Through the tiny window of the studio, he could see the first light of dawn breaking.
“Ugh… Wonho…!”
Haebom whimpered, calling out Wonho’s name with his eyes shut tight.
A shaky sob escaped him.
Not long after, his heavy eyelids lifted.
Maybe it was because of those articles he’d seen at dawn, but he’d dreamt that Wonho had turned into a block of ice in the middle of a desert…
The desert slowly froze over, swallowed by ice all because of Wonho.
It must have been that word—“ice age”—that triggered it.
“Haa…”
His whole body was burning.
Just knowing he’d returned to the world where Wonho lived seemed to unravel all the tension inside him and leave him feverish.
That’s what Haebom told himself as he dragged his aching body upright.
He couldn’t afford to rest just because he was sick.
He had to go see Wonho—immediately.
Maybe it was the fever, but his mind and body felt sluggish.
To pull himself together, he stepped into the bathroom and doused himself with cold water.
Maybe it was because he was burning up, but the water felt even colder than usual.
Still, it helped clear his head.
After washing up, he yanked some clothes from the rack on one side of the tiny studio apartment and forced himself into them.
He nearly fell over a few times trying to get his pants on, but he didn’t care.
Fully dressed now, he grabbed his wallet and headed out.
He hailed a taxi the moment he stepped outside.
“To the Ability Users’ Center, please.”
“Sure.”
The driver gave a short reply and gently eased the car onto the road, heading toward Haebom’s destination.
Haebom’s eyelids kept drooping.
He felt like if he let go even a little, he’d pass out, so he forced himself to stay alert.
He stared stiffly at the headrest in front of him to keep himself from puking.
He had a feeling the driver was checking on him through the rearview mirror, but he didn’t have the energy to care.
“…We’ve arrived, sir.”
“Thank you.”
Haebom paid with a random card from his wallet and got out.
He turned his head to look at the Ability Users’ Center.
As soon as he saw the building, a frustrated sigh slipped out of him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
It was the Ability Users’ Center, no doubt about that.
The problem?
It was the Busan branch, not Seoul.
That damn Administrator.
There had to be a limit to screwing with someone…
What the hell was this?
Anger surged straight to his head, and the world tilted in front of his eyes.
He was already feeling sick, and now he was furious on top of it.
His body simply couldn’t keep up.
‘I have to stay conscious…! Goddamn it…’
Ever since meeting that so-called Administrator, he found himself cursing constantly.
He used to nag Wonho to stop swearing all the time—and now, when they met again, he’d be the one hearing it from Wonho.
But it couldn’t be helped.
It was all that Administrator’s fault anyway.
Maybe every time he swore, he should demand a kiss from Wonho as payment.
His fever-addled brain kept spinning off into nonsense—but not for long.
“Huh? Are you okay? Hey! Over here!”
“Someone collapsed! Call 119!”
In the split second before he completely lost consciousness, Haebom glared at the sign that read “Busan Branch – Ability Users’ Center.”
Like staring at it would somehow turn Busan into Seoul.
It didn’t, of course.
But he still couldn’t stop himself.
His vision blurred, and finally, his legs gave out beneath him.
How many times had he passed out like this?
He’d honestly lost count.
Haebom scrunched his face at the pounding pain in his head.
He didn’t know which hospital he was in, but he could tell it was a hospital room.
Not because this was his first time waking up—he vaguely remembered waking up a couple times before—but he’d never been conscious enough to do anything.
His body had burned with fever and ached like he’d been beaten all over.
He couldn’t remember ever being this sick in his life.
The urge to cry overwhelmed him, and he opened his eyes wide to stop the tears.
It didn’t work.
They still flowed.
But the warm tears running down his cheeks told him the fever must have broken.
“Haa…”
He let out a breath, his voice dry and raspy.
He sat up slowly and looked around.
A small, single-patient room. It didn’t take long to figure out it belonged to a center-affiliated hospital.
The oversized logo of the Ability Users’ Center printed on his hospital gown gave it away.
Just then—click—the door opened.
A woman in a white coat stepped in.
When she saw Haebom awake, her face lit up with a bright smile.
“You’re awake! We were getting worried. You’ve been out for days. But it’s a relief to see you awake, Haebom.”
“Ah… Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I heard you collapsed right in front of the Center—do you remember that?”
Haebom gave a small nod as she approached.
Of course he remembered.
After realizing he’d returned to the world where Wonho existed, he had rushed straight to the Ability Users’ Center to find him.
“Then… may I ask why you came to the Center? Not because you’re in trouble or anything! It might’ve just been a coincidence, but since we saw you get out of a taxi right in front of the entrance… I was wondering if maybe you felt yourself awakening as a Guide?”
Haebom sighed quietly and nodded again.
He already knew he had Guiding energy.
He wasn’t worried about not being a Guide.
Seeing his response, the woman smiled even wider.
Unlike Espers, people often didn’t realize they were Guides until something felt off.
The Center encouraged anyone feeling even a little unwell to come in and get checked—just in case.
“We couldn’t do a Guide ranking test without your consent, so we’ve been waiting. If you’re feeling up to it, shall we proceed with the ranking test?”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
He hoped he’d be S-class, but even if he wasn’t, it didn’t matter.
As long as he could guide Wonho, that was enough.
He wasn’t at 100% yet, but he couldn’t afford to lie around any longer.
He’d already wasted days.
He didn’t even know where Wonho was right now…
Once he got confirmation that he was a Guide, maybe—maybe—he could finally see him again.
As expected, the results came back: S-Class Guide.
But instead of being registered at the Seoul branch, he was officially logged as Guide Haebom of the Busan branch.
Even so, once the test and registration were done, one thought filled his mind—he had to find Wonho.
But things were never that simple.
