# Chapter 37
“According to the reports from the previous attack team, it’s a jungle-type dungeon with a continuous white night condition, so time doesn’t matter. …Junseo, speak casually only when we’re alone.”
Dohyuk whispered the last part softly, worried Junseo might look upset again, and Junseo smiled with his chin lightly resting on Dohyuk’s solid shoulder.
Even the weight on his shoulder was so feathery it made him sigh.
“I’m sorry, Esper Choi Dohyuk. I guess I’m not used to it yet.”
Seeing him apologize so cutely while coming close to his face, Dohyuk thought that even if Junseo somehow blew his retirement savings, he’d have to forgive him if he acted like this. Whenever he saw Espers fawning over Guides, he had only found it curious, but now he too was in severe condition. And Junseo was even pretty-faced. There was no way he could resist.
“…It’s fine.”
As Junseo pressed closer, the scent of citrus and flowers intensified. Dohyuk cleared his throat awkwardly and unconsciously scanned Junseo’s nape with his eyes.
The combat uniform, designed to ensure excellent mobility, clung tightly to the wearer’s body. As a result, Junseo’s lines, which had been hidden beneath the loose sweaters and shirts he usually wore, were revealed without filter. His neckline, already delicate, appeared even more elongated. His surprisingly broad shoulders and waist that tapered down looked like a meticulously sculpted work of art.
Dohyuk squeezed his eyes shut. How long had it been since he’d received the libido suppressant, yet here he was, eyeing someone else freely? He was no better than a beast.
Filled with self-loathing, Dohyuk leaned his head against the window. When his forehead touched the window, which had cooled due to the lowered temperature, the burning heat subsided somewhat.
“Are you tired? The window will shake, lean on me instead.”
Junseo, who couldn’t possibly know Dohyuk’s lecherous thoughts, straightened his back, suggesting that Dohyuk lean on him instead. Looking at that angelic smiling face, Dohyuk’s self-loathing intensified. Only after Junseo urged him again did Dohyuk lean against him, feeling as though he were drinking poison. Despite his concerns about whether it would be uncomfortable given that their heights weren’t drastically different, it was quite comfortable.
“…Thank you.”
“Not at all.”
The transport vehicle started its engine and began moving slowly, suggesting that the luggage arrangement and personnel check were complete. Once they hit the highway shortly after, the speed increased.
As if he considered the journey to the dungeon a fun picnic, Junseo hummed softly in a low tone.
His small voice rustled by Dohyuk’s ear before vanishing fleetingly. Dohyuk hurriedly lowered his eyes at the tone, which resembled a lullaby. He needed to sleep quickly. Whether or not he understood Dohyuk’s feelings, Junseo cheerfully leaned his head against Dohyuk’s.
The sound of the car bumping along continued languidly, like white noise.
***
The reconnaissance team, separated from the external deployment team, entered the dungeon interior. Since everyone except Junseo had dungeon attack experience, they were able to establish a base quickly without any issues.
True to its jungle-type nature, the trees were dense and lush. The shadows, cast diversely through various types of leaves, were lighter in some areas and darker in others. If it had been a real jungle, it would have been chaotic with all sorts of animal sounds, but the scene was eerily bleak, quiet except for the rustling of leaves.
No living beings, except for monsters, could survive naturally within a dungeon. Even the trees before them weren’t real. This was actually fortunate. If insects and animals had been moving about like in a real jungle, the attack would have been more difficult.
During the early days of dungeon attacks, there was hope that resources could be harvested from stabilized dungeons. Forestry was attempted in such jungle-type dungeons, but the results were dismal. Except for byproducts from D-class or higher monsters, resources transferred from the dungeon interior to the exterior disappeared within a day. This was because the source that constituted the additional resources inside the dungeon was the core. Researchers also hypothesized that this was why E-class and below monsters couldn’t escape the dungeon.
What appeared to be ordinary trees were actually degenerated monsters rather than plants. They didn’t need water or sunlight for survival, and the climate here differed from the jungles outside the dungeon. Thanks to this, while the dungeon looked like a jungle visually, it was only dry, without a trace of humidity. There wasn’t even the peculiar stench emitted by plants that had rotted due to the constant moisture.
Since this dungeon had already been attacked once, the large tent that the previous team had left for the subsequent team at the base point fortunately remained undamaged. Judging by the absence of monsters encountered on their way here, it seemed that reconstruction hadn’t occurred yet.
Dohyuk set up his share of the tent, just like the other Espers. He effortlessly assembled the cotton tent, weighing nearly 30kg, alone, as naturally as if he were taking a carton of milk from a convenience store refrigerator. With his busy hands putting together various poles, the five-person tent was completed in the blink of an eye. Junseo, who had been watching from the side because Dohyuk had asked him to stay put out of concern for his safety, approached as soon as the tent was complete.
“Shall I give you some guiding?”
It took Dohyuk only 3 minutes to set up the tent. Junseo’s eyes sparkled like a pet welcoming its owner home after waiting just 3 minutes, which Dohyuk found a bit amusing, so he curved up the corner of his mouth.
“I haven’t done enough to need guiding yet.”
“They’re doing it over there.”
In the direction Junseo gestured, support-type Esper Hansol, who had already finished setting up his tent, was receiving guiding from Jihun.
“That’s because Esper Hansol moved the personnel here.”
Seven people weren’t a lot for dungeon exploration, but it was still a burdensome number to move all at once using abilities. Hansol, a support-type Esper who had moved the seven individuals in three groups to the base over several trips, had sufficient reason to receive guiding.
When Dohyuk responded, Junseo sighed openly as if disappointed. Finding that cute too, Dohyuk burst into laughter.
“Aren’t you too fond of guiding, Guide Yu Junseo?”
Junseo thought it was always fascinating how a cold impression could crumble helplessly with just one smile.
“I can’t help it. Imagine if an author whose writing style you like kept writing books for you.”
“Hmm.”
Dohyuk groaned briefly, urging his imagination, but since he wasn’t particularly interested in reading or watching things, it didn’t resonate much. Dohyuk pulled over two shabby chairs that had been made by roughly cutting large trees, undoubtedly created by the previous attack team, and placed them near the tent.
They were called chairs, but they were just cut logs.
Thinking they were better than nothing, Dohyuk roughly dusted off the dirt-covered log with his hand. When he gestured for Junseo to sit, Junseo promptly sat down like an obedient child.
“Do you enjoy reading?”
Forget the shabby chair comment. When Junseo sat down, it looked like a meticulously crafted item for a special broadcast shoot. The theme might be “Forest Fairy” or something. The sunlight filtering through the tree shade and leaves was mystically engraved on Junseo’s white skin like traditional patterns of some vanished tribe. Each time the leaves swayed, the shadows rippled like gentle waves.
Maintaining a calm expression while occasionally marveling at the breathtaking outdoor Junseo and diligently securing his own welfare, Dohyuk received a refreshing response from Junseo.
“Yes. While reading, the turmoil in my head, like headaches, becomes somewhat calmer.”
“That’s interesting. Like an Esper receiving guiding?”
“Since I’m not an Esper, I’m not sure. To put it simply, I think I like it as much as you like my face.”
Crack.
Dohyuk, who had been sneakily observing Junseo while pretending not to, was dusting off the chair he would sit on, but he was so startled that he broke the chair. It was called a chair, but it was a log thicker than Junseo’s chest. Junseo, who had momentarily paused speaking to look down at the log that had been split as if struck by a large axe, blinked his eyes and joked while still sitting obediently on his chair.
“You’re getting so embarrassed that I’m suddenly feeling shy too.”
Starting with Junseo’s words, Dohyuk straightened his bent back as the warmth rising from his nape intensified.
“I-I’ll… I’ll find another chair. Stay here.”
After stammering out broken words, he disappeared at an incredible speed. Junseo rested his chin on his bent leg. Gazing beyond as if following the already vanished back, Junseo muttered to himself.
“I guess my face being liked was still a secret.”
Anyway, he’s delicate to the point of being cute. How does he survive in this harsh world?
The split log didn’t even have the right to feel wronged.
***
“Esper Choi Dohyuk. From now o… No. What is all this?”
Sangjun, who had roughly completed setting up his space and organizing his luggage, happened to discover Dohyuk and approached him, but he was startled. Esper Choi Dohyuk, with a neat face, was ferociously conducting large-scale deforestation.
“Ah. Esper Ji Sangjun.”
As if just coming to his senses, Dohyuk responded to Sangjun and relaxed the hand that had been intensely chopping trees.
“Don’t you know that dungeon resources can’t be harvested outside?”
“Ah… I thought we might need chairs to use during our stay, so I made some. You can take a few if you need.”
“…We only have seven people.”
Dohyuk closed his mouth, unable to report that, to forget his self-loathing by focusing on something else, he had already felled two sturdy trees, creating a total of sixteen chair-like wood blocks and seven table-like wood blocks.
