Chapter 79

Ah. Tae-un stopped and turned to look at Soram.

"I went before your dispatch pager rang after looking at your cell phone."

"So what?"

Am I supposed to praise you for this situation? Of course, Tae-un's expression showed that he didn't expect that either.

"Just letting you know that I briefly looked at your phone."

Leaving the sulky Soram behind, Tae-un opened the door and went out. Soram sent a glaring gaze from inside the blanket, and as he moved away, he stretched his body back with a thud. Then he covered his swollen eyes with his palm.

Although the result was completely unexpected, it was honestly good. Very good. From the middle, Soram also got excited and shook his hips together, pulling him to do more. Could it be that the reason he couldn't date or get married in his previous life was because he instinctively knew that he would feel pleasure from being penetrated by a man? It made him suspicious to that extent.

But is it usually this awkward after doing it for the first time? His blunt reaction from earlier also contained feelings of embarrassment and shyness. But Tae-un, who was also doing it for the first time, seemed unfazed again.

Soram slowly sat up, washing his face dry. An involuntary groan escaped. His body, which he properly looked down at for the first time, was covered in red marks as if smeared with rouge all over.

Han Tae-un, who was teased as a stickler, became the opposite when he took off his stiffly worn clothes. The physique that had only seemed like a clumsy bear made his partner unable to move, and his stiff and static actions became intense, pushing Soram without a moment to catch his breath.

"Soram-ah."

"Huh?"

Tae-un, who had gone out, came back in and put new clothes on the bed.

"Rest. I'll call you when the food is ready."

"Catch a catfish and come."

"...Okay."

Tae-un, who Soram thought would leave right away, approached him closely.

"Are you okay?"

"..."

He was about to answer bluntly, asking if he was giving medicine after causing the illness, but Soram just nodded his head. It was also embarrassing to keep being childishly grumpy when the other person waited by his side until he woke up, took care of all the cleanup, and even looked after him the next day.

"I'll be back soon, so rest. Soram-ah."

It was the second time he told him to rest. Tae-un had been repeating what he wanted from Soram for some time now. Even if he said that, it wasn't like Soram would listen, but today he didn't have the energy to act mischievous, so he obediently followed those words.

About 30 minutes later, when Tae-un called Soram, there was indeed a soup with fish on the table. A hot pot with a broth made from refreshing radish and plenty of fish roe and clams was in the center, and next to it were side dishes like soft steamed eggs and vegetables.

"Where did all this come from?"

"I bought it. Went to find a restaurant."

"Yeah, good job."

The freshly cooked fluffy rice came from a small rice cooker on one side of the kitchen. While Tae-un served the rice, Soram lowered his body onto the chair with a resolve in his heart.

"Ugh..."

As his buttocks were pressed, pain spread from below with a zing.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah... roughly..."

He barely straightened his back and sat down, gripping the table. Even the tremendous recovery power of a 1st-grade didn't shine much in the face of an injury(?) inflicted by another 1st-grade.

In the meantime, a bowl containing thick chunks of fish flesh and innards was placed next to the spoon. The Tae-un who had excitedly shaken Soram last night was nowhere to be seen, and now in front of Soram, there was only Tae-un with a bear-like face, serving stew on his plate. He also served a generous amount of the red broth that was most helpful for the recovery of Soram's stamina.

Feeling embarrassed by the opposite situations of one being energetic and the other groaning after spending the night together, Soram said a word.

"Hey. Yesterday, it wasn't that you were good, but that I felt good."

"Yeah. I also think that's the right thing to say."

"..."

"Why are you getting sulky when I'm agreeing with what you said?"

"You were really excited too, right? Your eyes rolled back and you even broke the bed...!"

"I guess I feel good with you too."

Tae-un answered calmly and sat down to scoop his own portion of the stew.

"Eat. Tell me if it's hard to even move your hands."

"Why? Are you going to feed me?"

"I'll do better than the first time since it's the second."

Ah, right. We've already done it before. Soram ostentatiously picked up the spoon, saying he didn't need it, and waved it around.

He started the meal by scooping the white fish flesh and putting it in his mouth. While scooping the broth, a similar situation that had happened recently suddenly came to mind. Although the place was a sundae soup restaurant back then. He raised his head to see if Tae-un was just looking at him without being able to eat properly like last time, but Tae-un was eating with a stoic face.

The day after confessing, he had struggled and couldn't even eat pork cutlet properly, but why is he unfazed after having sex? He felt strange for a moment, but it seemed a bit much to interfere with that, so he just let out a long sigh.

Instead, he deliberately focused only on the prepared side dishes and the food in front of him. It was a famous restaurant that he hadn't been able to try even though he had unofficially worked here for decades, however Tae-un had found it.

Looking at the red broth gathered in the middle of the round spoon, it occurred to him. Didn't Han Tae-un say this kind of food was just okay? But he was holding the same menu as Soram without any fuss.

"...Hey, Han Tae-un."

"Yeah."

"You, um. It's true that you liked it yesterday, right?"

Soram deliberately asked with his gaze lowered to the bowl, but he felt the person in front of him raising his head and staring directly at him.

"If I didn't like it, I wouldn't have been able to act like a crazy bastard like that."

"Then, that's enough."

"Soram-ah."

A large hand approached in front of his field of vision. The hand was quietly placed on the table, but it seemed to urge an answer.

"...What?"

Is he going to call him by his first name without honorifics even in normal times now? Thinking that, Soram met Tae-un's eyes. It was a calm gaze. Like his voice.

"Honestly, I can't predict how you'll act, and I don't know what the right reaction to you is either."

The lines he thought were right have all been jumbled up. Tae-un continued in a monotonous voice.

"So, from now on, I'll also do as I want."

"What are you going to do?"

"Who knows? I'm still thinking about it too."

"..."

"But I think I'll try a little more."

"What?"

"Anything."

Tae-un's eyes still held Soram. Soram thought as he looked at Tae-un. Their changed relationship, Han Tae-un, the biggest peculiarity even in this life where he was living a peculiar life.

"I still don't understand why you like me..."

Soram put down the spoon and swept his bangs with his empty hand. He closed his eyes tightly and opened them again while his wrist covered his face.

He couldn't deny that the air between the two had completely changed. The peculiarity of this life was moving in an increasingly unknown direction.

"Do as you please."

"As I please?"

"Yeah. I'm telling you to do what you want."

It was fine to freely express his emotions like that and cool down, and it was fine to use the person who had a debt he didn't know about as he wished.

That wouldn't be so bad either.

2. Overcast

Full-fledged summer had begun. Ayoung's clothes changed to summer uniforms with short sleeves. Soram and Tae-un's attire looked similar on the outside, but the time they took off their jackets and loosened their ties increased. Of course, when dispatched, they had to be dressed tightly again.

The air conditioner was running at full blast in Team 7's office until late at night. The window, which served as the second passage for the flight team until the cool spring breeze blew, was now tightly closed to keep the cold air in.

The CSAT countdown for Ayoung, who was concentrating on her workbook with earphones in, had also come much closer.

The previous incident received some leniency through the headquarters' handling, and it was decided that the subjects Ayoung couldn't properly take the test for would be converted to 80% of the final exam score. Ayoung completely shook off the ruined exams and put more effort into preparing for the CSAT again.

Also, after that incident, there was a large-scale investigation and disciplinary action led by Director Park Jae-seon, and malicious actions toward the Field Operations Bureau hunters were also rooted out. Soram, who made the biggest contribution unofficially, just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Is that so?" when he heard the result.

The scene of Team 7 a few months after the incident was the same as always. The team leader lying down lazily, Ayoung studying hard. Lastly, Tae-un, who had finished the report early, was analyzing the video sent from the research lab last time.

Woong―

A vibrating sound interrupted the silence that had come while each of them focused on their own tasks. Soram's cell phone wiggled on the desk. Soram pushed the cell phone forward without even raising his head.

"Answer it and say I'm not here."

Tae-un stretched out his head and looked at the screen.

"It's the director."

Only then did Soram slightly lift his eyes. And he lay down again.

"Answer it and say I'm in the middle of a smartphone reduction campaign."

"..."

Tae-un picked up the cell phone. But instead of doing as Soram told him, he pressed the call button and held it to Soram's ear.

"What are you..."

―Soram-ah?

Hearing the call from the speaker, he finally got up, glaring at Tae-un.

"Yes, Director-nim. No, I wasn't sleeping. The team members have been asking questions since earlier, so I was giving them great advice based on practical experience like a team leader, and my throat is sore. I was in the middle of giving cool advice with practical experience as a team leader."

Would the director believe that... Ayoung looked at Soram with that expression. Soram spun the chair around to face away from the table.

"Yes. It is that time of year. Ah..."

Soram listened to the other person's voice a little more and let out a long sigh.

"Ayoung and I are still growing. Just make Han Tae-un do that. He doesn't need to grow anymore. He's already as big as a bear!"

Even Tae-un, who had been ignoring Soram's nonsense with one ear, had no choice but to look in that direction. Soram listened to more of the conversation, saying "Hmm... Mm..." while looking at the ceiling, then answered that he understood and ended the call.

"Hing."

Soram, who had returned to his original position, put down his cell phone and plopped down on the desk again. Ayoung poked the blanket.

"Shouldn't you at least explain what it is before you sleep like this? What did the director say?"

"The official document will probably come down tomorrow or the day after... He told us to work."

"Isn't work what we usually do? Do we have to do more?"

"Because of the rainy season."

Soram tapped his cell phone while lying down, turning only his head. As expected of the team leader, a draft of the official document had already arrived for him.

"Due to the expected heavy rain throughout next week, blah blah blah... Skipping the first part. Please keep in mind that the headquarters' members may be dispatched to emergency flood situations in addition to rift phenomena, and depending on the circumstances, you may have to go to support the Chungcheong and Gangwon regions. In summary, it means don't take off your suit on rainy days and be on standby."

"It seems like it's really going to rain a lot. We didn't have this last year."

"Last year, Ayoung was a newcomer who joined in the summer, so they didn't call you, but every rainy season is tough."

"Ah, I see..."

The basic role of hunters at the Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters is the destruction of rifts. In addition, they are dispatched upon request during natural disasters. And in Korea, those "large-scale natural disasters" are concentrated in the summer.

"Many rifts naturally disappear due to the wind and rain, so the dispatches in that direction decrease, but there are many things that only the flight team can do in flood situations, so we'll be called out a bit. Ayoung, if you don't think you'll have time, I'll let them know in advance."

"No. If I don't go, you two oppas will have to go out and do the work of three people. I don't like that. Just leave it."

"Wow, Ayoung is cool. Indeed, a strong candidate for the next team leader."

Situations that require the dispatch of hunters are usually urgent situations where there may be casualties among civilians. Soram also thought it would be good for Ayoung to go and make her presence known in such places. The image of a young hero who does her best in everything would always be helpful.