There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 779: Side Story 4. Endless Journey - 61

Twenty-four years after the first Deathzone was successfully reclaimed, the Northern Alliance finally announced their plan to have their own reclamation project--faster than the Western Republic.

"Really?" Kar’s eyes widened. It was something he had been setting his eyes on the moment he knew what his fathers did in the past, what his home used to look like.

"Next year will be the twenty-fifth year since we got back Far East District," Bassena explained. "They’ll launch the reclamation then."

"And the invitation..."

"Their project is spearheaded by the government and the Temple of Freyja instead of getting auctioned to the guilds. They are sending out invitations to as much as high-rankers as they can afford," Bassena smirked. "Including the Saint classes."

"Oh!"

No matter how young Kar was, a Saint class was still a Saint class. Even though his one-year experience was yet to put him in a high-ranker bracket, no operation would reject a willing saint class.

Especially not someone with Bassena and Luzein’s Ishtera blood running in his veins.

"Haha! Aren’t you glad?" Bassena patted his son’s back.

Before Kar could say anything, Zein made a couching and hacking sound that got both espers to gasp and react immediately. "Honey, are you alright?" Bassena blinked to his husband’s side right away, stroking the guide’s back.

"Father, you’re not sick, are you?" Kar frowned in concern. "Should I brew you something warm?"

"I’m fine," Zein took a deep breath and walked toward the couch, patting the surprised Byul on the way and bringing the actor along with him. "But something warm will be nice. Ah--why don’t you make dinner too since we’re here already, Bas? It’s been a while since I have your curry."

"Huh? Now?"

"What about you, Byul? Do you like curry?"

Still in a daze, Byul nodded meekly. "Oh, yes--I love spicy food."

"We can’t eat spicy stuff, but a bit of heat for my throat will be nice," Zein chuckled, before glancing at his husband. "Get to it, baby."

"Uhh...okah?"

Bassena tilted his head, feeling confused because he thought Zein told him they should eat out together that night. A change of heart? Or maybe he heard it wrong? Oh, who cares--if his husband wanted a curry, he’d make a curry.

Zein took a sit after sending the boys on their errand, and mindlessly turned on the TV. Byul was standing awkwardly at first, but soon took a seat on the other couch because he didn’t really have the strength to keep standing.

Not with his mind in disarray.

"It won’t be like what we had twenty-four years ago," Zein suddenly said, not clear to who. He stopped shuffling the channels on a documentary show, putting it on mute with closed captions so his voice could also be heard by the espers in the kitchen. "There’s no fallen Celestial Being in that Deathzone, so all they have to do is get rid of the miasmic beasts. It’s way safer than that time."

Byul blinked to focus, peeking at his uncle’s nonchalant face. Perhaps it was presumptuous of him, but it felt like Zein was saying it for his sake.

"Why does it take twenty-five years, then?" Kar asked while returning from the kitchen with a steaming apple tea and ginger milk on his hands.

"Because there’s also no fragment of Setnath," Zein shrugged and received his warm tea.

Kar placed the ginger milk in Byul’s hands, before taking a seat beside the actor while thinking. "So...they have to use the purification device that Mortix developed?"

"Yes. We’ve managed to amp up the effect and made a purification tower so it could act like a light beacon," Zein replied. "There’ll be no need to look for the fragment shards one by one. You just have to make relay points and camps until all dungeons are destroyed and all beasts are vanquished."

Byul gripped the warm mug and asked nervously. "S-so...it won’t take as long as you and Appa in the past, Uncle?"

It was then, as he heard the timid tone beside him, that Kar realized the big oversight caused by temporary excitement. Right--he would have to leave this place if he was to join the reclamation project in the Northern Alliance. Leaving Byul. Again. He was so excited by the prospect of fulfilling his life goals that he couldn’t see how it would affect his most precious.

Shit.

"That’s hard to tell," Zein replied to the question as Kar was battling his own stupidity. "The advantage of having a fragment was that we didn’t have to scour the entirety of the Deathzone. Once we unified the shards, the fragment of Setnath transformed the land immediately."

With only purification devices, however, they would have to strategically place those in every section of the land to gain a resonance effect. All regions, whether it was underground or underwater, needed to be lit up manually too. And one thing about the Northern Alliance’s Deathzone was...

"It’s a mountainous area," Zein said. "Scaling it itself is already hard, and hauling the material needed to build the tower would take time."

"Oh..."

"It’ll depend on how efficient the operation is. If they plan meticulously, it could be done without too much time," Zein paused slightly to drink his tea. "Rather than the miasmic beast, the biggest enemy is probably the terrains and nature."

"I see..."

Byul nodded, still gripping the mug of ginger milk without drinking it. Kar could see the black eyes were cloudy, and his heart was stung by the thought of hurting his baby’s feelings again.

"Byul..." Kar cupped the hands around the warm mug, swarmed with guilt. "I..."

What...what should he say? He wanted to go, chasing his life’s dream. But Byul was also his life’s dream, and he wanted to stay with Byul as much as he could. He had left without any news for four years; must he left again for who knew how long?

Could he do that to Byul?

As he was drowning in self-doubt and dilemma, Byul grabbed his hand and spoke. "You’ll go."

Kar was startled. "But..."

"You’ll go, Hyung," Byul repeated; gentler, but not less firm. "It’s your dream, it’s your goal."

"But that means I’m going to leave again, and we don’t know how long," Kar argued with a frown. Even then, Byul could easily hear the confusion born from guilt and desire. "I don’t even know if I can go out temporarily during the operation either."

From how his father described it, the terrain would be a challenge. There would be a high chance that getting out of the Deathzone in the middle would be hard--not to mention lowering efficiency. Of course, he didn’t know yet how the project would be carried out in detail, but...

"It’s okay," Byul put the ginger milk on the table. "Not my first time waiting."

Kar frowned as the guilt stabbed his heart. "Byul..."

"Hyung," Byul shifted slightly so he could face the esper, looking at the hardened amber and blue. "Are you going to make me stop acting because I’ll have to act out intimate scenes or become someone else’s lover?"

"Of course not! I don’t want to hinder your dream just because--" Kar paused, finally getting what Byul meant. "Ah..."

"See? I don’t want to do that too," Byul shook his head, holding his hyung’s hand tightly. "If you stay because of me, I’ll always think of myself as a burden that hinders you from achieving your dream."

Even if Kar said he didn’t think so, there would always be doubt. Every time Kar looked down, Byul would always wonder if it was because of him. And perhaps, in the future, there would be a time when Kar grieved for his lost chance. Even if he didn’t want to, he might unconsciously blame Byul during his worst day.

No matter what, even if Kar didn’t go, this matter would keep on blistering and brewing at the back of their mind.

Like an invisible thorn in someone’s throat.

Staring at the esper with a firm gaze, Byul said softly. "Don’t turn me into a burden, Hyung."

Of course, Kar had no intention of ever doing that. He closed his eyes and exhaled heavily, pressing his forehead against Byul’s as they held each other’s hands tightly.

Forgetting the pair of blue watching them in silence.

"It’s been a while since people treating me as if I were invisible," Zein muttered amusedly before sipping his tea, prompting Byul to gasp.

Crap! They were so focused on this matter that they forgot they were in someone else’s presence. What was the point of pretending earlier? Even Kar’s usually meticulous self ran away in vain.

"Oh..." Kar turned toward his father with a start, seemingly hiding their holding hands--and Byul--behind his back. "Ah, umm--so, Father..."

"Yes, son?"

Receiving the gaze behind the teacup, Kar felt like his throat was filled with lumps of hot coals. "Uhh, so...we...uhh..."

"Zein, how spicy should it--"

And as if it wasn’t bad enough already, Bassena came over at that exact moment with a ladle in his hand. A silence ensued as the pair of ambers were fixed at the youngsters’ intertwined hands.

"Oh, Dad..."

Kar smiled wryly while Byul felt like he wanted to be swallowed by the couch. But even then, he couldn’t let go of Kar’s hand, and just hid behind his hyung’s back. Bassena tilted his head, putting his thinking cap on.

"I see..."

Kar let out a hollow laugh. "What do you see?"

"You holding hands? Byul wearing your hoodie?"

Byul gasped, only then realizing that he had been wearing Kar’s hoodie. It was SavAsh so he just thought it was one of his. No wonder it felt so loose!

While Byul was scolding himself inwardly, Kar was surprised at his parents’ mild reaction. "And...you’re fine with it?"

Bassena arched his brow. "Do you want me not to?"

"Dad..."

At Kar’s rare whining voice, Bassena chuckled lightly. "Well...I trust you."

Kar widened his eyes, recalling the conversation he had with Bassena that night when they bought Lucy’s tenth birthday present. Zein smiled at the innocent reaction and patted his husband’s bum.

"Bas, your curry."

"Oh, crap!"

After the not-so-dramatic reveal, Bassena ran back to the kitchen without even the initial answer he was looking for. Zein laughed softly before returning his gaze toward his nervous son. Sons?

"How should I say this?" he leaned back and crossed his arms. "It feels rather natural? Maybe because you’ve been together since you were little."

Kar blinked. "Really?"

"Oh, I used to think maybe one of you would end up with Nari, but...I think she got fed up with you."

Byul let out a choked laughter. "Pfft--oh, I’m sorry!"

Zein smiled as the actor hid behind Kar’s back again. "But Byul had been following you like a cute duckling from the start, so I’m not really surprised," he continued. "I was more curious about how you’re going to respond, honestly."

The youngsters glanced at each other. As expected, Zein seemed to know about it from the start.

"It was rather fun, watching and waiting."

"Father," Kar sighed, even though he also felt relieved.

At least, they didn’t have to worry about his parents’ reaction anymore.

"Doesn’t seem like your parents know, Byul?"

"Uhh..." Byul scratched his head awkwardly.

"Well, you are both adults already, so it’s your choice even if you want to keep it to yourselves," Zein shrugged. "I’ll tell Bas to not say anything either.

They smiled wryly in response, and Zein could only see a pair of confused, innocent adorable lovers. Ah...it was great being a parent. Seeing how they talked earlier, it seemed like they were at least honest with each other, and Zein was glad about it.

"For now, just think about it first. Talked it out between the two of you about whether Kar will go or not. Make sure you’ll make a decision that neither of you will regret," Zein said. "It’s not like you’ll have to give confirmation right away."

Kar took a deep breath, and nodded while holding Byul’s hand tightly. "Okay."