Free Web NovelIf I were a mental-type ability user, could I make this situation tilt even more in my favor? Not that things were against me right now.
Joo Seowon fixed his wavering gaze back on me, stared in silence for a beat, then spoke.
“You... don’t really know what dependence means, do you?”
“I know.”
“You only know it as a concept.”
“Then how else am I supposed to know it?”
Did he mean I had to learn it through experience?
I kept my eyes on him as if asking for clarification, and he soon shook his head.
“Forget it. Why am I even—”
“What are you doing? Say it properly.”
I hadn’t liked how he’d been starting things and then hedging since last time.
“If you don’t say it right, how am I supposed to get it? What about me?”
I pressed him again, and he glanced toward Do Yehyun’s door, lowering his voice.
“What are you going to do if he... starts expecting all sorts of things from you and it all goes to hell?”
“Goes to hell? What would?”
Pretty vague for a so-called explanation. I frowned a little, and after licking his lips, Seowon added slowly:
“...If Do Yehyun says he likes you, are you going to accept that too?”
'Well, I figured Seowon probably already knew.'
I only tilted my head like it was nothing, and his face shifted toward outright shock.
“You knew he likes you?”
“Yeah. He told me.”
“What?”
Would it be fine to tell him this? I weighed it for a second, then added:
“Even if he hadn’t said it, I’d have known. It shows.”
“...And you’re going to indulge this kind of request?”
“Look... since he already likes me, I should treat him well, right? Then he’ll like me longer. If he flips on me and stabs me in the back, that’s worse.”
“......”
“Anything else you’re curious about?”
His hand slipped off my wrist.
“Are you going to, like... date him?”
What kind of question was that. I stared at him, then let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“That’s... cute.”
“I’m being serious.” ƒrēewebnovel.com
“Seowon, I do think things through.”
“......”
“I don’t date. Whether it’s Do Yehyun or anyone else... at least not until the talk of apocalypse is gone.”
Even beyond that, I wasn’t interested in dating right now.
“Does he know that?”
“Yeah.”
At my answer, Seowon looked away, as if turning something over, then nodded slowly. So he’d decided to accept it on his own.
“And you know this.”
“Know what?”
“If I say the wrong thing once, we’ve got blood exploding everywhere. In that situation, should I be prioritizing anything else?”
If Im Haekyung could remove the penalty, the story might change, but until then, I still had to live with the risk strapped to my body.
'Not that removing it is even certain to begin with.'
Seowon twitched, like he’d gotten what I meant.
“Anything else to say?”
“......”
“Then... good night, Seowon.”
With that, I stepped away.
When I entered Do Yehyun’s room, his promise to be quick hadn’t been a lie—he’d already showered and changed.
“You really did wash fast.”
“I washed thoroughly.”
“Good. Not drying your hair? I don’t like wet pillows.”
“I’ll dry it now.”
He got up without fuss and headed back to the bathroom. After a brief clatter, the dryer whirred to life.
Meanwhile, I started looking around his room. I rarely came in, and even when I did, it was just for a short chat, so I hadn’t had much time to really take stock.
The decor hadn’t changed since I first rearranged it, and there were hardly any new things. If anything had changed, it was that the shelves were now packed tight with potions and items.
'Shelves full of items instead of books...'
I clicked my tongue and inspected the artifacts one by one, when the dryer cut off and the bathroom door clicked open.
“What are you looking at?”
“Your shelf’s got no books—just crammed with items.”
“...Why would I need books?”
I stared at him for a second while he talked nonsense, then tossed it out casually:
“You should study for the GED later.”
“Huh?”
Even if the world goes to hell, you do what you can. I set the artifact back on the shelf, and he offered a hesitant defense:
“...I actually studied pretty well in high school.”
“That’ll make it easier. Want to take it this year?”
“......”
The human brain is dumber than people think—give it a little time and it forgets everything. I looked at him and chuckled, already knowing what he was going to say even without an answer.
“I’ll teach you the hard parts.”
“Were you good at studying?”
“Yeah.”
I worked hard back then. The environment made it worth it, too. The college I busted my ass to get into had vanished by the time I got here, but still.
But he just stood there with a towel, staring at me blankly, and asked again:
“Were you... good at studying?”
What is he on about?
“Why are you asking like you don’t believe me? Don’t I look like the type who’d be good at it?”
“......”
Even in school, no one had ever told me I looked like a bad student. Hearing this now was absurd.
“It’s not that you seem like you’d be bad... it’s just weird hearing you say you were good.”
“Yeah? I was a model student.”
“A model student?”
“Yep.”
I’d gotten into a few fights, but I generally listened to the teachers. Well, that was years ago.
I left him standing there, fiddling with the towel, and turned off the light.
“Shall we sleep now?”
He still didn’t answer and just stood there like a post, so I left him where he was, strode to the bed, and lay down first.
'Good thing I bought a big bed from the start.'
I flipped the covers back and motioned him over, and only then did he shuffle awkwardly under the blanket.
“What? Awkward?”
“...Yeah.”
What the hell? He’s the one who asked me to stay.
He fidgeted, rustling the covers like he was painfully self-conscious. We weren’t pressed together, but close enough that every time he moved, a clean soapy scent drifted ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) over.
“Yehyun. You smell good.”
“I just... showered.”
“I know.”
Still lying stiff, he answered in a voice that threatened to crack.
“You... smell good too.”
Mm. Fine when I say it—pretty gross hearing it from someone else.
I ignored him, grabbed his clothes, and yanked him closer.
“Ah—wait!”
“What?”
The reaction was a bit much. Watching him tremble, I snorted.
“You’re the one who said I should stay.”
“Just... give me a second. You’re too close.”
“Uncomfortable? Then I’ll go.”
“No! Please stay.”
He’d given me his bed and was whining about the distance—what was I supposed to do with that?
Since we hadn’t drawn the curtains, even with the light off, his expression was clear as day. His eyes wouldn’t settle anywhere, skittering around.
Watching those spinning pupils, I suddenly wondered: if we weren’t going to do anything, why did he want me to stay?
I asked, now that I’d moved a little closer than before:
“What changes from us sleeping together?”
We weren’t having sex; we were just going to lie still and close our eyes. Is there some special feeling in that alone?
He hesitated, then gave a bizarre answer.
“No. ...I just want to watch you sleep.”
“Why do you make it sound perverted?”
“It’s not... like that.”
“Sure it isn’t.”
I chuckled low at the very pervy answer, and his brows twitched in annoyance.
I stopped laughing, turned toward him, and brought it up.
“Ah.”
“...Yes?”
“Seowon knows you like me.”
I’d just been talking about this with him. Since Seowon knew that much, it was only fair to give Yehyun the same level of info.
He was quiet for a beat, then asked back:
“...Seowon?”
“Yeah.”
“I... don’t care if he knows.”
Right, Seowon isn’t exactly in a position to nag him. He’ll go after me instead—the truly innocent, virtuous one.
'Isn’t it about time those two got closer?'
We’d been living together for months, but the two of them barely spoke—just trivial stuff about meals or chores.
'That’s on Do Yehyun.'
Given their respective social skills, odds were high that if there was a problem, it originated with him.
'Not that I care whether they get close or not.'
Besides, they held different pieces of information; if they suddenly found common ground and bonded, that would actually be a loss for me.
I looked at him quietly, organizing my thoughts.
At first he met my eyes, but the longer it went on, the more he subtly looked elsewhere. Not far away—just shifting to my brow or my nose.
It wasn’t bright enough to distinguish skin tone, but I could tell his face was faintly flushed. Brazen as he was, he still embarrassed easily.
Lowering my voice like I was sharing a secret, I whispered:
“Want me to hold you? If you asked me to stay, you must want something.”
“...Don’t tease me.”
“Why do you keep calling it teasing? I meant it.”
I didn’t dispute that he was a naive kid, but that didn’t mean I thought he was naive in every direction.
'Be serious. Does that make any sense?'
If a twenty-one-year-old didn’t know that, we had a serious problem—and that wasn’t the case.
I curled a playful smile at him.
“Or something else?”
