As Haebom tried to pull away from him, Wonho gently patted his back, trying to calm him down.
At his touch, the rage that had been boiling over in Haebom’s chest subsided—just a little.
“Now that I think about it, who’s he hanging onto? Did he seduce someone the moment he arrived? Let me see that face… Uh, cold—! Ack! What the hell, ugh, fuck…! Are you cra—mmph…!”
It seemed pretty obvious that the guy had come to see Haebom, an S-Class Guide, but only now did Cha Minjun start to wonder who the other person was.
The mumbling voice sounded weirdly familiar…
So he reached out to get a better look at the face.
But just then, ice began to form at his fingertips and shot up his arm in an instant.
Startled, Minjun tried to shake off the ice, but his body was frozen solid in a matter of seconds.
In the exact posture of reaching out, he became an ice statue.
Wonho cast a disinterested glance at the frozen Minjun, then turned his attention back to Haebom.
“Let’s head to the car.”
“Mm… but is it okay to leave him like that?”
“Well… it’s not like he won’t thaw. Once he does, he’ll probably suffer from lifelong hypothermia? He’s an Esper, so he won’t die.”
I see, Haebom nodded.
Wonho hit the button for the first floor again, exhaled deeply, and held Haebom tightly in his arms.
Now he could finally breathe a little easier.
Haebom felt the same.
Thump, thump.
The comforting sound of Wonho’s heartbeat made the corners of Haebom’s lips lift in a smile.
Wonho rested his chin atop Haebom’s soft hair and took a deep breath.
Haebom let out a quiet giggle at the gesture.
“What’s so funny?”
“The whole situation is. Isn’t it hilarious?”
As Haebom glanced toward the frozen Cha Minjun, Wonho’s brow twitched.
Then he shifted his body to completely block Minjun from Haebom’s view.
Haebom lightly tapped Wonho’s chest with his arm, silently asking what he was doing, but Wonho didn’t budge.
Ding—
—First floor.
“Get out.”
Even as they stepped out, Wonho made sure Minjun was completely hidden from Haebom’s sight.
It irritated him to no end that Haebom was giving even negative attention to that bastard.
Haebom, though, had no desire to look at Minjun and stepped off the elevator with Wonho.
“Huh? What the hell? Isn’t that Cha Minjun the Esper?”
“Whaaa? He’s frozen? Damn… Hey, take a picture. A picture! Holy crap, who did this to him? He looks ridiculous. Shouldn’t we report it?”
“If no one helps, someone else will. Let’s just go.”
As Wonho and Haebom walked past, voices of people reacting to the ice statue echoed behind them.
Judging by the shutter sounds, it seemed Minjun was going to be thoroughly humiliated.
It felt pretty damn good to be rid of him like this.
Still, Wonho couldn’t shake off his annoyance that Haebom had wasted even a shred of emotion—negative or not—on that filthy bastard.
“Stop thinking about it. If you keep going, I might just go back and shatter him.”
“What? What happens if you do?”
Wonho didn’t answer.
He pressed his lips together in silence.
That was answer enough.
Even if he was always gentle with Haebom, Wonho was still an S-Class Esper with a pretty nasty streak.
Then again, maybe he was relatively kind—at least for an Esper.
“Get in.”
While reflecting on Wonho’s personality, they’d already arrived at the center’s parking lot.
Haebom tilted his head at the unfamiliar car.
“Whose car is this?”
“Mine.”
“You had a car? Since when? Do you even have a license?”
“Just get in.”
Did he always have a license?
Puzzled but compliant, Haebom climbed into the passenger seat as Wonho opened the door for him.
Once seated, Haebom blinked in surprise at the realization that someone was already in the driver’s seat—the tint had been too dark to see.
“Who… are you?”
Just then, the driver’s door swung open.
Seeing who it was, Wonho immediately frowned and pulled out his wallet, stuffing all the cash into the driver’s hand.
“…Esper-nim? This is…?”
“Train fare. I gave you a ride here, so you can get back on your own. Let Team Leader Jin Seyoung know I found the Guide.”
The center staffer, stunned by the wad of bills—clearly worth far more than just train fare—looked around in disbelief.
When he didn’t move fast enough, Wonho’s brow furrowed again, and the staffer, like a soldier under inspection, quickly unbuckled and stepped out of the car.
As Wonho waved him away, the man looked uncertain and glanced at Haebom in the passenger seat.
The moment his gaze landed on Haebom, Wonho stepped between them, tilting his head with a “got something to say?” expression.
“I’m not going to crash. Just go.”
“But still…”
“Not enough money?”
“No, sir. It’s not about the money…”
Why was he suddenly so slow after getting out of the car so quickly?
When Wonho even pulled out a credit card to hand over, the staffer backed away, mumbling that he’d stay nearby in case they needed anything, then finally left the parking lot.
Not like they were going to need him.
Wonho clicked his tongue and slid into the driver’s seat.
“Who was th—ack…!”
Haebom tried to ask, but was abruptly cut off as Wonho pulled him into a tight embrace.
Burying his face in Haebom’s shoulder, he took a deep breath.
The scent he could barely catch even in dreams now filled his lungs.
He finally felt alive.
“Yoon Haebom… Have you been doing okay without me?”
His words brought a lump to Haebom’s throat again.
Of course he hadn’t been okay.
Sniffling, Haebom looked up, and Wonho lifted his head.
“No. Don’t pull away.”
He was about to wipe Haebom’s tears, but Haebom wrapped his arms around Wonho’s neck, holding him tight so he couldn’t move.
Wonho simply settled into the embrace.
“Of course I haven’t been okay, Ho. How could I be fine without you? Don’t ask ridiculous questions. If you keep saying nonsense, I’ll bite you.”
“I wasn’t okay either. Felt like I was dying—but I didn’t. I had to meet you, Haebom.”
Sniff. Haebom sniffled again.
Every word hit straight to his tear ducts.
At this rate, he’d end up crying nonstop, so he widened his eyes, trying to hold back the tears.
“But why Busan?”
Ah… Haebom let out a sigh.
To explain that, he had to start from the beginning.
Since he was going to explain it all anyway, he decided to walk Wonho through it slowly.
Finding the close, tangled position awkward, Wonho gently pulled away for a moment, pushed the driver’s seat all the way back, and guided Haebom over to his lap.
Sitting on Wonho’s thighs, Haebom leaned against his chest and started from the very beginning—the moment he left the virtual gate.
Before long, he found himself explaining even the truth about this world being part of a novel.
Or rather, that a writer had dreamt of a parallel dimension and wrote it as a story.
“I did what? I was a supporting male character who gave up his life out of love for Choi Yoonseo?!”
“Yeah…”
