FLIA 29

As soon as Lee Hyunmook stomped down on Yoon Seungryong’s neck, he mercilessly subdued him. Yohan gasped in silent horror and scrambled to begin purifying him. If he wanted to ease even a little of Yoon Seungryong’s pain, swift purification was the best he could do.

Yohan cautiously placed his hand on Yoon Seungryong’s body. A shimmering corona of radiant white light began to flow from his palm and seep into him. Yoon Seungryong, who had been thrashing and growling viciously, suddenly went rigid.

As the light permeated his body, the blackened, discolored skin gradually began to regain its natural tone. The coarse, incomprehensible shrieks slowly softened into something more human. His hard centipede carapace began to soften and fall away with a clatter, and even the burns from the high-voltage shock began to heal, signs that his regenerative powers were returning.

“Ugh…”

Yohan panted for breath. It was hard, when he had purified Lee Hyunmook, everything had happened so suddenly he hadn’t realized how exhausting it was. But this time, he could feel it with every breath. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as his breathing grew heavier. Still, seeing Yoon Seungryong’s body slowly return to something human filled him with joy, and he squeezed out every last bit of strength.

“Aaah, Aaaagh!”

Was the purification painful? At some point, Yoon Seungryong began screaming. He flailed his arms wildly and clawed at himself. But even his screams now sounded unmistakably human. The scratches healed almost instantly, too. That meant the corruption was fading. When his venomous fangs finally fell away and the whites returned to his eyes, Yoon Seungryong’s cries finally stopped.

Haaa…

He inhaled deeply, then exhaled with a look of peace. Lee Hyunmook lifted his foot from Yoon Seungryong’s neck.

Gone was the grotesque monster. In its place lay a muscular young man, breathing deeply in sleep. Yohan, overwhelmed with relief that his purification had worked, threw his arms into the air and shouted,

“It worked! Mr. Hyunmook, I did it!”

When he turned around, Lee Hyunmook was silently staring down at Yoon Seungryong. His gaze, fixed on the now-normal face and body of his teammate, trembled with complicated emotion. A faint sigh escaped his lips, laced with deep, wordless remorse. Yohan had no way of guessing what he was feeling.

“Thank you, Yohan.”

The simple words of gratitude from Hyunmook carried immense weight. Yohan, face dripping with sweat, didn’t say anything empty like “It’s nothing,” or “I just did what I had to.” Instead, he gave a bright smile, then promptly collapsed backward.

“Whoa.”

Lee Hyunmook reached out quickly and caught the exhausted Yohan before he could hit the ground. His limp body showed how drained he was from pushing his power to the limit. Soft, sleepy breaths escaped his lips, just like Yoon Seungryong. Lee Hyunmook gently picked Yohan up, making sure the acidic swamp didn’t touch him.

Yoon Seungryong, on the other hand, received far less care.

After dismantling the temporary platform, Lee Hyunmook used his spear to chop up some wood and build a raft just big enough to carry a person. He then hefted the peacefully sleeping Yoon Seungryong, still scratching his chest in his sleep, and dumped him onto the raft like luggage. Without a backward glance at the rotting cave, he began retracing their steps back home.

***

“Wow, that looks delicious!”

Yohan’s eyes sparkled as he shouted. Before him lay a glorious buffet packed with every kind of mouthwatering dish. Starving, he rushed to grab a plate and pile it high, but suddenly, Yoon Seungryong burst through the doors.

‘My meat! Mine! I’m hungry!’

‘Oh,oh!”

It was Yoon Seungryong from the Sunrise Team! The sudden appearance of the celebrity stunned Yohan. In the blink of an eye, Yoon Seungryong snatched up the marinated crab Yohan had been eyeing and slurped it down. He devoured it on the spot and immediately moved on to the next dish, Yohan’s second choice, sweet and sour pork.

‘M-my sweet and sour prok…’

Fried foods, cold buckwheat noodles, bulgogi, galbitang, even kimchi, he scarfed down every last bit. In the end, there was nothing left for Yohan. Nearly in tears, he whimpered… then woke up.

…What kind of ridiculous dream was that? Frowning as soon as he woke, Yohan slowly realized there was something heavy and warm lying across him. As he glanced around, he caught sight of a familiar face and froze.

Lee Hyunmook was sleeping right beside him. His chest rose and fell quietly, eyes closed and breath steady and calm. Yohan didn’t know how or why they were sharing a bed, but it seemed Lee Hyunmook had instinctively wrapped his arm across Yohan’s chest in his sleep. For a moment, Yohan was spellbound by the rare sight of Lee Hyunmook peacefully asleep.

‘He’s… really handsome.’

His forehead and brow were smooth, his nose straight and sharp. His slightly parted lips were perfectly shaped, and even the tousled white hair falling over his forehead looked like something out of a magazine shoot. Even the shadow between his lashes and the bridge of his nose was flawless. If it weren’t for the growing urge to pee, Yohan could’ve stared at him forever.

Carefully, so as not to disturb Lee Hyunmook’s sleep, he wriggled out from under his arm and headed to the bathroom. On the way, he tried to piece together what had happened. He must’ve passed out from exhaustion after purifying Lee Seungryong. Realizing Lee Hyunmook must’ve carried both him and Lee Seungryong back, he felt a twinge of guilt.

‘Looks like I’m doomed to be lugged around like a sack of potatoes.’

He sighed as he relieved himself, though what he saw gave him pause. Yes… it was definitely a stream of water.

Ever since awakening his purification ability, Yohan couldn’t shake the feeling that his pee was turning into… filtered, purified water. Actually, it wasn’t just a feeling. The water hitting the toilet bowl was crystal clear. At least it saved water, since he didn’t have to flush anymore.

‘First a human air purifier… now a human water filter…’

And recently, he hadn’t even been doing “number two.” It wasn’t constipation, maybe the purified nutrients were just being reabsorbed? Do all high-level awakeners end up like this? He had no way of getting checked, which left him unsettled as he finished and came out.

Seeing Lee Hyunmook still asleep, Yohan quietly stepped into the living room. There, sprawled out across the floor, was Yoon Seungryong. Despite his delinquent appearance, he looked peaceful, even snoring lightly. A haphazardly tossed blanket barely covered his naked lower half, making him look like a drunk sleeping off a bender.

‘He’s still a teammate… but I feel like he’s being treated a bit harshly.’

At least he should put some pants on him. Especially since Yohan himself had been neatly changed into fresh clothes at some point. Feeling a bit sorry for Yoon Seungryong, Yohan fetched a blanket from another room and gently draped it over him.

But just as he finished, Yoon Seungryong’s eyes shot open. Yohan’s heart nearly stopped as their eyes met. Yoon Seungryong stared with a blank, shadowed gaze, deep and hollow, like a bottomless pit, much like the look Lee Hyunmook sometimes had. Tension tightened in Yohan’s chest, but after a moment, Yoon Seungryong’s eyes drooped and slowly closed again. He rolled over and went back to sleep.

Yohan clutched his chest and glared at him.

“…Pork.”

Grumbling about the buffet dream, he headed to the storage room. While the food from the convenience store was gone, they still had a good supply from the supermarket.

“Three guys eating… guess I should prep for four portions.”

He grabbed a few cans, plus a rare treat: stir-fried kimchi. He also brought the leftover onion and green onion from the field, then headed to the kitchen. Click, he popped open a can of ham. It was tasty on its own, but this time, he wanted to cook it. The only problem: he’d never cooked it before.

After some hesitation, he clumsily chopped the ham and onion and dumped them into a frying pan all at once. As he fired up the burner and began to stir-fry, Yoon Seungryong, who’d seemed fast asleep, suddenly sat up.

Startled, Yohan nearly spilled the pan. His heart pounded wildly. Yoon Seungryong stared blankly at both Yohan and the pan, then muttered,

“…What the hell?”

“Good morning…”

Yohan offered an awkward greeting, but Yoon Seungryong didn’t respond. Instead, he looked around the house and at Yohan cooking with wide eyes.

“What am I even looking at?”

He blinked slowly, rubbed his eyes hard, then stared at Yohan again, dazed. Worried the food might burn, Yohan cautiously went back to cooking.

“…A human?”

Still dazed, Yoon Seungryong suddenly raised his fist and smacked himself in the head, whack, again and again. Yohan gaped at him. Yoon Seungryong, completely unfazed by the pain, finally stopped and stared at his own hand.

“Huh…?”

He opened and closed it several times in fascination, then abruptly stood and began feeling around his naked body. When he grabbed his crotch without hesitation, Yohan squeezed his eyes shut in panic. After thoroughly checking himself, Yoon Seungryong tilted his head and turned to Yohan.

“You, who are you? Am I dreaming? Is this a hallucination?”

That was about when the terrified Yohan abandoned the food and bolted for the bedroom where Lee Hyunmook was sleeping. He threw the door open and ran inside. Yoon Seungryong slowly followed, but before Yohan realized it, Yoon Seungryong had already grabbed him roughly by the scruff of the neck and pressed his face in close, eyes gleaming.

“I said, who are you?!”

“Eek! Mr. Hyunmook!!”

Yohan flailed and screamed, trying to wake the sleeping Yoon Hyunmook. In the blink of an eye, smack, the hand gripping Yohan’s neck was knocked away. When Yohan looked back, Yoon Seungryong had been flung across the room. Now lying in the living room, clutching his head in silent agony, he looked exactly like he had in the black forest… beaten and pitiful.