“Yun-jin at one o’clock. Myung-hwon at four o’clock.”

“Yes.”

Myung-hwon and Yun-jin poured their attacks in the directions No-hun indicated. Kang No-hun was a nature-type ability user with wind as his main weapon. While effective for attacks, No-hun focused more on defense than offense.

Boom boom boom.

CRASH!

Yun-jin, who used electrical abilities that were powerful but low in intensity, was panting as if she was tired. For a while, the sound of explosions continued without pause.

Wood and stone fragments were swept up and swirled in the wind pressure. Thanks to this, the attack’s aftermath didn’t reach Attack Team 1 at all, but it couldn’t completely block out the smell of burning monster flesh.

“Ju-eon!”

Most civilians think that the more humanoid a monster appears, the higher its intelligence, but that was only half true. While it’s true that monsters closer to human form tend to be more intelligent, there were also highly intelligent monsters among those resembling beasts or insects.

Monster Lizards were one of those intelligent monsters.

They either use terrain to their advantage or utilize their group characteristics and numbers to quickly surround their prey, making escape impossible. Lizards were the latter type. The key to defeating them was to attack before being surrounded, even if it meant using more power initially.

Electricity coursed through his fingertips. It seemed he had pushed too hard from the start to match Myung-hwon’s pace. Ju-eon took Yun-jin’s hand. Her overheated breathing gradually calmed down. By then, Myung-hwon must have dealt with the remaining monsters, as the explosion sounds soon stopped.

“Ho-yun. Now…”

Ju-eon first checked Myung-hwon’s condition. His ability seemed to be running wild faster than usual. When vast abilities accumulate without receiving guiding, they become overloaded. Though the speed of ability accumulation could increase or decrease depending on condition, the interval between needed guiding sessions was shorter than usual.

‘Is his condition that bad?’

But it wasn’t him who went to Myung-hwon.

“Yes.”

Lee Ho-yun, cutting off Ju-eon’s words, immediately approached Myung-hwon. Ho-yun pouted his lips and complained.

“Ju-eon, aren’t you being too careless with your stamina?”

“He got indigestion because we had to leave in a hurry earlier.”

Yun-jin defended Ju-eon while brushing back her hair, but Ho-yun seemed unwilling to stop talking and added more complaints.

“Still. If you felt something was off, you should have said so beforehand. Didn’t we just get ambushed because you showed a small opening?”

Ho-yun’s hand touched Myung-hwon’s panting neck. The bulging veins gradually returned to normal starting from where Ho-yun’s flesh made contact. Ho-yun stroked Myung-hwon’s neck with languid movements. Myung-hwon accepted Ho-yun’s touch docilely, like a tamed beast.

“Still, there was even a dungeon boss during the attack. If we ended up finishing faster in the end, that’s what matters.”

Though No-hun spoke cheerfully, Ju-eon couldn’t agree.

“…Yeah…”

Ju-eon lowered his gaze. An awkward silence fell at Ju-eon’s rigid attitude. The hot air dissipated, replaced by the cold and damp, chilly air unique to dungeons.

It was understandable to be shocked seeing his stamina drop so suddenly when others didn’t know he was sick. Though he understood this logically, his eyes burned. Ju-eon looked at the two standing side by side before lowering his head again. He tried to collect his emotions while tapping the floor with his shoe tip.

“I’m sorry for not managing my condition properly.”

Myung-hwon’s jaw tightened. But it was just for a fleeting moment, and no one caught that moment.

“Don’t take it too hard, Ju-eon.”

Yun-jin comforted him, saying the new employee probably just hadn’t learned proper etiquette yet. Ju-eon forced his lips to curl up in response to her effort.

“Well, I did make a mistake.”

Whether from helplessness or nearly having an attack, he felt intense fatigue. While considering taking a half day off, his phone rang.

-Can we talk in my office for a bit? Come whenever you can. I’ll be waiting.

**

Whoosh.

He turned on the water and looked in the mirror. He saw his face under the cold bathroom fluorescent light. His face looked even more pale after washing it repeatedly with cold water. He had expected his stamina would gradually decrease.

“Haah…”

A deep sigh escaped. He felt like going crazy with self-loathing. He hadn’t thought he would put the team in danger. He had believed he knew his body best. That was his arrogance.

Instead of declining gradually and gently, his stamina dropped off like a cliff. His hand gripping the sink trembled. His shoulders shook faintly.

He felt ashamed of thinking he could control it.

‘If we had encountered AGT like before…’

He squeezed his eyes shut at the chilling thought. Just thinking about something that hadn’t happened made his blood run cold.

“Woo Ju-eon. What are you doing.”

He turned at the sudden voice.

“…Something was on my face…”

Myung-hwon was leaning against the doorway, staring at Ju-eon.

“Weren’t you going home?”

“Yun-jae wanted to see me for a bit.”

“Ah.”

Seeming to accept why he was looking in the mirror, Myung-hwon came closer instead of adding more words. With each step forward, the distance between them narrowed. Myung-hwon reached out and caressed Ju-eon’s cheek.

“Your lips are blue.”

“…This is our workplace.”

“I’m just checking what’s on your face.”

Though it was an excuse, if something had been there and he was wiping it off, he would have confirmed it was gone through the mirror. Myung-hwon must have known this too, but his hand didn’t leave Ju-eon’s cheek. The warmth of his hand heated Ju-eon’s cheek. His knuckled fingers felt vivid against his skin.

Lately, Ju-eon couldn’t understand Myung-hwon at all. Sometimes he felt infinitely distant, but now he felt close like before.

“You’ve been strange lately.”

Myung-hwon whispered in a low voice. Ju-eon’s eyes widened in surprise at his words. It seemed Myung-hwon was also finding things unfamiliar.

“That’s… you too…”

You too.

Ju-eon tried to retort heatedly to Myung-hwon’s mumbling, but Myung-hwon was slightly faster. The rest of the words were swallowed by Myung-hwon before they could become sound.

He wrapped his solid arm around Ju-eon’s waist and drew him into his embrace. Their lips met, and their breaths intermingled.

He had thought his face felt warm from the heat of Myung-hwon’s hand, but that wasn’t it. Like a ball of fire, his hot tongue parted Ju-eon’s lips and invaded.

“Mmh…”

For a moment forgetting the situation, he accepted his tongue, familiar yet still stimulating.

Chu.

His hand traced Ju-eon’s spine with familiar teasing touches. Myung-hwon’s hands, which knew Ju-eon’s body better than he himself did, moved quickly to conquer it. A low moan escaped through his lips, parted to accept Myung-hwon’s tongue. His body trembled with pleasure, curling his toes and gripping Myung-hwon’s solid arms tightly.

Slick, wet sounds.

Myung-hwon’s tongue swept across Ju-eon’s palate and traced his even teeth. Their saliva mixed together messily. All his bodily sensations focused on him. When his body swayed as strength left it, Myung-hwon pulled his waist closer. Their bodies pressed together without a gap.

Flinch.

“…Wait… wait a moment.”

He hurriedly pushed against Myung-hwon’s chest at the sound of movement in the corridor outside. Myung-hwon stepped back willingly, seemingly having no intention to force anything. Given how he glanced back, Myung-hwon with his better sensing ability might have already known about the presence.

“Haah…”

Ju-eon roughly wiped his lips, which were glistening with saliva, while catching his breath. Myung-hwon’s actions were confusing. He had accepted it like before, but the belated thought came that he shouldn’t have. Ju-eon smiled awkwardly. Perhaps he was the only one attaching great meaning to their kiss. Since they had kissed countless times before, this kiss too might have been as meaningless as the many forgotten moments they had shared.

“If you need guiding…”

Ju-eon stepped back one step. His lips felt hot against the back of his hand. Myung-hwon furrowed his brow.

“It’s not.”

“…”

“Not that.”

“Then…”

What question should he ask? Why had he been cold lately? He couldn’t ask that. What if he said that was true? He couldn’t bear to feel more pathetic. Ju-eon bit his lower lip.

Myung-hwon looked down at Ju-eon with an unreadable gaze. As his cheeks flushed from their intense kiss, Ju-eon’s complexion looked somewhat better.

Myung-hwon offered no excuse. He simply took off the dark navy muffler he had draped over his arm and wrapped it around Ju-eon’s neck.

“They say it’ll be cold in the evenings from today.”

Myung-hwon rarely felt cold, perhaps due to his ability. Ju-eon touched the muffler wrapped around his neck. Had he brought it intentionally? The soft texture tickled the back of his neck.

“…Are you leaving work now?”

“No.”

“Where are you going?”

“…None of your business. I’m going.”

Myung-hwon’s expression strangely hardened, making it impossible to ask more. He soon turned his back to Ju-eon and left the bathroom as if his business was done.

“Where were you?”

Voices could be heard from outside.

“Bathroom.”

“You should tell me before leaving. I was looking for you.”

The voice with a hint of aegyo was familiar. Ju-eon could recognize whose voice it was in that brief moment.

Lee Ho-yun.

Ju-eon stood there frozen as if nails were driven into his feet. He remained in the bathroom for a long while until Ho-yun’s voice disappeared.