There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 717: Side Story 3. Stellar Blossom - epilogue

Radia’s biggest regret when Joon got sick was that he couldn’t spend much time with his husband.

Everything came down to work. Work to finish the reclamation project, work to develop the Far East district, work to establish the guild branch, work to keep the government in their lane...

Radia’s life had been consisting of working, and after doing it for more than a decade, it became an inseparable part of him. It was hard for him to just let someone else take care of the group and the guild, even though he had a lot of qualified subordinates.

What if something happened and they couldn’t take care of it? What if the group and the guild got into trouble? The lives of millions of people working under Mortix and its subsidiaries were on Radia’s shoulders.

So, even after getting back together with Han Joon, nothing much changed in his schedule. He did spend the morning and the evening in the mansion more, instead of working from dawn to midnight like before--but that was about it.

He rarely took vacations and hardly had free time on the weekends. In the rare chance he took a break, it was to be spent with a whole bunch of people--not just with his husband.

On the other hand, Han Joon thought it was his fault. Radia built his working habits in an effort to distract himself from the heartbreak that Han Joon caused. He was the one who caused it, so he didn’t think he had any right to demand more changes.

Besides, he could only meet Radia once in a few months before, so...just being able to sleep beside his darling, had breakfast and dinner together...it was enough for him.

At least, it was enough for the forty-year-old him.

Twenty-year-old Han Joon did not experience the guilt. He was daring, he was clingy, he demanded attention after holding it in during his teenage days. He knew very well that Radia felt guilty and weak to his request, so he cheekily used that to ask for more dates.

The more Radia did these ’dates’ that Reina and Shin suggested--where the only thing they did was have fun without thinking about how he had to return to do some work--the more he realized his regret. Doing this kind of date didn’t even take long. He only needed to free up several hours of his time or take a day off to go somewhere nice.

Why didn’t he do it before? Radia felt so stupid. Especially because he realized he had been too haughty and arrogant. The world would not collapse if he stayed away for a few days. The guild and the group could still run with the executives. He could ask his father and his friends--brothers--for help. Even while he was away to take care of Joon, the group and the guild were still running normally.

Yeah. There was no reason to shoulder everything alone. It was funny because he kept criticizing Han Joon for doing things alone, but he had been doing the same.

In a way, they did resemble each other, just like Bassena said.

But even after having more days off to spend time with Joon, Radia didn’t feel satisfied. He remembered the way his husband asked to come with him before he fell into a coma, and decided to do the same with this Han Joon.

That was then. People started to see Radia and Han Joon together. Everywhere. In the company, in the guild, in public. It was a rare occurrence before, but now, Radia always brought Han Joon to any functions.

People might think that Joon was a bodyguard at first since he didn’t lose his physique even though he was no longer an esper. But there was no bodyguard resting their hand on their charge’s waist, or being kissed lovingly every now and then. It didn’t take long for people to recognize the face of Radia Mallarc’s husband.

It was also apparent to everyone how happy the couple was. They never shied away from showing their intimacy; they held hands, exchanging kisses, and spreading bitter jealousy for the singles.

The couple were practically glued together that it was easy for the reporters to get their pictures. What was not easy was getting their story, which none could provide.

How they got together remained a mystery, and they let the public speculate on all kinds of theories. Reading them had become one of their fun times while cuddling before bed, helping to send them to sleep with a laugh.

And Radia always hoped it could fill the persisting hole in his heart.

* * *

"Darling, it’s time to wake up," a soft voice grazed Radia’s senses, pulling him out of a nice dream. "Come, you will be late."

"Nngh..."

Radia whined and, instead of opening his eyes, raised his arms lazily to bring the man who woke him up back to bed. He heard an amused chuckle and felt his upper body get pulled gently. A pair of warm warms held him and carried him somewhere.

Unh...where? Radia had no idea. It just felt warm and nice. It just felt familiar.

"Can you stand?" a fond, chuckling question was delivered, but Radia just leaned against the warm chest, blinking his sleepy eyes.

Soon, a warm, wet towel was carefully swiped over his face; it woke Radia enough for his teeth to be brushed and a lotion to be patted on his skin. Warm fingers unbuttoned his pajama and wiped his body with a different warm towel, before shrouding him in a fluffy bathrobe and kissing his cheek.

"What would you like to wear today, darling?"

The gentle voice left him, disappearing toward the walk-in closet. At this point, something flickered in Radia’s mind, and he blinked his brain awake.

What...

He looked at the reflection in the sink’s mirror. His fresh face and the bathrobe. It was...familiar. No--not familiar. It was nostalgic.

Because he hadn’t experienced it since the fall of last year.

Radia gasped and turned his head, following the muttering voice. "I check the weather, and it seems like today is going to be cold. I think you should wear something warm."

Waking him up gently. Preparing his morning. Choosing his outfit. The twenty-year-old Han Joon didn’t know about this habit. They had been rolling around in bed and took a shower together before heading down for breakfast.

"Hmm...should we go with a turtleneck today? Or would it be too warm?"

"Wait--"

Radia grabbed the arms busily choosing clothes and yanked the man around. The black eyes were deep, but also sparkling. Like galaxy. Like a mysterious star corridor.

"Ah," the thin lips smiled gently. "Are you fully awake now, darling?"

The soft voice, with not a hint of cheekiness but for the twinkle in the black eyes, matched well with the deep gaze and mature smile. At last.

"...Joon?" Radia found his voice shaky--as shaky as the hands reaching out for his husband’s cheeks.

"Yes, darling?"

His husband.

"Did you..." Radia pressed his lips to calm his stuttered breath. "Since when..."

"This morning," Han Joon smiled and held his darling’s waist gently, leaning down to kiss the furrowed brows. "I’m sorry to make you wait for so long."

Radia pressed his lips and closed his eyes. For a long time, he just cried there. In relief. In his husband’s arms.

When Joon woke up in that hospital, Radia was glad. Truly glad. Even after knowing that Joon’s memory regressed to that of a child, he was still happy. He thought it was good as long as Joon was alive. He was ready to be forgotten, to wait for another eleven years before he could see Joon again.

But Radia became greedy when Joon started to regain his memory slowly. No matter how happy he was about Joon’s improved conditions, there was an empty hole in his heart. Twenty years of memory, even if most of it was painful, could not just be erased from a couple’s history.

He was happy, truly. But he also longed for that hole to be filled. Their pain, as much as it hurt, was as great as their love. It was their foundation. It was who they were.

But finally...finally, the hole in Radia’s heart could be filled. His husband, his pillar, his love had truly, truly back.

"Can you just take a day off suddenly like this?" Han Joon asked with a smile when Radia wore a homeware sweater and pulled him to the couch instead of getting ready for the office. "You’ve been taking a lot of days off lately."

"It’s fine. I rarely took them in the past decade," Radia grumbled as he snuggled into his husband’s warm embrace.

Yeah. He couldn’t really do this with the twenty-year-old Joon. It didn’t feel the same. The softness, the gentleness from the guilt of leaving him in the dark for eleven years was only available in this Joon. In the husband he dragged to the registry office.

"Well, you’re the boss," Han Joon shrugged, just happily hugging his darling tighter. If Radia wanted to stay with him, then...who he was to refuse?

Radia leaned back and chuckled. He was glad that his husband was back. Even better, his husband returned while retaining the freedom he acquired in his month-long youth somewhat.

"How does it feel..." Radia asked curiously. "To relive some stages of your life?"

"It felt like...a beautiful dream," Han Joon replied after thinking about it for a while. "I got to experience how things would be if we were not separated. It feels wonderful, even now. I still feel the tingling every time I think about it."

When he woke up at dawn and regained twenty years of memory all at once, Han Joon took a long time just staring at the ceiling, digesting everything. When he felt a bit nauseous as the memory of killing his father returned, he got up and took more time just staring at his darling’s sleeping face.

That peaceful sleeping face was enough to justify the patricide.

It felt so peaceful and nice, without any headache or ongoing nausea. Perhaps because of that, everything that happened ever since he fell into a coma felt like a dream.

A beautiful dream.

"A dream, huh?" Radia muttered sullenly. "It was a nightmare for me."

Han Joon smiled. "Only at first, isn’t it?" he leaned down and whispered behind Radia’s ear. "I know you liked it once I entered adulthood."

"Shut up."

Han Joon laughed at his darling’s grumbling, peppering kisses on Radia’s neck until it was reddened all over. He smiled at the pursing lips and fondly stroked the wedding ring on his darling’s finger.

His twenty-year-old self wouldn’t know the hardship he had to endure to acquire the materials for this ring or the state of mind he was in as he plundered it from the place that tried to harm his darling. It was rather poetic, wasn’t it, creating wedding rings out of victory loot?

"I think you also unconsciously returned to that era," Han Joon smiled in nostalgia. "You were so cute and lovely."

Radia groaned. "Ugh--really..."

"Well, you’re always lovely to me."

"...I know," Radia sighed. He knew that Han Joon was the only one who had that thought about him.

"Right now too."

Radia pressed his lips as his cheeks and ears were smeared with deeper color. Han Joon chuckled and kissed all the places that had turned red lovingly, thinking about how lovely his darling was.

"Joon..."

"Yes, darling?"

"You are mine."

Han Joon tilted his head. "Of course?"

"No, you don’t understand," Radia snapped and moved away from the warm embrace. When he turned around, there was a deep from on his face. "You are mine!"

Han Joon blinked at the sudden aggressive tone. He tried hard to hide how much he thought his darling was still lovely even while looking all fierce because it seemed like he would get scolded again.

Still, he was curious, and strangely happy. He straightened his back and waited for his darling to continue.

"Your heart, your body, your soul," Radia grabbed his husband’s face, speaking with sharp conviction. "Everything of you is mine."

It was a declaration.

"So know that it is a sin to hide the condition of what is mine from me," Radia tightened his grip, but Han Joon only felt even happier. "It is a sin to damage it in any way."

"I understand."

The answer came with a wide smile and soft sparkling in the black eyes. Anyone seeing it would know that the man was completely smitten.

He leaned into the palm holding his face. "What should this big sinner do to repent?"

"Show your sincerity," Radia recalled his hands, pulling back and crossing his arms. "Don’t you think you should kneel first?"

"As you wish, my darling," without hesitation, Han Joon got down on his knees, holding his darling’s hand, and kissed the wedding band. He positioned himself between Radia’s legs and looked up cheekily. "Anything else you want me to do while I’m down here?"

"Well," Radia leaned back and smiled in satisfaction as a tingling sensation spread all over his body. "Surprise me."