The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 10

The ground was dry and cracked—there wasn’t even a trace of water.

That was exactly what had been bothering me.

The greatest hurdle in clearing a Gate was, in truth, the environment itself.

Take last year’s A-rank Gate, Lightning Cradle, for example. Lightning struck every three minutes on the dot.

The named monster there, the Giant Snail, hid inside a shell so absurdly hard it was grotesque.

Whenever espers rushed in and shattered the shell, lightning would crash down. While they dodged it, the creature would crawl out, repair its shell, and hide again—over and over.

On top of that, it absorbed electricity, so if it got struck by lightning a few times, it started firing off something like a laser cannon.

As if that weren’t enough, leech-like field monsters clung to exposed skin and sucked blood. It was disgusting and endlessly irritating.

They had to stack double and triple barriers, set up lightning rods, lure it with bait—every trick imaginable—just to barely clear it. And it took an entire week.

Of course, prioritizing safety was part of why it took so long.

That was how Gates worked. Their environments were deliberately shaped to favor the named monster.

Which meant this Gate—one that blatantly exposed the weaknesses of a plant-type monster—was unquestionably strange.

“Hm. Maybe it reproduced so much it sucked the place dry? You said it keeps multiplying,” Jung Ha-ram said, staring into the forest.

“Well…” Cha Eun-hwi sighed, troubled.

Shin-ra, still holding my hand, spoke up.

“Hyung. Haven’t there been cases where repeated Gates had altered ecosystems? Since time flows differently, it seems possible.”

“There have been reports among C-rank Gates,” Cha Eun-hwi replied. “But this is A-rank.”

Meaning they needed to be far more cautious.

Since time flows differently once a Gate closes, the environment outside and inside can diverge.

But if a place where monsters freely roam had changed so drastically that even the terrain was different, that implied something significant had happened.

Ji Gyeong-min, the captain of the Cheonggeum Unit who had entered earlier, approached us. Judging by his expression, he seemed to share our concerns.

In his right hand was a communicator linked to the outside.

“I think we’ll need to discuss this with headquarters again. What’s your opinion, Captain Cha?”

“I agree. Let’s have the Baek Unit wait outside the Gate for now. We should prioritize reconnaissance ourselves.”

At the two captains’ cautious decision, Yeon Do-gyeong looked visibly bored.

Cha Eun-hwi ruffled Do-gyeong’s hair once, like handling a younger sibling, then headed toward the rift with Ji Gyeong-min.

The two captains connected the communicator and began reporting to headquarters.

Standing there blankly, I let out a hollow sigh.

Why do problems keep popping up on a day like this?

The fatigue I’d barely been suppressing surged back all at once.

Thinking I’d rest my mind for even a moment, I tried to pull my hands free from Do-gyeong and Shin-ra. But—

“Noona, are you seriously okay with having an empty head? Do you even know how terrifying parasitic plants are? If you let go one more time, I’m really going to buy handcuffs today.”

“Our Yoon Hyeya only looks for my hand when she needs something. Guess your personality’s a lot like mine, huh?”

“…No.”

Why were these idiots picking fights even more than usual today?

Objectively speaking, this wasn’t a dangerous situation yet.

There wasn’t even a barrier deployed, so there was no real need to keep holding hands.

Normally, I could let Shin-ra or Do-gyeong sticking close slide—they’d always liked staying near me anyway.

But—

Being told my personality is like his… how humiliating.

There was no insult worse than being compared to someone you hated.

Still, I was someone who’d survived years in a cesspool.

Clinging desperately to my fraying patience, I answered calmly.

“My hands are sweaty…”

“They’re dry.”

“They’re about to get sweaty. I’ll let go for a bit and grab you again later.”

Damn sweat glands, always mistiming things.

I waved my hands vaguely, and though both of them looked dissatisfied, they let go without further resistance.

Ten minutes passed in an awkward silence—ten minutes that felt like ten years.

When Cha Eun-hwi returned after finishing his discussion, Jung Ha-ram, who’d been yawning in boredom, immediately spoke up.

“So? What’d you decide?”

“For now, we’ll proceed with reconnaissance, just like the initial clear. We’ll send information in real time to headquarters, then deploy other units afterward. There are no visible danger factors at the moment.”

Would they split the area in half with Cheonggeum?

As I roughly gauged the forest’s size, Shin-ra asked exactly what I was thinking.

“How are we dividing the search area? Fifty–fifty?”

“About that—sorry, Shin-ra, but you’ll have to work harder. Cheonggeum will survey outside the forest. We’ll handle the interior entirely. It’s their second run today too, and their guide doesn’t seem to be in great condition.”

So that dark expression earlier wasn’t just fear.

…Wait a second. It’s my second run today too. What is this discrimination?

Apparently my resentment showed on my face, because Cha Eun-hwi glanced over and added,

“The Cheonggeum guide is B-rank. Comparing them to Guide Yoon Hyeya would honestly be unfair. And unlike certain people, they seem to be doing their utmost to stabilize their espers.”

I didn’t need to ask who that “certain person” was. It was obviously me.

His tone wasn’t even particularly sarcastic, yet the jab landed cleanly. If that was a skill, it was a nasty one.

Without replying, I used radiation-type guiding to smooth out Cha Eun-hwi’s emotions.

Unlike Do-gyeong and Shin-ra, who complained of excruciating pain if they went even a day without guiding, Cha Eun-hwi’s emotions and abilities were stable.

He used to be worse than those two, though.

Unnecessarily strong-willed.

So even with just a faint seep of my energy, the creases between his brows smoothed out.

His lashes fluttered briefly before lifting, and his sharp eyes softened—

Only for Do-gyeong to butt in.

“Must be nice, getting someone who ‘does their utmost.’ Wonder when our Yoon Hyeya will treat us like that. Other guides are perfectly happy hugging and rubbing lips, you know.”

That’ll be never, so wake up.

“Yeah. I don’t care if the search area gets bigger, but I’m worried Hyeya noona’s going to suddenly let go again.”

That hadn’t even crossed my mind, but now I almost wanted to trip on purpose.

Assuming, of course, that my safety was fully guaranteed.

“Then let’s go buy some nice handcuffs together. Your right hand with me, left hand with him. I’ll feed Yoon Hyeya, and you, maknae, can handle brushing her teeth.”

“What? No, who decided—well, I guess I don’t really mind.”

I mind! I mind a lot!

I was dumbfounded by how they casually claimed ownership of my hands.

The two of them worked so well together I wanted to punch them both.

Making a face at the horrifying image I didn’t even want to imagine, I said firmly,

“No. This time I’ll really do my best. I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”

“This time? So you’re saying you usually don’t try?”

I kind of didn’t—but I couldn’t say that, so I just grabbed his hand and shoved my energy in.

The grin on Do-gyeong’s face vanished as he flushed bright red.

He tightened his grip, covered his mouth with his free hand, and shot me a sullen glare.

“I-I’ll be watching. To see if it’s just talk.”

As always, I was consistent—but so was Do-gyeong.

Earlier, he’d calmed down the instant I hugged him. Now, all it took was holding hands once, and his face was crimson again.

And he talked about wanting guiding that involved rubbing lips?

If I really came onto him, he wouldn’t be able to handle it at all…