FLIA 31

Yoon Seungryong borrowed some clothes from Lee Hyunmook. He had a fairly muscular build himself, but Lee Hyunmook’s frame was so large that the clothes hung a bit loose on him. Yohan, who had been absentmindedly staring at the clothes Yoon Seungryong wore, only then realized something.

“It’s not Addidas… it says Adios?”

“Huh? Oh, you’re right. Is it a knockoff? Or maybe it got corrupted?”

Seeing the altered logo of a famous brand, it was impossible to tell whether it was originally a knockoff or a genuine product that had been corrupted. While chatting idly about it, Yohan suddenly let out a quiet exclamation of wonder. Meeting Lee Hyunmook in the Abyss had already been surreal, but now that Yoon Seungryong was also standing before him, it still didn’t feel real.

Yoon Seungryong, twenty-five years old this year. A mid-level awakener whose main ability was poison and sub ability was space manipulation. Like most dealers, he fought with a spear, but he also used his spatial skills to throw concealed weapons and aim for vital points. Feeling quietly relieved, Yohan spoke.

“Still, I’m glad you didn’t use your space manipulation yesterday when fighting Mr. Hyunmook…”

“Huh? I don’t remember clearly, but I think I did?”

“…What?”

Yohan looked at Lee Hyunmook, startled. During their fight yesterday, it had never felt like Yoon Seungryong had used any space manipulation on him. And Lee Hyunmook had looked completely fine.

“It just didn’t work because the Team Leader’s a total monster. Poison didn’t work either… I mean, seriously, have you seen anyone deadlier than him? Even with acid toxins, he doesn’t so much as blink.”

Apparently, the battle had been even more brutal and intense than Yohan had realized. No wonder Lee Hyunmook had fallen asleep afterward, it must have taken a toll. Worried, Yohan glanced at him, wondering whether he needed purification. But since he had been given delicious food, Yoon Seungryong treated him with exaggerated friendliness.

“Hyung’ll make you some army stew later. You were talking about fruit earlier, right? If there’s an orchard nearby, I’ll go hunt down a few beasts and bring them back.”

Yoon Seungryong was around the same age as Yang Yosep, but he treated Yohan even more kindly than a real older brother. His warmth was so deep it was almost embarrassing. Practically bouncing with excitement, he grinned.

“The Ruined City nearby. Want to sweep through it for supplies? Now that we’ve got a purifier, it’s a free-for-all. We can eat anything.”

“Oh, we can’t go into the Ruined City. The Flood’s hit there already.”

“… The Flood ? Already?”

Yoon Seungryong looked at Lee Hyunmook in confusion. Hyunmook, who was cleaning grime off his spear, quietly met his gaze. The silence lasted only a few seconds, but Yoon Seungryong scratched his head as if they’d exchanged something in that glance. He didn’t bring up the Ruined City again. Yohan, sensing the mood, cautiously asked,

“By the way, where’s your weapon? If you left it in the swamp yesterday, shouldn’t we go get it?”

“Of course I brought it. Look.”

Yoon Seungryong reached toward his waistband and pulled out a long spear. Yohan’s eyes widened in shock. He had been in just a T-shirt with no gear or bags, yet a spear had suddenly appeared. Unlike Lee Hyunmook’s spear, which looked suited for piercing like a lightning rod, Lee Seungryong’s was shaped more like a guandao¹traditional Chinese pole weapon with a large, curved blade mounted on a long shaft.  with a long blade. Dazed, Yohan stammered,

“M-magic…?”

It didn’t make sense that something this dirty had been hidden. When the spear emerged, globs of sticky mud fell off and reeked with a nauseating stench. How had that smell been concealed?

Yoon Seungryong beamed, seemingly unaware of how filthy his spear was.

“Nah, it’s space manipulation.”

“But… hyung, your space manipulation didn’t work like this, right?”

The gap between a main and sub-ability was usually significant. Yoon Seungryong’s poison could deliver deadly, devastating attacks, but his space manipulation had only been enough to teleport a few daggers per day. Yet now he had pulled a full weapon from thin air, like a game inventory system.

“Ever since I got here, I’ve gotten way stronger. Like, insanely strong. So strong I can barely keep it together…”

Yohan hurriedly began purifying as Yoon Seungryong’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous glint. The revolting color of the mud faded to normal earth tones, and the stench vanished. Yoon Seungryong, stunned out of his madness, shook his head like a wet dog and came back to his senses. Yohan, nearly in tears from fear, breathed a sigh of relief and turned away, only to be startled.

“Waaah!”

Something soft had brushed his cheek. Lee Hyunmook had approached while he was distracted, and his face was now way too close, their lips had almost touched. Yohan immediately poured purification light on him, thinking he’d also gone mad. But Lee Hyunmook murmured in his ear,

“Careful. That’s poison.”

Only then did Yohan notice the acidic poison slime sliding down Yoon Seungryong’s spear shaft toward his thigh. Lee Hyunmook had intercepted it with his hand, which was now covered in mud.

“You’re okay?!”

Panicked, Yohan purified the rest of the slime and checked Lee Hyunmook’s hand. Luckily, like a proper high-level damage dealer, his wound had already started healing. Flustered, Lee Seungryong moved the now-clean spear away.

“Ah, sorry, Yohan. I… totally forgot about that.”

“I’m fine, but… shouldn’t you be apologizing to him? He got hurt.”

At Yohan’s reasonable point, Yoon Seungryong stared at Lee Hyunmook. Then he gave a half-hearted, lazy apology.

“So I accidentally burned the guy who broke my back, cut up my body, and scorched me to a crisp without ever apologizing. And I offered him my hand voluntarily, too. That counts as a mistake, huh? Maybe I’m like, a little sorry? Kinda? Maybe?”

No matter how you heard it, it didn’t sound like an apology. But hearing this, Yohan couldn’t help thinking maybe Lee Hyunmook had done something… possibly far worse. Yoon Seungryong shrugged and got up slowly.

“I gotta go empty out the trash in my pockets. I’ll get you some fruit on the way back, Yohan.”

Yohan tilted his head. Trash in his pockets? The only pocketed clothing Lee Seungryong had was the pair of pants Yohan had given him earlier.

‘Ah, maybe he meant the space where he keeps his gear, not actual pockets. Like in a game inventory…’

Space manipulation was one of the rarest abilities among awakeners, and even then they were limited and mostly supplemental. If even his sub-ability had grown this powerful in the Abyss, then just how strong had his main ability become? And what about Lee Hyunmook, a high-level awakener with all his strength focused into a single deadly ability…?

The image of the acid cave came to mind, the hollowed-out tunnel Yoon Seungryong had crawled from. Whatever Lee Hyunmook had done to collapse that, Yohan couldn’t even begin to imagine. He glanced at him nervously. Lee Hyunmook responded warmly.

“What’s wrong, Yohan-ah?”

Yohan suddenly felt ashamed. Was he really deserving of this kindness from such powerful, famous people, just because he was a purifier?

“I feel like… I’m not really doing anything. Like I’m just tagging along…”

“You’re not really doing anything?”

Lee Hyunmook furrowed his brow, as if the words made no sense.

“I mean, I don’t mean my purification isn’t helpful. Just… while you were fighting and struggling all this time, I was always hiding, staying somewhere safe. I feel guilty about that…”

“Yohan-ah.”

Lee Hyunmook cut him off firmly.

“You’re the one who came running and saved me when I was on the brink of death. You didn’t run away, you stayed. That’s why I’m even here right now. You weren’t even awakened yet, and you still saved me. Yoon Seungryong feels the same, I’m sure.”

Saved him… The word was far heavier than Yohan had expected, and his face flushed bright red. Lee Hyunmook gave him a faint smile.

“Honestly, that day I felt like kissing your feet a hundred times.”

“Please don’t! Never do that!”

“I didn’t, since I figured you’d hate it.”

Then he reached over and tousled Yohan’s hair. His hand brushed affectionately over Yohan’s ear, intimate and gentle. The silence that followed was painfully awkward for Yohan, who fumbled to change the subject.

“Ah, um, should I start calling you ‘Team Leader’? Even if I’m not part of the Sunrise Team, still…”

Now that he thought about it, calling him just Mr. Hyun or Mr. Hyunmook might have been disrespectful. But surprisingly, Lee Hyunmook’s reaction was to furrow his brow slightly for the first time.

“That’s disappointing.”

“Wh-what? Disappointing? Why?”

His heart sank. Why would Lee Hyunmook be disappointed? He clenched his fists.

“Seungryong and I are about the same age difference from you. So why am I the one being called ‘Team Leader’?”

“…What?”

He was two years younger than Yoon Seungryong but ten years younger than Hyunmook. How was that the same? Then again, ten years wasn’t too old to call someone ‘hyung.’ After some hesitation, Yohan opened his mouth.

“Then… Hyun… Hyunmook-hyung…?”

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  traditional Chinese pole weapon with a large, curved blade mounted on a long shaft.