Chapter 69
Since Baek Sangyeon’s ability was a flame-type combat skill, it must have been one of his subordinates who caused the hallucination. That meant the hallucination wasn’t something created and injected by the caster, but rather something that stimulated Eunseong’s unconscious mind.
The beautiful water-soaked body, the body scent rising from sun-kissed skin, the warmth of the palm that cupped his cheek, the sensation of a tongue rubbing inside his mouth…
To think that such things were his own fantasy about Mujin—Eunseong felt like he might faint.
It would be nice if he could dismiss it as some silly childhood dream, but unfortunately, the pleasantness of that moment when their lips touched and his own desire were too vivid. He couldn’t even jokingly say it wasn’t what he wanted.
Why couldn’t these memories be erased?
No, he wanted to cherish them forever…
No, that’s not right. What am I thinking? Again and again.
Because of his cluttered thoughts, Eunseong unconsciously took a step back. Noticing this, Mujin took a step forward and quickly closed the distance. Before Eunseong could stop him, his waist was firmly grasped.
Raising his hand to cover Mujin’s mouth was almost a reflexive action.
“…”
Although the cause was his own imagination, Mujin had no way of knowing that.
“No, um… there was a mosquito here…”
“In the middle of winter?”
“It’s because you’re standing there with no clothes on!”
“What are you talking about?”
“No, I mean…”
Eunseong twisted his body and escaped from Mujin’s grip.
It was a bad habit anyway. Since childhood, Mujin had been picking him up and moving him around just because he was strong. Talk about the stone killing the frog! Mujin might be doing it without thinking, but Eunseong’s heart couldn’t take it.
His face flushed bright red with no way to hide it.
“Food! Let’s eat!”
Eunseong shoved the precious bag he was holding against Mujin’s chest, which Mujin caught in surprise.
“Why are you exercising without eating? Just look at your chest. Geez…”
Oh, I’m really…
Eunseong slapped his forehead hard enough to make a sound.
“…Chest?”
“Let’s eat.”
Leaving Mujin blinking in surprise, Eunseong turned around. Food, food, food! Chanting as if eating were his ultimate mission, he exhaled a long sigh through his nose so Mujin wouldn’t notice. The hot breath flowed out as intensely as his burning chest.
Though the distance from the backyard to the front door wasn’t far, Mujin’s footsteps behind him were too slow. Worried that he might have acted too strangely, Eunseong stopped walking and looked back.
“What are you doing standing there?”
Now that he looked, Mujin hadn’t even taken a few steps. There was quite a distance between them. When Eunseong went back, he saw that Mujin’s expression wasn’t good either.
“Earlier today, I…”
Mujin started with difficulty, then hesitated for a long time.
“I wasn’t in my right mind. I really couldn’t see anything. The moment you disappeared from my sight, I felt like my head had been cut off.”
“It’s okay, Mujin. We handled it well, didn’t we?”
“Not we, you did.”
He looked down at the bag Eunseong had given him.
“I really hate making excuses. I’m so ashamed in front of you. I’m not usually such an idiot.”
“I know.”
Though Mujin’s expression was quite serious, Eunseong couldn’t help but smile slightly. It felt like being freed from the kiss that had dominated his thoughts until just now. It even made him feel a bit embarrassed.
“Why are you thinking such unlike-you thoughts? Is that why you weren’t eating and torturing your body?”
Mujin wasn’t the type to measure blame. He was the kind who quietly did what needed to be done. His personality was easy to understand after spending just a few days with him. But to the same degree, he was strict with himself. Pitifully so.
Mujin took another step closer and gently took the end of Eunseong’s hand.
“You don’t hate me, right?”
Eunseong’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. The tone was unprecedentedly embarrassing.
“Ha-ha-hate you? Why would I hate you?”
Eunseong spun around to show his back, but his hand was still caught. Though Mujin was only holding the tips of his fingers, his grip was so masterful that Eunseong couldn’t pull away. With no choice, he walked toward the house, pulling the captured hand.
His heart was pounding violently. At this rate, it couldn’t be good for his health.
‘Why is he being so cute…?’
In his confusion, Eunseong didn’t realize that the sound of his heartbeat, loud even to his own ears, might be audible to Mujin too.
The house they reached across the yard was dark and quiet. The crinkling sound of the pork cutlet bag in Mujin’s hand seemed especially loud. As the entrance light switched on, Mujin murmured softly.
“So you like this kind of thing, Yoo Eunseong.”
“Pork cutlet? Oh, the neighborhood people say it’s a verified delicious place.”
Mujin simply smiled blandly without any particular response, then took out indoor slippers and placed them in front of Eunseong’s feet. The way he went ahead, picking up and cleaning small items scattered on the floor, was like paving a road.
The kitchen table that Yeon Seokchun used for work was cluttered with two laptops, piles of paper, and various items. Instead of clearing the table, Mujin unpacked the food and laid it out on the living room table.
The house, with its owner away, was generally messy. It perfectly reflected the current chaotic situation. It hadn’t even been a week since the massive changgui appeared and destroyed the guild building. And now with the accident at the Rift Control Agency, Yeon Seokchun couldn’t stay at home.
There would certainly be changes in the relationship with Woo Nayeong. Not only that, but they couldn’t neglect taking care of the scattered guild members, caring for Hanyeong, supervising the detained Kim Sangmin, and keeping an eye on Yeongseong Gwanghwi.
At a time when even ten hands and feet would not be enough, Eunseong and Mujin had added to the workload, and the guild wasn’t officially launched yet so they couldn’t hire employees. Layers of guilt were accumulating.
“It’s chaos, isn’t it? My mind is completely scattered. I wonder if Team Leader had dinner.”
Trying to break the awkwardness of being alone in the empty house, Eunseong muttered. As he stood in the kitchen, absently fidgeting with the documents Yeon Seokchun had been looking at, Mujin snapped his fingers.
“Am I supposed to eat alone?”
“Oh, I already ate…”
Eunseong stopped mid-answer and sat down in front of Mujin. He remembered a rule they had established long ago.
‘It’s a rule. When we’re together, no matter what, even if we’re fighting, we eat together. When the spoons come out, it’s a truce. Got it?’
That’s what Mujin had said right after losing his father and brother.
‘What, do we always have spoons? Should I carry them around?’
‘Yeah. I’m going to start keeping one in my back pocket.’
For about a year after the plane crash, it wouldn’t be wrong to say Eunseong and Mujin played a daily game of tag. Mujin, who always kept his word, actually carried around spoons and tried to keep Eunseong grounded in reality. After four seasons passed, Eunseong finally gave in and began to regularly eat meals by his side.
So there was no way he couldn’t like it.
Eunseong held the wooden chopsticks Mujin had separated for him and stared blankly at him across the table.
His mouth cave was so large that rice disappeared in heaps with each spoonful. He cut the pork cutlet into large pieces, stuffed his mouth full, and chewed thoroughly before swallowing, eating neatly without making a single smacking sound. His smooth cheeks bulged rhythmically, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, a sight that stimulated even the observer’s appetite.
Looking back, Eunseong realized he had been completely absorbed in the Hwanghwa back then. Had Mujin always eaten so well since childhood? He thought Mujin ate so beautifully, in such a blessed way.
“Ugh.”
Suddenly, Mujin covered his mouth and lowered his head.
When Eunseong stood up in alarm, Mujin raised his hand to stop him and drank some water. After moving his tongue around a bit, he looked at Eunseong with a grimace.
“I bit my tongue.”
“What? Let me see.”
When Eunseong went around the table, Mujin leaned his upper body back and shook his head. His lips remained tightly closed. Eunseong moved closer to Mujin.
“Why? Show me. How badly did you bite it?”
Eunseong grabbed his wrist and frowned, and only then did Mujin reluctantly open his mouth and stick out his tongue. Now it was Eunseong’s turn to grimace. There were terrible teeth marks on the soft flesh.
“If you’d bitten a little harder, your tongue would have been cut off. You need to be careful.”
“…”
While Eunseong was distracted by the tongue, Mujin felt like he was losing his mind at the soft fingers holding his wrist and the blue eyes examining his mouth.
“Was it that deli—”
Eunseong, who had been speaking playfully while raising his eyes, was startled by Mujin’s gaze. His pitch-black eyes seemed to absorb all the surrounding light as they focused intently on him.
“—cious?”
The end of his word broke strangely at that moment. The black pupils slid down to look at Eunseong’s lips.
“It’s because of you, Eunseong. You keep…”
You keep looking at me like that.
Mujin crushed the unfinished words in his mouth. It wasn’t because he lacked confidence in his desire. Rather, the opposite—he feared that the moment he spoke it aloud, he would burn away the last remaining shred of his patience.
Mujin turned his hand to grasp Eunseong’s wrist in return. As his fingers pressed into the skin, Eunseong finally realized how strange his position was. Under the pretense of looking at Mujin’s tongue, he had leaned in as if about to climb onto his body. And with his arm caught, he couldn’t even back away.
“Wh-what did I do?”
Eunseong’s mouth twitched nervously under Mujin’s continued gaze.
…What? What is it?!
Though his voice of excuse was meek and shrank back, the internal scream was so loud it could hurt the ears.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
