Chapter 88

An awkward silence flowed briefly on the screen, followed by a frantic attempt at damage control. Soram raised the corners of his lips crookedly.

Kwon Jung-oh wanted the Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters to be an independent organization that was not pressured by power. Behind his mischief towards the politicians in the current confrontation, there was a hidden purpose of preventing Soram from being tied to any faction.

Even without doing that, I would do well on my own.

The TV turned off with a click. Soram, who had pressed the power button on the remote control, sat down under the sofa.

"It's not good for children's emotional development to see old men fighting and arguing."

The two puppies, which had been excited next to the people who had been adoring them until just now, fell asleep on the fluffy blanket spread out for them. Occasionally, a snoring sound that seemed impossible to come from those tiny noses was heard.

Even with the TV sound gone, the surroundings didn't become completely quiet like in the city. Outside the window, insects chirped continuously like a stream, and there were rustling sounds of small animals like squirrels moving around, and the sound of leaves rubbing against each other.

Woof, woof!

At that moment, a wild dog in the mountain barked roughly, breaking the peaceful noise.

Flinch.

Soram's shoulders twitched, just like when he heard the cow's mooing. During the long howling that followed the barking, Soram stopped moving. Seeing that, Tae-un got up from his seat and closed the terrace door.

"Do you dislike animal sounds?"

"I didn't know either, but I guess so... Seeing that the puppies are fine, maybe I don't like large animals."

Soram soon nodded his head.

"Hmm, that's right. Come to think of it, I originally didn't like them either."

"But you were fine with Aila."

"Aila is inflated by Ayoung's special ability, but originally, she's a small dog. It feels a bit different... I don't like animals that are naturally large in size and make loud, resonating sounds, like cows, lions, or elephants. Even when watching TV, if an animal documentary or something like that was broadcast, I would immediately change the channel."

"Considering how you've been dealing with mutants, that's unexpected."

Even when facing the terrible forms that emerged from the mimicry dungeon, copying the fears of the students, or when fighting against the plant stems surrounded by flames in the siege dungeon, Soram showed no agitation. It was the same for animals classified as beasts, which were no match for Soram. As if he himself was confused by his own reaction, he furrowed his brows and fell into thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

"I'm not sure if this is the right reason."

"Okay."

"You noticed that my family relationship is a mess, right? I'm the youngest of three brothers, and my older brothers bullied me a lot, and the family had an atmosphere that condoned it."

The area above Tae-un's jawline bulged out. To hide his hardened eyes, he lowered his gaze.

"One time, my father's secretary took us to the zoo, and I got separated from them in the middle. The location happened to be some safari or something, and it seemed like elephant or lion roars kept echoing from all directions. This is the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to incidents related to large animals."

Soram shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. However, Tae-un couldn't take it as lightly as he did.

"Isn't that trauma?"

"Huh? Would you call that trauma just for that?"

There was just enough of a gap for Tae-un to take a long breath in and out before he spoke again.

"Don't say 'just for that'."

Although he thought it wasn't a pleasant topic, Tae-un's face was more hardened than Soram had expected.

"Han Tae-un ssi. Why are you getting unnecessarily serious again? It was when I was young, and I've forgotten about it until now because I've seen much scarier things after awakening."

"..."

Soram disliked that gaze of Han Tae-un's. He raised the corners of his lips crookedly and raised his eyebrows up and down. It was a nonverbal signal that he didn't like the atmosphere becoming heavy.

Inwardly, he regretted bringing up the unnecessary topic. He could have sufficiently predicted Han Tae-un's reaction, who didn't understand jokes.

"You can't overlook Ayoung failing her exam, me injuring my palm, or the puppies panting on the hill, but why don't you care about your own problems at all?"

I knew this would happen. Tae-un didn't let go of Soram's nonchalance as he sighed. Soram slightly frowned.

"Don't you think the examples are a bit of a stretch? What you mentioned all happened right in front of my eyes, and for me, it's something that happened a long time ago."

"I'm saying this because we don't know what situation we might face when and where in our job."

"Do you think I'll be so startled that I won't be able to do anything if a cow pops out in a dungeon? It's only because I came here to rest."

"That's not what I meant."

Tae-un tried hard to stop and suppress his voice from rising to match Soram's sharpness. Instead, the next words that came out sank like a whisper.

"Right now... I'm worried about you."

"I know. That's why I'm saying it's unnecessary."

"You..."

"Han Tae-un."

Soram spoke with force in his eyes.

"Are we going to fight?"

At this rate, the topic would lead to the conversation they had several times before in Seoul. Telling him not to help, that he was someone who didn't need to be worried about. Even though Soram had opened up to Tae-un to some extent, his way of doing things remained the same.

"...No."

In the end, Tae-un backed down first.

"Let's stop."

"You started it first."

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"...I didn't ask you to apologize."

Soram turned his head towards the terrace while hugging his knees. Although the spikes he had raised like a hedgehog had laid down again, the atmosphere that had once sharpened didn't calm down immediately.

"I want to get some air."

Without even making eye contact, Soram got up, opened the veranda door, and went out. If this were the dormitory, the argument would have continued, but both of them stopped halfway with the thought of 'it's a holiday, we came to rest, so let's endure it,' which only made them seethe inside. Tae-un was also about to get up with the thought of drinking a glass of cold water.

"Our Tae-un-ah! Come here!"

Hearing the sudden call, his steps stopped. Soram, who had been sitting on the terrace railing, widened his eyes and looked this way. Soram's hands waved back and forth.

"It's not me."

"Dude, you came down earlier but didn't even say hello!"

The voice was heard again from the front door. The one who opened the unlocked door and stuck his body out was Noh Mun-yeong, the chief of the Guncheon-gun local police station.

Tae-un bowed his head and then raised it.

"It's been a while."

"Yeah. I came to see the face I only saw on TV. ...Hmm. He's really here. Well, long time no see. Chief Jin."

"Yes. Hello. You haven't changed much."

Soram, who had slipped out from the veranda, also faced him after a few months. Noh Mun-yeong grumbled that his skinniness was still the same. Although they had only met once, Soram wasn't completely unrelated to Guncheon.

"I was going to visit you before going up tomorrow or the day after. Thank you for coming all the way."

"Well, I heard that you two received infused liquor and were having a drink here, so I came to kill two birds with one stone."

"...Yes."

Tae-un answered briefly and stood slightly blocking the middle door leading into the house.

"Chief-nim, you won't get a warm welcome there, so just give what you have to give or give it quickly and come out."

The one who appeared behind Noh Mun-yeong was Lee Jae-hyeon.

"You think Tae-un is like you? He grew up with the neighborhood uncles since he was young, so he likes eating with adults."

"..."

"Ah, what nonsense. Tae-un-ah, take this. My mom told me to pack some for you guys since you received liquor."

"Ah, thank you..."

On the large plate covered with plastic wrap, boiled pork, octopus, and conch were sliced into bite-sized pieces. Although the arrangement was rough, the amount was enough to fill the plate to the brim. Lee Jae-hyeon, who handed over the plate, tapped Noh Mun-yeong's arm.

"Chief-nim, you should also give what you have to give quickly and let the friends play among themselves. Let's leave the people in their 20s alone."

"We'll enjoy it. The night air is cold, so please go in after giving it to us."

Tae-un also immediately followed Lee Jae-hyeon's words.

"That guy Tae-un, he went to Seoul and came back resembling them."

Noh Mun-yeong clicked his tongue and put down the purple airtight container he had brought. The rectangular-shaped container made a rather heavy sound.

"Eat a lot, and you two should let go of everything and rest here before going back. There are no noisy people here, and at least within the village, there hasn't been a single rift occurrence."

He finally threw a glance at the person standing blankly behind the middle door. Without the suit and being in an ordinary house, the background that usually followed him, such as being the chief of the headquarters or the son of a member of the National Assembly, seemed blurred.

The two people who had delivered what they brought turned back. Soram approached the purple container.

"What is it?"

"Who knows? It looks like a kimchi container."

As soon as Tae-un released the fastener and opened the lid, a spicy and salty smell immediately spread. Just by looking at the red oil floating on the red broth and the fiddlehead ferns and bean sprouts, one could recognize what it was.

"Yukgaejang (spicy beef soup)."

"Aha. It looks delicious."

"..."

"..."

As the stiff atmosphere was resolved by external factors, awkwardness lingered.

Soram bent his waist and lifted the container.

"Let's drink."

* * *

The table was set with the leftover pancakes from the meal and the side dishes received from Noh Mun-yeong and Lee Jae-hyeon. Steam rose from the yukgaejang, which had been transferred to a pot and boiled.

Tae-un dipped a ladle into the jar-shaped infused liquor container and glanced at Soram. Then he poured a tiny amount of liquor into the glass, about the size of an ant's tear, and poured a lot of cider on top of it. Soram, who had been watching with his chin resting, gave a dumbfounded laugh.

"I have nothing to say about being treated like that, but..."

"Drink only that much."

"You might as well tell me to just smell it."

"I should have. Should I drink this and give you a new one?"

"No, it's fine. Give it to me."

As he put his lips to the glass, as expected, it was the taste of cider, with only a faint smell of liquor barely passing through even to the sharp sense of smell of a 1st-grade.

"What are you going to do for the rest of the holiday?"

Tae-un was the first to open the topic of conversation. Soram had only given Tae-un half of the 3-day holiday. From the beginning, he had clearly stated that he would only stay in Guncheon until around lunchtime on Chuseok.

Soram, who was dipping a piece of conch in vinegar and bringing it to his mouth, thought for a moment and then spoke honestly.

"I'm going to Busan."

"To meet Chief Seo Min-ki?"

"Why him?"

"No?"

"Even if I go to Busan, I probably won't be able to meet him. He has a lot of people to greet and receive greetings from."

Tae-un's eyebrows, which had risen slightly, came down again.

"Then why are you going to Busan?"