* * *
Despite the jolt of nervousness, Haebom dutifully replied.
He knew Jin Seyoung wouldn’t do anything to harm him.
But he had no idea why she would be calling him in.
With that uneasy feeling gnawing at him, Haebom walked into the cafeteria.
It was already well past lunch, yet there were still quite a few people inside.
Nothing looked particularly appetizing, and with all his thoughts fixated on what Jin Seyoung might say, he couldn’t really focus.
He picked something that seemed easy to digest and started looking for an empty table.
As he scanned the room, his eyes locked with someone else’s.
The moment his gaze met a pair of clear eyes, something inside him sank.
“Guide Yoonseo, aren’t you eating? Ah…”
The guide sitting across from Choi Yoonseo followed his gaze, turned around, and let out a sigh when he saw Haebom standing there with his tray of food.
Ever since registering as a guide, Haebom had always drawn whispers and stares wherever he went.
It wasn’t like it had anything to do with his Esper, so he couldn’t care less.
But when it came to the man sitting across from Choi Yoonseo… that guide just rubbed him the wrong way.
How did someone like that manage to lure in not just one, but two S-class Espers…?
One of whom was Yoonseo’s own pair.
Touching someone else’s paired Esper was, both as a guide and as a person, an utterly disgraceful thing to do.
And besides, weren’t Choi Yoonseo and Na Hyunjoon a couple?
‘I should’ve just gone home…’
Haebom felt more discomfort from Yoonseo’s gaze than the sharp glare from the man sitting opposite him.
It would’ve been easier if Yoonseo just showed some hostility, but instead, he wore the expression of a tragic heroine.
‘What did I even do wrong?’ was the first thing that crossed Haebom’s mind.
He had no desire whatsoever for someone like Na Hyunjoon.
Just dealing with Wonho was more than enough for him.
He didn’t need anyone besides Wonho.
So honestly, he wished they’d just take Na Hyunjoon and go stir up drama somewhere far away—just the two of them.
With that thought, Haebom quickly turned on his heel.
Behind him, he heard a dry, scoffing laugh.
Not from Yoonseo, but from the man who had been sitting in front of him.
Haebom truly had no idea what was going on in Choi Yoonseo’s head.
“You look pale. Are you okay?”
Jin Seyoung brought over a warm cup of herbal tea and asked in a concerned voice.
There were plenty of drinks in the lab, but the herbal tea was something Wonho had specifically bought for Haebom.
Something about caffeine being bad for his body or whatever… Jin Seyoung had just shaken her head, muttering that raising sons was pointless anyway.
Of course, Wonho wasn’t literally her younger brother, but having watched over him since he was a kid, he was practically family.
That said, she had no plans of forcing Haebom into some kind of arranged domestic life.
If anything, she just wished Haebom would take Wonho off her hands already.
Not that Haebom had any idea what was going through her mind—he just gave her an awkward smile and nodded.
“I think the food didn’t sit well. I already took some digestive medicine, so I should feel better soon.”
“Did you eat too fast? You could’ve taken your time and come later.”
It wasn’t that he had eaten too fast.
If anything, Haebom had chewed his food slowly—painstakingly, even—as if he were breaking it down at the nano level.
He was anxious about what Jin Seyoung wanted to say, frustrated about Choi Yoonseo, and emotionally tangled enough that even carefully chewed food ended up sitting like a rock in his stomach.
He figured Yoonseo played a bigger part in that than Jin Seyoung.
A sip of the warm herbal tea did help a little.
Jin Seyoung waited patiently, giving him all the time he needed to feel better.
“You said you had something to talk about…?”
Haebom finally couldn’t take it anymore and opened his mouth after draining half his tea.
He had meant to wait quietly until she spoke first, but curiosity had built up to the point he couldn’t bear it.
“Mmm. We can wait until you’re feeling better.”
“I’m fine. Please, just tell me now.”
Better to rip off the bandage than suffer in suspense.
Jin Seyoung gave a small laugh at Haebom’s determined expression.
“All right, then. Haebom, why are you looking into research on the Gate?”
Ah. Haebom let out a soft sigh.
All research document access was logged within the center, so it made sense that she’d know.
Still, unless someone specifically checked the logs or the documents themselves, they wouldn’t know who accessed what.
So, did Jin Seyoung check his access records?
Or did she happen to read the same papers?
“I wasn’t trying to hide anything. Don’t worry. I’ve been looking into Gate research too. I just saw your name while I was checking something, so I thought I’d ask.”
She didn’t press him for an immediate answer.
Instead, she added the clarification gently, in case he suspected she’d been spying on him.
Jin Seyoung had been deeply contemplating the connection between what was found inside the Gate and Haebom for quite some time.
He was worried that if something went wrong because of it, Haebom might end up leaving Wonho.
However, once Wonho started asking about Haebom’s past, keeping it a secret from Haebom no longer made sense.
Wonho had told him not to say anything to Haebom for now, but Jin Seyoung believed Haebom deserved to know the truth.
How had he ended up inside the Gate?
Why did Haebom’s identity not exist anywhere—not in South Korea, nor anywhere else in the world?
Honestly, he didn’t want to know the answer.
He wanted to shut his eyes and cover his ears like someone in denial.
But for the sake of their relationship, Jin Seyoung thought it was something that needed to be made clear.
And if that were the case, wasn’t the conversation with Haebom supposed to come first?
He couldn’t stop Wonho from saying he wanted to learn more inside the Gate before talking to Haebom—and two weeks passed like that.
But after learning that Haebom was investigating the Gate himself, Jin Seyoung began to fear that Haebom might truly return to where he came from.
That fear solidified his resolve: he had to talk to Haebom.
“Haebom… do you want to go back?”
Haebom blinked in surprise at the question.
‘Does he know something?’
A mixture of confusion and shock flickered across his face.
But the moment Jin Seyoung asked, an answer surfaced in Haebom’s mind, clear and sharp, prompting him to take a deep breath.
The answer he’d been silently asking himself all this time had slowly merged into one.
Jin Seyoung quietly watched as Haebom’s clear brown eyes trembled like an aftershock.
He had intended to wait for Haebom to answer, but in the end, he spoke again.
“I don’t know where you came from, or where you’re supposed to return to. It’s all just vague speculation. Maybe you heard from Wonho, but… we recently discovered something inside the Gate. Something like a passageway. Though to be honest, that’s just my assumption—since we can’t actually enter it.”
“…Ah.”
Haebom let out a small gasp.
* * *
