104

It was clear that it wasn’t just about the lingering desire from the night before. The way Baek Sa held him, the strength in those arms—none of it was casual. Ha-gyeom stayed still in his embrace, blinking slowly with wide eyes.

Wasn’t it Baek Sa himself who had confidently asked whether Ha-gyeom could set aside personal feelings for the sake of the mission? And yet now, that same Baek Sa showed no intention of letting go. There was something so visibly reluctant in the way he moved that Ha-gyeom could only smile bitterly.

“I can do this. So you don’t have to worry…”

He was speaking to both Baek Sa and Baek Seung-woo. Even if they were back at the Center, he knew this man—who had once cared for him so gently—would never be glad to see him head into danger.

Perhaps it was the awareness of possible surveillance, but Baek Sa didn’t respond right away. Being one of Assemblyman Tak’s subordinates, it was probably hard for him to speak openly about confidential training—and even more so to express personal concern as Baek Seung-woo. Ha-gyeom understood all of that, naturally.

But even Assemblyman Tak already knew about Ha-gyeom’s feelings toward Baek Sa. It wasn’t as if everything between them had to be hidden.

“This is an important training exercise. Don’t let your guard down, not even for a second.”

“Okay.”

That careful, deliberate tone—each word chosen with precision—was somehow sensual. Just knowing Baek Sa didn’t want to leave his side made Ha-gyeom quietly happy. It still felt unreal. Even after spending the most intimate night together, closer than ever before.

“You should do your best… but don’t get hurt.”

Even Baek Sa didn’t seem fully convinced those words were possible, but Ha-gyeom nodded with composure.

After all, the last expedition—the one Ah-rang had gone on—had nearly cost her life. That this upcoming mission was dangerous was obvious. It wasn’t hard to imagine how Baek Sa must be feeling.

Ha-gyeom gently stroked Baek Sa’s hair and buried his nose against the damp skin of his neck.

“It’s just training, nothing more.”

“…Yeah. Just training.”

But when he looked up again, Baek Sa’s eyes were full of dissatisfaction. His jaw clenched hard and then slowly relaxed.

Reading that impatience brought Ha-gyeom an unexpected sense of comfort. His heart was racing in anticipation of the mission, yes—but more than that, it was the quiet thrill of waking up after spending the night with someone he loved, and seeing that same person reluctant to let him go.

“Look for me when I come back.”

Ha-gyeom’s gaze matched Baek Sa’s, just as heavy and lingering. The moment he spoke, Baek Sa’s eyes trembled—waves crashing behind his usually unreadable expression. Yet Ha-gyeom added, with steady confidence,

“If I do well, you’ll know for yourself whether I’m worth keeping… or not.”

As his partner—though he didn’t say it aloud, Baek Sa seemed to understand. He didn’t look confused.

And in the way Baek Sa’s eyes slowly traced Ha-gyeom’s features, there was something deeply affectionate. As Ha-gyeom recalled where those lips had wandered the night before, his face turned crimson, and he looked away to hide the flush of embarrassment.

---

Dressed in his combat uniform, Ha-gyeom stepped out onto the pier and glanced briefly to his side. Every time he’d gone outside before, Baek Sa had been beside him—so the empty space at his side felt unusually large today.

This was his first training mission without Baek Sa. Leading the team was the Parrot, followed by Gi Suh-hyun, Park Ha for added protection in case of potential monster threats, and mercenary Tae-seong—who could be considered Baek Sa’s eyes. No matter where Ha-gyeom looked—front, back, left, or right—he couldn’t find peace of mind.

Because of that, even though his condition was perfect aside from the water-soaked skin and the burning between his legs from last night, he couldn’t stop frowning.

“Board the ship.”

The Parrot, today’s operations leader, gave the order in front of the docked boat. Since it was a small team, the vessel prepared was a modest sightseeing cruiser with an open second floor for viewing the scenery.

As he stared at the rusted surface worn down by time, Ha-gyeom was the first to step aboard.

Other than himself and Gi Suh-hyun, it looked like everyone else had done this before. Park Ha was as excited as usual, the Parrot wore a grim smile, and Tae-seong… Tae-seong hadn’t taken his eyes off Ha-gyeom. Whether that was out of irritation or the burden of acting under Baek Sa’s orders, it was hard to tell.

Still, Gi Suh-hyun’s participation was the real surprise. She wasn’t an S-rank, nor was she a guide well-adapted to District 0 like Ha-gyeom.

Her unexpected appearance made Ha-gyeom uneasy, but there was no point in letting it show. Showing concern for Gi Suh-hyun’s safety wouldn’t benefit anyone.

So, hiding his nerves, he caught her just before they sat down. Thankfully, she no longer wore handcuffs.

“I put her under with drugs, but she wasn’t hurt. So take care of yourself first.”

He intentionally left out the subject, though there was no way to keep Esper Park Ha from perking up. However, since Park Ha had been part of the scouting team herself, she didn’t seem to find it strange that Gi Suh-hyun would be asking after the Kang sisters.

Park Ha merely scoffed with her arms crossed, and as Ha-gyeom cautiously glanced over, he guided Gi Suh-hyun to the seat next to his.

“When were your cuffs removed?”

“Three days ago. They let me out when I did what they said.”

Whether she had changed her mindset or not, her face was calm. She didn’t seem too surprised about the Kang sisters either. Ha-gyeom felt slightly relieved and turned his attention to the Parrot, who was the last to board and now stood at the head of the ship.

“Some of you already know, but since the actual participants probably don’t, here’s the briefing. Our destination is an uninhabited island roughly 30 kilometers from where the abnormality occurred. We’ll begin training immediately upon arrival…”

“Are there tons of monsters there or what?” Park Ha chimed in, her voice practically buzzing with excitement. Her routine never changed.

“Sorry to disappoint, but it’s deserted. If it were crawling with monsters, we’d waste all our strength just fighting them. Think they’d train you in a place like that? Kill that fantasy.”

The Parrot added with a look of exasperation.

“No matter how many show up, Park Ha, you’ll handle any monsters that approach. You—useless as a sack of barley—stand guard.”

He seemed to be referring to Tae-seong as the “sack of barley.” Apparently metaphors were a habit. Even though Tae-seong scowled with an openly threatening look, the Parrot carried on unfazed.

Turning from Tae-seong, the Parrot looked at Ha-gyeom and Gi Suh-hyun in turn.

“As for you two…”

Ha-gyeom nervously moistened his dry lips.

“You’ll be crossing over to another dimension.”

“…What?”

Even before the words were fully out, Park Ha burst into laughter. Ha-gyeom and Gi Suh-hyun both whipped around to look at her. When Ha-gyeom turned back to the Parrot, the man grinned and amended his statement in a more composed voice.

“…Kidding. You’ll be entering the interior of the anomaly.”

“…?!”

It sounded just as strange as “another dimension.” But in terms of the training’s theme—exploration—it fit all too well. A bell seemed to ring in Ha-gyeom’s mind.

If it was an unknown realm… then it could only be that place.

He suddenly recalled Assemblyman Tak’s words from their dinner together, said while chewing on a hunk of meat:

“Find out exactly what Ah-rang saw in there. Every team we send dies, so finally catching a lead is something. This is a rare opportunity.”

So his guess had been right. Maybe those in charge—those who had everything—were starting to think beyond survival.

“Going inside and investigating the interior is the main goal of this training. Guides are the only ones who can withstand the radiation around monster portals, but not all of them can handle it well. You’ll have to prove you can endure it through this training—only then can you be deployed in an actual mission. Especially you, being an S-rank guide. You’d better perform.”

The Parrot pointed directly at Ha-gyeom. It was a literal order to enter a monster’s portal. Until now, Ha-gyeom had always thought of monsters as a threat to human survival—nothing more. The chill that raced down his spine made his shoulders tremble involuntarily.

“Shit. This is insane.”

The curse slipped out before he could stop it. He’d never even considered the idea of going into one of those portals himself. It had never once occurred to him to dig into that unknown space. Not even as someone who could emit purification waves.

Gi Suh-hyun seemed to feel the same—her brows furrowed so tightly they almost folded in on themselves. She looked up at the Parrot with eyes full of revulsion.

“Why the hell would anyone do something that insane?”

“Because the higher-ups want it?”

The Parrot’s casual answer made the top of Ha-gyeom’s head twitch with irritation. What bothered him most was how little their own voices—his and Gi Suh-hyun’s—mattered in this decision, despite being the ones actually involved.

Setting aside his personal vow to do anything for Baek Seung-woo, Ha-gyeom couldn’t help but question the legitimacy of this training.

What was it all for?