Chapter 41

After finishing his shower, Haon emerged from the bathroom, towel-drying his wet hair.

Meanwhile, the cait-sith was sprawled out on the living room sofa, fast asleep. Despite the unfamiliar surroundings, Haon couldn’t help but be amazed at how comfortable the cait-sith looked, sleeping so peacefully without a hint of discomfort.

On one hand, he felt relieved, but on the other hand, he lightly tapped the cait-sith’s nose with his index finger, puzzled by the odd whimpering noises The cait-sith made in his sleep.

“Huuuu…”

Leaving the cait-sith behind, still making strange noises in its sleep, Haon roughly tossed the towel he used to dry his hair and headed out of the dorm.

He had an appointment with Cha Yugeon.

“Ugh, I want to sleep.”

Grumbling quietly to himself about his hunger and exhaustion, Haon headed towards the restaurant. Though he didn’t have much of an appetite, he had a strong desire for sleep. If he had to choose between food and sleep, sleep was the obvious choice.

Moreover, having completed his mission earlier made him feel extremely exhausted. He was not just sleepy, he felt like he was going to die from exhaustion. But defeated by Cha Yugeon’s persistence, he resolved to quickly finish everything and return to the dorm as quickly as possible.

‘Just quickly eat and finish training to go back to sleep!’

That was all that filled Haon’s mind.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Cha Yugeon was already there.

Seeing the unfamiliar sight of a wet-haired Cha Yugeon, Haon stared at him for a moment.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just because.”

“Why, do I look good or something?”

“Hmm… did you say something?”

At Cha Yugeon’s cheeky question, Haon flicked his ear with his pinky finger. In response, Cha Yugeon muttered, “Geez,” and rubbed his forehead. Either way, he couldn’t help but stick out his tongue at Cha Yugeon’s cheekiness.

Asking if he looks good. Of course, Cha Yugeon was good-looking. He admitted it. It just felt uncomfortable to say it out loud to Cha Yugeon for some reason.

“Enough. Let’s quickly eat.”

“Uh, what do you want to eat?”

Haon glanced briefly at the menu. Since he didn’t have much of an appetite, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to eat much anyway. He randomly pointed at any menu item.

“Shrimp fried rice? Okay. And anything else?”

“And what? What do you mean ‘and’? Just the shrimp fried rice.”

“Just that one dish, and you’ll be full?”

“Full to the brim.”

Cha Yugeon shook his head in disbelief. He touched the kiosk several times. After looking at it for a while, he placed the order. Cha Yugeon couldn’t understand Haon, but the feeling was mutual. Haon couldn’t comprehend how Cha Yugeon could order multiple dishes for one meal when he thought one was enough.

While Haon clicking his tongue, Cha Yugeon finished placing the order and handed Haon a ticket for the shrimp fried rice. Since it would take a long time for all the food to arrive, Cha Yugeon must have ordered separately so that Haon could get his food first.

“How much is it? I’ll transfer it to you.”

“It’s fine.”

“What do you mean, ‘it’s fine’? Give me your account number.”

“I said it’s fine.”

Even in the face of Cha Yugeon’s refusal, Haon didn’t back down. He had received a lot from Cha Yugeon, including treatment, numbing medicine, and even a ride last time. Of course, to an S-class esper like Cha Yugeon, who could easily accumulate money, this might not seem like much, but for him, it was not nothing.

“Since I’m not accepting it, just give me your account number quickly.”

“Then next time, you buy me food.”

“…Fine, I got it.”

In response to Cha Yugeon’s suggestion, Haon reluctantly agreed after a brief hesitation. Though not what he wanted, it was still better.

As they entered the restaurant, perhaps because it wasn’t a busy time or because it was prepared in advance, the shrimp fried rice arrived more quickly than expected. Haon took the ticket and went to get the shrimp fried rice, then sat down at an empty table, waiting for Cha Yugeon as if he were attending a formal event.

Not long after, Cha Yugeon appeared with two trays. Upon closer inspection, there was a variety of dishes, including noodles, shrimp fried rice, kimbap, and tteokbokki.

“Isn’t it hard to digest if you eat all that?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Okay, lucky you.”

Haon shook his head at Cha Yugeon’s swift response. As expected, Cha Yugeon was someone Haon couldn’t understand based on common sense alone.

“What about that?”

“That? Oh, the cait-sith? It’s sleeping, so I left it.”

Cha Yugeon looked around Haon as if searching for something, then asked. Haon quickly understood what he was referring to. Come to think of it, the cait-sith was still quite young, and he couldn’t help but worry about leaving him alone at home.

The cait-sith had habits similar to cats. It wasn’t difficult to care for him, but realizing that there was no food prepared and no litter box, Haon felt the need to return quickly with Cha Yugeon.

Fortunately, unlike last time, Cha Yugeon didn’t engage in any unusual conversation while eating. Instead, he ate quickly. Haon worried that he might choke, but he thought that Cha Yugeon, not being a child, should be able to handle eating on his own.

Perhaps he was tired too. If he was tired, couldn’t he just postpone the training? But what was the point of debating that now that they were already here? Haon remained silent, swallowing several thoughts.

The two finished their meal relatively quickly. Haon glanced at Cha Yugeon’s empty plate and clicked his tongue. While more than half of Haon’s shrimp fried rice was left, Cha Yugeon had emptied several plates.

“Do you always leave that much?”

“As long as I’m full, we should refrain from unnecessary quarrels.”

“Tsk.”

Cha Yugeon clicked his tongue as if he didn’t like it. Haon couldn’t understand why Cha Yugeon reacted like that whether he ate well or not. So, feeling dissatisfied, Haon got up from his seat.

“Should we go to your dorm?”

“I don’t mind going anywhere.”

“Then let’s go to mine. I’m worried about leaving the cait-sith alone.”

“Fine.”

Satisfied with Cha Yugeon’s nonchalant response, Haon craned his neck towards the kitchen, keeping an eye out. Seeing this, Cha Yugeon narrowed his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uh, I was wondering if I could get some shrimp.”

“Shrimp?”

Reacting unexpectedly to the sudden talk, Cha Yugeon showed a response of complete incomprehension. Haon continued to scan the kitchen, responding.

“Uh, anyway, the cait-sith is a cat. They like shrimp, right?”

“Just ask for it.”

“Will they give it to me?”

“Wait here.”

Without further explanation, Cha Yugeon headed towards the kitchen. Haon watched quietly, wondering what he was up to. As Cha Yugeon entered the kitchen, the aunt who was handling the ingredients greeted him warmly. The two exchanged pleasantries for a moment.

Haon found the sight strange and unfamiliar. The Cha Yugeon he knew was rude, wretched, and lacked manners. But surprisingly, he seemed to have a soft spot for elders.

Recently, Haon had learned a lot about Cha Yugeon’s aspects that he hadn’t known before. For example, he unexpectedly knew how to apologize well, or he had a knack for being friendly with elders.

A little while later, Cha Yugeon appeared with a black plastic bag. Haon looked at him expectantly, and Cha Yugeon nodded. It was a sign of success. Even a dog has its days, indeed. Of course, that dog was an S-class, but still.

“Thank you.”

Haon awkwardly received the plastic bag. Peeking inside, he found not only cleaned shrimp but also plenty of dried fish and dried squid.

“What’s this?”

“What was it called again? Oh, dried pollack and dried small fish. They gave it to me cheap since I said it’s for a cat.”

“Oh, nice. Are you really close with the aunt?”

“Well, I’ve told you before about it, right?”

Haon remained silent at Cha Yugeon’s words. When they had eaten together last time, Cha Yugeon had mentioned being close with the aunt.

But at that time, Haon hadn’t thought much about it because he had brushed it off as unimportant. He hadn’t really believed that Cha Yugeon would be close with the aunt in here. Well, he couldn’t imagine him getting along with anyone else in the first place. He had just assumed they were close because he had seen them together with Won Jaehyuk many times. Even thinking about it now, it was still a unique combination, the aunt and Cha Yugeon.

“How did you become close?”

“…What do you mean?”

“I mean… I’m just curious.”

Perhaps sensing something odd in Haon’s words, Cha Yugeon revealed a discomforted expression. Then, he awkwardly scratched his neck.

“She sees me as a son.”

“Huh?”

“Her son went abroad to study and she doesn’t see him often. She says I remind her of her son. So, well, not to the extent of being like her son… I just pretended to understand her, you know, and we became close.”

“Oh… That’s unexpected.”

“Unexpected?”

“Uh, I misspoke.”

Seeing Cha Yugeon’s narrowed gaze, Haon quickly changed the subject. But it truly was unexpected. The fact that Cha Yugeon could empathize with such a human reason. It was a newly discovered fact, but not entirely bad.

Haon couldn’t help but think that Cha Yugeon might be an alright guy after all, and he followed him back to the dorm.