Chapter 141

"Ah, um, I did get a bit hurt, but it's nothing serious."

"That wound of yours."

Piriririk―!

The pager rang loudly, interrupting Tae-un's words. Tae-un, who was about to say something, retreated with a "We'll talk later," and Soram responded to the pager.

"Soram-ah, what happened!"

"Ah, Director-nim. First of all, I've eliminated the rift."

"Haa... I guess you're safe then. And?"

"I'll give you the details when we get back. For now, what appeared in front of the rift was... the lava mutant that was in Busan. Not the real one, but a mimicked version. I think it might be due to the fear generated from watching the broadcast of the 3rd Great Rift. If there's anything the headquarters needs to control, please take measures first."

"...To think such a thing would happen when you and Tae-un went. I'll send more people, so come back carefully by car."

"I'm fine, Han Tae-un is fine, and Ayoung is fine too. Don't worry."

The Director must have been surprised and contacted them because an unexpected commotion had occurred in a place they had expected to be a light mission.

"Ugh."

Soram's body staggered as he took a step forward. Tae-un supported his shoulder, and Ayoung, startled, got off Aila's back.

"Soram oppa, ride Aila."

Before Soram could say anything, Tae-un lifted him and laid him on the white back. Soram was about to say he was fine, but he decided it would be better to rest for a moment and then get up properly.

"Just to the first floor, please. There are many eyes watching, I should walk to the car on my own feet."

"Sigh... Alright."

Soram, who had obediently settled in, looked up at Tae-un with his hardened expression.

Since their relationship had deepened, what Soram had been learning was empathy. If Han Tae-un were in a state like mine, how would he feel?

"I'm sorry for showing you this sight."

"How can you say that! You're injured!"

Before Tae-un could speak, Ayoung shouted angrily. But Tae-un would have understood the exact meaning of the words. It was an apology to the one who would be more distressed by Soram's injury than his own.

However, he showed no particular reaction.

'What's going on...'

Soon, Soram, taking in the overall sight of the devastated building, had to push away other thoughts and consider how much of an explanatory report he would have to write. To make the excuse that he momentarily lost his mind... he didn't know he had blown away one side of the building. He should prepare to be directly summoned and scolded. Even the Deputy Director's piercing gaze.

And Soram received that piercing gaze not when he was summoned somewhere in the headquarters, but in the dormitory.

"What happened to this wound?"

Tae-un lifted Soram's arm. Being a wound inflicted by a magic stone, blood was still seeping from the wound that should have already healed for a 1st-grade hunter.

"I told you earlier. I got hurt while fighting."

"Don't lie."

Having his lie completely seen through, he felt a pang of conscience. However, hearing the cold tone made the opposite side of where he was stabbed prickle up as well.

"What are you trying to say?"

You think you're the only one who can get angry? I can too. As Soram looked at him with his arms crossed, Tae-un's mouth, not good with words, stopped. After a moment, his mouth opened slowly.

"It's not."

"What isn't?"

"This isn't just an injury you got. It's different."

He had an expression of making an unreasonable argument that he himself couldn't provide evidence for. But he clearly seemed to have something he was certain about.

"I'm tired. If you have something to say, let's talk after I wash up."

For now, he needed to get away and at least wrap a bandage around his arm. If the wound was examined closely, it might be obvious that it wasn't caused by a mutant. Soram, cutting off the conversation, turned away from Tae-un.

At that moment, Tae-un didn't miss Soram's gaze going to the place he wanted to hide, unfamiliar with being interrogated.

Tuk.

Tae-un suddenly grabbed Soram's jacket collar.

"Wh-what? You want to fight?"

Are you so angry that you'd grab my collar? Just as a surge of emotion was about to rise, he put his hand into the inner pocket.

"What are you doing, wait...!"

The handkerchief and something wrapped in it were pulled out. Soram hurriedly grabbed it, but it was after the bloodstains covering the handkerchief had already been seen.

"What's this?"

"What do you mean what is it? It's what I used to wipe blood..."

"..."

Ah, right. He was a bear with sharp intuition in strange areas. Soram roughly ruffled his brown hair.

"Alright. I'll talk, so let's sit down."

Tae-un, without taking away his persistent gaze, led Soram to the sofa. Soram was seated next to Tae-un. It seemed he would have to spill the beans about the magic stone after all. There was no point in running away here, as he wouldn't stay still with that personality of his.

Tae-un held Soram firmly, not caring if the sofa got stained from the dirty clothes. The restraint felt on his arm was troublesome on one hand, but inexplicably reassuring on the other. The fact that he was holding onto Soram in case he did something also meant that he wouldn't let go no matter what he did. That helped him voice the truth he had tried to hide.

He took out the red stone stained with blood from inside the handkerchief. Now that it was out in the bright light, it looked a bit gross, so he lightly rubbed the bloodstains with the handkerchief. The blood that had already dried didn't come off easily.

"Well... this is..."

"The magic stone that nullifies abilities."

"Oh, right. That. You remember."

"It comes from flood dungeons, so it's not from this dungeon. Why on earth are you carrying it around?"

"Well, so. I found out by chance that if you make a wound with this... I mean, if it's momentarily embedded in the skin and then pulled out, you can exert explosive power afterward. Like a kind of doping."

Tae-un's eyes widened slightly. Soon after, a furrow formed between his brows again.

"It probably won't work like that for other people. If it did, its effects would have been widely known by now. I think it's something special that only applies to me."

Tae-un kept his mouth closed for a long time as he took in the sight of the magic stone. Then he looked at Soram again.

"You. You used this last time too when you were running away from the soldiers, didn't you?"

"Ah, that was the first time. When I found out it had this function."

"And you used it during the 3rd Great Rift too."

"...How on earth did you know? Can you feel something?"

"Yeah. Wounds like this are strange."

Tae-un chewed his lip with an expression of great displeasure. It was an untimely observation, but even his angry face looked just like the executive director from the drama he had mentioned earlier.

"That's not all, is it? What else are you hiding?"

Even this persistent questioning.

"Yeah, there are some side effects too. I really get hallucinations and auditory hallucinations for a short while. ...And a bit of a headache. But compared to the effect, this is really a small price to pay."

"..."

Even when he had been seriously injured in dungeons, Tae-un had shown a face of sympathy and concern, but this was the first time he looked so angry. While feeling sorry for the worry contained in it, Soram felt a bit of tactless pride. It was an emotion that came from having someone in this life who cared for him so much. Soram pursed his lips inward and unnecessarily tensed his cheeks.

After glaring at the magic stone and the wound for a long time, Tae-un didn't return the blood-stained magic stone, but put it in his own pocket.

"Don't do it anymore from now on."

"I don't do it often either. They were all emergency situations."

"You don't need to resolve emergency situations with such methods."

"..."

Faced with the voice suppressing anger and that gaze, Soram shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn't help it.

"Alright. I won't do it anymore. Take it, take it."

He knew Tae-un would be worried, but he didn't expect him to make such a serious expression. It would be better if he took it away and felt at ease.

Tae-un, who had been watching Soram's nonchalant attitude, got up from his seat. Then he strode through the open door to Soram's room next door. Soram followed behind in surprise.

"What, why suddenly? What are you doing?"

He passed through the living room to the bedroom, then the dressing room, and flung open the closet door. Seeing that location, Soram's expression immediately hardened.

"Hey!"

With a stern expression, Tae-un took out a certain box from inside the closet. When he opened the box, three types of magic stones shone, mixed together.

He wondered how Tae-un knew about that place, but thinking about it, Tae-un had brought clothes from the closet a few times. Until then, he hadn't thought much about it, as having a few magic stones stocked wasn't a secret.

Tae-un took out all the red magic stones from inside. Soram grabbed his wrist.

"What are you doing? Give them back."

"No."

His hand closed, and he gripped the magic stones tightly as if he wouldn't let them go.

"Haa... Alright. I'll only use them in really dangerous situations from now on. Taking someone's things away forcefully is crossing the line, you know."

"You don't know what state you were in earlier."

"...My head hurt a bit, but I'm fine now..."

"You gain power through self-harm and don't even see what's wrong with that, how can I just leave it be? This originally has the function of binding power. Who knows what other side effects there might be!"

"..."

Tae-un raised his voice so loudly that it startled Soram.

He knew it wasn't the time to feel betrayed, and he knew it was natural that Tae-un couldn't understand. But disappointment welled up to the tip of his throat.

"Han Tae-un-ssi, you change your words so easily. You said you wouldn't yell at me, that you didn't want to fight."

"...Even if I fight with you, I can't give these to you. No. This is... strange. I feel like I shouldn't let you touch it."

"Why are you judging what's strange or not? It's my method, and it's not for you to interfere!"

"..."

Soram pulled at the hand full of magic stones.

"Give them back."

"...No."

"Han Tae-un, do you think you can beat me with your ability bound?"

"Even if you grab my collar now and beat me to death, I won't let go of what's in my hand."

"Don't act cocky when you've only been at this for a year. I'm the team leader and I've been a hunter for many times longer than you. My judgment takes precedence."

Soram finally pulled out the hierarchy of being a team leader, which he had never brought up in private situations. Even so, Tae-un didn't move, his wrist still held.

"Your lips do that when you're being unreasonable."

Tae-un had silently accepted most of the tantrums and unreasonable demands Soram threw. Soram could see exactly what stoic affection meant through him. But now, he looked like he wouldn't accept even the slightest compromise.

It was their first fight around the 100-day mark since their hearts connected.

And, neither of them had any intention of backing down.