Chapter 66

The screen transitioned, and the noisy studio changed to the headquarters building. The screen moved following the movements of the filming crew. They received a special access key, took the elevator, and went up to the 26th floor. For Soram and Tae-un, all the places reflected on the camera were familiar.

The screen stopped in the dormitory hallway. After a moment, flower petals flew from afar. Two people with backlighting and flower petal CG walked towards the camera with heavy steps.

"Ugh."

Tae-un buried his head in the ramen plate. As a rookie in broadcasting, he still had no immunity to this. On the other hand, Soram put down his chopsticks and accepted the scene indifferently. Soon, BGM about dazzling you or something was added. Tae-un could no longer lift his head.

As Soram and Tae-un approached closely, the screen captured each of their faces and introduced them.

<"Let's Go to Work!" First Special Guest

Jin Soram, Chief Hunter (26)

Korea's 1st-Grade Awakener

Field Operations Bureau Team 7 Leader, 6th year

Characteristics: Refreshing idol leader image, a lovable mischievous charm that you don't know where it will lead!>

"..."

"...Let's not look at each other like that when we're in the same situation."

Next, the camera turned and the screen stopped again, capturing Tae-un. And next to Tae-un, lines of text appeared.

<"Let's Go to Work!" Second Special Guest

Han Tae-un, Chief Hunter (26)

Korea's 1st-Grade Awakener

Field Operations Bureau Team 7, fresh 4-month rookie

Characteristics: A flower boy who captured all the female hearts with his appearance, a voice deeper than an underground cave!>

"Pff, pfft, kuk..."

"..."

Soram burst into laughter, forgetting his words from a little while ago. Tae-un silently picked up his glass and drank. Puhahaha! The person next to him eventually pointed at the screen and burst into laughter.

On the screen, Soram and Tae-un went to work together at the office. Even though they were the people on the screen, it felt strange to watch from someone else's perspective. Honestly, the cringe was the biggest factor. Tae-un gulped down his glass every time he appeared on the screen, probably because his throat was quite dry from the cringe.

In the middle, when Tae-un received an urgent call and swiftly went out the window, the camera director who tried to follow him stopped blankly in front of the window, saying, "Uh...?" A panelist who appeared small in the lower right corner scolded, "Ah, the director should have flown and followed him!"

In the meantime, Tae-un poured his second glass. The hard liquor rose in the glass without ice. Soram drank his beer with a slurp and also diligently ate ramen as a side dish.

"Haha, Lee Ayoung is really funny."

They both laughed at Ayoung's appearance, which was different from usual. Looking at it now, whenever she was caught on a personal camera, she acted all sorts of docile and honest.

"I guess Ayoung really thinks of us as very close to her."

"Yeah."

Before they knew it, a whole pot of ramen was gone. Tae-un emptied a bottle of liquor that Soram had brought, and Soram emptied a can of mango beer.

Finally, Part 1 ended and it was the mid-commercial break.

Tae-un, wearing a suit, walked from afar with heavy steps. It was a black and white corridor.

As he walked through the black and white world, he firmly caught a car key that flew from afar. When he pressed the car key button, the world was painted with colors along with a beep sound. The suit Tae-un was wearing also changed from black to navy. And he boarded a white SUV.

―Awakening the senses that were asleep, Cloud.

"..."

"Pfft, ah, hahahahaha!"

Hearing Tae-un's voice, Soram almost fell backwards. His shorts, about half the length of his thighs, fluttered every time his feet rolled. Tae-un turned his head to the side, trying not to look at either Soram or the screen, and then downed the newly poured drink as if to forget everything.

The head of the PR department emphasized that no acting was needed, and indeed, no acting was needed. It was true that the actions and narration were very minimal. But.

"How many times did you record that?"

Tae-un completely emptied the remaining alcohol in the glass and answered.

"About 70 or 80 times?"

"Ah, you really worked hard."

Soram giggled and pulled a cushion from the sofa as if he were the owner. He propped it up against the sofa and lay down as if leaning his upper body on it. He sat cross-legged, and when he raised his knees, the loose shorts lifted up.

Tae-un briefly bit his lips and let go. Then he placed the blanket on the sofa over him as if covering him.

"What is this?"

"Cover yourself."

"Why, it's hot."

"..."

Soram removed the blanket, but Tae-un pulled it back and placed it on his knees and turned on the air conditioner. Even while asking why he was doing this, Soram hugged his knees covered with the blanket.

Before Part 2 started, Tae-un went to the kitchen. He rummaged through the refrigerator and took out a pack of cherry tomatoes, peaches, and green apples. His back had broad shoulders and a back that completely covered the sink, but in front, he held a fruit knife and quite delicately removed the stems of the cherry tomatoes. Then he peeled the apple while spinning it round and round with one hand. The peel fell off long and thin like a snake. Soon, a tray full of fruit was placed in front of Soram.

"You peel apples nicely."

"It's the same."

In Part 2, more interesting scenes were produced with the appearance of hunters other than Team 7. Even the work scenes that the two thought would be boring were edited to look a bit comical.

The last scene, of course, had an emotional touch added. The time when Soram, Tae-un, and Ayoung solved the last rift of the day and returned to the headquarters together. Darkness had fallen in the sky of Seoul, but the ground was overflowing with brighter lights than during the day. Citizens were living their daily lives peacefully, and the city where early summer had arrived was covered with greenery. Looking down at that scene, subtitles appeared in white letters.

<This is the world we protect.>

Tae-un didn't know what he thought when he saw that scene, but Soram felt a bit of bitterness in his mouth. Even swallowing the sweet beer, that taste wouldn't go away.

Eventually, the screen faded out, and a small speech bubble appeared below. The speech bubble said, "After the next episode preview, a cookie video of the two hunters will pass by."

"They're really milking it to the end."

The contents scheduled to be aired next week passed by in a clumsy manner. The two, who usually didn't watch much TV, let it flow without much interest.

After the preview ended, Soram appeared sitting alone in an interview posture in an empty hallway. Soram was holding a microphone and had a faint smile.

The question the PD threw at Soram appeared as a subtitle below.

<Say something to each other.>

Soram hesitated for a moment and opened his lips with an expression not much different from usual.

―Um, we meet every day, so there's nothing to say separately, but I should say something. Han Tae-un ssi, you're doing well. Even for me, who has been doing this for several years, I feel it's not easy every day, but the way you silently carry on always seems cool to me. Keep fighting.

As TV Soram's words ended, an awkward atmosphere circulated outside the TV. Soram scratched his head and said,

"It means you can do it leisurely. Even while taking naps."

"..."

Following Soram's additional explanation, Tae-un's appearance appeared on the screen. Like Soram, he was sitting with his back against a white background, looking straight ahead.

Tae-un was also asked the same question as Soram. A low groan of "Ah" was transmitted to the microphone. He also took a moment to think and opened his mouth.

―Chief Jin is...

Hmm. There was another moment of hesitation. On the screen, an unfitting pink stripe was drawn over Tae-un's face. The agonizing moment of hesitation was not edited and came out as it was.

―He is an amazing and fascinating person to the point where I wonder if there will be another person like him in my life.

The microphone that had briefly come down rose back to his mouth.

―I look forward to working with you for a very long time in the future.

With Tae-un's last words, the "Let's Go to Work!" hunter episode ended. Soram glanced at Tae-un.

"It wasn't anything special, but why did you drag it out for so long?"

The glass that had been suspended in the air finally moved. Tae-un rubbed the surface of the glass with his fingertips, sighed, and took a sip of alcohol.

"...I know, right."

"This is all because you have no eloquence at all."

"..."

"Oh, it's the KR Airlines CF."

Tae-un silently watched the screen where the two of them appeared again. That appearance felt completely different from earlier when he was watching the broadcast and laughing together. Is he really thinking about something else?

"Han Tae-un."

"What?"

"Do you have any worries you can't talk about?"

"..."

"Just, it's my feeling, but you seem a bit different from before these days."

"How am I different?"

"...Should I say you're like a kid going through puberty?"

The glass Tae-un brought to his mouth stopped with a clink. He stayed like that for a moment, then laughed and gulped down the strong liquor. Soram sucked on his mango beer with the straw in it, waiting for an answer.

"I just have a lot on my mind alone."

"You're young after all. Thinking a lot too..."

Tae-un showed even the slightest change in expression only when Soram said nonsense. Soram turned his upper body towards him.

"What are you worried about?"

"I won't tell you."

"Okay. Then tell me later."

"I won't tell you later either."

"Han Tae-un ssi, are you really going through puberty?"

Tae-un closed his mouth as if he was sulking for no reason. It felt like the conversation wasn't continuing at all. Soram looked him over and saw Tae-un's left hand on the floor.

"Hey, show me your palm."

Tae-un showed his palm in front of Soram. The scar crossing the center remained clear.

Seeing that wound again, he couldn't help but feel a sharp feeling.

"You know it's like this because I sucked the poison out with my mouth, right?"

As if to remind him of that time, Soram brought his hand close to his mouth. As he approached a distance where the tip of his breath could touch, Tae-un closed his hand and lowered his arm. He let out a long sigh.

"Since we drank together, the promise is kept now, right? Then I have something to say."

"What is it?"

Clink. The glass was placed on the table.

"...Chief Jin."

Soram's eyebrows furrowed at the suddenly changed way of address. Tae-un continued.

"I want to keep some distance for a while."