Chapter 104

At that moment, the commander called Tae-un again.

"Excuse me, but could you take off your outer jacket just once?"

"You mean right now?"

"Yes."

"..."

"Ah... we're not continuing to suspect you, Hunter Han, but it's to make sure one last time. Please cooperate."

The sharp, handsome face had already turned cold. The soldiers also felt a bit more pricked by the fact that they were detaining an innocent person.

He took off the black jumper he was wearing on the outside and spread his arms as if to show them. Of course, there were no wounds inside. In the meantime, a faintly captured photo of the culprit arrived, and it was confirmed to be a completely different person.

"We apologize for the inconvenience. You may go."

"Yes."

An embarrassed atmosphere flowed while he put the jumper back on. The commander forced an awkward smile and asked,

"But why is a good-looking person like you bundled up so tightly? It's unnecessarily suspicious."

"Why do you think?"

Around Tae-un, who answered, and the soldiers, people who had turned towards them had already appeared. The murmur containing Tae-un's name was also heard here and there.

"...Well, you must be tired."

"Yes."

"Then please go ahead."

Tae-un turned his body and slipped out from among the soldiers. It was when he was passing the last person surrounding him.

"Uh, just one more thing. Where are you going at this hour when you're not at the headquarters, Hunter-nim?"

Tae-un stopped and turned to look at the person who had asked the question. When he met the gaze looking down from about a span above, even without any particular expression, it made him think, 'Is he really pissed off?'

"I'm going to meet my lover."

Oh, that makes sense.

"...Ah, aha... Please go quickly."

"Yes. Good work."

Behind Tae-un's back, voices such as 'He had a reason to cover his face,' and 'He's still dating even though he's busy,' were heard. It was a lie he had told to resolve the situation, but it left a slightly bitter taste in his mouth.

Tae-un came out of the station. When was it, he had been told during a mock trial, 'When the other person is talking nonsense, just look down at them and frown a little. Then they'll all be intimidated.' Without realizing it, he had ended up utilizing that advice.

There was one message from Soram on his cell phone. When he moved to the indicated location, a dim street away from the station appeared. There, his own car was parked. Of course, the car key was still in his pocket.

There was only one person who could naturally bring the car that wasn't started from the parking lot to here. Tae-un let out a deep sigh and grabbed the door handle. There were more than a few things he wanted to ask him.

At that moment, the car slipped forward. The wheels that had risen just enough to touch the ground were faintly surging with blue mist.

"Jin Soram."

The person sitting in the driver's seat glanced at him. Their eyes met briefly.

"...Hmm, I guess it won't work after all."

"What?"

Along with the mumbling, the car moved a bit more forward. Forward. Continuously forward.

"You're not getting in?"

As he followed and tapped the car body with his palm, the car suddenly increased its speed even more and turned the corner, running far away.

"Ha."

After an absurd sigh, Tae-un kicked the ground. He turned the corner following the car, confirmed that there were no people around, and wrapped his legs in a white aura.

Pak!

As he ran along the straight road, half-flying, the rear end of the car rapidly approached. Tae-un, who caught up to the car with a final leap, firmly placed his hand on the roof of the driver's seat.

"Stop the car right..."

However, the driver's seat was empty. As Tae-un hurriedly turned his head, a figure emitting blue mist was running away on the opposite side. Soram glanced at Tae-un over his shoulder. The tip of one of his hands stretched out in Tae-un's direction.

Screech―

"!"

The car turned its body and blocked the path to the alley where Soram had escaped. While Tae-un hesitated, Soram flew up to the rooftop of a building.

He was about to fly up as well. Two metal planes stopped in front of him with their blades pointed.

"Thanks for the car."

"..."

"The soldiers were watching the sidewalks, so I had no choice. Thanks for helping earlier... We saw each other face to face and greeted, so isn't that enough? Can't you just think you had a dream and let me go now?"

"No way. Explain properly what's going on. They said you were shot."

"It just grazed..."

Belatedly, Soram noticed Tae-un reaching his arm inside the open car door. But it was already too late to react. He picked up the long sword that had been in his own car.

Clang!

With a sword strike, the planes were pushed back. Tae-un, who had cleared the obstacles blocking his way, flew up and approached Soram.

"Ah, really..."

An irritated sigh escaped Soram's lips. A short sword tied inside the jumper was drawn out, and three more planes flew out from his arms. Five metal planes and Soram, and Tae-un holding a long sword in front of them. Except for the fact that the location was a dark sky, it closely resembled a sparring scene they had done before.

"How the hell did things turn out like this?"

The planes that had been bounced off by the long sword joined the other planes and chased after Tae-un. Was the ability operation that was unusually good today perhaps a setup for this? While Tae-un was blocking the planes, Soram lifted his body even higher and retreated backward.

Still, the chase with Han Tae-un wasn't as nerve-wracking as being chased by soldiers. Perhaps it was because he was certain that he was not someone who would harm him.

Clang!!

"Jin Soram."

Tae-un narrowed the distance through the gap he had struck down the planes. When Soram faced the gaze with a blue glint in his eyes, his hair stood on end.

'Eek, he seems a bit scary...'

The planes that had hurriedly followed attacked Tae-un again.

Clang, clang!

Before they knew it, the place they were in was a dark mountain entrance as they moved around the sky in a frenzy. Recognizing that there were no elements around to be mindful of, the attacks of the two became more fierce.

"Haa, ugh...!"

"Now be good and get caught."

"No! Go away!"

Clang!

"Han Tae-un, in the past, you at least pretended to listen to the chief, but now you don't even do that?"

Clang, clang!

"Because you're doing things that I can't understand at all. Why are you running away from me?"

"That's my business! Don't follow me!"

"Then I can do as I please too."

"Eek...!"

Soram, who had leaped forward in front of Tae-un by stepping on a plane, raised his sword high above his opposite shoulder. The sword was swung in a long parabola as it was. The short sword surrounded by blue mist struck down the middle of the long sword.

Clang!!!

A sound of impact that would have echoed all around if their floating height was just a little lower rang out. Fortunately, they were floating in the sky, far from the ground. Tae-un, who had been pushed back by the attack, regained his posture.

Soram, holding a sword completely enveloped in blue mist, breathed shallowly.

"It seems I'm still a bit better in terms of skill."

"Not a bit, but a lot. If the planes had come with you, I wouldn't have been able to block and would have crashed into a tree."

"Then wouldn't it be better to admit defeat and go back to the dormitory to rest?"

Tae-un didn't answer and only gripped his sword again. His intention not to let go if he couldn't catch him remained unchanged.

"Why go this far...? Ugh."

The situation was different from the public training. There was no way Tae-un, whom he had reunited with after a long time, wouldn't be truly fired up. However, the other person's attitude was so stubborn that not even a needle could penetrate.

The distance narrowed again. Tae-un's sword thrust towards Soram's body.

Clang!

It was Tae-un's first attack after only deflecting the planes or pressing down on the weapon Soram was holding. Soram, who had blocked the sword, narrowed his eyes.

'That stickler wouldn't do that.'

There was no way Han Tae-un's personality would allow him to make an attack that would directly harm in a situation that was not even a spar. The approach with his body was all for restraint that he could block even with his eyes closed.

It was bitter to grasp and utilize that personality like this, but...

Swish―

Instead of countering the next attack, Soram dodged to the side. Even when he approached a precarious distance, Tae-un twisted the direction of the sword that had been thrusting as Soram didn't counter.

"Idiot."

"..."

Soram continued to run away while appropriately deflecting or dodging Tae-un's attacks.

Because he was deliberately making sloppy attacks, there were inevitable gaps here and there in his movements. It seemed like if he aimed properly and pushed him away once, he could escape. Soram tightly gripped his sword. Waiting for a proper gap to appear again.

Tae-un probably read this thought as well, but there would be no sharp solution. In the first place, there was no way for a 1st-grade to subdue another 1st-grade without injury.

"Han Tae-un-ssi, let's stop this war of attrition now."

"...No."

"Ugh, stubborn. So annoying!"

Tae-un's sword, which had pushed away the planes and came out, once again blocked the path of escape. The attacks that approached only up to the point of not hurting Soram didn't cause physical harm, but instead added a throbbing pain to his heart.

Clang! Clang!

A few more exchanges of attacks took place. Tae-un, who had been exchanging attacks with the planes, narrowed his eyes the moment Soram approached and swung his sword in a long arc towards his waist. Soram lightly bent his body and dodged the attack.

'This attack was very shallow...'

Soram gasped. The missed attack brushed past his side and cut the strap of the duffel bag.

"...Ah...!"

As the shoulder strap slipped, the bag fell down. Soram hurriedly reached out his hand and wrapped the bag in blue mist. However, a white aura that flew in pulled the bag away with greater force.

Thud―

The heavy duffel bag fell into Tae-un's hand. Tae-un glanced up at Soram and then grabbed the closed zipper.

"Ah, no!"

Soram, who had flown like an arrow, pounced on the bag before he could open it even half a finger's width. Instead of opening the bag further, Tae-un tightly pulled the shoulders of the one who had flown in front of him into his arms.

"Caught you."

"..."

After a brief hesitation, Soram's arm holding the short sword drooped down as if surrendering.