IDESGI Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Inside the Zone 5 personnel-only hospital, Ihan sat perched on a chair, anxiously staring at the operating room. Yushin, watching Ihan’s jittering leg, spoke in a low voice.

“If you’re that worried, why not go back to New York? Ask Roden one more time…”

“He’s a healing-type Esper. Using his ability once raises his overdrive level a lot. He won’t do it twice in one day.”

Ihan clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Tsk. An Esper, and yet so weak. The moment their stats go up a bit, they run off. You’d think they could just push through it with grit.”

It was so ridiculous, Yushin felt his throat tighten.

How the hell do you push through high overdrive with grit, you lunatic?

But since he had once seen Yoo Ihan use his ability right up to the edge of danger while controlling his overdrive, Yushin couldn’t find the words to argue back.

Besides, wasn’t it unreasonable to compare other Espers to that guy in the first place?

Regardless of S-Class or not, there probably wasn’t an Esper anywhere in the world as strong as Ihan.

Yushin glanced at him. Even with a wrinkled shirt and a face worn thin from worry, his striking looks hadn’t gone anywhere. If someone saw him now, they might blush, thinking the disheveled look was decadently attractive. But to Yushin, he was just a friend exhausted and pushed to his limits.

Feeling a little choked up, Yushin steadied his voice.

“So… once the surgery’s over, you’re heading to Jamsil, right?”

“No.”

Startled, Yushin tried to dissuade him.

“It’s not safe here either. There aren’t any civilians, so there are fewer eyes, but it’s so closed-off that rumors will spread fast. Then it’ll end up being reported to the higher-ups.”

Ihan replied curtly.

“Yoon Geon’s in Zone 5, isn’t he? Once he hears about it, that bastard will at least buy us a little time. Even he should understand that nothing good will come from Yeoul being spotted by headquarters right now.”

But then his tone turned sharp.

“Of course, if he tries to sneak Yeoul away or anything like that, I’ll just kill him.”

Letting out an irritated sigh, Ihan jutted his lips in a sullen pout.

“If that bastard finds out Yeoul is here, he’ll come running.”

“But Yoon Geon isn’t here.”

“What? Where is he?”

Yushin immediately regretted speaking and shut his mouth. If Ihan found out that he had given Geon a hint about Yeoul’s whereabouts, he’d be the first target.

As if reading his fear, Ihan murmured coldly.

“Don’t play dumb. Spill it. Where is he now, and how do you know?”

“…Actually, Yoon Geon came to Zone 1 earlier. Seemed like he was looking for Guide Han Yeoul.”

“And you’re only telling me this now?”

“I was all over the place. You called me here in a rush.”

Ihan’s brow twitched, but he didn’t say anything. Yushin breathed a sigh of relief. Ihan rubbed his face with his palms and sighed again, his expression growing darker.

Seeing that, Yushin carefully suggested,

“It’s going to be hard to keep Guide Han Yeoul locked away much longer. You should at least head back.”

Ihan dropped his hands and leaned deep into the back of the chair, closing his eyes like someone drained and worn out.

“Yushin, in other zones, there’s only a rumor that I’ve imprinted. No one knows who with. You know why?”

Before imprinting with Yeoul, Ihan had once stormed into the director’s office. Back then, he’d been nothing short of a mad dog.

“They say word got out to other zones that I was going to imprint. If they found out who the Guide was, the internet would be gone across the whole country by the end of the day.”

Since Yoo Ihan was the type to actually do it, headquarters had desperately hidden Guide Han Yeoul from public view.

“That’s because you made a scene with the director, threatening to destroy every cell tower the moment people started talking about Han Yeoul.”

“Right. But if word gets out that an S-Class Esper like me got dumped by his imprinted Guide, Yeoul’s identity will inevitably be revealed. That’s not just juicy gossip—it’ll become a national issue.”

Ihan was right. In less than a month of his absence, Zone 1 had already fallen into chaos. His influence was far greater than Yushin had imagined.

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

“The only way to protect Yeoul from the media was this. I can’t actually go around destroying cell towers, after all.”

Yushin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Wow… you’re saying something sensible for once.”

“I’d rather die than have Yeoul criticized because of me. Which is why…”

“Yeah?”

“Find out where all the cell towers are.”

“…Huh?”

“If hiding him becomes too hard, we’ll just have to take down the network. What else can we do?”

Yushin nearly forgot, for a moment, that Ihan was insane. Before this lunatic Yoo Ihan caused another disaster, he had to protect the country as an Esper. Fired up with a sense of duty, Yushin clenched his fists.

“Let’s just keep hiding him. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“…Think that’s possible?”

“Of course! This is my specialty, after all. If it looks like we’re about to get caught, I can just teleport us out, right? Ha ha.”

Forcing his lips not to twitch, Yushin spoke loudly with feigned confidence.

“Alright, then.”

A satisfied smile briefly crossed Ihan’s face. Yushin felt tricked, but it wouldn’t change anything anyway, so he let it go.

But soon after, Ihan’s expression darkened again. Feeling sorry for him, Yushin placed a hand on his shoulder.

“The surgery will go well. It’s not life-threatening, right?”

“I know. I just… want to know why Yeoul’s going this far.”

Yushin briefly considered telling him what he had heard about Han Yeoul but decided it was still too early.

After everything is confirmed—then I’ll tell him.

Glancing at Ihan cautiously, Yushin asked,

“Should we delay bringing Hyunho? Until Guide Han Yeoul gets a little better.”

Bringing Hyunho in had to come after confirming whether Yeoul’s words were true. If they brought him now, Ihan might learn everything about Yeoul’s intentions, which could lead to the worst possible outcome.

Even though Yushin told himself it couldn’t possibly be true, some instinct deep down was warning him of danger.

Fortunately, Ihan agreed.

“Yeah. That’s better. Actually… maybe we don’t need to bring him at all.”

“What? You were the one who said to bring him.”

“Until I open the box, I can believe whatever I want.”

At those quiet, cryptic words, Yushin frowned in confusion. Before he could ask more, the green light above the operating room turned off. The moment Yeoul was wheeled out, Ihan jumped to his feet.

“Yeoul.”

He called the name of the still-sleeping man. Even in a brief listen, his voice was thick with longing. The doctor standing nearby explained the results.

“It was deep enough to pierce the dermis and reach the fat layer, but fortunately there was no muscle damage. You did a good job stopping the bleeding, so the recovery should go well. He’ll need to be hospitalized for a few days before discharge.”

“That’s… a relief.”

Ihan looked somewhat reassured by the doctor’s words, though worry still lingered on his face. Beneath the mixed relief and concern, there was deep love.

Yeoul woke two hours later. As soon as his eyes opened, Ihan grabbed his hand urgently.

“Yeoul! Are you awake?”

Yeoul looked around without answering, and when his gaze landed on Yushin, he stared at him intently before turning to Ihan. His dry voice rasped out.

“…Water.”

“Oh? Oh, okay. I’ll get it for you!”

While Ihan hurried off to fetch water, Yeoul clutched at Yushin’s clothes and pleaded.

“Esper Kim Yushin, please… get me out of here.”

Though his tone was calm, desperation bled through. Yushin slowly opened his mouth.

“Before that, I need to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“This regression… is it real?”

The slight ripple in Yeoul’s brown eyes quickly stilled. He didn’t deny it.

“I don’t know how you found out… but yes, it’s true.”

“I want to know for sure if it’s the truth. If you can give me certainty, I’ll help you. Can you prove it?”

“What’s today’s date?”

“April 25.”

Yeoul lowered his head in thought for a moment. Then, hearing footsteps in the distance, he spoke quickly in a low voice.

“Tomorrow around midnight, an A-Class Gate and a B-Class Gate will open at the same time in Zone 1. If I remember right, one will be at the lake, the other at the convention center.”

He had barely finished speaking when Ihan came back in, opening the door.

“Yeoul, I brought you water.”

Taking the cup from Ihan, Yeoul drank it with a calm face. Yushin turned away to hide the turmoil on his own.

“I’ll leave you two to talk.”

He walked down the hallway to the very end before releasing the breath he had been holding.

“He’s predicting a Gate?”

The danger of Gates lay in their complete lack of warning signs—they appeared without notice. Their rank was decided afterward based on the monsters that emerged. No one ever knew when, where, or what kind of Gate would appear.

If Guide Han Yeoul can foresee them…

No—if his words were true, then this wasn’t prophecy. It was simply something he knew because he had lived through it before.

Yushin glanced at his watch. It was already close to midnight.

“It’s probably not true… but I have to check.”

Right now, communication with Zone 1 was cut off for all other zones, but since Yushin was a Zone 1 Esper, his watch could connect. However, that would leave a record of the call’s origin, making him traceable.

It would be safest not to cause any trouble, but the unease wouldn’t leave him. After hesitating, Yushin finally sent a message to Baek Yeo-jung of Zone 1 Team 1.

If a Gate opens, report where and what kind as soon as possible.

If it’s wrong, I’ll just keep helping Ihan. But if it’s right…

Then…