* * *
After what felt like an eternity, the grueling workout session finally ended.
Haebom took a shower in the private facilities and then dragged his trembling legs to a café.
He figured something sweet might help him recover a bit.
Since he was heading to a café anyway, and he would be stopping by Jin Seyoung’s lab later, he decided to buy drinks for her and the team as well.
Haebom had been buying coffee so often that Seyoung eventually handed him one of her cards, telling him to use it instead of his own money.
Someday, Haebom would earn more than her, but for now, that wasn’t the case.
Under normal circumstances, Haebom would have received a portion of Wonho’s earnings from gate operations or fieldwork.
However, Wonho had been placed under a ban, prohibiting him from entering gates.
By regulation, gates required a minimum of three people to enter due to the high risk of accidents and crimes.
In the past, there had been cases where two people entered but only one came out—or worse, neither returned at all.
As a result, the three-person rule was strictly enforced unless under exceptional circumstances.
But Wonho had broken that rule and entered a gate alone.
Since he was an Esper prone to rampaging, the center hadn’t been able to stop him properly.
Technically, that meant the center wasn’t at fault.
He had survived, escaped the danger of rampancy, and even found his pair guide, but the authorities still seemed wary.
There was no guarantee he wouldn’t attempt to end his life inside a gate again.
Because of that, Haebom’s only source of income at the moment was the advance paycheck he had received with Jin Seyoung’s help.
Even then, he had only received half of it.
After buying a couch and a refrigerator, Haebom used Seyoung’s card to pay for the coffee.
Unlike his wobbly legs, his mood was light as he left the café.
Today, he had finished guiding Wonho early—granted, it was only five minutes—but he had also completed his workout.
With all that done, he was feeling unusually optimistic.
“I’m here!”
“You’re here?”
As soon as Haebom stepped into the lab, the researchers greeted him warmly.
Truthfully, Espers and researchers rarely got close.
Even Wonho, who had a connection with Jin Seyoung, maintained a distant relationship with the other researchers.
That was the norm.
Most guides only saw the research team once a month for their routine checkups and never built any real rapport.
But Haebom was different.
Rather than staying alone in the guide office, he preferred coming to the lab, chatting with the team, and even sharing his concerns.
Unless he was deliberately seeking solitude, he liked being around people he was comfortable with.
“Did you eat?”
“Of course! What about you, Haebom?”
“I ate too. Here, have this while you work. I used the team leader’s card.”
Haebom handed out the drinks with a playful smile.
The researcher chuckled, taking a sip before jokingly remarking that coffee bought with the team leader’s money always tasted the best.
Hearing that, Jin Seyoung shook her head with exasperation.
While Haebom settled into his seat and grumbled about how exhausting his workout had been—questioning whether it was even necessary—someone suddenly knocked on the lab door.
One of the researchers tilted their head in confusion.
No one was scheduled to visit at this hour, and there weren’t any planned appointments.
Just as they were about to ask who it was, the door burst open.
Standing there was a woman with light brown hair that seemed almost faded, her large, transparent eyes brimming with unshed tears.
She looked as if she would break down the moment someone so much as touched her.
Her gaze darted around the lab, as though searching for someone.
Then, her eyes locked onto a single spot.
It was where Jin Seyoung stood.
And the moment their eyes met, the tears that had been welling up in the woman’s eyes spilled over, streaming down her face.
More tears quickly filled their place.
“Team leader… Is it true? Is Wonho really dead? He isn’t, right? Please… tell me it’s not true.”
At her trembling voice, Haebom blinked in confusion.
It had been over a week—ten days, to be exact—so how could she not know that Wonho was still alive?
The moment she stepped into the lab, Haebom instantly recognized her.
She looked exactly as she had been described in the novel.
Long, silky light brown hair, large, clear eyes of a similar hue—an unusual color for a Korean.
Pale skin that contrasted sharply with her vivid red lips.
A delicate, almost fragile aura that seemed to tug at people’s protective instincts.
It was her.
The novel’s female lead, Choi Yoonseo.
Ever since arriving in this world, Haebom had been too caught up in everything to realize her absence.
At some point, he had briefly wondered why she hadn’t shown up, but he hadn’t given it much thought.
The first week had been spent chasing after Wonho.
After that, his time had been consumed by dealing with the chaos Wonho had created while drunk and trying to extend their guiding sessions.
Truthfully, when he read the novel, he never got too attached to the other two leads—only Wonho, the Sub Male Protagonist, had caught his interest.
But now, after becoming a guide and actually interacting with Wonho, he could see just how selfish the two main characters had been toward him.
“Ah… You mean your… trip? No, wait. It was a business trip, right? Did you have a good time, Guide Choi Yoonseo?”
Jin Seyoung’s voice was laced with an odd hesitation.
For a moment, Haebom thought she was mocking Yoonseo.
But then he reconsidered.
No… there was no reason for her to be sarcastic.
“That’s not important right now! I asked you a question! Is Wonho really dead?”
Yoonseo’s voice cracked as she demanded an answer.
Her whole body trembled, her expression a mess of desperation and denial.
“Why aren’t you answering me? He’s really dead… isn’t he?”
“While Wonho was entering the gate alone, you left with Esper Na Hyunjoon just fine—so why are you looking for him the moment you return? It’s not like you didn’t know Wonho was going in alone. Choi Yoonseo, Guide. Hm? What exactly do you think an Esper on the verge of a rampage can do?”
Jin Seyoung gazed coldly at Choi Yoonseo, who was trembling as if she might collapse at any moment.
The hesitant expression from earlier had completely disappeared, replaced with an icy, detached look.
Haebom had thought Seyoung was just being sarcastic, but it turned out to be real.
When Haebom had read the final part of the novel, he had been so focused on Wonho charging into the gate as if it were his grave that he hadn’t paid much attention to what the actual protagonist, Na Hyunjoon, and Choi Yoonseo were doing.
Listening to Jin Seyoung now, it seemed like the two of them had been away on a business trip.
Haebom vaguely recalled reading something about that.
But to think they had left Wonho, who desperately needed guiding, for over a week, only to come back now and say something like this…
Since a Guide can’t locate an Esper unless they are paired, Choi Yoonseo must have come to the lab to find him.
Haebom briefly wondered why she didn’t just go to his house before realizing—ah, that’s right, Choi Yoonseo doesn’t even know where Wonho lives.
“There are machines for that… And guiding medication too. I finally convinced Hyunjoon oppa…”
Since Jin Seyoung wasn’t clearly stating whether Wonho was alive or dead, Choi Yoonseo seemed to assume the worst.
She collapsed onto the floor, completely drowning in despair.
To someone unaware of the full situation, Choi Yoonseo would have looked utterly pitiful, the kind of sight that made people want to reach out a hand.
But for Haebom, who knew the whole story, it was just frustrating.
* * *
