PARADOX 43

“Team Leader, didn’t you get a message?”

Seong Semin spoke while pointing at the cell phone lying on the table.

Only then did Gu Jeyi check his phone. He had set it to silent because of the meeting regarding the Miudong Gate and had forgotten about it.

‘Yeo Hanseo?’

Upon checking, he saw it was a call from two hours ago—around 6:00 AM.

What reason would he have to call me this early?

The moment he was about to call back instinctively, Woo Taegyu entered the room with a grave expression.

“Team Leader, the analysis results for the Miudong Gate are out, and it is still being judged as C-class.”

“Does that even make sense? Even if Park Jintae was missing, Team 3 averages B-class. Their leader is A-class. And yet they were wiped out in a mere C-class?”

Seong Semin let out a scoff as if it were absurd and looked at Gu Jeyi.

“As I thought, let’s go chew them out. It’s obvious those bastards aren’t doing their jobs right because it’s not their own lives on the line.”

Leaving the fuming Seong Semin aside, Gu Jeyi fell into thought.

As Seong Semin said, it was illogical for Team 3 to be annihilated in a C-class Gate. That was why they had assumed the Gate’s grade had changed, but the analysis team released results stating the grade remained the same as the initial assessment.

Then how on earth was Team 3 wiped out? What exactly happened inside the Gate?

“However, the cause of death is a bit strange.”

“What is it?”

“According to the analysis of Team 3’s watch data, the presumed cause of death for all of them was energy overload—in other words, a rampage. It seems the Team Guide died after being caught up in the Espers’ rampages.”

“All the Espers in Team 3 rampaged?”

“That is how it appears on the data.”

Silence fell as soon as Woo Taegyu finished his answer.

The cause of death during a Gate raid was usually injuries caused by monsters or traps.

But a rampage.

A rampage was the thing an Esper feared most.

“I have a bad feeling about this. Team Leader, I don’t want to go in.”

Seong Semin, who valued his own life dearly, immediately backed out.

“If they rampaged even with a Guide present, it means there’s something lethal to Espers in there. We don’t even have a Team Guide; if we go in, we’re just dying for nothing.”

“I agree with Semin.”

“Eh?”

Seong Semin’s eyes widened and he let out a strange sound, surprised that Baek Haeryeong, who usually rebuked him, was taking his side. Without giving him a single glance, Baek Haeryeong continued calmly.

“Since it’s certain there is something dangerous in the Miudong Gate, it would be better to watch the situation a bit longer before entering.”

“Noona is right! Squeeze the analysis team and tell them to investigate more. Who knows what might turn up. It won’t be too late to go in after we find out a bit more!”

“No, it will be late.”

Gu Jeyi replied while examining the tablet he had received from Woo Taegyu.

“Since Team 3’s vital signs were cut off, the Gate’s energy wavelength has become rapidly unstable. The analysis team reports that there is only one week left until Gate saturation.”

“…”

Everyone present knew what that meant. If they couldn’t destroy the Gate’s core within a week, the raid would be a failure. They also knew the disaster that would follow.

“That’s…”

Baek Haeryeong bit her lip. Time was far too tight to weigh every single condition. However, it was also difficult to readily agree to enter a place where unknown dangers lurked.

Just then, a low voice was heard.

“The rest of you, don’t go in.”

“Alright! That’s how it should be!”

Unlike the cheering Seong Semin, the other two did not look happy. It was because they knew what Gu Jeyi’s words meant. Baek Haeryeong’s eyes grew sharp.

“The rest of us? Then what about you, Team Leader?”

“…”

“You’re not thinking of going in alone, are you?”

Gu Jeyi replied flatly, without any change in expression.

“I am going in.”

“Are you crazy?”

Baek Haeryeong immediately countered.

“If this were a normal Gate, I wouldn’t say another word. But whatever the mechanism of this Gate is, it’s causing Espers to rampage. Why is the person who knows best how dangerous a rampage is acting like this?”

“Because if I don’t, someone else will have to go in.”

A brief silence followed. Looking at Baek Haeryeong, who was fumbling for words as if stuck, Gu Jeyi continued in his usual tone.

“I’ve made the decision based on the highest probability of survival. As Esper Baek Haeryeong said, I have faced the risk of a rampage multiple times. Since I have the experience, I will be able to control it better than others.”

“Why do you always treat your own life like…!”

Baek Haeryeong pressed her hand to her forehead, suppressed her anger.

It wasn’t just a day or two that Gu Jeyi acted as if he had dozens of lives. When she first met Gu Jeyi, she had felt resentful, wondering if he acted that way because he trusted in a healer, but she soon realized that wasn’t the case.

People say Gu Jeyi is a brave man who does not fear death. In Baek Haeryeong’s eyes, that was true. Gu Jeyi does not fear death. But that isn’t being brave. It is being dangerous.

“I won’t let the Team Leader enter the Gate alone. If you’re going in, I’m going in too.”

“I will go with you as well!”

As soon as Baek Haeryeong finished speaking, Woo Taegyu also quickly chimed in. The youngest of the team was anxious to prove himself and wanted to take the risk of an adventure.

Seong Semin, sensing the atmosphere, began to lift his hips from his chair. However, Baek Haeryeong, sitting next to him, kicked him precisely behind the knee.

“Ack!”

“Seong Semin.”

“Ah, I really don’t want to go in. My gut feeling is bad.”

Despite his grumbling, Seong Semin eventually sat back down. Inwardly, he was also worried about Gu Jeyi.

He had contemplated moving to another team several times while on this team, but the reason he ultimately stayed was none other than that blunt guy. Of course, it was absolutely not because he liked Gu Jeyi.

Team 1, where Gu Jeyi was, was difficult because they took on all the dangerous work, but their survival rate was higher than other teams. Thanks to that, he made a lot of money and gained a reputation he hadn’t particularly wanted. Since Seong Semin needed a lot of money, he didn’t dislike Team 1, where he could earn the most.

Since he was born a combat-type Esper anyway, wasn’t it his fate to fight Gate monsters for the rest of his life? Rather than dying pointlessly under an incompetent leader, it was better to stick by Gu Jeyi’s side. Furthermore, if even Baek Haeryeong, who could bring someone back from the brink of death, was going in, he could set aside his anxiety to some extent.

Once the atmosphere had settled somewhat, Baek Haeryeong began to speak in earnest.

“Still, we can’t just go in by ourselves. We need a Team Guide for this Gate.”

There was currently no Team Guide in Team 1, but it hadn’t always been that way.

The problem was that no one had lasted more than a year.

Team 1’s Guides either got injured in a Gate, hit on team members, or were caught stealing—they either met with an accident or caused one themselves before leaving the team. For these reasons, it became an established theory at the Center that ‘Team 1 Guides can’t last a year.’

So since last year, Team 1 had been receiving guiding individually rather than having a Team Guide. It was a bit bothersome, but they hadn’t felt any particular problem. Until today.

“The information we have regarding the Miudong Gate is that every Esper who entered has rampaged, and we need a countermeasure for that. A skilled Guide who can provide guiding without delay when an Esper’s wavelength becomes unstable must go in with us.”

Baek Haeryeong looked at Gu Jeyi and continued.

“But an even more important condition is that the Guide must be able to guide ‘all’ team members.”

When Baek Haeryeong got to that point, Gu Jeyi realized what her next words would be.

“Absolutely not.”

“Do you even know what I’m going to say?”

Baek Haeryeong feigned ignorance at first, but eventually let out a sigh and admitted it under Gu Jeyi’s gaze.

“There might be many Guides, but there should be two at most, and one of them must be the Team Leader’s exclusive Guide.”

Seong Semin frowned, and Woo Taegyu also looked surprised.

However, they said nothing. Recalling the peculiarities of this Gate, they understood that a Guide was absolutely necessary.

Only Gu Jeyi argued calmly.

“Mister Yeo Hanseo has not received Gate response training. Taking someone who is no different from a civilian will only make him a burden.”

“No. Guide Yeo Hanseo will never be a burden. Even if he were blind or walked with a limp. As long as he is the only Guide who can guide you, Team Leader.”

Baek Haeryeong did not budge.

“And honestly, Team Leader, you’ve come to the same conclusion as I have, haven’t you?”

Baek Haeryeong was right.

He knew it in his head. However, he didn’t feel very inclined to do it. It was because he knew the tragedy that man had experienced in a Gate.

However, making a decision contrary to his own feelings was a familiar task for Gu Jeyi.

Just then, Gu Jeyi’s phone screen lit up again. Seeing the name that appeared on the screen, Baek Haeryeong’s eyes widened briefly before returning to their original size.

“Good timing.”

While Seong Semin muttered, Gu Jeyi picked up the phone.

“Yes, Mister Yeo Hanseo.”

Baek Haeryeong’s eyes, meeting his for a moment, were saying:

‘Even if he says no, try to persuade him.’

It seemed the Yeo Hanseo she had seen was not the type of person to volunteer to enter a Gate. Gu Jeyi thought the same. Considering Yeo Hanseo’s frail disposition, it was even more so.

—A Gate?

“Yes.”

If he says no… should I bring up the contents of the contract? That his feelings don’t matter. That according to the contract, he must provide guiding whenever I want. He didn’t like that kind of threat, but if he had to do it, he wouldn’t hesitate.

However, a threat was unnecessary.

Come to think of it, Yeo Hanseo occasionally acted outside of his expectations.

—Yes, I’ll do that.

Just like now.

❖ ❖ ❖

Could things really go this smoothly?

Hanseo was bewildered after hanging up the phone.

It felt as if the world were helping him.

No, in this case, would it be helping Gu Jeyi?

‘…Still, since I’ve come this far, I should do at least this much.’

Hanseo, who had been watching somewhere, picked up his phone and click, took a photo.