There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 782: Side Story 4. Endless Journey - 64

Inside a dazzling hotel ballroom where some of the most famous celebrities gathered to celebrate a broadcasting station’s anniversary party, actor Hanbyul was taking a breather on the balcony when a middle-aged man walked over.

"Mr. Hanbyul," the man greeted him.

Byul straightened his back and nodded politely. "Sir."

"You looked bored," the man said, smirking with twinkling eyes.

"Don’t expose me like that," Byul laughed lightly.

"I bet it’s nothing compared to any of your Uncle’s events," the man winked.

Byul smiled and tilted his head a little bit. "Which one?"

The man laughed and patted the actor’s back. Indeed, Byul had several famous, influential uncles. Only for those who knew, however.

"Anyway, don’t you think it’s time for you to take on leading roles?" the man asked, finally going to his initial objective of approaching Byul. "I know some scripts already found their way to you."

Byul recalled the pile sitting on his manager/CEO’s desk. After his first esper role, people were praising his acting even more. The doubt about him using connections or whatever didn’t matter anymore since his performance exceeded the public’s expectations. There were not many young actors who could perform as an esper that well in his generation, so Byul had the industry in a chokehold; all young esper roles came to him.

Of course, the manager only picked something that could improve Byul’s skills instead of boosting his popularity. Rather than jumping to a lead role in a mediocre project, she got him some supporting roles in high-profile, blockbuster movies. That was what Byul wanted to, and...well, he had other reasons. A big reason.

"Is there any reason for the delay?" the man asked again when Byul only replied with a smile. "I don’t think looking for more experience is valid in your case."

"You can’t say that, Sir," Byul shook his head. If other actors heard this, they would be fuming. "I’m still young."

"It’s precisely because you’re still young," the man clicked his tongue. "When you’re this good, you shouldn’t wait until you can’t move your body too much."

"Thank you for your kind words, Sir," Byul smiled gently. "But I think I’ll wait for a bit more."

"You won’t be at your peak forever, Byul," the man patted the young actor’s shoulder. "Take the chance quickly before they pass."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

Byul bowed politely as the man returned to the ballroom. Well, there was some truth in what the man said; celebrities had their heyday, and when it passed, it was usually hard to get it back. At that moment, Byul was very popular after his scene-stealer appearances in quality movies, shifting his image from a cute teenage romance actor to a more mature action specialist.

But...

Not yet, he told himself. Let’s wait a little bit more.

"Another one?" his manager came to the balcony not long after the man left. A lot of people had been approaching Byul since his teenage days, some with unsavory proposals that would make his family, uncles, and boyfriend scorched the earth if they found out.

Thankfully, the manager was influential enough to make them not pressure Byul too much, and she would take care of the rest later. Sometimes, however, there would be unhinged people who didn’t care about anything but their own desires, so she needed to be on her toes.

"No, he just gave me some advice." Byul shook his head, smiling in gratitude at how well his manager took care of him. Of course, he could always get out using his family, but it was nice to be able to hide that for as long as he could. "He knows who I am anyway."

"Ah..."

"He told me to pick a script already," Byul chuckled.

The manager raised her brow. "I guess he’s a sponsor for one of those productions?"

"Maybe," he shrugged. "He didn’t tell which one, though."

"Well...it’s been two years..."

Byul leaned against the railing and tilted his head. "I’ve had three projects already. Isn’t that a lot?"

"I do think it’s time for you to take the next step," the manager said. "You deserve better recognition."

"Won’t people get upset if they hear you? I’m only twenty-two," Byul chuckled.

"Well...that’s true," she sighed. People could say that he was too young to aim for a lead in a movie, but Byul had been in the industry since he was fifteen. She thought it was enough, but...she glanced at the actor. Byul himself didn’t want to do it yet, and it wasn’t like she didn’t know why. "Oh, just do whatever you want."

"I will~"

She pinched the giggling actor and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Anyway, there’s a meeting request with a variety show producer next--"

"Wait," Byul raised his hand as his commlink beeped.

The manager stopped; Byul always kept his commlink on silent mode, except for a few accounts he put in his priority--his immediate family, his childhood friends, and his powerful uncles.

She wondered which one it was, since the actor froze after reading the text.

"Byul?" she frowned, worried that something had happened to his family, or...

Wait--wasn’t his boyfriend on the Deathzone?!

"I..." the black eyes looked dazed, which further made the manager worry. "Can you clear my schedule for the next week?"

"What? What happened, Byul?"

"Also--I need to go abroad secretly." Byul closed his commlink and took a deep breath, biting his trembling lips. "I need to go to the Northern Alliance."

* * *

Two years and ten months after they first entered the Deathzone, all the northern mountain range finally lit up. While the purification of the deep ground and the sky would take time, they could at least see the mountain itself, not just a looming darkness.

More importantly, they could see and access the mines that became the initial objective of this reclamation project.

The Alliance Leaders, who didn’t care about the conflict or the competition and just wanted good publicity, wanted Kar and Elena to be there, along with the other ’commanders’, who were still salty about the rookie faction finishing their region first and came to assist them afterward.

That, and the fact that he had to stay longer to speak and had a photoshoot put Kar in a terrible mood. He only wanted to return to his cute lover as quickly as possible. He had held himself back from calling Byul so he could surprise the actor, but...

It was all a waste because the news would reach the Eastern Federation first anyway.

Begrudgingly, Kar gave up on the surprise and reached out for his commlink once the press conference was done, and they were led to a private venue where the members of the operation gathered. There was a small banquet of some sort, with buffet and all, while the participants arranged for their journey home; some had their family or guilds picking them up, while some were registering for a chartered ride to the airport.

"Kar," before he could get to his commlink, however, the Saintess grabbed Kar’s elbow and dragged him to the venue. "I have a small gift for you."

Kar frowned, glancing at his commlink regretfully. But Elena had been very helpful to him, not just in guiding but also supporting his stance, so he couldn’t get annoyed at her.

"Gift?" Kar asked politely, trying to sound a little bit enthusiastic.

Elena grinned, pointing with her hand to someone standing quietly in the corner, wearing a mask and a hooded coat with two templars of Frejya standing behind, guarding.

"A pretty and adorable one, I must say," Elena said at the sight of the fidgeting figure.

For a second, Kar was frozen; his brain was short-circuited, wondering if it was an illusion. But the black eyes peeking out beneath the hood and everything else were enough to snap him back to reality.

Before he knew it, he was already dashing forward and pulled the younger man to his embrace, feeling every bit of warmth he couldn’t have for the past thirty-four months. Inhaling the warm and soft scent made him feel like he was home already.

Indeed; what a gift it was.

Clutching the strong and broad back, Byul buried his face on the esper’s neck, letting the weight envelope him. "H-hyung..."

"Baby," Kar held the younger’s face and pressed his lips on the blushing cheek and temple, whispering in immense longing. "My baby."

It wasn’t impossible to make a call outside from the Deathzone. But like twenty-five years ago, the call had to go through a lot of channels. To avoid clogging up the line, only a few people could make a call each time, which only happened around once a month.

But that only applied to those who made a call to the Northern Alliance. To connect the channel to another state, extra steps would need to be made, and it would be time-consuming. Thus, the foreign troops couldn’t make any call.

They consoled themselves by saying that making a call to a loved one with a communication channel that could be heard by anyone was not that nice.

In Kar’s case, it would also mean disclosing his relationship with Byul. At least in person like this, the actor could hide himself.

"I’ve missed you, Hyung."

"Oh, you have no idea," Kar pulled the actor’s mask down so he could have the kiss he had been dreaming of, sighing as he tasted the soft lips. He pulled back and stared at the face he had only been able to see from the saved pictures in his commlink, stroking the blushing cheeks. "How--how are you here?"

"Umm...Lucy told me to get here and that the temple..."

Byul glanced at the templars who were picking him up from the portal and brought him there. Immediately, Kar turned toward Elena, who gave him a teasing wink before walking away with the two templars, leaving them to have their own moment.

Kar laughed before turning to face his lover again; his baby, his star. Ah...what a good day to be alive.

"Oh," the espers from the rookie faction raised their brows and glanced at each other, grinning amusedly. "Turns out the Captain is still a human."