Chapter 153 – #33_Living Together
#151
1.
The sweet return to the present was only temporary.
I confirmed how quickly humans adapt and how quickly they become bored with unchanging routines.
The only thing that changed was the menu, in an otherwise dull life.
Then, Siwoo met Sharon, and he’s been in a good mood lately.
Well, it’s only been a few days, but it felt like he’d found a purpose and direction in this boring life.
Gone was the monotonous abundance, like dry chicken breast, without a friend to open up to.
“Should I head out soon?”
After idly reading a book borrowed from the library, it was soon time for Sharon’s shift to end.
Since encountering the three homunculi last time, they had been putting up flyers together every day for a week, searching for more.
“Haven’t seen a single one since that day.”
Well, if there were that many homunculi, Sharon would have paid off more of her debt by now.
It meant that fewer innocent people were dying because of homunculi, but after a week of trying, the lack of any events felt a bit anticlimactic.
Siwoo put on his coat and went outside.
“A kind person like Sharon deserves to be successful.”
He wanted to help her, but to avoid being rude like last time, he compromised by using the excuse of exploring good restaurants.
He also really loved eating, after all.
The meeting place was always in front of Siwoo’s house at midnight, when Sharon’s shift ended.
It felt like there was a lot of moisture in the air, and it was drizzling.
“What are you doing here?”
Siwoo was startled.
As soon as he got off the elevator, he saw Sharon sitting huddled on the stairs.
“What do you think? I was waiting for you.”
Sharon, who had been resting her chin on her knees, stood up and brushed off her bottom when Siwoo spoke to her.
Ethereal beings are generally much sturdier than normal bodies, so they don’t get tired easily.
But Sharon always looked very tired.
Especially lately.
“It’s raining too much, isn’t it? It’d be hard to put up flyers.”
“Yeah… sigh…”
It was obvious, but it was impossible to put up flyers in this rain.
Sharon seemed disappointed, sighing deeply as she trudged towards Siwoo.
“Hey, have you been crying?”
“Ah, no!”
Siwoo was surprised when he saw Sharon’s face as she came from the dark into the light.
Her eyes were swollen red.
And although she seemed fine on the surface, she looked like she was going through something very difficult and sad.
Even Sharon’s fresh, vibrant, dark green hair looked like dull weeds.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. The weather’s like this… I’m just going to go home and rest today.”
Sharon waved her hand and smiled weakly.
It was a desperate smile, trying to hide her troubles, which even the insensitive Siwoo could tell.
“Are you really sure nothing’s wrong?”
He hadn’t known her for long.
But it was the first time he’d seen Sharon look so weak, so Siwoo asked in a serious voice.
Sharon was a friend who had helped him a lot.
If she was in some kind of trouble, he wanted to help her in any way he could.
“……..”
Sharon’s eyes wavered.
She pursed her lips and looked at Siwoo.
Her mysterious eyes were gradually filling with tears.
“Huh? Uh… uh…”
The tears that had been welling up streamed down her cheeks.
Sharon seemed flustered, wiping away the tears.
“Ah, what is this… this is weird… I’m not even sad.”
But no matter how much she wiped her tears, more and more kept flowing as if a dam had burst.
Sharon started to hiccup as if something was stuck in her throat.
“Ugh… ah… wait, this… why is this happening…”
It had been a week since she was kicked out of her house.
After putting up flyers with Siwoo, she would get late-night snacks and spend the night walking around the park.
It was also a way to search for homunculi.
She tried to think of it as saving on rent, and she tried to convince herself that good things would happen since bad things had happened.
At the time, she was actually fine.
She felt a little muffled and hazy, like there was oil paper over her head, but it didn’t affect her daily life as much as she thought.
But as soon as she heard a voice that sounded genuinely concerned, her throat tightened as if she had swallowed something hot.
“Sniff… sniff… sniff…”
It had been 10 years.
It had been 10 years since she had heard words of concern, not mockery or ridicule.
Before he could react, Sharon rushed into Siwoo’s arms.
The sweet scent that spread through the humid summer air and her soft body, so different from a man’s.
She hugged him tightly, burying herself in his chest.
Even though she looked young, Sharon, who usually felt like an older sister, seemed so small.
“Waaaaah… waaaaah…”
Siwoo watched awkwardly as Sharon cried like a child.
But seeing Sharon, who was shaking and trying to bury herself in him, Siwoo also felt a lump in his throat.
He carefully put his arms around her shoulders and patted her back.
What the heck is going on?
2.
“Hic…! Sorry… suddenly… hic! I surprised you, didn’t I? Hic!”
Sharon and Siwoo sat side by side on the stairs.
In Sharon’s hand was a banana milk that Siwoo had bought her from the convenience store where she worked.
Sharon was clutching the banana milk tightly, her nose red, unable to stop hiccuping.
“Drink slowly and tell me about it.”
“Okay… thank you, hic!”
Sharon, who had cried so hard that her pink lips were still trembling, sucked on the banana milk, and finally seemed to calm down a little.
“So, can you tell me what happened?”
Sharon hesitated for a moment.
“…Okay, I’ll tell you.”
But Sharon, whose face was still tearful, calmly told him about what had happened over the past week.
She took a little while to explain because she kept choking back tears, but he was able to grasp the situation.
She had been kicked out of her house and was homeless.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Siwoo noticed that his voice had a stern tone.
Did he have the right to say that? He wasn’t sure, but he felt a little hurt and angry.
They hadn’t known each other for long, but he thought of her as a friend.
If something that serious had happened, she should have told him, shouldn’t she?
“I just… didn’t want to be a burden… I wanted to solve this myself.”
“Still…”
She should have told him.
Siwoo was about to say that, but he swallowed his words.
What was the point of scolding her now?
In fact, he, who had been living a solitary life, might be feeling abnormally close to her.
He didn’t want to cross the line like last time.
“Thank you, though. I feel better after crying.”
Sharon wiped her nose and smiled brightly, like before.
No, he couldn’t just watch that and say, ‘I know you might be uncomfortable, but I won’t interfere.’
“Then, how about you stay at my place temporarily?”
“What? No! No, no. That’s not why I’m saying this!”
Sharon shook her head vigorously.
She was worried that coming to him and complaining and crying in his arms would seem like begging.
Sharon had a strong tendency to solve everything on her own.
“I know you’re not that calculating. But aren’t you in a situation where you need help right now?”
“…Still…”
“It’s a two-bedroom apartment anyway, so there are two bedrooms.”
In fact, the suggestion of living together in a house where a man lived alone with a female friend was something Siwoo would never have done normally.
But if he offered to give her a new house or find her a studio apartment, it was clear that Sharon would refuse.
So, this was a middle ground.
“Instead, you can help me with my studies a little. You said you’d teach me before, but we never had time. It’s a win-win, like you said before, so it’s okay, right?”
“…Is it really okay?”
Sharon looked up at Siwoo.
She looked like a hungry puppy looking at a sausage in someone’s hand.
Her eyes were so bright that it felt like the dark stairs were shining.
“Of course! Don’t feel pressured.”
“Well, okay… but is it really okay? No, maybe not…”
“I might get attacked by other witches or homunculi, so it would be really reassuring if you could be my bodyguard.”
As expected, Sharon was reluctant to accept, so Siwoo explained the advantages one by one.
By assisting with his magic research instead of paying rent, she could save money faster.
He explained in detail that it was also beneficial for Siwoo because he could prepare for attacks, and that commuting would be faster.
He even said that if she was worried, she could pay rent later.
“And I’ll buy you delicious food every day. It’s been boring eating alone.”
“F… food?”
It felt like he had grabbed the back of Sharon’s neck, who had been wavering between accepting and refusing.
Her mint-colored eyes became hazy as soon as she heard the word ‘food,’ as if she had been hypnotized.
After much deliberation, Sharon nodded passively.
“Then, okay. Should I go get my things right away?”
“Yeah.”
“I left my suitcase at the convenience store, so please wait a little while I go get it.”
“Okay.”
Thus, the cohabitation contract between Sharon and Siwoo was successfully concluded.
3.
“Wow…”
“Come in.”
Sharon entered Siwoo’s house with her suitcase.
The apartment was clean and modern, as expected of a new officetel.
Even though it was just a two-bedroom apartment, it looked like a luxurious mansion to Sharon, who had gone through the homeless-basement studio-rooftop room route.
“Then, excuse me…”
Sharon placed her suitcase in the shoe rack and hesitantly stepped into the living room.
Her hunched shoulders gradually straightened as she looked around the room.
There was a balcony overlooking the downtown area, and a large TV and sofa in the living room.
Even though it wasn’t very tidy, it looked much cleaner than the rooftop room where Sharon had been living.
Siwoo led Sharon to the room that would be hers.
“I think you can stay here. It’s a little smaller than my room, but it should be fine for living. There’s no bed today, so sleep in my bed tonight. Let’s order one tomorrow.”
“Ah, no! I’m not going to sleep today.”
“Really? I don’t feel like sleeping much either.”
Sharon followed Siwoo around, looking at every corner of the house, and then bit her lip.
Putting everything else aside, she was truly grateful.
“Siwoo.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you… thank you so much…”
Sharon held Siwoo’s hand tightly and stroked it.
Her teary eyes seemed to show how touched she was.
Siwoo was also happy to see that she liked it.
“There’s nothing to thank me for. Take a rest, you’ve been walking around all night for the past few days.”
“Okay… I’ll never forget this kindness. I’ll definitely repay you! But is it okay if I take a hot shower?”
“Now?”
“Yeah! I’ve been using magic to clean myself for too long.”
“Okay.”
With Siwoo’s permission, Sharon quickly went into the shower room, took off her clothes, and turned on the shower.
-Swooshhhhhh
“Hngh… sniff…”
As soon as the sound of hot water filled the small bathroom, Sharon squatted in the corner of the shower booth and sniffled.
It had been 10 years since she had felt someone else’s kindness.
She couldn’t tell if it was because of the emotion she felt, or because of her gratitude, but the feeling kept stimulating her tear ducts, and she couldn’t hold back.
It was embarrassing to keep crying in front of him, so she was secretly crying, hiding it with the sound of the water.
But on Sharon’s face, as she sobbed while being hit by the warm water, a small smile bloomed.
