No matter how small a Linked Gate might be, that didn’t mean there were fewer monsters. In fact, the enemies seemed even more concentrated, packed tightly together and harder to face.

But Seunghyuk cut them down so easily, my worries felt ridiculous in hindsight.

Was this really not an E-rank dungeon?

Judging by the monster types and mana levels, it was definitely A-rank or higher. But with Seunghyuk handling them, it felt no harder than E-rank. Was Gate raiding always this easy...?

“There. That’s the boss room.”

In the blink of an eye, we had arrived. I could feel an ominous mana from where Seunghyuk pointed.

So it really is an S-rank Gate...

I'd started to doubt it, since he'd handled everything so effortlessly. But now, standing before the boss room, I could tell for sure.

“Wait here for a second.”

He made to walk straight in without a single bit of preparation. Alarmed, I grabbed his arm.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Don’t worry. You’ve probably had enough walking—just sit and rest for a bit.”

“Why are you worried about my legs right now?”

“Because that’s the most important thing.”

He gently massaged my legs. We hadn’t even walked that far—it was a small Gate—but his face was full of concern.

“This is an S-rank boss. You need to prepare at least a little. Let me guide you.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

Fine? What could possibly warrant worry, if not an S-rank boss?

But he just smiled softly and stepped into the boss room.

Moments later, a shrill, metallic screech echoed out—followed by the sound of massive wings flapping.

My body froze.

A flying-type boss?

Monsters each had different traits, and none of them were easy to deal with—but flying types were especially difficult.

Even Park Geonwoo had turned pale in front of a Black Wyvern.

And this wasn’t just any S-rank—it was a boss monster.

Even if Seunghyuk said he was fine, I should’ve guided him...

But it was too late now.

I gripped Horaitron’s pistol tightly. Maybe the S-rank artifact could help him.

I crept closer to the boss room—and then I saw it. A massive monster, shaped like a wyvern.

Was that the boss of this Gate?

It was even more monstrous than the Black Wyvern—colossal in scale, and the mana it radiated was terrifying. Just looking at it from a distance made my skin crawl.

And Seunghyuk—was standing on its back.

The boss flailed, trying to shake him off. But Seunghyuk didn’t so much as blink. Calmly, he drove his longsword into the monster’s neck and channeled his mana.

Black energy swirled out from the blade, spiraling around the wound. With a sound like splitting wood, the monster’s neck snapped cleanly.

Its hulking body crashed to the ground.

Seunghyuk stepped off the corpse with an almost leisurely motion.

The boss was down.

I stood there, frozen, watching him in awe—completely forgetting I was supposed to help.

Then, without warning, an image overlapped in my mind.

Seunghyuk, fighting a Black Wyvern.

What...?

There hadn’t been any Black Wyverns today. In fact, the only time I’d ever seen one was during the Horaitron Gate.

So why was the memory of Seunghyuk fighting a Black Wyvern so vivid?

“Hyung.”

“...Huh?”

Seunghyuk’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“I told you to wait back there. Why’d you come all the way in?”

“I... wanted to help you.”

Even as I said it, I realized how absurd it sounded.

Trying to help the strongest person in the story universe? Someone even Park Geonwoo couldn’t match?

“Thank you. But it’s already done.”

He didn’t scold me for interfering. He just smiled, bright and warm.

In his hand was a ring—nearly identical to the one I wore.

“That’s the artifact from this Gate?”

“Yeah. Another ring.”

Linked artifacts usually belonged to the same category but differed slightly. I’d expected maybe a bracelet or a necklace this time—but it turned out to be another ring.

“They look like couple rings, don’t they?”

“...Yeah.”

Aside from a subtle difference in the engraved pattern, they were practically identical.

Maybe the reason I’d seen Seunghyuk’s past... was because of this second ring. As the linked artifacts drew near, a new ability must’ve awakened.

At that moment, a pulse of power flowed through my ring again, and the world turned white.

This time, I saw Seunghyuk—fighting the Black Wyvern, even more clearly.

His eyes were cold, lethal. He hurled mana at the wyvern with terrifying precision. He slashed its wings, cut into its throat—merciless, relentless.

What was this scene...?

What was I watching?

“Hyung!”

Seunghyuk’s voice broke through the vision. The light faded, and I saw his face—filled with concern.

“Seunghyuk...”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. I was just... thinking. What about you? You’re not hurt?”

“I’m okay.”

He smiled again and transformed his sword back into a handkerchief. Wrapping the new ring inside it, he stored it away. The strange power I’d been sensing from my own ring vanished too.

So it was resonance between the two rings that triggered the visions of his past...

“The Gate’s exit is open. Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

I followed him into the boss room. A ripple in the far wall signaled the exit.

Together, we stepped through the shifting black veil.

And before us stretched an endless ocean.

“Where... are we?”

“The beach in front of the estate. Looks like the Gate exit was linked here.”

“I see...”

I’d only ever looked at it through the windows. Now, the sea spread out before me, vivid and real.

I knelt and dipped my hand into the crystal-clear water.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah. I do.”

I wanted to feel the wind. To hear the waves. To touch the sea.

But there was something more important than the wonder of touching ocean water.

“Wanna sit?”

“Sure.”

We sat side by side on the empty sand.

“Give me your hand.”

“Okay.”

I took his hand and checked his mana. Even for someone like Seunghyuk, fighting through an S-rank Gate nonstop had depleted a bit. Not much—just enough to notice. For any ordinary Esper, this would be the amount they lost in a single training sim.

“I’ll guide you.”

“Okay.”

He gazed at me and nodded.

“You’re doing it like this?”

“Yeah.”

“Wouldn’t lying down be more comfortable? If you don’t like getting sand on you, we could go back to the estate...”

“No. I want to see your face.”

His smile was gentle. Clear.

I’d seen his past. Judging from what the others said, he must have lived in that storage shed from age six to thirteen.

He’d endured brutal abuse for seven years. Not once did he smile.

Even when he received books—his eyes had lit up, but it wasn’t really a smile.

Even after returning to Korea, I’d never seen him smile.

But now, in front of me, he smiled all the time.

And that made his smile feel all the more precious.

“...Thank you. For not leaving.”

“I said I wouldn’t leave.”

It was a small lie. I didn’t want to ruin his smile by admitting I’d planned to escape.

“Still... thank you.”

He squeezed my hand. I said nothing and began guiding him.

As I let mana flow into him, Seunghyuk stared at my face the entire time. Embarrassed, I tried to turn away—but he cupped my cheeks and brought his lips to mine.

“I’m still guiding you—”

“It’s okay.”

He kissed me again.

And I let the guiding fade, accepting his kiss.

***

Even after the guiding ended, we remained seated on the beach, watching the waves crash and retreat.

“There are so many red flowers.”

From the estate windows, I hadn’t noticed. But standing here now, I saw that the island was dotted with bright red blossoms.

“They’re beautiful.”

“They are. But don’t touch them. They’re dangerous.”

“Dangerous? What kind of flower are they?”

“Red Lotus Flame (Jeokryunhwa).”

“Red Lotus Flame? But... I thought they only bloomed inside Gates.”

Normally, Red Lotus Flame wilted the moment it left a Gate. Back when the craze over it started, gathering them had been a massive ordeal. Even Joo Gyeongchan struggled with it.

“A Gate Break occurred on this island. Since then, Red Lotus Flame started blooming here.”

“I see...”

Living Red Lotus Flame affects surrounding mana and causes hallucinations. Accidents in Gates often happened because of them.

“So this is what you meant when you said the island was filled with landmines?”

“Yeah.”

To an ability user, they were basically mines. Even if I had escaped the estate, the Red Lotus Flame covering the island would’ve made it nearly impossible to flee.

“After the Gate Break, the island became basically uninhabited. No one to maintain it anymore, so the Red Lotus Flame spread fast. The old village site is a full field of them now.”

So it was an uninhabited island.

Escaping had never been an option from the start.

“Then... how did you get all those Korean snacks?”

“I bought them in advance.”

“You stocked all of them?”

“Not all. Just your favorites. And not just snacks—everything else too. I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.” 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

TL Note: Guys, from now on I’ll be using Red Lotus Flame instead of Jeokryunhwa.