episode_0174

It’s troublesome.

Unfortunately, I find myself in a very difficult situation right now.

“Sigh.”

It’s been a few months since I moved into this spacious house.

Living in a duplex townhouse with a beautiful garden, a serene pond, and state-of-the-art training facilities, I couldn’t help but smile at the luxurious scenery of the house.

It’s because I realized that I have achieved a lot more success compared to my past life.

But the joy was short-lived.

I realized that they were not willing to vacate my house and give up their rooms.

So-yeon came up with various excuses to live together, and Baek Yurin insisted on staying here by paying half of her salary, as she liked the training facilities.

Well, it’s not that bad for me.

Even if we continue living together, there are plenty of rooms and the house is very spacious.

Moreover, I thought that there would be no trouble since I had hired a cleaning lady and a cook.

And with So-yeon and Baek Yurin by my side, I felt secure enough that it didn’t matter who came in, to the point where I didn’t even need to hire a security guard.

So, I had just signed a new contract to stay in this house until they graduate from the academy…

“Huh? Why are you like this, Lee Jin-hyuk?”

Baek Yurin, who seemed to have finished showering and walked out to the living room, dripping water from her messy hair that reminded me of an eggplant.

“Baek Yurin, you…”

It’s fine to walk out of the shower room without drying properly.

That’s really fine, but…

Why are you naked?

Baek Yurin, too lazy to put on clothes with her wet body, casually looked at me with her shoulders draped, exposing herself as her white skin was covered only by a towel.

I was at a loss for words.

“Didn’t I say I would kick you out if you walked around naked in the house again?”

“Oh.”

Avoiding eye contact and sneaking glances, Baek Yurin tilted her head, but soon realized that she was naked and let out a short sigh.

“Oh, right, I forgot…”

“Hey, you can’t just forget things. Even if there’s only one man in this house, be careful.”

“Uh…”

Baek Yurin, as always, had a nonchalant expression, but after a few remarks, I could see a slight frown in her eyebrows.

She seemed to be reflecting on her actions.

After spending a few months with her, I could sense subtle emotional changes.

“It’s hard to change habits…”

“Sigh. Anyway.”

Baek Yurin, except for her relationship with swords, was quite clumsy.

“Ah, anyway, cover yourself up. Aren’t you ashamed as a girl?”

There’s nowhere to look.

Don’t you have any shame or embarrassment as a girl? I’m embarrassed just looking at you.

“Um, okay, I got it.”

Only then did Baek Yurin unfold the bath towel and covered her body, focusing on the important parts. No, why not just go back to your room?

“Please, pay attention, Baek Yurin…”

“Baek Yurin, what are you doing?!”

So-yeon, who had suddenly appeared in the living room, pointed at Baek Yurin with a shocked expression, accusing her.

“And you! Are you doing this on purpose? You are, right?! You did the same thing last time too!”

“…”

“What’s with that clueless look?!”

“Soyeon.”

“Jinhyuk, let’s really kick her out! Look at that appearance! She’s definitely doing it on purpose, right?!”

“Well, your appearance isn’t exactly modest either.”

“Huh, what?”

I glanced at Soyeon out of the corner of my eye.

Soyeon was wearing a short t-shirt that clung tightly to her body and hot pants that still showed off her thigh line.

It was quite a revealing outfit.

So I warned Soyeon a few times, but all she did was spout nonsense like, “I’m comfortable dressing like this at home~” or “What, Jinhyuk, are you trying to control my wardrobe? Hehe.” or “Aww~ was I too provocative for our Jinhyuk?” just empty words.

“If you’re going out, both of you please leave.”

“Oh, come on, what’s wrong with my outfit….”

“It’s too revealing, Soyeon….”

I sighed deeply, rubbing my forehead.

Honestly, I’m a man too.

A healthy, late teens guy in his prime.

No matter how careful I am, if they continue to show such vulnerable appearances, it can be quite troublesome in many ways.

“Baek Yurin turned out to be more of a tease than I thought, and Soyeon is too blatantly seductive(?), so it’s definitely a bit difficult.”

I had worried that such a situation might arise if we lived together, but I was feeling more stimulated than I had anticipated, and I was feeling awkward.

I’m definitely an uncontrollable man as well.

“Hmm. What should I do? Should I just kick them all out now?”

Continuing to live like this could lead to mistakes.

I’m trying my best to restrain myself, but I’m starting to realize that I’m seeing them more and more as women.

“If someone else saw, they would probably ask why I’m rejecting a prepared meal…. sigh.”

If asked why I’m rejecting a girl like this, I would answer like this.

Isn’t dating young girls a bit…. strange?

You might find it slightly puzzling here.

The girls and I are the same age.

There is a significant age gap to call them young.

But.

I have memories of my past life.

These memories were probably not manipulated by future Soyeon.

And in my past life, I was a normal mid-late twenties office worker.

Although I lost my life in an unjust accident, I was a young man with a strong sense of justice and integrity.

But to touch a minor?

It feels like a burden on my conscience.

Oh. Of course, I know that I’m the same age as them now.

I know it’s ridiculous to have such thoughts.

But the heart doesn’t always do what you want.

If you add up the age of my past life and my current life, I’m more than twice as old as them, how can I see them as dating material like them?

Isn’t that a bit strange?

Right?

“Oh, well…. Lately, I’ve been feeling like those thoughts are crumbling.”

I sighed deeply.

It’s a bit foolish to continue having these thoughts.

To have received confessions from Soyeon and Yuseolhyun and not definitively reject them, leaving room for doubt and hesitating like this, it might be ridiculous.

So I’m feeling even more frustrated.

I want to confide in someone about my thoughts at least once.

Of course, it’s not the kind of story I can tell to anyone, but still, it would be better to tell someone rather than keep these thoughts to myself.

Maybe I should seek counseling from a professional who can keep my secret.

While thinking about that.

Suddenly, one idea came to mind.

“Oh, right. That’s it.”

“Huh….?”

“Why are you suddenly like that, Jinhyuk?”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing.”

Out of the blue, as I muttered to myself, their eyes gathered on me, and I waved my hands as if to say it was nothing.

And secretly, I pondered in my mind.

That the noon church offers counseling services.

The so-called confession.

Oh, of course, it’s called confession, but it has a different format from the usual confession.

In the Catholic Church, it involves the penitent’s reflection, contrition, confession, and so on, but the confession at noon church is more like a counseling session for worries.

It’s a formal counseling service unique to the noon church, where they listen quietly to the penitent’s mistakes and worries in a closed room, provide advice, and strictly attach confidentiality to the counseling content.

I’ve never received counseling or done confession before in my life.

But now, the thought of wanting to try it once crossed my mind.

Hmm. Counseling, counseling…

It might be quite interesting.

Since it seemed meaningful to confide in someone else about this suffocating feeling.

So, on the coming weekend.

I took heavy steps and visited the noon church after a long time.

Lately, I’ve become too famous, so people’s eyes might be drawn to me when I visit the church, but it didn’t matter since the content of the confession would be strictly confidential.

As I entered, a nun greeted me.

“Hello, brother? What brings you to our church?”

“Ah… I, um, I wanted to try confession.”

“Did you make a reservation?”

“Reservation? No.”

“I’m sorry, but you need to make a reservation to use the confession service.”

“I see…”

I have to make a reservation.

Oh well.

“Then I’ll make a reservation for you.”

“Okay, brother. In that case… Huh?”

The nun looked at me and blinked.

With a slight frown, she gazed at my face intently, then her eyes widened.

“Oh, are you Jinhyuk the hero?”

“Ah, yes, well, technically I’m a hero trainee.”

It seemed like she just recognized me because I was wearing a hat pulled down low.

But it didn’t seem like the nun was surprised because I was the hero trainee who defeated Yoo Dahee.

“Oh, by any chance, did you donate a large sum of money… V, VIP?”

“VIP?”

Ah, now that she mentioned it, I vaguely remembered hearing it from Roxanne.

After I captured Yoo Dahee, I donated several hundred billion won to Roxanne and the church.

“Get a hold of yourself. Could you wait a moment, brother? Or, let me guide you to the reception room…”

“Hello, brother? I’m Senior Priest Iharam.”

“Ah, yes.”

As the nun hesitated, a woman named Senior Priest Iharam appeared and greeted me. She glanced at the nun and then turned her gaze towards me.

“You mentioned confession, right? Confession room 1 is available, so I’ll guide you there.”

“I heard that a reservation is required?”

“It seems that Sister Sooyeon made a mistake. Right, Sister?”

“Ah… Yes! I think I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

When Senior Priest Iharam subtly hinted, the nun quickly nodded her head.

Hmm. It doesn’t seem like a mistake, but oh well, let’s just move on.

“By the way, I heard that you and Roxanne are close relatives. Should I inform her that you’ve visited?”

“Oh, no. There’s no need to do that. I don’t want to bother her when she’s busy with work.”

“Oh, I see. You must be very busy at this time. I was being thoughtless.”

I shook my head at Senior Priest Iharam’s words.

I didn’t want to let Roxanne know that I visited for confession.

It would be embarrassing for no reason.

Of course, eventually Roksan will find out about this fact, but regardless, right now I don’t want to face him directly.

***

“….It’s a bit noisy, isn’t it? What’s going on?”

“Oh, Lord Roksan.”

Roksan, who had come out for a break while Jinhyuk and the chief priest were leaving for confession, asked.

“I heard a VIP has arrived. Who is it?”

“Well, it’s a hero named Jinhyuk….”

“What? Jinhyuk?”

Roksan raised an eyebrow.

Why would Jinhyuk come to the church without any notice?

“For what reason?”

“He came for confession.”

“Confession…? Jinhyuk?”

Roksan was puzzled.

Roksan knew that the confession at this church was more like counseling.

What kind of worries did Jinhyuk have to come directly like this, even though he usually didn’t visit the church?

What kind of turmoil was going on in his mind that he didn’t seek professional counseling but requested the church’s confession service?

Roksan couldn’t help but worry.

“Is he confessing right now?”

“Not yet. He just went with the chief priest.”

“I see.”

Roksan thought.

He wants to be of help to Jinhyuk.

He had received a lot of help from him in the past, but he hadn’t properly repaid him.

He was the type to deal with problems on his own, so Roksan couldn’t help but worry about what worries he had and what troubles he was burdened with.

…Should Roksan use the confession as an excuse to listen to his worries secretly?

Although he felt a little sorry for changing the role of a counselor, Roksan was also a priest qualified for confession.

Even if she went and did the confession herself, there would be no problem.

Still, she hesitated a bit because it felt like deceiving him for no reason…

But because she wanted to listen to Jinhyuk’s hidden worries and help him properly, Roksan made up her mind.

“Sister.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Could you tell me which confession booth Jinhyuk went to?”

“Oh… I heard he went to confession booth 1… Wait, Lord Roksan?”

Upon hearing that, Roksan hurriedly headed towards confession booth 1.

The nun watched her go and thought.

Huh. Why is Roksan acting like that?

Could this possibly lead to some problem later on…?