Right now, the only one threatening Gyu-hyeon’s position was Yu-geon. It hadn’t even been a full year since he joined, but in terms of his connection with Han-gyeol, rank, and achievements, there was nothing he lacked compared to Gyu-hyeon.
If there was anything Gyu-hyeon had over Yu-geon, it was his loyalty to Han-gyeol. But Han-gyeol wasn’t the type to keep someone close based solely on loyalty.
And what I meant was—now that Gyu-hyeon was in his fourth year, he couldn’t just keep following Han-gyeol’s orders to the letter. Han-gyeol would want results beyond that.
If Gyu-hyeon had been at Han-gyeol’s side for a long time, he should know better than anyone how rational and performance-driven Han-gyeol was.
Maybe the reason he hadn’t been keeping Yu-geon in check was because Yu-geon had only recently joined Alpha Team—and had been handling both joint missions with Han-gyeol and his own assignments.
But since I was in charge of training the team’s guides, I often discussed personnel matters with Han-gyeol. If someone like me suddenly started talking like this, it was bound to make Gyu-hyeon think twice.
“Am I getting demoted…?”
“No. That’s not what I meant.”
“What do I do? I must have made a mistake.”
Gyu-hyeon groaned, clutching his head with both hands in despair. I’d only meant to startle him into being more aware, but he looked completely crushed, as if imagining the worst possible outcome.
Worried he might spiral into some other direction, I quickly added,
“Captain’s been focused on the guide attack case lately. I just meant that if Esper Seong Gyu-hyeon were to catch the culprit, the Captain would be pleased. And it just so happens that I know quite a few clues about the culprit that even the Captain doesn’t.”
Gyu-hyeon raised his head to look at me. The anxious tension in his face gave way to a flicker of hope and anticipation.
“So? Would you consider sharing the information you know with me?”
“Well…”
He hesitated, unable to give an immediate answer. I checked my watch—five minutes had already passed since Ji-han left. He’d probably be back soon…
“You don’t have to tell me now. Take your time and think it over.”
“…Understood.”
Even that much was enough. Gyu-hyeon would probably come looking for me later. He had no desire to lose his place beside Han-gyeol.
And even if he brought something else instead of the truth, I could always coax it out of him another way. Maybe by offering something related to Han-gyeol—like childhood photos, or insider knowledge only someone close would know.
Even if not that, anything tied to Han-gyeol would be enough to make Gyu-hyeon hesitate. Once you figure out what someone values most, it becomes a lot easier to handle them.
“What’s going on? What are you talking about?”
“It’s nothing.”
“What do you mean, nothing? Why are you having secret conversations without me?”
Ji-han came back swinging a plastic bag, clearly having observed us from afar. I scooted back to make space and gave him the center seat.
With his mouth full of ice cream, Ji-han mumbled,
“Gyu-hyeon. You tell me. What did Sa-weol say?”
“She didn’t say anything…”
“I saw it. Sa-weol leaned in and said something to you.”
“She didn’t say anything…”
“If I tell Yu-geon you were getting flirty with Sa-weol—?”
“I wasn’t! Guide Gu Sa-weol—!”
“You think Yu-geon’s gonna let you off the hook if Sa-weol says you were the one getting flirty?”
Looking completely cornered, Gyu-hyeon looked like he was about to cry. His big, pleading eyes practically begged for help.
I felt a little bad for him, getting pushed around from every direction—but I had no desire to rescue him. If he tried to explain, he’d have to bring up the culprit again.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
He kept repeating the same phrase in response to Ji-han’s teasing scolding. I was about to tell Ji-han to cut it out, thinking we were pushing him too far, when a beep sounded from my watch, grabbing everyone’s attention.
[C11 Zone F-rank Gate cleared. Request for confirmation of available Espers to support C-rank Gate in B8 Zone.]
“Looks like Han-gyeol finished his gate?”
Everyone must’ve received the same message, because Ji-han spoke up. The F-rank gate in C11 Zone was the second gate Han-gyeol had entered.
The newly requested C-rank gate was a time-attack gate—one of the most time-consuming types. In a time-attack gate, smaller sub-gates periodically open inside the main gate, spawning waves of lesser Creatures. Only after clearing all of them does the boss Creature appear, and defeating it ends the gate.
It didn’t take long for the names of Espers accepting the support request to start appearing one by one.
[AES Baek Han-gyeol (en route)
AEB Park Han-na (en route)
AEA Hyun Hyun-jae (en route)
AEC Park Seo-na (en route)
…
…]
Han-gyeol’s name was listed right at the top. And every single Alpha Team Esper was listed below him—without exception.
“Wow. He’s insane. What, is he planning to clear every gate in Korea on his own? There are other team Espers too, you know. I bet he’s the one who insisted Alpha Team all go in again.”
Ji-han commented in a mix of awe and disbelief. Hearing that, Gyu-hyeon immediately retorted—
“He’s not excessive. He’s incredible. With so many gates opening, he probably went for the boss as quickly as possible. There’s extra pay for gates too, so it’s not a bad deal for the team.”
“At this rate, I can’t even joke around in front of you. I meant it as a compliment too. But doing three gate runs? No matter the pay, that’s exhausting. I’m sure some Espers didn’t want to go.”
“Maybe, but… I’m sure he said anyone too tired could sit out.”
“Yeah, but it’s not that easy to skip when your superior is going in.”
“Esper Kang Ji-han, you’re being too pessimistic. The reason Alpha Team has such strong cohesion is because everyone trusts and follows Captain Han-gyeol.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m the bad guy as always.”
Both Ji-han and Gyu-hyeon made valid points. I opened Han-gyeol’s status window on my watch and checked his wave level.
[32%]
Not a bad number considering he’d gone into back-to-back gates. But even if his resonance was fine, his body had to be exhausted.
Anyway, the Time Attack gate in Zone B had cleared its last sub-gate three hours ago. That meant a new one would appear soon.
At this rate, they’d arrive just before the next fight started. I checked the wave levels of the other Alpha Team members and sent Han-gyeol a message.
I told him it’d be better for the Alpha Espers to join in after the next wave began, and that sub-gates appeared every three hours—so they should eat, get some field guiding, and rest in the meantime.
As Ji-han said, Alpha Team wasn’t the only unit in the Center.
「AES Baek Han-gyeol: Got it.」
Han-gyeol accepted the suggestion without argument.
「AES Baek Han-gyeol: Did you eat yet?」
He even had enough leeway to check in on me.
「AGS Gu Sa-weol: Yes. It was busier in the morning, but now that most other gates are handled, we haven’t had many injuries.」
「AES Baek Han-gyeol: That’s good. Everything else okay?」
「AGS Gu Sa-weol: Yes.」
「AES Baek Han-gyeol: (emoticon)」
Han-gyeol sent a thumbs-up emoticon of a fluffy white Maltese. It didn’t match his image at all.
He started using these kinds of emoticons because of me. When I first joined Alpha Team and he was hopping between gates like this, I constantly checked his wave level out of worry.
When it dropped near the berserk threshold, I got so anxious that I messaged him repeatedly, even though I knew he was busy. Most of the time he replied curtly or late—or didn’t reply at all.
Each time, I had to endure that dread, wondering if he was okay. So I told him, if it’s hard to text, just send an emoticon. I even gifted him a few.
To contrast his normally stern image, I chose something harmless-looking—a puppy.
Even now, though he wasn’t in the middle of a fight, a series of cute emoticons filled the chat window.
“All of Alpha Team’s Espers got put on hold. Sa-weol, was that you?”
“Huh?”
“Who’re you texting with that you’re smiling like that? It’s Han-gyeol, right?”
Ji-han glanced sideways at me and asked.
“Ah, yes. They’re taking a break after this wave and will join in for the next sub-gate.”
“Yeah, they need a breather.”
While I was sending a message telling him not to spam the chat, I felt a persistent stare. Gyu-hyeon was staring intently at my face.
“Esper Seong Gyu-hyeon, looks like you’ve made up your mind about what I mentioned earlier?”
“Sorry?”
“You’re looking at me like you have something to say.”
“Ah, no. Nothing.”
Even while I kept my eyes on my phone, I spoke as if I knew he was watching me. Gyu-hyeon quickly backed off. Maybe he thought I was reporting today’s events about him.
Well, if that made him nervous, all the better—I’d get my answer sooner.
“But Yu-geon’s gate is taking a while.”
He’d gone in early this morning and still wasn’t done. Progress was at 97%. Almost done.
Did something happen?
If there’d been a problem, we’d have gotten an alert, but just in case, I checked Yu-geon’s wave level.
Maybe because he’d fallen asleep hugging me last night, but despite using his ability all day, he was in a stable phase—43%.
If he returned at this rate, he wouldn’t even need guiding.
This gate must’ve been easier than expected.
I considered sending him a message, but decided not to. He might be in the middle of a fight—it’d be annoying, and if he got hurt while checking a message, that’d be bad.
If Han-gyeol got distracted mid-combat, I trusted he’d still handle it. But not Yu-geon. I didn’t know exactly how he fought, but sometimes he gave the impression of a kid left near water.
I gazed at the spiral-twisting graph of his biorhythm. Red and blue lines intertwined to form a geometric pattern.
The tangled lines reminded me of the blood vessels that spread from Yu-geon’s heart last night. Watching the lines move in a living, rhythmic pattern made me feel calm.
It was like pressing my ear against his heart.
Lost in thought, staring blankly, a sudden spike disrupted the lines like an electric spark.
What’s that?
Ding.
As I sensed something strange, a crisp alert chime rang—just like the one when Han-gyeol cleared a gate. Ji-han blinked, puzzled.
“Huh? The C-rank gate’s already done?”
We all checked our watches.
[※EMERGENCY GUIDING REQUEST※
AES Baek Yu-geon – 1st Stage Berserk Detected.
The following guides are requested for immediate support on site.]
