Recently, Gates had occurred one after another in almost every district without a moment to breathe. With the ever-increasing number of monsters, countless Espers became unable to return not just to their homes but even to the dormitory.
Since a colleague next to them might cross the River Styx while they briefly left their post, everyone united and remained at the scene. Except for brief moments of sleep, they each defended their positions and fought monsters.
And when body and mind grew weary, everyone approached combat with the same thought.
‘Guild Leader Ryu Taeha is also giving up sleep to work, so we can’t rest!’
Although no matter how long they worked and how little they slept, they couldn’t come close to Guild Leader Ryu Taeha’s workload, that painful fact actually became a great motivation.
As if aware of this, during periods when Gates were overheated, Taeha especially didn’t enter the dormitory and defended the districts. He boosted the morale of the entire guild with a gaze subtly containing the meaning, ‘Want to rest? I’m working though?’
“Still, he should sleep a bit….”
A supporter organizing supplies looked at Taeha floating far up in the sky with a worried expression. He was dealing with an avian-type monster reaching S-rank alone.
The group of supporters defending the barracks expressed concern while watching Taeha like that.
“From what I heard, it seems he hasn’t slept even 3 hours in a week.”
“No way. Still, he’s been briefly stopping by the dormitory in between.”
“It seems he only checks on the guild members and comes back. It didn’t look like he’d slept.”
Judging from the information actively shared among supporters, Taeha’s sleep time was absurdly insufficient. Unlike other Espers who supplemented their sleep in the barracks, those who’d witnessed him sleeping could be counted on one hand. Even that was just lying down for about 10 minutes before getting up, so it couldn’t even be called sleep.
“Still, won’t he sleep a bit when receiving guiding?”
“He seems to receive guiding briefly too. He really cherishes his younger brother.”
“Then when exactly does he rest?”
The supporter who’d been whispering with supply boxes between them raised their head to look at Taeha again.
“Huh…?”
But the sky that had been full of avian-type monsters had already become so quiet that not even a feather could be found. Taeha, who’d been standing alone in the center of the monster flock, also wasn’t visible.
“What are you all talking about so much?”
“Eek…!”
The group of supporters were all startled at once. It was understandable to be surprised since Taeha, who’d clearly been killing monsters in midair, had suddenly appeared before them.
“No, that…! We’re, we’re sorry!”
“We’ll focus on work!”
Taeha smiled gently while receiving the water bottle they handed him.
“It must be hard, but let’s work hard just a bit more. For everyone’s safety.”
“Yes! We’ll do our best!”
At Taeha’s small gesture, the group of supporters immediately moved positions to help the Purification Team. They were processing the corpses of hundreds of avian-type monsters Taeha had just dealt with. Thanks to him cutting off their breath so cleanly, even though the numbers were large, the processing time was much shorter.
Taeha broadly surveyed the scene where the heat hadn’t died down and put down the water bottle he’d quickly emptied. Before heading straight to the next Gate, he checked his watch and muttered quietly.
“I wonder if he’s sleeping.”
Since it was well past midnight, it was a time when anyone would already be asleep. Should I at least text him? The hand that had been fiddling with his phone soon moved to the pager ringing noisily.
“I miss him.”
While accepting the densely piled support requests, he continued with a brief monologue that would never reach the other person.
Next time I go to the dormitory, I should bring back the stuffed animal I gifted him.
It felt like only by touching that could his empty insides be filled.
* * *
Late at night, Dawoon stretched and yawned wide enough to split his mouth.
“Huuu—”
A yawn clearly came out, but sleep wouldn’t come at all. Perhaps because he’d slept quite long while taking a half-bath during the day, his eyes were wide open even past midnight.
Meow.
The cat also had no intention of sleeping and circled around Dawoon. Dawoon hugged the creature that kept biting his pant leg and trying to climb onto his feet, then placed the small body on top of his own head.
“Should we go to sleep now?”
The two were strolling through the wide dormitory living room with nothing particular to do. Since Dawoon was the only person there, the already palace-like dormitory felt even more enormous.
“Want to go up? Or stay longer?”
Meow.
Dawoon took the cat’s answer—which he couldn’t even understand—to heart and circled the living room one more time. He moved even a little because he worried his already insufficient muscle mass would decrease further if he kept lying in bed.
The cat watched Dawoon diligently going up and down the long stairs, lying on his head and just chewing his hair steadily.
The cat’s eyes, which had been enjoying such a peaceful time, suddenly sharpened.
Beep, beep, beep—
Even before the door lock sound rang, the cat who’d glanced at the entrance hallway let out a light sigh. Dawoon, who detected the presence later than him, came back down to the living room after hearing the front door open.
“Oh, Dawoon hyung. You’re not asleep yet?”
Yeoul, who’d been walking down the long hallway with an expressionless face, broke into a bright smile the moment he saw Dawoon. His corners of his mouth reflexively rose as if a button had been pressed, reaching his ears.
“Are you done with work now?”
“No, I have to go back out. I just came for a moment.”
Dawoon looked up at Yeoul, who came running to him and very naturally took his hand.
Recently, Yeoul’s skinship had become very frequent. Holding hands was commonplace, and before going out to work, he even gave deep hugs under the excuse of wanting to gain strength. Since the day they formed their partnership.
Just when he’d try to warn him, wondering if this guy was confusing a sex partner with a romantic relationship, his heart would naturally soften seeing him work every day without even sleeping.
“You should sleep a bit while working, what are we going to do? You must be very tired, right?”
In fact, the shadows under Yeoul’s eyes were getting darker. No matter how skilled a person close to S-rank he was, he was still human, so rest was naturally necessary.
“It’s okay. When I’m like this with hyung, I’m not tired at all.”
As if those words were true, the fatigue visibly disappeared in real-time from Yeoul, who leaned his cheek against the back of Dawoon’s hand. Finding this fascinating, Dawoon first led Yeoul to the living room sofa.
“Sit down and rest for now. Want something to drink?”
“I bought ice cream. Hyung, want to eat it now?”
He’d brought a plastic bag, and it turned out to be all ice cream.
“You bought a lot.”
Dawoon smiled softly watching Yeoul open the bag wide, telling him to choose quickly.
Come to think of it, Yeoul seemed to reach for ice cream more than food.
Both Ryu Taeha and Yeoul—they both constantly made sure he ate, but he’d barely seen them eat themselves. If they can’t sleep, they should at least eat well.
“Want to eat it later?”
“No, I was choosing.”
When Dawoon tried to roughly grab any ice cream in sight, Yeoul rummaged through the bag, saying he’d actually bought his portion separately.
“This is the most expensive one.”
It was cup ice cream eaten with a spoon. He pushed both milk tea and raspberry flavors close, saying they were both for Dawoon.
“Only hyung eat it. Don’t give any to the leader.”
Yeoul, who whispered seriously, pressed both ice creams into Dawoon’s hands. Though Dawoon spoke as if scolding him about making a fuss over what to eat, he giggled because he found Yeoul amusing.
“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
Though it was a bit bothersome, he didn’t dislike this guy acting like a child. It was a hundred, a thousand times better than his violent side.
Nyak.
At that moment, the cat who’d rolled down from Dawoon’s head in a somersault smacked down their clasped hands with his paw.
“Bored?”
Thinking he wanted to play, Dawoon picked up a rolling toy and seated him on his lap. But the cat showed more interest in the ice cream than the toy Dawoon was waving.
“You can’t eat this. If you do, you’ll have to go to the hospital for a shot again.”
Yeoul, who’d already become sulky from having some attention stolen by a cat that wasn’t even a person, glanced disapprovingly at the cat lying on Dawoon’s lap.
“Isn’t it time for the little brat to sleep?”
At the sharp tone, Dawoon asked with a puzzled expression.
“Why. Sleepy? Want to sleep a bit?”
“No, not me.”
Though Yeoul grumbled that he wasn’t a kid, Dawoon only giggled at the sight.
“Seems right though.”
“Have you seen such a big kid?”
“I’m looking at one right now.”
Unable to find words to retort, Yeoul buried his face in Dawoon’s shoulder. Dawoon’s body simultaneously tilted back sharply, swept up by his heavy weight.
“I’m kidding, kidding. Where would there be a kid as big as you?”
Dawoon tried to straighten up the sulking Yeoul by patting his solid back. But Yeoul didn’t budge. Rather, he wrapped one arm around Dawoon’s waist and pressed their bodies even closer.
“Hey, your posture….”
“Hyung.”
The moment Dawoon tried to push him away, Yeoul raised his head and pressed his nose tip to Dawoon’s lips.
“Did you take your suppressant?”
