#083
Shin Haejun looked like his confidence had dropped significantly. I felt a slight pang in my heart as I answered.
“I don’t know yet. But if we still like each other… and I think it’s good after careful consideration.”
It wasn’t a definitive answer, but it was the best I could give right now. Shin Haejun touched his forehead with the back of his hand once, then slowly nodded.
“When you say it’s for your health, I can’t say anything…”
Is he crying? I tensed up and looked up at Shin Haejun’s face.
But Shin Haejun didn’t cry. Instead, with slightly reddened eyes, he rubbed my wrist once with his thumb and let go.
“I still like you, so you don’t mind if I try, right?”
“That… I can’t stop you from doing that.”
I felt a bit uneasy remembering Shin Haejun’s intense persistence, but since I couldn’t stop him, I just nodded in agreement. Shin Haejun cleared his throat and sat down on the sofa with a composed face.
“What are you going to talk about with the Director?”
“We’ll all talk together, so you’ll hear it too.”
I said that and waited for Hyun Dowoon to come out. But he didn’t come out right away, as if he hadn’t been listening to our conversation. Even though he was definitely within earshot.
I went to the study and knocked on the door. When I saw Hyun Dowoon, he smiled slightly.
“Are you done talking?”
“I thought you’d be listening…”
“That would be rude. I blocked my senses a bit.”
Do espers have that ability too? I nodded and called him out.
When all three of us were seated, I slowly informed Hyun Dowoon about my decision as well.
“I’ve come to agree with your opinion that we need to act together for the time being, Director. I’m also willing to guide you and Haejun. But separately from that, dungeon conquests are my domain, so I’d prefer if you two didn’t get involved.”
“That’s fine. I’ve already found a guide to accompany you, Jaeha-ssi.”
“Who is it?”
“For now, Han Nari, a C-class esper from the Medical Center, will be with you.”
Since they were from the Medical Center, they surely had healing abilities. It seemed like he had deliberately sought out someone with those qualifications, so I nodded. Moreover, being C-class meant they wouldn’t attract too much attention, showing that Hyun Dowoon had been considerate in his selection.
“Thank you.”
“However, I’d like you not to start dungeon conquests right away.”
“Why not?”
“Although I believe in your abilities, we don’t know what problems might arise in the future. Let’s wait a bit for the dungeon anomalies to stabilize before starting conquests.”
I was about to object, but I had to admit that Hyun Dowoon was right. I wasn’t omnipotent either. For me, who wasn’t combat-oriented, to fight, I needed to provide items suitable for the situation. The more powerful the item, the longer the cooldown time, and they could be useless if they didn’t match well.
Above all, when attacking with items, it was also a problem that it would be over if the user – me – was attacked directly. It seemed like I could handle it somehow in dungeon situations, but it would be problematic if it happened in reality. Because there were too many variables.
‘If anomalies occur like dungeons appearing inside dungeons again, that would be a problem in itself…’
I told Hyun Dowoon I understood. The situation had changed from before, so I couldn’t be stubborn.
“And… I’ve become firmly convinced that I can’t die according to someone else’s scheme. So I’d like you two to help me…”
“Of course we will.”
“Just say the word.”
Both of them readily agreed before I could even finish speaking. They had no reason to refuse since that’s what they had been proposing all along.
“In return, I can help strengthen your skills. In fact, now that I can’t just ignore enemy attacks, there will surely be situations where strengthening is necessary.”
As soon as I said that, I saw both of their Adam’s apples bob.
“That would… involve physical contact, I assume.”
“It has nothing to do with affection. It’s purely physical contact for strengthening purposes.”
When I said that, Shin Haejun rubbed his face with a complicated expression and then stammered in protest with a flustered tone.
“B-but. Are you saying you’ll have… that kind of physical contact with the Director too?”
“If I have to.”
I nodded. There was a reason why I needed to have physical contact with both of them equally.
When I properly checked the Love Coins, it showed a record of how much I had accumulated with whom. And from what I confirmed while properly strengthening this time, when strengthening Shin Haejun, using coins accumulated with him increased the success rate. Conversely, when strengthening Hyun Dowoon, using coins accumulated with Shin Haejun halved the efficiency. Although it wasn’t explicitly stated, I clearly felt it after hundreds of attempts.
‘Of course… he’s bound to be shocked.’
Since we’ve broken up, he can’t really protest, but he must feel frustrated.
But it couldn’t be helped. My role here was to provide buffs, so I had to stick to that role.
And if dungeons start opening outside of dungeons again, I’d give items to both of them to strengthen them more…
“Think of it as guiding rather than physical contact. I don’t like it more when I do it with the Director, and I don’t think of it as better when I do it with you.”
Even after I said this, Shin Haejun couldn’t respond. He set his lips firmly and glared at the floor for a moment.
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to be involved with me. Then I’ll try to manage on my own somehow. The same goes for you, Director.”
At my words, Hyun Dowoon smiled and said, “There’s no way I’d do that at this point.” His face somehow looked happy. I realized that Hyun Dowoon had noticed that we had decided to break up, in that Shin Haejun clearly couldn’t claim ownership of me anymore.
When Hyun Dowoon readily agreed, Shin Haejun looked at him with a slightly bewildered face. It seemed he had intended to quickly grab onto me if Hyun Dowoon refused. But with Hyun Dowoon accepting the situation, if only he refused, it would paint a completely different picture from what Shin Haejun had imagined.
“M-me too! Of course it’s fine since it’s to protect hyung!”
I could hear the sound of teeth grinding, but Shin Haejun tried his best to smile while suppressing his anger.
I hope there won’t be any need for physical contact other than when using the rewards I’ve just earned…
I sighed and pondered when to use the Love Coin acquisition rights. It seems I should use them as soon as possible. There must be a reason why this came up now.
‘Having to do physical contact for 3 days, how much do I need to accumulate?’
It seems like just holding hands and exchanging saliva won’t be nearly enough, but is this okay?
As I was deep in thought, Hyun Dowoon suddenly asked. His voice was so aggressive it almost sounded provocative.
“How far do you intend to go with the physical contact?”
H-how far?
‘Come to think of it, this guy always throws curveballs about this part!’
I glared a little at Hyun Dowoon, who was smiling nonchalantly.
“I don’t intend to decide that in advance.”
“So it depends on how we do it, I see.”
Is that how it’s interpreted? I was momentarily flustered, but then I crossed my arms, thinking I shouldn’t get caught up in this.
I had no desire to have this kind of conversation just minutes after breaking up with Shin Haejun.
Just as I thought I might be appearing too defensive, Hyun Dowoon looked at me with a relaxed smile, as if he had figured everything out.
“W-we won’t do anything too intense, you know?”
I spoke sharply, feeling preemptively guilty. Hyun Dowoon just shrugged.
This won’t do. I felt I needed to change the atmosphere for a moment.
“I’ll! I’ll go get some drinks. J-just stay here for a moment!”
I shouted and got up from my seat. Then I fled towards the kitchen. As if intending for me to hear, Hyun Dowoon spoke to Shin Haejun behind my back.
“Even after saying all this, Esper Shin Haejun’s attitude is different from usual. I guess something has changed?”
Hyun Dowoon was quick-witted. I frowned with a bitter expression.
Would this finally lead to a fight between Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon? I was too scared to check behind me, so I froze and slowly moved towards the kitchen. Then Shin Haejun answered cleanly.
“We broke up.”
Shin Haejun had been wary of Hyun Dowoon all along, so I didn’t expect him to say they broke up right away. I thought he’d want to keep it absolutely secret, since it’s easier to make a move when someone is weakened by a breakup.
Just as I thought it was unexpected, Hyun Dowoon seemed a bit surprised too.
For now, I suppressed my desire to listen more and headed to the living room with a tray carrying two glasses of juice and cold water.
“…stop provoking hyung. I haven’t given up.”
As I got closer to the living room, I heard Shin Haejun speaking angrily to Hyun Dowoon in a low voice. Rather than exactly angry, it felt more like cold fury.
“Just like Esper Shin Haejun who’s trying to get back together somehow, I’m also making efforts in my own way to appeal to Jaeha-ssi. In the end, we’re in the same position.”
“Jaeha hyung said he wants to get healthy. It was the first time he said that. So I’m telling you to take it easy. Because it’s most important that hyung has found his own will.”
“If we fight among ourselves competing for a while, Jaeha-ssi will feel more burdened.”
“That’s why-”
Even though I thought I shouldn’t, I found myself eavesdropping with my feet glued to the floor.
When the conversation suddenly stopped, I blinked in surprise. Then I entered the living room again with the tray.
Both of them were looking at me as I came in. When I realized they knew I had overheard their conversation, I felt my face getting hot.
“I didn’t mean to listen on purpose… No, um…”
I stammered, feeling embarrassed. Then Shin Haejun calmly replied, “We knew anyway because your footsteps stopped.”
“Footsteps?”
“The sound of you bustling about in the kitchen stopped.”
Ah. Right, they would have sensed my presence at this distance. I keep forgetting.
Anyway, I gave juice to both of them and drank some cold water while glancing at them cautiously.
‘It feels like they’ve reached some kind of agreement.’
I felt that both of them liked me in their own ways. I found it a bit surprising that they decided not to fight too much for now, worried that I might feel burdened.
It was interesting to see Hyun Dowoon showing consideration while still clearly keeping Shin Haejun in check, and Shin Haejun, who had been constantly exploding with jealousy, behaving like this.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
