Kim Woo-jin, who was kicked out of my room by Cheon Sa-yeon's order, had a very depressed face. The room he was assigned to was not the next room or on the same floor, but the room at the end of the hallway on the 24th floor.
The interior of the rooms was all the same, but because the building was so big, the distance from the end of the 24th floor to my room was quite far.
"I don't want to go…"
Kim Woo-jin, who packed the luggage he brought from home, looked at me with droopy eyes. He looked like a cat that had been forcibly kicked out of the box he liked and looked so wronged and miserable.
"You still have to go."
Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do for him. The guild owner was Cheon Sa-yeon and the owner of the building was also Cheon Sa-yeon. As long as he lived in the guild, he was in the position to make the decision.
"I'm going then…" Kim Woo-jin, who was slowly looking into my eyes, asked with an unsure voice, "Can I come see you again?"
You'd come even if I said no.
"Whatever."
"Mmh."
As soon as I allowed it, Kim Woo-jin's face brightened in relief.
Perhaps because he was thinking of coming to play next time, he did not insist on not going and quietly followed the attendant.
'It'll be quiet for a while.'
To be honest, I didn't feel sorry because there was no difference whether there was Kim Woo-jin or not. I closed the door and returned to my room then lay on the sofa.
I closed my eyes and a peaceful stillness came to me. In that state, I calmly organized my thoughts.
It was a relief that I was able to deliver the SS-class coat, which was one of my important plans, to Ha Tae-heon safely. Although, it seemed that another problem had arisen in the process.
It was also important to find out Han Yi-gyeol's past or Cheon Sa-yeon's plan, but the urgent thing now was the gate.
I needed to solve the gate quickly, so there would be no problems with my future plans.
'Let's check the gate first. Then meet Ha Tae-heon… Oh, come to think of it, I need to see Park Geon-ho as well.'
Why the hell do I have so much work to do? It wasn't easy to get along with people I couldn't handle like this.
Knock, knock!
As I was enjoying my leisure time, I heard a knock on the door.
Ah, how annoying. When I got up and opened the door, Kim Woo-jin, who had left earlier, was standing there.
"What."
When I looked at him from speechlessness, Kim Woo-jin proudly said nonsense. "You said I can come to see you."
This kid…
"Hasn't it been less than 30 minutes since you left?"
"There's nothing to do in my room."
"Do you own my room?"
Kim Woo-jin slumped his shoulders again as I stood in the way of the entrance.
So what do you want? I stared at him without paying any attention, even his pointy eyes drooped and he began to murmur. "You said I could come. You cheated me."
Oh my God.
"You cheating bastard… Be honest with me. You hate me, don't you? That's why you keep your distance…"
"Haah."
Why don't you write novels. You should write novels*. You're not even an elementary school student, so why would you say that?
I let out a deep sigh and turned away.
"I'll let you in, so don't go anywhere and say that…"
"Mh."
Kim Woo-jin entered the room and went to the kitchen with a smile. Did you like it that much?
"Why go to the refrigerator?"
"We should eat dinner."
"Isn't it five o'clock now?"
"Then snacks?"
Did you get possessed by a ghost around food or something? Lying on the sofa like an uncle on a holiday, I said, "Forget it. I'm not going to eat."
"No, you have to eat. You're too skinny."
Mh. I agreed with that.
Han Yi-gyeol's body was thin and weak. Even though I wasn't the type to eat much, even I thought I was getting thinner than before.
Should I try to exercise anyway? Even if nothing happened, there was nothing wrong with diet and exercise.
Since I had a strong weapon called an ability, my physical state was a little wretched. Anyway, there wasn't much that needed to be fought in close combat.
"Look at this. You barely have any ankles."
Kim Woo-jin, who was sitting on the sofa like me, grabbed my ankle. Startled by the sensation of being touched where I didn't think I'd be touched, I looked down.
Kim Woo-jin's hand completely wrapped around my ankle. That was how big his hands were.
'Is this revenge?'
Like the since you touched my ankle while taping it, I'll do the same to you sort of revenge.
"Even if I eat a bit more, my ankles and wrists stay thin."
"Still."
Kim Woo-jin lowered his gaze and looked at my legs. His hand, which had been wrapped around my ankle, gradually moved upward. The hand reached into my pants and gently caressed my calf.
"Would you like a massage?"
I guess it wasn't revenge. It was just pure favour.
"…do you know how to?"
That was suspicious. Kim Woo-jin nodded his head and pulled my body slightly.
"No, wait…"
The hand on the underside of my calf began to gently caress my skin. His hand, which had been stroking my calf several times, went straight up and pressed the back of my knee firmly. My legs trembled reflexively.
"Hey, stop it."
His long fingers slowly moved toward my thighs. My loose pants were already up to my knees, revealing pure white calves. I frowned at a strange sensation for a simple massage.
Kim Woo-jin's hand, stroking my half-open calf, passed my ankle and wrapped around under my ankle bone. As one of my legs was draped over Kim Woo-jin's shoulder, my position became so strange that it was hard to explain in words.
"…Kim Woo-jin." I called out Kim Woo-jin, who was completely focused on the other leg.
"Let go before I kick you."
"..."
Kim Woo-jin was in conflict for a while and slowly released my ankle.
Come to think of it, Kim Woo-jin had already been kicked once. It must have been quite painful because I kicked him hard, but I think he remembered the pain.
"I haven't done the other side yet."
"I don't need you to."
Kim Woo-jin, who had a regretful expression on his face, pushed my foot to the other side and got up. This guy didn't even let others lie down.
Were you bored? I'd heard that cats and dogs bothered their owners when they were bored. I thought it would be better to make him do something else.
"Kim Woo-jin, go and cook. Just eat quickly and clean up."
"..."
Upon hearing my words, Kim Woo-jin's expression was not very good. He turned his head away from me with a cold face. Was this not the right answer?
"No… If you don't want to, then don't."
"I will. You have to be fed."
I wasn't going to starve if you didn't cook. There was an option to order food.
But before I could stop him, Kim Woo-jin slipped into the kitchen. I didn't know what to do.
Kim Woo-jin, who was sulking while preparing food, quickly blushed and grinned when I complimented him several times that it was delicious. He was such a simple man.
* * *
"Hey."
It had been peaceful since then. I spent time reading the gate data I received from Cheon Sa-yeon or watching TV, and Kim Woo-jin was by my side no matter what he did. Everything was fine until then. It was okay.
"Aren't you going?"
Kim Woo-jin did not think of going back to his room after 11 pm and almost 12 o'clock in the evening. He pouted his lips as if he was offended by my words again.
"Do you want me to go back?"
"Oh," I said while turning off the TV with the remote control. "Go and sleep. I'm going to sleep now."
"I want to sleep here."
He was saying something weird again.
"Why are you sleeping here when you have a good bed in your room?"
"It's okay because the sofa is big."
"Don't talk nonsense and get out."
"Just for today!"
Kim Woo-jin shouted as he grabbed the armrest of the sofa. I was thinking about using my abilities to kick him out, but he made a very sad expression as if I had done something wrong.
"I cooked for you! You said it was delicious. Are you going to use me as much as you can and then kick me out?"
"..."
I crossed my arms and sighed. Fine, do as you please.
"Okay, but starting tomorrow, don't be stubborn and go back to your room."
"Mh."
In the end, it was the same. Was there a point in having separate rooms, then?
However, despite my permission, Kim Woo-jin could not achieve what he wanted. After 12 o'clock, Cheon Sa-yeon's attendants came to my room and they dragged him away without a blink of an eye despite Kim Woo-jin's rebellion.
I quietly nodded when the attendant told me not to worry that they were just taking him to his room. Kim Woo-jin looked at me as if I was a traitor, but I couldn't help it. As I said before, the owner of this building was Cheon Sa-yeon.
* * *
As time passed by, the promised Thursday came and the attendant came to see me. After painstakingly removing Kim Woo-jin, who was acting like he was going to go too, I went down to the entrance of the guild building where Cheon Sa-yeon welcomed me.
"Long time no see, Han Yi-gyeol."
"I saw you last week."
What 'long time.' Cheon Sa-yeon opened the car door and said softly, "That's a shame to say. I've missed you every day."
"You must have been busy making plans for how you're going to work it out."
"You're sharp."
When I got into the car, Cheon Sa-yeon sat down next to me and closed the car door.
"Did you read the gate information?"
"To some extent."
"Ask me if you have any questions. I'll let you know with all of my heart."
"Thank you, but I will politely decline."
"Too bad."
The car moved. Cheon Sa-yeon, who had not spoken for a moment while looking out the window, looked back at me and said, "Han Yi-gyeol."
"What?"
"I think you and I have built up some trust, but what do you think?"
What was he saying now?
I asked with all of my heart, "Is that possible?"
"What can't be done? I understand that there are other issues that are hidden from each other, but isn't it different when it comes to gates? I think we could have a very good partnership."
"Cheon Sa-yeon." Not hiding my irritation, I asked sharply, "If it were you, would you trust a guy who grabbed your dead sister and threatened you? Wouldn't it be easier to trust a passing dog?"
As if surprised, Cheon Sa-yeon opened his eyes slightly wide and then tilted his head.
"That's unexpected. Do you care about that?"
"Well, obviously—"
"You and I would be the same in that regard," Cheon Sa-yeon said in a soft voice.
"Didn't you keep pretending not to know even after you knew that your sister was dead? To make use of it."
"..."
"So I decided to think that you don't really care about your sister's death. Am I wrong?"
It was then that I realized why he could offer cooperation so easily. Cheon Sa-yeon was making sure that I was not obsessed with my younger sister.
However, he suspected that I had changed from the moment I wanted an item that wasn't my sister in return, so it was a natural result.
"Cheon Sa-yeon."
However.
"That may be true."
Even so.
"But you're not in the position to say that, are you?"
For some reason, it was hard to hold back what I kept to my chest.
No, how could someone who just came to this world be the same as her real brother? Of course, it was true that I was a complete stranger to his sister, but at least I didn't talk about Han Yi-gyeol's younger sister recklessly.
"…I guess. I made a mistake."
He, who quietly listened to me, meekly admitted his mistake. With a subtle expression, Cheon Sa-yeon tapped on his knee and opened his mouth again after a moment of silence.
"So, what about the gate?"
"..."
"Aren't you going to be swayed by emotions in a situation like this? Do you need my help to figure out the gate problem?"
This guy and that guy were persistent. I sighed and answered, "Gate only."
Cheon Sa-yeon smiled contentedly as if he liked my answer.
There was nothing I could do. I had some responsibility for the gate… It was too good to refuse if I gave it to Cheon Sa-yeon, so I could quickly grasp the situation.
"Now that we're in a partnership, I'm sure you're ready to be bossed around, Master Cheon Sa-yeon."
"Sure. I am very much looking forward to it."