By Zephyria 
It was a simple, waterproofed inspection box. When he opened the plain iron door, as expected, a light used to observe the conditions inside the tunnel was blinking.
Next to the real-time checks for things like water level and gas concentration, there was a suspicious additional button.
At first, he thought it was just a thick screw head. When he pressed the inconspicuous round piece of metal, vroom, his wrist vibrated briefly.
“Oh. This is it.”
“Don’t touch it and wait.”
Mu-hae brushed away the arm that suddenly reached out and scanned the surroundings broadly. The sensors that had been scattered here and there up until the main tunnel were nowhere to be seen in this waterway.
He felt no sign of people or any suspicious presence. Only then did Mu-hae take a deep breath and bring his Link Watch close.
Beep— To-!
A welcome sound echoed from the device he had touched with half-doubt.
Simultaneously, clunk, the inspection box popped out entirely. He flinched and took a step back, but it turned out the inspection panel had simply opened like a casement window.
Inside the square opening, a small safe, large enough to fit a couple of human heads, was revealed.
“Wow,” Joo-oh let out a sound of admiration. He was so delighted that he couldn’t hide the excitement even in his breathing.
“It’s pretty.”
Mu-hae carefully grabbed the object inside. It was a snowball the size of a fist.
Inside the deep blue ball, resembling the deep sea, the shape of a familiar land was engraved, and glowing flakes floated in the transparent liquid surrounding the engraving.
It was an object whose form could be intuitively recognized even without a specialized eye.
A landmass glowing faintly in the darkness. Earth…
“Is it Gu-reum’s?”
“It must be related. I told you it was a window that person used.”
As if possessed, Joo-oh’s gaze followed the movement of the snowball. Finding the sight amusing, Mu-hae shook the object left and right before putting it in his bag.
Click. As soon as he closed the safe door, the inspection box naturally returned to its place, erasing any unfamiliar traces.
“Follow me. And stop splashing around in dirty water.”
He dragged the guy who, despite being told not to get his clothes dirty, insisted on playing in the splashing water.
Fortunately, Joo-oh quickly shifted his interest and obediently followed behind the man leading the way.
Swoosh—.
Under the shower pouring warm water, Mu-hae covered his tired eyes.
He had barely slept, but he had to go to work. The reason he had searched the sewers immediately, even though he had to go to central early in the morning, was less about the Return flight and more because he was curious about Gu-reum.
Honestly, he didn’t mind if the whereabouts of the Starpath weren’t found in the near future. If a clue appeared, he didn’t intend to delay it, but he wasn’t particularly filled with the will to wander in search of it first.
Compared to that, Gu-reum was someone who had looked after this side for quite a long time. Although they had taken on many tasks under the guise of a transaction, there was no way Gu-reum didn’t know that everything was preparation for the Return flight and for Mu-hae.
He had slowly realized it at some point. Even after taking charge of the Return flight, Mu-hae still had no firm goal.
To be precise, while he felt a thirst for the future that the past Return flight had yearned for, he had no will to throw everything away and dive into it.
Things that felt more important had emerged. The warmth that clung to him in his sleep, or the sound of a voice lingering in his ear.
Things that would make a guy who simply likes people without any ulterior motive smile. Situations that would make him roll around in excitement…
‘…’
Joo-oh had been curious about Gu-reum’s situation. If there were a moment where she needed help, even in the slightest, he would surely smile with an incomparably happy face if he could lend a hand.
He would take photos even when told not to, and unable to contain his joy, he would rub his cheek frantically against Mu-hae’s arm. Of course, that trivial reaction wasn’t the only reason he sought out Gu-reum, but it was a big reason why he moved up a schedule that could have waited a day or two.
“Jin Mu-hae. I want to see the snowball.”
“…Are you done washing already? Did you actually wash properly?”
“Yeah. I’m clean.”
As if summoned by the mention of Aberrants, a melodic voice drifted through the gap of the loosely closed door. It seemed Joo-oh, whom he had left to wash upstairs, had already finished and come down to the hideout.
Did he take too long? Checking the time, not even ten minutes had passed. Properly washed, my foot; if left alone, this guy would spend fifteen minutes just playing with water. He had clearly just splashed some water on himself and rushed down.
“We’ll look at it together when I come out. Don’t touch it first.”
“When are you coming out?”
“Soon.”
Although disappointment was felt in the voice, he didn’t voice any complaints. Mu-hae rinsed the foam under the pouring water and changed the shower booth glass to opaque.
“I didn’t look.”
“If you didn’t look, how do you know I changed the setting?”
Mu-hae generously entertained the nonsense that wasn’t even worth responding to and organized his daily routine in his head.
Since he had already been there once, he hadn’t wandered as much as expected in the rainwater tunnel, allowing for a quick return.
With a generous three hours left until work, he could have breakfast with Joo-oh and, as promised, try touching the snowball.
“Did you touch my clothes?”
As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, he kicked the idiot who was dripping water from his wet hair.
Joo-oh shook his head in denial, but the t-shirt that had been folded with sharp precision was disheveled, and a fragrant sweet scent brushed against the tip of his nose when he put it on.
“I didn’t touch them with my hands.”
“You call that an explanation?”
Unless he had stepped on them, he must have rubbed his cheek against them. Thinking of that, the scent of the freshly washed man seemed to waft over him for no reason.
He had already come out without even touching himself because he was waiting with his nerves on edge. He really knew how to make one’s mouth go dry since early morning.
Moreover, this clueless guy hugged him without permission and rubbed his head all over his chest and shoulder. Damp hair tickled near Mu-hae’s neck.
“…Don’t block the way, go get the milk. Let’s eat.”
“Fake milk.”
“Fake milk or real milk, just get it out.”
Of all days, today he ignored the suggestion to eat and clung stubbornly. The body burrowing into his embrace was warm, so it wasn’t bad, but huuu-m, hua, the breath inhaling his scent was too explicit, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
“Don’t do anything weird.”
“It’s not weird. I just like Jin Mu-hae.”
“You said you like sandwiches and Fruit whatever. So go eat your cereal.”
When he pushed him away, Joo-oh grumbled something. He didn’t listen closely, but it probably wasn’t something affectionate.
For some reason, his gaze drifted to the other’s lips, and he immediately shifted his thoughts. The Earth-shaped snowball that had been in the basement of the Jaegang District out of nowhere.
Curiosity surged as to what objects or data were inside, and what meaning the object held.
“We’re almost out of the Fruit Tornado we bought here.”
“How long has it been since we put them here by the box?”
“28 days. It took a long time.”
“How many days have you even stayed here?”
Lately, Joo-oh claimed his mind had cleared up and kept mixing in little tricks here and there. Recently, Mu-hae hadn’t even complained about him eating a lot, yet he tried his best to understate the amount of cereal he had consumed.
Then, finally, clink, he dropped his spoon on the floor. He had been acting distracted, so Mu-hae knew this would happen.
Tuduk, duk, a tinkle friends figure that fell with it rolled along and reached Mu-hae’s toes.
Glancing down, it looked like it had been molded quite well. Seeing Joo-oh hurriedly crawling down, Mu-hae felt a uselessly childish streak of mischief.
“No. Don’t step on it.”
The touch grabbing his foot urgently was soft. Ignoring that, he rolled the plastic toy with his other foot.
“It’s a pretty one!”
When he placed it under his sole and pressed lightly, the other became anxious, tapping and rubbing against his foot. Despite having such great strength, he couldn’t bring himself to push him away strongly; what a funny guy.
This was enough. Mu-hae slowly lifted the foot he had been pressing down. Unfortunately, since he didn’t have eyes on the bottom of his feet, it seemed he had touched the face of the guy lying prone.
He expected him to grumble, but surprisingly, he heard a small laugh, and then soft, warm skin touched his toes.
Soon, warmth spread across the sole of his foot. This crazy guy was rubbing his cheek against his foot.
Even though he had just come out of the shower, it was an apologetic state of affairs, so he shook his leg, but—
“…Let go.”
“Mmm.”
His foot wouldn’t move. As if he had fallen into a deep swamp, his entire leg was held firmly.
A ticklish and warm breath brushed between his toes. A chilling stimulation flowed down his spine, and Mu-hae flinched involuntarily.
235 – I Became an Anomaly in a Dead Game