Chapter 11

EP.11 Subtle Love Triangle #2

“Sehwa.”

A female colleague waved her hand in front of Sehwa’s face.

“……”

No response from her.

The colleague raised her voice.

“Sehwa!”

“Huh? What? Why?”

Startled, Sehwa finally responded.

The colleague asked with a worried look.

“Are you really okay? Shouldn’t you go to the hospital or something?”

“I’m… I’m fine.”

“You didn’t answer my calls yesterday, so I was really worried. That monster with the big mouth…”

“Sorry… I was completely out of it…”

Sehwa glanced at me sitting behind her as she spoke.

She wasn’t spacing out because of the near-death experience.

It was the immoral thing she did with me at dawn that was weighing on her.

Even though she has a boyfriend, she ended up sharing a long, lingering kiss with another man.

After letting out a shallow moan, Sehwa pulled away and apologized to me repeatedly before saying she had to go.

I handed her a blanket, pillow, and air freshener, unsure of what to do.

And this morning, when we walked to school together, she didn’t say a word to me.

I did the same, only speaking when necessary.

‘Complicated, right? It must be complicated.’

Sehwa is a straightforward person.

She’s never done or even thought about something like this before.

She must be feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt right now… Well, eventually, she’ll come to enjoy this act of betrayal.

Besides, Sehwa doesn’t blame me.

The kiss was something she wanted too.

The female colleague spoke with a pitiful expression.

“That’s understandable… So, are you staying at a temporary place now?”

“Huh? No, that…”

Sehwa made an awkward face.

She couldn’t exactly say I gave her an office apartment for free.

The colleague misunderstood her reaction.

Sehwa, who had said it was fine and not to say anything, went back to her seat.

Watching Sehwa fidget, I thought of the naive Yoo Seunghyun.

He didn’t end up coming to my office apartment.

Why? Because Marcella had arranged a hotel room for him.

This was the order I gave Marcella yesterday.

Raise Seunghyun’s salary, increase his working hours, and let him rot there.

The utterly clueless Seunghyun thanked her profusely and ended up staying at the hotel until his house was repaired.

Of course, I did tell Seunghyun to come home, but would I really throw away the chance to be alone with Sehwa?

It was just a courtesy.

Now, Seunghyun will have an even harder time seeing Sehwa.

I’ve also significantly extended the operating hours of the entertainment bar.

Currently, the entire university is buzzing about yesterday’s incident.

Not just the university, but Korea, East Asia, and even the whole world is filled with talk of monsters and the blue flash in the sky.

All sorts of scholars are coming out to debate, but no conclusions are being drawn.

It’s just speculation upon speculation.

With their technology, they won’t be able to figure out my Antarctic base, the portal that appeared in the sky, or the true nature of the demons that are about to emerge.

‘By the way, that’s cruel. Not even closing the school.’

Since no one died among the Korean University students living in that area, it was possible.

If even one person had died, they would have closed the school for mourning.

Anyway, no matter what happened yesterday, time moves on.

People are still busy living their daily lives.

I just need to live my own life.

As the professor with a troubled expression entered the classroom, I opened my book.

“None of the Future Science students were hurt, right? Since the attendance is all marked, it seems everyone’s fine?”

-Yeahhh…

The students responded weakly.

The professor let out a small sigh and spoke.

“I know the atmosphere is chaotic… but let’s start the class. Since there’s no clear answer yet, let’s just wait quietly. Okay, page 126…”

**

Afternoon classes ended at school.

Sehwa had already texted me that she was leaving first.

It seems she still hasn’t sorted out her feelings.

I apologized to my colleagues who suggested we grab a drink and talk about yesterday’s events, then stopped by a snack shop to pick up some tteokbokki before heading back to the office apartment.

Later, I met Sehwa on the 25th floor, the top floor.

It wasn’t intentional.

She was just in the hallway talking to Seunghyun on the phone.

When she noticed me, she spoke to Seunghyun.

“Ah, something came up… I’ll call you later. Work hard.”

-Got it. I’ll probably get busy soon, so I might not be able to talk until morning.

Seunghyun’s voice came through the receiver.

What an idiot… How can someone so naive be Sehwa’s partner?

From Seunghyun’s calm tone, it seems Sehwa hasn’t mentioned the kiss from dawn.

“Okay. Then tomorrow morning… call me when you have time. Yeah… I love you too.”

Words carry emotions.

Sehwa is no different.

In the past, she would have said “I love you” to Seunghyun without hesitation, but now she stumbled.

Of course, that doesn’t mean she loves me.

She was just reminded of what happened at dawn and was being cautious because I was nearby.

But the fact that Sehwa likes me hasn’t changed.

The device proved it.

Sehwa, looking troubled, hung up and approached me.

Then she asked.

“Did you hear from the doctor?”

“No. You?”

“I tried contacting her, but she said to rest today. She said she’ll come pick me up soon. She told you to wait too. And… since demons might appear… um, no, it’s nothing.”

I could easily guess the rest.

She probably told me to sleep with Seunghyun to charge the device’s energy?

That’s impossible.

“I see… That’s something to look forward to.”

“Because you can see the latest machines?”

“Yeah.”

“You really are a machine enthusiast. What’s that in your hand?”

“This… tteokbokki. For you…”

Sehwa let out a weak smile.

A complicated smile, both absurd, grateful, and apologetic.

I just rolled my lips around.

Then, as Sehwa’s smile faded, I apologized.

“Sorry.”

Sehwa looked puzzled.

“Huh? For what…?”

“For what happened at dawn…”

“Wait… wait! Let’s go inside and talk. That’s why I waited for you.”

“Then you could’ve just stayed in the room… We could’ve talked on the phone and met.”

Surely, she wasn’t planning to leave, right?

Fortunately, Sehwa’s next words confirmed my worries were unfounded.

“I wanted to talk face to face. At your place… no, at my place? Do you have time?”

I checked on Rose before bed last night, and Yuria wasn’t acting strange either.

Now is the time to focus on Sehwa… So, of course, I should give her time.

Even if I don’t have time, I’ll make it.

“Sure. Right now?”

“After you put your bag down… No, let’s just talk at your place.”

Is that okay? The events from yesterday might be fresh in your mind.

Well, if you’re okay with it, then I’m fine.

“Alright.”

I nodded, swiped my card to open the door, and let Sehwa in first.

While I put my bag on the sofa, she naturally headed to the kitchen with the tteokbokki.

“Can I get a plate?”

“Of course. Take a few when you leave.”

“No, I bought some on the way here.”

Sehwa, with her experience of living alone for a long time, quickly set the table.

Well, “quickly” just means putting the tteokbokki on a plate and placing forks on both sides, but it was fast.

I grabbed a soda, handed it to her, and sat down.

Sehwa picked up her fork and tapped it cutely.

Taking the opportunity, I spoke.

“Sorry, it’s not cream. They said they ran out.”

“Doesn’t matter. We can go eat together later. Here, you eat first.”

Together… Yeah, together sounds good.

Sehwa picked up a piece of tteokbokki and offered it to me.

A gesture to eat.

I hesitated but took it and ate.

Sehwa smiled and brought a piece to her mouth.

The way she chewed was really cute.

We focused on eating in silence.

Since I only bought one portion, the tteokbokki was gone quickly.

Sehwa drank the soda and let out a refreshing “Ah!” as the fizz hit her throat.

Then she stared at me.

I averted my gaze.

After a moment of silence, Sehwa called me.

“Jihyuk.”

I had no choice but to look up, surprised.

Her voice was trembling.

Sehwa was crying.

A lot.

“I… I don’t have the courage… I’m sorry… sniff!”

Courage…

Does she mean she doesn’t have the courage to coldly reject me?

Or the courage to bring up what happened at dawn?

The former is unlikely.

Then it must be the latter… Let’s test the waters.

“If you’re okay with it, you don’t have to say anything. You can just ignore it and go on like usual.”

“Can I… really…?”

From the way she’s speaking, it’s the latter.

She’s afraid of distancing herself from me.

I gave Sehwa a warm smile.

“Of course. I’ll respect your wishes. You can tell me when you’re ready.”

Sehwa looked relieved at my words.

I placed my hand over hers on her knee.

A skinship typical of couples.

But Sehwa stayed still.

No, she even flipped her hand to hold mine.

She even interlaced our fingers.

At that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of euphoria coursing through my body.

An electrifying feeling.

I couldn’t stop the smile from breaking out.

The corners of my mouth twitched upward.

I barely managed to package it into a gentle smile.

“Should we talk about something else?”

Sehwa, looking at me like an innocent lamb, nodded frantically.

Her puffy eyes were incredibly cute.

“Yeah.”

If I had been climbing up a steep cliff until now, I was now on a scale.

A scale with Seunghyun on the other side.

Of course, the weight difference is enormous right now, but gradually, my weight will increase, and the balance will even out.

You love Seunghyun so much, but you don’t want to lose me either?

How selfish of you, Sehwa.

Can you really call yourself the justice warrior, Beast Slayer Leona?

I said we should go on like usual, but I have no intention of doing that.

I’m now safely in Dr. Cash’s lab, and there are no hiccups in the plan.

Soon, I’ll create an unbreakable bond with you.

No one can forget their first experience.

I’ll start soon, so look forward to it.

Struggle deeply between morality and betrayal, then come to me of your own will.

You have no choice.

**

The next day, Dr. Cash arrived in the transport used during Amducias and took Sehwa to the lab.

She tossed me a machine of a decent size.

“Take this apart and reassemble it.”

This time, it was an unmanned reconnaissance drone that could monitor human locations in real-time.

Well, the fact that it’s not a dangerous object like last time is proof that I’ve gained some trust, right?

I decided to think positively.

As I started focusing, the doctor took Sehwa into the same room as before.

Seems like they’re having a secret conversation.

Well, that effort is pointless.

I can hear everything.

-Wait a moment.

The doctor said, and silence fell in the room.

At the same time, I heard something clicking.

After a while, the doctor asked Sehwa in a slightly flustered tone.

-Did you… do something with your boyfriend? Did you sleep together…? No, judging by the charge level, that’s not it… Did you have physical contact?

-Huh? What do you mean?

-The energy is charged by about 1%.

Sehwa was silent.

Then, seemingly frustrated, the doctor spoke.

-This is very important. It’s okay, just tell me. I pride myself on being tight-lipped. I won’t tell anyone, ever.

-Well… yes, we did.

-Were you a little excited then? Did you feel sexual desire?

-Doctor!

-Shh… lower your voice. That weirdo might get curious.

-Do I have to answer…?

Sehwa hesitated.

Heh heh… I can almost see Sehwa’s conflicted expression.

The doctor spoke.

-You don’t have to. The answer is already clear. But we might have to work together for a long time. So, it’d be great if you could be honest with me? Like I said, I won’t tell anyone.

-…. Yes. That’s right.

-So, you were excited?

-A… a little… I couldn’t help it…

Sehwa’s voice, trailing off, is incredibly cute.

By the way, she lied? A big lie at that.

Well, you’ll be doing it like eating meals from now on, so it’s good to get used to it.

I want to thank Dr. Cash.

She confirmed the truth to Sehwa, who was doubting the device’s energy charging method.

-Got it. The energy is at 13%, so charge it whenever you can. Otherwise, innocent people might get hurt again. The time you can transform is very short. If you think you can do anything with this energy, you’re mistaken.

-Haah…

The sense of justice she felt before transforming into Leona is still alive, so she can’t help but agree.

For the sake of innocent people.

Sehwa let out a long sigh and answered.

-Yes, I’ll do that. But I haven’t been able to see my boyfriend much lately. He works all night and sleeps in the morning.

-Wake him up. If that doesn’t work, find someone you’re comfortable with…

That bitch…

Don’t interfere, let me handle it.

Click!

I loudly interrupted the doctor as I inserted the last part of the drone.

“Doctor! I finished assembling it! Anything else?”

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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