By Zephyria ‘The damage was pretty bad. Two of the vehicles for the deal were half-destroyed in almost two weeks.’
The Seogyeong City Company official Mu-hae met for the first time was surprisingly friendly.
As soon as he contacted the notice and sent a signal, the official flew over, took care of the broken bike, and even issued a temporary city pass.
Even though they caught a troublemaker, the treatment was strangely excessive. Originally, those based in Central didn’t even associate with outsiders from other residential areas.
‘If you go to Seogyeong City, we can provide accommodation as a thank you for the quick resolution.’
Moreover, bringing a mercenary from another city into Central was an absurd favor.
Just thinking about how many permits were needed for that made Mu-hae’s head hurt.
‘Hungry.’
However, Mu-hae had no intention of refusing the offer. Mu-hae was exhausted, and Joo-oh was starving.
Jin Mu-hae received a key code for vouchers from the suspiciously kind official and boarded the Small aircraft.
When they arrived at the accommodation through the official entrance of Seogyeong City, they were standing in the dazzling heart of the city.
“First time here.”
A voice full of excitement whispered. It was also Mu-hae’s first time entering such a place.
He had been to Seogyeong City a few times, but there was no reason or qualification to go inside the official residential area.
“Don’t gawk around.”
Mu-hae quietly warned, pulling Joo-oh’s hat down.
Among the neatly dressed people, the two rain-soaked mercenaries looked too conspicuous and dangerous.
‘Why did they give us accommodation in a place like this?’
The closer they got to the coordinates marked on the map, the more splendid the streets and buildings became.
Even Mu-hae, who was usually indifferent to everything except for Joo-oh, was slightly embarrassed.
Ignoring the reactions around them, the ‘accommodation’ they arrived at was, as expected, a business hotel in Central.
As soon as they entered the lobby, the uncomfortable gazes that had been pouring down on them disappeared like ghosts with a single key code from the Watch.
“Shower.”
“Why are the beds different?”
“Were they ever the same? Don’t say useless things and shower.”
“Tch.”
Blocking the meaningless attempt, Jin Mu-hae sent Joo-oh to the bathroom.
Ever since he fed him at the makeshift rest stop, Joo-oh had been perfectly fine, making the change in front of the Aberrant seem insignificant.
Finally, the hotel room became quiet. Mu-hae sat on the bed, pressing his eyes with both hands.
His whole body ached as if he had been rolling around too much. Besides, something felt unpleasantly suspicious and terribly tiring.
But honestly, he was satisfied. No matter how the process went, he had earned a lot of money.
He would be able to fix the bike that was damaged during the battle somehow, and more than anything, he was now in the heart of Seogyeong City.
With this much money, he could get good leather before leaving Central. Back on track to completing his goal.
Since they solved the request to catch a Class 1 Aberrant as soon as the notice was posted with just the two of them, troublesome gazes would be focused on them again for a while…
When wasn’t that the case? He had never allocated energy to worry about other people’s eyes in his life.
Mu-hae massaged his aching limbs, which were probably bruised, and flopped onto the bed in his dirty clothes.
‘I wonder if Gu-reum is still out of reach.’
He hoped there would be some progress before the next Company request.
Even though he had struggled through an invisible path to get here, the former participants in the Return flight seemed to have found their own futures, unlike someone who had been trapped in a small room.
Tuk. Mu-hae touched the Watch. The signal device and communication network were functions he wouldn’t even touch outside the house for security reasons.
But the fact that he had left Goryeo City gave him a light sense of liberation.
[>>>]
[>>>]
[Target not found.]
In Goryeo City, the connection attempts that lasted forever were cut off here as if in vain.
He expected it, but it seemed that he couldn’t even contact them from this far away.
Mu-hae took a deep breath and blinked, looking at the ceiling.
He had definitely quit personal requests and reduced his workload. But it felt like he had been running non-stop since the day he caught the Thorn wolf and collected 200,000 dill.
Perhaps because of the environment, he had grown up without ever questioning the tasks given to him, emptying his head and just getting them done.
Now that he was far away from the place where he was born and raised, his calm mind was also loosening. Todok. So, entering a number that he had already tried and failed before was a meaningless action.
If he had to give it meaning, it was because he felt that if he sent a signal that was not connected to anything, he might move away from all the confusion and become a little more comfortable.
But, beep- beep-!
“……?”
What? He heard a signal sound that shouldn’t be heard.
Just two minutes after entering Kang’s number, he was connected to someone on the other side of the signal device.
And pick.
[Connection terminated.]
Mu-hae jumped up.
His mind, which had been sinking with fatigue, sharply awakened, and he slowly recalled what had happened to him a moment ago.
“Shit.”
[>>>]
[>>>]
[>>>]
He entered the same number again, but it didn’t connect like before.
It was just like when he reached Gu-reum’s communication network, the attempts went on forever.
Thump. Mu-hae forced himself to control his sinking heart and let out a hollow laugh.
Damn it. It seemed that there were still some people alive who were involved in this matter, so he couldn’t just touch it and back off.
As if isolated in the heart of an unfamiliar city, an unfamiliar sense of frustration crept in.
Splash! Bubbling-.
As soon as he was feeling pathetic, he faintly heard Joo-oh’s voice from the bathroom.
Laughter flowed out along with the sound of splashing water, as if he was playing in the bathtub.
“Stop playing around and wash up quickly.”
When Mu-hae shouted towards the bathroom in a gloomy mood, the splashing sound stopped like a ghost.
After a moment of silence, Joo-oh grumbled and replied from inside the tightly closed door.
“Why are you listening?”
“Did I listen? I heard it.”
“I didn’t listen!”
The aggrieved protest echoed dully.
He didn’t listen? How could he stop what he heard? The mood that had been sinking until just now was ridiculously shattered.
He didn’t know if this annoyance was good or bad. A sudden, chilling thought flashed through Mu-hae’s mind as he closed his eyes tightly.
‘Come to think of it, that guy…….’
Weren’t his five senses abnormally developed?
“……!”
His eyes snapped open, and a chilling sensation cooled the blood in his temples.
Beep- beep-.
The alarm sound seeped into his vaguely conscious mind.
His wrist vibrated slightly, signaling the time to wake up.
Jin Mu-hae, who had fallen asleep as if dead due to the hardships of the previous day, twitched his fingertips and emerged from unconsciousness.
Then, the place where he had been lying under a light blanket felt strangely heavy and warm.
A familiar and sweet smell brushed the tip of his nose, and warmth bloomed inside his body, which was lying on its side.
‘…….’
His still hazy mind groped for what had happened until he fell asleep.
He… yes. He caught a Class 1 Aberrant the day before. It was an injured one, but it was quite a pain to deal with.
And before he knew it, he came to Seogyeong City. He rested in accommodation that he would not normally have been able to set foot in.
‘I really didn’t listen!’
‘How can you not listen to what you hear?’
‘Just don’t listen.’
Yes. He remembered having another argument with Joo-oh. He could just ignore it, but strangely, he got heated up with him.
He remembered how Joo-oh nodded with such an aggrieved face at that time.
His hair, which had been roughly dried with a towel and was sticking out in all directions, looked fluffy.
‘I did well.’
He brazenly demanded that he praise him.
On the condition that he wouldn’t bother him anymore because he was tired, Jin Mu-hae stroked his head a couple of times.
And… he seemed to have fallen asleep with the TV on. It was rare for Mu-hae, who was used to staying awake uncomfortably when he was away from home.
Jin Mu-hae was definitely lying alone on the single bed, which he thought was a little small at the time. Without anything getting in the way, he roughly covered himself with a blanket that didn’t feel too bad.
Then what was the heavy lump breathing softly inside his arm now?
With a frown, Mu-hae opened his eyes, and a black, glossy head came into view.
As he had suspected, a familiar someone was asleep, burrowing into someone else’s arms.
“This bastard.”
Mu-hae muttered softly and clenched his teeth.
Joo-oh’s body was tightly wrapped around him. Moreover, it was over the loosely tied front of his gown, over his bare skin that was carelessly exposed.
‘What the hell…….’
He couldn’t even guess when Joo-oh had crossed over here from the separate bed.
It was probably when Mu-hae was sleeping soundly. So he didn’t even know what had come into his arms and even hugged it tightly.
The sweet scent that was always detected when he entered the study lingered faintly at the tip of his nose.
Jin Mu-hae suddenly recalled Joo-oh’s eyes, which were smiling pleasantly. The face he had stroked, telling himself that he couldn’t help it. Smooth and soft cheeks and mumbling lips.
That was now touching his collarbone. Along with the regular breaths.
As soon as his body, which had just woken up and was warmly heated, became aware of that fact, it slowly became sensitive.
“……Hey.”
Something seemed to be rising. He called Joo-oh in a muffled voice, trying to hold it back.
“Hey.”
But for some reason, the guy who usually noticed every single one of his movements and rushed out of the study was fast asleep and didn’t move.
Mu-hae’s brow furrowed even more. It was just his luck that he had exerted all his strength and had enough rest.
The routine that often happened every morning was stiffly rising in his lower body.
Twitch, Mu-hae moved his body and realized one more shocking fact and sighed.
One of Joo-oh’s legs was between his legs. The soft and smooth skin was pressed tightly against the inside of his thigh.
“…….”
The moment his lower back squirmed was an unavoidable reaction. Jin Mu-hae closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath.
It was counterproductive. Joo-oh’s scent flooded his lungs. At the same time, the memory of the previous day, which he had forgotten, flashed through his mind.
A tongue that rubbed its head against a scratched hand and licked soft flesh. Moist, soft, red, and sticky delicate organs.
Damn it. Something was wrong. He was tightening his lower abdomen.