Chapter 510: Want to Come to My Place? (3)

“Stay at my place until you and your sisters find a new home. Don’t go around saying you’ll sleep in the company meeting room or bounce between motels.”

“…Wha, what?!”

Han Min-ah made a surprised face with a flustered voice the moment she heard my proposal. Apparently, she hadn’t imagined hearing the suggestion to live together, as obvious fluster could be felt from her expression. Not just Min-ah, but her two younger sisters were also looking at me with slightly foolish expressions at my proposal.

“…O-Oppa? What did you just say…”

“…Are you serious, Oraboni?”

“Of course, I’m serious. Even so, do you really think I’d make some useless joke in such a serious situation?”

“…No. You wouldn’t be that kind of person, Oraboni.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Even if the amount lost to fraud wasn’t large, it was a clear fact that these sisters were now in a situation where they had nowhere to go. More than anything, wanting to help these three sisters personally in some way had been a long-cherished wish. Because the sight of three girls gathered together, struggling to survive in a one-room basement apartment, often tugged at my heartstrings as a man. In the bleak situation after their parents disappeared overnight, Min-ah somehow held the sisters together, managed tuition and living expenses through various government benefits or part-time jobs. She quickly got a job right after graduating and worked so hard she barely had any holidays, somehow getting the family back on its feet. And those younger sisters, repaying Min-ah’s efforts, grew up properly following her without causing any major trouble even during their rebellious teenage years, so the desire to help them remained the same in my heart, then and now.

The problem was, this Han Min-ah flatly refused financial support from friends, and I also wasn’t keen on giving money rashly, as it felt like offering cheap charity out of pity.

‘In the first place, I hadn’t even gained awakening abilities until about a year ago, so I wasn’t exactly in a position to help anyone.’

But now, after awakening as a Hunter, I’m constantly growing while utilizing my abilities to the fullest. Working actively at both the company and the union, I’ve saved enough money to live comfortably, even after covering my own living expenses. At least enough not to struggle financially while supporting Min-ah’s three sisters.

And strictly speaking, inviting them to my home was a slightly different method than direct financial support. Cash or material things, being limited resources, objectively decrease my assets. Just providing a place to sleep wasn’t really a loss or anything to me. Rather, I could effectively utilize the empty space in my house, and living together as a group would ultimately save on food costs and other living expenses. And from the perspective of being able to gain awakening points from them occasionally, like housemates, it was actually beneficial for me too.

Eunbyul is already living with me like a live-in maid, but anyway, the entire two-story house was a bit spacious for just two people. Including the large room originally used as my parents’ room, there was unused space left, so there was no particular reason I couldn’t accommodate these three sisters.

So, thinking it was a pretty good idea, I made the proposal to the three of them, but Han Min-ah seemed quite flustered by it.

“Th-that’s too much, Sung Taekyung…!”

“What’s not?”

“Even so, how can a person be so shameless?! I’ve already asked you to look after the furniture, asking for a place to sleep too, without any shame, is a bit much…”

“What’s the big deal? Besides, Hye-eun often sleeps over at my place anyway?”

“Th-that’s completely different from this!”

Well, strictly speaking, Hye-eun, who sleeps over for a night while having sex with me, and the three sisters I proposed living together with are indeed a bit different in nature. Anyway, in terms of staying at my place and giving me awakening points, the difference wasn’t that huge. Of course, there might be slight variations in the frequency of sex or the duration of stay.

Fortunately, it seemed only Min-ah was finding it hard to readily accept my proposal; the other two younger sisters showed an attitude of finding it quite interesting. Just by winning over these two seemed like it wouldn’t make persuading Min-ah too difficult.

“In the same house as Taekyung Oppa… Sleeping under the same roof, waking up together…”

“In Oraboni’s house… To do that, I’d need to prepare new pretty pajamas first…”

“Jin-ah and Seon-ah are looking forward to it like this, are you going to ruin the mood for no reason, Min-ah?”

Jin-ah and Seon-ah seemed to already be imagining a future living together with me, each spreading their wings of imagination. Rather, they appeared to be just waiting for permission from their older sister, Han Min-ah. Thinking that being honest with one’s feelings is indeed a good thing, I advocated for the idea, using the two younger sisters who took my side as leverage. Han Min-ah appeared to be trying to refuse my proposal until the very last moment.

“Th-then I’ll leave just the younger sisters to you! I’d be extremely grateful just having you look after those kids, Sung Taekyung! Me crawling in too is a bit much for my conscience…”

“There’s not much difference between two or three people, you know? Don’t regret it later for no reason, you come in too.”

“No, I’m telling you, I’m fine… Even if I just put a blanket in the Sky Blue Shield meeting room, I can manage just fine… The company has showers too… A-and free lunch…”

…Because I was trying to persuade her as quietly as possible, she kept changing the subject instead, appearing to refuse my proposal. Even her answers seemed like she was joking, constantly pushing pathetic solutions.

Getting increasingly annoyed, I deliberately emphasized my anger and pushed her against a wall.

-Wham!

“Hey, Han Min-ah.”

“Gah?!”

Han Min-ah flinched back slightly, startled by the sudden wall slam. Cornered against the shop wall and trapped by my arms, she lowered her head slightly, avoiding my gaze at close range. I lifted her chin with my other hand, forcing her to meet my eyes.

“Han Min-ah.”

“Wh-why are you suddenly getting so intense…?”

“Do you… hate me?”

“Huh?! Wh-what are you talking about all of a sudden?!”

“I asked if you hate me. Don’t change the subject, answer me.”

“…….”

The pressure at close range, where escaping or turning her head wasn’t allowed. Han Min-ah, forced to answer a question that could only be YES or NO, hesitated for a moment. Still, as I expected, she gave me an answer that wasn’t a lie.

“I don’t hate you, of course not…”

“Then why do you keep refusing? I’ve been telling you to come live at my place.”

“Well… it would be a burden…”

“Then causing me worry by sleeping in the company meeting room and showering at the company, isn’t that a burden too? Huh?”

“Why are you worrying about me… It’s, it’s none of your business…”

“None of my business~?”

-Wham!

“Yipe?!”

When someone is genuinely worried about you, you call it unnecessary meddling? At her words, which were increasingly irritating me for some reason, I blocked off the opposite wall with my arms, completely restricting her movement. I thrust my face forward close to Han Min-ah, applying pressure so she couldn’t even dare to look away.

“Did you just call it unnecessary meddling?”

“Hey, hey…. You’re, you’re too close….”

“When I’m worried about where you might be suffering, did you call it unnecessary meddling?”

“Ah, y-yes…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…! I misspoke…!”

“You were wrong, right, Han Min-ah?”

“Y-yeah…. I’m sorry for calling it unnecessary meddling when you worried about me…”

“If you know you’re sorry, come to my place.”

“Ah, no…. That and this are completely separate issues…”

“Nooo…. It’s really that…”

She was like a wild cat who wouldn’t listen at all, even when I tried to persuade her gently with words. In the end, I had no choice but to play my trump card to persuade her.

“I told you to come in, Han Min-ah. Stop making pathetic excuses and pissing me off, just listen to me quietly this time.”

“…Are you, are you mad?”

“Wouldn’t I be mad? You’re making ridiculous excuses and insisting on going through hardship you don’t need to, so of course, I’m mad.”

“You don’t have to get mad over something like that…”

“Besides, this much between friends isn’t a debt or a favor. If you’re going to keep saying you feel indebted or shameless over this little thing, then know that you and I won’t be friends anymore.”

“Hey, not friends anymore… You don’t have to say that…”

…I wasn’t actually saying this because I consider her just a friend. It’s just that Han Min-ah is too stubborn and wouldn’t listen unless I said something like this.

Still, my declaration of breaking off friendship seemed to have worked, as Han Min-ah carefully considered my proposal with a serious expression. In the end, she too nodded her head and had no choice but to agree to my proposal.

“Fine, I’ll just come live at your place too.”

“Good choice.”

“I’ll only impose on you until I find a new place… I’m not planning to settle down forever… As soon as I find a new place, I’ll leave…”

“I get it, but make sure of this. If you choose a place worse than the one you were originally going to move into, I won’t let you leave.”

“Wh-what do you mean?!”

“Right here. What are you gonna do about it?”

“…….”

As I leaned in and spoke towards her, cornered against the wall again, Han Min-ah quickly quieted down. Anyway, why does persuading her on this simple proposal drain a person so much?

Lastly, to ensure she wouldn’t feel burdened, I added one last suggestion.

“You’re going to a place better than the apartment you were originally going to move into. If you can’t find a new place to move into, then it’s fine if you live in my house forever.”

“Forever is a bit much…”

“Think that loosely. It means you won’t be able to use the excuse that you picked hastily because you were rushed.”

“Ah, okay…”

Well, but knowing Min-ah’s meticulous and diligent nature, she’ll probably find a new place within half a year to a year at the latest. Even if those years became two or three, I wouldn’t rush her.

…What if Han Min-ah couldn’t find a new place and ended up living in my house forever with her sisters? I imagined such a future for a moment, and the scene of my strangely bustling house naturally came to mind. Min-ah in an apron, waking up early to make breakfast; Jin-ah, clinging to me and acting cute the moment she wakes up; and Seon-ah, quietly approaching me when I’m not looking and subtly seeking physical contact. It was the moment the thought crossed my mind that it wouldn’t be such a bad future.

…Of course, it didn’t seem like the relationship between Han Min-ah and my future self in that situation would stop at just being friends.