On the way to the research institute, it was Yeon Dogyeong who had pulled the sleeping Joo Seonghan to sit next to him.
‘…Sorry… rabbit, sorry…’
Joo Seonghan had been having nightmares ever since he stabbed the neck of one semi-human with a knife. It was rare for him to sleep quietly, but strangely he himself didn’t know this fact. He always had a perfectly fine face when he woke up as if it had never happened. He really was an incomprehensible person.
Yeon Dogyeong pulled the body of Joo Seonghan, who kept apologizing to the rabbit semi-human in his sleep, closer. When he let his head rest on his shoulder, he stopped saying anything more. Instead, he moaned “mmm” and linked his arm around Yeon Dogyeong’s arm. He wrapped his arms around tightly as if clinging and held his hand. Whether he himself was asleep, or Yeon Dogyeong was asleep, Joo Seonghan only touched Yeon Dogyeong’s body first at times like these. Was it because he was timid? Yeon Dogyeong spread his fingers and intertwined them.
‘Joo Seonghan.’
‘…Mm.’
When sleeping, Joo Seonghan’s words were short, and he answered well. Amusingly, he didn’t know this about himself either. He was thinking about what question to ask this time when Woo Yoomin honked the horn and cursed. At that sound, Joo Seonghan woke from his sleep. Though after that he pretended to be asleep.
“Why won’t you? This is the first time I’ve seen Team Leader Yeon refuse so blatantly, so honestly I’m pissed off, so at least tell me the reason properly?”
Woo Yoomin followed closely behind Yeon Dogyeong heading to the cafeteria and asked almost shouting. Yeon Dogyeong stopped walking while rubbing the back of his neck. Woo Yoomin, who had frowned, stood in front of Yeon Dogyeong and crossed her arms. Her glaring eyes were fierce. Yeon Dogyeong expanded the smile he was wearing and shoved both hands into his pockets.
“Sorry, but I can’t get it up for you right now, Yoomin-ssi.”
“……”
“Let’s do it next time.”
“…Fuck.”
At Woo Yoomin’s blatant curse, Yeon Dogyeong laughed “haha” out loud and passed by her. Perhaps because he hadn’t properly put it in, it felt like he wouldn’t be able to get an erection for anything other than Joo Seonghan’s asshole. Fortunately, he was no longer confused about whether or not it was okay to touch him. Joo Seonghan was cautious and didn’t know how to be greedy. That was evident in how he looked at Yeon Dogyeong as if entranced but never expressed it in the end. In short, it meant he was suitable for having a purely physical relationship.
Actually, physical matters aside, but separate from that, for Yeon Dogyeong, Joo Seonghan was a special person in his own way. An unpredictable person, someone who bothered him for some unknown reason, someone fresh that he wanted to someday grab and pry open to look inside. Joo Seonghan still made Yeon Dogyeong’s blood boil. So if the opportunity arose, he was more than willing to try starting with him once again.
There was no reason to hesitate either—if this feeling continued for a few days, should he go find Joo Seonghan who had lost his memory? Rolling around on the same bed and digging into his inner thoughts didn’t seem bad either. Yeon Dogyeong thought lightly and headed to the cafeteria.
-♂-
* * *
“I heard you received some explanation, so shall we proceed right away? Is there anything you’re curious about? Uh… Joo Seonghan-ssi?”
Joo Seonghan, who had been looking outside where the sunlight was pouring in with a blank face, only turned his head toward the person in charge standing beside him when his name was called. He showed an awkward smile.
“I guess you feel a bit strange. Since it’s work that forcibly removes memories…”
The person in charge scratched the back of his head and pressed a button to raise the backrest of the chair Joo Seonghan was sitting in a bit. The sturdy chair that might be found in a dentist’s office made a small sound as it raised Joo Seonghan’s body. The person in charge, who pulled over a nearby wheeled chair and sat down, glanced down at his wristwatch.
For the sake of the person in charge who seemed busy, and for Joo Seonghan whose mind was complicated, it would be better to get the memory-erasing injection as quickly as possible and escape this place. However, Joo Seonghan eventually twisted his body and pulled both legs out of the chair. The person in charge’s eyes widened.
“Wait, can I go to the cafeteria for a moment?”
At Joo Seonghan’s words, the person in charge showed a flustered face. Joo Seonghan said “I’m sorry” and stood up from his seat and approached the door.
“Th-the cafeteria is on the first floor to the left.”
The person in charge spoke to Joo Seonghan’s back. When he looked back, he smiled awkwardly.
“If it’s okay, please come back quickly. I have somewhere I need to go urgently.”
Joo Seonghan nodded his head quickly. He said “thank you” as a greeting and opened the door. And he moved his steps almost running.
In a strange place full of wild animals called semi-humans, Joo Seonghan had survived. The reason he could endure without losing his mind was thanks to Semi-Human Department Team 3. If there was even the slightest possibility that it could help the world they lived in, he had to speak even if he couldn’t prove it. The fact that semi-humans spoke. The fact that there was a semi-human who didn’t attack even after seeing humans. It would ultimately help Joo Seonghan too. If the Semi-Human Department and the people at the semi-human research institute knew more details about semi-humans, this world would become safer.
“Team Lead… er, -nim…”
No, actually it was all an excuse. Joo Seonghan just wanted to kiss Yeon Dogyeong one more time.
“Did you come to eat?”
Yeon Dogyeong, holding a meal tray, looked at Joo Seonghan who had grabbed his arm while he was getting his food. The faint smile hanging on his lips was caught by the sunlight entering through the window. Joo Seonghan stared at it blankly, then rudely snatched the tray from his hands and dragged him away. Woo Yoomin, who had been sitting at the wide table eating, opened her eyes wide and looked this way. Joo Seonghan, who turned his eyes away from her, bit down hard on his molars, set the tray down anywhere, and escaped the cafeteria.
Yeon Dogyeong, without even asking what was wrong, was caught by Joo Seonghan and let himself be dragged obediently, and Joo Seonghan went deeper into the hallway looking for a path where people wouldn’t pass. They reached the stairway landing at the very end of the building. Joo Seonghan cornered Yeon Dogyeong into the corner behind the door. He looked around and let go of the hand holding him. Yeon Dogyeong, leaning against the wall, smiled widely while looking at Joo Seonghan as if watching something fun.
“I have something to tell you.”
He spoke clearly while organizing his slightly quickened breathing. Yeon Dogyeong nodded his head like a good child. Joo Seonghan rubbed his lips once and opened his mouth.
“I heard a semi-human speak.”
“……”
“It’s true. I heard it three times, no, four times.”
Yeon Dogyeong’s smile faded. With only one side of his lips pulled up, he didn’t move. With no reaction, Joo Seonghan became anxious instead and added an explanation.
“I know it could be a misunderstanding. But I really heard it. The first time was ‘good,’ then ‘human,’ then ‘baby,’ and the last one was a sentence…”
“Really?”
He asked in a low voice. Joo Seonghan put sincerity in his eyes and answered yes.
“Are you saying it opened its mouth and spoke?”
“It opened its mouth, but… it opened it slightly…”
His words trailed off. Because they were such hectic situations, he couldn’t say that Joo Seonghan’s memory was accurate. Feeling deflated, thinking he had brought up something unnecessary.
“You heard it well but didn’t see it properly.”
Yeon Dogyeong soothed such a Joo Seonghan with a gentle voice. He lifted his back from the wall and leaned his upper body toward Joo Seonghan. This time he looked around to see if there was anyone nearby.
“What exactly was the situation?”
“…There’s one more thing I want to tell you, can I answer after that?”
“Tell me.”
Yeon Dogyeong grabbed Joo Seonghan’s arm. They switched positions. Joo Seonghan, whose back was now against the wall, looked at the shadowed face of Yeon Dogyeong blocking his front and opened his mouth.
“…I saw a semi-human that didn’t attack.”
Yeon Dogyeong stared at Joo Seonghan intently. He brushed away the bangs that were uncomfortably covering Joo Seonghan’s eyes. Joo Seonghan swallowed dry saliva and lowered his eyes.
“Clearly, our eyes met but it didn’t attack me. That happened twice, and once it looked at all of us and then disappeared in an instant.”
“Look up.”
He raised his eyes after blinking several times. As if searching for something inside, he silently looked into Joo Seonghan’s eyes. His body began to heat up. Joo Seonghan turned his head away like someone who had lost a staring contest. Yeon Dogyeong grabbed the back of Joo Seonghan’s head to prevent him from avoiding it. At the staring contest that began again, Joo Seonghan closed his eyes and raised a white flag. Faint breath touched his face.
“This is troublesome.”
“…What?”
He furrowed his brow and opened his eyes. He couldn’t understand how the information Joo Seonghan told him made him troubled. When he made a puzzled expression, he closed his eyes and smiled brightly.
“Not me, but Joo Seonghan-ssi.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who let go of his hair, grabbed Joo Seonghan’s wrist and turned around. Because of him escaping the corner and climbing the stairs with big strides, Joo Seonghan almost tripped several times as he was dragged up.
“Team Leader Yeon!”
He called him urgently, but Yeon Dogyeong didn’t stop walking. After climbing to the third floor without rest, before entering the hallway, he grabbed the face of the extremely flustered Joo Seonghan.
“Are you good at acting?”
He looked at him while catching his breath. He tapped Joo Seonghan’s lips, tap, tap.
“Play along well.”
After spitting out only what he had to say, he grabbed Joo Seonghan’s arm and walked down the hallway lined with doors on both sides. He flung open one door without hesitation. The person in charge, who had been sitting in a chair looking at his phone, jumped up.
