Chapter 130

"What's this? Ayoung, why are they talking like that?"

"Ah... They said they have to use honorifics and mutual respect when there are a lot of people around. They were scolded recently for acting too much like friends."

"I see. Isn't it good if they get along well? Why interfere to that extent?"

At times like this, she really felt that the Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters was a stuffy government organization. Of course, this behavior couldn't be what the higher-ups wanted.

Soram, who had been arguing, left Tae-un behind and ran to Ayoung, hissing. Tae-un followed behind, holding the bouquet.

"Ayoung! Han Tae-un drove the car into this alley and got stuck, so we had to go back out and park it, that's why we're late! We deliberately wore casual clothes, but we had to fly in and got caught, all because of him, I mean, because of Chief Han Tae-un!"

"Then you could have told me earlier when we were in the car, Chief-nim."

"I was sleeping!"

Soram shouted proudly.

"Ugh, stop it. Fight in the office if you must. You'll get scolded by the Deputy Director-nim again at this rate."

"Which one of you is the child and which is the adult?"

"Oh, Ga-eul, when did you get here?"

"I came 10 minutes ago and scouted Chief Lee Ayoung for our team."

"...! Ah, Ayoung, I originally planned to come by eleven... It's all because of Han Tae-un..."

Soram's eyes shook as if an earthquake had occurred. Ignoring the noisy Soram, Tae-un handed over the bouquet he had bought. Then he greeted Ayoung's parents. Soram also followed quickly behind with an "Ah!"

The parents said they would wait in the car first and made way. With many eyes watching, the four of them couldn't stay long either.

"Hey, Jin Soram. Are you in Seoul for good now? Aren't you still assigned to the Busan branch?"

"Yeah. The administrative processing hasn't come through, but I've been in Seoul since the beginning of the year. Branch Director Shin said I'm just a nuisance there and told me to go."

"That's something to brag about. But why didn't I know you came?"

"I think I mentioned it in the chat room."

"I thought you were just coming and going. Well, I've been resting at my parents' home and hardly went to the headquarters either. Chief Han, when were you discharged? You were in the hospital for quite a while, right?"

"I was discharged in December and stayed in lodgings near the hospital for about a month for outpatient treatment."

"You're talking about the hospital in Busan, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you two must have come up around the same time."

"...Yes. That's right."

Soram and Tae-un's gazes met briefly before parting again. Soram raised his eyebrows.

"Let's take pictures quickly. It looks like people will start swarming in soon."

Those who were about to leave stopped and looked this way, and some were even making phone calls to gather more people.

"You three from Team 7 stand together. I'll take the picture."

Tae-un and Soram stood on either side of Ayoung in the middle. Just as Ga-eul was about to take the picture, Ayoung shouted.

"Ah, unni, wait a moment! Just a moment!"

Poof!

"Woof!"

Aila was summoned in a small size in her arms. Ayoung smiled brightly.

"Now it's the entire Flight Team, right?"

"That's right. Now I'll really take it."

One, two, three. Click.

Ga-eul's camera captured a photo of Team 7. It was a picture where everyone was smiling without exception.

Lastly, Ayoung held her phone high and took a selfie of the Flight Team with the front camera.

That evening, a new photo was uploaded to Soram's SNS, which had only two posts, after a long time.

A month after the graduation ceremony.

"Ugh."

Soram walked while pressing the back of his head, tilted diagonally, to relieve his stiff neck. His body was sore after sitting for a long time listening to nagging. The dark jacket and tie he was wearing after a long time swayed with his steps.

His footsteps echoed long down the 13th floor corridor. Field Operations Bureau Team 1, Team 2, Team 3. As he passed each door in order, his gaze was fixed on one spot at the far end of the corridor.

"...Haa."

Finally reaching his destination and stopping, he took a deep breath first. After hesitating, his palm wrapped around the doorknob. A tingling sensation came as if electricity had run through his hand. And just as he was about to turn the doorknob.

Bam.

"Oh."

Someone pulled the door open from the inside first. Soram, who had been holding the doorknob, stepped into the office as if being dragged.

"Welcome!"

"Woof!"

Ayoung, now wearing the official hunter attire instead of a school uniform, shouted. Aila in her arms also barked as if greeting Soram. Among the winter-thickened fur around her neck was a bow tie of the same color as Ayoung's suit.

And beside them stood Tae-un, who had fully opened the door to let Soram in.

"..."

Soram slowly opened his mouth as he looked around at the two people and the dog, and the smallest office in the Field Operations Bureau spread out behind them.

"Um... I have become the Chief of Team 7 again."

In that place where he had secretly bid farewell, Soram announced his return.

"Please take good care of me from now on."

***

Last November, the Great Rift that struck Busan's coast made all of South Korea tremble in fear. However, the hunters overcame the calamity after a desperate fight.

Winter came as if to calm the place where red flames had surged. As the year passed and spring approached again, even the towns that had turned black somewhat regained their original appearance. Citizens who had lost their homes to lava each received compensation for their damages. They waited for their homes to be rebuilt or left the place of nightmares for new foundations.

Spring flowers bloomed earlier than usual in Busan. And the Busan branch, which had faced the Great Rift on the front lines, welcomed a new beginning even earlier. The branch modified its structure to complement the problems of the existing system that they had acutely felt during this incident.

The biggest change was that Seo Min-ki, who was considered the strongest hunter in the branch but had been standing back behind high-ranking veterans, stepped forward on his own.

[Busan News] Seo Min-ki's new position is 'Director' of Busan Branch Field Operations Bureau... Maintaining branch director-centered system, but distributing some roles

[Column] Four 1st-grade heroes who turned 27, "We will inherit the will of Park Jae-seon and Shin Gi-hyeon." Is the time for generational change among hunters approaching?

[Rift·Dungeon IN] Is 'Seo Min-ki' the same as 'Park Jae-seon' as Director?! The answer is NO, let's look at the relationship between headquarters and each branch

Accordingly, there were large and small reorganizations in other branches as well, and various stories in different directions arose among people watching these developments. However, those who had experienced the desperate fight didn't have the energy to look back that far. They were busy focusing all their strength on recovery and discussing ways to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Thus, time entered the middle of a new March.

Spring came equally to every place. The season symbolizing warmth became a signal announcing that complete peace had come to those who couldn't let their guard down even until winter.

It was a quiet moment like the calm after a storm.

In the early dawn, Tae-un opened his eyes with a question.

'The door...'

Light invaded the dark room where the curtains had been drawn carefully. It happened to be at an angle near his face, forcing him to open his frowning eyes. The source of the light was the door connecting to the dormitory living room.

"..."

Tae-un had definitely closed that door before going to sleep last night. Therefore, the culprit must be this person. There was one more person on his bed that had been alone.

The intruder was sleeping soundly on the pillow stolen from the bed's owner. While not bringing a pillow from the next room, they had efficiently brought a blanket and wrapped it around their body.

"..."

Tae-un's breath spread low as he looked at the sleeping face. He propped his chin and stared down at the other person. As his vision began to wake from sleep, details like the bridge of the nose or parted lips became more visible. The long beam of light that had stretched out was now blocked by his back as he lay on his side, not reaching the sleeping person.

Each of the hunters who had been trapped for three days among lava that left black burns even with the slightest touch had their own aftereffects.

Tae-un, who was on the tougher side, was no exception. Unlike before when he hardly cared about his sleeping environment, he had become sensitive to changes occurring around him while sleeping. Waking up to the faint light coming from outside the room was for a similar reason.

However, he didn't hear the footsteps of Soram coming here in the early morning. Probably because Soram had floated here hugging the blanket. A faint smile appeared on Tae-un's lips as he imagined that scene.

Perhaps he instinctively knew that the person approaching wasn't someone who would harm him, so he didn't wake up.

The long eyelashes drooping downward moved with each breath. The fine-textured hair was spread out on the stolen pillow. Tae-un, who had been looking at the face that would perfectly suit a profession like an idol singer, opened his mouth.

"Why are you pretending to sleep when you're awake?"

Then he touched Soram's twitching eye with his thumb. Soram obediently showed his eyes without resisting further. His puffy eyelids still held traces of sleepiness.

"When did you come?"

"Around three o'clock..."

A stretching yawn followed the answer. Tae-un reached out and picked up the pager on the bedside table behind Soram. The display showed the time just past 7 o'clock. Since it took less than 5 minutes to commute from the dormitory to the office, there was still plenty of time. Tae-un put the pager back in its place.

"You can sleep more if you want."

"For how long?"

"An hour."

"Hmm..."

Soram wriggled inside the blanket rolled up like a pill bug. But instead of closing his eyes again, he smiled suspiciously.

"Han Tae-un."

"Yeah."

Next, he pulled up the navy blanket to cover below his nose, pretending to be shy.

"Soram isn't wearing anything inside the blanket."

"Keep it wrapped. It's still cold outside."

"..."

Brown eyebrows twitched in dissatisfaction. Like that movement, the body wrapped in the blanket also jerked back and forth, kicking Tae-un's shins repeatedly. He took a few hits before tightly binding Soram with his arms and legs, blanket and all.

"Ugh, that's unfair."

"You call everything unfair. Stop struggling. You're making dust."

Tae-un tightened his arms and legs even more. Their faces, Soram's squished like a steamed bun, met very close to each other. Their noses pressed together and their vision was filled with only the other's face.

"Did you sleep well?"