* * *
Wonho hadn’t wanted to bring it up—but he ended up saying it anyway.
It was better to look like a petty man than to have Haebom think he was being bullied just because he lived in Wonho’s house.
Besides, he didn’t get why Haebom kept calling it Wonho’s house in the first place.
They were living together—shouldn’t this place count as Haebom’s home too?
Drawing that line like that… it felt like Haebom was drawing one in Wonho’s heart too.
And that left him feeling lower than low.
“…Jealousy?”
“Yeah. Jealousy. So just—don’t be alone with anyone when I’m not around. At least three people. You, me, and someone else. Got it?”
“Huh? Uh… okay, sure.”
Haebom nodded, looking a bit dazed.
Every time Wonho was this blunt about his feelings, Haebom could feel the heat rising to his neck.
Of course, Wonho basically wore his heart on his sleeve every day, every moment.
Maybe now it was Haebom’s turn to lay his feelings bare.
“So, what was so important that you came all the way to the house for? Come on, spit it out.”
Wonho slouched in his seat, tilting his chin with a nod that clearly said: ‘Well? Go ahead.’
He figured Haebom would talk when he was ready, but hadn’t he waited long enough?
When it came to Haebom, Wonho was always far too impatient—too anxious.
He just tried not to show it.
Every day, he warred between waiting patiently and wanting to grab that small mouth and demand answers.
“Wonho. You… don’t remember the first time we met, do you?”
“The first time?”
He’d asked what he talked about with Jin Seyoung—so why was he bringing up something completely random?
Still, Wonho didn’t press him.
He tried to recall the first time they met.
Technically, it was inside a gate.
But his memory of that was fuzzy—he mostly remembered a searing thirst in the middle of a desert.
It had been a desert-type gate, but that thirst wasn’t because of the environment.
It was the same painful thirst that had plagued him ever since he became an Esper.
What he did remember was a cautious voice… one he now knew belonged to Haebom.
The next time he saw Haebom clearly was in a hospital room at the center.
He remembered how beautiful Haebom looked, sleeping peacefully—even in the chaos of it all, that memory stood out clearly.
“Yeah, inside the gate, right? I don’t remember much but…”
“About that gate… um, I don’t really know how to explain this, so just bear with me, okay? I was camping—like, out at a campsite…”
Haebom kept sneaking glances at Wonho’s face as he talked.
Normally, he’d look him straight in the eyes when speaking, so this hesitant, guilty look didn’t sit well with Wonho at all.
“Lift your head.”
“Huh?”
“Look me in the face when you talk. You didn’t do anything wrong, so don’t act like you did. Come on—look me in the eyes and say it.”
Wonho reached out and gently lifted Haebom’s chin, making their eyes meet.
Haebom nodded, staring into Wonho’s brilliant, gem-like red eyes.
He hadn’t looked before because he was afraid of seeing any hint of negative emotion directed at him.
But now, he was sure—there wouldn’t be any.
With that certainty, Haebom slowly started telling his story again.
Wonho nodded along, chiming in with the occasional “Yeah?” or “And then?” to show he was listening.
No matter how surreal Haebom’s story sounded, it didn’t bother Wonho.
Even if Haebom turned out to be an alien… or a monster… it wouldn’t change how he felt.
‘Okay, maybe if he was a monster, that’d be a problem. Just… not that, please.’
After all, there had never been a monster that looked like a human.
If Haebom were one, there’d be a lot to figure out.
Luckily, that didn’t seem to be the case.
And if Haebom really was someone from another dimension?
That didn’t bother him at all.
“Are there people like me—Espers—where you’re from too?”
Wonho thought back to how quickly Haebom had adjusted to life at the center.
If he were from a totally different world, that should’ve taken more time.
But their matching compatibility test and Haebom’s ease in these situations said otherwise—like he was already used to this kind of world.
“…That’s what you’re most curious about?”
Haebom’s eyes trembled as he heard the question.
He figured Wonho might not believe him.
Someone from another dimension?
Even gates didn’t go that far.
Not even in movies did people show up from completely different worlds.
Maybe because their lives were already a kind of fantasy, no one felt the need to imagine more.
In books or movies, stories like his didn’t exist.
Still, Wonho didn’t question him.
Not even a hint of doubt.
He just… believed him. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Neither Jin Seyoung nor Wonho had any clear reason to trust him—but they did.
“So… what should I be asking?”
“No, it’s not that I expect questions, it’s just… do you really believe me? Everything I said?”
Wonho raised a brow, watching Haebom’s expression shift from a frown to a forlorn droop.
That tiny head was clearly overthinking something—probably not anything positive.
If he were feeling confident, he wouldn’t make that kind of face.
Just as Wonho suspected, Haebom didn’t seem able to accept that someone would just believe him like that.
Wonho let out a quiet sigh, ready to snap, ‘Why wouldn’t I believe you?’
But he stopped himself.
This wasn’t Haebom’s fault—it was his own.
He hadn’t done enough to earn that trust.
When they first met, he’d yelled at Haebom, told him to stay away.
And now, after doing a full 180, he was chasing after him like a lovesick puppy.
It made sense Haebom wouldn’t know what to believe.
Still, it stung more than he expected—not having Haebom’s full trust yet.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Wonho… it’s just—think about it. I appeared out of nowhere inside a gate, I have no ID or background in your world… What if I am a monster or something? Like, some super-evolved—”
“What kind of monster looks this dumb? Didn’t you take Guide training? Haven’t you seen what monsters actually look like?”
“Ow… Don’t flick me…”
Wonho let out a dry chuckle and flicked Haebom’s forehead.
He had thought about the monster possibility, so Haebom’s words hit a little close to home.
But still—there was no monster that looked this… harmless.
Definitely none that looked this pretty.
“Or—or maybe I’m a spy! What if showing up in the gate was actually an invasion? What if I’m here to steal Korea’s secrets—”
Haebom was the only one getting worked up here.
Wonho, on the other hand, stayed calm and unbothered.
From his perspective, it was like watching a tiny bunny baring its teeth at a lion, trying to act tough.
Haebom didn’t realize it, but to Wonho, all his worries just made him look cuter.
So, Haebom went on, throwing out wild spy theories, all based on movies he’d seen.
And Wonho just watched, quietly entertained.
“So what did you leak, then? That the S-class Esper Wonho can’t live without his Guide, Yoon Haebom? That he keeps him by his side so tightly no one can touch him? If that’s the rumor, go ahead and spread it around. Might help shake off those rat bastards.”
The heat that had risen to Haebom’s face vanished in an instant.
The realization that Wonho believed him no matter what hit him in a strange way.
Even if he had been a real spy, Wonho would’ve still trusted him.
When had that trust taken root…?
* * *
