EFME 98

Sunyul had become dirt poor, but he was satisfied. This was because as soon as Muyoung saw Sunyul donating the full amount of money he had received, he asked if he hated the idea of buying a house that much and told him to just live in this house and not go anywhere else.

When asked if he hated donating, he said that wasn’t it.

Muyoung was also donating a significant amount. Even if there were some fluctuations in his income, he consistently maintained or increased the amount he donated.

There was no problem with the act of donating itself. However, he said he hated donating to the point of “carving out one’s own flesh.” Because of this donation, Sunyul had become a beggar who didn’t even have enough of his own money to buy a single cup of ramen.

Regardless, Muyoung was supporting his livelihood. Sunyul tended to accept that as a matter of course. It might be because there was a time when, as Muyoung’s possession, he thought it was only natural for him to look after him.

In any case, his food, clothing, and shelter were provided, and he had nothing else he particularly wanted. Therefore, he didn’t feel at all like he was “carving out his own flesh.”

Since Muyoung said it didn’t look good, he planned to donate while also saving money from now on.

As long as Muyoung didn’t say the nonsense of telling him to leave.

If he ever told him to leave, he was willing to empty out all his assets once again. Since Muyoung seemed to have roughly noticed Sunyul’s determination, he probably wouldn’t say the same thing again.

And so, the commotion over the compensation money came to an end.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

Sunyul finally became an official guild member of Cheongyeon.

On his first day as a guild member, he received congratulations and attention from many places. He even appeared on the news, which startled Sunyul as he was watching TV without much thought.

And to get adjusted to the guild, he decided to clear his first dungeon as a guild member.

The dungeon recommended by the guild was Jeju Dungeon S—19. Sunyul decided to clear that dungeon without hesitation.

Even though there was no need to go together, Muyoung also volunteered to enter that dungeon.

Thanks to the 1st and 2nd ranked Hunters entering together, a final decision was made that no other S-class Hunters would enter Jeju Dungeon S—19, despite it being a dungeon with a fairly high difficulty level.

Sunyul and Muyoung set foot on Jeju Island a day earlier than the scheduled dungeon attack date.

It was early April, the perfect season for sightseeing. Fortunately, the weather was also nice. As if it were bestowing a blessing upon them.

Sunyul was full of enthusiasm, as if he had looked up various things. Watching Sunyul, Muyoung showed a softer expression than usual.

After unpacking at the resort early in the morning, Muyoung asked Sunyul.

“Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“Yes!”

Sunyul shouted brightly as if he had been waiting for that question.

“Where is it.”

“The summit of Hallasan!”

“…What?”

“I want to go hiking.”

Sunyul said with his eyes sparkling. Muyoung was silent for a moment.

He was asking to blow a precious day off that he’d barely managed to set aside on hiking. Muyoung wanted to ask if he was serious, but he held it in.

“I even made a reservation for the trail in advance, you know?”

“…You have to make a reservation?”

“Of course! The course we’re going on is a bit steep, so it’s not for beginners, but they say the scenery is amazing.”

Seeing Sunyul talking excitedly, Muyoung ended up letting out a short, hollow laugh.

“Alright.”

“I’m a beginner at hiking, but we’re Hunters, so surely we won’t be unable to climb a mountain?”

“I suppose so.”

He didn’t have the slightest desire to go hiking… but since Sunyul wanted it, it couldn’t be helped. There was no way he could tell him not to do it when he was that excited.

“I was thinking of buying hiking clothes and gear too.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. But I thought it would be a useless waste of money. It’s not like I’ll be climbing mountains often….”

It was a relief that he didn’t plan on climbing often. Usually, he would have just told him to buy it, but for this once, Muyoung kept his words to himself.

They changed into clothes that were more comfortable than usual and got into the car. All the way to the entrance of the hiking trail, Sunyul was so excited that he hummed an unidentifiable tune.

After parking the car, the two began to climb the mountain.

“No, if you go up like that without any equipment, you’ll get hurt— gasp.”

“I-is that Lim Sunyul? Kwon Muyoung is here too!”

“My goodness. What a surprise.”

Every time they met a passing hiker, they exchanged boisterous greetings. Everyone was very happy to meet the two of them in such an unexpected place and greeted them.

Muyoung was popular, but Sunyul’s popularity was especially great.

“Oh, my goodness…. Seeing Mr. Sunyul makes me so emotional that I’m actually tearing up. Really, you’ve suffered so much.”

“Unnie, don’t cry. Mr. Sunyul, try some of this kimbap. This unnie is someone who sold kimbap and even bought a house in Seoul. I’m telling you, the taste is to die for.”

“Th-thank you.”

There were people who occasionally gave them food, and Sunyul ate all of it, including kimbap and fruit, whenever they gave it to him, unable to refuse. It was because the heart that wanted to take care of him somehow reached him.

“…I think my stomach is going to get bloated.”

“It looks flat, though.”

“If I had a body where digestion happened normally, I wouldn’t have been able to digest it and it would have refluxed.”

Muyoung laughed. Muyoung didn’t care at all about the attention directed at him, but the attention directed at Sunyul was quite pleasing. In order for the wounds Sunyul received from others to heal, this kind of visible affection was also necessary.

Muyoung and Sunyul’s pace was quite fast, but since they stopped every time they encountered people in between, it took a little longer than average.

Still, they didn’t arrive too late, so they were able to take in the sight of Baengnokdam, which was clearly visible under the deep blue sky.

Muyoung looked around. The wide-open scenery was quite refreshing. Perhaps his emotions had run dry, as the scenery didn’t give him any great inspiration.

However, there was something Muyoung felt as well.

“Wow!”

When he saw Sunyul, whose eyes sparkled and whose white cheeks flushed pink as soon as he saw Baengnokdam, his joy rippled over to him as well, coloring his world with light.

“Guild Leader, it’s really beautiful!”

Sunyul was so happy he didn’t know what to do with himself, seemingly unable to even hear the murmurs of the people around them looking at the two of them.

“It was worth the climb. Right?”

“I suppose so.”

He didn’t know about it being worth it, though. Muyoung gave an answer that had been decided from the start.

“Guild Leader, I want to take a photo too.”

“Take it.”

People wanting to take photos in front of the summit stone were waiting in line. When Sunyul headed that way, everyone tried to move out of the way for him, but Sunyul declined several times, saying it was okay, and stood in line.

But then, someone tapped Sunyul from behind. He turned around to find a man holding a large camera.

“Could I take a photo of Mr. Sunyul as well?”

“What?”

Muyoung answered that question instead. The man was immediately frightened by the threatening voice.

“I-I’m sorry…. I just wanted to say that I could take a good one for you too….”

“I’d like that!”

Sunyul replied readily. Due to his memories of I—21, Sunyul didn’t particularly like having his photo taken by others, but he felt it would be okay today because he was in such a good mood.

Muyoung sighed, but he didn’t bother stopping Sunyul. It was a photo taken on a mountain anyway, so there wouldn’t be anything special about it even if he took it.

The man, who put his heart and soul into taking plenty of photos of Sunyul next to Muyoung who was taking them half-heartedly, left deeply moved after receiving Sunyul’s email address and autograph.

Only after taking photos like that did Sunyul descend the mountain with Muyoung.

When they came down, it was just the right time for dinner. Muyoung headed to the restaurant that Chief Choi had rented out as originally planned. Sunyul, who arrived at the restaurant, was also very satisfied.

“The atmosphere is amazing.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. I think it tastes even better because I’m eating after climbing a mountain.”

To Muyoung, a mountain was just one of the dungeon terrains. But today was certainly quite enjoyable. Was it because Sunyul was here?

If Sunyul is around, even a dungeon might feel fun.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

The next day.

Muyoung woke up early in the morning. To be precise, Sunyul woke Muyoung up early in the morning. He usually woke up later than Muyoung, but it seemed he had opened his eyes early today for some reason.

Sunyul, who had rarely ever woken Muyoung up, shook him very carefully.

“Guild Leader, it’s time for breakfast….”

“…Alright.”

There was one reason the two had to wake up early. It was because, under Sunyul’s strong desire, Muyoung ended up eating at the breakfast buffet as well.

The reason they came to a resort instead of going to a villa in Jeju Island in the first place was for that very reason.

Instead, to eat breakfast comfortably, Muyoung wore a disguise item along with Sunyul.

“Are you going to call me Guild Leader even there?”

“…Then what should I call you?”

“Call me Mister or something.”

Sunyul flared up at the words Muyoung tossed out without much thought.

“Why are you a Mister, Guild Leader? You’re not a Mister.”

“Is that so?”

“I’ll call you hyung.”

“Do as you like.”

The two, who arrived before the buffet’s opening time, stood in front of the entrance and waited for a moment. Muyoung thought he was doing all sorts of things in his life. But what could he do? Sunyul wanted to do it, so he had to go along with it.

In the meantime, it became opening time, and following Sunyul who led the way, Muyoung also slowly stepped inside.

A completely excited Sunyul piled up all sorts of food like a tower, starting with salad. Unlike Muyoung who had served a moderate amount, Muyoung stopped Sunyul who was trying to serve even more even after taking two plates.

“You can get more after you finish eating.”

Sunyul stared at Muyoung’s plate after he said that.

“Guil… hy-ung….”

“What.”

“…I was just thinking that you eat very little, hyung.”

“I just served as much as I’m going to eat.”

Whether he was concerned about Muyoung eating a much smaller amount than usual, Sunyul glanced at him throughout.

Muyoung didn’t like things like buffets, but he ate diligently as Sunyul seemed to care. Thanks to that, Sunyul also ate his meal with an easy mind later on.

He was glad that he seemed to have enjoyed it to his heart’s content.

After finishing their meal like that and nearing lunchtime, they headed to Jeju Dungeon S—19.

A fair number of guild members were gathered and waiting in front of the arrived dungeon entrance. Sunyul’s eyes went wide at the sight, which was more crowded than he expected, though he had heard from Muyoung that there would be many people.

Jeju Dungeon S—19 is a dungeon that many people can enter. Furthermore, it was said that since Sunyul and Muyoung were entering together this time, they had filled the dungeon entry capacity to the limit, including Hunters who lacked field experience, judging that it would be quite manageable.

The reason it felt more chaotic than usual was precisely because of that.

As Sunyul looked around as if intrigued, Muyoung stopped for a moment and waited for him.

Meanwhile, the Hunters who discovered Muyoung stiffened their bodies. The Hunters, who were strictly disciplined, greeted Muyoung.

Of course, there were veteran Hunters mixed among them. Having cleared dungeons with Muyoung so often, they were the ones who were on relatively friendly terms with him. Two of them slunk over and whispered to Muyoung.

“Guild Leader, I heard you went hiking with Mr. Sunyul.”

“I saw the photo that was taken. You’re too much. There are so many good places, so why on earth did you specifically take him to a mountain, a mountain of all places.”

When Muyoung glanced at them, both of them ran away.

Take him, my foot…. Muyoung felt a bit wronged. Still, since it would be odd to actively explain such a trivial matter, it was a misunderstanding that would never be resolved.