A Certain Moment (11)
I pretended not to notice the enormous bag occupying the entryway as I prepared to leave for the center. Hae-geon was still standing guard over that huge bag even as I appeased Cream on my way to the front door.
“Hae-geon, are you ready to go now? Are you all prepared?”
“Yes. Have you finished your preparations, hyung?”
“Yeah. I’m all done.”
“Then let’s go.”
Hae-geon shouldered the visibly heavy bag and gently patted Cream’s head as she came to see us off at the door. Then, as if worried I might peek inside his bag, he hurriedly left the house.
Cream and I exchanged glances as we stared incredulously at the spot where Hae-geon had just been standing.
“Seriously… Cream, someone might think I’m going to eat him alive. Right?”
“Meow?”
“When you look carefully, he can be quite sneaky.”
“Meooow.”
Cream responded with a swish of her long tail and slowly walked to the living room. It seemed she had become fairly accustomed to Hae-geon and me leaving for work. In the past, she would have whined for us to stay, and if that didn’t work, she would have thrown a tantrum.
I was quite proud to see her heading to the living room without lingering attachment after seeing us off.
“Cream, daddy’s going now. I’ll be back soon, so don’t worry too much. Enjoy yourself while I’m gone. Okay?”
After saying goodbye to the back of Cream’s head as she answered with a swish of her tail, I left the house. I spotted Hae-geon waiting for the elevator, wearing the enormous bag that covered most of his upper body.
‘What did he pack in there? Did he bring his blanket and pillow?’
It was a plausible guess, considering Hae-geon’s mysophobia. It wasn’t just him—several neat ability users had done similar things. In extreme cases, some even brought attachment dolls and body pillows they hugged while sleeping.
So bringing blankets and pillows would be relatively minor. I glared at the bulging bag that looked ready to burst, then took the elevator down to the parking lot. While I sat in the passenger seat and fastened my seatbelt, Hae-geon carefully placed his bag on the back seat as if it were a sacred object and even buckled it in.
What could he have possibly packed to treat the bag with such care? Hae-geon, who finally sat in the driver’s seat, looked at me and asked.
“Hyung, can we leave now?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Soon the car began to move. Since we were entering an A-class dungeon where we might stay for several days, we decided to conserve our energy by not driving directly to the dungeon site. Instead, we would go to the center and take a bus with the other team members. Honestly, I still wondered whether jumping straight from a C-class dungeon to an A-class one was appropriate, but it was too late to reconsider now.
After parking at the center, Hae-geon and I boarded a nearby bus.
“Oh, you’re early! Not tired?”
“Welcome. Take a comfortable seat. But Do-min, your eyes look full of sleep.”
Jong-hyeok and Hae-yoon, who were already on the bus, greeted us. I sat in the seat in front of them, and Hae-geon, after loading his luggage in the bus trunk, took the seat beside me.
“Hae-geon, do you like Do-min that much? You follow him around like a chick following its mother.”
“Yes.”
Hae-geon nodded without the slightest hesitation in response to Hae-yoon’s question. Hae-yoon smiled mischievously, while Jong-hyeok, who probably knew something about our situation, pretended not to notice.
“I think Do-min is enjoying it too. Come to think of it, you two are always together. You came together today too… Do you happen to live nearby? Are you carpooling or something?”
Hae-yoon’s sharp observation startled me so much that I coughed awkwardly.
“Well… something like that. We live quite close to each other. We’re practically neighbors…”
“Huh? I was just joking, but it’s actually true? You must live really close if you commute together.”
Hae-geon frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with my ambiguous explanation, but he didn’t add anything. We passed about thirty minutes making small talk, and one by one, our fellow team members filled the bus.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“It’s not morning, it’s dawn. It’s not even 5 AM yet. Does it make sense to go to work at this hour? I already want to go home…”
“Yawn… When does the dungeon gate open? Why are we going so early?”
“I heard it opens around 8. The team leader will probably brief us soon.”
The team members chatted among themselves but couldn’t help yawning. They all looked exhausted. Once most members had gathered, Jong-hyeok stood up and headed toward the driver’s seat. He picked up the prepared microphone.
“Thank you all for coming so early in the morning.”
“No problem!”
“Ah, it was refreshing to breathe the dawn air after so long!”
The team members responded loudly and laughed as if they hadn’t just been complaining.
“As I’ve already mentioned, the dungeon we’re going to is A-class. It’s estimated to be a desert-type dungeon, expected to appear in Gangneung around 8:22 this morning. The dungeon boss is speculated to be a monster in the form of a scorpion or snake. Since it’s a desert environment, everyone should act with caution.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
With these enthusiastic responses, our bus departed. Since it was quite a distance from the central center to Gangneung, most Espers reclined their seats to prepare for sleep. Hae-geon and I were no exception.
We carefully reclined our seats and, without any prompting, tried to sleep. Just before falling into slumber, I felt a familiar yet strange weight near my head, but I was too sleepy to pay it much attention.
Perhaps because the surroundings were exceptionally quiet, my eyes snapped open even though I hadn’t slept much. Yawning, I looked around with just my eyes and saw the other team members still wandering in dreamland. As I shifted my gaze a bit more, I also saw Hae-geon’s face, asleep with his head resting on mine.
The weight I felt right before falling asleep must have been Hae-geon’s head. I glanced sideways at Hae-geon’s peaceful sleeping face. It seemed like the first time I’d seen his sleeping face from such a close distance, and it felt strange.
It was a ticklish feeling, but I was also conscious of the gazes of those around us… a very complex emotion.
‘Why is he using someone else’s head…’
While grumbling inwardly, I checked to make sure Hae-geon’s neck wasn’t bent too awkwardly and closed my eyes again. My heart was pounding so much that falling back asleep seemed unlikely, but it was still better than keeping my eyes open.
We arrived in Gangneung about an hour later. Jong-hyeok woke up the team members who were still sound asleep and took the microphone again.
“The gate will open in 14 minutes from now. Everyone change into your gear.”
“Yes!”
We all got up, changed into our activity uniforms, and gathered in front of the bus. After retrieving our luggage from the bus trunk, there were exactly 5 minutes left until the gate opened. The conquest support team used that brief time to explain the dungeon to us.
“As the team leader told you, this dungeon is a desert type. Due to the terrain, water will be scarce and it will be very dry. There will also be a lot of sand-laden wind, so you must wear goggles. And… you might experience mirages and get lost, so everyone needs to stick together. Try to move in pairs or groups of three whenever possible.”
“Will it be cold? I heard desert places get really cold at night.”
“Since dungeons don’t experience time changes, it won’t be cold enough to worry about. However, if the dungeon was formed based on nighttime, then it could be quite cold. Or it could be hot. We don’t know yet. But your activity uniforms will protect your bodies as much as possible, so I don’t think you need to worry too much.”
“Okay.”
The team members nodded and responded to the conquest support team’s explanation. Hae-geon, perhaps more accustomed now that this was his second dungeon, didn’t look as tense as before. He gathered his large bag with a calm expression and followed the team members.
When the scheduled time came, the dungeon gate appeared with a flash of light. Hae-geon’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at the much larger gate compared to the C-class dungeon, but that was all. He then carefully grasped my wrist and stepped into the dungeon gate with me.
I entered the dungeon following Hae-geon somewhat absentmindedly. The team members who had entered ahead of us were scanning the interior of the dungeon with their eyes and expressing amazement.
“…Wow. It’s really huge.”
“I never thought I’d see a desert in my lifetime.”
“Exactly. Look at the wind. We wouldn’t be able to walk without goggles.”
“Oh, it’s a bit chilly. Time must have stopped around evening.”
“Better than being hot.”
A strong sandstorm blew through the chatting team members. Following their gaze, I saw a vast sandy desert. I was momentarily speechless at its overwhelming size, which made it difficult to determine which way to go.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
