The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 52

After that, Cha Eunhwi carefully set me down next to Lee Shinra and said,

“Hyeya. I can use teleportation. It’s an ability that moves living beings or objects to another place. I’ll send that rabbit to somewhere safe and come back.”

“Somewhere… safe?”

“Yes. From a monster’s point of view, the most dangerous place would be near us.”

That was true.

Still, they didn’t really need to go that far.

This kind of consideration feels… heavy.

But since he was already doing it, I didn’t stop him.

“…It won’t take long. Please stay next to Shinra and do not move away.”

After hesitating briefly, Cha Eunhwi made Shinra and me hold hands.

Shinra flinched in surprise, but stuck close to my side with a serious expression.

What is all this fuss? Anyone would think this is an A-rank gate.

They were usually relaxed and confident, but now sharp tension hung in the air.

So I quietly stood next to Shinra and nodded.

Cha Eunhwi ruffled Shinra’s hair once and stepped outside the barrier.

The moment the lop-eared rabbit charged at him happened in the blink of an eye.

“Watch out—!”

I shouted without thinking, but it didn’t matter.

Cha Eunhwi instantly grabbed the rabbit by its ear.

“Piiiiiiik!”

The rabbit’s eyes went wide as it screamed.

Its cry sounded pitiful.

Aren’t you not supposed to grab a rabbit by the ears?
…Or does it not matter since it’s a monster?

No matter how much the huge body struggled, Cha Eunhwi didn’t budge.

…So he really was holding back when he grabbed my wrist before.

These guys could crush rocks with bare hands.

If he had used full strength, my bones would’ve turned to dust.

As I awkwardly lowered my hand, Cha Eunhwi stared at me with a strangely thoughtful expression.

Then, touching his lips with one hand, he carefully asked,

“Hyeya… were you worried about me just now?”

His cheeks were even slightly red.

See, this kind of thing is creepy too…

It was true that I shouted without thinking, but admitting it felt uncomfortable.

I glanced at the crying rabbit and replied flatly,

“You said it yourself. Being near you is the most dangerous place for monsters.”

“…Ah.”

Cha Eunhwi blinked blankly, and Yeon Dogyeong, who had been tense, chuckled.

“Hurry back, Captain. If that rabbit’s ear falls off, our Yoon Hyeya’s heart might fall off too.”

“…Okay.”

That wasn’t really the case, but I stayed quiet.

Cha Eunhwi answered weakly and used teleportation with the rabbit.

Then, after both of them completely disappeared—

“Kkyurrrk!”

A snake suddenly burst out of the ground.

With that familiar, cute-sounding cry.

Only the sound was cute.

Its massive head swung from side to side, shaking the ground.

Even from a distance, the impact made my body stagger.

Beside me, Shinra gasped for breath and spoke with difficulty.

“N-Noona… please, stay… next to me…”

“Get it together, Lee Shinra!”

Dogyeong shouted sharply, all humor gone.

“I’ll handle that thing. You don’t touch it—just protect Yoon Hyeya.”

“…Yes.”

Shinra barely answered in a hoarse voice.

Dogyeong immediately left the barrier and ran toward the snake.

Using flames, he lured it away, moving farther and farther from us.

I watched Shinra rub his eyes with the back of his hand, then asked quietly,

“Hey. Is this gate dangerous? You mentioned ranks earlier.”

“N-No. It’s not dangerous. Th-The rank isn’t high either. At most… upper C-rank, maybe lower B-rank?”

“Then why are you all so nervous? Saying not to attack first, telling me to stay protected…”

A C- to B-rank gate was easy for an A-rank squad.

Earlier, Dogyeong tried to attack underground, but Cha Eunhwi stopped him because of the volcano.

But inside a barrier, even a volcano or a meteor wouldn’t matter.

Even when I first came here a month ago, the volcano kept erupting and no one cared.

If they were really worried about me, the best choice was to clear the gate fast and leave.

Sure, I said I wanted to stay—but the place had turned from heaven into hell.

Wait. Don’t tell me they’re doing this on purpose?
So I’ll take back what I said and ask them to take me out?

Knowing how they usually acted, it wasn’t impossible.

If all this concern is just to stall for time…

Once the thought started, suspicion kept growing.

At that moment, Shinra squeezed my hand tightly and shook his head.

“N-No! That’s not it. It’s not like that!”

Feeling like my thoughts had been read, I asked stiffly,

“What isn’t?”

Holding hands meant he could feel my negative emotions.

Shinra kept shaking his head.

“This place is dangerous. It really is.”

“…You just said it wasn’t dangerous and the rank was low.”

He really didn’t seem mentally okay.

Watching him ramble so badly made me worried despite myself.

That was separate from liking him or wanting distance.

Anyone would worry if a normal person suddenly started acting unhinged.

It seemed Shinra felt that too.

“Noona… are you worried about me?”

He looked at me with wide eyes, like he hadn’t been crying just moments ago.

Cha Eunhwi too—what was wrong with them?

I didn’t answer, but that alone seemed to be enough for Shinra.

“It’s been… a long time since someone worried about me.”

…He said that with red eyes and flushed cheeks, which honestly shocked me.

Only after taking several deep breaths did Shinra speak again.

“Noona’s right. This gate should be easy for us. We thought so a year ago too.”

Every time he said “a year,” it felt strange.

I had only been trapped here for a month.

If it was a year ago, was that when Cha Eunhwi and I were working closely as a unit?

All I remembered was submitting resignation letters every week because we got one more fire maniac.

Shinra licked his dry lips and continued, trembling.

“Back then… there were three named monsters. A dragon… and the snake that appeared earlier. They were called the Guardians of Paradise.”

Just when I thought he’d calmed down, he started stuttering again.

I felt his nerves through our joined hands and instinctively tried guiding him.

Shinra flinched and tears fell.

“We ch-chased it. As soon as you were e-eaten by the snake, we chased it. But when we attacked the snake… we were expelled.”

“Expelled?”

‘Intruders who try to steal the treasure will be expelled.
Those who attack the guardians will be forcibly removed.’

His quiet voice made me remember the huge crack that appeared in the sky that day.

Right. They were being pulled out.

And the voice of the world I heard too.

Shinra hung his head and continued.

“Th-There’s never been a gate like that before…”

I finally understood.

That was why they had been so cautious and restrained.

“The monsters t-target guides. If you’re in danger again… if you lose consciousness like before…”

“I understand. That’s why you said it was dangerous.”

I think I assumed the worst too quickly.

Shinra hesitated, then gently tightened his grip on my hand.

“Noona being cautious of us… that’s natural. Having more bad memories than good ones… that’s true too. But my hyungs and I really—really want to protect you. So… so…”

His voice trailed off.