EFME 79

“You were a lot shier when you were younger than you are now. After seeing you a few times, you started talking well.”

“I see……”

“As soon as you turned twenty, I offered to have you join the guild, but you thought about it and refused.”

At the rather interesting story, Sunyul peeked his head out from where it was buried in the cushion.

“Why would I have done that?”

“You probably did it because you had your own pride as an ability user.”

“Pride……”

For Sunyul, who only had bad memories of ability users, it was an emotion he couldn’t comprehend at all.

“I acknowledged that pride, but the Office of Special Abilities isn’t always right. That’s not to say it’s unconditionally wrong, either. Whether you continue being an ability user or not in the future… just know that.”

Muyoung explained the Office of Special Abilities as objectively as possible for the sake of the Sunyul who used to be an ability user. From Sunyul’s perspective, it didn’t seem like a very good place. Sunyul tilted his head.

“Why?”

“The principle of an ability user serving the public without pursuing profit is good, but they often get swayed politically. It doesn’t go completely off the rails because there are ability users like Shim Jaehee.”

Sunyul recalled Shim Jaehee, whom he had seen last time. He seemed to have been a very remarkable person.

“Then what about guilds?”

“Guilds are almost unaffected by political influence. Instead, they often get tangled up in investment issues. It doesn’t matter for big guilds like ours, but mid-sized guilds often have corporate investments.”

Sunyul was newly impressed by how amazing the Cheongyeon Guild and Muyoung were. Sunyul’s eyes sparkled.

“And what else, is there anything more? That happened between me and you, Mr. Guild Master!”

“Let’s see……. I sometimes remember you making audacious requests of me.”

“Audacious requests?”

Sunyul swallowed hard. He wanted to hear it, but at the same time, he didn’t…….

“The most memorable thing is… right, when the prince of a foreign country proposed to you, you asked me to pretend to be your fake lover.”

“……What?”

It was so unexpected that Sunyul froze on the spot. If it weren’t for Muyoung smirking as he watched Sunyul, he probably would have stayed that way for a long time.

“A real prince of a foreign country… or whatever, courted me?”

“He courted you by giving you a ring made of an S-rank magic stone.”

So what Yoonjae and Haemin said wasn’t a lie, but the truth. Sunyul, who had vaguely hoped that story was a fabrication, felt his mind go blank.

“So what happened?”

“I turned him down properly.”

“No……. The fake lover act……”

“I did it for you.”

At Muyoung’s nonchalant words, Sunyul’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“What? Really? Why? How?”

“It wasn’t a difficult task. I just had a meal with you and linked arms, that’s all.”

Sunyul felt his head spin. He could understand having a meal, but linking arms, wasn’t that hitting on someone?

“Do you just grant requests like that for anyone?”

“I thought it would be okay if it was you.”

Sunyul’s face flared up.

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t just stand by and watch a kid in a difficult situation.”

Sunyul pressed his lips shut. He didn’t know whether to focus on ‘it would be okay if it was you’ and be happy, or to focus on ‘kid’ and despair.

Well, was there really a need to focus on ‘kid’? Sunyul reminded himself that he and Muyoung had already had sex twice. Muyoung probably wasn’t the type to have a thing for having sex with kids.

Muyoung gazed at Sunyul’s face.

“And what else was there.”

“Is there more?”

“You said you were curious.”

“That’s true.”

“Hmm… ah, right. You used to donate every last bit of your meager salary to the orphanage every time.”

“Meager……”

“Even with hazard pay, it didn’t amount to much.”

Sunyul could bet all the money he had now that the “not much” amount was quite large by an ordinary person’s standards.

“You always took the lead in entering dungeons.”

“……”

“You were always kind and gentle to others. Most people who knew you liked you.”

Muyoung’s voice as he said that was very soft. Listening to it all, except for the embarrassing story of their first meeting, it felt like listening to a story about someone else.

“Somehow… he sounds like a really decent person.”

“Because he was a decent person.”

“The me of now doesn’t seem like such a decent person.”

“Why do you think that?”

“I have no memories… and I’m lacking in many ways.”

Sunyul said in an unconfident voice. He was not that amazing person.

Just a worn-out remnant.

Nothing more, nothing less…….

“That’s not true.”

Muyoung moved closer to Sunyul. Muyoung pulled at the hand clutching the cushion and kissed his fingers.

“Don’t think like that. What’s lacking about you. No, even if there is something lacking, it doesn’t matter.”

“……Is that, so?”

“Slowly, do what you can. As long as you don’t harm others, that’s enough.”

Muyoung pulled Sunyul, who was huddled in a corner, into his arms. Sunyul hesitated for a moment before burying his face in Muyoung’s embrace.

Thinking that although it was a little embarrassing, he was glad he asked.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

The Cheongyeon Guild’s guild master’s office.

Kwon Muyoung was glaring with cold eyes at the request letter from the Office of Special Abilities, which had arrived for who knows what number of times.

‘Incompetent bastards… If they’re going to have heads just for decoration, they should just die. Why are they alive and annoying people.’

Muyoung intensely disliked the type who were so incompetent they couldn’t even pull their own weight, yet whined with a loud voice.

Of course, that wasn’t the only type Muyoung disliked. He also disliked loud things, shabby things, people who tried too hard to look good, people who walked on eggshells, this, and that…….

There were countless things he disliked, but in any case, incompetence, whining, and rudeness ranked high on the list. The current request included all three.

The request letter was padded with all sorts of fine words, but the gist was…….

‘The Korea Special Abilities Research Institute wants to investigate Lim Sunyul.’

……is what it was.

For an institution that supposedly gathered the nation’s best minds to have terrorized a kid like they were filming a snuff film, making him tremble in fear, and then to have the audacity to ask to study him after his identity was revealed.

Muyoung thought anew that his personality was quite good. If his temper had been just a little worse, a few people would have ended up dead. He was confident he could cover that up without getting caught.

Muyoung stared at the request letter, then tilted his head, cracking his neck with a snap, snap.

“Should I just blow up the Office of Special Abilities? Then they’ll be so distracted with that, they won’t be able to pay attention to Lim Sunyul.”

“……That’s a crime, man.”

Jaehoon, who was listening, said with a shudder. He was the type of guy who would actually do it if he said he would.

Jaehoon could bet money that if the Office of Special Abilities or the Korea Special Abilities Research Institute were to explode, Kwon Muyoung would be the first suspect, regardless of who the real culprit was. Since he’s been picking fights lately, unable to control his temper…….

He understood, though.

‘They’re picking a fight with his lover, so for someone with Kwon Muyoung’s personality, holding back this much is showing a lot of patience.’

Recalling the thought that was still a misunderstanding, but had become half-not-a-misunderstanding, Jaehoon nodded to himself.

Still, the situation wasn’t bad.

Now, Sunyul was not an item owned by Muyoung, but a human. A human with free will. A proud and upstanding citizen of the Republic of Korea.

The Office of Special Abilities could not investigate such a Sunyul as they pleased. Public opinion was on Sunyul’s side, and touching him carelessly would be asking for a backlash.

‘Especially since the ruling party already took a hit over Sunyul’s kidnapping case, they absolutely can’t touch Lim Sunyul.’

They had stepped forward saying they would thoroughly investigate I-21, only to let Lim Sunyul get kidnapped.

Even if Muyoung didn’t get so angry, the day the Korea Special Abilities Research Institute investigated Sunyul would never come.

Despite repeated rejections, the Office of Special Abilities’ request was persistent. In truth, the Office of Special Abilities had a justification. A versatile word that made sense no matter where you put it.

A rift.

Sunyul had said he ‘closed’ the rift. Not that he had annihilated it. What is closed can always be opened. This meant that the rift could reappear at any time.

He didn’t know how much humans could possibly find out… but they couldn’t just stand by and watch with their hands tied.

In the end, the Office of Special Abilities had to make several concessions. Entrusting the research to another institution instead of their direct subordinate, the Korea Special Abilities Research Institute. And that the research would be limited to observation that would not leave any marks on Sunyul’s body.

Even if entrusted elsewhere, the research process and results would be shared with the Korea Special Abilities Research Institute, but in any case, the primary research would be handled by another place if it were to proceed.

Only after all these matters were decided were they to ask Sunyul if he was willing to participate in the research.

“……As long as it’s not painful or scary, it’s fine. I’ll do it.”

Sunyul readily agreed.

So today, Sunyul was headed to the Seoul Jinseong Research Institute.

He wasn’t going alone. Muyoung couldn’t go with him due to work, but with him was Dakyung, who would attend as an observer.

There were opinions that he was too young and inexperienced to go with Sunyul. But it was decided when it earned him bonus points that he was someone Sunyul was comfortable with. There was also someone else who would do the job properly.

On the way out of the alley, Sunyul glanced at a convenience store and muttered casually.

“Valentine’s Day is coming up soon.”

“I know. Normally, hyung would get a lot of chocolate.”

“……Me?”

At the unexpected words, Sunyul’s eyes went round. Dakyung nodded as if it were obvious.

“There are probably a lot of people who want to give you something, you know? But since we don’t know what they might put in the chocolate, we just announced that you’re not accepting any.”

“Who made the announcement?”

“The guild master.”

“……”

Sunyul was speechless for a moment.