# Chapter 46
What happened next was remarkably smooth. It was as if they had rehearsed it. Lee Seungwoo showed no sign of embarrassment as he hailed a taxi, and when Ko Eungyo suggested they travel separately, he casually agreed. But then he stopped Ko Eungyo when he tried to catch another taxi.
“Since we’re going to the same hotel, there’s no need to take separate taxis from here, is there?”
Then he shamelessly mentioned the name of the hotel Ko Eungyo had booked. With an astonished look, Ko Eungyo stared at him and asked:
“What… Did you book the same hotel as me?”
He naturally expected Lee Seungwoo to deny it. If people had even the slightest conscience, that is.
But this shameless guy responded like this:
“It was quite a struggle to book suddenly. There really weren’t any vacant rooms, but fortunately it was a hotel with the suite room under construction.”
“…”
“The sea wind is so strong that a window broke, they said.”
“…”
“Since I’m an Esper, it doesn’t bother me, so I was lucky enough to get that room.”
This crazy bastard.
“Oh, we’ve arrived already.”
What strong sea wind? Ko Eungyo would bet his entire Korea University salary that the culprit who broke the hotel window was none other than Lee Seungwoo.
He couldn’t tell whether Lee Seungwoo’s thorough vacation preparation was funny, absurd, or so absurd that it made him laugh involuntarily. It was frustrating to think that he had secretly booked a plane ticket without knowing that Lee Seungwoo was watching him.
They each received their room key cards at the front desk. The suite room was on the 20th floor, while Ko Eungyo had booked a standard room on the 9th floor.
“Since our rooms are different anyway, I’ll carry my luggage myself. You don’t need to show this kind of consideration, Esper Lee Seungwoo.”
“Let me take you to your room.”
“Not necessary.”
When he deliberately spoke stiffly and grabbed his suitcase handle, Lee Seungwoo simply smiled and didn’t stop Ko Eungyo from taking his luggage.
Instead, he subtly whispered:
“I wouldn’t mind sharing a room. I’ll block the wind for you. How about it?”
“I mind.”
“That’s a shame.”
The elevator quickly reached the 9th floor. Even in that brief moment, Lee Seungwoo didn’t stop his advances. As Ko Eungyo responded coldly and was about to exit dragging his suitcase, Lee Seungwoo, who had been holding the open button until then, said:
“If you ever want to see the suite room, you can come anytime.”
“No thanks.”
He replied with clenched teeth.
If Lee Seungwoo had faithfully assisted him all this time, he would have suggested clearing the Jeju Island gate together. From the beginning, he would have booked the same room as Lee Seungwoo and discussed the gate with him.
The current situation was essentially instigated by Lee Seungwoo. He rejected everything that was proposed, yet at times like this, he acted friendly as if trying to seduce someone.
He tried to maintain a mature attitude, but when Lee Seungwoo got off the elevator with him instead of going up to the suite room, he simply couldn’t hold back from saying something.
“Didn’t I say there’s no need to escort me?”
At his slightly irritated voice, Lee Seungwoo paused, looking a bit surprised.
“I just… wanted to see if you got in safely. Is that not okay?”
“…”
He was pretending to be flustered and pitiful again. Ko Eungyo had experienced this countless times. He knew it, and yet…
“…I’m sorry, Professor.”
“…”
Lee Seungwoo was extremely cunning. Even Ko Eungyo didn’t know he was vulnerable to intimidated, pitiful attitudes, but after a few experiences, Lee Seungwoo had figured him out and quickly used it to manipulate him.
Perhaps it wasn’t Lee Seungwoo who was cunning, but rather the nature of the human heart itself.
The problem was that despite being so upset and infuriated, when faced with Lee Seungwoo who was determined to appear pitiful, he couldn’t bring himself to speak firmly.
“Haah…”
“Is it heavy? Shall I carry it for you?”
As he sighed and turned around again, Lee Seungwoo, who had keenly noticed that Ko Eungyo had given in, quickly approached and took the suitcase.
Could this be the same face of the person who was just drooping his shoulders and apologizing? This appearance proved that Lee Seungwoo had been watching Ko Eungyo all along, timing his intrusion.
The corridor soon ended. The room was right in front.
“If you’re going to take it anyway, why do you even ask?”
Lee Seungwoo smiled brightly and responded as if it were obvious.
“Because it’s heavy for you. You’re a person with a weak body.”
“…”
Ko Eungyo’s body was actually quite robust compared to when he was Jang Iju. If someone called Ko Eungyo “weak,” they must have seen Jang Iju as practically a corpse.
He pressed his lips together tightly and glared at Lee Seungwoo. He really disliked that smiling face, and following his heart’s command, he snatched his suitcase from Lee Seungwoo’s hand.
“…Professor?”
“Now really, stop following me. This is very unpleasant.”
“Ah, Profess…”
“Don’t make excuses either.”
Lee Seungwoo’s smiling face cracked. Regardless, Ko Eungyo entered the room with his suitcase and slammed the door shut.
Despite being booked in a hurry, the room condition was quite good. In truth, this wasn’t something Ko Eungyo could have managed alone.
Of course, both the plane ticket and hotel had been urgently arranged by Secretary Shim the day before. He thought he should thank Secretary Shim as he unpacked.
After changing clothes and lying down on the bed, his body felt languid even though he’d only been on a plane for about an hour. Lying down, he picked up his phone and scanned the geography of Jeju Island where the gate signal had been detected. It seemed like he could take a taxi and look around the area…
Of course, just because he went there didn’t mean that the gate reaction that hadn’t been detected would appear, but he believed that with years of training, he could determine whether this gate was a “real” gate or not by looking around the area.
If he still couldn’t figure it out, then he could give up at that point.
There was plenty of time, and no rush. After imprinting each of the circles marked as having gate signals in his mind, he stretched his arms and legs fully and rolled over on the bed.
“This is nice…”
Yes.
It really was nice.
No coughing even though it had gotten a bit cold, and no need for medication. No worry about collapsing after being outside for too long… and above all, no pain.
In fact, for the past few months, he had been treating Ko Eungyo’s body as his own. He no longer worried about what would happen if the original Ko Eungyo returned.
Although he had been forced to take over the lectures that Ko Eungyo had set up and abandoned, he had finished them well. He had successfully negotiated with the Director to obtain a temporary on-site Guide license, and now he had come all the way to Jeju Island to scout for clearing a gate.
These… were not Ko Eungyo’s achievements, but his own. They were accomplishments he had achieved. With a healthy body, he truly could do anything.
Being able to do something without limitations was an unimaginable stroke of luck. As Jang Iju, he knew better than anyone that Ko Eungyo’s abundant time was a blessing.
They say time only shines for those who know its value.
As he habitually planned the rest of his life, he felt countless times how good life could be.
It was none other than Lee Seungwoo who threw a stone causing ripples in his thoughts, as he had completely forgotten about the “real” Ko Eungyo.
More precisely, it was his words that did it.
The phrase “a person with a weak body” sounded to him like saying, “Why are you so shamelessly using someone else’s body as if it’s your own?”
Lying here and thinking about it deeply, he realized that slamming the door in Lee Seungwoo’s face was certainly out of spite and to vent his anger.
Yes… No matter how he thought about it, even if Ko Eungyo were to say “give me back my original body,” he couldn’t bring himself to return this body willingly.
He wanted to live. While he clearly had no lingering attachment to life, although it started involuntarily, as he gradually lived on by force, he developed a desire to live this life properly.
The reason he was irked by Lee Seungwoo’s seemingly insignificant comment was probably because of this. Because Ko Eungyo himself, on his own, considered what he was doing now to be wrong. He smiled bitterly as he slowly retraced his thoughts.
He was human too. Seeing how he coveted another person’s life entirely.
How much of a mess desire can make of a person.
“Hoo…”
Suddenly, he didn’t want to think about gates or anything else. Placing his phone beside him and covering his face with his arm, he let out a long sigh.
That’s when it happened.
Ding-dong.
“…What?”
Ding-dong.
The hotel doorbell rang.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
