IDSEGI Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Yeoul’s heart pounded unevenly. A ringing filled his ears, and his head grew hot, as if it might burst.

“Where are you.”

Growing impatient at Yushin’s delayed answer, Yeoul shouted.

“I asked where you are!”

— Zone 1 Esper Center. The annex…

“The dormitory?”

— What? Ah, yes.

The moment Yushin answered, Yeoul hung up.

---

Inside the Zone 1 storage room. Three Espers from Zone 1 Team 1 and Yushin were sitting cross-legged in a circle on a blue mat. Holding the phone that had just disconnected, Yushin frowned.

“Hey, the call cut off.”

As the line went dead, Yushin and the Zone 1 Espers exchanged confused glances.

“What the hell. That’s not what we heard. He sounded really worried.”

“Right? Didn’t you say Yoo Ihan and that Guide were totally done for? Are you sure about that?”

The Esper who had shared the rumor—that Yoo Ihan had gone to Zone 5 hung up on some Guide and came back humiliated—made a sour face, as if unjustly accused.

“I told you, I’m close with a Zone 5 Guide! It’s true. They said Yoo Ihan was all over Han Yeoul, and that guy was totally cold to him.”

“That didn’t sound like the reaction of someone cold.”

“So what do we do if he really shows up?”

A Guide who rejected Yoo Ihan? The moment Yushin heard the rumor, he had hunted down Yeoul’s number and prank-called him. He hadn’t thought even one step ahead. He had just been drunk on the dopamine rush of learning that Yoo Ihan had supposedly been dumped, and lost his mind for a moment.

Yushin, uneasy now, still forced himself—and the Espers—to believe they were safe.

“Come on. If he thinks about it for even a second, he’ll know it’s a lie. It’s not like we don’t have any Guides of our own. Why would our Espers apply for guiding sessions from another zone’s Guide? Even if he was fooled at first, he’ll realize it’s fake soon enough.”

“But I haven’t seen Yoo Ihan get guided by anyone lately.”

“Me neither. Didn’t he stop after he fell out with Guide Lim Jiha?”

“I think he stopped even before that. Something going on?”

One of the Espers suddenly glanced around and whispered quietly.

“Hey, what if that rumor was actually true?”

“What rumor?”

“You know. The one about Yoo Ihan imprinting with another Guide recently.”

It sounded plausible at first, but another Esper immediately waved it off.

“That got denied right away. There was even a correction article. And Yoo Ihan, who loves himself more than anyone? As if he’d ever imprint with a Guide.”

Yushin nodded in agreement.

“That bastard refuses to even try mucosal guiding because he says sex is filthy. A guy like that imprinting? He wouldn’t even be able to attempt it.”

They all mocked the Esper who dared suggest the rumor might be true, calling him an idiot. The Esper who brought it up hadn’t been certain in the first place, but being rejected so forcefully only made his stubbornness flare. He snapped and raised his voice.

“It could’ve been with this Guide! Have you ever seen Yoo Ihan hang on a Guide like that? Never! But suddenly he’s tearing through records and tracking someone down, then runs all the way to Zone 5. And he apparently followed that Guide everywhere! Even got brutally rejected! The only reason we prank-called just now was because none of us believed it and wanted to check for ourselves. To see if it was real!”

“Hey… but if Guide Han Yeoul actually comes here, doesn’t that mean he and Yoo Ihan really are imprinted?”

Silence fell. If Han Yeoul really did come… They didn’t believe it was possible, but if Yoo Ihan truly had imprinted…

The Espers imagined the consequences and immediately panicked.

“I had nothing to do with this. I never agreed!”

“Oh, no you don’t, you bastard. Nobody is escaping from this!”

“This is your phone, Yushin. Good luck.”

Realizing he might end up taking the full blame, Yushin glared at the Espers.

“Hey, you really think only I’m going down if you all ditch me?”

“Yeah. Seems like you’re the only one dying here.”

“Yushin, I’ll give at least fifty thousand won in condolence money.”

“I’ll do a hundred thousand. Conscience and all.”

“Wow, that’s generous.”

It was childish talk, especially between people who earned well in an era where even a wedding meal cost fifty thousand won. But Zone 1 had always been like this. Offering one hundred thousand won in gift money to a coworker’s wedding was a rarity here. Why give that much? Just pay for the meal and be done with it.

Instead, they would dump extra work on the married ones, saying they must be lucky since they managed to marry at all. Because of this, Zone 1 Espers often couldn’t get married, and even if they could, they rarely did. Their friendship was selfish to the core.

“Yushin even came to my first wedding and paid fifty thousand then too.”

So that’s how it was. No one said it aloud, but all of them secretly envied the only married man among them—an Esper who had even married twice. How the hell did that guy manage to get married? Twice at that?

Zone 1 Espers barely had the time to date, let alone marry, so the existence of a twice-married colleague was infuriatingly enviable. But showing it would bruise their pride, so everyone pretended not to care.

“You two have known each other a long time, right?”

“If he paid fifty thousand for both your first and second wedding, then yeah, you owe him a hundred thousand.”

In the midst of their noisy banter, Yushin—who had been quietly lost in thought—finally spoke.

“But something’s weird.”

“What is?”

“How did Guide Han Yeoul know we call one of our buildings the dormitory? That’s something even Yoo Ihan doesn’t know. Only we call it that.”

Everyone froze and exchanged silent looks.

Because of Yoo Ihan, the Espers had been forced into a no-smoking rule. So they would sneak to a small storage room near the main building to smoke in secret. They jokingly called that place the dormitory. Yoo Ihan had no idea it even existed. So how could Guide Han Yeoul know about it?

---

The moment he hung up, Yeoul immediately called Jiwon.

— Hello…

“Esper Kim Jiwon! I need to ask you a favor!”

Jiwon, who was lying in a hospital bed when the phone rang, stuttered in confusion at Yeoul’s frantic voice.

— Huh? Wh-what kind of favor?

“Please take me to Zone 1.”

— Why all of a sudden…

“Please. I’m begging you. Just take me there.”

Yeoul pleaded, his voice sounding as if it might break.

“Not a fourth time, I can’t do it four times. Please, just please…”

Help me—he couldn’t finish the sentence. Maybe he’d forgotten how to breathe. Blood rushed to his head, and Yeoul collapsed.

“Ha… hah…”

— Guide Han Yeoul? Are you alright?

“Here… please, hurry… ha, huff…”

His breathing grew shallow. He had to go. He had to get to Ihan.

What if I die again? What if I die this time too?

The hand holding the phone trembled violently. His vision blurred, and each gasp grew more desperate. He knew he needed to speak, but he couldn’t breathe, and without breath, his thoughts wouldn’t form.

He couldn’t remember where he was, or who he had even called. His lungs felt crushed, as though someone were squeezing them flat. In the whitening haze of his mind, only one name remained faintly—Yoo Ihan.

“Hah… kuh… hah, gah…”

A cough tore up through his throat, violent enough to wrench out his heart. His head swirled with only Yoo Ihan’s name. Even though his body should have been healthy, he could feel a crushing pain twisting in his gut.

How do you breathe again? I have to go to Ihan. It hurts. I can’t breathe. I have to save Ihan. I’m suffocating. It hurts, I think I’m going to die. What if Ihan loses control? Please, let me breathe. Is he alright? I can’t breathe. Help me. I have to save him. Is he alive? Is he okay? Where is he? Where’s Ihan? Where is he? Where is he? Ihan… Ihan…

“Yeoul! Wake up!”

When he opened his eyes at the sound of the familiar voice, Ihan was right in front of him, staring with a frantic expression. Yeoul clung to him, desperately trying to guide. Ihan, Ihan… are you okay? You’re alive? You didn’t die, right?

Guiding energy flowed through Ihan’s veins, easing the twisted power inside him. Ihan’s own emotions—full of fear and worry—poured into Yeoul in return.

The residue of Esper energy built up inside Ihan slowly purified under the guidance. Still, Yeoul did not stop. The obsession to save Ihan at any cost crushed him without mercy.

“I… ha… Ihan…”

Yeoul’s breath grew harsher, and Ihan covered Yeoul’s mouth with his hand. Then he pulled Yeoul’s hand to his chest.

“Match your breathing to my heartbeat. One, two, breathe in. Three, four, breathe out.”

The steady rhythm of Ihan’s heartbeat pulsed against Yeoul’s palm. It wasn’t as frantic as Yeoul’s, but it was still strong. Yeoul followed Ihan’s directions—inhale, exhale, repeat.

“Haa…”

At last, the hyperventilating stopped. His heartbeat settled. As oxygen returned, so did clarity. Realizing what he had just done, Yeoul immediately halted the guiding.

“I… I was… I mean…”

He had guided him. And the emotional exchange had been so clear that they couldn’t even pretend not to be imprinted. His mind went blank. No excuse would come.

While Yeoul sat there, lips opening and closing helplessly, Ihan took off his cap and pulled it down over Yeoul’s head, all the way until it covered his face. The brim pressed gently against his hair. Startled by the sudden gesture, Yeoul stared up at him. Ihan’s lips curved softly.

“It really is you. The one from back then.”