Chapter 608: A Door That Won’t Open Unless XX (2)

“It’s just a kiss meant to open the door, so there’s no need to attach too much meaning to it, like calling it a first kiss or anything.”

“…I know.”

I never imagined a situation like this would happen, where I’d end up kissing Boss Seo Ok-hee in a place like this.

It wasn’t necessarily all bad that something like this happened, though.

After all, objectively speaking, the boss was someone with a very cute appearance, and in many ways, she was attractive enough for me to feel a romantic interest in her.

Moreover, recently, her body matured from looking perpetually young, adding a feminine charm to her cuteness. And her face? She was undeniably beautiful even when she had a youthful appearance.

Furthermore, I’d received confirmation that she didn’t have a romantic history, which I would have normally expected, so any worries or concerns on that front were resolved all at once…

“Hey.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Stop having useless thoughts. If you’re going to do it, don’t waste time and just do it.”

The boss’s pointed remark followed, directed at me for having inappropriate thoughts even at the moment right before the kiss, with her right in front of me.

Immediately, I stopped thinking about her for a moment, then brought my face closer and touched lips with Boss Seo Ok-hee.

Because this kiss was absolutely necessary to escape this mystery-filled dungeon.

-ppoi,

“Hngh.”

The lips of the two people pressed together quietly in front of the white door.

They didn’t press together for long, even for the boss’s sake, since it was her first kiss. Just barely, enough for the sensation of a kiss to linger on the lips.

Though it was such a brief moment, my lips and hers definitely met and then parted.

After the light kiss where their moist lips mingled briefly, the boss’s face was slightly flushed red.

“……”

“……”

It seemed impossible not to feel personal feelings, even if one tried.

Clearly, the boss standing right in front of me is the same age as Eunyoung Noona, so why is her blushing appearance so cute?

It seemed her words about having no romantic ties with men weren’t a lie at all.

Otherwise, there’s no reason she’d blush like that over a kiss that was practically a peck…

“Get rid of those useless thoughts. Quickly open the door and just go in.”

“Ah, yes.”

Hearing her words, I immediately snapped out of it, grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and pushed myself inside.

The white door, which hadn’t budged at all just moments before, naturally opened inward, revealing a new space inside.

-crack, creak…

At the same time, the dungeon’s collapse, which I had temporarily halted with cold magic, resumed.

Since I couldn’t hesitate any longer, I first hurriedly entered the space with the boss.

I quickly sealed the entrance to prevent dirt and debris from flowing in from outside.

-click.

“Huuu…”

“…At least, it seems we survived somehow.”

Fortunately, the door itself seemed sturdy, as the aftermath of the dungeon collapse beyond it didn’t seem to be pushing into the room.

Or perhaps, this dungeon itself was created from the beginning specifically to guide us into this space, which is why it’s unaffected.

Although it’s just a vague guess, starting from the appearance of the first monster, this dungeon seemed to be strangely trying hard to create a sense of ‘crisis’ for the boss and me.

To gauge the abilities of her, an SSS-rank Hunter, it first made us face a group of cyclopses.

As soon as it confirmed she could use electric attacks, it deployed monsters with electricity resistance.

Then, after realizing mental attacks were possible, ghosts without minds appeared. And since monster attacks seemed ineffective, it tried ambushing with mimics, or even made attacks using monsters devoid of self-awareness.

Even finally, it created a sense of crisis by causing the dungeon itself to collapse, leaving us with no way out.

Maybe everything up to now could have been a coincidence, and perhaps the dungeon genuinely had intent and tried to kill the boss and me rather than just creating a sense of crisis, but at least in my opinion, it didn’t seem that simple.

After going through all that trouble to put the boss and me in danger, a ‘Door That Won’t Open Unless Kissed’ suddenly appears at the last moment.

In many ways, given the absurd setup, it was unavoidable to have such reasonable doubts.

Because of that, it felt like the dungeon exploration until now wasn’t true exploration, but rather like a somewhat active date between lovers.

After running around the dungeon for a while and using large-scale cold magic, as I rested my slightly tired body for a moment, only then did the scenery inside the door begin to come into view somewhat.

Like the entrance door, our eyes met across the space filled with a sense of unease.

“By the way, this inner area is quite a strange space…”

“…You think so too?”

“There probably isn’t anyone who wouldn’t think this space is strange.”

All the walls and ceiling were completely white, an empty room.

If anything, the only things that could be called unusual were the entrance door we just came through (now blocked by the dungeon collapse) and the door on the opposite side, leading to another space.

And the black electronic display, which was also on the first door, was present above the door leading to the other space as well.

Thinking back to the text that appeared when the boss and I approached the display just now, perhaps this one will show similar requirements if approached.

“For now, it seems we have no choice but to proceed forward.”

“Will it be okay, boss? What if something dangerous pops out as soon as we open the next door…”

“If they intended to install something like that, then this space itself wouldn’t be safe. What’s certain is that this dungeon isn’t trying to kill us, but has another purpose. Whether it’s naturally occurring or artificially created.”

“…That makes sense.”

…If a dungeon like this occurred naturally, it would seem much more fascinating, though.

Anyway, regarding dungeon clearing, the boss was far more experienced and capable than me, so following her lead and proceeding forward here was the right decision.

Just staying put in this maddening space didn’t seem like it would solve anything either.

“Since we don’t know what might pop out ahead, I’ll go in first. I also bear responsibility for bringing you into this dungeon.”

“There’s no need to call it responsibility. After all, I volunteered to do it.”

“I already predicted you would do it, and it was like I notified you. If I had known it was this unpredictable a dungeon, I obviously wouldn’t have let you in.”

“Well, even if it wasn’t me, you would have cleared it with someone anyway, right? In that sense, it wasn’t such a bad experience for me.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Although I went through some hardships, ultimately, since I took the boss’s first kiss, in a way, I’m a little happy…”

-WHAM!

“Aack!”

“R-right now, things are seriously dire, and you’re spouting nonsense?!”

“It’s true the situation is bad, but even so, there’s no need to only think negative thoughts. I just felt like you were feeling unnecessary responsibility, so I said that to tell you there’s no need…”

“Sh-shut up! Who told you to care about that?! Anyway, how can you lie so shamelessly…”

“It wasn’t a lie. I genuinely wasn’t upset about kissing you, not at all. If you only think about that aspect, it was actually a little pleasant.”

“…I’m going to check right now, so if it’s a lie, you’ll know you’re as good as dead.”

“Bring it on. I have nothing to hide.”

Having my thoughts read by Boss Seo Ok-hee was a bit burdensome, but since I wasn’t lying about anything, I had nothing to feel guilty about.

The boss had often heard about the feelings I harbored for her anyway, so any misunderstanding should be cleared up quickly.

Thinking that, I quietly focused on the boss in my mind and tried my best to convey my true feelings for her, but…

What came back wasn’t the blushing Seo Ok-hee reacting to my emotions, but rather her, looking flustered, like something wasn’t working out.

“…You, are you thinking about me right now?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Really? Not lying?”

“Why do you ask, boss?”

“…I can’t read your thoughts.”

“Huh?”

“Okay, just a moment. I need to check something quickly, so step behind me.”

“…Okay.”

Anyone could see she was clearly flustered, so following the boss’s words, I quietly moved behind her.

The boss, just like when she dealt with the cyclopses earlier, reached her hand into the air and took a stance as if to release something.

Anyone could tell she was trying to release her inner energy to use the electric attack she’d just employed.

However, from her fingertips, instead of the flashy electrical discharge from before, only a silent stillness flowed without any reaction.

Seeing that, I could vaguely guess why Boss Seo Ok-hee was flustered.

“…Boss.”

“……”

“Could it be that right now, you’ve become unable to use your awakened ability?”

Unable to answer my question easily, the boss stood motionless, frozen stiff with a stiff expression.

Since the moment we first entered this mysterious dungeon, the situation was steadily worsening.