* * *
His teeth clenched in frustration.
Still, he wasn’t childish enough to show it outright and held it in.
He acted like he didn’t know any better, but in truth, when he saw what was happening behind the door, he realized oops.
But once he pretended not to know, he figured he had to keep that up—it would work in his favor.
“Of course not. I haven’t been informed of either of your participation, and—”
Haebom gritted his teeth and held back his anger.
Because of these two, the brand-new, fragile trainees had collapsed, and all they could say was a half-hearted sorry while standing there so shamelessly.
He didn’t even want to talk anymore, but just then, someone else walked in through the open door.
“Haebom, what’s going on? I thought the training wouldn’t be over for a while… Let’s contact Team Leader Jin Seyeong first.”
It was Lee Taeyoung, who had been resting in the break room.
He’d come out thinking it was about time to head home, only to find the training room doors wide open and something clearly off.
His brows furrowed at the disastrous scene.
Haebom let out a sigh.
Dealing with the two in front of him, he had momentarily forgotten about the suffering trainee guides.
Not entirely forgotten—but everything had been so ridiculous, he couldn’t help it.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I’ll contact the infirmary.”
Nodding, Haebom used his gear to contact Jin Seyeong.
He didn’t stop there—he also reached out to the Guide Director.
With nearly ten guides out of commission, he had no choice but to report it.
Rrrrr—
[Guide Director]
He had left a short message via gear, and the call came almost immediately.
Though Haebom had the Guide Director’s number saved, it was the first time he’d ever received a call.
That was because Jin Seyeong, not the director, usually handled management along with Wonho.
“Hello—”
—Guide Yoon Haebom, what is the meaning of this? All the trainee guides collapsed? What kind of training were you conducting for that to happen? This is exactly why I said we shouldn’t let someone who hasn’t even been here a year train the rookies.
The director cut him off before Haebom could even finish his greeting, unloading everything he had to say.
Haebom’s head buzzed again, and he felt like he might vomit.
He barely held it back and sighed without thinking.
The director paused for a moment.
“I—Guide Lee Yeojoon and Guide Choi Yoonseo forcibly opened the door to the Gate simulation room during training. Because of the resulting side effects, we can’t proceed with training. Since it hadn’t been running long, the symptoms should pass quickly, but continuing today’s training and the follow-up session will likely be difficult.
I wasn’t informed about their participation. Could you explain what happened?”
Haebom swallowed the dizziness with a sigh and tried to speak clearly, careful not to let a single word slip.
He could already feel the guide team leader looking down on him because of his lack of experience and age, so he made an extra effort to stay composed.
Just then, Lee Taeyoung approached him.
“…Sorry?”
“Give it. Your phone.”
As soon as Lee Taeyoung came over, he held out his hand.
Haebom tilted his head in confusion, and Taeyoung lightly shook his hand.
Still unsure, Haebom placed his phone in Taeyoung’s palm as requested.
The guide team leader hadn’t really responded yet—was this really okay?
“Sir, this is Lee Taeyoung. Is it really that important to argue over right and wrong right now? And if we must, from what I’ve heard, it sounds like the fault is on your end. Guide Yoon Haebom is also in a state where he should be lying down due to side effects. If you want someone to question, ask him.”
Taeyoung, who had been confronting the guide team leader, turned his gaze toward Choi Yoonseo and clicked his tongue.
“Even though the warning was clearly posted, Guide Lee Yeojoon and Guide Choi Yoonseo ignored it and opened the door anyway. Ask them. I’m done here.”
With that, Taeyoung pressed the end call button.
The guide team leader seemed to shout his name loudly, but Taeyoung ignored it cleanly.
Choi Yoonseo flinched slightly under his stare, but he ignored her as well.
“Can you walk? Want me to carry you?”
As if the cold expression from moments ago had never existed, Taeyoung now looked at Haebom with genuine concern.
Haebom started shaking his head, then squeezed his eyes shut as the dizziness hit again.
“No, I’m okay. I can walk. Just give me a moment.”
“I checked everything while I was on the phone. The ones who could walk were sent to the infirmary. So worry about yourself for now.”
“Ah… thank you.”
When Haebom tried to check on the other new guides, Taeyoung shook his head and pushed him toward the door.
His face was pale as a sheet—who was he to worry about others in that state?
Haebom was the kind of junior who just wouldn’t listen when told to prioritize his own well-being.
He wanted to wait for the infirmary staff to come, but Taeyoung kept nudging him out until he was practically forced to leave the training ground.
On the way out, he could feel Choi Yoonseo’s gaze on him, but he made a point of ignoring it.
She looked like she had a lot to say, but Haebom had absolutely nothing he wanted to say to her.
BANG!
A loud crash made Haebom snap his eyes open.
It wasn’t quite a trauma, but ever since the day the lab building collapsed, loud noises had startled him more than usual.
Of course, even before that, he wasn’t great with sudden loud sounds, but now he flinched a little more than normal.
Eyes wide, he turned toward the direction of the noise.
It was the door to the patient room inside the infirmary.
The loud sound had come from it being slammed open.
Of all the people Haebom knew, there was only one person who would enter like that.
“Ha…”
“Why didn’t you call me? What, were you planning to use your phone to make soup later? Do I really have to hear from someone else that you collapsed? If you collapsed, shouldn’t you have contacted me? I’m your boyfriend, you know. Shouldn’t I be the first to know something like this? Yoon Haebom, answer me.”
Before Haebom could even open his mouth, Wonho came storming in, his red eyes blazing, spitting out his words in rapid-fire.
Haebom wondered if Wonho might actually bring the whole building down at this rate.
Not that the building was that fragile… but then again, Wonho was an Esper.
“Stop daydreaming and answer me.”
Noticing Haebom spacing out, Wonho flicked a finger against his forehead.
“Ah,” Haebom blurted, startled more by the sudden motion than the pain.
It didn’t hurt, but the surprise caught him off guard.
Knowing that Wonho’s outburst was just him worrying, Haebom let out a groaning sigh.
“I didn’t pass out. I just felt a bit dizzy…”
“Fainting, dizzy—it’s all the same. Someone opened the training room door, right? What kind of lunatic swings open a restricted door like that? What, was the emergency bell just for show? And there was even a warning notice? Shit, I need to go see who the hell it was.”
Wonho’s voice grew harsher, gnashing his teeth as he practically bit off his words.
Compared to the warning tone he used earlier, he was clearly angrier now.
It seemed like he might actually go confront whoever had opened the door, so Haebom quickly reached out and grabbed his arm.
He didn’t really care if Wonho wanted to confront someone—but he didn’t want him to go to Choi Yoonseo.
Even if the one who opened the door had been Lee Yeojoon, not Choi Yoonseo, the structure of the situation made it unavoidable that he’d end up seeing her.
And of all people, Haebom really didn’t want Wonho to run into Choi Yoonseo.
* * *
