CH 140

I finally returned to the guild and headed to the 23rd floor with Park Geon-ho and Woo Seo-hyuk, who were following me as if it were natural.

“Why are you following me again?”

“Still, we spent the night together, how can you be so cold-hearted…”

“I will leave after I see you arrive safely at your room.”

Ignoring Park Geon-ho, who talked nonsense when he opened his mouth, and Woo Seo-hyuk, who talked about his worries, I opened the door then something big came into my arms.

“Han Yi-gyeol!”

“Gasp!”

I wondered what and it was Kim Woo-jin. No, is it Kim Woo-jin’s clone? I didn’t know what made him so sad, I raised my head, patting the clone’s body and rubbing his red hair on the nape of his neck as I hugged him. (안긴 채로 목덜미에 붉은 머리카락을 잔뜩 비비적거리는 분신을 토닥이며 고개를 들었다)

“Han Yi-gyeol.”

Behind the clone, Kim Woo-jin was seen with a cold expression on his face. I smiled awkwardly and greeted him because I felt guilty.

“Good morning, Kim Woo-jin.”

“……”

As expected, Kim Woo-jin kept his lips closed and didn’t answer anything. Park Geon-ho, who was watching me and Kim Woo-jin with interest, whispered in my ear.

“Scary. He must be really upset, right?”

“Be quiet.”

It was because of whom…

In annoyance, I pushed Park Geon-ho’s chest tight with my elbow, and Woo Seo-hyuk, who was watching us quietly, opened his mouth.

“Then I’m going.”

“Are you going to work right away?”

“No. I plan to go home and change clothes then come back.”

Woo Seo-hyuk, wearing a T-shirt and cotton pants borrowed from Park Geon-ho, seemed to not like his current outfit.

“See you next time.”

“Be careful on the way.”

Then it became quiet. I looked at Woo Seo-hyuk’s broad back as he left without any regrets with other thoughts in mind and then turned my gaze to Park Geon-ho.

“Is Team Leader not going?”

“Where do I have to go?”

Ah, it’s really annoying.

“Do whatever you want.”

Failure to expel Park Geon-ho, I entered the room while calming down the clone who was staring at Park Geon-ho. Kim Woo-jin, who was standing with a grumpy face, grabbed the clone’s neck and asked.

“What about breakfast? Have you eaten?”

“We had a great breakfast at my house.”

“What…?”

Before I could answer, Park Geon-ho closed the front door and said jokingly. I ran to Kim Woo-jin, who was greatly shocked, and grabbed his shoulders.

“Well, the situation is unavoidable…”

“We didn’t only eat breakfast though? We had a drink together last night.”

“Drink…?”

Seriously this guy. Kim Woo-jin’s long eyelids, who was still heartbroken, trembled at the word ‘drink’ and then bowed his head.

How could I solve this situation? It was a bit awkward for a moment, and to make matters worse, a knock on the front door was heard.

“Yi-gyeol-ssi, I’m here!”

“I’m here, too. Did you rest well yesterday?”

As Park Geon-ho opened the door, Min Ah-rin smiling broadly and Kwon Jeong-han carrying a luxurious Japanese confectionery box entered the room.

“Oh, my. Woo-jin-ssi, why do you look so sad again?”

“Oh. I know Japanese sweets here are hard to find.”

“My parents sent this to me. Hyung like sweets, so it will suit his taste.”

“Han Yi-gyeol…”

The surroundings quickly became noisy. I sighed deeply as I looked into the crowded room full of people.

* * *

Min Ah-rin, who listened to my explanation while eating wagashi brought by Kwon Jeong-han with tea, lit up her eyes.

“Then you went to see Team Leader Park Geon-ho’s house and got drunk.”

“If you have time, come and play together next time, Healer Min Ah-rin.”

“Good! I also want to have a drink with Yi-gyeol-ssi.”

I put the beautifully decorated wagashi in my mouth and glanced around. Park Geon-ho and Min Ah-rin chatting with a smile, Kwon Jeong-han who went to the kitchen to get more tea, and Kim Woo-jin putting wagashi on my plate.

‘It seems… it passed roughly.’

Since there were other people, I didn’t deliberately bring out what happened in the C12 Area, but even if it was just me alone with Kim Woo-jin, I would explain it vaguely.

Kim Woo-jin, who seemed to be feeling a little better, soon met my eyes. As I smiled at the auburn eyes that stared right at me, he blushed and turned his head.

Looking at his condition, it seemed that he had a lot of questions, but because there were people, he couldn’t. I checked the time by tapping the plate with a fork. 1:42 p.m.

“By the way, Yi-gyeol-ssi.”

“Yes?”

Min Ah-rin, who ate wagashi with her happy face, opened her mouth with a bright voice.

“I heard you have a fan café?”

“…pardon?”

“Oh. Fan café?”

I looked at Kim Woo-jin, wondering if it was because of him that the fan café that I had pushed beyond my head appeared suddenly.

“It’s not me!”

“I have already signed up.”

Kim Woo-jin shook his head hastily, and at the same time, Kwon Jeong-han said with a smile.

“Do you want me to tell you the name of the café?”

“Gasp, please tell me! I want to join, too.”

“I have to sign up, too.”

“Oh gosh you crazy, wait a minute.”

I was startled by Min Ah-rin, who showed an enthusiastic reaction, and Park Geon-ho, who suddenly interrupted.

“Why are you signing up for that?”

“It’s fun.”

“It’s fun.”

Min Ah-rin and Park Geon-ho answered my question at the same time. Fun? What the hell is fun? Being embarrassed, I couldn;t even respond and opened my mouth, but Kim Woo-jin took out his cell phone with a triumphant face.

“Here it is. Han Yi-gyeol’s fan café.”

“Oh my, Woo-jin-ssi also joined!”

Park Geon-ho, who was looking at the fan café next to Min Ah-rin, winked at me.

“Don’t worry, Han Yi-gyeol. I will take responsibility and spread the rumours.”

“I don’t need it!”

When I frowned at the terrible sound, Kwon Jeong-han smiled shyly and lifted the screen of his phone.

“This is my favourite video. You can only get such good quality from the fan café.”

There, just looking at it, it was replaying the image of me stuttering in embarrassment. When was that? I remembered… I thought it was the interview I had with Cheon Sa-yeon before entering the N42 Area gate.

“Honestly, there aren’t many photos or videos because Yi-gyeon-hyung hasn’t been active in official activities, but the atmosphere in the café is quite good because there is still a lot of inflow.”

“……”

I wasn’t happy at all. I just wished the atmosphere to be bad. I hoped it wasn’t bad but got ruined instead. I couldn’t quite understand why it was like that.

Min Ah-rin, who was quietly listening to Kwon Jeong-han, tilted her head and asked me.

“Yi-gyeol-ssi, by any chance, do you have any plans to do other activities?”

“Other activities?”

“CF advertisements, magazine pictorials… that kind of activity! I think it will suit you well.”

“I think you’ve gotten a few offers.”

“There’s nothing coming.”

Exhaling a tired breath, I took a sip of green tea. Park Geon-ho, who rolled his eyes for a moment, smiled strangely as if he knew something.

“Come to think of it, I heard that Master is rejecting every proposal that comes to Han Yi-gyeol.”

“Really?”

For some reason, Cheon Sa-yeon was doing something helpful. Thinking that it would be good if he would continue to do so in the future, I took Kwon Jeong-han’s cell phone while the video was playing and turned the screen off.

“I have no intention of doing anything like that in the future.”

“What a shame.”

“That’s too bad.”

I looked back at Min Ah-rin and Kwon Jeong-han, who spoke in a really regretful voice, and Kim Woo-jin, who lowered the corners of his eyebrows without saying a word, and touched my sore forehead.

* * *

As time passed, the sun went down and the sky darkened, only Kim Woo-jin and I remained in the room after they left one by one as usual. After dinner, Kim Woo-jin, who cleaned the table, took off his apron and exited the kitchen.

“…Han Yi-gyeol.”

At the same time as the call, the clone holding me disappeared in an instant. I got up from the sofa, turning off the TV with the remote control, as he hesitated and approached.

“Is everything okay in C12 Area?”

“Of course.”

I grabbed Kim Woo-jin’s shoulder and smiled slightly.

“As I said before, thank you for the information. Kim Woo-jin. Thanks to you, I got a little bit of what I wanted to know.”

Not all of them though.

When I spoke with sincerity, Kim Woo-jin bowed his head slightly and dyed his ears red.

“Then I’m glad… Can you tell me what you wanted to find out?”

“That…”

“Just a little bit.”

The words he added in a hurry, lest I refuse, were like a plea. After thinking for a while, I slowly opened my mouth.

“It’s the past. I went to get to know the past properly.”

“The past?”

“Yeah. For now, I can only explain this. There are still many things I don’t know either.”

I gave strength to his hand holding Kim Woo-jin’s shoulder and said as if I had promised.

“I’ll tell you properly later. When everything is sorted out.”

“…I got it.”

Kim Woo-jin, who was staring blankly at me for a moment, lowered his long eyelashes and calmly answered.

“Now go back to your room.”

“Ung. I will come tomorrow.”

Tomorrow. Hiding the bitterness, I answered lightly as usual.

“Okay.”

“Sleep well, Han Yi-gyeol.”

Just before leaving the door, Kim Woo-jin, the last person who greeted me, left the room.

A quiet silence remained in the room that had been noisy a few hours ago. I looked up at the dark cloudy night sky through the window and slowly turned and entered the bedroom.

‘Sorry, Kim Woo-jin.’

I took off the bracelet I had received from Cheon Sa-yeon and carefully set it down on the table. I also put the cell phone I got from Ha Tae-heon next to me.

Actually, I thought a lot about whether it would be okay to tell Kim Woo-jin and Min Ah-rin. But in the end, I decided not to tell anyone except Ha Tae-heon, who was leaving with me. If Cheon Sa-yeon moved to find me, the possibility of using Kwon Jeong-han’s ability was high.

As I touched the bracelet that glistened in the light of the lamp, I thought of Cheon Sa-yeon.

‘Even if I try to be careful as much as possible, it seems to be useless if Cheon Sa-yeon decided to find me.’

Still, we could delay the time to some extent.

I had waited until the location of the Prophet was found, but that time wasn’t in vain.

Kim Woo-jin reawakened as an A-rank clone magician, making his name known at home and abroad and was recognized for his ability. Min Ah-rin expanded her network by meeting Hong Si-ah, Cha Soo-yeon, and Deputy Master Chloe.

Now, it was a situation where Cheon Sa-yeon couldn’t touch them carelessly. So I was no longer worried.

Without hesitation, I turned away from the bracelet, took out the cell phone that I had hidden under the mattress, and opened the window. The night air filled with the scent of spring flowers passed by my nose.

It was the moment I had been waiting for since I first came here. I couldn’t feel any regrets. I breathed slowly and lift my energy.