Chapter 112
After Koo Hui-seo came and left, the furniture we ordered arrived.
I almost lost all my energy when I saw the bill (What kind of furniture is this? How could a cabinet that didn’t even seem like much cost hundreds of thousands of won?) Even more than the price, the design was a problem. The detail work was done in gold, and the splendid filigree that reminded me of medieval aristocrats made my eyes hurt.
Of course, it wasn’t like the luxurious furniture didn’t fit with the house. However, since I didn’t know any other furniture brand except for IKEA, I thought it was too overboard. Jung Garam laughed, calling me cheap, but, when the younger insisted on placing a huge bed complete with a four-pillar frame in my bedroom, I regretted that I hadn’t firmly stopped him earlier.
“What…on earth is this?”
The biggest problem was the gold chain at the head of the bed–fit for tying hands or feet.
Kim Olim also turned eyes that glared as sharply as axes onto Jung Garam, who ordered the bed. However, Jung Garam denied such accusations with innocent eyes, “I just thought that going with all the options would be best?” In other words, he claimed that since he opted into all the functionalities, he didn’t know that the chain existed.
“Well, now that it’s come to this, we might as well get our money’s worth.” Kim Olim said to me with a wicked look as she left the room.
“As long as I sleep in that bed, not one of you will enter this room” I replied, disgusted. I had no idea how much of their words were teasing or serious, but I was sure about one thing: Jung Garam’s personality was nowhere near the innocence his face portrayed.
After Jung Garam left, I was still suspicious so I asked Seo Dawon to remove the handcuffs linked to the chain, but he simply said that since he wasn’t the one to order the furniture, I should ask Jung Garam instead.
The servants all spoke as if they would listen to my every command, but, once again, I forlornly confirmed that they would do as they please. I had to settle for flinging the handcuffs behind the back of the headboard and placing them out of sight.
[Clack clack?]
“Where are you hiding?” I called out.
[Clack clack clack!]
Lackey, though, seemed to be quite fond of the extravagant furniture. In the previous house, I don’t think it had the hobby of diving underneath the bed, climbing into the cabinets, nor staring at the decorative pottery, but… the gold plating and its own sparkling reflection seemed to attract the skeleton’s attention.
“Let’s stop this and begin to clean up the dishes, alright?”
[Clack clack! Clack!]
While Lackey played hide-and-seek, it kept on trying to climb inside the cabinets, so I made it organize and clean the dishes contained inside every time. Fortunately, it must have been satisfied with this type of work; the skeleton was far too busy playing and fiddling with the dishes to tussle with the other servants, and no accidents arose.
“W-wow… Amazing…” 1 Then, after the house was cleaned, Kim Sangyoon was called over due to the business with Geum Miyoung.
When he asked about the residential district after he had heard I had moved, the Warrior was surprised after receiving the address. [Isn’t that the most expensive area in the hub?] he asked.
Unduly embarrassed, I responded [It’s not mine, it’s Seo Dawon’s], but somehow Kim Sangyoon interpreted that as the other buying the property in my name.
[Buying a house for you… As expected of Seo Dawon-nim…]
However, seeing his response, it felt as if Kim Sangyoon had misunderstood something.
Considering how the Warrior would soon become Koo Hui-seo’s +1 to a party, I thought that it may be better to maintain that misconception. So, I tried to gloss over this topic, but Kim Sangyoon tried to hurriedly justify himself as if he suddenly recalled something.
[It seems as if I spoke wrongly…I’m sorry, Lee-kyung-nim]
[What? To who?]
[That…Long ago… Our talk about Ryu Hyerin and Dawon-nim…]
[Ah]
[It’s just that your expression didn’t look so good at the time. I just have no tact…]
I tried to send a message, saying it was okay, but I couldn’t do that comfortably. Now, it would be impossible to casually ask about Ryu Hyerin without it meaning much more. Furthermore… the fact that Ryu Hyerin and Seo Dawon used their relationship–the supposed misunderstanding–weighed heavily upon a corner of my mind.
However, regardless of my feelings, there wasn’t much time left. That’s why I hurried to reserve an appointment with Kim Sangyoon–just two days before the party. I pondered whether or not we needed to call Koo Hui-seo for this meeting, but Seo Dawon cut him out, saying the other wasn’t needed. Therefore, Kim Sangyoon alone became the only official visitor to my new home.
“Come on in.”
“I’ve brought some housewarming gifts. Hahaha!” King Sangyoon brought enough gargantuan boxes to cover even his large figure. Various luxury brand logos were printed upon them.
Bashful, I scratched my head and carted some of his gifts to the living room. Kim Sangyoon kept voicing his awe, trying hard to raise my mood. I don’t know whether or not he was extra careful because of the Ryu Hyerin matter or because it had been a while since we’d met, but his overt caution made me feel uncomfortable.
“Thank you so much. I’ll…use these well.” I said.
“Oh no, it’s nothing. Wow, but you have a great sense for interior design. The inside is very……” The warrior gave such awkward compliments. I just laughed because I had nothing to say to him.
Behind me, Jung Garam continued to grumble, “Look at him! Lee-kyung-ie, why can’t you see that Kim Sangyoon is conscious of you.”
Following, Kim Olim blatantly stared at the Warrior and muttered coldly, “I can’t tell if this place is a dungeon or a house.” Is she saying that Kim Sangyoon is comparable to a monster…..?
“Hi?” At that time, Seo Dawon, who had been summoned in advance, slowly walked out of the master bedroom. Even from a distance away, I could see that Kim Sangyoon’s jaw and shoulders stiffened.
“Good Morning!!” Kim Sangyoon bowed, waist folded at 90 degrees. He acted uniquely servilely even if Seo Dawon was not harsh to him first.
Such a pushover was the perfect opponent to be teased by the Mage. Without telling the Warrior to straighten his back, Seo Dawon coolly observed the Warrior and his downcast eyes. “You seem well.”
“It’s all thanks to Dawon-nim!”
“Me? What did I do for you?”
“Yes? Ah. I… these days… I’m training hard with the skills that Dawon-nim has given me!”
“Oh, then I can leave the tanking to you?”
“Ah….T-that’s… If you leave it to me, I’ll try my best!”
“Don’t try; you have to do your best.”
“That’s right. I’ll do my best!”
“And if you can’t? What are you going to do then?”
“That’s……”
“Stop bothering him…” I couldn’t stand to see this, so I stepped up to stop the Mage; Seo Dawon snorted. Kim Sangyoon hesitatingly raised his head.
Honestly, why is Seo Dawon acting like such an old man to Kim Sangyoon, someone older than him?
However, Seo Dawon, disregarding what I said, encroached into Kim Sangyoon’s space and ordered him to manifest and reveal his status window to party members. He intended to see for himself whether or not Kim Sangyoon was simply paying lip service or if he trained hard.
“You did practice some, didn’t you? About four hours a day?”
“Yes. About three to four hours consistently… It was a priority for me to raise skill proficiency at the [Hub’s] training programs.”
“That’ll be a bit different from the real thing, though. With this amount of training, you’ll die immediately in the next instance dungeon.” 2
“……”
Though the Mage was quite cold-hearted, Kim Sangyoon didn’t seem upset. He just maintained a submissive look in his eyes that seemed to indicate that the Warrior would follow whatever Seo Dawon said.
I wondered why Kim Sangyoon put so much confidence in Seo Dawon despite the difficult time the other put him through. However, looking at Kim Sangyoon’s status window that Seo Dawon placed before our eyes, I couldn’t help but speculate. Based on his increased skill proficiency and raised attack specs, Kim Sangyoon was placing all his expectations on the high-level skills the Mage gave him.
“Lee-kyung-ah, help me for a moment,” Seo Dawon said.
“Ah, mmhmm….”
At Seo Dawon’s call, I stood in front of Kim Sangyoon. The Warrior was fine when I was at a distance, but, as I got closer, Kim Sangyoon displayed a reluctance that he didn’t have when he was with Seo Dawon. From how he glanced at my hand, it seemed like he was still saddled with some trauma regarding the [reward] and [punishment].
Even so, how could he be more reticent with me compared to Seo Dawon…… I teared up a bit, but I understood Kim Sangyoon’s feelings and stayed silent.
TL: I’ll probably do a bonus chapter + normal release tomorrow or the day after!
