#090
Thud-.
Being accustomed to hand-to-hand combat, it wasn’t difficult for Eunseok to reverse positions with Choi Hanseo, despite their difference in weight class. Hanseo’s willingness to let his body fall probably contributed as well. Suddenly finding himself lying on the bed, Hanseo smiled with his eyes instead of looking surprised. Eunseok, straddling Hanseo’s muscular body, looked down at him for a moment. Indeed, he preferred this position.
“This is exciting,” Hanseo murmured casually. His hands were already firmly gripping Eunseok’s hips. Eunseok buried both hands in Hanseo’s hair. The feeling of grasping a man’s hair was quite satisfying. Seeing Hanseo lying beneath him, his hair in Eunseok’s grip, aroused Eunseok’s desire for conquest.
“Aren’t you going to kiss me?” Hanseo asked seductively.
“Shut that mouth, Choi Hanseo,” Eunseok muttered softly, slowly lowering his upper body to devour those infuriating lips.
***
When Eunseok opened his eyes, he found himself using Hanseo’s arm as a pillow again. Thanks to the intense skinship from the night before, his whole body felt pleasantly languid.
“Are you awake?” Hanseo asked from behind, somehow sensing that Eunseok had merely opened his eyes. His voice was slightly husky, perhaps from just waking up, which inexplicably tickled Eunseok’s heart.
“…I should shower,” Eunseok said quietly as he got out of bed.
Entering the bathroom, Eunseok’s reflection greeted him in the mirror.
He couldn’t help but sigh at what he saw. His neck and various parts of his upper body were covered in reddish-purple kiss marks. There was no way he could change shirts in front of his team members like this.
As Eunseok put toothpaste on his toothbrush and started brushing, Hanseo entered the bathroom. Standing behind Eunseok, he lightly kissed his neck before putting toothpaste on his own toothbrush. Hanseo’s hair was a complete mess as he brushed his teeth. It was Eunseok’s handiwork. Seeing the disheveled hair caused by his own hands made Eunseok feel childishly proud. Perhaps this was why Hanseo left kiss marks.
After finishing brushing, Eunseok stepped under the shower, and Hanseo followed him into the shower stall as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He then held out a shower towel generously lathered with body wash, wearing a shamelessly casual expression. Eunseok stared incredulously at Hanseo for a moment as he turned his back, asking to have it washed, before vigorously scrubbing the broad back.
Both Eunseok and Hanseo were quick-witted. Even in the cramped shower stall, they took turns washing their hair and bodies without getting in each other’s way.
As Eunseok rinsed off for the last time, he suddenly thought how strange this all was. It hadn’t been that long since he met Hanseo, and it had been an even shorter time since they became this close. Yet, these intimate acts with him didn’t feel uncomfortable or awkward.
Perhaps it’s because I’m good at adapting, Eunseok concluded internally.
Hanseo, who had finished showering first, dried his hair with a hairdryer. When Eunseok came out, Hanseo grabbed his shoulder and started drying Eunseok’s hair.
Hanseo’s long fingers gently ran through Eunseok’s hair, drying it thoroughly. The sensation of fingers combing through his hair felt oddly pleasant. Come to think of it, this was the first time someone else had dried his hair since he’d been left alone.
Now, about breakfast…
Eunseok thought as he got dressed after showering. If he were alone, he could go down to the cafeteria or make do with an energy bar. But neither going to the cafeteria with Hanseo nor feeding him an energy bar seemed appropriate.
Fortunately, his dilemma didn’t last long. The doorbell rang. Before Eunseok could get to it, Hanseo went and opened the door.
“Good morning, Guild Leader. Guide Lee.” The voice greeting them from beyond the door belonged to Secretary Lee Eunju.
She held out a shopping bag and an envelope. Then, without lingering, she nodded slightly and turned to leave.
“Let’s eat breakfast,” Hanseo said, showing what he had received. It seemed he had contacted someone to bring breakfast at some point.
The table was quickly set with appetizing sandwiches and coffee.
As Eunseok ate his sandwich, he glanced at Hanseo. Though he always appeared relaxed, nonchalant, and seemingly uninterested in his surroundings, he could be incredibly attentive when he wanted to be.
“Have another one.”
The first sandwich disappeared quickly. As soon as Eunseok finished, Hanseo unwrapped a new sandwich and offered it to him. Eunseok silently accepted it and took a big bite. And he thought to himself that sitting across from each other, eating breakfast together like this, was actually quite a pleasant thing.
After finishing breakfast, brushing their teeth, and changing clothes, they were ready to leave.
“I’ll head out first,” Eunseok said quickly, preempting Hanseo from suggesting they leave the lodgings together. Hanseo nodded, his eyes showing amusement as if he understood Eunseok’s intentions perfectly. Then he grabbed Eunseok’s wrist and gave him a light kiss.
“Take care.”
That brief phrase made Eunseok’s heart flutter again.
“…Yes.”
Eunseok replied softly and left the lodgings.
The first guiding appointment was with Shin Jeongho.
Perhaps because of yesterday’s A-rank gate conquest, his levels were quite high. Eunseok took his hand and began guiding.
“It’s been a forced march lately. You must be tired,” Eunseok spoke first, knowing Jeongho wasn’t much of a talker. Jeongho silently nodded. The conversation ended there. But knowing he was naturally a person of few words, the atmosphere didn’t feel particularly awkward.
It was just over 15 minutes into the guiding session.
Suddenly, both their watches and phones started ringing incessantly.
Eunseok checked his watch, his face hardening, then picked up his phone to check again. Above the emergency deployment alert, there was a large national disaster alert message being sent to citizens.
Safety Advisory Message
[▲Gate Break occurred at Donghak Mountain, Paju City▲Estimated A-rank▲Nearby residents are advised to evacuate promptly following instructions.]
“Gate… Break.”
Eunseok muttered as if in pain.
Eunseok and Jeongho stood up almost simultaneously.
There was also an emergency deployment alert for the 1st Combat Team.
Eunseok quickly went up to his lodgings, put on his armor, and checked the weapons in his duffel bag. Even as his body moved efficiently, images of the horrors he experienced as a child kept flashing through his mind.
When he got into the elevator to go to the roof, Han Cheolyong, Moon Bora, and Ji Taeuk were already inside, armed. The four exchanged nods and watched the elevator numbers change in a heavy atmosphere.
The elevator stopped at the roof and the doors opened. Oh Seongeun and Shin Jeongho were already waiting in front of the helicopter. Choi Hanseo was also there beside them.
Eunseok’s eyes met Hanseo’s. Eunseok noticed the conflict in his eyes. He wanted to leave Eunseok behind. Of course, such a thing was unacceptable.
As Eunseok’s gaze hardened, Hanseo seemed to erase the conflict in his eyes, as if resigned.
“Let’s get on,” Hanseo said as he boarded the helicopter. Everyone quickly climbed aboard without wasting time.
The helicopter rose into the air with a loud noise and began flying towards its destination.
“Our 1st Combat Team will descend immediately upon reaching the estimated location of the Gate Break. Hunter Ji Taeuk, you’ll jump with Hunter Moon Bora. I’ll take Guide Lee Eunseok with me.”
Hanseo’s voice cut through the loud propeller noise, reaching everyone’s ears clearly. In other words, the helicopter wouldn’t land; everyone would jump directly from the air.
With just a rope, rappelling from a helicopter wouldn’t be difficult for Eunseok. But being held by Hanseo while jumping would certainly be faster, so Eunseok didn’t object.
Instead of sitting idly to kill time, Eunseok opened a map app on his phone. There were quite a few apartment complexes near the mountain where the Gate Break was said to have occurred. At least on the map, it looked like nothing more than a small hill behind a neighborhood. How had the gate remained undiscovered until now? The terrorists must have done something.
The helicopter quickly approached the vicinity of the Gate Break site. Looking down, Eunseok gritted his teeth. As expected, the surrounding area was already in chaos.
People desperately fleeing while holding hands with their families, pursued by monsters.
Police and soldiers using cars as barricades to hold off the monsters.
Bloodstains spreading around fallen people on the ground.
After taking in the situation below, Eunseok looked closely at the monsters chasing people and his eyes widened. Monsters that looked like giant bipedal lizards! They were the very creatures that had torn his family apart.
