Chapter 92
“……”
Seo Won glared at Baek Rak without saying a word.
On the day he first met Han Seong Hyeon, Baek Rak had gone outside without having much of a conversation. Afterward, Sol had talked with him, and it seemed like Baek Rak had heard everything from outside.
No wonder he was standing in front of the door.
Somehow, Seo Won felt like Baek Rak had witnessed all of his embarrassing moments. While that was mortifying, such feelings only lasted once or twice—by now, a shameless attitude of “so what?” was gradually bubbling up.
“You never know, Sol might not show it on the outside.”
“Does that mean Yu Sol fell for your face?”
Seo Won was about to nod confidently as if it were obvious, but hesitated for a moment. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to handle the aftermath.
“…What are you talking about? I never said that.”
“You said that even if she doesn’t show it on the outside, she’d like it inside.”
“I didn’t say she’d like it, though?”
Even though he knew he was covering his eyes and playing dumb, Seo Won shook his head. Watching him, Baek Rak chuckled and said:
“You’re sneakily backing out.”
“Don’t say weird things to Sol later. Sol will make a fuss.”
“Depends on what you do.”
“Hey, how can you say that…”
“We’re departing, so stay still.”
Seo Won forgot what he was about to say and shut his mouth tight at Baek Rak’s touch lightly patting his waist. The trivial touch strangely made his stomach churn. Maybe it was because his touch was gentle, unlike his tone.
After clearing his throat several times to shake off the heat that was sneakily rising, Baek Rak immediately departed.
After being carried and running for a while, Seo Won realized that today’s movement felt strangely different. It looked like he was being conscious of something, not making sharp turns or speeding up abruptly.
Seo Won suddenly looked down. The child in his arms was breathing evenly with various colors and had fallen into a deep sleep. Very comfortably at that.
Seo Won looked back and forth between the child and Baek Rak, then smiled lightly.
These occasional glimpses made him feel that fundamentally, this guy wasn’t bad or wicked.
‘And yet he acts so mean to me.’
Thinking about it now, he wondered if it was on purpose. He didn’t know what had happened in that bastard’s past, but he was glad things had improved somewhat now. Except for the teasing.
When he casually ruffled Baek Rak’s hair, the guy looked up. Before their eyes could meet, Seo Won played innocent, but the gaze clung to him persistently.
“Yoon Seo Won.”
When he finally glanced over at the voice calling him, Baek Rak said seriously:
“Duck your head.”
Was it another creature attack? He hurriedly ducked his head.
“…!”
Something soft touched his lips. Before he could recognize what it was, something parted his lips and occupied the inside of his mouth. It was a kiss. A lewdly sticky kiss at that.
Without realizing it, Seo Won pressed down on Baek Rak’s head that he had been holding. The kiss deepened. He had no thought of pulling his head back or separating their lips.
Instead, his heartbeat gradually grew louder and heat began to build from within.
Not knowing when Baek Rak had stopped, he responded to the guy’s kiss for a long time. In their meeting gaze, he could even feel Baek Rak’s heat. No, perhaps it had transferred from himself. Baek Rak’s lips felt cold enough by comparison.
He set aside all questions about why Baek Rak was suddenly kissing him and why he wasn’t rejecting it, and closed his eyes.
For now, there was nothing he could do but focus on this stimulating kiss.
His mouth felt sweet to the point of melting completely.
***
It was when they were almost arriving at Yeongdeungpo Station.
Baek Rak urgently picked up speed. Sensing something strange, Seo Won was raising his head when he gasped.
“What the…”
Before his eyes, the barrier of Yeongdeungpo Station that had been firmly protecting the shelter was half-collapsed. Why? No matter how he looked at it, it could only be seen as an attack by creatures. Hadn’t they said they could last several months with the remaining cubes?
While he was confused and unable to understand the situation, they arrived at Yeongdeungpo Station.
Fortunately, the protective energy could be properly felt now, as if the cube had been activated again. As soon as they entered the open area, the air became lighter and the unpleasant smell faded.
Baek Rak ran toward the breached barrier and entered the shelter. Opening and closing doors was meaningless now.
The inside was much the same as the barrier’s condition. So much had collapsed and broken that it was hard to find an intact place. The faces of the people cleaning up were full of gloom.
“Baek Rak! Yoon Seo Won!”
Then Yu Sol came running from far away as if flying.
“Sol.”
Behind Yu Sol, who was panting and catching her breath, Haru and Nora were also approaching.
“What happened? Why did it turn out like this?”
When Seo Won asked urgently, Yu Sol began explaining the situation.
“A few days ago, the energy suddenly disappeared again. But this time, it didn’t return for quite a long time. No, it would seem like it was about to return, faintly rising up then immediately disappearing. I don’t know why.”
Was there a problem with the cube? The previous incident was brief, but this time the cube itself might have been defective. There was no other explanation.
“It seems fine now… What does Han Seong Hyeon say?”
“The leader doesn’t seem to know the reason well either. When I asked, he just shook his head.”
If Han Seong Hyeon had noticed signs, he would have prepared in advance. He must have been helpless against this sudden occurrence.
Seo Won looked around. Unlike last time, several buildings had collapsed, and one side of the department store was smashed. It would take quite some time to clean up.
“You’re here?”
“You’re late.”
Haru and Nora, who had approached at some point, looked extremely tired. He wondered if they had been fighting creatures all night and examined the two.
“…Are you okay?”
“Yeah, we couldn’t sleep and kept working.”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“We didn’t even fight, so what would we be hurt from? We exhausted ourselves cleaning up here. At first, there wasn’t even room to step.”
“…Ah.”
Seo Won sighed in relief.
Unlike last time, it seemed everyone had hidden in the bunker together this time. Since they couldn’t fully restore the barrier, they couldn’t use luring tactics. The reason the shelter interior became a complete mess along with the barrier was probably because of that.
“But when are we going to clean all this up…”
Seo Won patted Haru’s back as he grumbled and hung his head low.
“Yoon Seo Won.”
Then Yu Sol, who had been continuously staring at them, grabbed Seo Won’s collar.
“Yeah?”
“What are you holding in your arms?”
Since he was preciously holding something tightly wrapped in Baek Rak’s jumper, she seemed curious. Seo Won slightly lowered the jumper to show Yu Sol the child.
“We happened to meet him on the way. His name is Rouni. He’s still sleeping, right? He must have been very tired.”
“Really…? Doesn’t Baek Rak say anything?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like opposing bringing him…”
Yu Sol glanced at Baek Rak while saying this.
Come to think of it, hadn’t they said Baek Rak didn’t really like outsiders? It was understandable for Yu Sol to worry, but surely he wouldn’t go that far with a young child.
The reason Baek Rak was wary of outsiders was because of spies from other shelters, not because he distrusted people themselves, so it was a bit pitiful that he was misunderstood.
‘Hmm… maybe not? If Rouni wasn’t a hunter, he might have treated him as a potential alpha.’
Seo Won also glanced at Baek Rak and briefly swallowed his thoughts, thinking the misunderstanding was understandable.
Baek Rak was only looking around with a serious expression, even with all the gazes on him. That was so typical of him.
Seo Won turned his gaze back to Yu Sol and said:
“If he had opposed it, I wouldn’t have been able to bring him, right? And Rouni went through something big, so it seems like we’ll need to take care of him for a while.”
He couldn’t immediately reveal that Rouni was a hunter. It was something Han Seong Hyeon and Baek Rak had to decide, and wasn’t he a hunter with water abilities as precious as a guardian?
And since saying he went through something big wasn’t a lie, it was sufficient reason to be concerned.
“Ah… really?”
Yu Sol seemed to roughly understand the situation and nodded. It seemed there were quite a few people who had been hurt for similar reasons.
“Where is Han Seong Hyeon?”
“He’s in the restricted area. I don’t know what’s going on, but he doesn’t come out much from there.”
“Let’s go.”
At Yu Sol’s answer, Baek Rak, whose expression had hardened, moved first. Seo Won lifted the child once and sighed softly.
It seemed like he was uncomfortable that Yeongdeungpo Station had become like this while he was briefly away. He was also flustered, but Baek Rak would be more so, not less.
“I’ll go too.”
Seo Won gave an awkward smile to Yu Sol, who was looking at him questioningly, and immediately followed Baek Rak.
The gaze clinging to his back was particularly persistent, but Seo Won couldn’t tell.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
