Chapter 15: What Happened Inside the Gate?

Oh, right.

That bastard said he’d tell me if I slept for just an hour, and I ended up sleeping for two.

I lifted my chin, indicating that I would stay and listen.

I didn’t want to continue the conversation with Tae Seung-jun, but he was the only one who would tell me the situation as it was.

If I asked Aran-noona, she would surely just say it was fine, just like Hyung.

Tae Seung-jun’s face showed he didn’t like my listening attitude, but he kept his promise.

The situation at the site, which Chul-soo Hyung would have said was no problem, was far more serious than I had worried.

“The incidence rate of Code Red Gates is increasing. In all sectors.”

“In all sectors?”

My feet moved towards Tae Seung-jun without me realizing it.

Code Red, the highest danger level, was occurring in all sectors.

“Sector 3 has never had a Code Red open before.”

“It hadn’t. Sectors 1 and 4 have them often, so we’re managing without much trouble for now, but the other sectors are the problem.”

Tae Seung-jun said he was swamped, responsible for the barriers of the Sector 3 Espers who had never faced a Code Red before.

It seemed that the Espers, who were not used to the attacks of top-tier monsters, needed much more assistance from Barrier Specialists.

While listening intently, I briefly observed Tae Seung-jun’s complexion.

Now that I looked, his face was quite worn out.

The dark circles under his eyes looked like they were about to descend to his cheeks.

“It wasn’t an unexpected situation. The Gate saturation state has been going on for a few months.”

“Does the danger level increase as the number of Gates increases?”

“Of course, it increases. Do you think we’re so bored that we’re putting all our effort into Gate elimination?”

Tae Seung-jun stopped his explanation and clicked his tongue, as if asking how I couldn’t even know that.

“You’ve become a complete civilian, cooped up at home.”

I wanted to yank out that tongue of his, but I held back because I needed to hear the rest.

It wasn’t like he was wrong, either.

Having nothing to say back, I kept my mouth shut tightly and frowned at the unsettling feeling.

“Don’t tell me you’re in a situation where you can’t eliminate the Gates?”

Tae Seung-jun’s eyebrow twitched at my just-in-case question.

“How did you know?”

“It’s strange that there are so many Gates that Code Reds are spreading to all sectors.”

It didn’t make sense that they couldn’t handle the increasing number of Gates when Attack Team 1, which had two S-rank or higher Espers, was right there.

Moreover, one of them was a telekinesis-type Esper with abilities optimized for Gate elimination.

“An order to prohibit Gate entry was issued ten days ago. The danger level in Sector 3 was raised to a higher level four days ago.”

I tilted my head as if I had heard something incomprehensible.

Prohibiting entry was the same as taking away the means to eliminate Gates.

For those not on the specialized elimination teams, like the Barrier division or lower-ranking Espers, internal entry was essential.

Unless the Gate’s core was attached to the outside, it could only be dealt with by going inside.

“Ten days ago…”

That was the day of Chul-soo Hyung’s Gate accident.

Tae Seung-jun continued speaking as he checked his watch, on which call alerts had started to ring.

“The Esper Director gave the order himself. After receiving the report on the Team Leader’s Gate accident.”

“…Why?”

Accidents always happened.

The field was a place full of unpredictable situations at every moment.

It wasn’t a new thing for an Esper who had entered a Gate to be injured.

“Why do you think?”

Tae Seung-jun, who had turned off the loudly ringing call alerts, annoyingly dragged it out again.

“How would I know? Just tell me.”

“What do you have a head for? Use it. It’s working, after all.”

“Ah, seriously!”

In a fit of anger, I kicked the wall and glared at the face I wanted to punch.

Not satisfied with just once, I kept kicking the wall, and Tae Seung-jun, his face twisted into a scowl, angrily asked if I wanted to break my ankle.

I kept kicking the wall, thump, thump, until I got an answer.

“Sunbae! We have to go!”

[TL note: Sunbae – Korean term for a senior or upperclassman in school, work, or a specific field.]

Esper Hwang Gyu-tae, who had come out of the room, having received the same call, called out to Tae Seung-jun.

I blocked Tae Seung-jun’s way and shouted.

“Tell me before you go!”

“I’m not telling you if you keep acting like this.”

Tae Seung-jun warned me, striking the wall I had been kicking with the heel of his combat boot.

He never considered that he was the one who had provoked me and always treated me like I was the one with the bad temper.

“…I won’t do it.”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

“I said I won’t do it!”

I deliberately yelled right into Tae Seung-jun’s ear as he leaned his head in.

Tae Seung-jun, who dug out his ear, predictably didn’t answer right away.

“You eat when the Team Leader eats, and promise to sleep for more than eight hours. Then I’ll tell you.”

He was using that as a condition?

Of course, I didn’t even have to think about it and immediately promised.

I could just say I ate and slept.

“I’ll check with the Team Leader myself.”

Tae Seung-jun, who saw through me with my confident expression, added a condition.

“If you break your promise, I’ll blurt out that you’re imprinted right then and there.”

“You said you wouldn’t tell him!”

“If you don’t keep your promise, I have no reason to keep mine either.”

Tae Seung-jun waved his hand, saying to forget it if I didn’t want to.

I let out a deep sigh and imagined punching that annoying face of his.

“Fine.”

Tae Seung-jun showed a satisfied expression at my answer, which came out with a heavy sigh.

“Ah, should I just hit him?”

I stood in the empty hallway, cooling down for over 10 minutes.

Once the lid was off, it took quite a while for it to close again.

“Tae Seung-jun, that f*cking bastard…”

In the end, he left without telling me.

He had capriciously said he would come back tomorrow to check if I kept my promise and then tell me.

Did he not know how infuriating it was for someone to stop talking mid-sentence?

“He knows, that’s why he does it. That son of a fcking btch.”

After cursing out Tae Seung-jun to my heart’s content, I leaned my forehead against the cool wall.

I calmly closed my eyes and mulled over the stories Tae Seung-jun had told me.

The thoughts piling up on the flat ground were all just questions.

Why was the Gate entry prohibition order issued after Hyung’s accident?

What connection did it have with Hyung’s accident?

It wasn’t the first time an Esper had been in an accident inside a collapsed Gate.

…But it was the first time Hyung got hurt.

At the sudden thought, my gaze, which had been on the floor, gradually moved up the wall.

Chul-soo Hyung was an outstanding Esper.

He had led a team at an early age, so he had plenty of field experience, and his sense of predicting danger was exceptional.

Above all, Hyung was a multi-ability user who used both Barrier and Teleportation.

The combination of the two was special.

‘The combination is very reliable. They’re the best abilities for survival. Because you can block an attack and run.’

Words I had heard from Hyung someday brushed past my mind.

Hyung had always emphasized that both the Barrier and Teleportation he used were abilities advantageous for survival.

So he told me not to worry about anything, reassuring me whenever I was about to forget.

“There’s no way he couldn’t have gotten out of the Gate…”

If it were Chul-soo Hyung, he would have definitely gotten out before the Gate collapsed.

No matter how much the passage was open and monsters were pouring out.

Hyung’s barrier was solid enough for everyone to acknowledge.

Even Tae Seung-jun, who was stingy with compliments, had always said that the Team Leader was a man who would be fine even if a horde of monsters attacked him.

Then what was it that held Hyung back inside the collapsing Gate?

After eliminating the core, why didn’t Hyung get out of the Gate?

Chul-soo Hyung, who could create a barrier that was impervious to monster attacks and could teleport, why on earth.

I was lost in thought, rubbing my wrinkled forehead.

I had been so worried about the injured Hyung that I hadn’t had the chance to question the accident.

‘Seo Yeong-u.’

At the sudden sound of Hyung calling for me, I lifted my head.

It wasn’t a sound he actually uttered, but one I sensed through his energy.

Because I was on high alert for my imprinted Hyung, I heard it much more clearly.

As if drawn by a magnet, I opened the hospital room door and my eyes met Hyung’s.

Hyung’s head was turned towards me, as if he had been looking at the door the whole time.

“Do you need something?”

I quickly approached Hyung and asked.

I thought he had thought of me because he needed something.

But Hyung averted his gaze and paid no attention to me.

He had clearly been looking for me earlier….

Thinking it might have been my imagination, I moved towards the sofa so as not to disturb Hyung’s meal.

“Aren’t you eating?”

Then, this time, Hyung spoke to me.

I was about to sit on the sofa but shot up and asked back, “Huh?”

“I asked if you’re not eating.”

Hyung pointed to the bedside table with the hand holding the chopsticks.

Even from a distance, it looked like there was a lot of food.

The table itself wasn’t big, so it was enough for Hyung to eat alone, but it seemed like there would be enough even if I stole some.

Remembering my promise with Tae Seung-jun, I was about to ask if I could eat with him but just licked my dry lips.

The thought of Hyung leaving all of my lunch box from just yesterday uneaten brought me to my senses.

“Eat comfortably. I don’t usually eat breakfast.”

Hyung felt so uncomfortable with me that he had stopped eating.

There was no way I would become comfortable in just one day.

I had almost forgotten, just because he let me sleep in the same bed.

“I’ll be back in an hour. No, is it okay if I come back?”

Thinking I would make him more conscious of me if I just sat on the sofa, I was about to leave the room for a moment.

As I headed towards the door instead of the bed and asked, Hyung, instead of answering, put down his chopsticks with a clatter.

“He said to eat together.”

I knew it. Esper Hwang Gyu-tae had said something unnecessary.

It seemed he had urged me to eat with him while setting out the packaged food.

“It’s okay. I’m full.”

“What did you eat to be full?”

“Ah, that… I ate too much for dinner yesterday.”

I vaguely rubbed my stomach and pretended to have indigestion.

I thought Hyung would eat comfortably with this, and was about to turn back.

“I don’t want to eat alone.”

…If that’s the case.