Sector 1 🛡 yungi [▶]

6

Mingi woke up earlier than Yunho, contemplating the next steps. He couldn't spend the entire day idly at Yunho's house, exploring the same places over and over. It would be a waste of time.

"Yunho, may I join you in searching for food?" Mingi asked while helping Yunho gather his belongings.

Perhaps this way, Mingi could find something. He just wanted to make his report more detailed, whether it ended with Yunho being found guilty or not. Yunho might not openly reveal the hiding place of the evidence Mingi was looking for, but at least Mingi could observe his movements in the forest for potential clues.

"Sure!" Yunho replied enthusiastically. "I'm planning to go fishing today; it gets boring waiting for the bait to be taken when you're alone with your thoughts."

Mingi returned a smile, even though the reasons behind it were not entirely clear.

As they walked, Mingi remained silent. Yunho led the way, occasionally glancing around, touching various wild fruits, and ignoring them. Mingi recognized only a few, and based on what he understood, Yunho avoided them all because they were poisonous. Perhaps the others were the same.

Passing by the trail where Yunho had been silent during the raid, Mingi waited for an unusual reaction. Yet, Yunho continued cheerfully, seemingly unfazed by the presence of the warehouse just a few dozen meters away.

After a considerable walk, the sound of flowing water became clearer. The dense trees began to part, revealing a small river ahead. Its current was slow, almost serene, and the water was crystal clear, allowing the rocks at the bottom to be clearly visible.

Yunho invited Mingi to sit by the river, preparing their fishing gear. Their bait consisted of dried worms that Yunho had seemingly prepared. Other than that, there were colorful nylon thread woven into dazzling fishhook ornaments. Yunho's hands were skillful, a result of years of fishing experience.

"How many fish do you usually catch if you fish until evening?" Mingi asked after Yunho helped him set up the fishing gear.

"I've never fished until evening," Yunho replied, swinging his fishing rod, as did Mingi. "Usually, I fish until noon. If I go until noon, I usually catch five to seven fish. It might be a bit low for hours of fishing, but it's enough for me. As long as it's sufficient for me, it doesn't matter."

Mingi was about to ask more when Yunho continued, "Nature provides what we need; humans shouldn't be greedy. If you get five, then five should be enough. My grandfather used to say that."

Mingi nodded. They fell silent for a while, comfortable in their thoughts, enjoying the quietness between the sounds of the river and the breeze.

"Aren't you bored doing the same repetitive things every day?" Mingi finally broke the silence.

Yunho looked at him with surprise, then smiled broadly. "I told you I like living in the forest. That includes doing these things repeatedly. Waking up, finding food, hunting, fishing, picking fruits, going home, cooking, and sleeping. The next day is the same. For me, it's enjoyable. As long as it's not dangerous, there's no harm in doing it over and over again.

"Isn't living in the city not much different? I think others do the same. Wake up, work, find food, rest, and sleep to do the same thing the next day. I believe everyone has a predictable life pattern. The difference lies in how they live it and how others perceive it. The rest is the same. Waking up to live, then sleeping to live again."

Mingi was stunned. He didn't expect to hear such profound thoughts from a young man whose entire life had been spent in the forest. Yunho cleverly shifted paradigms, even impressing Mingi. Unconsciously, Mingi smiled.

"Yeah, I almost forgot that you genuinely love everything about the forest. I'm foolish to ask you such a question." Mingi chuckled softly.

"You're not wrong to ask that, Mingi," Yunho looked at the river, anticipating the bait to be taken. There wasn't a single fish yet. "I might ask the same if I were you. It must be confusing to understand someone else's way of life, completely different from yours, right? I often ask the same to Yeosang. I thought his job as a fisherman would be boring, just seeing the sea every day. Only water as far as the eye can see. But from Yeosang's perspective, it's different.

"For him, it's enjoyable because he says he likes sailing, seeing the waves, even occasionally facing storms. He thinks it's challenging, but I say it's dangerous. Funny thing, he scolded me and said that living in the forest, close to wild animals, is far more dangerous. There I understand my similarity with others. Living far from other humans has made me slow to understand something as simple as that."

Impressed, Mingi thought it wasn't just admiration he felt for Yunho. Trying to find another explanation, he found himself even more confused. Mingi searched for another explanation but found feelings that left him more puzzled.

Mingi fell in love with Yunho.

Not professional at all, his logic chastised him.

Ideally, Mingi wanted to reject it, slap himself to remind that the young man who caught his attention was the same person he suspected of a criminal act. But Mingi couldn't deny that he was drawn to Yunho.

"Keep your fish. All the flowers here smell nice!" Yunho ran off, joining various types of flowers that filled the low terrace. They had just finished fishing a few minutes ago, complete with a bucket full of fish in Mingi's hands. On the way back, when Yunho chose to stop.

From Mingi's spot, Yunho looked truly charming. The time Mingi spent with Yunho before was nothing more than cooking, eating, making charcoal, and sleeping under the dim lantern light. It was vastly different from what he saw now.

The weather was exceptionally bright as Yunho played in the flower garden, running around carefree, playing with butterflies, even inhaling and picking a few flower stems for himself.

Beautiful.

Mingi reached for his phone from his pocket, discreetly taking some photos of Yunho, then putting it back in his pocket. It seemed like accompanying Yunho in searching for food today wasn't a bad decision. Mingi was treated to a sight that truly captivated him, daydreaming for a long time admiring the beauty in front of him until a flower touched the tip of his nose.

Yunho handed a stalk of aster flowers to Mingi, displaying a bunch of various flowers in his other hand.

"Smells good. Just like you," Mingi commented with a smile, receiving the flower from Yunho.

For a moment, Yunho fell silent, blinked slowly, then smiled widely, revealing rosy cheeks blushing from the praise. "I'll take a nap for a bit."

Mingi just sat there, watching Yunho go. Under the lush tree, Yunho lay down, making himself comfortable with a bunch of flower stems beside him. Some petals from the tree fluttered down as the wind blew a bit stronger, making the scenery in front of Mingi even more beautiful. He discreetly took more photos of Yunho, constantly admiring his beauty.

All this admiration, all these feelings, made Mingi even more confused. He couldn't lie that he indeed fell in love with Yunho, for everything he had seen. Yet, on the other hand, he still had suspicions about Yunho's involvement in the drug warehouse raid a few days ago. This doubt made Mingi struggle with which feelings to prioritize.

Mingi remained on his mission, whether he liked it or not, he had to set aside his personal feelings and focus on the main goal: proving Yunho guilty or innocent. If innocent, Mingi could bury his feelings more comfortably.

And if guilty, at least Mingi had experienced what it felt like to fall in love.