Chapter 86

"Stop smiling, brat. I'm being dead serious."

"Want me to try harder?"

Despite the seatbelt sign still on, some of the immortals were already wandering around.

Yuchan and Gangsan passed by, offering water and drinks, and Handonhee carried food herself, taking the place of the flight attendants. There were only five flight attendants, and they were responsible only for the staff of the Union and the Variant Disaster Control Center on the first floor.

Currently, the immortals on the second floor were mostly those who had fallen out of favor with the Union, like Tachan, Eomjigeon, and Namgungjun. The Variant Disaster Control Center, which had a good relationship with the Union, seemed to have used their discretion to divide the seats.

Tachan, except for Abdulaziz, had all boarded the plane. It was because Abdulaziz couldn't be found until early July, after June had passed.

Worried that he might have been seriously injured while fighting a variant, but if such a variant existed, they would have known. In the end, Abdulaziz had gone into hiding on his own. When Tachan's hobby of diving into the depths was mentioned, everyone took it lightly, but Seo-eun felt uneasy all along.

Suddenly, she felt a tingling in her hand and rubbed it, but there was no sensation.

Looking down, she saw that the hand clasped on her chest was extending from Chahaya's side.

Startled, Seo-eun didn't know when they had been holding hands. It felt so natural that she didn't even notice the awkwardness. Now that she was aware, she should let go, but pushing him away would look strange.

"Hey, thanks."

Seo-eun shook Chahaya's hand as if it were nothing. Thanks to him, she felt a bit better, so she let go and patted his hand.

"I don't think even I could do that."

Seo-eun pushed him away, annoyed by his attempt to scare her. Her trust in Chahaya remained, and the plane had stabilized, giving her some peace of mind.

Suddenly, Chahaya stood up.

"Where are you going?"

Seo-eun clung to him urgently, like a child looking for their parents, unable to hide her embarrassment.

Chahaya had a strange smile on his face, and his eyes sparkled brightly.

When he looked down at his wrist, Seo-eun subtly released her grip.

"Just curious, you suddenly stood up."

Sliding into a more awkward silence, Seo-eun crossed her arms over her chest and lay back down.

Chahaya held the top edge of the seat and looked down at Seo-eun. Leaning forward, it looked like he was about to kiss her. Her heart pounded against her right palm.

Seo-eun closed her eyes tightly, as if trying to escape into sleep.

Then Chahaya slipped something into each of her hands. Opening her eyes, she saw that her crossed hands held pens, probably the ones given for filling out the entry forms.

"Pharaoh Chahayun."

This kid is really something.

Chahaya had been thinking of making her a pharaoh, and she felt embarrassed for getting so excited over it. Seo-eun threw the pen to the empty space beside her.

"Oh no, it's a big problem! The curse of Tutankhamun has begun, everyone evacuate!"

Chahaya stretched out his hand and shouted, and Handonhee, who was entertaining herself in the aisle, also shouted.

"Tutankhamun? What's that, you Egypt fan?"

"Why is Handonhee butting in all of a sudden?"

"Is this Chahaya's first flight? He has no manners at all."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Shut up, I don't believe it. Did you swim from Indonesia to Korea?"

Seo-eun straightened her seat, no longer thinking of sleeping. They must have escaped the turbulence, and she decided to get some snacks. Chahaya, sitting in the aisle seat, blocked her from leaving.

"Where are you going?"

"To get some food."

The flight was about six hours long, and they had only been flying for about two hours.

"Do you like fried ramen?"

Surprised by the sudden question, Seo-eun nodded.

She didn't like cup noodles, but she occasionally enjoyed fried ramen as a special treat. "I'll make it delicious," he said, twirling a strand of her hair.

Seo-eun pressed her hand on the tangled hair, and then suddenly laughed. That crazy guy had stuck a pen in her hair instead of a cane, calling her Tutankhamun. She had been so angry earlier, but his antics were too funny to hate.

Although her fear of flying had subsided, she still felt it was too early to walk around, so she waited for Chahaya. Instead, she unfolded the seat tables.

From what she remembered, Chahaya always ate spicy ramen, and sure enough, he returned with both fried ramen and spicy ramen. Holding the ramen in both hands, he had two pairs of chopsticks in his mouth.

Chahaya placed the ramen on their seats and leaned in close. Signaling for the chopsticks, Seo-eun reached out to his mouth. Grabbing the ends, she tried to pull them out, but he held on, like a dog playing tug-of-war.

"Hey, stop! You're getting it wet."

Seo-eun stretched out her legs and struggled with Chahaya. Fortunately, the plane was divided into two floors, or they would have received glares from the Union members.

"Are you kids or something?"

Handonhee, holding a hot dog, raised her upper lip in a disdainful expression.

Seo-eun finally pulled the chopsticks out of Chahaya's mouth and peeled off the wet packaging. Without flight attendants, the food was limited to these convenient snacks.

"Hey, where did you get the ramen?"

Eomjigeon, seeing Chahaya's ramen, asked. He must have been looking for food as soon as the plane stabilized.

"I brought it from home."

"Really? I should have brought some too."

"Do you believe this guy? Everything is in the galley."

Handonhee pointed to the galley where the in-flight meals and drinks were prepared.

Seo-eun stirred the noodles in her fried ramen. Eomjigeon, as if seeking revenge, drank the water Chahaya had poured for him.

Seo-eun, worried that Chahaya might cause a scene, firmly held his wrist and stirred his ramen for him.

"Wow, Tachan, does the deputy guild leader even take care of his mom?"

Eomjigeon whistled. At the same time, Yuchan approached and offered his ramen.

"Deputy guild leader, mine too. I didn't bring chopsticks."

Yuchan's dry ramen was immediately stirred by Chahaya.

"We take care of each other."

Chahaya twirled the chopsticks demonstratively. Yuchan, not minding too much, held the cup with both hands. When Chahaya pulled out the chopsticks, the noodles were neatly coiled. He brought them to his mouth and ate them in one bite.

"Damn! Deputy guild leader!"

"Is someone else's ramen that good?"

More than half of the ramen was gone, and Yuchan was fuming.

"Give me yours too!"

Yuchan grabbed Chahaya's ramen and stuffed it into his mouth. Complaining about the spiciness and heat, he stomped his feet and ran to the galley for water. The commotion caused by Yuchan was somewhat reduced.

"Seriously, Kim Yuchan is so childish."

Kangsang, looking disappointed, placed the ramen he had brought on Chahaya's table and collected the cup Yuchan had left behind.

Namgungjun, sitting diagonally across, sipped his coffee and glanced back a few times, clearly curious about the noise.

Seo-eun moved the square fried pieces to Chahaya's cup. She had always done this since high school, but the gaze from above felt piercing.

Kangsang and Yuchan were in the galley, so the gaze must have come from Eomjigeon or Handonhee.

Seo-eun looked up and met their eyes.

She added a look that asked why they were staring. Meanwhile, Chahaya was eating the fried pieces.

"These guys are really strange."

"Eomjigeon, did you just figure that out?"

"Are they dating?"

Eomjigeon pointed at Chahaya and Seo-eun with his index finger.

"Chahaya is dating Kangsan."

Handonhee, placing her arm on Eomjigeon's shoulder, said. She seemed to be repeating what Chahaya had said about dating Kangsan.

"Really?"

Eomjigeon was more surprised that the person was Kangsan than that they were dating.

"Eomjigeon, aren't you going to the galley?"

Seo-eun wanted to get rid of him before the fried ramen got soggy.

"Wow, you're really turning me away. Where would a guildless person go to feel sad?"

"Go to the first floor, you'll be welcomed."

Chahaya pointed down, and Eomjigeon, pretending to be provoked, pointed back.

"Brat, your lover is coming! Wow, he's huge. If you two stand together, it'll be suffocating."

Kangsang, coming out of the galley, suddenly became Chahaya's lover. Holding ramen and a sausage, he looked confused.

"What do you mean, lover?"

"You, Kangsan. You're dating Chahaya."

Kangsang made a face at Eomjigeon.

"My girlfriend is on the first floor."

"But you said you don't date immortals."

Handonhee nudged Kangsan.

"Who said I'm an immortal? I'm a government official."

"Wow, this guy even applied to Indonesia with a personal interest."

"Ah, these days, whenever I see a doughnut, I think of you, Dohnhee. People are just like that."

"Hey, I admit. I'm really twisted."

Kangsang had been away from the guild for a while and rarely appeared in the group chat, focusing on his relationship. Seo-eun, not sure why he was talking about this here, just ate her fried ramen.

"Did you mix the water well?"

Chahaya, ignoring the others, continued talking. Seo-eun gave a thumbs up.

Chahaya poured the broth into a paper cup and offered it to Seo-eun. Bringing it to her lips, she pushed it away with her hand.

"It's too spicy, I won't eat it."

"Just the noodles."

The thinner noodles were more appealing, so she used the chopsticks to slurp them up. Chahaya held the paper cup close to her lips the whole time.

"It's still spicy."

Blowing, Seo-eun's lips puffed up.

"Wow, Kangsan was a fake, and you two were the real deal."

Eomjigeon giggled, looking down at them. By then, Handonhee and Kangsan had gone to tease Yuchan, leaving only Eomjigeon.

"Should I keep this a secret? Without a gag, I suddenly feel like writing a lot."

He pretended to type on his phone with his thumbs.

"Shouldn't you use your index finger?"

"What?"

"Because you're Eomjigeon."

Seo-eun, expressionless, answered for Chahaya, who was chuckling.

"Eomjigeon? Ah, that guy didn't give up on changing his last name? Chahaya, should I call you Kim Haya? Damn, that's not impactful. Park Haya, Kim Haya, Yi Haya..."

Eomjigeon called out all the surnames, saying none of them fit.

"Isn't Chahaya the strangest to begin with?"

Seo-eun tried to stop him, impressed by his effort.

"Am I strange?"

"No, the Cha surname is strange, but you're not a Cha."

"What?! He's not a Cha?!"

Eomjigeon was overly surprised, even gesturing with his hands.

"Chahaya, 'light' in Indonesian."

Seo-eun slurped her ramen and answered. Chahaya, smiling, looked at Seo-eun, chin in hand. She realized he had never told her the meaning of his name.

"I just looked it up out of curiosity at the beginning of the semester."

"Yeah, just."

He pushed her to say "just" when she had nothing to say.

"Then what about Matahari?"

"What about it?"

"Didn't you look that up?"

"Sun... right?"

"Seo-eun, the expert on Chahaya?"

"Chahaya and Seo-eun, feeding each other ramen while calling each other light and sun."

Eomjigeon pretended to type on his phone. The communication wouldn't work on the plane, but Seo-eun just laughed at the childish provocation.

"Write if you want. I don't care what others say."

"Hey, the deputy guild leader's reaction is boring. I'm just bored, so can you play along a bit?"

"It's not a joke."

"Ah, so you really are like that."

Eomjigeon understood why he got along well with other Tachan guild members. They all had the same tendency to tease others, just like Tachan. Still, he was an adult, so she didn't roll her eyes too much.

The plane tilted slightly, changing direction. Eomjigeon pushed the overhead compartment to regain his balance.

"Are you single, deputy guild leader? I'm pretty good at this, so I can introduce you to a good friend."

"I'll find my own match."

"What about a guy? Someone at the top level, like us?"

Seo-eun sighed openly, not looking at Eomjigeon. To avoid getting involved in his jokes, she just ate the fried pieces.

"Aren't there a lot of top-level immortals around the deputy guild leader? Next to you, in front of you, in the galley, hey... this is a plane, you know?"

Eomjigeon laughed, then looked embarrassed. Seo-eun looked at Chahaya, whose table was tilted, as if it had melted.

"Hey!"

Seo-eun hit Chahaya's shoulder in surprise.

"Wow, brat. You even avoid Cupid. You'd rather steal his arrow and kill him."

Eomjigeon made strange remarks and turned to the galley, shrugging as if it wasn't his fault. He had come to tease and provoke, but now he was tired of top-level immortals.

Seo-eun checked Chahaya's hand. She didn't know what had made him so angry, but fortunately, it was fine.

"I'll kill him."

Chahaya's cold tone made Seo-eun's eyes widen.

"Kill who?"

"I'll tear Eomjigeon to pieces."

Why is this kid suddenly using his full name and acting like this? She knew he was really angry.

The aura emanating from Chahaya expanded chaotically. To her surprise, a white aura began to rise from him. Worried that someone might see, Seo-eun whispered harshly.

"Hey! We're on a plane!"

The fierce aura that had made her hair stand on end suddenly subsided.

"Seo-eun can't get hurt."

"Who said that! Don't kill anyone. Don't kill Eomjigeon. If you kill someone over a joke, our Tachan members would have died a hundred times over."

"I'll just cut his tongue and fingers for talking nonsense."

"Hey, it was just a joke. Why are you so upset?"

Are you so disgusted by the idea of us dating that you want to kill someone? If you hate it so much, I'm really hurt and disappointed.

Seo-eun clenched her jaw to hide her feelings. Her mood suddenly plummeted, and she just stirred the noodles. She had no appetite, and the noodles were already swollen.

"Even if it's not us, guys can date each other."

Seo-eun couldn't help but speak, her temper flaring.

"So don't get angry over every little thing. You sound like a homophobe."

Seo-eun tried to relax her expression but couldn't. Her forehead kept creasing as she lowered her head.

Chahaya said nothing, and Seo-eun just kept talking, staring at the cup ramen.

"Frankly, I don't care if a guy likes me. You're narrow-minded. Don't be prejudiced. Hey!"

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her cheek.

He turned her face to look at him, and her pouting lips were visible in her field of vision.

"Let go."

Her words were muffled. Seo-eun, like a fish, strained her eyes.

Chahaya's eyes were even stranger. The nebulae and star clusters in his eyes seemed to be exploding, giving the illusion that countless stars were bursting at every moment.

"Let go, before I really get angry."

"Do you want to be introduced to a top-level immortal?"

"Sure, I really want to, no!"

At that moment, Chahaya pressed his lips to hers. The pressure of his lips made Seo-eun's eyes bulge.

'!'

She met Eomjigeon's gaze, who was glancing from the galley. Quickly turning her head away from his grip, she exhaled.

"Are you crazy?!"

Seo-eun punched Chahaya's face. He let her hit him, but his eyes seemed completely different. Just as she was about to fold the table and leave,

"Hey, hey! Crazy!"

Plump, Chahaya pushed Seo-eun onto the half-reclined seat.

"Damn, there's a top-level immortal here?"

He quickly pinned down Seo-e