Day and night inside the gate were often different from day and night in the real world. When we got out of the gate, it was already past 9 p.m. in China, so Ha Tae-heon suggested that we go to see the Prophet when the sun came up.
In a hurry, I grabbed any hotel and entered the room and let Ha Tae-heon down, at the same time, the changing effect was over and Ha Tae-heon returned to his original form.
‘Too bad. He was cute…’
A tall height and wide shoulders caught my eye, which was out of my sight for a long time. I knew there was a time limit, but it suited him so well that I couldn’t help. Ha Tae-heon said to me, who took off my glasses and returned them.
“The place where I met the Prophet is not far from here. We will go as soon as morning comes.”
“I understand.”
Maybe it was because I kept moving without eating at the gate, so I was tired and hungry.
“We should eat something.”
Ha Tae-heon, who quickly noticed that I was tired, ordered room service right away. The meal, which arrived in about 40 minutes, had a wide variety of simple pasta and fried rice. It seemed that Ha Tae-heon ordered most of the dishes on the menu so that there was no shortage.
Since there were two men who were starving, I thought it might be possible to eat them. Ha Tae-heon took out a beer can from the refrigerator.
“Oh.”
I raised the fork as I watched the dishes that filled the table from the first Chinese food I had ever seen in my life to familiar western dishes.
“I’ll pay you back later.”
From hotel room payment to room service. Without Chinese money or a credit card, I was in a situation where I had no choice but to accept what I was given. As I said sorry, Ha Tae-heon, who was sitting across from me, sighed.
“I don’t need it, so just eat it properly.”
“Yep.”
If so, then. This much spending wouldn’t hurt Ha Tae-heon anyway. Thinking leisurely, I diligently shoved the delicious food into my mouth.
Unlike me, who was starving all day, Ha Tae-heon only ate the fruit salad in front of him a few times and then continued to drink beer. He told me to eat properly. He was actually indifferent even with the food in front of him.
‘Are you sick?’
Unless you ate something without my knowledge, you weren’t that interested in it… I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I couldn’t easily talk to his face that looked like he was worried about something.
It was rather good. I also had been confused with the thoughts of the Prophet I would meet tomorrow. In the quiet room because of the worries, only the sound of tableware clattering or beer can being put down could be heard occasionally.
Having finished eating in silence, I stood up first and said.
“Can I wash up first?”
“Wait a minute.”
When Ha Tae-heon pulled the tie and tapped it, a neat backpack popped out in the air. As I tilted my head thinking about something, he handed me the backpack.
“There are clothes, underwear and simple daily necessities.”
“Ah…”
Suddenly, I picked up the backpack and looked inside to find clothes and things that were really comfortable to wear. I was moved like a tsunami at the unexpected consideration.
“Thank you.”
I smiled brightly as I thanked Ha Tae-heon with sincerity. Ha Tae-heon, who had been staring at me for a moment with darkened eyes somewhere, licked his lips and then looked away.
“Just wash up.”
“……?”
What. I thought you were just trying to say something. From the last time, Ha Tae-heon’s behaviour of trying to talk about something had made me feel frustrated. Why didn’t you be straightforward as usual, huh?
“…all right.”
However, it was impossible to hold onto the person who didn’t want to and ask them why they didn’t speak. I grumbled inwardly, grabbed the underwear, and went into the bathroom.
* * *
After showering and leaving the bathroom in a bathrobe, I saw the back of Ha Tae-heon drinking wine that came from room service while looking out the opened window. The table was cleaned up while I was washing, except for wine bottles and glasses.
He didn’t eat but drank beer and wine. Obviously, Ha Tae-heon wasn’t the type to enjoy drinking… At this point, it was clear that he had something to worry about.
“Aren’t you tired?”
As I approached, touching the tip of my wet hair, he put down his glass of wine and looked at me.
“That, you haven’t slept for two days, have you?”
I asked carefully, trying to push the incident that happened at the gate that suddenly appeared to my mind beyond my thoughts. He was an SS-rank, so it wouldn’t be as tough as mine, but I was still worried.
Ha Tae-heon, who was standing there with an unanswered expression, immediately wiped my cheek with his hand. Blinking at his warm body temperature, he turned around first.
“Take a rest. I’ll go wash up.”
When Ha Tae-heon entered the bathroom, I turned my attention to the wine bottle. Unlike the beer, the wine looked pretty good. I seriously conflicted while holding the wine bottle.
I wanted to drink it, but I was hesitant because of the memories of failing with weak drinking.
‘Wouldn’t a cup be okay?’
The number on the label was 13 degrees. After carefully calculating my current physical condition, prescription, and estimated alcohol capacity, I came to the conclusion that if I drank about a glass slowly, I would be able to handle it.
Yeah. Whatever the reason, I came to China, and my travel partner was Ha Tae-heon, the main character. Shouldn’t a wine glass be emptied in a pleasant way?
When I decided to drink it, a happy smile was drawn on my lips. An open wine bottle was tilted and filled into an empty glass. A unique aroma spread from the shimmering red wine.
I couldn’t wash up or eat properly at the gate, but when I tried to take a break like this, the anxiety I had felt until now was slightly lessened.
As Ha Tae-heon did, I sipped the wine while looking out at the night view, and after a while, he came out of the bathroom, wiping his dripping hair with a towel.
Ha Tae-heon, wearing a white bathrobe just like me, opened his mouth with all his wet bangs back.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“I drank a little. It’s a pity to sleep like this.”
As I lifted up the wine glass with about half of the wine still remaining, Ha Tae-heon shook his head lightly and threw his towel onto the bed.
“Ha Tae-heon-ssi, would you like to drink more too?”
“Sure.”
Ha Tae-heon, who for some reason accepted the offer, came closer to me and poured alcohol into an empty wine glass.
“Come to think about it… this is my second time drinking wine like this. Do you remember?”
At that time, Ha Tae-heon was unfamiliar and awkward. Now that time had passed, we got closer so we came to China together.
‘I heard he said he believed me twice.’
Seeing this, Ha Tae-heon and I seemed to have a really good relationship. Nope. It didn’t look good, but it might actually be fine.
I’m sure it would, it was rare for people to come to China just because they were worried. What’s more, it was Ha Tae-heon, who basically didn’t trust others well. (걱정된다고 중국까지 같이 와 주는 사이는 흔치 않다)
Whether it was because of alcohol or Ha Tae-heon’s friendly attitude the whole time, my relationship with him suddenly started to look incredibly positive. He might really think of me as a friend.
“…you.” (“……다.”, Tae-heon answered but Yi-gyeol only heard the end part)
“Yes?”
I was so absorbed in estimating the relationship between Ha Tae-heon and me that I lost track of words. As I looked up at him with a stupid expression, Ha Tae-heon, whose face was slightly shaded by the room lighting, answered again with a calm voice.
“I remember everything I did with you.”
You remember everything? I blinked for a moment and recalled the words, then brought out the things that suddenly came to my mind.
“Ha Tae-heon-ssi, then, do you remember what happened at D17 Area gate?”
“Of course.”
“At that time, the floor pattern I found in the room I went to after destroying the statue of the underground goddess.”
I was busy for a while and almost forgot about it, but it was actually something I wanted to point out at least once to Ha Tae-heon before.
“I was wondering if there might be items under the pattern, just like when we got an SS-class coat. What do you think?”
“Hm. It’s not like there’s no possibility at all.”
Ha Tae-heon, who listened to me seriously, nodded his head.
“Of course, you’ll need something else to take out the hidden item like the coat. I’m going to ask about this when I meet the Prophet.”
“Prophet…”
Ha Tae-heon’s black eyes, who muttered following my words, fell coldly. Watching it, I asked cautiously.
“…also, what happened with the Prophet?”
“……”
“Can you tell me?”
The expectation that my relationship with him had improve once again gave me courage. I was going to run out of breath because I was curious about this.
As I looked at him with earnestness, Ha Tae-heon, who had been staring at me for a moment, raised his hand and gently stroked the corner of my eye.
It was difficult to open one eye properly due to Ha Tae-heon’s hand touching the corner of my eye. I took his hand, stopped it, and spoke again.
“…are you not going to tell me?”
“Well.”
“Ha Tae-heon-ssi.”
“You just need to stay close to me.”
I inadvertently frowned. You’ve been saying that since last time.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“…you don’t have to know.”
He grabbed my hand and ran his thumb across the palm of my hand.
“Answer me, Han Yi-gyeol. No matter what happens, you will never leave my side.”
I slowly closed my eyes and opened them at the resolute voice. Probably… I don’t think it would work for me.
Being carefully not to show my awkward emotions, I closed my eyes and smiled slightly.
“I understand.”
“……”
“I won’t stay away from you.”
So, talk to me now. Information about the Prophet was still lacking.
It was at that time that I hid my inner feelings and laughed as harmlessly as possible. Ha Tae-heon, who had been staring at me as if he had lost his mind, slowly lowered his upper body.
“Ha…”
Chu, something soft lightly touched the corners of my eyes. Embarrassed by the sudden situation, before I could react, Ha Tae-heon turned away from me.
“……?”
“You’d better stop drinking and go to sleep.”
Naturally, he took my wine glass and set it down on the table then closed the open window. While sitting there idly, I was startled by the sensation of lightly tapping the cheek.
“Han Yi-gyeol.”
“Ah… um, yes?”
“Open your mouth.”
Mo, mouth? I opened my mouth slightly reflexively in response to the sudden request and something hard entered between them. When I was wondering what it was, it was a toothbrush with toothpaste.
“We will get up tomorrow morning, have breakfast, and leave right away.”
“Aa, yes…”
“Since we have to go through the market, we have to wear the changing item one more time.”
“I see…”
Ha Tae-heon’s words weren’t properly entered in my head, but I answered roughly as soon as I could. I stood in the bathroom next to Ha Tae-heon, brushing teeth, and lying on the bed in a state of being unrealized.
Ha Tae-heon, who turned off the light and lay on the bed next to me, said a word to me, who was looking at him blankly.
“Close your eyes.”
“……”
As he said, my eyes narrowed and the lamp placed on the nightstand between the beds turned off then the darkness fell. I half buried my face in the blanket and thought to myself.
‘What was that… earlier…’
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