IDESGI Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The doctor adjusted his glasses, glancing briefly at Ihan. Ihan, staring quietly at Yeoul, looked unsteady. The look in his eyes was so full of aching tenderness it made the doctor’s heart sink.

“He’ll return to normal body temperature soon. As for whether any bones in his hand are fractured, we’ll have to examine it more closely. However…”

When the doctor hesitated, Ihan asked in a tired voice,

“However, what?”

“For his hands to be in that condition, he must have endured significant pain. That means he’s currently under considerable mental strain. I’ll prescribe a sedative for now, but it won’t be a fundamental solution.”

“…You’re suggesting I take him to a hospital, aren’t you?”

“An X-ray would be best, so yes.”

Ihan’s gaze returned to Yeoul. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? To get out of here.

Yeoul knew him too well. He was the kind of man who would rather die than put Yeoul in danger. But what Yeoul didn’t know was just how deeply Ihan was obsessed with him.

Without taking his eyes off Yeoul, Ihan called out to Kim Yushin.

“Kim Yushin, you’re coming with me somewhere. Your condition’s stable enough?”

“It’s tolerable. Where are we going?”

“To New York. There’s an S-Class healing Esper there.”

“What? Are you insane? The higher-ups are tearing the place apart looking for you, and you want to go to the US? What if they catch you?”

Ihan fixed Yushin with a dry stare. His voice came out cold and hollow.

“Then what? If they find out, what exactly can they do to me?”

Yushin shut his mouth at Ihan’s calm retort. Even if headquarters found him, who could actually stop Ihan from going to the US? In truth, the fact that Ihan had stayed loyal to Korea until now was remarkable.

“They’ll try to keep my visit there quiet. They’d have to, if they want to lure me over. Secrecy will be crucial for them.”

“…Are you saying you’re abandoning Zone 1?”

Ihan rubbed his forehead, looking tired.

“That’s not what this is, so don’t twist it.”

“Then what is it? If you go to the US, what happens to us? How can Zone 1 function without you?”

“I’ll work out some kind of arrangement. Maybe I’ll go on a few gate deployments over there—something like that.”

Yushin still didn’t trust his answer but nodded reluctantly.

“Fine. But you know as well as I do—the more this happens, the harder it’ll be to hide him. You can’t keep Guide Han Yeoul hidden here forever.”

“…I know.”

Ihan let out a long sigh. He had never planned to keep Yeoul locked up forever. He had only wanted to spend a little time with him and try to change his mind.

It had seemed like things were going well…

Yeoul had smiled at him again, looked at him with affection like before. But because of that damned watch, Yeoul was trying to slip away from him again.

No. Maybe the damned one was me.

Yeoul loved him—of that Ihan was certain. But the desire to leave was just as real. Not knowing why was driving him mad.

“And when we get back, call Han Hyunho again.”

“…Do you really have to go that far?”

At Yushin’s dissatisfied tone, Ihan gave a humorless laugh. He murmured quietly,

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

The whites of his eyes were bloodshot now. With a face that looked ready to collapse at any moment, he ground his teeth.

“I can’t let Yeoul go like this.”

“I know this will hurt to hear, but… if you love him, maybe you should let him go. Holding on to someone who rejects you this strongly—it’s selfish.”

Ihan clenched his fists. He wanted to argue, but nothing Yushin said was wrong. Still, what’s right isn’t always the right choice.

At least for Ihan, letting Yeoul go was never an option.

“First, we treat him. Then we call Han Hyunho to find out what Yeoul’s hiding. I think there was a mistake last time, so we need to try again.”

“And if Guide Han Yeoul really does want to leave you?”

“Then I’ll figure out why he wants to go and fix the problem.”

“Even if it’s because his feelings changed? Even if he’s leaving you for someone else?”

“That’s not possible. Yeoul loves me.”

Yushin frowned at the certainty in his voice, looking frustrated. He scratched his head roughly and let out a sigh.

“I don’t know anymore. Fine, let’s get the healer first. Doctor, would you mind watching over the patient here for a bit?”

“How long will you be gone?”

Before Yushin could answer, Ihan replied.

“We’ll be back within an hour.”

“You shameless bastard. I’m the one using my ability—why do you get to decide that?”

“It’s not far. We can make it back quickly.”

“You talk like we’re just stepping out for a stroll. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get to the US? If I take you along, my readings will spike. And when we come back, there’ll be three of us. Guiding is already hard to get these days.”

“Handle it. Zone 1 doesn’t keep anyone useless.”

“You son of a—talk about saying things nicely.”

Yushin pouted, then held out his hand. Ihan looked at Yeoul one last time before leaving. Yeoul, sleeping soundly, already looked a little better than before. Ihan’s gaze lingered on him until Yushin impatiently prompted him.

“Let’s go. You’ll feel dizzy, so take a deep breath.”

“Kim Yushin.”

“What?”

“Thanks.”

Yushin shuddered at the straightforward gratitude.

“See, that’s creepy. Just be your usual rude self.”

“Can’t win with you.”

When Ihan let out a faint laugh, relief softened Yushin’s face. He had been worried about Ihan, after all. Ihan closed his eyes as Yushin asked, and even with the light shut out, Yeoul’s image stayed vivid in his mind.

The space warped, and the two of them vanished into the air.

* * *

After a round trip from Korea to the US and back, bringing the doctor to Zone 1, Yushin was completely drained.

“Ha… I’m dead.”

His readings were dangerously high. This would be hard to explain away. Thinking quickly for an excuse, he headed toward the Zone 1 Central Center. Shortly after he requested guiding, the administrative team called.

“Esper Kim Yushin, your overload is far too high. Did you use your ability for personal reasons?”

Man, they’re strict now. Before, they didn’t bother with a little personal use of abilities, but ever since Ihan left Zone 1, they’d been investigating everything with hawk eyes. Yushin had gotten better at lying because of it.

“During the last gate, a lot of Espers were injured. I had to transport them and fight extra battles in their place, so I couldn’t help using my ability more than usual.”

“Espers were injured?”

“Yes. You can confirm it.”

The call ended, and a message arrived soon after.

Confirmed list of injured Espers. You’ve been assigned to Guide Yoo Jina from Team 1. Please report to Room 5.

“Whew… thought I’d been caught.”

Somehow, without prior coordination, the other Zone 1 Espers had backed up his story.

On his way to Room 5 for guiding, Yushin was grabbed by his fellow Team 1 Espers and dragged into an empty room. They surrounded him.

“Thanks. You guys covered for me again.”

Team 1 Esper Baek Yeo-jeong glared at him sharply.

“Because of you, I’m now officially a patient with a fracture. This idiot here has a sprained ankle and is being called useless for not taking down a single monster. And him…”

“Come on, you know I didn’t do it for fun.”

“Yeah, we know. You did it because of that lunatic Yoo Ihan. But do you know how many weeks it’s been?”

Yushin had no defense. It felt unfair.

‘It’s Ihan’s mess—why am I the one making excuses?’

But Yeo-jeong didn’t care about that and pressed on.

“It’s already harder without Ihan to handle gates. It takes more time and energy, and now you’re off the front line too? Who’s supposed to cover for you?”

The others jumped in with their own complaints.

“Other teams are in chaos too. Let’s be real—titles aside, Ihan was the one actually leading all the Zone 1 Espers. Now he’s suddenly gone, and everyone’s scrambling, just looking for him.”

“Liking the peace without him only lasted three days. Without him, Zone 1 can’t function. Where is he, anyway? Is he coming back?”

Pelted by their frustration, Yushin’s head started to throb.

“He’ll be back soon. Just a little longer…”

“How long is ‘a little’?”

“A month… no, maybe three weeks?”

The sharp stares made him backpedal.

“…Two weeks?”

Yeo-jeong sighed deeply.

“Yoo Ihan’s caused trouble over Guide Han Yeoul plenty of times, but he’s never been gone this long.”

Others agreed.

“Right. Even when he was hanging around Zone 5 for that guide, he’d come running when called and be back in Zone 1 at night for training.”

“His stamina was insane.”

“I’d call it insane love.”

They shook their heads, reminiscing about his antics from two years ago. Yeo-jeong raised her voice.

“He might’ve been reckless, but he was never neglectful.”

“Exactly. He’d nag us for missing training, but he never slacked himself. As an Esper, he was flawless.”

“He’s the hero of Zone 1.”

“Not just Zone 1. Without him, millions of Koreans would be dead.”

Their gazes turned heavy on Yushin. He had no rebuttal—everything they said was true, and Ihan’s behavior had indeed been strange lately.

“Let’s just wait a little longer. You all know he’s not the type to abandon us. The US, the UK—countries were ready to pay billions to have him, and he still refused.”

Reluctantly, they nodded.

“Fine. But this is our limit. Without Ihan, Zone 1—no, this whole country—isn’t safe anymore, and you know it.”

Without him, gates took far longer to close, and more civilians were left unprotected. The death toll was rising, and so was the guilt.

It wasn’t that they were incompetent—it was that things had been abnormal before. Zone 1 was the only place with such low casualties, and that streak ended with Ihan’s absence.

Watching injuries and deaths climb among both civilians and comrades, they felt a crushing helplessness.

For now, only Zone 1 was openly searching for him. But it was only a matter of time before the news of his absence spread nationwide.

After the hero vanished, the shadow of chaos began to fall over the world.