episode_0175
by fnovelpia175.
“Is this the confession room I’ve only heard about?”
Lee Jinhyuk glanced around the confession room.
In the center of the room, made of luxurious wood material, there was a small statue with a cross hanging above it.
And in a small hole, there was something like a curtain covered with black cloth.
It seemed to be a communication device for priests on the other side of the partition.
Looking at it this way, it seemed like a glory hole that would only appear in a shady video… Oh, I shouldn’t have such impure thoughts.
Ahem.
Anyway, Lee Jinhyuk cleared his throat briefly and sat down on the chair.
He waited for the priest on the other side to speak.
But.
“…Exchange? Oh, I see.”
“?”
From the room opposite, there was a faint commotion, and then the sound of the door opening and someone entering could be felt.
What’s going on?
Lee Jinhyuk just tilted his head in confusion.
“Ahem. If I do this, my voice… Oh, I’m sorry. Jinhyo… No, Brother.”
Suddenly, the voice of a quite young woman came softly after clearing her throat in the room opposite.
Huh?
That voice wasn’t the senior priest’s.
For some reason, it seemed like the counselor role had been changed.
But somehow.
That voice was strangely familiar.
Although it sounded like a voice he had never heard before, it was subtly familiar, like a voice with maximum internal intimacy.
Lee Jinhyuk pondered in confusion for a moment.
“Brother. Then, let’s begin the confession.”
The person sitting in the room opposite was obviously Roxanne.
After exchanging roles with the senior priest and using a disguise spell to change her voice, Roxanne was performing the role of a counselor.
“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…”
Roxanne lightly made the sign of the cross and began the confession ceremony.
“Brother, we all commit sins, but if we seek forgiveness from the Lord, He will surely forgive our sins.”
“Oh, yes.”
“I promise that only you, me, and the Lord will know the stories shared here. So please speak freely.”
Upon Roxanne’s words, Lee Jinhyuk hesitated for a moment, then slowly began to moisten his lips.
“…It’s not a big deal, but…”
Lee Jinhyuk took a slight breath and continued speaking.
“By chance, I ended up living with some girls.”
“What, what?”
Roxanne was taken aback.
Living together?
Did Lee Jinhyuk just say living together?
And not just with one girl, but with girls?
Although Roxanne was generally ignorant about matters of the flesh, she still knew what living together between a man and a woman meant.
No matter how much Lee Jinhyuk claimed to live a chaste life as a candidate for a saint, attending the academy meant hearing a lot of stories beyond one’s shoulders.
“Brother.”
“Yes?”
“…As a student attending the academy, living together with members of the opposite sex can cause various problems.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Especially living with women.”
Roxanne swallowed dryly.
“As far as I know, Brother, you don’t have a guardian. Living with women in a house without a guardian…”
“How do you know I don’t have a guardian?”
“Oh.”
Realizing her mistake, Roxanne quickly stammered out an excuse.
“Because you’re famous, Brother. I’ve heard a lot of things beyond my shoulders.”
“I see.”
Lee Jinhyuk nodded alone.
After all, Lee Jinhyuk’s fame was increasing day by day.
His past and family relationships had long been leaked on the internet.
“Anyway.”
Ahem! Clearing her throat, Roxanne moistened her lips.
“I know I have no right to interfere in your personal life, Brother, but still…”
“No, Priest? I have received permission from the guardian of the girl for now.”
“I see.”
“And on the other hand, I am just temporarily taking care of her because she has nowhere else to go.”
Permission from the guardian?
Roksanu blinked with a puzzled expression.
Logically, it seemed unlikely that parents would send their daughter alone to a house where there is a boy.
But there might be circumstances that Roksanu was unaware of.
“Well, we are living together for now, but that’s not the issue. It’s just that, as time goes on, I find myself seeing her more and more as a girl, you know?”
“Ah… I see.”
“Priest?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Although his voice seemed to falter slightly, Jinhyuk thought he misheard and continued speaking.
“I’ve never really thought of her in a romantic way, but lately, I’ve been feeling a bit flustered seeing her as a girl, wondering if it’s right.”
In reality, he wanted to say it was a bit awkward because of memories from his past life, but mentioning past lives would be dismissed as nonsense, so he slightly altered his words.
“And she even confessed to me before.”
“….”
“I really like her a lot as a friend, and I don’t see her in a romantic way, but I’m hesitant about accepting her confession.”
“….”
“There are probably many better guys than me, so I feel a bit inadequate.”
Jinhyuk scratched his cheek gently, pondering.
Jinsoyeon and Yooseolhyun.
He didn’t dislike either of them.
Lately, he’s been seeing them in a romantic light.
Because of memories from his past life, he hesitated a bit, but as time passed, his hesitation was fading.
If he had to choose one of them, who should he choose?
And even if they started dating, would they get along well?
“Brother.”
After a moment of silence, Roksanu slowly began to speak.
“What do you want, Brother?”
“I…”
“It seems like you’ve already made a decision in your heart, but… you seem to be hesitating.”
“Is that so?”
“And Brother, you mentioned that there are many other good men, so you feel inadequate as yourself.”
Roksanu couldn’t simply agree with that statement.
“How dare you say you’re inadequate, Brother? I can’t understand why you would belittle yourself like that.”
Currently, Jinhyuk was one of the most promising hero trainees in South Korea.
He was a strong and wealthy hero trainee, but to put it another way, that’s all he was.
Compared to other guys with power, money, background, and good looks, he might be a bit lacking, considering his lack of a strong family background.
But Roksanu knew.
How much potential Jinhyuk had as a hero.
And his selfless, altruistic heart was truly exceptional.
“The Brother I’ve known so far is more amazing and outstanding than anyone else.”
He didn’t hesitate for a moment to jump into danger when he found out his only childhood friend was caught by Sung Yura.
During the first year of high school, he chose to confront a monster that appeared during the performance evaluation, even though there was a risk of revealing his powers, and he saved the trainees from Yoo Dahee during the midterm exam.
And what about the Busan Ouroboros incident?
He sacrificed his own life to save his childhood friend in danger.
During the Gwanghwamun tragedy, he saved people and single-handedly took down Yoo Dahee, achieving tremendous feats.
Jinhyuk was truly a remarkable human being and hero with a sense of duty and self-sacrifice beyond his years.
“Do not say that you are lacking.”
“Ah, yes.”
At Rocksanne’s words, Lee Jinhyuk scratched the back of his neck with a sheepish feeling.
To think that he was a remarkable and excellent person.
It made him feel awkward for some reason.
“So, why not stop hesitating and choose as your heart desires, Brother?”
“As my heart desires?”
“Yes.”
As my heart desires.
Indeed, continuing to be indecisive like this is not fitting for my temperament.
I’ve been making excuses and trying not to see them as women for a while now, but there’s no need for that anymore.
Especially since I’ve already confessed to Soyeon and Yooseolhyun.
I can’t keep wasting time being caught up in silly thoughts like feeling awkward seeing them as women or what to do.
“That’s right. As you said, I shouldn’t hesitate and should try following my heart.”
My past life is just that, my past life.
I am currently a healthy late teens academy student.
So let’s think that adults having feelings for minors is not the case, but rather students of the same age having romantic feelings for each other.
Yes, it’s about time I tried dating too.
“Well. I feel like I rambled on without much structure, but still, talking to someone about it makes me feel a bit better. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Well, it feels more like a general counseling session rather than a confession, but it’s okay.”
“It’s fine. Just knowing that it helped you is enough.”
Rocksanne smiled subtly.
Even though Lee Jinhyuk couldn’t see the face of the counselor due to the screen and black cloth, he still thought she must be quite beautiful.
Usually, if someone has a good heart and a pretty voice, they are considered beautiful.
Oh, is it impure of me to think this way about a counselor?
***
“….”
As Lee Jinhyuk finished his confession and stepped outside the church following a priest’s guidance.
The door to the confessional opened with a creak.
And inside, Rocksanne sat with her lush pink hair flowing down, a faint smile on her face.
Dressed in a white priest robe, cape, and holding the rosary that proves her candidacy as a saint, she slowly walked out of the confessional.
“….Love.”
It might not be a big worry after all, which is really fortunate, isn’t it?
Love, which may seem like a trivial worry to some, can be a very serious concern for others.
He never knew that Lee Jinhyuk was worried about love.
“….So, there was someone you liked.”
And it seems like he has made up his mind about confessing.
“….I see. Hmm.”
But what could be the reason for her heart to ache slightly?
Rocksanne couldn’t even understand the reason herself.
She would come to realize it through an unexpected event, but that was a story for another day.
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