“Seunghyuk...”

“You were here?”

“...Yeah.”

I hurriedly wiped away my tears. But the more I tried to hold it back, the more emotion welled up.

“Why are you crying?”

I saw your childhood. It was so cruel, so utterly devastating that I couldn’t help but cry.

But I couldn’t say that.

“The book... it was sad.”

I gave a half-hearted excuse.

“That made you cry?”

Seunghyuk looked at the book in my hands with bafflement.

To be fair, anyone would be confused if someone broke down sobbing over a title like My Mate’s an Omega, even Seunghyuk.

“It says the omega is my fated mate...”

I felt so guilty. I’d had no idea that Seunghyuk had gone through something like that.

I’d believed in the original story too blindly. The novel never once mentioned Seunghyuk being abused as a child.

I just assumed he lived in a detached villa on the family estate. That the Chairman treated him coldly, and that Joo Taehan bullied him—but that he’d still had material comfort.

I thought, since Chairman Joo cared about appearances, he must’ve at least treated him well on the surface.

That’s what I saw, after all, when I visited the Sungan main house. Seunghyuk wore expensive clothes and lived—albeit in a separate building—in a large home. That image had kept me from questioning the novel.

No, that’s just an excuse. No matter the reason—I let go of Seunghyuk’s hand.

I left him with an abusive father and ran away on my own, out of the story.

If I’d stayed by his side... if I’d at least become his friend... maybe some part of him could’ve started to heal.

“You’re really crying over that omega thing?”

Honestly, I’d never even read the novel. But I knew the general plot of the movie adaptation. I saw it once on a TV segment. Only the first half, though—I never saw the ending.

“The alpha lead was in a gang or something. He got into a massive brawl trying to protect his omega boyfriend... ended up in surgery, and it was life-threatening...”

I recited what I vaguely remembered from the film.

“He doesn’t die. He survives,” Seunghyuk replied casually.

“Don’t spoil it!”

My voice came out sharper than intended. I was desperately trying not to cry. I didn’t even care about the novel’s ending, but I couldn’t bring myself to say the real reason for my tears.

Don’t cry. You don’t have the right to cry.

I bit my lip and forced my eyes open wide, trying to stop the tears—but it was useless.

“...Sorry. That was wrong of me. I won’t spoil anything, so please don’t cry.”

Seunghyuk hugged me. It felt selfish—to be comforted by the very person I had wronged. But once I was in his arms, the pain in my chest began to ease.

This boy who used to be so small he looked like he might break—he’d grown into someone so strong. So wonderful.

Was he okay now?

Had those old wounds started to heal?

“So, why did you come here?”

“The ring started glowing. It pulled my body on its own.”

“The ring?”

“Yeah.”

Seunghyuk looked at the ring on my finger.

The ring, which had been quiet until now, began glowing again.

Surrounded by light, a pitch-black spot emerged from the ground—a stark contrast to the surrounding glow. The concentrated mana began to spread outward, slowly, and then—it grabbed my feet like a ghostly hand, trying to drag me in.

I knew what this was. The moment I realized the black mana’s identity, I shouted:

“It’s a Gate entrance! We have to—!”

But before I could even finish the sentence, both Seunghyuk and I were sucked into the Gate.

“Ugh!”

As soon as we passed through the entrance, we plummeted downward. I let out a scream—but Seunghyuk caught me mid-air and landed lightly on his feet.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah... thanks.”

I hated falling from heights. But being held by Seunghyuk made the mental shock less intense than expected. Still, the moment the fear subsided, embarrassment hit me hard—I was being carried in a bridal pose.

“L-let me down...”

“Sure.”

He gently set me on my feet.

“Seunghyuk... are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

He smiled gently. There really didn’t seem to be any injuries.

“But... how do we get out of here now?”

I tilted my head up to look at the ceiling. The Gate entrance floated high above, easily the height of a two-story building. No matter how strong Seunghyuk was, it didn’t seem like we could climb back out.

“Normally a Gate has one entrance, but it looks like this one splits the entrance and exit. It’s a little unusual, but not unheard of. In cases like this, defeating the boss usually creates a new exit.”

His tone was so relaxed it soothed my nerves. I’d panicked a bit when I saw the entrance was above us, but Seunghyuk was treating it like it was no big deal.

“I’d like to get you out of here first, but... the layout’s not exactly convenient.”

“No—it’s fine. I’ll stay with you.”

It wasn’t that I wanted to hold him back. I wasn’t trying to avoid the Gate either. Now that I was here, I wanted to be helpful. To him.

“Wait a second.”

I summoned Horaitron’s pistol from the ring.

Not only did it boost attack power, it could also generate an S-class protective shield for 24 hours.

I gripped the gun and activated the shield. A transparent dome formed around us.

“Nice job.”

Seunghyuk smiled proudly and patted my head.

“I’m not a kid. I can handle this much.”

My lips jutted out before I could stop them—being treated like a child always triggered that. But Seunghyuk just smiled even wider and poked me gently in the cheek.

“I know.”

...Do you, though?

Because you’re definitely treating me like a kid.

“But why did the Gate open all of a sudden?”

“It’s a Linked Gate.”

“A what?”

“Yeah. I think the boss inside is connected to your ring.”

Normal Gates appeared randomly—no rhyme or reason, no warning.

But occasionally, a Gate would ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) appear in direct relation to a specific artifact.

These were called Linked Gates.

Defeating the boss in a Linked Gate caused the associated artifact—or a related item—to appear.

For example, if the Gate was linked to Horaitron’s Pistol, the reward might be Horaitron’s bullets, or another artifact like Horaitron’s Ring.

Using “linked artifacts” together triggered powerful synergy effects. The original item’s ability could double, or a new unique power might awaken. Just the existence of linked items made a treasure exponentially more valuable.

Some Espers made a living hunting for Linked Treasures. But in reality, the artifacts that had any were extremely rare. And even if they existed, finding the Gate that matched them was nearly impossible.

So discovering a Linked Gate like this was extremely lucky.

Still, we couldn’t exactly celebrate.

“Judging from the mana density... it’s at least an A-rank.”

The mana swirling through the Gate didn’t fall short of the Horaitron Gate. A-rank minimum. Possibly S-rank. If it was S-rank, even Seunghyuk might have trouble handling it alone.

But he didn’t look remotely concerned.

“Don’t worry. Linked Gates are usually small.”

“But you didn’t bring any weapons. Do you want the pistol?”

“I’m good.”

With a light smile, Seunghyuk reached into his pocket and pulled out a black handkerchief.

The moment he gripped it, the cloth transformed into a sleek black longsword.

That was a weapon?!

I’d thought the handkerchief was just a fashion thing. I didn’t realize it was a weapon in disguise...

I didn’t have time to be surprised—because monsters started flooding in.

More than I’d seen even in the Horaitron Gate.

“Stay here, hyung.”

Seunghyuk spoke in a casual tone, like he was heading out for a walk. Then he unleashed his mana toward the monsters.

“......”

Half the horde vanished in an instant.

It was overwhelming.

But... why did it feel familiar? This was the first time I’d seen Seunghyuk fight in real life. Maybe I’d seen something similar in a mock battle?

Regardless—it was incredible.

I’d always admired his skill during mock battles. He never held back. But I’d assumed that was only possible because he was fighting holograms.

In real life, I thought, even Seunghyuk would struggle with unexpected variables.

But I was wrong.

He cut through the monsters at the same relentless pace as in the simulations.

Standing next to him, it felt like we were in an E-class Gate. It was comforting. This was my first Gate since the Horaitron one, and I’d been worried—but just watching Seunghyuk fight cleared my mind.

“Seunghyuk, let me guide you.”

I offered, hoping to help before we entered the next room. But Seunghyuk shook his head.

“I’m okay. Let’s finish this quickly.”

“But you’ve used a lot of mana—”

“As long as you’re next to me, that’s enough.”

He smiled brightly and strode ahead.