Chapter 85: Please Come Get Me

He had so much he wanted to say, but the moment he heard Tae-woo’s voice, So-won’s mind went completely blank.

He hesitated for a moment, delaying his reply, before finally opening his mouth.

“Tae-woo, I’m okay.

I’m doing fine.”

That was what So-won said first.

Knowing that Tae-woo must be deeply worried after learning he’d been abducted, he wanted to reassure him somehow.

–Are you hurt anywhere?

“I twisted my ankle, but… it’s just a light sprain.

It’ll heal quickly.”

And yet, he didn’t understand why tears kept threatening to spill.

He didn’t know why his eyes were slowly filling with tears.

He needed to show that he was okay.

He needed to ease Tae-woo’s worries, even if just a little.

But the instant he heard Tae-woo’s voice, tears welled up uncontrollably in his impatient eyes.

The tears kept gathering.

So-won bit down hard on his lip, trying to hold back his sobs, but the swelling sound of his breathing couldn’t be hidden.

And there was no way Tae-woo would miss such a sound.

–…Lee So-won.

Realizing that So-won was crying, Tae-woo quietly called his name.

His low voice, gently calling out to him, was filled with concern.

The moment So-won realized that, tears poured freely from his eyes.

“…I’m actually not okay.

I miss you so much, Tae-woo….”

So-won murmured as if whispering.

Once he let his true feelings slip, all the emotions he’d been holding back burst out at once.

“I can’t sleep properly anymore.

I have nightmares every night…
There’s blood everywhere… and your body is so cold….”

–……

“I’m scared to open my eyes alone.

I’m afraid it won’t be a dream, but reality…
That I’ll be left alone again….”

Hearing So-won’s trembling voice, Tae-woo couldn’t say anything.

Even so, So-won kept talking.

“Tae-woo… I want to go home….

Could you please come get me?”

His emotions kept surging up.

He was supposed to say he was okay.

He wasn’t supposed to burden Tae-woo any further, knowing how worried he’d been this whole time.

But he couldn’t stop himself.

“Hngh… hic….”

Unable to hold back his sobs any longer, So-won cried like a child.

It had been hard the entire time.

Every moment without Tae-woo.

Every day he couldn’t see him had been unbearably painful.

He’d kept telling himself that he was okay,
that he’d return to Tae-woo soon and live as usual, as if nothing had happened.

But now, he didn’t want to endure it anymore.

And he couldn’t.

–I will….

From the other side of the call,

–I’ll come get you.

Tae-woo said.

–Where are you right now?

“I… I don’t really know either.

It was somewhere like a forest at first….”

So-won answered, forcing himself to swallow his tears.

Recalling Si-hyeok’s words about heading toward a Gate, he continued.

“Esper Choi Si-hyeok said he was taking me to a Gate—”

Si-hyeok, who had been staring out the window the entire time, suddenly turned around.

The moment So-won’s eyes met Si-hyeok’s hardened expression, the smartphone was snatched from his hand.

Bang.

The sound of the phone smashing against the floor echoed as it shattered.

“Ah… damn it.”

Si-hyeok muttered quietly as he looked down at the broken phone.

“That wasn’t something you were supposed to say.”

Then he frowned and looked at So-won.

“…Ugh.”

So-won clutched his forehead.

Suddenly, his head was spinning.

Was it because he’d cried too much, or because he’d been startled?

His stomach churned uncomfortably.

His vision blurred.

Even though Si-hyeok hadn’t done anything, So-won could barely keep himself upright.

Strength slowly drained from his body, and his eyelids grew heavy.

And since he no longer wanted to force himself to stay awake, So-won let his consciousness slip away.

Just before closing his eyes, So-won thought one last thing.

That he missed Tae-woo.

***

So-won regained consciousness some time later.

His room was empty.

The spot where Si-hyeok had been standing before he lost consciousness was vacant as well.

Quietly sitting up, So-won noticed his smartphone lying on the floor and picked it up.

“…Ah.”

The screen was riddled with cracks.

With a sliver of hope, he pressed the power button, but no matter how long he waited, the screen remained black.

At this rate… he wouldn’t be able to contact Tae-woo.

With a darkened expression, So-won set the phone down on the bed.

After crying so hard during the call with Tae-woo, his throat was dry.

Leaving the room to get some water, So-won slowly went downstairs.

As he looked around the house on his way to the kitchen, Si-hyeok was nowhere to be found.

Scanning the living room, So-won suddenly froze when he noticed a shadow standing outside the window.

Someone was peering into the house.

Instinctively realizing it wasn’t Si-hyeok, So-won rushed toward the window and shouted,

“Help me!”

And as he flung the curtain open, he met the gaze of a massive eyeball.

So-won unknowingly held his breath.

It was a monster.

“……”

The eyeball, floating eerily in midair, stared straight at So-won without shifting its gaze.

So-won froze in place, unable to move.

The blood in his entire body ran cold.

He felt like he’d be killed instantly if he moved even a little.

Pop.

How long had it been like that?

The eyeball monster outside the window burst like a balloon.

Sticky green blood splattered against the glass and slid down in thick streaks.

Cold sweat trickled down So-won’s back.

“I thought I’d cleared most of them out around here, but I guess there were still some left.”

A hand reached out from behind him and drew the curtain shut again.

Only then did So-won release the breath he’d been holding and collapse weakly to the floor.

At the same time, Si-hyeok’s words from before he’d lost consciousness resurfaced in his mind.

“I… really am inside a Gate….”

So-won murmured in disbelief.

He couldn’t forget the scene he’d glimpsed beyond the monster.

Everything had been surrounded by blood-red rock, and strange black particles floated in the air.

Hard as it was to believe, So-won truly was inside a Gate.

Having faced a monster with only a thin pane of glass between them, So-won felt all the strength drain from his body.

He couldn’t move at all.

He’d seen pictures of monsters online or in the news before, but this was the first time he’d seen one in person.

And at such close range.

His mind was still in chaos, unable to accept reality.

His body, which hadn’t calmed down yet, trembled violently.

When he turned his head back, he saw Si-hyeok standing there calmly—completely unlike So-won, who was trembling in fear.

Pointing at the window with shaking fingers, So-won stammered,

“Th-that thing just now….”

“I know you were startled, but could you give me guiding first, if possible?

If I go much longer without it, I really think I’m going to lose my mind.”

Si-hyeok spoke with a smile, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

Si-hyeok lifted So-won effortlessly.

He placed him down on the sofa and then wrapped his arms around him from behind.

The moment an unpleasant vibration crept into his body, So-won, who had been dazed, snapped back to awareness.

“No—!”

Instinctively trying to push Si-hyeok away, So-won froze.

The image of the monster he’d just seen flashed through his mind.

If he refused to guide Si-hyeok and Si-hyeok left the house…then if another monster appeared, So-won might really die this time.

Recalling the conversation he’d shared with Tae-woo, So-won shut his mouth.

Tae-woo had said he would come find him.

That meant he was probably searching for him outside even now.

And perhaps… he’d already figured out where So-won was and was on his way here.

If that was the case, then So-won had a new goal.

To endure safely until Tae-woo arrived.

Because he believed Tae-woo would come for him soon, So-won was able to endure it.

This place was inside a Gate.

Since escaping would be no different from suicide, all So-won could do was trust Tae-woo and wait.

***

Bang.

The call disconnected abruptly.

Tae-woo stared down at the ended call screen for a moment before releasing the Esper whose collar he’d been gripping.

“Ugh….”

With a dull thud, the Esper collapsed helplessly onto the ground.

“……”

Tae-woo quietly surveyed the ruined surroundings.

It seemed he’d lost his rationality for a brief moment after Si-hyeok disappeared.

The Esper Association building, which had already been half-collapsed, was now completely destroyed.

The surrounding roads were in ruins as well.

The Espers who’d come to subdue him were scattered everywhere, unconscious.

The air was thick with the smell of blood.

Tae-woo clenched his fist tightly.

Even though the call had ended, So-won’s tearful voice lingered in his ears.

He wanted nothing more than to hold So-won, who had cried so pitifully while calling for him, and comfort him.

But So-won wasn’t in his arms.

Rage boiled over.

The veins standing out on the back of Tae-woo’s hand twitched.

This was the first time in his life he’d wanted to kill someone so badly.

Spotting an Esper trembling in the corner, Tae-woo walked toward him.

As Tae-woo drew closer, the Esper crawled backward on the floor, trying to flee, but was quickly caught.

“P-please… spare me—”

“Esper Choi Si-hyeok has abducted Guide Lee So-won.

Report this to the Association and issue a manhunt for Esper Choi Si-hyeok.”

Frozen by Tae-woo’s icy voice, the Esper couldn’t even speak and nodded frantically instead.

Stepping over the debris of the ruined building, Tae-woo thought.

There were just over ten Gates currently open in Korea.

Some were for research, while the rest were either being cleared or hadn’t been challenged yet.

He had no way of knowing which one So-won was in.

Then there was only one answer.

He would enter all of them.

Leaving the place where the Association had once stood, Tae-woo headed toward the nearest of the currently open Gates.

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