* * *
The reason Haebom was still at the office instead of home was because Wonho had been at the center too.
He had come to submit a report and decided to get a check-up while he was at it.
While Wonho was handling his report, Haebom had been in Jin Seyoung’s lab.
The moment Wonho arrived for his check-up, Haebom had fled to his office.
Technically, he could’ve stayed in the lab while Wonho was being tested.
But Jin Seyoung kept glancing between them with an all-too-knowing smirk, making Haebom too embarrassed to stay.
Jin Seyoung had only been teasing them because she thought they made a good match—Wonho, whom she saw as a younger brother, and Haebom, who always seemed to worry about him.
The mere thought that Jin Seyoung might know everything made Haebom want to crawl into a hole.
Of course, there was no way she knew the details.
It’s not like she had security cameras installed in Wonho’s house.
But still, she could guess—just from the numbers.
At the time, Haebom had run to his office to kill time. He hadn’t expected Na Hyunjoon to show up.
If he had known, he would’ve just suffered through the embarrassment and stayed in the lab.
“Huh? Your tests are already done? That’s weird… Didn’t they say it would take a while?”
I didn’t know what they had discovered inside the gate, but they said the examination was necessary in case something had affected my body.
They reassured me that since there were no visible abnormalities, there likely wouldn’t be any major issues.
Still, I found myself tilting my head in confusion—barely an hour had passed since I had escaped the office, so why was Wonho standing right in front of me?
“…Come with me.”
“Huh? Come where? Why?”
Without answering any of Haebom’s questions, Wonho took his hand and led the way.
The warmth of Wonho’s touch melted away Haebom’s confusion, a stark contrast to the cold aura he had exuded when confronting Na Hyunjoon.
The questions still lingered in Haebom’s mind, but he didn’t have to wonder for long.
“Wonho! Who just runs out of an examination like that? Huh? Haebom, why are you with him…? Ugh, never mind. No use wasting my breath. Get back in the exam room, you troublemaker. Haebom, you sit here. We have to redo the process since he ran off midway…”
As expected, Wonho had taken Haebom straight to Jin Seyoung’s laboratory.
The moment they opened the door, she erupted in frustration.
But after spotting Haebom, she sighed and looked back and forth between the two of them.
Her slumped shoulders made her look exhausted.
Running away in the middle of an examination—did he really hate Na Hyunjoon that much?
‘Well, honestly, I’d hate it too… If the person I liked had a lover, there’s no way I’d be fine with it.’
If he disliked Na Hyunjoon enough to flee the exam room, that said everything.
In the novel, there weren’t many direct confrontations between Wonho and Na Hyunjoon.
Wonho had avoided stirring up trouble out of concern for Choi Yoonseo.
Thinking about it now, the Wonho in the novel and the one standing in front of him felt like completely different people.
The same went for Na Hyunjoon.
Despite being the male lead, Haebom had assumed Na Hyunjoon would at least be a decent person, but his character left much to be desired.
The stark contrast between the novel and reality made Haebom’s head throb.
Was this really the world inside the novel?
Doubt bubbled up inside him.
“Did something happen?”
After shoving Wonho back into the exam room, Jin Seyoung turned to Haebom.
She was concerned not just because Wonho had stormed out, but because Haebom’s expression didn’t look good either.
Haebom hesitated, lips slightly parted, before deciding to speak.
“While Wonho was getting examined, I decided to pass the time by doing a general guiding session. But Na Hyunjoon showed up. That seemed to put Wonho in a really bad mood.”
“Hmm?”
Jin Seyoung, who had just brought Haebom a warm cup of tea, tilted her head.
Everyone at the center knew that Wonho and Na Hyunjoon didn’t get along.
Actually, it wasn’t just those two—Espers, in general, weren’t particularly fond of each other.
They could sense one another’s wavelengths to some extent, and if their abilities were polar opposites, the effect was even stronger.
Na Hyunjoon controlled flames, while Wonho had ice-based abilities—specifically, he could freeze water.
That meant they could sense each other’s presence more acutely.
And if one of them had a higher rank, they could even suppress the other’s wavelength.
But since Wonho and Na Hyunjoon were of the same rank, they were immune to each other’s suppression.
Because of this, most Espers weren’t fond of being around others of their kind.
They weren’t interested in anything outside of guiding, and apart from missions in the gate or fieldwork, they rarely sought each other out.
Even when Wonho lost his guide—the person who could ease his pain—he didn’t blame or resent Na Hyunjoon.
He simply treated him with the same level of discomfort he felt toward any other Esper.
Jin Seyoung had never liked that about him.
Even after his highly compatible guide was taken from him, he just passively accepted it.
She had nagged him endlessly, saying that if it were her, she would have fought to the death to reclaim what was hers.
But her words had fallen on deaf ears.
Looking back now, she could only speculate—perhaps Wonho had another guide.
Perhaps he had Haebom.
Maybe that was why he never obsessed over Choi Yoonseo.
“Wonho looked ready to fight Na Hyunjoon the moment he walked into the office. I think he really dislikes him because of that incident.”
“That incident? Ah… that makes it even stranger.”
“…What?”
Jin Seyoung tilted her head further.
She hadn’t heard Haebom explicitly state what ‘that incident’ was, but she knew what he meant.
There was no way Haebom wouldn’t know, not after spending time at the center.
She had hoped he wouldn’t, but…
Who would be okay knowing their Esper had spent an entire year lingering around another guide?
If it were purely business, it wouldn’t matter.
But in her eyes, Haebom and Wonho were far from having a business relationship.
Wonho always had his eyes lit up with fire whenever it came to Haebom, and Haebom got visibly upset when Wonho skipped his guiding sessions.
No way could their relationship be purely professional.
“Until now, Wonho had never clashed with Na Hyunjoon. Not even once. It was almost frustrating to watch how indifferent he was. So why the sudden change? If it was really about that incident, wouldn’t he have been fighting him for the past year?”
Jin Seyoung’s words made Haebom blink in surprise.
If it wasn’t because of Choi Yoonseo, then what else could make Wonho react so strongly to Na Hyunjoon?
“Wait… are you sure we’re talking about the same incident?”
“It has to be the same. The only issue between them was Choi Yoonseo. Though… maybe there’s more to it now.”
A knowing smile spread across Jin Seyoung’s lips.
She thought she understood why Wonho was acting this way.
Her own love life was nothing but a hassle, but watching these two unfold was entertaining.
She had watched Wonho grow up, and now, to see him finally stepping into romance—it was almost heartwarming.
Wonho would probably be horrified if he knew what she was thinking.
But he wasn’t here, so it didn’t matter.
Well, technically, he was right behind the door, but that was beside the point.
* * *
