Chapter 144

Soram arrived at the large riverside in Gangwon-do with its beautiful mountains and waters, the site of the training.

"...Haa..."

And he deeply regretted his actions. Swayed by emotions, he had failed to see the hints that were clearly there.

One was that Ga-eul had said it was a job that came to "Team 1," not to her personally.

Another was that the Director would never send Soram alone yet. Especially for such an official occasion, both the Deputy Director and the PR Director would insist on attaching someone to Soram's side.

Thus, on one side of the platform with a clear view of the training site, seats were prepared for two people. Soram sat there side by side with Tae-un.

"..."

At least the office desk was wide, but here they were literally within arm's reach.

This was truly the worst.

He couldn't even slump over the desk, so he kept seeing the shoulder of the person next to him at about cheek height. Turning his gaze the other way would only result in awkward eye contact with strangers, so he had no choice but to look straight ahead.

Among the unfamiliar soldiers, there was one familiar person. Though he wasn't sure if this could be called an acquaintance... it was the head of the Capital Defense Supply Depot whose weapons he had stripped before.

When their eyes met, the man flinched and avoided his gaze. Soram thought about picking a fight, adding his current irritation to the old grudge, but gave up. That would be like getting slapped in Jongno and taking it out somewhere else.

As he watched disinterestedly, the training began. At the signal, the lined-up soldiers dispersed.

The training was an engineering exercise, an emergency response simulation assuming a wide river without a bridge, or a large rift opening on the other side. The fact that it was by the water showed they were very conscious of the 3rd Great Rift.

Unfortunately, the 4th Great Rift was set to break out in an urban area with tall buildings and apartments.

Shhaa―

Oblivious to others' concerns, the river eagerly reflected sunlight on its clear currents, and newly sprouted leaves rustled on the surrounding trees.

As his gaze naturally blurred looking at the natural scenery, helicopters and transport trucks appeared on the peaceful riverside. Several boats loaded on the back of the trucks were smoothly launched onto the river. They were strange boats that looked just like container boxes.

"Oh. Wow."

A moment of undisguised admiration escaped his lips. The boats unfolded to the left and right like unwrapping a package, becoming wide rafts. Those rafts looked like pieces of road taken out.

Identical floating objects lined up in a row and began to assemble neatly. As they stretched out long, a temporary bridge formed on the river. In an instant, a connecting route was created across the river that seemed to be over 200m wide.

Several heavy tanks crossed the river on that bridge. Despite the quite fast current, the temporary bridge didn't shake. Soram couldn't close his mouth at the sight he was seeing for the first time. While he had paid no attention because he could fly, technology had evolved tremendously in places he didn't know about.

After all the tanks crossed, the bridge was disassembled again. Then the military set up barricades in front of the dungeon assumed to have appeared across the bridge and conducted defense and attack simulations. But rather than that scene, Soram still couldn't take his eyes off the riverside. He didn't even notice the superior looks some people were giving him, as if to say "Did you see that?" If such quick assembly and disassembly were possible like that.

"Hey, Han Tae-un, could that be done in Seoul too..."

"..."

Ah.

Soram looked down at his hand that had unconsciously stretched out to the side. He was gripping Tae-un's wrist, and Tae-un was looking at Soram with slightly surprised eyes.

"...It would be possible, but using road control and existing bridges would be faster."

"..."

"Unless the bridges have collapsed."

Soram quickly pulled his hand back. He also turned his shoulder in the opposite direction from his body that had leaned towards Tae-un. His lips were pressed against his front teeth.

Though he didn't look to the side, it seemed like Tae-un was covering the wrist that had been grabbed with his hand. Soram rubbed his palm with his fingers under the table in various ways. It felt like ink had stained it. No matter how much he rubbed, it wouldn't come off easily.

The training ended in time for lunch. Since Soram and Tae-un were not military personnel, they received their meals separately in a temporary barracks rather than on the platform. They would probably exchange evaluations and reports about the training, which couldn't be shared. He understood that part.

However, he couldn't understand being left alone with Tae-un at this small table in this narrow space for personal reasons.

"..."

"..."

Haa.

Soram roughly placed the provided meal on the table and immediately turned around. It was another avoidance of a situation he didn't want to face.

Leaving the barracks, he looked around and sat down on the edge of a cliff deep inside the forest, a bit away from the riverside. No one would be able to see him here.

"Sigh."

I won't die from skipping one meal.

But if they stayed together, it felt like something would eventually be said, and he didn't want to fight here. The scheduled lunch time was one hour. After that, formal procedures including photo shoots for articles and interviews remained. It would probably be finished in an hour or two, and they could return to the headquarters.

Soram took out a cigarette pack from his pocket. It had been bought a while ago, and the corners were crumpled.

'It's been a really long time.'

He used to smoke occasionally until before the 3rd Great Rift, but had been forced to quit when he became a patient for a while. After that, he had been suppressing the urge every time it came up because the person he was always in close contact with was a non-smoker.

His hand hesitated for a moment as he brought the lighter close. Somehow, just putting it to his lips felt like it meant continuing the cold war for another week.

"This is annoying..."

The longer the argument dragged on, the more anxious he felt. He knew that Tae-un had taken the magic stones for Soram's own sake and was being uncompromising.

But, do you really have something more important than not being able to see me?

Aren't you having a hard time with the current situation?

"..."

At that moment, Soram narrowed his eyes as he saw someone approaching through the grass. There was only one person who could fly over here after looking around and discovering Soram sitting on the edge of the cliff.

The smoke he had inhaled scattered through his slightly parted lips. One of Tae-un's eyebrows twisted a little as he approached and noticed what Soram was holding.

Tae-un's destination was clearly here. Soram lowered the filter he was about to bring to his mouth and put out the cigarette behind his back.

Tak.

Almost simultaneously, the sole of Tae-un's shoe stepped onto the spot next to him.

"Go eat."

"Did you come to see me just to make me eat?"

Those few times he had spoken since the fight were all about food.

"Forget it. I'm not eating."

"I'll stay out here, so go."

"I'm not not eating because of you. I don't eat things that don't taste good."

"Stop acting like a child and go eat."

"Ha, what?"

His eyes and cheeks tensed up involuntarily.

"Is that still all you can say?"

Huu... A sigh full of irritation flowed out. Soram roughly ruffled his bangs and stood up.

"Forget it. You eat a lot."

It was more infuriating that he was acting half like a lover, neither continuing the fight coldly nor suggesting they make up. In the end, the fight was at a standstill even here, beyond the dormitory and office. The conclusion this time was again Soram's avoidance.

"I'll be back in time, so don't follow me."

It was when he was about to turn and leave. His back was embraced just like that.

"What are you doing?"

"...Ah."

Tae-un seemed to realize his action only after hearing Soram's voice and stiffened. But the hesitation was brief, and soon he tightened his grip around Soram's body, almost suffocatingly.

"Don't go."

Huh, what?

"Stop showing me your back."

"You drove me away!"

"I won't talk like that anymore. Why have you gotten so thin?"

The emotions that had been suppressed until now overflowed in the grip that held the struggling Soram. The tightly clenched hands firmly held the body while also blocking with the back of the hand to prevent hurting the other.

This was indeed the behavior of Han Tae-un that Soram knew.

"Hey, are you playing with me now... ha, damn..."

Yesterday, the day before, and even until just now, he had been grinding his teeth inwardly, but now his hardened insides were melting at one heartfelt word from the other telling him not to go. He was no different from a pushover.

"...Han Tae-un, you've let me do anything else. But why did you do this this time?"

He had even overlooked stealing firearms from military facilities and beheading the person inside the Great Rift. He had experienced all those things directly and remained by Soram's side without any change.

So why did he create such a conflict over Soram scratching his arm a bit with the magic stone?

"..."

Instead of answering the question, the strength of the arms wrapped around his body increased.

It felt like even the urge to argue was draining away through the place where he was held. It seemed like his mind was suppressing all emotions, recognizing that a chance for reconciliation had come. Without any pride.

Han Tae-un. You've won.

Just for reaching out first this one time.

Soram opened his quivering lips.

"Hey, Han Tae-un, I don't want to fight anymore."

Pride mixed with a bit of resentment painfully pressed on his throat.

"Make up any reason for taking the magic stones. I'll understand on my own."

Now he didn't care about anything else. He just didn't want to let go of this body heat he had felt after so long.

"...I'm sorry for making you feel hurt and upset. But I still don't think I can give back those magic stones. It's not because I don't trust you and think you'll abuse them..."

Tae-un exhaled a long breath.

"I feel so strange and anxious every time you get wounded by the magic stones."

"What on earth..."

"It feels like you might go somewhere."