29
* * *
Doun was silently looking at the scenery passing by outside the window.
After the magic stone harvesting was finished in the tower. With a somewhat awkward atmosphere, they promised the guild members they’d tackle the postponed 47th floor in a few days. And after pushing through the crowded masses near the tower and coming to his senses, he found himself in the passenger seat of Samin’s car, which had become quite familiar.
‘How did I end up going to my house with this guy?’
He had definitely only intended to explain well why he joined this guild and talk about how he didn’t want to be excluded from combat.
“Hyung. Please register my car for apartment visitor parking in advance.”
“…Yeah. What’s the license plate number?”
When Doun asked while touching his phone, Samin tapped the steering wheel with his index finger and recited the car number.
“What time will you stay until before leaving?”
“Just in case, could you set it until tomorrow? Our conversation might run long. You don’t want to worry about my car either, hyung. And someone I know said the parking violation stickers at the apartment where hyung lives totally don’t come off.”
“…Got it for now.”
After some hesitation, Doun set the visitor vehicle validity date until midnight tomorrow. Like Samin said, it would be troublesome if he set it too short and their conversation ran long.
Besides, even to his eyes that weren’t interested in cars, Samin’s car looked very expensive. He didn’t want hard-to-remove parking violation stickers stuck to the windshield of such a car. After all, this was his first guest visiting his home, so he couldn’t send him off with something like that stuck to his car.
[Visitor vehicle registration has been completed.]
The content that appeared in the notification felt strangely unfamiliar. Visitor vehicle. Who would have thought the day would come when he’d input a car number other than the cleaning service helper vehicle he called periodically.
“I registered it.”
“Yes.”
After that, Samin’s car, which had been driving on the road a bit longer, smoothly entered the apartment complex where Doun lived. Watching the barrier rise smoothly since the visitor registration had been completed in advance, Samin muttered.
“…I can’t believe it.”
“What?”
When Doun asked back, he glanced at the passenger seat and shook his head.
“Something like that.”
“…What is it?”
“Just a kind of stupid thought.”
It was a subtle line-drawing. Doun didn’t bother to probe further either. He just had the passing impression that this crazy guy must be busy having stupid thoughts.
The atmosphere between the two walking through the complex after parking the car was just mysterious. It was still summer night air with no signs of cooling down.
‘Something feels strange.’
This was a place he always walked alone, forcing himself to take walks. The fact that he was walking in a place he always went alone together with Samin felt awkward.
“Is the apartment in hyung’s name?”
“…Yeah.”
“Wow. How much are the maintenance fees here?”
“I don’t really know since I have it on automatic transfer.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
Samin raised his eyebrows and surveyed the apartment’s exterior. Seeing how the exterior and landscaping were decorated flashily, it seemed that even that piece of trash Timer had skimmed off Doun’s share of magic stones moderately without it being too obvious. Because a few billion wouldn’t even come close to buying this level of apartment in one’s own name.
While Doun, who had reached the main entrance, was entering the password, Samin stood behind him and checked the password. Due to their considerable height difference and Doun pressing without much wariness, the completely exposed password was boringly simple.
‘…1234? Is he kidding? That’s totally similar to our house door lock password!’
Samin began to feel his chest swell with emotion over this trivial coincidence. It was probably just a common main entrance password set as default, but strangely, thinking it was related to Lee Doun made all these coincidences seem like fate, like a connection made by heaven.
‘Why is the back of his head so round too… Haa…’
The spirited steps of walking ahead since it was his own home were cute, and the way he glanced back once to check if he was following properly was also cute. Could a man who seemed to be around 175cm tall be allowed to look this cute?
Actually, the man before his eyes was in an unreachable, distant realm no matter how hard he tried.
“…Aren’t you getting on?”
While walking and staring only at the back of Doun’s head, before he knew it they were at the elevator. Doun was even already inside.
“Ah. I should go. We need to have a serious conversation.”
“…Right.”
When Samin shrugged his shoulders and got on the elevator, Doun pressed the button with an indifferent expression. Samin pretended to look elsewhere while slyly memorizing the number the white fingertips reached.
‘He lives on the 29th floor. Our hyung does.’
Considering the total number of floors in this apartment, it was what was called the royal floor. How did his idol manage apartment purchases so shrewdly too? Samin calmed his overwhelming heart while fidgeting with his hands in the elevator.
“Um, hyung.”
“What.”
“If we’re going to talk seriously, shouldn’t we talk while drinking something?”
“…There’s nothing to drink at my house.”
Doun felt slightly regretful. Though he had said in a fit of anger to come to his house, he couldn’t hide the feeling that he had somehow been caught up in Samin’s schemes.
Even though he had invited him to his house as a counter-proposal to take the initiative, Samin just kept grinning happily for some reason, and had personally driven him all the way here. He even hummed during traffic light waits. Kyung Samin was definitely a uniquely crazy bastard that was impossible to understand.
“Then please order coffee or something for delivery. It’s about time hyung bought me something once.”
“…Mm. Got it.”
It did seem much better to Doun’s mind to drink something rather than just having a conversation with only a glass of water in front of them. Since he was the one who first suggested coming to his house, he had no choice but to take responsibility. Doun nodded and got off at the 29th floor where the elevator had stopped.
When Doun arrived in front of his door with familiar steps and was about to enter the door lock password, he felt a presence behind him. A strangely rough breathing sound was coming from behind him.
It was close enough that he could clearly feel the sensation of breath touching and falling away from the nape of his neck. When he quickly turned around with a suspicious feeling, sure enough, there stood the crazy guy staring intently at the door lock password section.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“…What do you mean what am I doing? I’m waiting for hyung to open the door.”
“No, why are you staring at someone else’s house password?”
“I’m just looking because I can see it.”
Samin blinked his eyes disgustingly and shrugged as if he didn’t understand.
‘This is really ridiculous.’
Doun pushed away Samin, who was standing close behind him, with his elbow and desperately covered the door lock password input section with his body.
“Geez, what are you covering again? Between us.”
“What’s between you and me?”
“…”
Samin’s mouth, which had been chattering away, snapped shut.
‘Between hyung and me…’
To say guild master and guild member, he didn’t like it because it reminded him of that Timer bastard who deserved to be ground up and fed to dogs. But to say they were just hyung-dongsaeng acquaintances seemed to lack too much familiarity.
In the end, Samin couldn’t answer easily and just pouted his lips.
“What’s hyung’s house password? I told you my bank account password and our house password before. I’m not asking you to tell me your bank account password, isn’t this being too formal?”
“You’re talking nonsense about being formal. Hey. You need to speak properly. You told me that on your own. When did I ask you to tell me?”
Doun’s eyes widened. He had to stay sharp to avoid being fooled by that crazy guy’s speech patterns. Because he usually confused people with ridiculous nonsense, looking back later, there had been more than a few times when he’d been played exactly as Samin wanted.
“Don’t look. It’s called a password because it’s secret, so why are you staring?”
When Doun forcibly created a gap and quickly entered the password, the sound of the lock being released was heard.
“Tch.”
Hearing the small tongue-clicking sound, it seemed he really had intended to blatantly steal the password. Belatedly, Doun recalled the actions this guy had committed before becoming his guild master.
‘To think I’d invite a guy who used to stalk into my house.’
Doun opened the door while pondering how things had gotten so twisted.
“Come in for now.”
“Yes.”
When Doun stepped aside slightly, Samin quickly entered inside, worried the front door might close in front of him. With the sound of the door closing and the lock turning, the inside of the house was enveloped in silence.
As Doun walked a few steps past the shoe cabinet to change into slippers, a cool cologne scent wafted over. Feeling warm body heat from his back, he turned his head slightly and immediately saw Samin’s face.
“Doun hyung.”
“What.”
“Let me ask you just one thing.”
“What is it?”
It was when Doun tilted his head slightly with a puzzled look. Samin, who had been standing one step behind, slowly bent his upper body and stared intently at Doun’s face. Doun unconsciously held his breath while looking at the handsome face that had come right up to his nose.
Blink, blink. As Samin stared at the pupils revealed each time Doun reflexively blinked, his eyebrows twitched and he muttered.
“Don’t you know you shouldn’t carelessly bring grown men home this late at night?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
