54

Shin Ha-gyeom nodded heavily.

“Emotions and guiding are separate things, so you don’t need to worry. Anyway, I won’t neglect you.”

He firmly hammered in his point, just in case Baek Seung-woo might pick a fight about it later. Even though just mentioning Baek Seung-woo to Baek Sa made him strangely nervous, Ha-gyeom met Baek Sa’s gaze confidently, pretending nothing was wrong.

However, Baek Sa’s usually indifferent eyes slowly turned icy. As someone who was always the center of attention, it seemed difficult for him to accept being pushed aside.

The ongoing, intentional silence weighed heavily on Ha-gyeom, making him escape from in front of the large window as if fleeing. He put on his wristwatch one last time and checked the time. It was ten minutes before 8 a.m.

“When’s the assembly?”

He asked in the way things were done at the center, but Baek Sa didn’t bother to correct him. After a moment, Baek Sa, who had wiped his expression clean, followed and glanced at his wristwatch.

“In 10 minutes.”

It wasn’t the time to be wasting, so Ha-gyeom wondered what he was doing. Despite the busyness, Ha-gyeom was keenly aware of the large silhouette that had replaced him in front of the window. A glance at it made him understand why he had instinctively called him “hyung” in his half-awake state.

Combat uniforms worn by espers were similar regardless of where you were. Ha-gyeom, dressed in a much simpler training outfit, remembered his childhood, looking up in admiration at Baek Seung-woo, who was perfectly dressed in combat gear.

Back then, they would wake up and greet the morning after sleeping in the same bed. Baek Seung-woo always checked Ha-gyeom’s training clothes, which were easier to wear, and never flaunted the difference between them.

Ha-gyeom glanced between Baek Sa, who seemed even more experienced than the radiant Baek Seung-woo of those days, and his own combat uniform, which barely marked him as more than a trainee.

Once, he had dreamed of it—standing shoulder to shoulder with Baek Seung-woo as an equal.

But reality… wasn’t like his imagination. The smile that briefly appeared on Ha-gyeom’s lips soon faded.

At that moment, Baek Sa approached without a sound and handed him a rifle. The sleek, cold barrel of the gun was all he could feel, but Ha-gyeom couldn’t shake the memories of yesterday that haunted his mind.

The chilling sensation of a bullet grazing his ear. The smoking gun barrel. The man who collapsed, bleeding…

Ha-gyeom looked up at Baek Sa with eyes that had grown cold without him realizing. As he deliberately rubbed his earlobe, where a faint pain still lingered, Baek Sa’s gaze followed his hand.

The eye contact sparked a sense of caution in Ha-gyeom. But Baek Sa merely patted his cheek, seemingly satisfied, before stepping back. There was no way Baek Sa wasn’t aware that his strategy had worked.

“Five minutes left.”

Baek Sa walked over to the door, turning the handle of the old, heavy door. Ha-gyeom, ignoring the pounding of his heart, quickly brushed past Baek Sa.

---

After entering Zone 0, the gate they faced once again left a daunting impression. As the massive door, standing several meters tall, opened, they were greeted by the sight of a familiar T-shaped pier and the churning sea at high tide. A hole caused by Han Young-jae’s bazooka was still visible on the pier.

On Ha-gyeom’s left stood Baek Sa, and on his right were Park Ha and Yeo Jin-joo. As Ha-gyeom and Yeo Jin-joo advanced towards the ship docked at the pier, they began generating purification waves. Baek Sa remained expressionless, but Park Ha and Yeo Jin-joo, who were seeing Ha-gyeom’s waves for the first time, both rubbed their chins as if on cue.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Yeo Jin-joo’s comment, which wasn’t exactly a compliment, was followed by Park Ha’s smirk.

“Just like its owner.”

Ha-gyeom shot the two giggling individuals a look of disdain before subtly sensing Baek Sa’s presence. Baek Sa’s eyebrow twitched visibly. He regarded Park Ha and Yeo Jin-joo more like subordinates than comrades, so his lack of a stronger reaction was unsurprising.

As they reached the end of the pier, the enormous size of the ship became apparent, seeming even larger than when they had fought here before. Though it was currently empty and docked, they planned to load it with not only espers but also all sorts of resources necessary for survival on the return trip.

“When I went to get my measurements this morning, Dr. Park was grinning from ear to ear.”

“We’re only at 81 percent… I wonder if we’ll even be able to carry out the operation properly.”

While Park Ha and Yeo Jin-joo chattered meaninglessly, Ha-gyeom stared blankly out at the open sea in the opposite direction, toward the West Coast. Somewhere to the south was the center, but of course, it wasn’t visible to the naked eye. He knew the vague emptiness he felt wasn’t longing. The person he truly missed wasn’t there but right beside him now.

“How much did you obsess over it to leave a mark like this on your neck…?”

Park Ha pointed at the scar visible on Ha-gyeom’s neck above his combat uniform. As he tried to touch the scar, Baek Sa, who had been ignoring the teasing all along, suddenly swatted Park Ha’s hand away with a cold, hard slap.

“Ow! Damn it, be more careful with your strength! You trying to break my arm?”

Despite being an esper like Baek Sa, Park Ha, who had been caught off guard, jumped back, grumbling.

Ha-gyeom, already immune to the teasing, found the commotion around him simply irritating. He eventually tried to move ahead on his own, but Baek Sa pulled him by the waist, keeping him close. Ha-gyeom looked up at him with a discontented expression, but Baek Sa’s gaze remained fixed on Park Ha, not him.

“Watch where you’re going.”

Baek Sa’s calm voice contrasted sharply with the murderous glare he shot at the noisy Park Ha. Ha-gyeom, already receiving plenty of attention due to his exceptional guiding score, couldn’t stand being treated like Baek Sa’s possession.

“You should watch where you’re going.”

“Espers don’t need to.”

It was a natural response since espers had highly developed senses. They weren’t the type to trip over unnoticed obstacles.

“Then why did you speak to Park Ha like that?”

Ha-gyeom asked, knowing he was just picking a fight. Baek Sa narrowed his eyes and met his gaze. The deadly serious look in his eyes wasn’t much different, even when directed at Ha-gyeom.

Instinctively, Ha-gyeom lowered his eyes. However, he still held his shoulders confidently as he continued walking into the ship’s narrow and maze-like interior. Unlike its exterior, the inside was cramped and complicated.

As he walked, memorizing the path, he occasionally passed civilian workers and decided to increase the size of his purification waves.

“Don’t waste your energy. We don’t know how long we’ll be out there.”

Yeo Jin-joo snapped, her tone sharp. Even if it might cause internal injury one day, Ha-gyeom had no intention of ignoring the immediate danger. He scoffed and kept moving forward, ignoring Yeo Jin-joo’s muttered complaints.

The corridor narrowed further, leaving no room for all four of them to walk side by side. Following the hierarchy, Park Ha and Yeo Jin-joo fell back. Ha-gyeom, startled by Baek Sa’s hand brushing his side, quickly distanced himself.

“Stay close.”

“……”

“Closer.”

Despite Ha-gyeom’s best efforts, Baek Sa’s command was firm, leaving no room for argument. Ha-gyeom’s ears grew warm as the closeness reminded him of many things.

“With the waves active, you can move freely on the ship,”

Ha-gyeom said, glancing behind him for any sign of discomfort. Baek Sa responded with an unusually intense look.

“From the moment you step out of the gate, the esper and guide with matching affinities should move as one. It’s a regulation, so there’s no need to feel wronged.”

“…Even when we’re not guiding?”

Baek Sa nodded. Just by being in contact, an esper and guide could increase the power of their energy and enhance control efficiency. Though Ha-gyeom understood it was safer to stick together in an uncertain environment, it drained him emotionally.

With Baek Sa, his emotions swung wildly, leaving him exhausted. One moment, Baek Sa was a cold-blooded killer, then he was the affectionate Baek Seung-woo, his destined partner, a power-hungry manipulator, and an intense lover in bed…

No matter how many times his identity shifted, Ha-gyeom didn’t know whether to keep him in check, persuade him, submit to him, or—like Dr. Park suggested—seduce him.

Baek Sa was confusion incarnate. He could change at any moment, couldn’t be completely trusted, but in the end, he was someone Ha-gyeom had to save.

With these complicated thoughts swirling in his head, Ha-gyeom walked silently, clinging to Baek Sa as they made their way to the assigned room. The room they eventually reached had nothing but a mirror and a bed. Even though it was just a place to rest briefly during the operation, or possibly not at all, the atmosphere was uncomfortably intimate.

“……”

Standing in front of the bed, Ha-gyeom hesitated, his mouth moving without a sound. Baek Sa approached, taking the rifle from Ha-gyeom’s hand and setting it against the wall. Then he placed his palm on the bed sheet, checking its temperature.

“You can rest until we arrive. The espers will handle the ship’s defense anyway.”

It sounded like consideration at first. But then, the sharpness returned to Baek Sa’s eyes, which had briefly softened.