Chapter 65
“Geumseum, Geumseum! Come out quickly! Let’s eat!”
At the familiar voice calling him, Eunseong opened his eyes. It was Hanyeong’s voice—young, high-pitched, absolutely unforgettable.
With a startled heart, he sat up, and the first thing that came into view was a tent dappled with warm light and leaf shadows.
“What is this…”
His heart began beating rapidly. Eunseong got down from the bed and was about to slip his feet into the shoes on the floor when he froze.
His vision was too clear. Clear enough to be free even under such bright light. It was so vivid it felt unnatural.
Eunseong carefully raised his hand to feel his face. The security glasses were nowhere to be found, and most importantly, his eyes no longer hurt.
“……”
Covering his mouth and lost in thought, Eunseong dry-washed his face several times before finally gathering the courage to go outside the tent.
Holding his breath, he slowly pushed aside the tent entrance, and dazzling sunlight poured over Eunseong’s head as if it had been waiting. Blue trees swayed quietly in the wind, and the air beneath the shade was cool and refreshing.
Eunseong tilted his head back and stared blankly at the deep blue sky that seemed endlessly high.
“Geumseum!”
At the joyful laughter, he lowered his gaze to see Hanyeong on a nearby grassy field, waving both arms above his head and calling to him.
“Come quickly! Hurry! What are you doing standing there in a daze!”
Hanyeong, vigorously waving his arms, didn’t look hurt anywhere. His bright eyes sparkled and his steps were sturdy. There was no trace of how he had lain pale as a corpse after being poisoned by the spider.
Eunseong hurriedly went toward him.
“Look, isn’t this amazing?”
After a moment of speechlessness, he was struck silent by what was piled up in front of Hanyeong. There was food everywhere. Neatly prepared meat, firmly ripened grains, and fresh vegetables with leaves plump with water filled large baskets to the brim.
Hanyeong put both hands on his hips and said proudly,
“Looks delicious, right? Wash your hands. Let’s all cook and eat together.”
“…Where did you get all this?”
Hanyeong opened his mischievous eyes wide and laughed as if it were absurd.
“What are you talking about? Did you hit your head or something? Mujin hyung brought it all, obviously.”
Eunseong turned his head to look where Hanyeong was pointing. He seemed to hear the sound of water from behind the tent where he had been sleeping.
Looking back at Hanyeong, he nodded as if telling him to go see. The strangeness he had felt since first opening his eyes was now pushed to the back of his mind, and he simply became curious about Mujin’s appearance at this moment.
Eunseong slowly moved his steps and stopped breathing as soon as he went around behind the tent. Even his heart seemed to stop beating.
Eunseong stared at Mujin’s wet body without even blinking once.
Sunlight was pouring from all directions. That light slowly flowed down over his skin holding water droplets. He was just tilting a water container to pour it over his body, but with that simple motion, the thick muscle lines connecting from his shoulders to his arms and sides moved with splitting vitality.
Eunseong quickly shook his head. He felt like he might lose his mind to such vivid beauty. Had this body always given such a feeling? Simply calling it solid wasn’t enough. He couldn’t take his eyes off the beautiful, rough, overwhelming form.
Eunseong unconsciously stepped backward. His face flushed red from the heat that rose instantly, and he just wanted to hide somewhere.
“Eunseong.”
Along with the voice, a body scent like cool wind suddenly wafted over.
He who had closed the distance in an instant gently twisted Eunseong’s chin with soft hands. Then without a fragment of hesitation, he pressed their lips together. Eunseong’s eyes widened greatly. He couldn’t even give a simple reaction to the kiss that came so naturally, as if it were obvious.
Large hands wrapped around his neck and rubbed his earlobes. When fingers dug between his hair, his head was forced back involuntarily. As his defenses crumbled and his lips parted, a hot tongue penetrated deeply.
“Uh, uuh…”
Mujin’s tongue stirred all around inside his mouth. Was this what it felt like to have the roof of his mouth scraped—his head exploded from a sensation he had sworn he’d never felt even once. When Eunseong couldn’t regain his senses and swayed, Mujin held him firmly upright.
“You waited a long time, didn’t you?”
Smack, lips stamped his temple. A voice mixed with breath settled by his ear.
“Team Leader Yeon insisted we had to pick watermelons on the way, so we changed the route a bit. We were a little late because of that… but they’re incredibly sweet instead. I got greedy thinking about feeding them to you.”
Eunseong panted and grabbed Mujin’s arm. He was out of breath as if he’d sprinted at full speed, his heart beating so fast he felt dizzy. When he raised his head at the lilac scent hitting his nose, light purple flowers were blooming abundantly across the sky.
He exhaled and turned his head, and only then did the surrounding scenery begin to enter his view one by one.
In the distance, Yeon Seokchun and Joo Hyeonwoo were lighting a fire to cook, and Ha Yera was installing a rift detector. Further away, people who had lived together in the tent village were all smiling brightly.
No one had died, and no one was unhappy in this land.
Somehow speechless, Eunseong raised his head again to look at Mujin. Black eyes like go stones were examining him with a calm light. Eyes without any impatience, worry, or sadness.
Eunseong hesitated then embraced Mujin’s bare body. He greedily wrapped his arms around the large body that was difficult to fully encompass with his embrace.
Then Mujin’s body shook as he burst into laughter. Warm breath poured over his head.
“Did you have a bad dream? Why do you look like that?”
Eunseong rubbed his forehead against his chest and shook his head.
“Anywhere you are isn’t a bad dream.”
How could I have tried to forget you? If I hadn’t been able to meet you again… just hypothetically thinking about it made his chest feel cold.
It was when Eunseong closed his eyes tightly from the surging regret.
Peep— Curry’s cry sounded from somewhere.
He was about to turn around with joy, but Mujin held Eunseong firmly and sent him behind himself.
“Kyaaaaa!”
Before Eunseong could explain, Ha Yera’s scream burst out first. Curry, who had instantly grown in size, transformed into a giant firebird and created flames.
For a moment, the surrounding air compressed and it felt like his body was being crushed. Eunseong hugged Mujin’s back and shouted not to kill him, but his lungs shriveled and no sound could burst out.
The moment Mujin threw a fireball at Curry, Eunseong clutched his chest and collapsed. His heart constricted and the ground beneath his feet caved in. The floor tilted as if he were falling off a cliff. When his forehead hit the dirt ground, the whole world spun around.
“Gasp!”
When he regained consciousness, everything around was dark. At the thick smell of blood hitting his nose, Eunseong immediately realized this place was inside a rift.
‘No, it’s a little different.’
When he barely managed to lift his heavy head, he saw a large lighting tower. Its presence wasn’t distinct as the light was being eaten away by the darkness created by rift components.
Eunseong knew this place well.
‘Experimental bunker…’
It was an artificial rift created deep underground in the Rift Control Agency. Eunseong staggered to his feet and straightened his body. Perhaps because of the darkness, his eyes were comfortable. As he looked around with eyes full of wariness, someone slowly approached from the pitch-black darkness.
“Guild Leader Baek Sangyeon.”
When Eunseong looked as if astounded, Baek Sangyeon smiled calmly.
“You break through the skill and escape from the illusion faster than I thought. You’re too different from what I originally knew. If you’re not even a changgui, then indeed… were you the real one?”
“Did you use force within the Control Agency to drag me down here?”
“I was foolish, Eunseong.”
The face approaching while closing the distance looked much more shameless than what Eunseong knew. Baek Sangyeon looked down at Eunseong with a face shiny with anger—or perhaps what looked like ecstasy.
“You registered a new name as a buffer-type hunter. Interesting.”
“Whatever you want from me, I won’t comply anymore.”
“Won’t you even call me uncle now? Even when we did all those experiments here, you were such a docile, gentle child. Didn’t you trust and follow me completely?”
Baek Sangyeon drooped his eyebrows as if truly disappointed.
“I have no such memories.”
“……”
Their gazes clashed in mid-air. Even while feeling the tremendous pressure emanating from Baek Sangyeon, Eunseong didn’t avoid his eyes.
“Well, perhaps that’s better. Today I just came because there’s something I want to confirm with you, so relax.”
Baek Sangyeon let out an endlessly light laugh. At the same time, a woman with a strange impression emanating red aura revealed herself from behind him. Eunseong, who hadn’t even felt her presence, clenched both fists tightly. Cold sweat flowed down his back.
“If you just answer uncle’s questions properly, we can have a peaceful and pleasant time today.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
