“Has everyone been well?”
At Raon’s question, the team members cried out.
“No! We haven’t been well!”
“That’s right. The atmosphere hasn’t been good because the Team Leader wasn’t here.”
“Oh dear.”
Raon showed a troubled expression at the team members’ words.
Then, he shrugged his shoulders.
“It wasn’t what I intended, but I apologize.”
He felt a slight prick of conscience for having happily taken a break at the same time as Siwoo’s disciplinary action, but this was a time when he had to be shameless.
“Anyway, we’re glad you’re back.”
“That’s right!”
Nevertheless, the team members quickly shook off their sadness and rejoiced fully.
Raon soon changed his expression and asked.
“Has everyone been training diligently in the meantime?”
“Ah, about that…”
Even Hamin, whom Raon considered diligent, looked troubled and avoided his gaze.
Raon quietly curled the corners of his lips.
“It seems I should check the training progress before the welcome party, after all.”
“Well, everyone tried hard, but…”
Juwon spoke up on everyone’s behalf. However, even he looked unsure.
Although the Guide Team had faithfully followed the curriculum and continued training in Raon’s absence, they couldn’t be sure if they had achieved results that would satisfy the meticulous Raon.
‘Well, it can’t be helped.’
Raon muttered internally, still wearing a smiling face as he looked at the team members.
The dispute over command authority had been more prolonged than expected, delaying his return.
Therefore, it was inevitable that there would be some disruption to the Guide Team’s training.
They would just have to focus intensively on what was necessary before the next Gate opened.
After such a brief conversation, the Guide Team members restarted their training under Raon’s leadership.
‘Still, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.’
Raon wore a satisfied expression after the training session.
It seemed the team members had been too humble.
Contrary to his worries, the training results weren’t a mess.
After encouraging the team members for the last time, Raon also had a consultation with Dasom, who had returned after a short hospitalization at the medical center.
Dasom apologized, saying she felt ashamed that she had caused trouble for Raon, but Raon didn’t see it that way.
He went to great lengths to console her, as Dasom’s role would be important in the upcoming Gate.
By the time he finished his workday and returned home with Siwoo, it was quite late.
After eating and washing up, it was already the middle of the night.
Since there was training again tomorrow, it seemed best to go to bed now.
“Hyung.”
“Hmm?”
But Siwoo called Raon with a seemingly serious face for some reason.
Raon unnecessarily tensed up and turned back to him.
“What is it?”
“Well…”
Siwoo hesitated to answer for a moment.
Come to think of it, Siwoo often stayed quiet alone, seemingly lost in thought.
Others might not have noticed, but Raon, who had been constantly by Siwoo’s side, could vaguely sense that he had something on his mind.
“Are you perhaps worrying about something lately?”
“Ah.”
So, Raon asked subtly first.
Moreover, Raon felt he might have a clue about Siwoo’s concern.
Soon, Siwoo nodded and opened his mouth.
“Is that Esper Hyung asked about before… is he really my father?”
“…”
Siwoo looked deeply troubled, as if that thought had been constantly bothering him.
However, Raon still hadn’t found out whether Hyun Yooha, his mother’s former lover, was Siwoo’s biological father.
He had ordered an investigation, but it wasn’t easy because the higher-ups had forbidden access to the records.
Perhaps he wouldn’t know until he managed to push out the Commander-in-Chief.
Raon shook his head with a complicated expression.
“I still don’t know much either.”
“Does Hyung want to find my biological father for me?”
“Wouldn’t that be good?”
Raon blinked and asked back.
However, Siwoo’s expression was somehow downcast.
“That person, Hyun Yooha, is a high-grade Esper, and he even received many citations for his activities in the early Gates. His older brother goes without saying.”
In the new regime, the story of an S-class Esper like Siwoo would have a considerable impact.
The story of a hero’s son awakening as an even higher-grade Esper, who didn’t even know his father’s existence but walked the path of saving the world just like him, inheriting the legacy of a hero.
They would clearly judge that he was more worth promoting than Seo Dojin, who was the symbol of the current regime and inherited power.
However, contrary to Raon’s thoughts, Siwoo’s face still looked complex.
“I don’t really know. Even if he’s my biological father, I don’t even know who he is.”
“That’s natural. He’s someone you’ve never even met before.”
Raon understood Siwoo’s confusion.
He had lived as an orphan his whole life, and suddenly there was a possibility of finding someone who might be his biological father.
‘It’s not sudden, though. Siwoo also knew about Hyun Yooha’s existence.’
In any case, seeing Siwoo in such turmoil, Raon felt pity for him.
Raon raised his hand and rubbed his back.
“It’s okay. Even if he is your biological father, nothing will change. And I’m right here beside you.”
“Hyung.”
“Yes.”
Raon pulled Siwoo, who was leaning on him, into a hug.
Just as Siwoo had strongly protected him during the matter with Yoo Nahee, Raon wanted to do the same for him.
“I really… don’t need to find my parents now.”
“I know.”
“Just having Hyung by my side is enough…”
“I know.”
Siwoo snuggled into Raon’s arms as if throwing a tantrum.
Raon felt a sense of comfort and slowly stroked the back of his head.
“Hyung, and… there’s something I want to ask of you.”
“Ask?”
“Yes.”
At Siwoo’s words, Raon tilted his head.
He slightly drew back and looked into his dark eyes.
“What is it?”
“Well…”
This time, too, Siwoo hesitated to answer.
What on earth was he trying to ask?
Raon felt a pure curiosity rise in him.
It was rare for Siwoo to ask for something first.
He was a boy whose habit was to hold back, even if he wanted something.
But to have a request for him first. Raon blinked and looked at Siwoo.
“I… I want to be Imprinted with Hyung.”
“…!”
Raon’s eyes widened instantly.
Then, he opened his mouth with an awkward expression.
“Imprinting?”
“Yes. I originally wanted to tell you after the Irregular Gate incident was finished, but…”
“…”
“For some reason, I felt like I had to say it before entering the Gate.”
Raon was so surprised that he barely heard the latter part of what Siwoo said.
He just thought the S-class Esper’s good intuition was instinctively making him wary of the Black Gate.
The important thing was that Siwoo had said he wanted to be Imprinted.
Imprinting. Raon had never once considered Imprinting with Siwoo.
Nothing had been resolved yet.
Not the Black Gate, not the System, not the Commander-in-Chief and Seo Dojin.
Regardless of the feelings he had for Siwoo, he couldn’t make any promises to him in such an uncertain situation.
Raon tried to remain calm inside and managed to ask.
“You know what Imprinting is, right?”
“Of course, I do.”
Siwoo immediately answered Raon’s question.
His expression looked a little hurt, as if he felt Raon was treating him like a child.
“Even without Imprinting, since we’re a Pair, I can Guide you as much as you want, okay?”
Raon spoke gently, trying to soothe him first.
If Siwoo was just doing this out of anxiety, he could simply persuade him.
However, Siwoo shook his head.
“A Pair can be broken even if we don’t want it to be, if something happens. And I…”
“Wait, Siwoo.”
“Hyung, I love you. Truly.”
“…!”
Raon felt his heart stir at Siwoo’s confession.
He naturally knew that just as he considered Siwoo special, Siwoo also thought of him that way.
If there were no problems, he might have happily accepted Siwoo’s confession.
But…
“Is it because you still don’t trust me?”
“No. It’s not that…”
Raon bit his lip in confusion.
Then, he was forced to open his mouth again.
“That’s all a misunderstanding, Siwoo.”
“…What?”
“You’re still young, and you’re just receiving the Guiding emotionally.”
“Hyung.”
Raon felt like he was going crazy.
He had no idea what nonsense he was spouting right now.
But the thought that he had to make Siwoo stop thinking about Imprinting made his lips move on their own.
“Because you barely have any Guides whose waves match yours, and I’m virtually the only one, you’re just mistaking it for liking me. There’s no way you genuinely like me.”
This was half of Raon’s true feelings.
Perhaps Siwoo was mistaking the stability of the Guiding for affection.
After all, when Raon was pretending to be the real Han Raon, Siwoo had hated him just like in the original story.
Of course, even if that were true, Raon didn’t want to unilaterally disregard Siwoo’s feelings.
However, with his mind complicated by all sorts of problems, Raon didn’t know how to deal with Siwoo’s direct confession, so he could only push him away for now.
“It’s not a misunderstanding. There’s no way I would confuse Guiding and feelings.”
“Espers often get confused. Plus, you’re young.”
“Hyung…”
At Raon’s repeated rejections, Siwoo made a wounded expression.
Seeing that face, Raon felt a stabbing pain in his heart.
“…I understand. I’m sorry for making things difficult, Hyung.”
Finally, Siwoo lowered his head and muttered quietly.
