CH 240

When I opened my eyes, I saw the hotel window soaked in rain. Kururung, the sound of thunder and rain intertwined and reverberated throughout the sky.

It had already been over a week since I entered this space and it had been raining continuously for three days. The rainy season had begun in earnest.

Piiik, piik! Pik!

Fox licked my cheek, whining and crying anxiously. I barely came to my senses, squirmed, got my upper body up, and checked the time.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late, but it was much later than yesterday. Why didn’t anyone wake me up?

As I sat down on the bed, a heavy pain ran through the back of my head. It was immediately felt that not only the headache but the body itself was drooping and that the condition wasn’t very good.

“Han Yi-gyeol. Woke up?”

I couldn’t get up from my seat and only sighed, but Kim Woo-jin came back to the room. The guy who walked straight to me and looked around with worried eyes opened his mouth.

“You look tired… do you want to sleep more?”

“No, I slept enough. What about the others?”

“Gathering in the room across the street. I’m here to wake you up…”

“I’m going to wash up and go there.”

Kim Woo-jin clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction when I stood up, pretending nothing happened.

“You have already gone to work four days without a break. We take every other day off, but you can’t even take a break.”

“It’s okay because I can rest on the day after tomorrow. I just hold on a little longer.”

Every Tuesday was Dies’ day off. We started working on Wednesday, so this Tuesday was our first holiday.

After leaving Kim Woo-jin behind, I went into the bathroom and took a cold shower. I felt like my body got a little better when I cooled down. My appearance in the mirror didn’t look much different than usual.

When I changed clothes and moved to the opposite room with Kim Woo-jin while holding Fox, Edward greeted me with a flushed face.

“I finally found a clue!”

“Is that really true?”

It was good news that I got in a week. As I sat down on the sofa to listen to the explanation, Woo Seo-hyuk placed my share of the lunch box in front of me. I overslept alone, so it seemed that everyone else had already eaten and cleaned it up.

“This space is made up of many lines. I can see that line with my ability.”

“Lines?”

“Yes. Like this created space or mental ability… When it comes to the ability to interact with the other person, you can see the line.”

Edward pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and began to draw a simple picture. Edward, who drew two people with a black pen, drew a line connecting people with a red pen.

“If you take mental ability as an example, it’s like this. If Person A uses his mental ability on Person B, then one line like this is connected. It’s actually a flow of energy… it’s the most similar to expressing it with lines.”

“You mean this space is full of things like those lines?”

“That’s right. Because we and this space are interacting. Even the chair on which Han Yi-gyeol-ssi sits is made of lines in my eyes using my ability. Countless black lines.”

It was very interesting because it was the first time we talked about this. Other people’s faces were similar to mine.

“Then can we just remove that line?”

“No. You have to find a different coloured line.”

Edward shook his head at Kwon Jeong-han’s question and continued.

“That’s the line I’ve been looking for for a week. And this morning, I finally found a grey line that is slightly pale in colour. There are so many black lines that it’s too late to notice.”

Edward’s smiling face seemed much more comfortable than yesterday. It was fortunate that the burden I had accumulated in my heart for a week seemed to have lessened a bit.

“If you follow the grey line, you’ll figure out where the space comes from. If we destroy it, we can get out of this space too.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“I had to go through the hotel step by step… I need at least ten days or more. To be honest, it’s my first time in a situation like this, so it’s hard to say exactly.”

“That alone is enough.”

I said sincerely. Now that I was confident that we could get out, things were much better than before.

“Probably next week, the hotel will be checked… I might have to go outside along the grey line. Is that okay though?”

Edward asked carefully and Cheon Sa-yeon, who was listening with his arms folded, answered.

“If that’s the case, of course, it’s fine. It would be dangerous to go out alone, so be sure to go with someone with combat abilities.”

“I will.”

I didn’t have an appetite, so I just put a few side dishes in the lunch box and closed the lid. Anyway, now it was time to go to work.

It was still raining outside, but I felt much better than yesterday. We could get out of this space. That was my only hope.

* * *

As the night got late, the rain got stronger. The number of customers was significantly less than before, thanks to the pouring rain that made it difficult to see ahead.

“Cough.”

As the time left was nearing, I coughed a little and headed to the rooftop without anyone knowing, holding a beer can. When I opened the tightly closed iron door, the wind and rain hit my face and a night view appeared.

“Cough, cough.”

I blocked the rain with my wind ability and opened a beer can. The light of the white building glimmered in my eyes in the distance beyond the rain that obscured my view.

Looking at it, I emptied a can of beer and went down to the first floor again. My body was slightly wet as the light wind couldn’t block the rain at all.

As soon as I threw the empty beer can in the can collection box, Kim Woo-jin found me and talked to me. I almost got caught.

“Were you out? Your hair’s a little wet.”

“Ung. I helped move some beer bottle boxes outside.”

“Why you didn’t call me.”

“You have to make cocktails.”

Kim Woo-jin, who had improved tremendously in making cocktails over the past week, had now become an indispensable part of the bartender team. He made good cocktails and had a pretty face, so who would hate it.

“What did you learn today?”

“Blue Sapphire.”

“Can you make it for me too?”

Kim Woo-jin, who smiled shyly as if embarrassed by the compliment, nodded his head.

“Uung. Want me to make it now?”

“That’s good.”

I followed Kim Woo-jin, who headed straight away. Kim Woo-jin, who started making a cocktail with leftovers from the other side of the seat where I was sitting, quickly finished the blue sapphire and placed it in front of me. The blue cocktail shone beautifully in the colourful lights hanging above the bar.

I made sure there were no other people nearby and lowered my voice.

“Wa, you look like a real expert now. Why don’t you try the certification test when you return to Korea later?”

“Even if I don’t have a license, I can make it for you anytime you want.”

That’s true too. If you think about it realistically, you should prepare supplies and ingredients.

As I took a sip of the cocktail, the refreshing lime flavour along with the carbonation spread in my mouth. The satisfactory taste of the cocktail made me smile.

“It’s delicious.”

“Re, really?”

Kim Woo-jin, who looked at me with a nervous expression, smiled broadly at that word. While drinking a cocktail in such a friendly atmosphere, Go Dong-ju came down from the second floor and found us.

“What is it, you little guy. Are you drinking again?”

Go Dong-ju, who called me ‘the little guy’ instead of the name Han Yi-gyeol, frowned slightly.

“It’s been days since I couldn’t even drink. Yesterday you also stole beer and drank… it was very tasty.”

“It’s just a cocktail.”

“Isn’t cocktails alcohol? Besides, it’s a blue sapphire. Our store makes the alcohol a little higher… drink in moderation. Ong?”

After working together for a few days, Go Dong-ju shook his head as if he had gotten used to it.

“It’s like seeing our Hyung-nim from the past.”

Taking a deep breath, I looked at Go Dong-ju, who was passing by with a puzzled look, and the cocktail glass in my hand suddenly disappeared.

“Kim Woo-jin?”

Kim Woo-jin, who took the cocktail glass with his face hardened, blinked slowly.

“How many days have you been like this? Han Yi-gyeol, did you even drink yesterday?”

“That…”

I did drink. A cocktail made by Woo Seo-hyuk. Kim Woo-jin’s expression distorted more terribly as I hesitated without answering right away. It was the first time he had shown this attitude since we got close.

“You drank the one I made two days ago. But you drank yesterday too? Even beer?”

“No, that…”

Even if I was caught, I didn’t know that he would react so sharply, so I was so bewildered. Just by listening to it, he would think I drank every day. It was just a cocktail and a can of beer.

“Stop drinking today. And I will never make it for you from now on.”

“Wait, Kim Woo-jin. It’s not that surprising. Usually, other people simply drink beer after work…”

“You drank it every day.”

Kim Woo-jin coldly blocked my persuasion.

“And I think you’ve been drinking every day for more than three days.”

“Um…”

“Han Yi-gyeol…”

When I couldn’t answer the harsh words and avoided his gaze, Kim Woo-jin asked in a slightly softened tone.

“It’s not that you force yourself to endure it with drinking… can’t you just be honest with me?”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Please tell me if you’re having a hard time.”

A bitter smile came out of me at the unexpected request. I lowered my empty hand under the table so that Kim Woo-jin couldn’t see it and held it tightly.

“I’m not having a hard time, Kim Woo-jin.”

I’m not lying, it really wasn’t hard. Now, even when I was next to Kwon Se-hyun, I didn’t feel any special emotions. Cheon Sa-yeon still showed special interest in Kwon Se-hyun, but… it didn’t matter to me if the two of them became close as long as the name wasn’t revealed.

I shrugged my shoulders and answered lightly, but Kim Woo-jin’s expression wasn’t relieved at all. Wow, I couldn’t believe that he didn’t have much trust. Kinda sad.

“Alright. As you said, I’ll stop drinking now. So stop worrying… cough!”

The words that were meant to appease Kim Woo-jin suddenly stopped at the sudden cough. Cough, cough! I lowered my upper body while resting my hand on the bar table at the non-stop coughing.

“Han Yi-gyeol!”

I coughed continuously without even having time to catch my breath and my chest ached. It was then that I felt the chills that had been covered by the drunkenness all over my body.

“Cough, uh…”

“Ha, Han Yi-gyeol. Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”

As soon as the coughing stopped, the dizziness kicked in. Kim Woo-jin, who was seeing me unable to straighten my bent upper body, approached me in a hurry.

‘It’s cold…’

Kim Woo-jin’s palm touching my forehead was very cold. No, am I hot?

I felt a rushing headache and closed my eyes.