episode_0032

Bubble bubble.

‘I’m tired.’

The ramen was cooked well.

It’s admirable no matter which angle you look at it from.

Moderately cooked kimchi and meat side dishes were placed on the table, and a stand was placed in the middle.

A pot of ramen was placed on the stand. I really liked the well-cooked eggs and the chewy noodles. I guess I was hungry too.

“White paper, it’s done. 17 years into my ramen life, it is a masterpiece of my conversion.”

“Wow… . It must be delicious.”

Before we knew it, the white paper that had arrived at the table was letting out an exclamation. Maybe it’s because his voice is kind, but even his exclamations are calm.

There was a familiar smell of shampoo and body lotion.

I turned my head and looked that way.

“Hurry up and eat… .”

At that moment, I was speechless.

‘Ugh… !’

Unbelievable.

I had already anticipated and prepared for it.

A shape more destructive than I could imagine invaded my field of vision.

Wet hair right after washing. A white paper wearing only my dress shirt.

Beneath the hem of his shirt, his fair-skinned legs stretched out. It was truly a fatal sight.

‘Heart… !’

A sudden shock came to my heart.

I managed to control my facial expression by biting my tongue, but it was difficult to control the intermittent tremors of my body.

“Would you like an apron? I’m afraid it might splatter on my clothes.”

“Here it is.”

“… Why do you give it to me so carefully?”

It must have been strange to see him handing me an apron with his arms outstretched while trying to avoid eye contact.

White Paper tilted his head and laughed quietly. What a meaningful smile it was.

We sat across from each other at the table and ate bowls of ramen.

Maybe I was so tired of all the tiring things and being so wrapped up in my headaches that I forgot that I was hungry. It felt as delicious as 1/3 of the ramen I ate during the night march during my previous life as a soldier.

I glanced sideways at the white paper. It was lovely to see him eating kimchi and noodles together with chopsticks while tucking one side of his hair behind his ear.

‘If I get married, will I be able to see this view every day?’

Suddenly, a happy imagination arose in my head, where I had been only thinking about dull thoughts until a moment ago.

When I’m having a hard time, I look at the Five White Papers.

Because just looking at it is healing.

However, it is not possible to enjoy only beautiful things comfortably.

I thought about it while eating ramen again.

‘… He probably doesn’t know about the relationship between the principal and Dalby.’

If I hadn’t had the knowledge of the game, the many clues, and even one of the goblin’s messages, I wouldn’t have been convinced that the headmaster was something I should consider for my assignment.

‘It would be better if I kept that to myself for now. It’s difficult to explain, and it’s obvious that it will only put a lot of pressure on you. ‘I hope you can rest in peace right now.’

I looked sideways at the white paper’s hand. Although the tremor in my hands had improved, I still couldn’t help but worry about her.

“Manager, you cook ramen well.”

Suddenly, White Paper spoke.

“Because I ate it often. This is basic.”

If you are “, it would be fair to call you a craftsman.”

“What is your tone… ? Anyway, I’ll boil it again if you want, so just tell me anytime.”

“I like quick-witted kids like you.”

The white paper spoke jokingly and smiled kindly. Soon, White Paper, who was eating ramen, asked an unexpected question.

“Now that I think about it, is there anyone else other than me who stopped by the manager’s house?”

“?”

What question is this?

Of course there had to be.

‘Except that Dalbi came often when I was young.’

I have never invited anyone else to my house.

“I’ve never been a friend before. Why?”

“… It’s nothing. I suddenly became curious.”

White Paper shook his head.

Was he worried that someone might come to visit in the middle of the night?

‘It makes sense.’

If an acquaintance suddenly visits my house and sees me and Baek Seo together, how would I react?

Well, there was no need to worry about that.

“Is that so.”

I brushed aside the topic and went back to eating ramen.

Every now and then, whenever White Paper came into view, I unconsciously got distracted by her outfit.

‘You look pretty every time I see you… .’

It’s admirable.

The mind is strongly influenced by the body. As I was in the midst of a vigorous period, the sight of an admittedly beautiful woman wearing only my dress shirt was extremely provocative.

Moreover, given that he is the person the other person likes, the level of stimulation is bound to become even more ferocious.

In the end, the heat gathered in my lower body and I couldn’t get up from the chair. I had no choice but to sing the national anthem to myself.

After finally finishing the ramen, Baek Seo stood up.

“I ate well. I’ll do the dishes.”

“ done. Customers need to rest. I will do it.”

“Okay… ? But what do you do when you’re not up?”

“I thought of something to think about for a moment. Go and rest first.”

Even though the national anthem was sung up to the fourth verse, it did not have much effect. It seems he lacked patriotism in his past life.

The white paper watched me quietly for a moment, then smiled a little awkwardly.

“Yes… . Then I’ll do it next time.”

Fortunately, the white paper left.

‘It was dangerous… .’

In the end, as a last resort, I was able to overcome the crisis by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and the Mahapanyaparamita Heart Sutra. As expected, the power of God was great.

When I returned from washing the dishes, I saw a white paper. I was sitting on the sofa and looking at my smartphone.

Just listen to that right away… !

“I’m going to take a shower.”

… When an impulsive thought occurred to me, I quickly headed to the shower room.

* * *

While Ahn Woo-jin went to wash, Oh Baek-seo looked around the house. Then I found my middle school yearbook.

Baek Seo looked for Woo Jin with short hair and carefully stroked the photo. It was a side of Woojin that he didn’t know about.

“… … .”

Today, I planned to pretend to be asleep and wait for Woojin to fall asleep, take Baekryundo with me, and stay up all night. This is because you never know when a threat will come.

So, I kept Baekryundo around me. Although he was calm on the outside, he was on alert on the inside.

Then, a word from Woojin suddenly came to mind.

─ ‘I’ve never had a friend come over before.’

No one has been in or out recently.

At least for Woojin, it seemed like a fait accompli.

Baek Seo remembered the white porridge that he didn’t know who had cooked for him on the day Woojin got sick with the flu. Who on earth did that?

In a residential area with many security robots, secretly without Woojin noticing… ?

White Paper manipulated the smartphone and deployed personal security drones that were kept near the house to Woojin’s home address. This was possible because approval was given from the security team in this residential area.

“I guess I’ll have to stay with Woojin for a while… .”

A white paper that quietly monologues.

It would be better to stay by Woojin’s side until we can be sure of his safety.

It would have been best to stay at Woojin’s house, but of course that would have been difficult.

Aside from getting permission, I didn’t want to harm Woojin’s privacy.

“Then… .”

It seemed like I would need to drain my savings sooner or later.

Eventually, Woojin, who had washed up and changed his clothes, came out to the living room.

“It’s a white paper.”

and.

“Shall we watch a movie?”

“?”

An unexpected suggestion came out of Woojin’s mouth.

After a while.

Turning off all the lights in the house, the two sat side by side on the sofa and covered themselves with a blanket. Soon Woojin turned on the movie.

“What movie is it?”

“Hero movie. Did you see it?”

“I didn’t see that. Let’s take a look.”

It was an unexpected situation, but Baekseo realized that Woojin was doing it because he cared about himself and remained calm.

Hero movies, a remnant of the culture left behind by older humans, began to play on TV.

A genius engineer flying through the sky with his body covered in steel, a man in tights who was able to use the abilities of a spider after being bitten by a spider, a blue man with a flying shield, etc.

The main content was a battle between several heroes using all kinds of skills against evil villains.

It was an old movie made before the mysterious power called ‘horsepower’ appeared in the world, but the city where it was set was not much different from the feel of current Neo Seoul.

According to history, while billions of people lost their lives, human culture and technology deteriorated. So, it was understandable that the environment was similar now and in the past.

Woojin was immersed in movies. Surprisingly, there was longing in his eyes. Baekseo liked seeing Woojin like that better than in the movie.

“Oh.”

Suddenly, Woojin let out an exclamation.

“Why are you doing that?”

“I forgot something important.”

Woojin brought a large container of snacks and drinks, and the two began to share them.

“… … .”

Now I’m watching a movie with Woojin, leaning side by side under a warm blanket.

The white paper enjoyed a deep sense of satisfaction while maintaining a state of tension.

A white paper gently stroking the forehead.

Before I knew it, the tremors in my hands had subsided, and the thoughts I didn’t want to think about had subsided. There may be a reason why the penalty for Unsa’s unique skill has decreased over time, but even taking this into account, the rate of improvement was quite fast.

As the movie reached its second half, Woojin’s eyes blinked helplessly and his head bobbed. As I approached dawn without recovering from my fatigue, I began to fall asleep.

The white paper pretended not to see what was happening and watched the movie in silence.

“It’s a white paper.”

“Huh?”

Woojin, who guessed that he was drowsy, spoke in a calm voice.

“Recently, I have a new security drone. If someone breaks in, an alarm will sound. therefore… If I get caught, I can run away too. You don’t have to worry too much.”

This was said to ease Baek Seo’s worries even a little.

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

White Paper answered with a kind smile.

The movie ended and the credits started rolling over the black screen. White Paper turned his head to the side. Woojin was sound asleep, leaning his neck against the back of the sofa.

“… You’re careless, Chief. What if someone attacks me?”

A white paper whispering playfully in a very low voice. That intimate tone filled the air.

Baek Seo got up from the sofa and was contemplating whether to lay Woo Jin down, then carefully took his head and placed it gently on his shoulder.

Then, ignoring the pounding of my heart, I leaned my head against Woojin’s head.

White Paper slowly closed his eyes.

“Knowing everything… .”

The white paper said:

“Pretending not to know.”

The two people had already guessed each other’s feelings.

If we look back at the ways we have shown each other so far, it would not have been difficult for even the most oblivious person to detect the other person’s feelings.

However, White Paper is quick-witted.

It has been a long time since we realized that Woojin became the leader of the leading department, taking on great hardships.

I wasn’t sure exactly what the problem was, but I knew that Woojin had no time to be distracted. The white paper only respects the obsession he has as a manager.

So the white paper had already made a commitment.

I decided to follow Woojin’s path without saying anything.

In the process, I gradually intervened in Woojin’s life and added my own color to it.

On the day when Woojin finally laid down his burden as the leader, Baek Seo naturally planned to reveal his feelings.

“… Sleep well.”

Baekseo smiled softly and gently placed his hand on Woojin’s hand.

* * *

“This is five hundred books. A new person moved into the house next door today.”

“… … ?”

“Shall I give you a moving gift?”

Suddenly I have a new next door neighbor.