Chapter 64
But the man’s reaction was different from what he expected.
“Really? Do you absolutely have to sleep in a room?”
His voice carried worry as if it were a very serious matter. Seo Won hesitated in bewilderment and awkwardly shook his head.
“It’s not that serious… it’s just that in a place like this.”
“Is it because of safety?”
“Huh? Yeah. Something like that. When you fall asleep, you become defenseless. How can you sleep when you don’t know what might happen?”
He was a bit flustered since he didn’t expect to be questioned so thoroughly. This is why lying should be done by people who’ve practiced it – it really didn’t suit him.
Fortunately, the man didn’t seem to notice the subtle awkwardness. As Seo Won was quietly relieved inside, the man stood up from his seat and asked.
“Then would you like to come sleep in my room?”
“…Huh?”
“I can’t get you an empty room, but I can invite you to my room.”
Seo Won blankly looked up at the man who was at least a head taller than him. He never expected him to invite them to his house. No matter how kind someone was, to bring strangers – two of them at that – into their home. Wouldn’t people normally be wary?
All the people they had passed while coming here had only looked at them from a distance. They had openly avoided them and hadn’t spoken a single word. They looked as if they were worried they’d catch a disease just from talking.
But this man was different. For some reason he didn’t understand, the man pitied him.
Was he naive? Or did he have no sense of safety? In some ways it wasn’t a bad proposal, but he couldn’t just be happy about the kindness. Setting everything else aside, he couldn’t openly do that in someone else’s house.
Seo Won glanced at his wrist that was still being held and slowly pushed the man’s hand away.
“Thank you, but I’ll pass.”
“Why? It would be better than here, wouldn’t it?”
“I’d feel bad about being a burden, and also… I don’t think my companion would like it.”
The man tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. Seo Won understood that feeling well, but it would be better for him not to know. Seo Won just smiled awkwardly.
“Well, then there’s nothing we can do. But if it gets really difficult, try talking to the supervisor again. There’s nothing good about fighting each other.”
“Yeah, I should.”
“I’ll also look into whether I can get you a room.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, but don’t expect too much. Unless you’re an administrator or supervisor, it’s not easy to get one.”
Seo Won nodded vigorously.
“Just that alone is enough to be grateful for.”
“Is that so?”
Looking at the man who seemed puzzled about why he was grateful for such a small thing, Seo Won shook his head slightly. There were people like this too, it seemed like there were escape routes everywhere.
“Well, I’m going first. It’s almost lights-out time.”
The man waved his hand like greeting a friend and turned around. However, Seo Won was startled and grabbed the man.
“Huh? The lights go out?”
“Yeah. They normally turn off all the lights when night comes.”
“Really? Everyone goes in to sleep?”
“You can’t see when the lights are off, so everyone goes home during lights-out time.”
“How much time is left now?”
“About 30 minutes?”
It seemed like each shelter really did have different living habits.
At Yeongdeungpo Station, they turned on the lights at night, but at Gangnam Station, they seemed to turn on the lights during the day instead. Rather than keeping them on all day underground, they seemed to live by distinguishing day and night, designating time for activity and time for sleep.
But when did it become night? It would be troublesome if the lights went out already…
Seo Won anxiously stared at the brightly shining lights.
“Or would you like to come sleep at my place?”
Seeing how pitiful Seo Won looked, the man asked. Seo Won frantically waved his hands.
“No, it’s okay. Sorry for holding you up. Go in quickly.”
“Will you be alright?”
“Yeah, yeah. My companion will be back soon, so it’s fine.”
“Alright then.”
Only then did the man turn around and start walking. Seo Won watched the man’s retreating figure and suddenly realized he didn’t know his name. It was almost embarrassing considering how intimately they had been talking.
“Hey!”
When he called out to the man who was just about to turn the corner, he stopped walking and looked back. Seo Won asked the puzzled man.
“What’s your name?”
Then the man pointed to himself with his finger. As if asking whether Seo Won was asking for his name. Seo Won nodded, saying that was right. Then the man smiled lightly and said.
“You can call me Jody.”
“I’m Yoon Seo Won. See you later, Jody!”
To Seo Won who was waving goodbye, Jody also waved back. Having exchanged names, it felt like they had become a bit closer.
Jody smiled warmly with his eyes forming long crescents and disappeared beyond the corner. After that, even the people who occasionally passed by were no longer visible.
Seo Won sat back on the bench and stared in the direction where Baek Rak had disappeared.
“He wouldn’t find one right away, would he?”
Finding a fire-type hunter was important and urgent, but it would be troublesome if he found one right away. He hoped Baek Rak would find one only after they secured a room…
He waited for Baek Rak, praying earnestly that his wish would reach him.
As time passed, the lights went out and darkness arrived. In the space where shadows had disappeared and only shapes remained, he was just rolling his eyes when he saw a familiar silhouette in the distance. It was Baek Rak.
He was walking slowly while rubbing his brow. Looking closely, his expression didn’t look very good.
‘Looks like he didn’t find anyone?’
He felt sorry for Baek Rak, but relief came first. He quietly let out a sigh of relief inside.
Baek Rak, who had approached nearby, sat on the bench keeping a certain distance from him. While Seo Won was wondering whether he should greet him asking how his search went, Baek Rak immediately closed his eyes.
“……”
After silently looking at Baek Rak, he decided to leave him alone for now and turned his head. Not just Baek Rak, but he himself wasn’t quite ready to start a conversation either.
The silence lasted longer than expected.
He didn’t know how much time had passed. Baek Rak sat on the bench with his eyes closed without moving, as if sleeping. Seo Won’s worrying continued for just as long.
How to break the ice.
He wanted to talk things through without fighting if possible, but seeing how Baek Rak was treating him, it didn’t seem like it would be easy. Earlier too, he could have said at least a word about coming back or not finding anyone, but hadn’t he just closed his eyes without saying anything?
Should he say it was just like him to have no easy aspects? The tightly closed door looked particularly solid.
‘Rather than having an emotional conversation, it would be better to start with the problems that need to be solved, right?’
It seemed like starting with questions that were easy to answer would naturally lead to conversation.
“Baek Rak.”
He called out to him in the quiet where no sound could be heard. Baek Rak responded with his eyes still closed.
“What.”
“We have one more problem.”
Perhaps because it was an answer he couldn’t ignore, Baek Rak slowly began to open his eyes. His gaze that had been staring straight ahead smoothly moved toward Seo Won.
“Problem?”
“Yeah, a problem. It’s as important as finding a fire-type hunter.”
“What is it?”
Their eyes met. Seo Won folded up one leg and completely turned his body toward Baek Rak. Then he slowly leaned toward him and said in a small voice.
“We need a room where we can sleep.”
“…What?”
“A room, I mean a room.”
A tiny crack appeared in Baek Rak’s expressionless face. It was a face asking what he was suddenly talking about. However, Seo Won continued with a serious expression.
“After you bring the power, I have to awaken right away.”
“……”
“But if there’s no room, we’d have to do it outside.”
Only then did the puzzlement disappear from Baek Rak’s face.
“You’re not thinking of doing it in front of people, are you?”
“……”
“Unless you’re a pervert, surely not.”
Baek Rak narrowed his eyes and looked Seo Won up and down. It was a serious face without a trace of playfulness.
“When morning comes, should I go to the supervisor and ask for just one room? Saying that it’s not right to make guests who came to the shelter sleep outside like this. Ah… would that sound too demanding? I don’t want to create more friction here.”
“What does it matter? They’re people we’ll only see once anyway.”
“…What, huh?”
At Baek Rak’s reaction, Seo Won doubted his own ears.
Did he just hear something strange? It was impossible. There was no way Baek Rak would say something like that.
But reality was reality.
“What, what did you say?”
“I don’t care, so don’t bother reading the room unnecessarily.”
“Does… does that make sense?”
“Is there a problem? This isn’t Yeongdeungpo Station.”
“Of course there’s a problem! Do you have some weird fetish? Last time too, you were talking about doing it outside with Haru…”
“I don’t particularly have any fetishes.”
Seo Won let out a deflated sigh of helplessness. Baek Rak really seemed to not care at all. He felt like they might really end up doing the deed outside. Baek Rak was someone who would do it if he said he would.
“I! I’ll find one, so please don’t think weird thoughts, okay?”
“Find what?”
“A room, a room! A room where the two of us can be! I’ll definitely find one no matter what.”
“You’re going to wander around alone?”
“The person who has nothing to do should move around, right? You said it’s not dangerous here, right? So I’ll look for one.”
Baek Rak seemed irritated by his words as his face hardened stiffly. Sure enough, his gaze toward Seo Won turned cold.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
