* * *
After Seokhyeon died inside the Irregular Gate in the original story, everything fell apart.
With the sudden absence of the center director, the control tower couldn’t function properly, and those who should have stepped up were all too concerned for their own lives to do anything but stand back.
Ironically, that made it possible for the protagonists to gather forces around themselves, but only after great sacrifice.
Raon no longer intended to watch things play out like that.
Even if the system somehow returned, he planned to train the guide team thoroughly so they could take initiative even after his disappearance.
‘Not that you could call it “harsh” when all they’ve done is run so far.’
Of course, he made them keep running until they dropped from exhaustion, but still—reporting him for abuse over that?
Maybe because they’d handled the Irregular Gate so well, they hadn’t yet developed a proper sense of crisis.
“Still, there’s no point in training guides that harshly. They’re basically civilians — it’s just a waste of time.”
Seokhyeon, at least, seemed to have a different perspective than others.
While people like Hyunseung prevented the guides from doing anything under the pretext of protecting them, Seokhyeon simply meant not to waste effort on unnecessary things.
“Whether it’s a waste of time or not — we’ll see.”
“Hoo…”
At Raon’s confident reply, Seokhyeon let out a familiar sigh.
He knew better than anyone how stubborn Raon could be.
Lately, though, his stubbornness seemed a little different than before.
“In that case, you’ll need to show clear results at the next gate. That’s the limit of how long I can hold back the complaints.”
“Leave it to me.”
Raon nodded with confidence and looked at Seokhyeon again.
“Nothing else you wanted to say, right?”
“Sigh… really.”
After another sigh that now seemed habitual, Raon quickly nodded in farewell and stood up from his seat.
Then he opened the door and stepped out of the center director’s office.
“Hyung, you’re done?”
“Oh, did you wait long?”
“No.”
Siwoo was standing in front of the director’s office.
Raon was briefly surprised to see him waiting so naturally at the door but quickly asked in a calm tone.
“Did you eat?”
“I was waiting to eat with you.”
“Ah… right.”
Siwoo answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Raon felt a bit flustered.
After training, Raon had come straight to the director’s office at Seokhyeon’s summons.
Siwoo had accompanied him, but Raon assumed he would return to his own tasks afterward.
He hadn’t expected Siwoo to wait until he came out.
But now that the team had been completely reorganized, Siwoo really didn’t have much else to do.
‘Looks like we’ll be together all the time from now on.’
Even though they were officially paired, espers and guides usually had different responsibilities, so they hadn’t spent long periods together before.
But lately, Siwoo had been sticking closely to Raon, practically shadowing him.
Come to think of it, this tendency had increased ever since he got hurt because of Dojin.
‘Well, once the gates start opening again, we’ll be crazy busy anyway.’
As they entered the cafeteria together, Raon calmly mulled over his thoughts while filling his tray.
The next gate wasn’t far off.
“Raon! Siwoo! Over here!”
“Hm?”
At the familiar voice, Raon turned his head to see Hamin waving at them.
Most of the team was already sitting together, eating.
“It’s pretty late. Are you all just now having dinner?”
Approaching them, Raon asked in surprise.
Hamin smiled awkwardly.
“Ah, it took us some time after washing up.”
“Ah.”
Now that he looked closely, the team members didn’t look great.
Though less grimy than they were at the training grounds thanks to washing up, they still looked like damp, crumpled paper dolls — not exactly in peak condition.
“You all must’ve pushed yourselves hard today. Sorry about that. Eat up and get plenty of rest tonight.”
“No, not at all, Team Leader. We wanted to do it.”
Unlike when he was confronting Seokhyeon, Raon felt genuine guilt and apologized as he sat down.
Dasom waved it off.
“That’s right. Honestly, the guides have had it too easy here at the center until now.”
“I’m really glad we can finally do something useful.”
Though they looked tired, the guides’ faces were all bright.
Hearing their words filled Raon with pride.
“Ugh.”
Only one person didn’t quite fit into the cheerful atmosphere — Yeojoon.
After spending the whole day on bungee-jump training, he was still nauseated, retching as he hurried out of the cafeteria.
What was he even doing coming to dinner in that state?
“Don’t mind him, Team Leader.”
“Mm, okay.”
Taehyuk, Yeojoon’s dedicated guide, said coldly.
Raon picked up his utensils and quietly started eating.
‘At this rate, I wonder if his acrophobia can even be cured in time.’
Raon glanced at Siwoo sitting beside him.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. Just eat plenty.”
“You too, hyung.”
Siwoo’s tray was already piled high with food, not that Raon needed to worry.
Espers ate a lot in general, but Siwoo was on the extreme end even among them.
‘Well, he’s only twenty. Still growing, maybe.’
Siwoo was already taller than Raon, though still slightly shorter than Dojin.
‘Three years from now, he was about Dojin’s height. If he keeps eating like this, he might get even taller than that.’
While musing idly, Raon enjoyed the well-cooked pork ribs.
The center received good funding, and the cafeteria food reflected that.
“But it’s a bit salty.”
Without thinking, Raon muttered his honest opinion, and immediately felt someone’s gaze on him.
“Is it too salty?”
“No, not really.”
No matter how good the food was, mass-produced meals couldn’t cater to individual tastes.
It wasn’t a huge complaint, but since he disliked salty food, it was a little disappointing.
“Should I cook for you next time?”
“Huh? You?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
At Siwoo’s offer, Raon blinked in surprise.
Now that he thought about it, Siwoo could cook.
He recalled how good the sandwich had been that morning.
“No, it’s fine. You’re busy enough with esper training.”
Raon shook his head.
No matter how well Siwoo cooked, he couldn’t make him take on more when he was already overloaded.
“Siwoo, you know how to cook?”
“Yes.”
By then, Hamin — who had almost finished eating — asked in surprise.
Siwoo nodded expressionlessly.
“Wow, that’s impressive. I can’t cook at all.”
“It’s not that hard.”
Siwoo’s tone was indifferent.
While he was never the most affectionate type, his response was especially cold.
“Uh, right. Still, that’s pretty cool.”
Even Hamin, ever cheerful, gave an awkward smile.
Raon quickly spoke up before the mood soured further.
“If you’re done eating, head back and rest. Tomorrow’s going to be tough, so be ready.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“Understood.”
“Okay!”
The guides stood up energetically, bowed, and headed out.
Raon smiled and waved lightly at them.
Once the team had left, Raon turned to Siwoo, who was calmly finishing his meal.
“I’ve been wondering… aren’t you kind of unusually cold to Guide Hamin?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Did something happen between you and Guide Hamin?”
“……”
For some reason, Siwoo didn’t answer and simply pressed his lips into a straight line.
Raon looked at him with a suspicious gaze.
In the original story, Siwoo hadn’t been this cold towards Hamin.
Even if his actions now differed from the original because of the absence of the system, there was no real reason for Siwoo to be on bad terms with Hamin, the main bottom.
That’s why Raon asked, but the reply he got was completely unexpected.
“Hamin has the highest match rate with Seo Dojin, right?”
“What?”
“That’s why I don’t like him.”
Siwoo grumbled quietly, his brows furrowed.
Raon blinked in surprise, not expecting Siwoo to think this way.
Since Dojin acted aggressively toward him unlike the original, and Siwoo had witnessed it, it made sense that Siwoo would have a negative view of Dojin.
But for him to also dislike Hamin, who was highly compatible with Dojin?
That was unexpected.
Feeling as if he had unintentionally disrupted the original plot again, Raon was momentarily stunned, his mouth slightly open before closing it again.
‘Well, it’s not like Hamin and Siwoo are supposed to end up together anyway, so I guess it’s fine.’
In a world where the main couple is already predetermined, the fate of the sub-couple is obvious.
Rather than bringing up anything unpleasant for Siwoo, Raon chose to gently persuade him.
“They haven’t even officially paired yet. And now that your teams have changed, you barely even see him, right?”
“Still don’t like him.”
“Hmm… but since you’re on the same team, don’t show it too much. You’ll have to do joint training soon, got it?”
“…Alright.”
Thankfully, Siwoo didn’t flat-out refuse.
However, he still pouted, unable to completely hide his dissatisfaction.
Finding his expression cute, Raon couldn’t hold back a small chuckle.
“Hehe.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re cute.”
“Stop treating me like a kid.”
Siwoo frowned, seemingly even more annoyed.
Raon blinked and said,
“What are you talking about, Siwoo?”
“…”
“Calling you a kid? But you are a kid.”
At that, Siwoo’s expression twisted even more.
* * *
