It was a typical cave-type gate. The moment we stepped inside, B-rank monsters appeared. There were ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) a lot of them, but Park Geonwoo had no trouble handling them alone.

“I’ll guide you.”

“Thanks.”

Each time Park Geonwoo finished off the monsters, I provided guiding, and then we moved on to the next chamber.

“I’m really glad I came in with you, Yeonsu. Your guiding always feels good.”

The deeper we went into the gate, the more the number of monsters increased drastically. Even for an S-rank like Park Geonwoo, it was getting difficult to handle them all alone, and his mana was rapidly depleting.

At first, I was relieved that I’d come along. But as time went on, I started to rethink it.

“I think I’m just getting in your way.”

Early on, my guiding was a net gain. But once the monster count passed a certain threshold, even Park Geonwoo began to struggle. And having to protect me on top of that meant he was burning through his mana even faster.

“No, if you hadn’t been guiding me, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“The monsters just keep getting more numerous. And that ‘Ash-Patterned Bear’ that came out earlier—it was A-rank, right? This feels off. Shouldn’t we wait for backup?”

“If this is a gate break, then the monsters are probably clustering near the entrance. Plus, once we get closer to the boss chamber, monsters stronger than the gate rating might show up. That means all the hard stuff is behind us now. The boss room is right ahead. We can’t afford to lose time here.”

He wasn’t wrong. But if the boss was all that remained, then couldn’t we afford to slow down a bit? 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Thanks to how quickly we’d cleared the place, we still had time to spare. And with all the monsters already wiped out, the support unit should arrive soon.

So resting and waiting seemed like the smarter move.

“Let’s go.”

“...Okay.”

Still, I didn’t have much real-world gate experience, so I deferred to Park Geonwoo’s judgment.

And besides, it was hard to argue when an S-rank Esper spoke with such confidence.

“This gate has a really high ceiling.”

“Yeah, it does.”

Even though it was a micro-gate and the boss room wasn’t far, the ceiling was oddly high. It had to be at least thirty meters up.

At first, I thought it might be a gate with flying-type monsters. But we kept encountering only terrestrial monsters—wolves, bears—so the towering ceiling only made me more uneasy.

“There aren’t any flying monsters. That’s weird. Do you think the boss might be a flying type?”

“Gate terrain and monster types don’t always correspond. Judging by the monsters we’ve faced so far, the odds are low.”

“I see.”

As he said, the path to the boss chamber was smooth. Most of the monsters must have gathered near the entrance in anticipation of a break.

Was this what experience meant? You couldn’t learn things like this just by reading books.

“The entrance ceremony is next week, right?”

“Yeah.”

Park Geonwoo would become a student at the Ability Academy next week.

“...Are you really going to enroll?”

At my question, Park Geonwoo gave a baffled chuckle.

“Of course. Every Korean ability user is supposed to go to the Academy.”

“...Right.”

Of course he was right. But in the original story, Park Geonwoo had said there was nothing to learn at the Academy and volunteered for deployment to Africa—an assignment everyone avoided. So I’d assumed he’d do the same this time.

“You’ll be enrolling next year too, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’ll be fun if we go together.”

His words caught me off guard. On Valentine’s Day and before, I’d thought he was subtly avoiding me... Or was he just being polite?

“Yes. I think so too.”

And then silence fell.

Was my answer too short?

But we weren’t the type to chatter casually. Park Geonwoo was kind to everyone, but he always kept a certain distance from me—and I was aware of it.

An awkward tension wrapped around us. After a long silence, it was Park Geonwoo who spoke first.

“Hey, Yeonsu... about Valentine’s Day...”

“Yes?”

His voice was unusually cautious. Was he about to apologize for what happened back then?

“Why did you leave first?”

“...Huh? What do you mean?”

I blinked in confusion, and Park Geonwoo looked just as startled.

“Did you forget I asked you to wait for me?”

“But I did wait... Didn’t you leave first?”

“What?”

We stared at each other. Was there some kind of misunderstanding?

“Hyung...”

I was about to ask more about what happened that day, when suddenly he pulled me into his arms.

Boom!

Right then, a massive ball of fire came crashing down behind me.

Startled, I looked up.

“A... Black Wyvern...”

It was an S-rank monster—Black Wyvern.

Why was there an S-rank monster here? Even if monsters stronger than the gate’s rating could sometimes appear, this was a B-rank gate. An S-rank monster had no business showing up.

S-rank monsters only spawned in S-rank gates.

Which meant... this was an S-rank gate. A misclassified one.

Park Geonwoo must’ve realized it too. His face had gone deathly pale.

“We have to get out of here! We need to report this and call for backup right away!”

The wyvern wasn’t the only problem. If this was truly an S-rank gate, then the boss monster would also be S-rank. Park Geonwoo couldn’t handle it alone.

We had to alert the authorities immediately and mobilize every available Esper. If we failed, an S-rank gate break could erupt right in the middle of Seoul.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

Park Geonwoo reached out his hand. I grabbed it, ready to run with him—but suddenly, my body lifted into the air.

“Wha...?”

“Yeonsu!”

I was rising higher and higher, Park Geonwoo’s figure shrinking below. He screamed, but the distance between us kept widening.

The Black Wyvern had snatched me up. It took me a second too long to realize it.

“....”

The terror of death clenched around me like a vise. I was too afraid even to scream.

I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking with panic and fear.

Then came an eerie, piercing screech—“Kkiiiyagh!”—and the wyvern hurled me away like trash.

I plummeted straight down.

I’m going to die.

That was my final thought before everything went black.

***

When I next opened my eyes, I was in a VIP room at the National Ability User Hospital.

“Yeonsu!”

“Mom...”

“Guide Lee Yeonsu, you’re awake!”

“Director, he’s regained consciousness!”

The room burst into chaos the moment I sat up.

Still dazed and disoriented, I tried to understand what was going on. The center staff began explaining the situation. The new Center Director raised his voice in particular.

“Esper Park Geonwoo risked his life to fight the Black Wyvern to save you!”

He caught me mid-fall and defeated the Black Wyvern. He sustained serious injuries in the process, but thanks to the arrival of the Gimpo Gate team, the worst was averted.

The boss of the gate was a monster called Horaitron. True to its reputation as an S-rank boss, it had immense power and a commanding presence.

“It could’ve been a disaster. If not for Esper Joo Seunghyuk, the gate would have breached...”

As Team Leader Seo explained, the Center Director suddenly snapped.

“Team Leader Seo, that’s quite an exaggeration! What, did Sungan pay you off?”

“N-no, sir! I’m just reporting the facts—”

“Esper Park Geonwoo cleared out all the monsters ahead of time! If he hadn’t been injured saving Guide Lee Yeonsu, he would’ve been the one to bring down that Horaitron or whatever it was!”

Clearly, the new director wasn’t fond of corporate guilds. But from the details he gave, it seemed like Joo Seunghyuk—part of Sungan—had been with the Gimpo Gate team and had taken down the S-rank boss.

If the strongest man in the story hadn’t shown up in time... I didn’t even want to imagine what could’ve happened.

“In any case, the important thing is that Esper Park Geonwoo risked his life to save Guide Lee Yeonsu. If you don’t imprint with someone like that, it’d be a betrayal of loyalty, don’t you think? Isn’t that right, Guide Yeonsu?”

Was this man here to visit me... or to pressure me into imprinting with Park Geonwoo?

***

Once visiting hours ended, my family and the Center staff left the room.

Silence fell over the ward. Only then did it really hit me—I’m alive. And finally, I can rest.

But when I took a deep breath, a sharp, searing pain exploded in my chest. I hadn’t realized in the moment, but the wyvern’s claws had pierced my flesh. They said I’d nearly been disemboweled.

I’d been told to be careful while recovering—but this was... unbearable.

As I twisted in pain, another wave of agony surged through me. I couldn’t even scream—just let out a ragged breath. Then the door opened.

I assumed it was a doctor or nurse, since visiting hours were over.

“Um... could I get... a painkiller...”

“Yeonsu, are you in pain?”

Someone rushed toward me. I slowly turned my head—and saw Park Geonwoo, his arm in a cast.

“Hyung...”

“Yeah, Yeonsu.”

“Are you badly hurt?”

“...”

“I’m sorry.”

“...Why are you apologizing?”

“The director told me. You got hurt trying to save me.”

Even as he was leaving, the director had kept urging me to imprint with Park Geonwoo.

Geonwoo was guaranteed a place in the Center, so this was their chance to lock me in as his bonded Guide. That would count as a political win for the new director.

But all that aside, the fact remained: Park Geonwoo had risked everything because of me.

If the ability users from the Gimpo Gate hadn’t returned in time... we all would’ve died.

Park Geonwoo didn’t say anything. He wasn’t even looking at me.

He stayed silent for a long time, lost in thought, before finally speaking.

“...I’m okay.”

“But your arm—”

“...It’s almost healed.”

The long silences between his words made me anxious. Was he really okay? Or just pretending so I wouldn’t worry?

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just focus on recovering. You’ll need more potions or a proper painkiller. I’ll call the doctor.”

With that, Park Geonwoo stepped out of the room.

That was the last time I saw him.

A few days later, I saw the news from my hospital bed: Park Geonwoo had chosen to forgo admission to the Ability Academy—he’d left for Africa.