# 40
“Thanks, Cha Ki-young.”
“Well, this much is only natural.”
“But, could you check something for me? Whether my father was adopted.”
“Your father was adopted?”
“…I think he might have been. Could you please check?”
Cha Ki-young looked at Jin-ha strangely but soon nodded.
“Alright. You mean there’s a possibility your father’s American identity was fabricated? I’ll have someone look into it.”
“But aren’t you making Seok-ho work too hard?”
“He has a lot to pay back to me, so I can use him a bit. I’m paying him well too.”
“I’ll report you to the Labor Department if you go too far.”
“No, I’m telling you he said he’d pay me back with his body?”
“…You don’t mean…”
When Jin-ha narrowed his eyes, Cha Ki-young was horrified.
“Are you crazy? That would never happen unless I completely lost my mind.”
“…I believe you.”
“Is that the attitude of someone who believes me?”
“I said I believe you.”
“Fine, I get it.”
Though he grumbled as if offended, a smile seeped into Cha Ki-young’s lips. Jin-ha making jokes meant he had some peace of mind, which was a positive sign.
After being obsessed with work for a while, Cha Ki-young had thought things would get worse when Jin-ha got caught up in the annoying interdimensional portal business, but apparently life in the other world wasn’t so bad.
That “Master” person seemed to be the same. Though it seemed like a relationship that hadn’t started well, Jin-ha didn’t seem to dislike him that much. The Jin-ha that Cha Ki-young knew never approached others first. Rather, if someone took one step toward him, he would step back three. To get close to such a Jin-ha, one had to unilaterally approach about forty steps without being shaken by Jin-ha’s expressionlessness and rejection. In that sense, this “Master” seemed like a fairly good match.
Cha Ki-young tapped the steering wheel with his fingertips and asked.
“Why don’t you try having some fun this time?”
“…What?”
Jin-ha’s voice sank coldly. Cha Ki-young continued undeterred. To reiterate, a certain degree of tactlessness was just right when approaching Jin-ha.
“From what I can see, he’s doing all this because he likes you. It’s a bit annoying that a full-grown adult is acting like a child, but still, wouldn’t it be okay to play along for a bit?”
“What nonsense.”
“Think about it. You have to engage in a pseudo-romance with that kid anyway. Whether it’s attachment issues or whatever, he keeps asking you to touch him, right?”
“He doesn’t ask me to touch him…!”
“That’s basically what it is. He won’t eat a chocolate bar unless you feed him, he clung to you in the forest, and he deliberately tried to get hurt to get your attention, didn’t he?”
Cha Ki-young glanced at Jin-ha, who was at a loss for words, and grinned.
His explanation was a bit dramatic compared to what he’d been told, but if it had been completely different, Jin-ha wouldn’t have been flustered. The fact that he couldn’t say anything meant Jin-ha had been thinking about it to some extent.
Cha Ki-young continued excitedly.
“You can’t stop unless he gives up, right? So instead of just taking it, why don’t you play with him too? Think about it, in a way, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for deviation in your life. Don’t you think?”
“No, I don’t.”
“No, I’m telling you it is! Above all, if you play with this other-world nobleman, no evidence remains on this side? It’s like a clean toy with no evidence. Wow, if it were me, I would have slept with him already.”
“You promiscuous bastard.”
Jin-ha just turned his head away.
Come to think of it, Cha Ki-young was quite the trash himself. That is, when it came to relationship issues. He was promiscuous and slept around with just about anyone. Yet he was quite popular too.
Why on earth was this idiot so popular?
“This is a good chance to learn about casual dating. How about something like a contract relationship? Just date for about three months inside the portal. Have sex or don’t, up to you.”
“Just stop…”
Jin-ha rubbed his forehead as if tired. Normally, he would have told him to shut up, but now he couldn’t bring himself to do so. That was because what Cha Ki-young was saying somewhat penetrated the relationship between him and Riyekan that Jin-ha hadn’t mentioned.
Jin-ha had to stroke Riyekan until he made pleased cat-like sounds and went limp. At the same time, he had to engage in activities that Seo Ji-seop had described as date-like. This clearly fell within the realm of a contract, and in some ways, it did seem like “playing.” The more-than-average intimate contact and consistent meetings certainly looked like dating.
“And you too. You’re good at ignoring and disregarding people who annoy you from the start. If you really disliked him, why would you care so much?”
“I told you. When I try to ignore him moderately, he picks a fight.”
“But you used to be good at doing that without showing it.”
“Enough. Let’s stop talking about this.”
That insolent man was displeased whenever Jin-ha tried to build walls and arm himself with politeness.
‘Don’t ever act that way in front of me again.’
The eccentricity of a genius mage. A habit of obsession.
He seemed to detest Jin-ha’s pretense.
So to step back, Jin-ha had no choice but to reveal his innermost thoughts—that he might mistakenly develop feelings. That’s how he received permission to build a fence between them.
The fence was very low.
Every time he caressed Riyekan, Jin-ha was overcome with the feeling of holding hands across a fence. Yet Jin-ha couldn’t help but be grateful for that imperfect isolation.
By mutually agreeing to build a fence, Riyekan became conscious of him as a person, not an object that could be hugged at will for three months and ten days like a rock or a sheep.
It was fortunate.
Jin-ha did not want any progression in this relationship. He had no intention of being a fool who stepped onto a cliff where he could gain nothing.
“…”
Cha Ki-young looked at Jin-ha with a suspicious gaze before pressing the accelerator.
* * *
As soon as they entered the jewelry store after parking the car, a clerk approached to greet them.
“Welcome, Mr. Cha Ki-young.”
“Hi. Today I’m looking for something quite substantial.”
“Is it a gift for your mother?”
“No, my friend is… going to give it to his trashy almost-boyfriend.”
Jin-ha, who had been following quietly, smacked the back of Cha Ki-young’s head. There was a limit to pranks.
“That hurts!”
“Cut it out.”
“Ugh… could you hit more gently…”
The clerk, who had been watching the scene with an expression close to shock, quickly hid their expression.
“Anyway, show me mainly large ones. Oh, rings.”
“Understood. I’ll guide you to the guest room first, Mr. Cha Ki-young.”
The jewelry display cases were filled with sparkling jewels. From heavy and luxurious necklaces that could be worn with royal dresses to relatively simple but expensive-looking rings and bracelets with delicate craftsmanship.
Passing through those sparkling display cases to the guided location, they came to a room decorated with dark wood and deep green.
“Please wait a moment.”
As soon as they were alone, Jin-ha confronted Cha Ki-young.
“What money do you have to frequent places like this?”
“What? I’m my mother’s son, Jin-ha.”
“You’re wasting your mother’s money like this?”
“No, I earn well too! I bought my mom’s gifts with money I earned myself!”
“Money earned from your errand service?”
“Ah, no! It’s not an errand service! It’s a detective agency!”
“Same difference.”
Jin-ha clicked his tongue with a disapproving expression. The way Cha Ki-young was flustered and avoiding his gaze was suspicious. Could he really earn enough from an errand service or detective agency to buy jewelry from a place like this?
“And this place isn’t somewhere you need a lot of money to visit. The owner here also exchanges items if the value of the jewelry and the item match.”
“That sounds even more dangerous.”
It meant Cha Ki-young had obtained items that matched the value of the jewelry. Surely he wouldn’t have offered some random rock, so he must have taken on some risks…
Jin-ha pressed sharply.
“You, quit that job.”
“What? No way. I’m good at my job, Jin-ha.”
“Being good means getting caught by the police?”
Cha Ki-young pretended to be wronged and made a sad face.
“That was because your deputy director is such a vile bastard…”
“If you don’t quit, I’ll tell your mother.”
“Mrs. Cha already knows.”
“…She knows?”
“Yes. She was a bit angry at first, but after entrusting me with a few requests, she doesn’t care anymore. I’m really doing well, I’m telling you. I rarely do dangerous jobs.”
Jin-ha, who couldn’t find any trust in the statement that he “rarely” rather than “never” did dangerous jobs, looked irritably at his pathetic friend.
But if Mrs. Cha had given permission, it wasn’t an issue for Jin-ha to be overly sensitive about. Mrs. Cha was affectionate when affectionate, but sometimes showed surprisingly cold aspects, and she loved Cha Ki-young very much. Perhaps there were eyes watching over him.
Jin-ha sighed deeply and shook his head. Recognizing that this meant he wouldn’t add anything more, Cha Ki-young’s expression brightened. Afraid that the fire might flare up again, he quickly changed the subject.
“I saw a rather large ruby bracelet that looked quite nice when we came in. It might be good to buy that and ask them to make it into a ring.”
“Sure.”
“Anyway, I’ll pick out a nice ring for you. Take it, put it on that kid’s finger, and just smile without saying anything. Let him infer the meaning on his own. And if he picks a fight asking why you’re smiling, insist that you weren’t smiling. Keep denying it no matter how much he persists.”
Just as Jin-ha was reaching his limit in ignoring the nonsense appropriately, the clerk entered the room carrying an entire display case of rings.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
