For several days, I worried, but fortunately, nothing happened; time just flowed by.
In the meantime, Raon’s guards increased, and now it was so noticeable that going outside felt difficult.
So, I had no choice but to be confined indoors all day.
The fortunate thing was that I was not alone, and the house was as big as a stadium.
Unlike the time when I was busy training and being called everywhere every day, this was a peaceful time.
However, Raon was actually uncomfortable with it.
The truth was, this wasn’t a time for peace, and there were still many things I needed to think about.
‘K said there was a way to get rid of the System inside the Black Gate,’ I recalled.
Raon had almost zero information about the Black Gate.
This was because Raon hadn’t been able to enter the Black Gate before the regression.
The real Han Raon’s misdeeds had ended inside the Dark Blue Gate, which appeared just before the Black Gate emerged.
The deep navy-colored gate, which was close to black, was an Irregular Gate that appeared right before the Black Gate.
It was there that the real Han Raon had used tricks to kill the bothersome Hamin and, foolishly, had fallen into the trap he set himself, losing his life.
Perhaps because Raon hadn’t finished reading the novel, I couldn’t clearly recall what the Black Gate, which appeared after the Dark Blue Gate, was like.
Therefore, unlike other gates, I had to rely solely on instinct to conquer the Black Gate.
‘In the original novel, they claimed they couldn’t stop the Black Gate,’ I thought.
If that claim was true, then perhaps that’s why the System appeared and possessed countless people, like me, into this world to try and conquer the Black Gate.
However, they repeatedly failed, and the System seemed to be continuously repeating the regression and possessing someone from another world even now.
‘If everything K said is true, that is,’ I mused.
But even if there was credibility to his words, it was hard to believe right now.
Raon was quite confident in his own instincts.
Still, since there seemed to be a way to solve the System within the Black Gate, I thought it might be possible to uncover the secret with the current manpower, even without joining hands with Apophis.
Raon decided to enter both the Dark Blue Gate and the Black Gate in person.
‘To do that, I’ll have to catch Apophis’s named members,’ I acknowledged.
If Apophis committed acts of terrorism as they did in the original novel, there would be a sufficient reason to capture them.
But if they didn’t, it would be difficult to actively step forward.
I had informed the intelligence department of the places where Apophis would launch their next attacks, but they would definitely not move according to the original plot.
They knew that I was a possessor.
They wouldn’t do something foolish like getting caught.
‘Are they going to target me again, I wonder?’
Just as K kidnapped me and demanded cooperation, they might try to target me again next time.
But because of that incident, the Center and the military were guarding me tightly.
No matter how vicious a terrorist group they were, it would be difficult for them to get past Siwoo and the guards.
In that case, it might be best to simply hope that Apophis passes by quietly and for me to enter the Black Gate to find a way to contact the System there.
Raon calmly organized his thoughts internally.
“Hyung, what are you thinking about?”
“Huh?”
Raon flinched and turned his head.
He met Siwoo’s dark eyes.
For a moment, I was tense, wondering if my inner thoughts had been discovered.
But there was no way that could happen.
“Hmm, it’s nothing.”
“Is this not very interesting?”
“No, it’s fun.”
Siwoo was the first to notice that Raon was bored being confined indoors.
So, he had just put on a movie that Raon might find interesting.
It felt quite genuine, like being in a private cinema, with the lights off and the movie playing on the large wall-mounted TV.
Siwoo even prepared sweet popcorn in a popcorn tub and a drink with ice.
The movie was a mystery that required some thinking, and it was quite exciting at first.
But in the process of the protagonist solving the clues, thoughts about Apophis cropped up again, and I momentarily lost focus.
Raon awkwardly pushed popcorn into his mouth.
“But the trick is a bit simple.”
“Really? I don’t know about that.”
“Usually, it is.”
Raon patted the admiring Siwoo on the head and got up.
Drinking only soda while sitting down made me want to go to the bathroom often.
Then Siwoo also stood up and asked.
“Where are you going?”
“The bathroom.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Why would you?”
“Because I need to go too.”
“Well… okay.”
It wouldn’t matter if Siwoo also happened to need to go to the bathroom at the same time, but Raon felt uneasy.
This was because the same thing had happened too many times recently.
Siwoo would not leave Raon’s side for a moment, even inside the house.
He even insisted on following me when I went to the bathroom like this.
The house was big and had many bathrooms, yet he would specifically follow me to the one I was going to and wait until I came out.
At first, I didn’t even realize it was strange, but when it happened several times a day, Raon gradually became concerned.
I understood his worry, but it seemed excessive.
Raon barely suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape as he walked down the hallway.
“You go in and finish first.”
“Okay.”
After glancing at Siwoo waiting outside the door, Raon slowly entered the bathroom.
Once the door was closed, Raon let out a thin sigh.
It was hard to even sigh freely in front of an S-class Esper with keen hearing.
‘Why is he doing this?’
Raon muttered to himself while using the restroom.
No matter how fearsome Apophis was, they wouldn’t attack a fortress like this just to take me away.
Siwoo must know that better than anyone, so I couldn’t understand why he was following me around like this.
‘Is it separation anxiety?’
I even had that thought.
I even imagined that the sight of a puppy whimpering anxiously when separated from its owner might be somewhat similar to Siwoo.
‘Anyway, this can’t go on.’
Following me to the bathroom like this was definitely a problem.
I felt a little bad for thinking of Siwoo as a puppy, but I felt like I needed to speak to him properly now.
“Hyung, are you done?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m coming out now.”
Raon, who had been lost in thought, was startled and washed his hands.
Then he frowned deeply.
The reason Raon considered the situation serious wasn’t simply because he followed me to the bathroom.
It was because when I was alone inside the bathroom, Siwoo would speak to me every minute or so from outside to check on me.
It felt like I was being monitored, and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
I had no complaints about anything else.
Waking up to Siwoo’s face right after opening my eyes in the same bed, eating breakfast together, watching a movie, and then falling asleep together—that daily life was fine.
Aside from a slight sense of guilt that I was living comfortably while others were having a hard time, I didn’t feel bored or weary.
But trying to be together all the time and constantly monitoring me like this was not healthy for the relationship.
Raon turned off the faucet and stepped out of the door with a determined look.
“You use it now.”
“No, I don’t need to go.”
“Then why did you follow me?”
“That’s…”
Siwoo avoided Raon’s gaze and mumbled.
Raon’s eyes narrowed.
“You followed me even though you didn’t need to go to the bathroom?”
“That’s not true.”
“What do you mean, it’s not true? You’ve been doing this for a while.”
Espers practically didn’t need to go to the bathroom.
There’s nothing more bothersome than having to relieve oneself during combat.
Therefore, most high-grade Espers could regulate the decomposition of waste products inside their bodies.
Siwoo, being a water-ability Esper, should be especially proficient at this.
Knowing that he didn’t need to go to the bathroom, I was dumbfounded that he was shamelessly pretending otherwise.
Raon’s gaze became sharp.
“Why on earth are you following me to the bathroom, huh? You don’t need to go to such lengths.”
“…”
“Is it because you’re anxious?”
Raon, who was close to losing his temper, regretted it as soon as he saw Siwoo’s crestfallen face.
Siwoo hadn’t been properly guided by the Guide with the highest synchronization rate for a long time.
The Guide who left him just happened to be kidnapped and out of contact for half a day, so the shock Siwoo received must have been immense.
To know that and yet question him so aggressively.
I regretted it belatedly.
“Hmm, it’s okay now that we’re home, though. Right?”
“…I keep having dreams.”
“Dreams?”
Raon tilted his head, feeling curious.
Siwoo was always very neat and quiet when he slept.
So, it was surprising to hear him talk about dreams.
As I stared at him, wondering what kind of dream it was, Siwoo hesitated and then opened his mouth.
“It’s just, we’re together, and then Hyung suddenly disappears. I look everywhere but can’t find you… and I wake up after wandering alone in the darkness like that.”
“…”
“Even if it’s just a dream, you disappear suddenly even when we’re together. Then I can’t do anything.”
Siwoo’s distressed voice pierced Raon’s heart.
Siwoo seemed to have been more shocked than I thought.
“It’s okay. That won’t happen now.”
“…”
“I’m really okay, alright?”
Raon reached out and cupped Siwoo’s face.
He then gently patted the back of his head with his hand. Siwoo wrapped his arms around Raon and let out a long sigh.
Siwoo was this shaken up by an incident of being kidnapped for less than half a day, so what would happen if the System returned or contacted me again?
Raon felt heavy-hearted and slowly stroked Siwoo’s hair in a comforting manner.
