EFME 49

While watching the focused Muyoung, Sunyul checked Outstagram on his smartphone one more time.

Actually, he had overheard something a little while ago while talking with the other guild members: that a bakery nearby had incredibly delicious cake. Hearing that on-site purchases were also possible, he thought that he absolutely had to eat it with Muyoung.

There was no notice on Outstagram yet saying the cakes were all sold out. As long as they weren’t too late, they should be able to buy one.

Muyoung stood up from his seat at six-thirty.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

In that time, the guild had become even quieter. Though there were surely some people left somewhere to prepare for any dungeons that might suddenly appear.

Sunyul went down to the underground parking lot with Muyoung. Then, he got in the car and entered the address into the navigation system for Muyoung.

“They say this place has really delicious cake and sells it on the same day without reservations.”

“I see.”

Muyoung nodded and started the car. The shop wasn’t too far away. The problem was the traffic.

After spending a long time on the road for such a short distance, they finally arrived near the bakery. Muyoung, having barely parked the car, handed over a pair of glasses.

“Wear these.”

It was the now-familiar pair of disguise glasses that changed one’s appearance. Muyoung, who said this, also put on glasses and changed his face.

Sunyul followed Muyoung out of the car. And with light steps, he headed towards the bakery.

Contrary to his expectation that they wouldn’t attract attention, people kept glancing their way. Sunyul, who had been a little nervous, was secretly relieved when he realized they were looking at Muyoung.

However, he soon noticed the gazes directed at Muyoung were tinged with admiration, and his mood dampened slightly. He had no idea why his stomach was twisting in knots like this.

Sunyul glanced at Muyoung. Even with his face changed, Muyoung stood out a great deal. For one, he was a head taller than everyone else. Moreover, his much firmer body perfectly filled out the custom-tailored suit.

Feeling inexplicably anxious, Sunyul grabbed Muyoung’s hand and pulled him along. At the weak force tugging at his hand, Muyoung let himself be led.

Receiving the attention of the crowd, Sunyul entered the cake shop with Muyoung. Only then did he let go of Muyoung’s hand. It felt nice to boldly grab it, but a belated blush crept up his face.

“I think they all look delicious.”

Sunyul deliberately changed the subject and turned his gaze to the cakes. At first, it was an attempt to divert attention, but after looking for a moment, it quickly became sincere.

Several types of cakes were on display. The cake Sunyul had coveted the most was sold out. Disappointed, Sunyul examined the remaining cakes.

“Which one do you like the most, Guild Master?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Then which one is your least favorite?”

“This one.”

The one Muyoung chose was a chocolate cake that looked incredibly sweet.

“You don’t like chocolate?”

“The taste is too heavy.”

Sunyul, who had never gotten a ‘heavy’ impression from chocolate, couldn’t understand Muyoung’s words. But since Muyoung said so, he engraved in his mind that chocolate was not good.

After long deliberation, Sunyul finally chose a cake. It was a fresh cream cake topped with lots of strawberries.

Sunyul carefully walked out of the store, holding the large box containing the cake. Then, holding the cake box cautiously, he headed back to the car with Muyoung.

Even after sitting down, Sunyul carefully placed the box on his lap. He was treating it with extreme care.

“Is there anything else you want to do besides cake?”

Muyoung asked as he started the car. While trying to keep his balance, Sunyul thought for a moment.

“Um… I want to watch a movie.”

“Shall we go to the movie theater then?”

Sunyul was briefly tempted by the suggestion. He did want to go to a movie theater, but… that wasn’t what he wanted today.

“Later. I want to watch one at home today.”

“Anything else?”

“Umm, um… I wish it would snow.”

“That’s something I can’t do anything about.”

“There’s nothing else.”

“You have simple tastes.”

“But you don’t like crowded places.”

There might be many fun things if he looked, but the things that vaguely came to mind were all things that would likely draw large crowds.

“It’s fine, so if you want to go, let’s go.”

Why is it fine?

Muyoung was lenient with Sunyul. He wasn’t a person who was lenient with everyone, but only with Sunyul. Sunyul was slowly starting to realize this fact.

He didn’t know the reason. But he liked it. He liked that Muyoung treated him differently, that it felt like he was being regarded as someone special. It felt like it wouldn’t even matter if it was just because Sunyul was Muyoung’s possession.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

Although Muyoung said it was fine to wander around outside, Sunyul ultimately headed home. This was partly because he wanted Muyoung to be comfortable, and partly because of his desire to safely transport and eat the cake.

After finishing their meal, the two went upstairs together.

Muyoung’s house had a room equipped as a home theater. This was because Muyoung occasionally enjoyed watching movies.

In truth, his interest wasn’t great enough to warrant a separate room. But due to the strong opinion of Chief Choi, who was worried about Muyoung’s desolate life, the home theater came to proudly occupy a corner of the house.

That room was finally going to serve its purpose today.

“Is there a movie you want to watch?”

Sunyul just rolled his eyes. He lacked other common knowledge, so there was no way he would know anything about movies.

“Pick one.”

Entrusted with the remote, Sunyul started browsing for movies on Netplus. Just from the descriptions, they all seemed incredibly interesting.

Among them, Sunyul paused at a romance movie. It was about a human and a giant alien falling in love, but just as he was about to play it, Sunyul’s hand froze. Because of the number written above the movie poster.

‘If it’s rated R, there might be explicit scenes, right?’

Sunyul had no memory of watching movies, but related information remained in his head. The fact that if a romance movie was rated R, it was highly likely due to sexual content.

He hadn’t even done anything yet, but Sunyul’s face grew hot. To think that an explicit scene would come on while he was sitting side-by-side with Muyoung watching a movie… just the thought of it was mortifying.

But…….

If they watch an explicit movie, will Muyoung react too?

At the thought that suddenly popped into his head, Sunyul felt like utter trash. No, he was trash.

“You want to watch that?”

“Ah, no. Something else.”

Startled by Muyoung’s gentle question, Sunyul quickly operated the remote and switched to another movie.

After much thought, the movie Sunyul chose was a recently released hero film. It was about an S-rank hunter who usually lives while hiding his powers, but becomes active when a crisis occurs.

“Can an S-rank hide their powers?”

“It’s not impossible. If there are no people around at the time of awakening, and if they aren’t suspected by anyone.”

“It doesn’t work if there are people around?”

“Right after awakening, they can’t control their abilities, so skills can sometimes activate against their will. Most get discovered because of that.”

“What about being suspected?”

“If there’s a hunter like me who can see another’s system window, they’d be found out instantly.”

“Ah, that’s true…….”

“There are skills to defend against that, though. If they have a skill like that, it would be even easier to hide. But it’s hard to hide if they’re an S-rank like in that movie.”

“Why?”

“Because the moment they kill a monster, their hunter name will be updated on the rankings. Even with a low contribution, an S-rank would be updated near the top, and if people realize such a hunter exists, everyone will be on guard.”

“Are there people who intentionally hide?”

“It’s not unheard of. But there’s almost no one who would hide their power if they’re an S-rank.”

I see. Sunyul nodded, fascinated.

Instead of playing the movie right away, Sunyul took out the cake he had brought. He then cut a large piece of cake and placed it on a plate, trying his best to transfer it while keeping its beautifully cut shape.

“Here you go.”

Muyoung was about to say he didn’t need much. But seeing how much effort Sunyul was putting into cutting and moving it, Muyoung just quietly accepted what was given.

Muyoung took a bite of the cake he received. Although not as much as the chocolate cake, the sufficiently sweet cake was not to Muyoung’s taste. In the first place, Muyoung didn’t like cake itself.

But this cake wasn’t bad. He didn’t know if it was because the baker was skilled, or because it was a cake given to him by Sunyul.

“It’s good.”

“Really?”

Sunyul, delighted, took a bite of his own cake. Sunyul’s expression quickly turned blissful. It was as delicious as he had hoped.

“It’s really delicious.”

“That’s good.”

“Please eat a lot, Guild Master.”

“……Alright.”

Muyoung swallowed a sigh as he looked at the rather large amount of cake that had been passed over to him. He also subtly slipped in that a bite or two was enough, even though it was delicious. Since he had brought wine to have with it, it seemed he would have to eat it while cleansing his palate with each sip.

While Muyoung filled the wine glasses, Sunyul started the movie.

As the movie began, Sunyul became completely engrossed. At first, he ate the cake frequently, but as he became more focused on the movie, his hands slowed down.

Even while watching the movie, Muyoung’s gaze kept drifting over to Sunyul.

Sunyul’s engrossed eyes sparkled and shone, and his pale cheeks were slightly flushed. Deeply absorbed, he would smile or frown seriously. It was obvious at a glance that he was enjoying himself.

It was a good idea to watch a movie.

It was a good idea to create this day, this moment.

Everything was satisfying. Having built a home theater in the house a long time ago, buying the cake as Sunyul wanted, choosing this movie, and taking time off on Christmas to be with Sunyul, all of it.

While living with Sunyul, Muyoung would sometimes feel a satisfaction akin to a pleasant fullness. The source of this satisfaction, which filled the void where an unexplainable anxiety had been for the past five years as if it were a lie, was, without a doubt, Sunyul.

He likes having Sunyul by his side. That feeling of satisfaction grew larger and larger. And he liked Sunyul, the source of that satisfaction, as well.

“……”

Like a younger brother, he liked him. That would be for the best for everyone.

Although, judging by Sunyul’s reactions, it seems he’s interested in Muyoung. But Muyoung decided to pretend he didn’t know that one thing.

After the movie ended, Sunyul turned to Muyoung, excited.

“That was fun!”

“It was. Well made.”

Although he had looked at Sunyul or thought about other things in between, Muyoung had grasped the main plot. As Sunyul said, it was a well-made movie. Though it wasn’t his type.

“It was so cool when the main character tried to sacrifice himself.”

“I thought it was foolish.”

At Sunyul’s excited words, Muyoung suddenly threw cold water on him. It must have been an unexpected reaction, as Sunyul’s eyes widened.

“……What?”

“It’s foolish to think that sacrificing yourself will solve things.”

That very part was not to Muyoung’s taste. He disliked the part where the main character’s decision to sacrifice himself was portrayed as something incredibly cool.

Unable to accept Muyoung’s blunt statement, Sunyul’s lips jutted out in a pout.

“But from the main character’s perspective, it was a situation where everything would be solved if only he sacrificed himself.”

“In the end, it all worked out well without a sacrifice. It was a hasty judgment.”

“I guess so…….”

At Muyoung’s unyielding words, Sunyul became a little dejected. But Muyoung had no intention of correcting himself.

It was a trivial matter, so he could have just said Sunyul was right, but he felt an oddly strong resistance. To what Sunyul was saying.

“……Then again, if you had to sacrifice yourself, Guild Master, I think I would really hate it.”

Sunyul, in his own way, accepted Muyoung’s point. Shivering as if the thought gave him the creeps. Muyoung felt a strange sense of relief at Sunyul’s attitude.

He hoped Sunyul wouldn’t take sacrifice for granted.

Not that such a thing would happen anyway. Muyoung set aside his unnecessary worries. The event of Sunyul sacrificing himself would neither happen, nor would he stand by and let it.

“Let’s go to bed now.”

“Already?”

Sunyul said, sounding disappointed. Even though his eyes were heavy with sleep. Muyoung soothed Sunyul, who was acting like a child.

“We can watch more movies tomorrow.”

“……Together?”

“Yes.”

Happy about spending Christmas together, Sunyul beamed.

It was a very leisurely holiday.