PARADOX 24

Inside the car heading toward their new home.

‘I’m seriously exhausted…’

Hanseo repeatedly nodded off, only to snap awake a second later.

When he had searched earlier, he found out that wedding preparations usually required a schedule of at least six months to a year. Having crammed all of that into just one month, it was only natural to be this drained.

‘It always looked so instantaneous in dramas.’

Since the only weddings he had ever seen in his life were from the media, Hanseo had thought weddings were simply beautiful and romantic affairs.

To think they were actually completed with this much time, effort, and manual labor.

Furthermore, since it wasn’t a real marriage, they had omitted far more procedures than they included. Things like the formal meeting between families or the exchange of wedding gifts were all cut out; only the bare essentials remained to keep up appearances.

Because Gu Jeyi had handled all the complex and difficult parts, Hanseo simply came when told to come and went when told to go. Even so, now that the ceremony was over, he was at a point where he couldn’t control his fatigue.

‘At least it’s a relief that this body is younger than in my past life.’

Otherwise, he would have fainted on the spot. He also benefited from the exercises the research institute forced him to do to build basic physical strength.

“…”

Hanseo stole a glance at Gu Jeyi. He was sitting with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. It was hard to tell if he was actually asleep or not. However, Hanseo already knew that the man possessed senses so sharp he could feel a gaze even while sleeping.

Hanseo quickly looked away and closed his eyes. He had been incredibly sleepy just a moment ago, but for some reason, sleep wouldn’t come anymore. Even so, he still felt as if he were dreaming.

To think that he and Gu Jeyi had become a married couple…

‘Of course, it’s not real.’

Hanseo added that thought like a splash of cold water, pulling together his mind which had gone soft with fatigue.

Right, this marriage wasn’t real.

True to the words Gu Jeyi had firmly established, this was strictly a transaction. Gu Jeyi would protect Yeo Hanseo, and Yeo Hanseo would provide Guiding to Gu Jeyi.

And as is usually the case with transactions, it would be terminated once one party was no longer needed.

Just as it was written in the pledge they had signed before stamping the marriage documents.

This contract is entered into by mutual agreement between Yeo Hanseo (hereinafter referred to as ‘Party A’) and Gu Jeyi (hereinafter referred to as ‘Party B’), and both parties pledge to faithfully observe the following matters during the contract period.

Article 1. Party A and Party B shall not have physical contact without mutual consent. In the event of unavoidable Guiding, contact must be notified in advance, and contact for purposes other than Guiding is strictly prohibited.

Article 2. They shall reside at the same address, but shall not infringe upon each other’s private spaces.

⋮

Article 10. If either party to the contract so desires, the other party shall agree to a divorce (termination of contract) upon consultation, even without a specific reason. Upon termination of the contract, the cohabitation and marital relationship shall end immediately.

Gu Jeyi had explained the contents of the pledge without a hint of annoyance until Hanseo fully understood them. Thanks to that, Hanseo was in a state of having completely mastered the details.

Everything else was fine, but Article 10 was the problem.

The statement that the contract could be terminated if either party desired it seemed fair at a glance, but in reality, it wasn’t. As long as he couldn’t prevent Gu Jeyi’s death, Hanseo would never be the one to bring up divorce first.

But what about Gu Jeyi? Hanseo knew that the situation where Gu Jeyi would no longer feel the need for a Guide would arrive sooner than expected.

‘Because the Guiding medicine from Bareunmun Pharmaceuticals will start selling soon.’

Usually, it takes several years from drug development to commercialization, but Bareunmun Pharmaceuticals had everything passed unusually fast. For that reason, by next year, anyone would be able to obtain Guiding medicine easily.

Without anyone knowing that it was actually a poison rather than a medicine.

No, not anyone anymore. At least one person knew the truth about the Guiding medicine.

“…”

Hanseo rubbed the space between his eyebrows. Gu Jeyi must be waiting for that medicine. He likely planned to divorce immediately if the medicine proved effective. It was obvious, without even looking, that Article 10 had been included with that situation in mind.

‘I can’t let that happen. I’m definitely going to be the one to bring up divorce first.’

He had already thought of a way to prevent Gu Jeyi from taking the Guiding medicine. The best way was to stop the medicine from ever coming out into the world in the first place. But since there was a high possibility that wouldn’t be realistically feasible, he had thought of other methods as well.

If everything went according to plan, Hanseo would soon be able to divorce Gu Jeyi and leave. Of course, he would have to deal with the Heuk-yeong-dong Gate to continue using Yeo Hanseo’s identity, but there was still a lot of time left for that.

Good, there are no problems with the plan. …As long as Gu Jeyi doesn’t fall for some woman and ask for a divorce first, that is.

Hanseo knit his brows. Visualizing Gu Jeyi standing together with a woman caused a sharp sting in one side of his chest—an inexplicable feeling of discomfort.

No, was it anxiety? Certainly, if Gu Jeyi found a lover, all his plans might go down the drain, so it was only natural to feel anxious. But there was no need to be anxious over something that hadn’t happened yet. Come to think of it, hasn’t everything been going more smoothly than expected?

‘This is all thanks to Park Jin-tae.’

Thanks to Park Jin-tae making that scene, Gu Jeyi made his decision much faster than expected.

For the record, he heard that Park Jin-tae returned to the Center just a few days after the incident. He was investigated for trespassing into a private residence but was released shortly after.

This was news passed on by the instructor, who had realized that Hanseo’s break from training wasn’t because he was sick, but because of Park Jin-tae.

The instructor had added:

‘But Park Jin-tae’s complexion didn’t look good. Unlike his usual slick self, he was strangely subdued, should I say? There was a rumor that Park Jin-tae was carried into the Center’s affiliated hospital a few days ago, and I wondered if it was true. Haha, surely Guide Yeo Hanseo wasn’t the one who did that, right?’

‘…’

‘Uh?’

Because he had wanted to do exactly that a hundred times over in his heart, he had lapsed into silence for a moment. Fortunately, the instructor was only making a joke, so the conversation ended reasonably.

Even if he had killed Park Jin-tae a thousand times in his mind, the truth was that he hadn’t actually done anything. He had kicked his head, but with his strength, it would have been no more than the impact of a puppy’s bite to an A-class Esper.

If Park Jin-tae really had been carried into the hospital, it must have been someone else’s doing.

“…”

He hid the gaze that was about to shift toward the man sitting next to him beneath his eyelids.

‘There’s no way.’

Gu Jeyi did not lay hands on anyone other than monsters. He tended not to use excessive force even on criminals, let alone civilians.

Of course, there were exceptions for certain villains.

His stomach suddenly felt like it was aching.

Hanseo glanced forward. The middle-aged driver was driving quietly, his presence almost faint. Even though he must have seen Gu Jeyi acting coldly toward his newlywed partner—telling him he had no intention of playing house with a man—he didn’t seem to find it strange, suggesting he was someone who knew the circumstances.

Right now, they were heading toward the house Gu Jeyi had lent Hanseo back when he was disguised as Kim Youngsu. Gu Jeyi had revealed that the house was actually in his name and explained that he and Kim Youngsu were acquaintances. After saying it was better than where he currently resided, that house became their new marital home.

He didn’t know how far they had come, but since it wasn’t very far from the wedding hall, they would arrive soon.

‘…Then, shall I take a quick look?’

Hanseo turned on his phone, which he had turned off before entering the hall.

And then he savored the aftershocks that Gu Jeyi’s sudden marriage had caused on the internet.

People’s reactions were diverse.

Some were shocked by the sudden news of Gu Jeyi’s marriage.

Some congratulated him, calling it a joyous occasion.

Some were marvelling at the guest list for the wedding.

Some praised Gu Jeyi’s choice to give up his honeymoon to choose the protection of the country…

‘Right, we decided not to go on a honeymoon.’

On the surface, it was packaged as Gu Jeyi’s sense of duty toward national defense, but in reality, it was because they weren’t in a relationship where they would go on a trip together.

‘But if this weren’t a fake, and he had married someone he truly loved, it would have been differ—’

Beep.

A familiar sound cut off his useless thoughts.

Hanseo turned his head.

Gu Jeyi, who had opened his eyes at some point, was checking the watch on his wrist.

“Yeo Hanseo-ssi.”

‘No way.’

“I believe I have to go now.”

“…”

“Thank you for your hard work today. I’ll see you next time.”

After delivering a dry farewell, Gu Jeyi opened the door of the moving car.

“Wait—!”

Hanseo hurriedly reached out his hand, but the other person had already vanished in an instant.

Click—

In the midst of that, Gu Jeyi didn’t forget to meticulously close the car door using telekinesis.

“…”

“Haha, he does that sometimes.”

The middle-aged driver, who had checked the flabbergasted Hanseo through the rearview mirror, spoke while driving nonchalantly. As if Gu Jeyi jumping out of a moving car wasn’t a once-or-twice occurrence.

Hanseo’s gaze cooled.

‘I take back what I said about it being different if it were a person he loved.’

Even if Gu Jeyi had married a lover, he wouldn’t have gone on a honeymoon citing national defense as the reason.

Even if he did go, Gu Jeyi was the kind of human who would mobilize without looking back the moment a Gate alarm sounded!