—all surfacing effortlessly in his mind as he muttered to himself. Then someone’s presence brushed past him. Before he even turned around, a familiar scent wrapped gently around him. Seo-ha tilted his head back. His head lightly bumped against someone’s leg, and when he looked up, he was met with Han Ju-oh’s face—so striking it made everyone else he’d seen so far pale in comparison.
“What are you doing?”
“People-watching. I was curious if any surprises would show up, but nope—every single person here is exactly who I expected.”
The national team had been formed by handpicking the top ace from each region. Naturally, the lineup was made up entirely of A-Class and above. Maybe that’s why the atmosphere wasn’t exactly warm—no friendly greetings or lighthearted chatter.
“They all went through matching tests?”
Seo-ha handed Ju-oh a spare chair without hesitation, answering as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Of course. I traveled all over the country for this.”
He’d started by testing with Espers in Seoul. Back then, Center Director Kim Beom-hak had even stepped in to help assemble candidates, so the tests had gone smoothly. But when no matches were found, Seo-ha expanded his search to the other regions.
“So yeah, I saw this coming.”
“Exactly. I didn’t make all those demands to the Director for nothing. We’re not just dealing with monsters here—we have to deal with those people, too.”
Seo-ha glanced around the area, his tone turning serious.
“Some of them are all right. But others? Definitely not.”
“Doesn’t matter. As long as they don’t bother you.”
“Me? Please—they’re more interested in my husband.”
Ju-oh shot back with a casual reply, and Seo-ha grinned, the serious mood instantly dissipating.
“I mean, I’m someone they already know. But my husband? He’s a living legend.”
The nation’s only SS-Class Esper. Han Ju-oh—a mysterious figure who’d returned from overseas, still shrouded in ambiguity due to limited available data. Of course people were curious.
“Guide Baek, it’s been a while.”
A man approached while Seo-ha was still talking with Ju-oh—Baek Yeol-jin from Incheon, a fire-attribute Esper.
“How long’s it been? You’re not still playing with fire, are you?”
“Hey, when did I ever play with fire? I was just trying some new stuff.”
“Well, the marshmallows you roasted with it weren’t half bad.”
Seo-ha greeted him with genuine warmth. Baek Yeol-jin, with his vivid red hair, beamed and shook hands. Even though it had been ages since they last met, the conversation flowed as if no time had passed. Eventually, Seo-ha turned to Ju-oh.
“This is Esper Baek Yeol-jin. Been active for quite a while, but as you can see, still pretty young.”
Yeol-jin had started early, so he’d built up solid experience—but he was often the youngest wherever he went.
“He was the fifth person I tested for a match, too.”
Back then, Seo-ha was still figuring out what matching even meant, so they’d parted ways with a smile. As he reminisced, a soft nostalgia flickered in his gaze—but Ju-oh, by contrast, looked visibly displeased.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Baek Yeol-jin.”
“Han Ju-oh.”
Ju-oh shot back with a curt reply and fell silent. Yeol-jin hesitated, lips twitching as if to speak, then backed off quietly when no follow-up came.
Seo-ha briefly considered stepping in to smooth things over—but ultimately let it go. And as more people arrived, the same pattern repeated. They’d greet Seo-ha first, then Ju-oh—but the conversation would fizzle out immediately, and they’d awkwardly retreat.
At first, Seo-ha brushed it off. But as it kept happening, curiosity gnawed at him.
“We’re on the same team. Why are you keeping your distance from them?”
“Because I don’t want to get close.”
Ju-oh shook his head, and Seo-ha dropped the matter. Whatever standards Ju-oh had, he’d clearly already made up his mind to keep people like Yeol-jin at arm’s length. Seo-ha wasn’t about to force a change he didn’t want.
“Do whatever you want.”
Seo-ha checked his watch—it was already past assembly time. He stretched his arms overhead and began folding up his chair, securing one on each side of his bag. Ju-oh silently took it and slung it over his shoulder.
“Let’s get going.”
Now Seo-ha was really curious—who was going to lead South Korea’s elite representative team?
***
The team consisted of ten Espers and ten Guides. Some were Imprinted pairs like Han Ju-oh and Seo-ha. Others were bonded partners, while the rest were temporary matches formed based solely on rank, with no deeper connection.
“Everyone, please gather!”
Once Seo-ha had finished sizing everyone up, he moved at a leisurely pace. From beyond the boundary line, the sound of camera shutters started clicking. The sudden flashes in his vision had to be from the press.
Reporters who had merely been spectating minutes ago were now fired up, openly jostling to get their shots. Even with his eyes wide open, Seo-ha felt like the world had turned blindingly white and rubbed at his eyes.
“The media’s going nuts.”
It wasn’t his first time near a Gate, so the attention wasn’t exactly surprising—but this time, with the entire country watching, the intensity was on another level.
Before he even realized it, Han Ju-oh had stepped in front of him, shielding him from the camera flashes. Seo-ha leaned his forehead against Ju-oh’s back and let out a soft chuckle. Only when someone called for attention again did he lift his head and face forward.
“Huh?”
He spotted a familiar face.
“Sung Jin-su, Manager of the Operations Support Team, Seoul Branch of the National Dungeon Management Center.”
A colleague from the same organization. Seo-ha gave a brief nod of recognition, and immediately felt Ju-oh’s gaze on him—his eyes practically saying, “Is there anyone you don’t know?” Seo-ha gave a casual tilt of his chin, a wordless mind your own business. After all, knowing people wasn’t a bad thing.
“The Gate you’ll be entering is expected to be classified as ‘unranked’—the highest possible risk level. That means we have no idea what may happen inside. Before we begin, I’d like to go over a few things. First, we’re considering appointing Esper Han Ju-oh as team leader based on rank. Any objections?”
Rank was the default criterion when assigning leadership. For good reason—a B-Class Esper giving orders to an S-Class wasn’t exactly practical. And since the ones leading the charge were usually the highest-ranked, the logic held up.
Then someone raised a hand.
“Yes, Guide Han Yeo-on?”
“Unranked dungeons are highly dangerous. Isn’t it shortsighted to base leadership solely on rank? Especially when the Imprinted Guide in question only recently began showing decent compatibility results.”
It was a direct jab at Seo-ha. Han Ju-oh looked ready to respond, but Seo-ha, as if expecting it, stopped him with a calm hand. Ju-oh shot him an annoyed look—Why are you stopping me?—but went along with it.
Seo-ha, keeping Ju-oh in check, turned to face Han Yeo-on. Lately, the way people looked at him had shifted. Sure, he’d once had poor match rates, but now he was an S-Class Guide pulling more than his weight. Han Yeo-on’s criticism didn’t bother him in the slightest.
“This is exactly why knowing people can be such a hassle.”
But he’d seen it coming. Han Yeo-on was a former university senior who’d manifested as an S-Class Guide and cruised through life on a golden path. A top-tier talent revered by the government and even watched by foreign agencies—Seo-ha wouldn’t have been surprised if people said she lived in a realm of her own.
If Ju-oh were appointed leader, Seo-ha’s voice would naturally carry more influence on the Guide side than Han Yeo-on’s. That, clearly, wasn’t something she wanted.
“Then who do you suggest, Guide Han Yeo-on?”
“Esper Lee Jae-yeol.”
Her bonded Esper. An S-Class and a frequent face in the news.
Before Seo-ha had formed a pair with Han Ju-oh, Lee Jae-yeol and Han Yeo-on had been the most high-profile Guide-Espers duo in the country.
“Does everyone agree?”
Sung Jin-su turned to the others, seeking their input. He couldn’t make that decision alone.
“It helps to have someone you’ve worked with before.”
“Right. They already know how to operate together.”
“I support it.”
Several hands went up in support, and the mood quickly shifted in their favor. Even without a formal vote, a few strong opinions were enough to sway the room.
As more voices aligned with Han Yeo-on, Han Ju-oh leaned in toward Seo-ha.
“You saw this coming, didn’t you?”
Knowing people well also meant knowing how situations like this would unfold. Seo-ha quietly took Ju-oh’s hand.
“Of course.”
Something like this? It had been easy to predict.
Man my boys can’t catch a single damn BREAK even in the side stories 😭