#Side Story, In Heat - 6
"Seung-jo."
"...Yeah."
"Sleep well."
"...You too."
After barely moving his stiffened tongue to respond, a moment later Kang Mu-heon's body relaxed softly with a long exhale. Only when the regular breathing sounds that followed began to slow and become stable did Jeong Seung-jo manage to release some of the tension in his body.
About an hour might have passed. Seung-jo realized that he was now the only one not sleeping in this room. But sleep still wouldn't come. The only thing that felt important was the presence of his friend lying to his right.
This wasn't the first time he had slept in the same place as Mu-heon. Having grown up like brothers since childhood, he had slept over at Mu-heon's house before, and conversely, Mu-heon had come to play at his house and stayed overnight. Literally, it wasn't anything new, yet Seung-jo noticed that he was more tense than ever today.
He felt like he couldn't bear it if this warmth on his right suddenly disappeared. As he thought this, he suddenly felt an inexplicable anxiety, wondering if the person lying on his right was really Mu-heon or not.
Feeling this childlike anxiety, Seung-jo raised his upper body, trying not to make a sound.
His eyes had now adjusted somewhat to the darkness, allowing him to make out vague shapes. Slowly feeling along the white blanket, when he pressed on the shoulder of the person lying to his right, the other made a small mumbling sound and poked his head out from under the blanket where he had been curled up. Seung-jo instantly pulled his hand away in surprise.
"Haah..."
Fortunately, he hadn't woken up. Though the shadows on his face were deep in the dim light, it wasn't so dark that he couldn't recognize him.
The soft black hair falling over his eyebrows, the pale face still showing downy hair where a beard hadn't grown yet, the bridge of his nose still retaining traces of childhood, lips tightly closed as if showing stubbornness, and the chin. It was indeed Mu-heon's face, with not a single unfamiliar feature.
Feeling relieved, Seung-jo's hand, having unconsciously relaxed his usually cold expression, moved towards Mu-heon's disheveled hair on the pillow. After touching it, he slowly rubbed it, feeling its cold and rough texture. As he was about to touch his face but hesitated, turning his gaze towards the arm sticking out from under the blanket, Mu-heon suddenly tossed violently.
"Mmm..."
After tossing a couple of times, when Mu-heon stretched out again, the blanket had become rumpled and slid down, revealing his bare upper body as boys often sleep, almost completely exposed.
"..."
Was it because of the strange words he had heard earlier in the day? The moment he saw that bare skin, his breath caught. He couldn't take his eyes off the chest rising and falling. The bare skin of another male suddenly felt like something strange and unknown.
He was afraid, but at the same time, it felt like his mind was heating up. His throat felt parched, and swallowing didn't quench his thirst. He already knew from earlier memories that there was no water in this room.
Seung-jo counted to three internally, then barely managed to turn his eyes away and fumbled along the wall to get up. And somehow, without knowing how he had slipped out, when he came to his senses, he was startled to find himself standing in the same place where he had wandered after leaving the dining hall during lunchtime.
'Why did I come all the way here... I should go to the dining hall and at least drink some water.'
Just as he made that decision and turned around, it happened.
"You finally came."
It was the voice of that guy who had introduced himself as Hong Young-ui. When he turned his head, he could faintly see a human silhouette in the darkness.
"You were a bit late, but I knew you'd come."
"Cut the nonsense. I just came out to drink water."
Why was this guy out here again? As Seung-jo walked towards the dining hall in irritation, Young-ui followed behind, starting to ramble.
"That's not it. Earlier, when I said you always think only of Kang Mu-heon, you clearly had a guilty look. You came out here because you know it yourself, right?"
"What's wrong with a friend thinking about a friend? I'm not a homo bastard like you who shows interest in men."
"Don't pretend you don't know. I realized you were the same kind as me from the moment I first saw you. Others might think the reason you keep asking for matches with Kang Mu-heon even though you lose every time is just due to competitiveness, but I knew that wasn't it. You..."
"Stop right there, don't mention Kang Mu-heon's name anymore."
As Seung-jo glared murderously and spoke, cutting each word, Young-ui's words were instantly cut off. Young-ui remained quiet while Seung-jo arrogantly averted his gaze, entered the dining hall, and drank water from the water purifier emitting a faint blue light, but as Seung-jo wiped his mouth and was about to leave, he raised his voice again.
"I just want to teach you the truth because I'm frustrated seeing you know one thing but not the other."
Thwack! Crash!
Seung-jo punched Young-ui in the face without hesitation. Caught off guard, the guy flew and crashed into the corner wall. Seung-jo sat down leisurely on top of Young-ui's stomach as he squirmed to get up, and spoke with gleaming eyes.
"You're talking about truth, huh."
"Ha... that hurts a bit."
Young-ui spat to the side and smiled, squinting the eye that had been hit. Seung-jo frowned unpleasantly at Young-ui's behavior, which wasn't following the expected course of trembling in fear.
"What's your intention in constantly trying to label me as homo and spouting nonsense about truth since earlier?"
As Seung-jo grabbed his collar and pulled him close while speaking, Young-ui's face broke into a strange smile.
"As you said earlier, yes. I'm a homo who's very interested in men. But when I said I was interested in you, it wasn't that kind of interest. Somehow, I ended up observing you and Kang Mu-heon on and off for a year, and I found it funny and frustrating to see you deliberately pretending not to know your own feelings that anyone could see clearly, so I naturally became interested."
"What did you say?"
As Seung-jo was considering hitting him again and raising his hand, Young-ui widened his eyes and asked.
"Don't you hate it when Kang Mu-heon talks with other kids?"
His hand stopped in mid-air.
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Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.
"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."
In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.
"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."
And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.
"For now, until then, let's sleep..."
As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.
'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'
Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.
Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.
"Since when have you been watching me?"
Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.
"From the very beginning."
Graduate student Yi-han finds himself reborn in another world as the youngest child of a mage family.
– I’m never attending school, ever again!
‘What do you wish to achieve in life?’
‘I wish to play around and live comforta-‘
‘You must be aware of your talent. Now go attend Einroguard!’
‘Patriarch!’
My future would be guaranteed once I graduate. For my future!
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