Chapter Text
After the Rifts appeared, spewing monsters onto humanity left and right, the chosen few awakened with the mission to save the world. These hunters were soon given ranks to show the differences in their abilities. People who were F-Rank, were basically just a bit stronger than ordinary citizens, E-Rank and D-Rank could handle easy dungeons of the same rank, while C-Rank and B-Rank made up the majority of hunter society. A-Ranks, however, were seen as the epitome of hunters and were revered by the average citizen.
Yet, there were several who were practically untouchable, on par with gods, the S-Ranks.
And the person who was ranked the highest, the strongest man of them all, was none other than 29 year old Cha Eui-jae.
While A-ranks could take on a hundred monsters together, Cha Eui-jae could take them on alone.
Ever since Lee Sa-young could remember, Eui-jae was the highest mountain peak, standing tall amongst unrelenting storms.
Yet even boulders eventually become smooth from the unforgiving rain.
“Hyung,” Lee Sa-young forced out, his grip tight on the doorknob. He was dressed in a black turtle-neck sweater and a thick winter coat. There was some snow still left over from the night before, but the streets were already plowed. The forecast showed that it would start snowing again soon so he was prepared just in case it did.
“Mhm.”
“I’m only going out to buy some Dakjuk (chicken rice porridge).”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t go out if you don’t let go,” Sa-young murmured. “We don’t have any medicine either since we’ve never been sick before.”
The man latched onto him like a baby koala was none other than the most famous S-Rank hunter in South Korea. Despite being of the same rank, Eui-jae was leagues above him. He even heard that the Hunter Association was considering giving him a new title as an L-Rank for Legendary. He grunted as the grip around his waist tightened like an anaconda ensnaring their prey.
“I wanna go too,” Cha Eui-jae mumbled from beneath his favorite blue hoodie.
The exposed skin that touched him was sweltering and Sa-young was glad he ran cold and Eui-jae was resistant to his poison. He patted his back. “The convenience store is only a block away.”
“Take me too.”
“Hyung.”
“Take. Me. Too.”
Lee Sa-young chose to drive to the convenience store instead—with the plan to leave Eui-jae inside.
“Welcome—!”
He sighed as the glass sliding doors opened with a gentle jingle, the convenience store clerk’s welcome fizzled out the moment his eyes met his. Even though all of the monsters were gone, he still had to wear his gas mask to protect the civilians and hunters in public.
For once, however, he knew from the lingering gazes around him that it wasn’t his appearance that people were shocked by.
The 25 year old sighed again as the older man happily tightened his death-grip on him, his strong thighs making his hips hurt, a pain located in a different part than what he was familiar with. He genuinely thought the hoodie was good enough to keep warm since Eui-jae was meant to stay in the car, now shivering beneath his, making them look even weirder to everyone else.
Sa-young grabbed a basket, filling it with some cold medicine, vitamin C drinks, and some pudding. He inspected the variety of juk available, the most popular one being the dakjuk. “Hyung, what kind of juk do you want?”
The weight around him shifted as Cha Eui-jae turned his head. “I thought you were getting dakjuk.”
“Mhm, but I didn’t realize they’d have more available. Which one do you want?”
“I want…dakjuk. Can you cook it for me?” He mumbled.
“Hyung, you know that I can’t cook.”
Eui-jae turned his head away. “Fine.”
Sa-young closed his eyes. “Hyung, I don’t even know how to make dakjuk or any sort of juk.”
“You know how to make rice.”
He nodded. “Because you’re the one who taught me.”
Eui-jae huffed. “I cook you dakjuk whenever you get sick.”
“You cook all our meals.”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t want you to get sick from my cooking. You can teach me when you’re better, okay>” He compromised.
“Okay,” Eui-jae agreed with a nod. He nuzzled back into Sa-young’s chest. “I want tteokbokki.”
“You shouldn’t eat that when you’re sick.”
“Fine.”
Sa-young smiled and instinctively patted Eui-jae on his ass. “Good boy.”
He heard a cough from somewhere in the store and Eui-jae’s ears reddened.
“Let’s just go, Sa-young.”
In that moment, Sa-young was glad he brought the car or else the two would’ve looked sillier on the way home. He was sure that Eui-jae would feel more comfortable once they returned to their condo.
Per usual, Sa-young was wrong.
“Hyung, let’s go.”
Instead of replying, Eui-jae, with the reddest ears he’s ever seen, held his arms up like a child.
Sa-young nearly took a picture right there.
“Hurry up.”
He bit back a smile. “Okay, hyung.”
Thankfully they didn’t see anyone on the elevator ride up. The entire top floor, the VIP suite, belonged to them. It was a separate location from work since they hated having to sneak around and despite being shameless, they found it somewhat uncomfortable.
After all, there was an entire group chat dedicated to their workplace PDA. No one said anything, though. Which was the smart thing to do.
Once inside, Sa-young placed both of their outdoor shoes on the shelf and stepped into his indoor slippers. His were a rich purple while Eui-jae’s was a deep blue. He smiled as he set them down in front of Eui-jae so his feet wouldn’t touch the ground.
Yet, the older male clutched onto him tighter, refusing to let go.
“Hyung…”
“I’m cold.”
He sighed and removed his jacket from the two of them, placing it in their coat closet.
“Sa-young-ah.”
“Yes, hyung?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Are you going to get down so I can make it?”
He shook his head.
Sa-young hummed. “It’s a good thing I can just use the microwave then.”
“Shut up.”
The dakjuk was ready in only two minutes and soon the two of them were eating on the couch. Sa-young brought the table closer to them as Eui-jae sat on his lap.
“Here you go, hyung.”
“Ah~,” Eui-jae opened his mouth and hummed happily as he chewed and swallowed.
“Is it good?”
“Mhm, thank you, Sa-young-ah."
"Of course, hyung. Just let me take care of you from now on."