* * *
“That’s a pretty rough welcome, Haebom,”
“A… Ah! Ho…! I thought it was a monster, you scared me! Why’d you have to break your way in… seriously…!”
“Ugh, I was honestly terrified…”
The one who shattered the ice wall wasn’t a monster—it was Wonho, the very person who had created it.
The Guides who were about to shoot let out sighs of relief.
If Wonho had spoken just a second later, someone might have fired.
Haebom silently thanked fate that no one had pulled the trigger.
Even someone as strong as Wonho would be exhausted after overusing his abilities, and no one could say what might happen if he got hit with special ammunition on top of that.
“Ah… I got rid of the door earlier. Breaking it down was faster than melting it, sorry if I scared you.”
Wonho apologized gently as he looked at Haebom’s pale face.
Normally, he would’ve been more careful knowing how easily Haebom could be startled, but he hadn’t had the luxury of thinking that far ahead.
Even after receiving some guiding earlier, his overuse of abilities had left his hair nearly snow-white.
He never used to care, but lately, the stark white strands irritated him endlessly.
It was because every time even a few strands of his hair turned white, Haebom would worry excessively.
Even now, he could see Haebom’s clear eyes darting to his hair, and he shook his head to stop him.
They could handle the guiding later, after they escaped and Haebom recovered some strength.
Enduring this level of pain was nothing new for Wonho.
“Um…”
As Wonho gently ruffled Haebom’s hair to comfort him, an all-too-familiar voice called out from the side.
That voice he wished he could stop recognizing altogether.
Wonho, who had been gazing at Haebom with warm, affectionate eyes just a moment ago, turned his head slightly to look down at Choi Yoonseo.
“…I just thought maybe everything’s over now.”
Yoonseo swallowed the words he wanted to say under Wonho’s cold gaze.
Saying them would only make things worse, and even he knew that much.
Judging by the frosty look in Wonho’s eyes, holding his tongue had probably been the right call—at least Wonho didn’t seem angry, just distant.
“It’s over. Let’s go.”
“…Okay. Thank you.”
With that curt exchange, Wonho took Haebom’s hand firmly and began walking across the desert.
He barely restrained himself from scooping Haebom up in his arms or carrying him on his back.
The thought that Haebom would dislike that with so many people watching was only part of the reason.
The real issue was, if he held Haebom any closer right now, the waves of energy surging within him would instinctively crave Haebom’s guiding energy—and Wonho didn’t trust himself to stop them.
It was because he was an Esper that he had the power to meet Haebom.
But every time he felt this instinct to drain him, being an Esper disgusted him.
The world would never change the fact that Espers consumed and Guides were consumed, no matter what anyone said.
“The moment we get home, I wanna soak in hot water.”
“Let’s do that.”
“And I want meat. I’m starving to death. Ice cream too…”
“Sure. I’ll get you everything. If there’s anything else you wanna do or eat, just say so.”
Haebom, still holding Wonho’s hand tightly, mumbled nonstop as they walked toward the core.
It was all about the things he wanted to do or eat once they got home.
Wonho, whose mood had been sinking, couldn’t help but smile at Haebom’s chatter.
His emotions had been swinging all over the place lately, all because of Haebom.
But strangely enough, he didn’t hate it—in fact, he liked it more than he cared to admit.
Part of him wished Haebom’s heart would be swayed just as easily because of him.
“…Are we really going home now?”
One of the Guides, voice trembling, spoke up as they approached the core.
Haebom gave a small smile and nodded.
No one could tell how much time had passed inside the Gate.
This one never turned to night, and everyone had assumed it was just a simulation Gate, so no one had brought proper supplies.
Still, it couldn’t have been that long—there’s only so far you can push yourself on just water.
“Let’s go home. All of us.”
After defeating the boss monster of the Gate—and every other creature inside—a portal finally appeared.
The exit looked just like the entrance, which made Haebom uneasy.
What if this just sent them straight into another Gate?
He quickly dismissed the thought, gripped Wonho’s hand tighter, and stepped through the exit.
The pitch-black crack devoured them one by one.
Everyone was excited at the prospect of finally going home. Wonho felt the same—until the moment he stepped outside and a strange sense of wrongness enveloped him.
What is this?
His heart dropped.
A creeping sense of dissonance made him glance down at his hand—Haebom’s pale hand, which he had just been holding, was gone.
He thought maybe they’d accidentally let go while crossing over, but when he looked to where Haebom should be…
He wasn’t there.
Wonho blinked slowly.
Again. And again.
As if doing so would somehow fill the empty space beside him.
“…Haebom…?”
Confused, Wonho spun around, scanning the area.
Instead of the training center, they were now deep within a dark forest.
Everyone looked equally lost, clearly thrown off by the unfamiliar surroundings.
But none of that mattered to Wonho.
Among all the people around him—every single person who had been inside the Gate—there was one missing.
“…Did anyone see Yoon Haebom? I was holding his hand… just a moment ago…”
“Who are you talking about? Whose hand were you holding, Esper Wonho?”
The moment Wonho realized Haebom was gone, he rushed over to Taeyoung, grabbing his shoulder to demand answers.
But Taeyoung’s reaction was strange.
He tilted his head, frowning as though he couldn’t understand a word.
“I’m talking about Yoon Haebom. My Pair Guide, Yoon Haebom…!”
Wonho’s voice lowered into a growl.
The fierce waves of energy radiating off him made Taeyoung instinctively take a step back.
The other Guides did the same, despite the fact that only high-compatibility Guides should’ve been able to sense an Esper’s energy this clearly.
But after everything inside the Gate, after all the power he’d unleashed—and now, panicked by Haebom’s disappearance—his presence was so overwhelming that even low-compatibility Guides could feel it.
The senior Guides managed to stay on their feet, but the newer ones were visibly pale, looking seconds away from fainting under the weight of Wonho’s spiraling energy.
“Wonho Esper, snap out of it. We can barely breathe here because of your energy waves. Where’s your pair Guide? Did you lose your mind from overusing your powers? Choi Yoonseo, can you guide Esper Wonho?”
Lee Taeyoung quickly stepped between Wonho and the rookie Guides.
If the Guides collapsed here, they’d have to be carried back to the Center.
They were already exhausted from the sudden Gate entry — he didn’t want extra work.
Seriously, if he’d just accepted the guiding inside the Gate, this wouldn’t be happening…
But why did Wonho refuse Choi Yoonseo’s guiding?
Taeyoung frowned. His mind felt foggy — like he was missing something obvious.
There was a reason, but he couldn’t recall it.
“I can guide him,” Yoonseo replied.
“Then do it. Just enough to stabilize his waves.”
Yoonseo, who had been standing back with the rookies, approached Wonho at Taeyoung’s instruction.
He’d been worried about Wonho this whole time.
He wanted to tell him to accept the guiding, and now that the chance was here, he wasn’t going to miss it.
His relationship with his lover — his pair Esper — was over anyway.
There was no reason not to look after Wonho now.
Smack—!
“Ah…”
* * *
