* * *
When he turned, sure enough, a crowd had gathered nearby.
At the site of the calamity where the gate had just been closed, their excited faces felt entirely out of place.
“There! Over there!”
“Wow, this is my first time seeing them in person!”
“Thank you for your hard work today!”
“You’re amazing!”
Elliot’s lips twisted wryly.
It hadn’t been long since the gate disappeared, so how could civilians have arrived so quickly?
The nearest shelter wasn’t even close enough for them to have reached here already.
While the gate had been sealed off with ice, preventing most monsters from roaming the area, their lack of caution was staggering.
However, Elliot found one aspect to be satisfying.
“Guide Ye Eunsoo!”
“Thank you for your hard work today, Guide!”
“That suit—oh my… so stylish!”
The crowd wasn’t here for Elliot—they had come for Ye Eunsoo.
Watching Ye Eunsoo, who clearly disliked people, openly display his displeasure was delightful.
Elliot smirked and sidled up to Eunsoo.
“For someone who just started fieldwork, you’ve become quite the celebrity. Doesn’t it feel like the crowd grows every week?”
Since Ye Eunsoo regained his abilities and joined Special A Team, public perception of Guides had shifted significantly.
Until now, Guides had been viewed as little more than accessories to Espers—ordinary humans in appearance, their guiding abilities reduced to mere physical contact, leading to criticisms that they “earned easy money with their bodies.”
Espers, with their flashy and powerful abilities, stole the spotlight, while Guides were relegated to the background, their efforts overlooked.
They were essential but invisible—until something went wrong with an Esper, at which point the Guide was the first to be blamed.
This perception began to change, thanks to Ye Eunsoo.
Specifically, after a video of him went viral—one where he single-handedly subdued an illegal Esper using his bare hands in the middle of the city.
The video sparked massive interest, and his past accomplishments resurfaced, elevating him to a level of popularity rivaling that of the Espers in the Special A Team.
“Lately, you’ve even been making headlines in online comment sections. Apparently, there’s a fan claiming to be your ‘father.’ They say you have this charm that triggers paternal instincts. Personally, I think you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but I guess people’s tastes are unpredictable.”
Elliot’s tone was openly mocking, but Ye Eunsoo didn’t react.
He simply quickened his pace, clearly intent on leaving the scene rather than engaging.
Amused by Eunsoo’s response, Elliot chuckled softly and glanced back at his phone—not to look at the baby’s picture this time.
“You know, about looking for Heewoon.”
When he spoke again, his smile took on a new edge.
Ye Eunsoo, who had been briskly heading toward his car after returning his weapon, stopped in his tracks.
“You’ll hear from Junseong soon. He says there’s been progress.”
As soon as he heard this, Eunsoo pulled out his Guide-exclusive communication device.
As Elliot predicted, a message from Cha Junseong had arrived.
[7 PM. See you at the office.]
January 1st.
Ye Eunsoo woke up early that morning.
The room was still dark, with no sunlight yet, and out of habit, he reached out to embrace Yang Heewoon without even opening his eyes.
But there was no one there.
The wide bed was empty, devoid of any trace that Heewoon had been lying beside him.
A strange sense of unease crept in.
Ye Eunsoo got up immediately and headed to the second floor.
Yang Heewoon rarely left his side but occasionally used the room upstairs.
Yet Heewoon wasn’t there either.
The bed was untouched, not even retaining a trace of body heat.
The chill hit Eunsoo like a cold slap, and his chest tightened.
Something was wrong.
Yang Heewoon wouldn’t disappear like this—not in the middle of the night.
Both beds had gone unused, and his car was still in the garage.
Eunsoo searched the bathroom, the basement, and even the surrounding shops with their lights still on.
But Heewoon was nowhere to be found.
Returning home, Eunsoo searched the house again, but the outcome remained the same.
Frustrated, he ran a hand over his face.
If Yang Heewoon had secretly gone to meet an Esper…
If he spent New Year’s night in someone else’s arms…
“……”
Just the thought filled him with rage.
For a month, it had been Eunsoo who stayed by Heewoon’s side, bringing him back to life.
If anyone had the right to have him, it was Eunsoo.
Disappearing like this while he slept was unacceptable.
If someone dared lay their hands on Heewoon…
“Hah…”
A dark impulse crawled up his spine.
He pressed his forehead with his palm, trying to suppress it.
He pulled out his phone and checked the locations of the three Espers.
Being able to track those fools was the only advantage of joining the Special A Team.
“What? Heewoon’s gone? In the middle of the night?”
“Why would he be here? I wish I could’ve spent my New Year’s night with someone too, damn it. I was trying not to think about it!”
“…I haven’t heard from him since he returned his device. Don’t you live with him, Eunsoo?”
After visiting all three Espers, Eunsoo finally realized something was seriously wrong.
Yang Heewoon wasn’t with any of them.
No one knew where he was.
This was worse than he’d imagined.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, all three Espers joined in the search for Yang Heewoon.
But even after scouring the neighborhood, they found no clues.
“Where the hell could he have gone?”
“We should report it to the police.”
“How should we report it? Filing a missing person report will be difficult. None of us are Yang Heewoon’s family.”
“Not family.”
Those words rubbed Ye Eunsoo the wrong way.
For a brief moment, his fists clenched tightly, but he managed to resist the urge to strike Cha Junseong’s face.
Finding Yang Heewoon came first right now.
“There haven’t been any reports of gates opening nearby, so for now, we should wait.”
“…I have a bad feeling about this. What if it’s a kidnapping?”
“It’s not out of the question. Retired Guides are easy targets.”
“Hey, Ye Eunsoo. Did you notice anything weird? Like the house being messed up or things missing?”
The house. Missing things.
It was only then that Ye Eunsoo recalled the strange unease he felt upon waking up in his room earlier.
“No way.”
Without another word, he headed straight home.
While the Espers searched the living room for traces of an intruder, Ye Eunsoo went directly to Yang Heewoon’s room and opened the door.
Immediately, he saw it. The source of that “unease.”
“…It’s gone.”
“What is? Did something valuable get stolen? If so, it might’ve been a robbery…”
“No. The photo frame is gone.”
“The photo frame? What was in it?”
“A picture we took at the amusement park.”
At Eunsoo’s words, the three men fell silent.
There are very few people who would find value in a photo.
If someone had deliberately taken such a thing from a mansion full of luxurious items left by Polwel, the culprit could only be…
After a short silence, Cha Junseong cautiously asked Eunsoo, “Come to think of it… Did Yang Heewoon ever get a new phone?”
In modern society—especially in Korea—it’s nearly impossible to function without a phone registered under your name.
It’s essential for receiving emergency alerts, such as gate incidents, and is commonly used instead of cash or cards.
But Yang Heewoon had not bought a new phone after temporarily retiring and returning the Guide-exclusive device to the Bureau.
“He retired about a month ago, right? Has he been living without a phone the whole time? How’s that even possible?”
“No wonder he kept using other people’s phones to leave messages. He didn’t buy one for himself.”
Yang Heewoon had disappeared quietly.
Along with him went a photo filled with memories.
And he had endured the inconvenience of not buying a phone even after retiring.
The circumstantial evidence was pointing in an unexpected direction.
In the growing silence, Cha Junseong sank onto the living room sofa.
“It’s too soon to jump to conclusions. Let’s wait for now. He might come back soon.”
That wait ended sooner than expected.
Shortly after sunrise, a lawyer claiming to represent Yang Heewoon arrived at the house.
“It’s good you’re all here. Mr. Yang Heewoon left a video message for you.”
It was a statement that left no room for doubt about the situation.
* * *
😌😌😌