Bound to Break

Eun-woo fell asleep a few minutes after apologizing. It was as if all his energy had drained from him after he'd pounded on the window in a frenzy.

Rong Ye claimed the outburst was due to him not being accustomed to the environment, especially the cold outside. Eun-woo's body was frozen, and he assumed that if he was given more heat, he would recover, and in a way, he did.

Most of the blankets were wrapped around Eun-woo's body. He was wearing several pairs of socks to even out the temperature in his feet, and Caelan had to fix the heater to raise the temperature of the room.

Eun-woo slept with a rare, quiet serenity. The calm on his face was enough to ease everyone's nerves.

"Well?" Rong Ye asked as he bandaged Eun-woo's arms. "What are you supposed to do with him?"

"He's not a threat," Rhys replied.

Rong Ye rolled his eyes.

"He smashed a window… with his bare hands. Aren't you afraid he'll wake up and gouge your eyes out?"

"Eun-woo wouldn't do that."

"Wait for it to collapse again."

"Rong Ye has a point," Jae chimed in. "The original plan was for Rhys to get rid of Eun-woo, but he didn't. So what's next?"

Rong Ye crossed his arms and looked at everyone with complete seriousness.

"At the Research Center, we isolated him from any external stimuli. What will happen when a Rift appears? He's not linked to a Guide, he'll lose control, and in the process, he'll kill us all."

Silence fell for a few seconds.

Rifts weren't uncommon. Though their appearance was less common than years past, they still opened at various points, scything the air as if reality itself were splitting. From them emerged creatures mutated by interdimensional energy: some with formless bodies, others with cruel, razor-sharp intelligence. There was no set pattern. Each Rift was a new kind of nightmare.

In the past, espers were the only ones capable of containing them. They had an innate sensitivity that allowed them to detect their formation even before the rift fully opened. They would engage in combat, synchronized with their Guides, and close the Rift before the damage could spread. But the espers no longer existed.

In their absence, specialized weapons were created: rifles with resonance cores, pulse blades, sensory jammers. Tools that, in theory, anyone could use. In practice, only the Guides could manipulate them accurately. They had the mental capacity to direct the energy and withstand the recoil involved in using them. Even so, it remained a fragile solution.

Therefore, whenever a Rift manifested, emergency alarms sounded. Sirens vibrated through the air with an unmistakable shriek, and civilians ran to underground shelters, cold, reinforced concrete structures where they could remain for hours. Not all districts were equally protected. In upper-class areas, invisible energy shields, powered by plasma reactors, repelled the mutants without anyone having to fire a single bullet.

In the rest of the country, survival remained a struggle.

Eun-woo was an Esper, in theory he could face the Rifts, but without a Guide he could lose control and destroy everything around him.

"I'm sorry, Rhys," Caelan sighed. "But Rong Ye's right. We need to know what will happen to Eun-woo."

"It's obvious," Rong Ye said tersely. "He needs to bond with a Guide. It's the only way to maintain his stability. Otherwise, every time a Rift opens, it'll go into crisis. It won't survive, and neither will we."

Caelan frowned.

"So what? You want him to bond with Rhys?"

Rong Ye stared at him without blinking. Caelan didn't give him a chance to reply, as he immediately added,

"Rhys shouldn't have to sacrifice himself!" Caelan snapped. "He didn't ask for any of this. No one made him bring Eun-woo, but that doesn't mean he volunteered to be his emotional tether."

"For God's sake, Caelan, I'm the one who's against Rhys getting involved with Eun-woo." Rong Ye raised his voice to show his anger.

"Isn't there another way?" Jae asked, his voice lower, as if he were afraid Eun-woo would wake up from the noise. "I mean, a way that doesn't involve a Guide."

Rong Ye firmly denied.

"Espers were either designed—or cursed—to rely on Guides. There's no replacement for that bond."

Rhys remained silent, his gaze fixed on Eun-woo. His chest rose and fell slowly. The breathing of someone finally sleeping peacefully.

The thought of the bond weighed heavily on him. He didn't say anything, but irritation was beginning to bubble under his skin. Not because he didn't like Eun-woo; on the contrary, that was the damn problem.

He was falling for him, slowly, against his better judgment.

And he didn't want circumstances to force him to act on that. He didn't want the first step between them to be an obligation.

Besides, why him?

He wasn't supposed to be a Guide.

"We can't decide this now," Rhys finally murmured. "It's late. We're tired. And this isn't a decision to be made thoughtlessly."

"Perfect," Rong Ye snorted, taking a step back. "Then let's keep waiting for it to collapse again. Maybe next time it'll destroy more than just a window."

He turned on his heel and stormed out without looking at anyone.

"Rong..." Caelan began, but it was too late. The slam of the door was the only thing that answered for him.

Caelan pressed his lips together, exchanged a quick glance with Jae, and followed Rong Ye out without another word.

The room fell silent again.

Jae approached the corner where the glass shards were scattered.

"I'm going to clean this up… and see if I can fix the window. At least to keep the cold out."

"Leave it," Rhys said, his voice low. "I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Go to sleep, Jae."

Jae hesitated for a few seconds, but finally nodded.

"Okay. If you need help..." He trailed off. He knew Rhys wouldn't ask for anything.

Rhys shook his head.

"Make sure Caelan doesn't overstep his bounds with Rong Ye."

Jae smiled.

"Impossible," he mocked. "There's so much tension between that pair that I feel like one of these days they'll explode."

"As long as Caelan doesn't get involved, it sounds like a great idea to me."

They both laughed before saying goodbye.

When Jae left, Rhys walked over to the broken window. The icy wind was still seeping in around the edges. Beyond the broken glass, the night looked deceptively peaceful.

He looked at Eun-woo, asleep in the blankets. And for the first time, Rhys wondered if the bond was more salvation than curse.

"Rhys..." Eun-woo whispered in his sleep. "Don't go."