Ch.208Side Story 8

Currently, Rina Lee was very displeased. Very, extremely displeased!

“No! I kept Sujin Hyun’s survival a secret for your sake, and this is how you repay me! How could you do this! It’s betrayal, betrayal!!”

“Betrayal? Rina? That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“It’s not an exaggeration?! It is betrayal!”

She had come to Seojin Baek’s home early on the weekend to spend some time together.

But somehow, there was no one in the house.

He had definitely returned to Korea from Japan just yesterday.

Rina knew very well from her multiple observations that Seojin always preferred to rest at home after completing a job.

But when he wasn’t there, she tilted her head in confusion, only to encounter a man and woman coming up the stairs.

Needless to say, the pair was none other than Seojin Baek and Soohyun Kim.

“What exactly is going on here?”

Thanks to Rina’s icy glare, Seojin was visibly uncomfortable.

Soohyun, however, remained calm as if nothing was wrong.

“I moved. To the floor below. So I just invited him to my housewarming party, that’s all.”

“Who has a housewarming party in the morning? And there’s no way you only had a housewarming party!”

“It was a housewarming party. Officially.”

Soohyun boldly stated this and then walked straight into Seojin’s apartment.

Rina could only watch in disbelief, letting out a sigh.

Once inside, Soohyun naturally began preparing breakfast.

She effortlessly prepared various dishes that Rina couldn’t even dream of making.

Anyone could clearly see which one was the hostess and which one was the guest.

“I don’t know what’s happening this early in the morning, but let’s eat first.”

Rina was stunned by Soohyun’s perfect hostess behavior.

But she had skipped breakfast to come here, so she was hungry.

Plus, Soohyun’s cooking skills looked impressive.

Most decisively, the menu consisted of Korean dishes that Rina loved most!

Eventually, Rina surrendered to the breakfast menu and sat at the table—

“Hmph.”

Soohyun set the table with a winner’s smile.

After finishing breakfast, unlike someone who might break dishes while washing them,

Soohyun completed all the cleanup and then went back down to her own place, saying she’d be leaving now.

She was like a wife giving her husband space to talk with guests.

Naturally, this made Rina’s mood even worse.

“I met Sujin Hyun but didn’t do anything to her, out of consideration for you!”

“What? You met her? Weren’t you supposed to stop tracking her?”

“I was, because you said she was dead. But how could I ignore her when she was so obviously flaunting her energy! She seemed a bit careless, so I just gave her a warning. To be careful.”

Seojin tilted his head with a puzzled “Hmm?” at Rina’s response.

From what she just said, it seemed she had found Sujin Hyun but let her go.

Could Rina, who never showed mercy to villains, have really done that?

‘Considering how she destroyed The Mole who had just expressed intention to reform…’

Could she have half-killed Sujin Hyun and was now trying to take credit?

When Seojin gave her a suspicious look, Rina sighed with a “Haa?”

“No? That’s not it.”

“What isn’t?”

“I didn’t hurt Sujin Hyun and then try to take credit for sparing her.”

“…Are you sure your superpower isn’t mind reading?”

“You should control your expressions better. I can see right through you, seriously.”

After grumbling a few more times, Rina plopped down on the sofa with an “Ehhh!”

She had come out in a good mood early on the weekend to see Seojin.

She had even kept Sujin Hyun’s existence a secret and done nothing to her, expecting praise.

But as it turned out, this man had spent a passionate night with Soohyun Kim.

“I just wish you’d tell me these things. Then it wouldn’t hurt so much.”

“That’s rich coming from you, considering how many secrets you’ve kept from Soohyun.”

“That was me demanding my rightful reward!”

“If it’s rightful, shouldn’t you be proud of it? Looking at it this way, you seem to care a lot about Soohyun too.”

That’s only because that person throws a fit if she falls behind even a little…

Mumbling these words to herself, Rina suddenly stood up.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

“Huh?”

“I said I’m going to take a shower.”

There was only one reason for this sudden reaction.

If yesterday was Soohyun’s day, today should be hers.

Rina headed straight to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Seojin watched her silently, then let out a sigh.

Not for any particular reason, just because he could imagine what would happen next.

And a moment later—

“Um, Seojin oppa.”

“I put some clothes for you to change into out here.”

You can’t just barge into the shower without bringing clothes to change into.

At the very least, you should prepare what you’re going to wear before going in.

Thinking of Rina’s parents who always had to prepare many things because their daughter was so careless,

Seojin had a feeling that today was going to be a long day.

*

After showering, Rina changed into the clothes Seojin had prepared.

Some were things she had brought from her own home, the rest were prepared by him.

She wondered when he had prepared all this when even she hadn’t thought about it.

‘Well, at least that’s fortunate.’

From what she heard, it seemed they hadn’t been rolling around in Seojin’s bed.

If they had, there would have been no reason for them to come up together from the floor below.

She didn’t want to do it in a place covered with another woman’s scent.

That was her minimum self-respect, an absolute line she wouldn’t cross.

‘As much as I’d like to keep complaining about this…’

Rina knew by now that she needed to walk a fine line.

Saying more would change nothing and only make Seojin uncomfortable.

From now on, she should pretend not to care even if she wanted to know more, and focus on what comes next…

“Ah?”

As soon as she came out of the bathroom, her body suddenly tilted.

Startled, she tried to grab onto something, and what she caught was none other than Seojin’s shoulder.

“S-Seojin oppa?”

What is this? What’s happening? Is this the princess carry pose I’ve only heard about?

It’s a bit surprising that he’s doing this so suddenly… but it’s not bad at all!

“Come on. Let’s go, Miss Rina.”

“W-what are you saying! I can go by myself!”

Despite saying this, Rina snuggled comfortably into his arms.

Seojin inwardly chuckled as he carried her to the bedroom.

“Let’s see. Rina, you’ve been really tired lately, haven’t you?”

“Huh? Why suddenly bring that up?”

“You’ve been doing an insane amount of work compared to before.”

The truth was that her workload was still light compared to other S-rank heroes.

But compared to how Rina used to be, it was definitely a lot of work.

“My workload has increased… but I can handle it! Who do you think I am! I’m Rina…”

“Really? If you said you were tired, I was going to give you a massage.”

“Ah! I’m tired! I’m exhausted to death! I might die if I don’t get a massage!!”

This girl will never change, even in the future. Never.

Unable to hold back, Seojin burst into laughter, causing Rina’s ears to turn slightly red.

Still, she urged him to hurry up, clearly looking forward to it.

“Alright, let’s start with your shoulders and arms.”

“Ow! D-does it have to hurt? Is it supposed to hurt like this?”

“It has to hurt a bit to properly loosen up. If you keep chattering, I might just stop.”

Starting with the upper body, he then moved on to loosen her calf muscles.

Hmm. Touching these legs confirms one thing.

Anyone kicked by these legs, no matter who they are, would be saying goodbye to life.

“Eek! T-that tickles!”

When he touched the sole of her foot, Rina quickly pulled it away.

She gave him a questioning look, and Seojin clicked his tongue.

“Don’t get any weird ideas. The foot mirrors the entire body. Don’t you know how refreshing it feels when your soles are properly massaged?”

“I-isn’t that just something made up by people with foot fetishes?!”

“Well, I’m not sure, but foot massages exist everywhere. So, what did I say? What happens if you keep chattering?”

“I got it! I’ll keep my mouth shut! Hmph!”

Rina made a gesture as if zipping her lips.

Shaking his head as if she was hopeless, he pressed her foot soles again.

“…Ugh! T-that hurts!”

“Oh? Then this area must be problematic. Let me see. This part corresponds to which part of the body…”

“No! You’re just pressing too hard?! I don’t like people who believe in pseudoscience!”

“It could be evidence that your body is tired! And it’s not pseudoscience?! Haven’t you heard of acupressure points!”

“I don’t read martial arts novels, so I wouldn’t know!”

What had started as a rather sensual, heated atmosphere

Had now turned into the scene of an ordinary couple bickering.

*

“Wow. I really thought my jaw was going to be ripped off.”

When he pressed the acupressure points on her foot sole, Rina had thrashed about in pain.

As a result, Seojin took a kick straight to his jaw.

“I’m sorry…”

Knowing the destructive power of her own body all too well,

Rina, who rarely apologized for anything, immediately said she was sorry.

If she had kicked a little harder, it could have been a disaster.

“For the next part, stay still. Understand?”

Rubbing his jaw, Seojin changed the massage area.

He started by kneading her calves again, then gradually moved upward.

“Eh?”

From knee to thigh, and then from thigh to even further inside.

Finally, when his hands stopped at a certain spot, Rina smiled slightly.

“This is right, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come this far.”

Nodding, Rina immediately pulled Seojin in.

Though the sun had just risen, for them, it was already night.