Side Story 1. Private Rescue (3)

It was still a living room where sunlight entered well. The sunlight reflecting off the snow piled up in the mountains made it even a bit dazzling today. Though the interior was overall cool as the heating had just been turned on, the places touched by sunlight felt warm. It wasn't cold even after taking off his padded jacket and putting it down beside him.

"Puppy..."

Soram suddenly looked out the window again. He had seen a small puppy every time he came here, but now... there was no tiny creature scurrying around as far as he could see.

After a while, he turned his head to the opposite side of the window. His gaze, which had been wandering around the house, fixed on Tae-un's figure. He was putting a pot on the gas range, filling the refrigerator with food for two days, and washing dishes that hadn't been used for a long time.

Fortunately, Han Tae-un seemed unaffected.

It must be Tae-un's first visit here too since his memories of the previous life returned. That's why, though afraid of this place, Soram simply couldn't let him come alone. But in reality, he seemed fine... or rather, he didn't seem to be conscious of the events from the previous life at all.

Well... given Tae-un's and his own personalities, he didn't think they would wallow in sadness saying "We experienced sad things here...", but he had expected at least some emotional disturbance. He thought if they were together, overcoming that disturbance would be a bit easier...

'Well, Han Tae-un lived here for a long time.'

Unlike himself, whose memories of this place were limited to the time spent with him, Tae-un must have many other memories. The representative memory of this place might not be their farewell that day, but his school days or times with family.

That seemed to be right, as Tae-un was still diligently doing something, going back and forth between the kitchen and utility room without rest. He didn't even glance at the living room and bedroom that Soram had wistfully looked at as soon as he arrived.

At this rate, he could have just come alone...

Ah, but he absolutely didn't regret coming along. If Tae-un had been sent alone for the holiday, he would surely have been restless in the dormitory.

'It's much better knowing he's okay after seeing with my own eyes.'

The tension in Soram's shoulders eased a bit more.

It really was better than expected.

Soram took his eyes off him and looked at the living room again.

The winter sunlight was warm, and this space detached from the world was cozy. He also felt comfortable, as if he had loosened a tight shirt. Was it because here, they could put down all the titles of team chief and team leader attached to them, or being a same-sex couple, and just be Jin Soram and Han Tae-un, the two of them alone?

After feeling relieved, his body gradually relaxed. The tension he had built up all the way from Seoul dissipated, and his back slid down along the sofa, his body sprawling out on the floor.

Finally, the busy footsteps from the kitchen stopped. The steps that had paused for a moment, perhaps doing a final check looking around the whole place, soon approached Soram. Soram waved his hands floppily in that direction and then patted the spot beside him.

Looking down at Soram lying comfortably, the ends of Tae-un's eyebrows and mouth slightly relaxed from his stoic expression. He cleared the sprawled padded jacket onto the sofa and sat in that spot.

"Lie on the sofa. The floor is cold."

"The sofa is leather so it's cold too."

"Want me to bring a blanket?"

"No..."

The conversation naturally faded, but Tae-un kept sitting beside him. Meanwhile, the floor started to warm up, starting from the part Soram's back was pressing on.

"What should we do now?"

"Rest a bit and then eat. Eat, clean up, take a walk..."

They were plans that could be used as symbols of a peaceful life without any problem.

Soram imagined the rest of their schedule. They would eat the delicious dinner Tae-un's mother had prepared, take a long walk circling the fields, and when they returned it would be dark night. After that, they would chat while looking at the night sky that could only be seen in the countryside, and the day would feel unusually short.

"Sounds good."

"You like the schedule?"

"What office worker wouldn't like just eating and playing?"

Tae-un smiled again. The youthful air of his early to mid-20s that was clearly visible until last year had almost completely peeled off from the current Tae-un. As a result, that faint smile he made while looking down at him suited his mature face.

'He's really handsome...'

It wasn't because he liked him, but an objective fact. Soram thought that face must be part of the reason he, a man, had fallen for him. It was the same principle that even men turn to look at an exceptionally handsome man. The untainted freshness of his boyhood days was good too, but now that composure had been added, his face harmonizing with his low voice and large body became unbearably attractive. It was a typical face that shone more as he aged.

If it weren't for his unsociable personality, he would have had a string of dating scandals while living as a famous hunter. Thinking that, Soram felt a bit proud even of the personality he had been grumbling about as boring in the car earlier.

"..."

Soram's lips, which had been meeting Tae-un's gaze for a moment, protruded into a pout. Puckering them a few times was a very clear expression of what he wanted.

And Tae-un immediately granted his wish.

His face drew closer and soon covered Soram's lips. Tae-un's lips opened and closed slightly, nibbling on Soram's mouth. His upper lip was caught between Tae-un's lips, pulled pointedly and released, and the soft flesh inside his lower lip was rubbed. Doing this made more smacking sounds than deeply intertwining tongues. It was a ticklish and pleasant kiss. Well-suited for sharing under the sunlight.

After a sweet 5 minutes, Tae-un whispered right in front of his nose.

"This much wouldn't be a political marriage."

That's not right.

"You can kiss even strangers. Soram has an American mind, unlike some stuffy Confucian scholar."

Tae-un didn't give any answer. Rather than dissatisfaction with Soram's statement, it was a 'right...' reaction looking at a very conservative person who had never been outside Korea in his life, and for whom this was his first love and first kiss in hundreds of years of life.

As the warmth from the heating circulated more, Soram stuck to the floor like scorched rice. The tension that had made him tremble the whole way here disappeared ridiculously. Perhaps because of the pleasant kiss, only the good things from today's events remained in his memory. Getting information that Han Tae-un was thoroughly preparing for a confession, seeing Han Tae-un's baby photo...

Ah. Soram suddenly sat up.

"Han Tae-un, don't you have more photos from when you were young?"

"Hmm. I'm not sure if there are any. Graduation albums should be left at least."

Oh!

"I want to see those. Where are they?"

"Probably... in the outside storage room. I'll have to go get them."

"Why are the albums in the storage room?"

"When changing desks, I took the whole bookshelf to the storage room."

It was a bit difficult for a Seoul person without a wide yard and underground storage to understand, but he got up to follow Tae-un who was going out the door to get the albums.

Click.

Click-clack.

After flicking the switch back and forth twice, Tae-un looked up at the ceiling of the dark storage room.

"Did the light bulb burn out?"

"We won't be here long, so wouldn't the phone light be enough?"

Soram's phone flashlight flickered on. Even though the storage room was dark, the two could search without difficulty with their eyesight. When Tae-un also turned on his phone flashlight, they could see most of the interior.

The underground storage room without heating facilities was filled with cold air as it was. Tae-un, remembering the location of the bookshelf, walked straight in that direction. In the light, a bookshelf filled with old textbooks came into view. It was a design that would likely be attached to a student desk as a set.

The graduation albums were inserted at the bottom of the bookshelf. Tae-un, who had bent down, grasped two large volumes and straightened up again. Soram looked at the bookshelf over his body.

"There's one more? Why aren't you taking that one?"

"...It's the elementary school graduation album. Don't look at it."

"What are you saying? I'm going to look."

"..."

"Hand it over quickly."

Thus, even the album that seemed to be his dark history ended up in Soram's hands.

However, things didn't end so peacefully. Just as they were about to leave the storage room, the iron door was firmly closed and wouldn't open. With Tae-un's parents of course, and no nearby relatives to come help, the two were trapped indefinitely in the cold storage room! Behind them, a mysterious sound gradually approaching!

...There were no such mysterious events. To begin with, Han Tae-un had diligently wedged a box between the doors when entering, and the iron door would tear off folded in half if either of them kicked it.

The day was flowing so leisurely that all sorts of thoughts came to mind. The tension that had disappeared frivolously protested, 'Why did you call me if it was going to be like this?' This was all because they had experienced too many incidents and accidents. They should know how to enjoy peace too.