By Zephyria Although everyone had firmly resolved to seek revenge, they decided to rest soundly for a few days first. Their bodies were full of energy, but it was due to the mental fatigue that had descended all at once. Compared to the Abyss, this place was truly pleasant and comfortable, like heaven. For one thing, their contamination level didn’t rise even if they just stayed still. Everyone wanted to fully savor this delightful environment.
After the fun and pleasant banquet ended, everyone stood up from their seats as if by prior agreement. Then, they quickly cleaned up the dishes and trash, which were as plentiful as the food, and one by one, they disappeared with words like these:
“I’m going to Chan-ha Hyung’s place. I’m going to order more delivery food.”
“I’m going to play the new game all night.”
“I’m going to sneak a peek at my family without them knowing.”
“I’d like to leisurely enjoy a long bath.”
After they all left, only Lee Hyun-muk and Yang Yohan remained. Yohan’s ears burned, thinking that perhaps everyone had deliberately given them space. Lee Hyun-muk seemed unfazed, but the atmosphere suddenly felt awkward. It was understandable, as this was the first time they had been left alone together in the Japan sector.
‘I always had to purify the group members by their side.’
But here, it was safe, and their contamination levels no longer rose. While it felt strange and a little lonely that the group members were gone, Yohan was already excited about being left alone with Lee Hyun-muk. As Yohan awkwardly lingered near the cleanly tidied dining table, Lee Hyun-muk asked,
“Is there anything else you want to eat?”
“I’m really full from eating so much earlier!”
Not lying, Yohan, who had eaten his fill, shook his head. He thought he had eaten quite well even within the Abyss, but it was no match for the majesty of real delivery food.
“Then, shall I give you a tour of my place?”
A tour of Lee Hyun-muk’s house…? With half anticipation for touring a national hero’s home and half anticipation for touring his boyfriend’s home, Yohan followed Lee Hyun-muk.
He felt it from the front door, but Lee Hyun-muk’s house was quite large. He knew he lived alone, but judging by the table and sofa, they were large and spacious enough for multiple people to use. Each spare room had a bed, and signs of daily life remained, clearly indicating that his teammates frequented the place. In one room, he even saw a whiteboard with a table and chairs, something rarely seen in a typical home, making it look like a conference room itself. While touring the house, what left the deepest impression on Yohan was the trophy room.
“You’ve received so many awards?”
Yohan marveled as he examined the dozens of plaques and letters of appreciation displayed inside the cabinets. Various commendations, awards, citizen awards, and letters of appreciation were packed tightly and neatly, leaving no gaps. Alongside these display cases were numerous framed photos of him with his teammates, family, guild members, and the citizens he had rescued. Yohan, feeling a positive kind of queasiness, took a slow breath. Lee Hyun-muk explained in a gentle voice,
“This was my team’s favorite place.”
“I think it will become my favorite place starting today too.”
“If I put Yohan-ssi’s picture here too, it will become my favorite place.”
“My picture…”
Just imagining his own picture placed alongside those of such wonderful and great heroes sent a thrill through him. Yohan swallowed hard and asked cautiously,
“Just in case, I’m asking, but I… I’ll be working with you on the same team from now on, right?”
At that, Lee Hyun-muk burst into laughter. His face looked as if he had heard the most adorable and charming question in the world.
“If Yohan-ssi went to another team, I’d be really sad. Me, and the others too.”
“No! I don’t want to be on another team either! I want to work together!”
Yohan exclaimed, almost jumping. The thought of being the only one not with them, working on a different team, was enough to make him feel sad and heartbroken. But hearing Lee Hyun-muk say everyone would be sad made his chest swell with joy, as if filled with balloons.
After looking around for a long time, Yohan suddenly checked the time and realized it was already time to sleep. Yohan enjoyed a long, squeaky-clean bath in the bathroom Lee Hyun-muk had shown him. In the Rift Management Agency’s isolation rooms, he could only shower, and even that was barely more than a disinfection procedure, leaving much to be desired. Soaking in the hot water, he felt there was nothing in the world happier than this moment.
After enjoying his bath, Yohan stood before the mirror. He put on the clothes Lee Hyun-muk had given him without much thought, and they were quite loose. Yohan lifted the hem of his clothes and stared intently at his soft, flat stomach. While resolving to work out and build abs, he also had another thought:
‘But won’t working out be useless…?’
For exercise to be effective, muscles need to be stimulated. Now that he was a High-level Awakener, Yohan possessed the strength to lift something like a sack of rice as easily as picking up a mug. Therefore, for exercise to be effective, the tools would need to be much heavier, and he doubted if such exercise equipment existed in the world.
‘Will my body shape remain fixed like this from now on…?’
Yohan was dumbfounded. Moreover, using his abilities consumed an enormous amount of calories, so he could feel himself losing weight if he let his guard down even slightly in the Abyss. It wasn’t for nothing that he ate constantly. While it was good that he didn’t gain weight no matter how much he ate, this aspect was a bit disappointing.
After staring at himself in the mirror for a long time, he came out. Lee Hyun-muk was also showering, and the faint sound of water could be heard. Yohan peeked around and then quietly entered the main bedroom. Although there were beds in other rooms, he didn’t want to share a room with his boyfriend.
As he lounged on the soft bed, he heard Lee Hyun-muk emerge. While Lee Hyun-muk dried his hair with a hairdryer, Yohan tossed and turned, trying to find a natural-looking pose. What would be the most natural and seemingly selfless pose….
“You’re not asleep yet?”
Yohan, who had been pretending to be on his phone while keenly aware of Lee Hyun-muk’s presence, glanced at his still-damp hair and the chest revealed through his open robe.
“It would be a bit awkward if I fell asleep first.”
“A bit awkward?”
Lee Hyun-muk echoed in a gentle voice, and Yohan demurely replied, “Yes, it would be a bit awkward…”
“Should I turn off the light, Yohan-ah?”
“Yes…”
Yohan answered obediently again. Despite drinking so much earlier, his throat was dry, and he swallowed. Lee Hyun-muk pressed the light switch, and the illumination slowly dimmed, casting a soft darkness. Lee Hyun-muk, having turned off the lights just enough to create a dim glow, lay down beside him. Yohan, unsure what to do, put away his phone.
“It feels like a dream. To be lying here in my home, on my bed, with you…”
Lee Hyun-muk said in a voice that was incredibly soft and low. As if recalling his past in the Abyss not long ago, a faint red glow seemed to flash in his dark eyes. Yohan carefully turned his body to the side and met his gaze.
There were no sounds of monsters howling bizarrely or screaming with human-like voices nearby. There was no ominous, damp, heavy, and unpleasant air, nor a suffocating stench that made it difficult to breathe properly.
Only a quiet, comfortable silence and warm, pleasant air enveloped them cozily like a cradle. Immersed in a sense of utter peace, with no need to be on edge, Yohan suddenly felt an impulse and whispered,
“…I want to kiss you.”
Instead of answering, Lee Hyun-muk’s eyes widened in a smile. He reached out a hand, warm to the touch, caressed Yohan’s cheek, then leaned down from his raised upper body and kissed him. Their lips met in a few pecks, and as Yohan parted his lips with a trembling breath, a tongue slid in.
“Mmm…”
Yohan let out a sound from his throat without realizing it. Even just kissing sent shivers down his spine from the sheer pleasure. The tongue filling his mouth moved sensually, licking and rubbing him teasingly. As they actively mingled tongues, Lee Hyun-muk’s hand slipped inside his clothes. That… just that one thing? Today? Just the two of us? After so many days?*
Yohan, stiffening with anticipation and nervousness, suddenly recalled past events. The one-sided manual stimulation in the Japan sector, and the time he was sucked into Lee Hyun-muk while fighting the core of the Abyss. All of them were relationships that were difficult to call proper.
After hesitating and struggling, Yohan slowly fumbled his hand towards his partner. After contemplating for a long time and stroking the robe, he impulsively moved his hand lower. Upon reaching his target, he widened his eyes in surprise. Lee Hyun-muk, stopping the kiss, asked in a voice filled with amusement,
“Why, Yohan-ah?”
“I thought we might end up having a platonic relationship… But it doesn’t seem like it…”
To be honest, Yohan had been worried that Lee Hyun-muk, having spent so long in the Abyss, might have completely lost his libido. In fact, ‘completely lost his libido’ was a rather softened expression; precisely speaking, he had even inwardly worried if Lee Hyun-muk was physically incapable. However, seeing this distinct and heavy weight brought him some relief.
“So, you don’t like it?”
Lee Hyun-muk, who said he would withdraw his hand if Yohan didn’t like it, was met with Yohan shaking his head resolutely from side to side. Then, he said in a clear voice,
“…No, I like it!”
“I lived for a very long time forgetting the very concept of desire, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone. No, rather…”
Trailing off, Lee Hyun-muk made a rustling sound and moved on top of Yohan’s body. As the dim light was obscured, Yohan felt as if he were suddenly plunged into pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen, and he trembled slightly. But it was an illusion, for as he blinked, he could see the shadows cast on Lee Hyun-muk’s face.
His beautifully sharp nose slowly brushed against Yohan’s cheeks and neck. His lips and tongue, directly below, licked with care, as if tasting his skin. While Yohan was already panting, his clothes were completely removed before he knew it.