NOVEL NEXT #045
#045
“I can feel everything. How petty you’re being.”
At Shin Haejun’s words, Kim Sehyun’s face paled slightly.
I’m not sure how Shin Haejun read Kim Sehyun’s gaze with his eyes closed. However, the effect of Shin Haejun’s words was tremendous. Kim Sehyun glared at me once with a resentful expression and then focused on guiding again.
‘My chest feels prickly.’
It was good that Shin Haejun was acting cold towards Kim Sehyun as if trying to maintain boundaries… but seeing the two of them holding hands right in front of me was still a bit uncomfortable.
‘If this were the author, they’d be writing my appearance as incredibly miserable, right?’
The main couple holding hands and guiding, and the villain blankly watching them.
If Shin Haejun’s words hadn’t been put into text, this would have been a scene that readers would have cheered for.
“That’s enough now.”
Shin Haejun, who had received some guiding, pushed away Kim Sehyun’s hand with a slightly more energetic face. Kim Sehyun, whose hand had turned red, grumbled quietly towards Shin Haejun as if complaining.
“Why… am I just a battery to you? Why are you always so cold?”
“Hah… what’s this all of a sudden?”
He seemed upset about not receiving good treatment even after untwisting Shin Haejun’s energy. Hearing Shin Haejun speak with an annoyed face, it seemed this was the first time he had expressed his dissatisfaction.
‘Is it because I’m here?’
Honestly, Kim Sehyun’s personality wasn’t particularly kind or nice. He just pretended to be. If he had been holding back until now and burst out now, it might be because my presence was somewhat stimulating.
Honestly, objectively speaking, Shin Haejun was the one doing something wrong, but thinking that it was my lover doing this made me feel secretly pleased.
“If not for that, why would you and I be facing each other like this? Isn’t it enough to just do what’s in the contract?”
“Even if it’s a relationship formed for business… we’re still people. You could treat me with some decency.”
Tears welled up in Kim Sehyun’s eyes. They seemed like tears that couldn’t be held back any longer.
“Hey. Could you not fight in my tent? If you have something to say, go outside and say it.”
I said coldly, sitting with my arms crossed as I watched this scene.
It was nice to see Shin Haejun mistreating Kim Sehyun, but if this situation dragged on, I would be stuck watching quietly like a third party. I didn’t want to see Kim Sehyun crying and whining, nor did I want to constantly realize how entangled Shin Haejun and Kim Sehyun were.
I had only let them into this tent purely for the guiding anyway.
‘How incompetent.’
I might be incompetent as an F-class, but an S-class guide who couldn’t guide properly without an F-class was just as incompetent.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and gestured to the two of them. It meant for them to leave quickly.
“You, get out.”
Shin Haejun abruptly stood up and dragged Kim Sehyun out the door. Kim Sehyun, who was pulled out unable to resist the Esper’s strength, looked up at Shin Haejun with a bewildered face, saying “Whoa, whoa.”
Regardless, Shin Haejun slammed the door shut and returned to my side. With an expression that very clearly showed he was concerned about my mood.
“Why are you angry?”
Shin Haejun held my hand and fiddled with it. Honestly, I wasn’t angry, but I felt somewhat uneasy. It was difficult to express, so I just shook my head. Shin Haejun looked at me as if I were something cute and tapped my cheek.
“Bro, why are you angry?”
“I’m not angry. But I am irritated, so be quiet.”
When I spoke curtly, Shin Haejun’s face changed to look a bit dejected.
“Why?”
“I don’t know… just seeing the guiding happen right in front of me was a bit…”
“That’s why I said not to watch.”
He seemed to have been worried about my feelings from the start. Shin Haejun had said from the beginning that he would guide separately. It was only a problem because the situation didn’t allow for that.
“It’s better than guiding where I can’t see. At least then I don’t have to imagine it.”
“Guiding is just guiding. I have no intention of having any closer physical contact with Kim Sehyun than this.”
“Kim Sehyun probably doesn’t feel the same way.”
I muttered with a sigh. Then suddenly, I realized something.
‘Why should I keep Kim Sehyun’s secret?’
Kim Sehyun probably doesn’t even know that I know this fact. Since I learned it through abnormal means, I didn’t even think about telling anyone.
But… is there any reason why I shouldn’t? Whether it’s the character traits given by the author or whatever, everyone around me is acting according to their own desires and wants, so why should I be the only one to hold back?
“Whether it’s Kim Sehyun or not doesn’t matter…”
“I have something important to tell you.”
I need to tell everything right now.
Just as I made that decision, suddenly someone pounded on the tent door.
“Team Leader, the other Esper teams have returned now!”
“I’ll be out soon. Jaeha, I have to go now-“
Shin Haejun jumped up in response to the shout from outside. It seemed he was about to go to another area.
‘With unidentified entities running rampant?’
What if he comes back after using up all his energy again… Putting aside exposing Kim Sehyun’s secret for now, it seemed I needed to help prevent Shin Haejun from overexerting himself or getting injured.
“Hand.”
“Huh?”
“Give me your hand.”
I held out my hand. Reflexively, Shin Haejun grabbed it, blinking and saying something like, “We don’t have time for this…”
*View Mercenary Status*
*Enhance Mercenary* – Consumes Gold/Love Coins
*Mercenary Rest* – Currently partially sealed (5% efficiency)
*Hire Mercenary* – (1/2)
*Dismiss Mercenary*
A familiar window popped up in front of me. I immediately entered the Enhance Mercenary tab and saw the accumulated Love Coins.
Mercenary enhancement successful.
Active Skill ‘Gravity Manipulation’ Skill Level UP by 1!
Mercenary enhancement failed.
Mercenary enhancement successful.
Active Skill ‘Matter Manipulation’ Skill Level UP by 1!
All status effects removed.
I had quite a lot of physical contact with Shin Haejun lately. Using the accumulated Love Coins frantically to boost skills, a series of failures and successes popped up.
As I continued to raise skills, suddenly a new window appeared.
Love Coins consumed above a certain amount!
Achievement unlocked: Love Coins can now be exchanged for Gold! (10,000,000 Gold = 1 Coin)
*The more Love Coins consumed, the less Gold required for exchange!
The ability to exchange Love Coins for Gold has been unlocked because I’ve used a lot of Love Coins? This was very fortunate news for me, who had an overflow of money.
‘Current balance is 999,999,999 Gold. If I use it all up, I can barely get 99 Coins.’
It’s an absurd exchange rate, but since the value gets cheaper the more Love Coins are used, it wasn’t all bad.
Above all, I had 300,000 diamonds accumulated to fill up my Gold… I could spend money like water without worry. Like scooping water from the ocean, my excellent pets were stacking up Gold like crazy.
‘I’ll need Gold Coins for enhancements too, so I can probably enhance about eight times.’
I exchanged some more Love Coins and enhanced Shin Haejun further. If the previous Shin Haejun was about +3, would the current one be about +10?
At this level, Shin Haejun couldn’t help but notice the change in himself.
“What’s this?”
Surprised by the sudden increase in strength just from holding hands, Shin Haejun’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“Suddenly, my strength…”
“Do you like me that much? Just holding my hand makes you feel so energetic?”
While I could tell Kim Sehyun’s secret, I couldn’t tell anyone about my system. I pretended not to know and smiled shamelessly as I gently released Shin Haejun’s hand.
He tilted his head as if something was strange and looked down at his own hand.
“Just go for now. Be careful.”
“Kiss.”
Shin Haejun held out his cheek to me. Usually, I would have pushed his cheek away with an “Eek,” but I couldn’t refuse a kiss to my lover going off to battle.
I cupped his cheek with my hand and kissed his lips with a smack. Then I lightly licked his lips with my tongue before pulling away, and I could see Shin Haejun’s face turning bright red.
“Was that too stimulating? Go quickly.”
I patted his back and pushed him towards the door. He headed towards the door with a dazed face and shouted at me.
“I won’t let you off easy when I get back.”
Shin Haejun, with the tips of his ears turning red from whatever he was imagining, rushed out of the tent.
Hmm, we should have a serious talk when he gets back. But it didn’t feel right to dampen his expectations when he was going off to do something dangerous.
I shrugged and waved my hand obediently.
***
Inside the dungeon, the timing was awkwardly off, and there was no chance for conversation. In the end, we escaped the dungeon, received the always-happy settlement, and returned home in Shin Haejun’s car.
‘Maybe I should have acted more aggressively.’
Perhaps thanks to the Orb of Protection, I didn’t receive the minimum amount, but the money wasn’t satisfactorily high. Although it wasn’t a small amount since I received a year’s salary in one go this time too, once you’ve had a big score, it’s hard to be easily satisfied.
I sat on the sofa, checked my bank balance, and leisurely waited for Shin Haejun to finish showering. I wanted to have a conversation first, but I couldn’t hold Shin Haejun, who was covered in blue blood, to talk, so it was an unavoidable choice.
“Did you wait long?”
As I was leaning sideways on the sofa, looking out the window, I smelled the fresh scent of water and the sweet scent of body wash from behind. Thinking that he smelled the same as me somehow made my body feel hot in an instant.