Chapter 84
“I can hear the sound of your eyes rolling.”
“Really?”
He was amazed that a hunter of Baek Rak’s level could hear such things. However, he soon realized that wasn’t the case. Because he could feel Baek Rak’s shoulders shaking as he laughed.
Seo Won, belatedly realizing he had been teased by Baek Rak, hit his waist with all his might in frustration. The sound of skin hitting skin rang out louder than expected.
“Ow…”
“That’s why you shouldn’t joke around in places like this. I still can’t tell the difference between truth and jokes.”
“I got it, so calm down and sleep some more.”
For someone who said it hurt, Baek Rak didn’t care about where he was hit at all. He just held Seo Won’s warm body fully in his arms.
“Why do you keep telling me to sleep?”
Seo Won tilted his head at Baek Rak’s repeated words to keep sleeping. It wasn’t like him. Was he just trying to make him sleep more because it was night? While he was thinking various thoughts, Baek Rak easily provided the reason.
“We’ll depart immediately when morning comes.”
“……”
“So sleep a lot now.”
Come to think of it, they had already achieved their goal of coming to Gangnam Station. They had found the fire-type hunter whose identity was unknown, and had just finished the third awakening.
There was no longer any need to stay at Gangnam Station.
At the thought of having to go outside the safe zone again, Seo Won squeezed his eyes shut. Because the Alpha waiting in the ruins came to mind.
Having to break through those frighteningly swarming creatures to get to Yeongdeungpo Station again.
He just had to hang on, but Baek Rak needed to conserve his strength in preparation for battle. So even a short nap was essential for Baek Rak. Realizing this, Seo Won nodded slightly.
“Yeah, let’s sleep.”
“…Why are you listening so well for once?”
When Baek Rak pulled away in puzzlement, Seo Won slowly opened his eyes.
“You said we’re departing in the morning. I have that much judgment.”
“……”
“Stop staring and you sleep too.”
Seo Won said quietly while pulling Baek Rak’s body closer.
Baek Rak, who had been looking down at Seo Won with his arm raised, let out a hollow laugh and embraced him back. The appropriate volume that fit snugly in his arms and the fine-textured skin felt pleasant.
When Baek Rak closed his eyes again, Seo Won also sought sleep.
The dark night passed silently while listening to the sound of peaceful breathing.
***
The identity of the item that was an excuse to enter Gangnam Station shelter and caused the argument with the person in charge was apple tree seeds.
Plant seeds were treated as very precious here, so trading them required caution. Especially apple trees, which had only been cultivated at Yeongdeungpo Station and Seoul Station, making them quite a coveted item for them.
The fact that Baek Rak had said he would meet the shelter administrator directly to trade also had plausible persuasiveness.
However, having achieved his main goal, Baek Rak handed over the apple tree seeds to the person in charge as soon as morning broke. There was no longer any need to drag out time, and it was better to leave before the unconscious administrator woke up.
The person in charge caught the small cloth pouch that came flying, checked its contents, and looked at Baek Rak with a subtle expression.
“…I thought you’d hold out until the end?”
“We delayed longer than expected.”
Seo Won looked thoughtfully at Baek Rak, who spoke indifferently. He was quite good at saying things he didn’t mean.
The person in charge, who couldn’t know this, kept twitching his mouth corners. He carefully folded the cloth pouch and put it in his pocket, then glanced at Baek Rak.
“Ahem, hmm. I just needed to check, but to actually give it like this.”
“Meeting the administrator fell through, didn’t it?”
“…Well, that’s true.”
“More than that, thanks to that we ended up eating all the emergency food we brought. I think we can consider that as showing sincerity?”
Gangnam Station hadn’t provided for their basic needs. Because neither side would bend until the end. Though they had received some help from Jody, there were limits to obtaining food.
The jerky and vegetable sticks they brought were all eaten by yesterday, and they had secretly stolen water to drink. It was fortunate that he didn’t have much desire for food, otherwise he might have shown resentment toward the person in charge as well.
Now that Baek Rak had taken the first step back, it was time for the person in charge to show corresponding sincerity.
“This time I’ll support you generously.”
The person in charge, whose heart had broadened, naturally agreed readily. Then after thinking deeply about something for a moment, he asked Baek Rak.
“When will you depart?”
“Right after we receive it.”
He nodded and radioed someone. Shortly after, a man brought two leather pouches and two water pouches each.
“This should be enough, how is it?”
Baek Rak received the leather pouch, looked inside, and chuckled.
“Sufficient.”
Seo Won received the pouch Baek Rak handed him and likewise looked inside.
The pouch contained vegetable sticks, jerky, and dried fruit. As the person in charge said, it was a composition that showed considerable care. Because this was the first time eating fruit since coming to this world.
‘What’s that? Is it strawberry?’
While Seo Won was curious about the coin-sized red lumps, the person in charge and Baek Rak had a conversation.
“But you cleverly thought to give apple tree seeds? You kept them hidden so tightly until now.”
“It was just time to share.”
“Time to share?”
“In preparation for unforeseen circumstances.”
At Baek Rak’s meaningful words, the person in charge’s eyes narrowed. He looked back and forth between Baek Rak and Seo Won, then asked quietly.
“Did something happen to Yeongdeungpo Station?”
Though he asked cautiously just in case, Baek Rak’s current behavior and expression weren’t particularly desperate. Rather, he was smiling somewhat leisurely, which was only confusing.
“Just pass it along well to the administrator.”
Baek Rak, who had no intention of satisfying the person in charge’s curiosity, lightly ignored it and changed the topic. There was no need to step forward first and convey Yeongdeungpo Station’s situation.
From their position, it was just taking out ‘insurance’ in preparation for emergencies. It was only because Gangnam Station was a more worthwhile trading partner than Seoul Station, not because they would trade without calculation. The details were for each shelter’s administrators to handle.
In the end, the person in charge, who couldn’t get an answer, sighed briefly.
“…That’s natural.”
Baek Rak immediately turned around as if he had finished all his business. Then he approached Seo Won, who was still examining the inside of the leather pouch.
“What’s so interesting?”
“There’s dried fruit inside too.”
“So what?”
“Well, until now it’s been vegetable sticks and jerky…”
Before Seo Won could finish speaking, Baek Rak put his arm around his shoulder and secretly covered his mouth.
Though fruit wasn’t easy-to-see food at Yeongdeungpo Station, it was distributed to people according to a regular schedule. Seo Won simply hadn’t been able to eat any until now because the timing didn’t match. He had to always be careful not to create another suspicion by speaking carelessly.
The two headed toward the barrier rooftop, leaving the bewildered person in charge behind. Since they could just jump down without needing the door opened, others didn’t bother to stop them either.
Only then did Seo Won tap Baek Rak’s hand, meaning for him to let go of his arm. There was no need to be careful anymore, but he kept covering his mouth, which was frustrating. However, Baek Rak consistently played dumb and climbed the stairs.
“Hey, mmph! Baek, mmph!”
Only after being silenced several times did he realize Baek Rak was playing around.
Seo Won firmly grasped his hand so he couldn’t escape, saying ‘you try it too,’ and licked his palm. Then Baek Rak flinched and stared at him intently.
‘What! If you don’t like it, let go of my hand now!’
It was shocking behavior that would make ordinary people immediately let go in disgust. Seo Won looked up at Baek Rak confidently.
But his reaction was completely different from ordinary people.
“Mmph!”
He did let go of his hand. But he immediately stuck his fingers into Seo Won’s mouth. Looking at the flustered Seo Won, Baek Rak skillfully rubbed his mucous membranes.
“Ugh, mmph, what, mmgh.”
“You provoked me first.”
“What, mmph, provo, mmmmph.”
Seo Won had no understanding at all. Of what he had done.
At times like this, Baek Rak could really feel that Yoon Seo Won came from another world. And yet he acted so confident.
“You want to do it with me where everyone can see?”
“Mmm! What, mmph!”
“You licked my palm.”
At Seo Won’s gaze asking what that had to do with his nonsense, Baek Rak chuckled.
“That means you want to sleep with me.”
“Hup!”
“How about it? Should we do it right now?”
Seo Won shook his head vigorously. He desperately resisted, saying that absolutely wasn’t what he meant. Fortunately, whether his feelings reached him, Baek Rak’s fingers that had been rubbing inside his mouth stopped.
Instead, traces of contemplation could be seen in his thoughtful gaze.
Should I let this slide or not?
Seo Won carefully tapped Baek Rak’s hand with the intention of telling him to calm down. Only then did Baek Rak slowly pull out his fingers.
“Hnngh…, cough, cough!”
When the invader that had been filling his mouth disappeared, coughs burst out continuously. Though the fingers hadn’t gone in deeply, his throat seemed to have narrowed greatly from tension.
Seo Won shed a few tears and made a resolution. From now on, he would think once more before taking any action. Who would have thought licking a palm had that meaning? His ignorance had properly stepped on a landmine.
“Hah, hah, ugh.”
“If you do that again next time, I won’t let it slide.”
“I didn’t know, cough, that’s why I did it. No, even so, how could you? There are so many people here, what kind of behavior is that?”
“To make you get your head on straight.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
