FLIA 83

“Um, shall we eat?!”

At Yohan’s words, Yoon Seungryong, who had been lying around listlessly, suddenly shot up and began preparing the meal. When everything was set on the table, to Yohan’s surprise, there were fried vegetables and meat. He had seen Seungryong rummaging around for ingredients lately, but frying? Yohan’s eyes and mouth both flew open in amazement.

“How did you manage to make oil?!”

“If you squeeze hard enough, anything will give you oil.”

Yoon Seungryong grinned and carefully placed the freshly fried food on top of Yohan’s rice bowl. The others were just told to help themselves to whatever was in the dishes. Feeling a bit awkward, Yohan muttered a “Thank you” and bit into the tempura. Crunch. He was happy… And of course, he wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

“Thanks to you Yohan-gun. I get to eat such a delicious meal.”

Lee Chanha’s commented, full of admiration and gratitude, Yohan flusteredly replied,

“No, it’s Seungryong-hyung who made the food… and he provided all the ingredients too…”

It didn’t seem like Lee Chanha was listening. Or maybe he heard and pretended not to.

“Not only food, but clothes and weapons too…”

“But the clothes were from Seungryong-hyung, and the weapon, Yakrin-noona collected the Eternal Stone and made it…”

Unlike the other team members, Lee Chanha had joined completely empty-handed, without even his weapon. So Seo Yakrin had taken an Eternal Stone and crafted a spear for him. All Yohan had done were a few minor purifications, everything else was handled by those two.

“I’m just truly grateful…”

“Argh!”

Unable to take it anymore, Yohan grabbed his rice bowl and scurried behind Lee Hyunmook’s back. Lee Hyunmook let out a low chuckle and shifted slightly to block Yohan’s view. It was right when he was happily eating the side dishes lovingly placed on his rice by his lover, even enjoying dessert, that Lee Chanha suddenly complained.

“But why is the team leader monopolizing Yohan-gun? That’s just unfair.”

“He’s right, he’s right!”

Seo Yakrin, who had been quietly eating without complaint, suddenly chimed in. Then she slammed her fist on the ground with a loud thud.

“I can control my strength now, okay?! You only sucking up to the team leader is abuse of power! Got it?!”

She didn’t look like she had her strength under control at all. As the two started criticizing Lee Hyunmook, Yohan tried to stop them in a small voice.

“N-no, please don’t… and I wasn’t sucking up to him…”

“Let’s be honest, Yohan-ah. You’re always next to the team leader when you eat, you sleep next to him, and even when we’re resting, you’re always by his side! Do you know how sad your noona gets?! That kind of favoritism is unforgivableee!”

Yakrin let out a roar. When Lee Hyunmook put down his bowl and calmly said, “Enough,” she immediately quieted down and went back to eating. But that was only the beginning. Lee Chanha and Seo Yakrin began prowling nearby, clearly eyeing Yohan like they were waiting for a chance to steal him away…

“Yohan-ah, what do you want? Money? Power? Influence? Just come to me and I’ll give you everything.”

“Yohan-gun, don’t you need a tank who can self-heal?”

Eventually, Seo Yakrin and Lee Chanha both dropped to their knees without a care, practically begging. Yohan, completely unprepared for this kind of situation, flailed in panic. As he fumbled helplessly, Lee Hyunmook – who had been quietly resting his chin on his hand and watching the scene unfold – spoke slowly.

“Why are you two so dense? Yohan-ah doesn’t want to get close to you, can’t you tell?”

“No! I never said that!”

Yohan jumped up, horrified. Why would he say it like that?! But at the same time, he was relieved to see how much brighter Lee Hyunmook seemed now.

Ever since the whole team had gathered, he looked noticeably more at ease. That didn’t mean he suddenly became talkative or smiled often. But whether it was obedient Yoon Seungryong, Ju Hoyoung, or even Lee Chanha – who had once lost his mind and betrayed the team by throwing them into the Flood – Seo Yakrin, who sometimes failed to control her rage and nearly rebelled. Lee Hyunmook’s gaze toward them had softened. Sometimes, it even looked dazed, as if he were seeing something unreal.

Yohan couldn’t help but feel both tender and sad toward Hyunmook… and at the same time, start worrying about Chanha and Yakrin, who were grinding their teeth at him out of pure jealousy.

Balling and unballing his fists, taking deep breaths, Yohan finally couldn’t hold back and blurted,

“He’s … he’s my lover!”

As soon as he heard Hyunmook chuckle under his breath, Yohan’s face turned bright red. The regret came crashing in like a wave. Should he claim it was just a joke? But before he could decide, Seo Yakrin jumped back as if she’d touched something hot and shouted,

“What?! What are you talking about, Yohan-ah?!”

Her voice sounded like someone hearing their precious nephew or cousin was dating some thug.

“I like Hyunmook-hyung! We’re dating! Th-that’s why! That’s why I’m always with him!”

Mouth agape, Seo Yakrin stared at Hyunmook, then at the other team members. Yoon Seungryong, who had been quietly savoring his dessert and didn’t seem the least bit surprised by the confession, snorted.

“As expected from an old had, she really had no clue.”

That surprised Yohan too. He already knew?! Seo Yakrin and Yohan both looked from Ju Hoyoung, still focused on his game, to the sullen Lee Chanha. No one seemed the least bit surprised. Even though he was dating that Lee Hyunmook, and he was a guy, not a single person looked shocked.

Seo Yakrin, trembling with either rage or shock, pointed furiously at Hyunmook and Chanha in turn.

“So it was just me?! I was the only one who didn’t know?! Really?! Even the new Deputy Leader who joined after me knew?!”

“How could we not? It was so obvious… he was biting and sucking the Team leader whenever he got the chance.”

“I said I didn’t suck or bite him!”

Yohan shouted, his face burning red, strongly denying Yoon Seungryong’s words. But no one seemed to be listening. He hadn’t even kissed Hyunmook in front of the others, so why did everyone keep saying he was “biting and sucking” Lee Hyunmook?

But then Lee Chanha, for some reason, spoke in an even more reverent tone.

“Yohan-gun, I don’t care whether you have a lover or not. If you’d just let me serve you as a servant…”

“…Excuse me?”

“Or I’d even be fine being your footrest…”

Seo Yakrin, who had been spacing out, quickly jumped in so she wouldn’t be left out.

“I’ll be your hand towel…”

“Argh! Both of you, seriously stop! From now on, talking like that is banned! All of it is banned!”

Once the commotion died down, Yohan hid behind Lee Hyunmook’s back again. This time, it was because he couldn’t bear the embarrassment. He didn’t even need to say they were lovers, did he? And yet everyone already knew… Was it really that obvious? Seriously? He couldn’t lift his head. Seo Yakrin grumbled in a resigned tone.

“Well, if you’re lovers, I guess there’s nothing we can do.”

Yohan’s face flushed even redder. For some reason, hearing that made him feel even more embarrassed. As Lee Hyunmook-ssi shielded him just the way Yohan liked, he spoke.

“Chanha-ya.”

Lee Chanha, who had been staring at Yohan with pure devotion, flinched. When Lee Hyunmook called his name again, he reluctantly turned his head slightly, only enough to look down at Lee Hyunmook’s feet.

After their purification, the other members had shown clear emotions. But Lee Chanha alone remained unreadable. He hadn’t properly spoken to anyone else. It was as if he could only see and hear Yohan, speaking only to him. But now, Yohan started to understand why he’d ignored everyone else…

“How did you end up at the salt lake?”

Guild flickered through Lee Chanha’s eyes. It seemed like a question he couldn’t pretend not to hear. He hesitated. Yohan thought maybe he had been so wracked with guilt over his past mistakes that he couldn’t bring himself to face the others.

“A while ago, I got drawn to it. That’s all.”

Only then did Yohan begin to understand how Lee Chanha had shown up at the lake at just the right time. The vague “it” he referred to was something Lee Hyunmook now made explicit.

“You mean you were drawn by the Flood.”

Lee Chanha bit down on his lip hard enough to twist his handsome features and then answered.

“…Yeah.”

Yohan’s chest tightened. He was glad to see Lee Chanha again, but the fact that the Flood still hadn’t given up on him felt dangerous.

“Do you think it’ll happen again?”

“No. Not anymore. After seeing something like this… how could I possibly be confused again?”

After gazing at the halo of light Yohan had made, Lee Chanha sighed deeply in regret and bowed his head. His voice came out with determined resolve.

“It won’t happen again. Never.”

“Well, that’s good! But if it does happen again, I’ll beat some sense into you so you snap out of it. Don’t worry about that! I still remember how I got dragged into the Flood because of you! I won’t forget, got it!”

Seo Yakrin slapped Lee Chanha’s back hard enough to make a loud smack and shouted cheerfully. Lee Chanha groaned in exaggerated pain, then gave a crooked, awkward smile.

“Y-yeah… Yakrin-ah… I’m counting on you.”

Was it just Yohan’s imagination? He thought he saw blood at the corner of Lee Chanha’s mouth. Surely he hadn’t gotten internal injuries from that back slap, right? While Yohan was worrying, even Yoon Seungryong, who had objected most to Lee Chanha’s return, shrugged and said,

“Well, I’ve taken a hit from the Flood too, so… I’m not really in a place to judge.”

…Taken a hit? What kind of hit? Yohan’s pupils trembled. Ju Hoyoung, who had been glued to his game console the whole time, finally spoke in an indifferent tone.

“I’m fine. I’ve never fallen into the Flood anyway.”

Lee Hyunmook ad already gotten everyone’s consent for Lee Chanha to rejoin the team. Still, hearing them all reaffirm it now felt like it was for Lee Chanha’s sake. Overcome with emotion, Yohan stepped out from behind Lee Hyunmook and shouted,

“M-me too! I’m so happy that the Sunrise Team is back together again!”

“Sunrise Team…”

Lee Chanha murmured, as if it was a name he hadn’t heard in ages. The others had the same moved expressions. Lee Hyunmook slowly looked around at each team member, and finally at Yohan, whose eyes sparkled with emotion.

“Now that Chanha’s back, shall we try another raid?”

“A raid? Where?”

Unlike the confused Lee Chanha, everyone else turned their eyes to the entrance of the cave that led to the heart of the abyss.