Chapter 85

* * *

"Now, everyone. Let's do a survey."

On Soram's face, who was standing like a team leader while holding a tablet for once, there was a hint of fatigue. Although his behavior was similar to usual, things like his eyes and chapped lips created that atmosphere.

When people who saw him every day asked what was going on, he answered that he had a bit of a hard time sleeping because of the heat. It seemed that recently, the number of times he sat with his chin resting and his gaze lowered had increased rather than lying face down.

"What survey? Are we doing something like emergency standby again?"

On the other hand, Ayoung, who had safely finished her final exams, welcomed the summer vacation. While she's not going to school, Ayoung also works from 9 to 6 like the other two team members. Thus, the three of them gathered in the morning, wearing the same suits for once. The high school student's vacation was not long, so in fact, there wasn't much time left in that period already.

"It's Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) in a month. Hunters from the Field Operations Bureau need to get approval in advance to leave their jurisdiction."

"Aha, right. I think we did this during Seollal (Korean New Year) too."

"That's right. First, Hunter Lee Ayoung. Where will you be during the holiday?"

"I'm not going to my grandfather's house this year! It's a privilege of being a high school senior. I have to prepare for the early admission interviews too."

"Then you'll be in Seongnam?"

"Yes."

"And Han Tae-un ssi, Otgil-eup, Guncheon-gun?"

"Yes."

"No, that's being used like a meme on the internet. They say 'a young bachelor in Otgil-eup, Guncheon-gun.' Isn't it too much for everyone to make fun of your hometown?"

"It's about time for nicknames to appear now. Just wait a little, all sorts of things will pop up."

The person with the most nicknames among them spoke nonchalantly while moving the pen on the tablet.

"Lastly, the team leader will be in Jongno-gu, Seoul."

"Oppa, you're not going home?"

"Yeah. I don't have a family."

"..."

Although Soram himself had brought it up without any meaning, Ayoung's mouth closed hesitantly. Even if the person himself was nonchalant about it, it was not something that could be easily responded to. After a brief silence, Ayoung said,

"Right, Soram oppa, the world is lonely anyway. Enjoy the quiet headquarters."

"Yeah. I'll watch some special movies and catch up on my sleep."

"You don't have any sleep to catch up on, oppa. You've already used it all up in advance before. People like you have a hard time sleeping when you get older."

A puff of air escaped through Soram's lips.

"I hope the time comes when I have to worry about that."

"Huh?"

Soram, who had answered without thinking, realized his mistake with an "ah" and smiled.

"I really don't care, so you two don't worry about anything either. Anyway, there's always a need for someone on duty during the holidays."

Just because it was a holiday, it wasn't like the rifts would say, 'Oh, if that's the case, I won't appear while you're resting.' So a certain number of emergency personnel had to remain.

There were a few more hunters like Soram who found it more comfortable to stay at the headquarters due to personal circumstances, so there was no particular problem with preparing for any possible major incidents. There was also a manual in place to respond to emergencies by identifying the locations in advance, as Soram had just done, for hunters moving to other regions during the holiday period.

In fact, he didn't plan to stay only at the headquarters either. Soram was thinking of visiting the place where the 3rd Great Dungeon would occur during the holiday.

Until now, the reason he had been lying down without doing anything was because of his fear of failure. But now, he had an even greater fear. The fear that when this life ends, he would meet people who had forgotten all the time they had spent with him.

So he thought he would struggle just once and got up from the thorny path he had been lying flat on to avoid.

Now that he was trying to actually face what he had only been ignoring before, his heart began to feel heavy. But now, he wanted to live a little longer after all.

The team spent their time as usual and left work early around six o'clock. Now that the rainy season had subsided a bit, the sky was bright even until the evening.

After seeing Ayoung off, the elevator they took headed towards the dormitory floor. Soram, who was lightly stretching his shoulders, felt a gaze and looked to the side. As expected, Han Tae-un was looking at him.

"Why?"

He raised and lowered his eyebrows, implying 'Why are you just staring at me without saying anything?'

Originally, Tae-un often silently stared at Soram, but after he fell into the water last time, the frequency increased even more.

'I won't say anything. Tomorrow too.'

Tae-un kept his word. When Soram didn't mention the incident that day, he also never brought it up as a topic. Instead, his unique, blunt, and stoic gaze became more persistent. Exaggerating a bit, Soram felt like he was in Tae-un's eyes except when he went to the bathroom or on a dispatch.

Still, this time, he opened his mouth instead of just looking.

"What will you do if you stay here during the holiday?"

"What else, I'll be on duty. But during the holidays, nothing really happens, so I just play around."

"Isn't there anyone else who can take the duty if it's not you?"

"Ah, I know what you're thinking, but I didn't take it because I was pushed. I really have nowhere else to go, so I'm doing it."

The elevator arrived at the dormitory floor. The door slid open, and the corridor, the only place in this building that kept the lights on all day even after work hours, appeared. Along with the sound of the elevator closing behind them, Tae-un asked,

"Soram-ah, do you want to come to my house?"

"..."

Soram's eyebrows, who looked up at Tae-un, gradually furrowed inward. One fist clenched tightly and punched Tae-un's arm.

"Why did you hit me?"

"You have no conscience. You did it until two in the morning yesterday. Let's sleep a bit today."

"...That's not what I meant. If you have nothing to do here during the holiday, come to my house and rest."

"You want me to go to Guncheon with you?"

"There's no need for you to stay at work even on your days off."

Tae-un rarely spoke more than Soram when he was trying to persuade him. When there was no particular response, Tae-un even stood in front of Soram's dormitory door and waited for his answer. Soram tilted his head, saying, "Hey, hey."

"Don't say nonsense. Your parents will be at your house, so it'll be uncomfortable for both of us."

"I use a separate annex apart from where my parents live. If we greet them once when we arrive, there won't be any more encounters."

"...Annex? Do you live in a mansion? Are you a rural aristocrat?"

"It's a place where my uncle who lived with us temporarily stayed for his newlywed life after getting married. After my uncle left, I used it."

"Oh... That's unique. Building an annex next to the house and living there. Usually, if you go through that much trouble, wouldn't you just move out and live on your own?"

Soram opened the door to his dormitory room. Since the conversation wasn't over yet, Tae-un followed him inside. There was a way to go to Tae-un's room from the inside, and it wasn't awkward for them to be in each other's rooms.

"If you have land, the construction cost of a small house itself is not large. My uncle caused an accident when he was a college student, so he had no saved money, and they couldn't send two college students who knew nothing to another place."

Ah, I see. He was speeding.

"Is he doing well now?"

"Yeah. So the distance from the main house is sufficient, and it has everything you need."

"Hmm..."

Soram walked inside, giving a vague answer. Honestly, he had no intention of accepting Han Tae-un's proposal at all. But he also didn't want to say that he had a separate place to investigate.

"If you're going to stay at the headquarters, come with me."

"I told you I'm not uncomfortable staying here at all. I've been doing it every year, so this is more comfortable for me."

"I want to be with you."

"..."

"And I don't want to leave you alone."

After the day he said he would do as he pleased, Tae-un began to push his opinions a little more.

"We'll talk about it later."

He must have been emotionally shaken because he had unnecessarily mentioned not having a family and being alone. It would probably be forgotten once the current impulse subsided.

But Soram knew it too, he was just ignoring it. Han Tae-un was as stubborn as he was hard like a rock, and he didn't easily change his mind.

The next day on the way to work.

"Come to my house during the holiday."

"Ah, what's there to do in that remote village?"

"I'll let you sleep in, cook for you, and take you for a walk in a place with fresh air."

"You might as well say it's a nursing home."

And a few days later on the way back from work.

"Come to my house during the holiday."

"I can sleep in, eat, and walk here too! There are so many parks in Seoul!"

"Five puppies were born."

"..."

Tae-un's persuasion continued after that as well.

"I'll make that soup you liked last time with a bigger fish for you."

"..."

"In a cauldron."

"There are still places that have cauldrons?"

And one night.

"Ah, okay, I'll go, I'll go, so stop, not there, ugh...!"

"Keep your promise, Soram-ah."

"You, this... Aah!"

Tae-un persistently brought a laptop right in front of Soram, who was exhausted after finishing sex.

"I'm tired. Tired... Ha, you crazy bastard."

He sat behind Soram, letting him lean his back against his chest, and placed the laptop on his hands, opening the screen right in front of him. So that Soram only had to move his fingers.

In the end, Chief Jin Soram of Team 7 revised his report to state that he would be in Guncheon-gun for two days during the holiday. Thus, the schedule was changed to spend two days, the day before and the day of Chuseok, in Guncheon-gun, and the remaining day in Busan as planned.

Soram, who had pushed the laptop away, had to frown all over his face due to the inexplicable sense of injustice. Tae-un's arms pressed Soram tightly against himself.

"Haa..."

Soram's muttering could be heard from close by, calling him a blunt bear cub and a stubborn scholar. But Tae-un didn't bat an eye, as he always did.

The firm strength that trapped him in his arms felt the unyielding stubbornness that wouldn't even let a needle through.

* * *

"Can I take over?"

"Don't pretend to have the intention when you don't."

"I was just asking."

If Tae-un had said 'yes' here, Soram would have tried to sit in the driver's seat.

However, he wouldn't have been able to muster the patience to wait for the traffic jam and would have lifted the car and flown away about 5 minutes later. Tae-un, who could clearly imagine that scene, silently gripped the steering wheel and looked ahead. It was better for him to keep driving than to advertise Jin Soram's holiday destination to the numerous people on the highway.

On the first day of the holiday, the road was jammed from the morning. The two of them paid the price for their late departure on the unmoving road. To be precise, the only one paying the price was Tae-un in the driver's seat.

"Looking at the road conditions, it's all blocked up to waaaay ahead."

"It looks like it."

"Ah, I'm sick of the road. What a hassle on a holiday."

Tae-un, who had persuaded and persuaded the reluctant Soram to finally take him along, moved the car forward a little without saying a word.

When he first brought up going together, he only thought that he needed to keep Soram in his sight. It was an impatience that had arisen since Soram, who had confidently set out saying he was strong, fell into the water.

Perhaps it was something that had been there before, but it had become completely visible with that incident. Because he had been constantly looking at Soram, who told him not to help, without realizing it and reaching out his hand.

...Of course, he kind of wanted to look at the current appearance with slightly blurry eyes. Tae-un's gaze shifted to the side seat with a little bit of annoyance.

The passenger seat next to him was completely reclined 180 degrees, and Soram was lying there, eating baked whole potatoes and grilled cuttlefish bought from a rest area. He even seized the driver's sunglasses to create a travel mood. Tae-un's vision wasn't obstructed even if his eyes were a bit dazzled anyway.

Soram, who was rolling around and looking at his cell phone, held out a piece of cuttlefish body as if doing a favor. Tae-un took it without a word and bit into it with his teeth.