* * *

The scenery in front of the gathered crowd rippled, and a group of people entered.

A group wearing shining golden badges on their chests—Espers.

“Huh?”

“Oh my god…!”

“Are you from the Esper Bureau?”

“Yes, we are. But how did all of you end up gathered here?”

“Well, that’s…”

“So, what that person said was true…”

If this were a coincidence, could it even be statistically possible?

Out of all the vast areas inside the gate, so many people had gathered right by the entrance.

And they were just ordinary people without any special abilities.

If this were truly a coincidence, there was no other way to describe it but as a “miracle.”

Both the gathered crowd and the Espers looked visibly unsettled, unable to hide their confusion.

“We came here because someone told us it would be safe if we stayed here.”

“Who told you that?”

“They didn’t come with us. They said they’d bring more people…”

Only then did Yeo Eunsoo realize that he’d been so focused on the crowd that he hadn’t noticed the presence of someone outside the group.

When ordinary people get caught in a gate, the moment Espers appear, they usually rush toward them, pleading for protection—even if the Espers are illegal ones, not from the Bureau.

For civilians, relying on Espers is often their only chance of survival.

But the presence he sensed had stayed in one spot for some time before moving away as soon as the Espers arrived.

It was as if they had ensured that the people they’d brought were safe before leaving, satisfied.

‘No way.’

Eunsoo bolted out of the alley where he had been hiding and ran straight through the crowd.

Someone behind him called out to stop him, but he didn’t look back.

His focus was solely on the retreating presence.

In fact, he couldn’t even hear the voices around him.

All he could hear was the pounding of his heart.

Despite running for quite some time, his breathing was steady, though his heart continued to race noisily.

His face burned, his chest churned.

His heart, his chest—it all felt like it was about to burst.

Before long, Eunsoo had nearly caught up to the fleeing figure.

And then he saw them. He saw their face. Their identity.

“You…”

Yang Heewoon.

It really was Yang Heewoon.

In the six months since they’d last met, he’d gained some weight, his complexion had improved, and his skin was slightly tanned from the sun—but there was no mistaking him.

After all, during his absence, Eunsoo had imagined countless versions of how Heewoon might have changed.

He had imagined it so often, in so many ways, that it was no exaggeration to say he had considered every possibility, endlessly, ceaselessly.

In the past six months—no, in the year since meeting Yang Heewoon—had there ever been a single moment when Eunsoo forgot about him?

“Heewoon!”

A cry erupted from his throat, almost like a scream.

Hearing his voice, Heewoon turned his head.

Their eyes met.

Even from a distance, Heewoon’s eyes widened as if he had recognized him instantly.

His hurried steps came to a stop.

“Ah…”

Taking advantage of the moment Heewoon froze in surprise, Eunsoo rushed to his side and grabbed his hand.

Eunsoo had so much to say to Heewoon.

He had thought about it over and over, carving the words into his mind.

He would curse him. He would tell him how miserable and wretched he had been in his absence.

How it felt to be betrayed and abandoned.

He would lay it all bare.

He would shred Heewoon’s heart with his words, so that he would understand his sins and never dare to betray him again.

He would engrave it deeply into Heewoon’s mind and heart so he could never again act so arrogantly.

Even if Heewoon had hidden away for six months without letting him know he was alive, Heewoon was still Heewoon.

Kind to the point of stupidity, overly devoted to others, and fundamentally unchanged.

That’s why Heewoon was now his.

He would bind his hands with guilt, his legs with the weight of sin, so he could never run away again.

“Eunsoo, I…”

“I-I’m sorry.”

But for some reason…

The words that spilled out of his mouth were completely unexpected.

“What…?”

Even though the words were his own, Eunsoo was stunned.

Heewoon, too, seemed caught off guard, his voice filled with disbelief.

It made Eunsoo panic.

This wasn’t right.

This wasn’t what he’d wanted to say when he finally saw Heewoon.

He needed to make Heewoon feel guilty.

He needed to remind Heewoon of the lies he had told, of the reckless choices he had made.

He needed to show him the wounds those actions had caused.

So why?

Why were such strange words coming out of his mouth?

“If you don’t want me, I won’t love you. I won’t have any weird feelings.”

And that wasn’t the end of it. Even though his mind screamed that this wasn’t right, the words wouldn’t stop.

It wasn’t just his words—his trembling wouldn’t stop either.

His whole body, and even the hand that held Heewoon, trembled uncontrollably.

He should’ve held on tighter, to make sure Heewoon couldn’t run away again.

But he had no strength.

“I… I really won’t ask anything from you. I won’t ask for a kiss ever again. I mean it. I’ll just… I’ll be a good kid. You can treat me like a child. I won’t even call you ‘hyung’ anymore. I’ll just keep calling you ‘mister.’ I’ll be a good boy. I’ll listen to everything you say. I won’t act out. I won’t ask for anything—anything but to stay by your side. So, please…”

As Eunsoo rambled on incoherently, he realized something.

He wasn’t even looking at Heewoon.

The Heewoon he had missed so desperately was standing right in front of him, yet he kept his head bowed low, staring only at the hand holding Heewoon’s.

And that’s when it hit him.

This wasn’t nonsense.

It was the truth.

He didn’t hate Heewoon.

He hadn’t gone to Polwel to bring him back because he wanted to punish him or give him a chance for redemption.

The truth was… he was afraid.

Even when Heewoon was with him, and after he left, Eunsoo had never once forgotten him.

He couldn’t forget him.

To Eunsoo, Heewoon was everything.

But what about Heewoon?

Had Eunsoo ever been everything to him?

If he had been, Heewoon wouldn’t have left.

The difference in the depth of their feelings must have been immeasurable.

Thinking that, he couldn’t bear it.

He didn’t want to face the truth.

He was terrified of being rejected.

Even though he desperately wanted to see Heewoon, he was equally scared of seeing him.

So, he had waited.

Waited for Heewoon to come back on his own.

Because if Heewoon returned on his own… it would mean that he still felt something—at least a sliver of affection.

“…Eunsoo, why are you…”

Heewoon’s face was full of confusion as he spoke.

But Eunsoo didn’t hear him.

He didn’t want to hear him.

Because he was afraid of knowing what Heewoon truly felt.

‘I forced strength into my powerless hand, but Yang Heewoon slipped away. The warm, gentle sensation of his hand was nowhere to be felt. My trembling only grew worse.’

“Stay with me… Don’t go. Without you, Hyung, I…”

By now, Yang Heewoon was Ye Eunsoo’s everything.

But if Heewoon abandoned him again, if there wasn’t even a shred of hope left by his side… what would he do then?

His mind buzzed, and nausea rose again from the stress.

Yang Heewoon had returned. He was here now, standing right in front of him.

He just needed to hold on to him.

Yang Heewoon wasn’t strong.

His stamina was poor, his reflexes weak.

Compared to Ye Eunsoo, he was such a fragile existence.

Ye Eunsoo was confident he could subdue Heewoon in an instant, with just one hand if needed.

If he just confined him, crushed him under his weight, made it so he couldn’t leave—he could easily take control.

But today, too, he was nothing but the “subordinate.”

It was unfair and humiliating, but what could he do?

He loved him.

The “love” Yang Heewoon had taught him was like that.

Warm and ticklish, something that made you smile without realizing it.

He had wanted to make Heewoon feel the same.

Ye Eunsoo shut his eyes tightly.

His chest felt like it was being torn apart, shredded to pieces.

Just imagining it left his throat tight, strangled by the sheer pain.

But he had to say it.

Somehow, he had to convince him to just stay by his side.

“…Even if you… love someone else, not me… it’s fine…”

Ye Eunsoo’s voice was trembling, every word painful and halting.

But he couldn’t say more.

Because something warm and sweet had pressed against his quivering lips.

* * *