IDSEGI Chapter 108

Chapter 108

“Date?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing decent in Zone 5, so we could go to Zone 1, or anywhere else you’d like.”

Seeing Ihan’s bright, expectant eyes made Yeoul smile despite himself. Straightening his lips, he gave a small nod.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

“Really?”

Up until now, Ihan had always been the one dragging Yeoul around, but this was the first time Yeoul had agreed to a date on his own. Delighted by the answer, Ihan pulled him into a tight embrace.

“I’ll plan something amazing.”

“No need. Let’s just watch a movie.”

“A movie? What kind?”

“We’ll decide there. Just pick something that fits the time.”

He said it casually, but in truth, Yeoul was looking forward to it too. Tomorrow, he might have to say goodbye to Ihan forever. He decided not to dwell on the sad thought. If it was the last time, he might as well enjoy it. The real problem would be if it wasn’t the last.

“Let’s go.”

“Now? Don’t you have work?”

“What does it matter? There haven’t been any gates lately. I’ll skip.”

Ihan was taken aback by Yeoul’s words. He didn’t seem like the type to skip work without permission. Seeing this unexpected side of him made Ihan’s heart race a little.

With Yushin’s help, they arrived in Zone 1 and headed to the cinema. As soon as they arrived, people’s eyes turned toward Ihan. But no one approached them directly—just sideways glances.

Outside of a gate emergency, it was illegal to personally approach an Esper or ask for their help. The law had been made because of frequent stalking incidents and citizens who treated Esper assistance as a given.

So unless a gate had appeared and they were on official duty, civilians were not to speak to Espers. Technically, just saying something wasn’t a crime, but it could be mistaken for stalking or seen as an illegal request, so people avoided approaching entirely. Taking and sharing photos was also heavily punished, so no one dared to lift a camera.

Still, there were always exceptions.

After watching the movie, they were on their way to get food when Ihan’s watch buzzed—the signal for a gate report. The alert went to the nearest Esper to the reported location, meaning a gate had just appeared nearby.

“Can you wait a bit? I’ll be quick.”

When Yeoul nodded, Ihan teleported to the location indicated on his watch. Watching him vanish, Yeoul felt a flicker of disappointment.

Gates have been so rare lately… why now, of all times?

He didn’t know how much time he still had with Ihan. Kicking a small stone with the tip of his sneaker in mild irritation, he was approached by someone.

“Hello, I’m Han Yumin from JBK. Could I get a quick interview?”

The man with a friendly expression held out a business card. Yeoul glanced at it briefly before lowering his head.

“I don’t do interviews.”

“Ah, don’t be like that. How do you know Esper Yoo Ihan? Are you perhaps his Guide?”

While pretending to be polite, Han Yumin’s eyes swept up and down, suspicion clear—was Yeoul the Guide who had Imprinted with Yoo Ihan?

Yeoul’s chin lifted sharply as he fixed the man with a wary gaze.

“Did you file the report?”

Occasionally, people would make false gate reports to attract an Esper’s attention. Yeoul wondered if this man had done the same.

“Of course not. Do you know how serious a crime that is?”

“I never said you filed a false gate report.”

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Han Yumin’s face before he quickly masked it. Yeoul frowned, glancing again at the business card.

“That card’s fake too, isn’t it? What are you, a streamer?”

Han Yumin was likely a false name as well. When Yeoul glared at him, the man smirked, crumpled the card, and threw it to the ground, grinding it under his shoe.

“You look naive, but you catch on quick.”

Muttering a quiet curse, the man turned to leave, but Yeoul grabbed his wrist.

“Where are you going? You made a false gate report. You should be punished.”

The man easily shook off Yeoul’s hand and spat right in front of his face.

“Let’s just go our separate ways, huh? What’s so great about an S-Class Esper anyway? They’re just public figures. Damn it, I’m trying to do something for the public good, so why the hell are you making a fuss?”

“How is an Esper a public figure?”

“Because they’re living off our taxes. Gates barely even happen these days—at this point, they’re just tax thieves.”

“What did you just say?”

The sheer absurdity made Yeoul laugh under his breath. Pointing a finger toward the sky, he said,

“Look up. What do you see?”

The man frowned in confusion.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I asked—what do you see?”

Faced with Yeoul’s cold stare, the man faltered slightly.

“Not a cloud in the sky. Good weather. Why?”

Tilting his head back, Yeoul gazed at the leaves swaying on the roadside trees. Under the warm sunlight, the branches cast wide shadows, and beyond them stretched the clear sky.

“Around this time last year, a gate opened up there.”

Yeoul recalled that day. Unlike the gentle coolness that now wrapped around him, that day had been bone-chillingly cold. Ihan had fought monsters with his life on the line.

From the black hole above, beasts had poured out—and Ihan had ripped, burned, and killed them. The only reason they could now look up at such a peaceful sky was because of him.

But people forgot that so easily. At first, he had been a hero. But as it repeated, they got used to it, began to take it for granted.

While Ihan fought, what had they done? They laughed. Maybe even complained out of boredom. No one acknowledged his pain. Ihan had borne it all alone—so very alone…

“I don’t know what you think you know that gives you the right to write articles about Yoo Ihan or not, but Ihan has always been sincere about protecting the citizens. So much so that he’s constantly blamed himself for not being able to save everyone.”

The anger that had been suppressed slowly spilled out of Yeoul’s mouth.

“Yoo Ihan isn’t a hero, he’s a person. He’s not someone you can chew up and spit out as you please. If you insult him, he gets hurt like anyone else. If he’s injured, it hurts—he’s a person.”

Yeoul fixed the man with a fierce glare, his tone sharp and warning.

“So don’t talk carelessly. Not when you don’t know a thing about him.”

Yeoul’s face, twisted with anger, looked icy cold. The man scratched his cheek and grumbled.

“What’s so great about Espers? If you’ve got power, isn’t it natural to use it for others?”

“What did you say?”

That was when Ihan appeared from behind and stepped between them. He gently took Yeoul’s hand, soothing him with a tender gaze.

“Yeoul, it’s alright.”

The man’s eyes widened at the sight of Yoo Ihan in person. Ihan gave him a slow once-over, as if to memorize his appearance, then led Yeoul away.

“Let’s go.”

“But—”

“I just don’t want to waste time on this.”

Ihan glanced briefly at the CCTV camera mounted on the shop across the street. Yeoul had no choice but to follow him.

“There wasn’t a gate.”

“…Yeah.”

Ihan, still sensing Yeoul’s lingering frustration, gently led him into the narrow space between two buildings. In the shadowed, dim alley, Ihan pressed Yeoul against the wall, caging him in with his arms.

“Will you guide me?”

“Right now?”

“Yeah. Teleporting took a lot out of me.”

Though his energy level hadn’t dropped much, Ihan begged for Yeoul’s guiding. When Yeoul reluctantly reached to take his hand, Ihan laced their fingers together.

“Close your eyes, Yeoul.”

Before the warning could even register, Ihan captured Yeoul’s lips in an instant. A blunt tongue slipped past his teeth and slowly grazed the roof of his mouth. Flustered, Yeoul nonetheless began guiding out of habit.

Warm Guide energy began to soothe Ihan’s Esper energy. Because his levels weren’t low, the guiding ended quickly. But Ihan didn’t pull away. Instead, he cupped Yeoul’s neck and sucked on his lips.

The pull on his upper lip, the mingling of tongues—it weakened Yeoul’s knees and sent heat pooling low in his body.

When Ihan finally drew back, he rested his forehead against Yeoul’s.

“Did you feel my emotions just now?”

“…Yeah.”

The emotions that flowed in through guiding felt different from before—more viscous and heavy. In the past, there had been a flutter of curiosity mixed with excitement, but now the feelings were deeper, weightier.

Ihan exhaled deeply and whispered.

“I think I’ve fallen for you all over again, Yeoul.”

Yeoul felt a little embarrassed. He hadn’t meant to show Ihan that scene just now. How could something like that make his feelings deepen? He dropped his gaze to hide his shyness.

“All because of that one thing I said?”

“No one’s ever said those words to me before.”

At Ihan’s reply, Yeoul’s head shot up. When their eyes met, Yeoul drew in a sharp breath.

The golden light shimmering in Ihan’s gaze watched him with an intensity that seemed ready to pull him in completely.

Within those pale eyes was something dark and deep—it wasn’t the lightness of goodwill or simple affection. It was heat so fierce it felt like it could burn, and a depth from which there was no escape.

Ihan lowered his face toward him.

Yeoul couldn’t avoid it and simply closed his eyes.

Their moist lips met.