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Baek Sa frowned as he spoke and signaled Ha-gyeom with his eyes to follow him. He opened the door to the room, but Ha-gyeom took a step back, clearly reluctant.

“…Why?”

“I’ll make sure you don’t get contaminated. Just come with me.”

“But why do we have to…?”

They were close to docking. Ha-gyeom, like everyone else, just wanted to wait at the pier. Although it wasn’t human blood, the monster’s blood was still unpleasant. The last thing Ha-gyeom wanted was to be near Baek Sa right now.

When Ha-gyeom continued to hesitate, Baek Sa sighed deeply and asked, “So, do you want to do the guiding out here where everyone can see?”

That snapped Ha-gyeom back to reality. Even though they were dealing with mid-level monsters, it was impossible to eliminate them without expending energy. With a major task ahead, it was standard for an esper’s dedicated guide to assist with energy management through ‘close contact.’

“Okay, fine,” Ha-gyeom replied quickly, stepping inside the doorway. He’d rather bite his tongue and die than guide in front of Park Ha and Tae-seong.

Soon, he felt the heat radiating from Baek Sa as he pressed close behind him, urging him forward.

---

When they reached the room, Baek Sa, unlike when he was enveloped in energy, was breathing heavily. Even as an esper, it seemed he was struggling to calm the excitement of battle.

Ha-gyeom paced nervously, watching Baek Sa, who had retreated to the bathroom. A moment ago, there had been a loud thud as the ship came to a halt, meaning that everyone involved in the operation was now waiting for him and Baek Sa.

The guiding needed to be completed as quickly as possible. Ha-gyeom forced his emotions down, thinking that a kiss should suffice.

Creak—

The bathroom door opened, and Ha-gyeom was met with the sight of Baek Sa, wearing only the bottom half of his combat uniform. The room was so small that it was unavoidable. Without even drying off properly, Baek Sa approached with a fiery look in his eyes and grabbed Ha-gyeom.

Baek Sa tilted Ha-gyeom’s chin up and kissed him. He seemed to understand that this was the best way to handle the situation. Ha-gyeom instinctively grabbed onto Baek Sa’s waist, but the scorching heat made him flinch. It reminded him of the hot machine gun Baek Sa had been holding earlier.

He couldn’t help but notice the bulge in Baek Sa’s trousers. Espers… Ha-gyeom thought bitterly but knew he couldn’t mock Baek Sa, who was also Baek Seung-woo, for something so trivial.

The sound of the kiss was loud and deliberate in the small room. Baek Sa’s tongue invaded his mouth, swirling intensely. Ha-gyeom had grown accustomed to their lips locking, but…

“Ouch… it hurts… mmph…”

It still hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes when Baek Sa bit down hard.

Even as Ha-gyeom panted for breath, Baek Sa didn’t let up. He pushed Ha-gyeom against the wall, attacking his mouth with a fervor that suggested he was ready to lick down to his throat. When Baek Sa wrapped his arms around Ha-gyeom’s back, trapping him in place, his whole body trembled.

Instead of focusing on the physical sensations, Ha-gyeom closed his eyes to fully sense the energy flowing through Baek Sa’s body. As he swallowed more of their shared saliva, he felt the energy gradually stabilizing—becoming gentle, full, and finally, calm.

“I think… that’s enough now…”

Ha-gyeom pushed Baek Sa away, who finally relented but stared back with an intense, almost burning gaze. Ha-gyeom couldn’t help but wonder if something else was causing Baek Sa to be so worked up, but he couldn’t figure it out.

With a weary expression, Ha-gyeom whispered.

“People are waiting. We should go now.”

Ha-gyeom glanced down at Baek Sa’s front. Despite everything, the situation hadn’t changed, but indulging in any kind of physical release was a luxury they couldn’t afford. He shot Baek Sa a look of clear displeasure, but it was obvious Baek Sa didn’t care.

Baek Sa approached again, his expression impatient, and sucked on Ha-gyeom’s lower lip. The suction was strong, creating a noisy friction between their lips. When Baek Sa’s hands moved from Ha-gyeom’s waist to his hips, the implication was clear.

“Ugh…”

As their bodies pressed together, warning signals flashed in Ha-gyeom’s mind. Summoning all his strength, he pushed Baek Sa away.

“Stop it!”

It was only after putting some distance between them that Ha-gyeom realized he had bitten Baek Sa’s lip. There was a small cut on Baek Sa’s lower lip, with a bead of blood forming.

Baek Sa licked the wound with his tongue, but he didn’t look angry. His gaze didn’t blame Ha-gyeom. Embarrassed, Ha-gyeom roughly wiped his own lips, which were slick with saliva.

“Go wait outside. Don’t go far, just lean against the door.”

Baek Sa instructed in a deep voice. Ha-gyeom, still flustered, quickly moved past him and stepped outside. It was strange—Baek Sa, usually so controlled, seemed almost desperate, unable to even manage his desires. It was unlike him.

About ten minutes later, Baek Sa emerged, fully dressed in his combat gear as he had been before the fight. His deep-set eyes and flushed cheeks created a contrast that didn’t quite fit.

“Are you ready?” Baek Sa asked.

“Ready.”

Ha-gyeom replied, though he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Still, he didn’t comment further and followed Baek Sa’s lead.

As they descended the stairs from the ship, they saw the gathered personnel. At the front stood Park Ha and Yeo Jin-joo, followed by espers and guides ranging from A to D rank. Some were familiar faces from the containment area.

As Ha-gyeom stepped onto the ground, which was contaminated with impurities, he was overwhelmed by an odd sensation. Since entering the center, this was the first time he had set foot on land that wasn’t within Zone 0.

This place was once the bustling Incheon Port, thriving with trade before the invasion. Now, it was littered with twisted ships, collapsed structures, and rusted container towers. Nothing remained intact, as if a typhoon had swept through and left nothing behind but ash.

Aside from the espers standing near the ship, there was no sign of life. The eerie cold that hung in the air was a stark contrast to the clear weather. Ha-gyeom rubbed the back of his neck, trying to shake off the eerie stillness.

Baek Sa, who had now fully regained his composure, carried the two machine guns on his back that Park Ha had cleaned. He addressed the assembled group, his eyes scanning them.

“If we don’t return by the rendezvous time in three days, you’re free to head back.”

The non-S-rank espers were tasked with resource gathering. The seasoned espers nodded without question, clearly accustomed to such operations, and with that, the orders were complete.

Soon, the A-rank espers and mercenaries led the rest of the group out. Left behind at the rendezvous point were Baek Sa, Ha-gyeom, Yeo Jin-joo, Park Ha, and Tae-seong—a small team of five, selected for their elite status. They were the ones tasked with ‘collecting’ the espers who remained outside.

Yeo Jin-joo reduced the size of her wave, and Ha-gyeom followed suit, ensuring it was just large enough to move the five of them comfortably. Baek Sa took the first step forward, leading the way.

Ha-gyeom walked on, his eyes alert to the strange, whispering wind around them. For over ten years, he had only seen the outside world through monitors and photos within the center. The difference between those dry, square frames and the real thing was staggering.

He knew well enough that the world had become irreversibly desolate, but seeing it up close was another matter. The outside was engulfed in an indescribable tragedy, as if the chaos and screams of the invasion still lingered in the air.

Despite the tense situation, which made it difficult to view Baek Sa as an ally, Ha-gyeom found himself instinctively moving closer to him. He grabbed Baek Sa’s arm without even realizing it. Who knew what could emerge from the ruins and collapsed structures around them?

“……”

Surprisingly, Baek Sa didn’t reprimand him. He simply looked down at Ha-gyeom quietly. Just then, as Baek Sa adjusted the wave enveloping the group, Ha-gyeom refocused and concentrated on the energy circulating within his body. The physical contact with Baek Sa made it easier to maintain the wave.

As they approached the entrance of the port, they found two Humvee vehicles waiting, the kind typically seen in military units long ago. Both were equipped with mounted machine guns. Ha-gyeom had ridden in a similar vehicle once—on the day Baek Seung-woo had rescued him.

Back then, even Baek Seung-woo hadn’t yet turned twenty. Ha-gyeom distinctly remembered his handsome face, still carrying a trace of boyish innocence. His kind eyes and gentle voice were enough to soothe Ha-gyeom’s terror.

Over a decade had passed, but Ha-gyeom found himself glancing at Baek Sa with a blush. His features had grown sharper, his gaze more inscrutable, and his lips now pressed into a firm, unreadable line.

He was still the same, yet somehow completely different.

“Get in.”

Baek Sa said, pulling Ha-gyeom out of his thoughts as he gently nudged him forward. Following Baek Sa’s lead, Ha-gyeom climbed into the front passenger seat. Tae-seong took the backseat, while Yeo Jin-joo and Park Ha occupied the other vehicle.