Chapter 154 – #33_Living Together (2)
#153
1.
The living room, where guests rarely came, was quite messy.
It wasn’t outright dirty, as the vacuum cleaner was diligently used, but rather, there were small items accumulated here and there.
After roughly tidying up, Siwoo sprawled on the living room sofa and sipped a can of beer.
-Swish, swish, swish!
“Hmm….”
Perhaps because it was quiet, he could hear Sharon washing up.
It felt a bit strange.
It wasn’t like he had any ulterior motives when he brought her in, but as a man, wasn’t it inevitable to feel a little flutter wondering what might happen?
-Click!
The bathroom door, right next to the entrance, opened, and Sharon quietly emerged.
Siwoo was careful about where he looked, worried she might not be properly dressed, but seeing her head straight for the living room, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Um, thank you.”
“Hey, it’s nothing.”
One of the basic skills of a witch is to use magic to make her hair fluffy and dry after a shower.
Since witches are inherently female, and it’s a good training method to control magic to the tips of their bodies, it’s a recommended practice even for apprentice witches.
Thanks to that, Sharon’s hair was completely dry as if she hadn’t just showered.
However, her cheeks, faintly flushed like a ripe peach, and the skin on her neck were beyond her control.
Sharon, gently rubbing her cheeks with her palms, thanked him and pointed to the spot next to Siwoo, asking,
“Can I sit here?”
“Sit comfortably. Want a beer too?”
“Sure.”
Sharon sat down next to Siwoo with a weary thud.
In that moment, her fluttering hair released the same shampoo scent as Siwoo’s, followed by her unique body odor that tickled his nose.
“A beer after a shower… it’s been a while.”
Sharon cast a small spell on the beer Siwoo had taken out, making it even colder.
Then, she gulped it down.
“Ahhh…! Great!”
But wasn’t this too close?
The living room sofa was a four-seater.
Moreover, it was a high-end model with a footrest so you could stretch your legs comfortably and watch TV.
Yet, Sharon had deliberately sat right next to Siwoo, close enough that their elbows would touch with the slightest movement.
Siwoo seriously pondered whether he should read something into this.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“It’s nothing. Are you going to stay in those clothes?”
“Oh, I’ll go change! I brought pajamas.”
Sharon tried to get up with a groan, but her body slumped back onto the sofa as if her muscles had melted.
She looked utterly reluctant.
“Ugh… I really don’t want to move.”
Having washed away her worries with hot water, Sharon’s face, as she chuckled, was radiant.
This wasn’t an exaggeration; Sharon, being a witch and a beauty, was as stunning as Amelia, making it hard to look at her for long.
When Siwoo didn’t respond, Sharon, who had been looking straight ahead, glanced at Siwoo with just her eyes.
“Why?”
He didn’t know why his heart was fluttering like this.
Was it the feeling of a budding romance, or just his overreaction?
“Oh, nothing. I was going to order some late-night food. What do you want to eat?”
“Late-night food?”
Sharon turned her body abruptly and looked at Siwoo.
Even though he bought her food every time, she reacted as if she had won the lottery every time.
Her reaction was so cute that Siwoo had to suppress the corners of his mouth from lifting.
“Yeah, what did you say you wanted to eat last time?”
“I… I like whatever you want to eat.”
Although she had been excited, Sharon still seemed uncomfortable with always receiving from Siwoo.
Still, instead of refusing to eat, she suggested choosing a menu that Siwoo wanted, which was very like her.
“If you give me a general category, I’ll order from a restaurant I know. Korean, Japanese, Western, Chinese. Pick one.”
Upon hearing the four suggestions, Sharon furrowed her brows with a serious expression and pondered.
After counting on her fingers as if deciding on a matter of great importance, Sharon suggested…
“Th-then… Chinese?”
“Chinese? How about Mala Tang?”
“Mala Tang? I’ve never had it before.”
“Then let’s go with that.”
Mala Tang restaurants were overflowing in the downtown areas, as if it was a huge trend among female college students these days.
From his observations, Sharon’s taste buds seemed to be quite well-localized, so he thought she might like it.
In case she didn’t like it, Siwoo also ordered a generous portion of sweet and sour pork.
Sharon couldn’t hide her excitement, like a child waiting for Santa.
“What does it taste like? Is it spicy? I heard it’s spicy.”
“I ordered the mildest flavor.”
“There are so many delicious things in Korea. I think I learned about them thanks to you. Thank you.”
“Hey, hey, stop saying thank you. It’s embarrassing.”
“If I’m thankful, what else should I say?”
Sharon was a very cheerful person.
She had laughed three times even during this short conversation.
And then, a brief silence.
Isn’t it common?
That moment when the conversation slightly misaligns, and both people stop talking at the same time.
But it seemed that only Siwoo felt awkward; Sharon casually stretched and got up.
“I’ll just put my suitcase in the room and change my clothes.”
“Already? You said you were tired. Eat first.”
“No, I feel energized after drinking beer.”
Sharon, showing off a small bicep, swayed and dragged her suitcase into the room.
2.
While Sharon was rustling around in the room, Siwoo spread out the delivered Mala Tang on the table.
He had added so many ingredients that the container looked like it was overflowing, so he transferred it to a large bowl.
At that moment, Sharon opened the door and came out.
“Oh…”
Siwoo couldn’t help but freeze at Sharon’s attire.
It was because there was too much exposed skin.
If Sharon had a personal color, it could be said to be mint, as she looked great in bright turquoise.
Her eyes, which shone mysteriously like she was wearing colored lenses at the Halloween party, and the colors mixed in her dark green hair, all matched perfectly without feeling artificial.
And she was wearing mint-colored dolphin shorts.
On top, she had a white tank top.
Her long, exposed legs, the yoga-like top that clung to her upper body, he didn’t know where to look.
Especially, her chest, which had a strong presence even under the loose tank top, was subtly swaying every time she moved, making him very flustered.
What should he call that kind of outfit?
Girlfriend’s living-together look?
“Why? Did something not come?”
Sharon, oblivious to Siwoo’s reaction, approached and flipped through the receipt.
Only then did Siwoo realize.
Unlike Siwoo, who was too self-conscious to even change into pajamas, the reason Sharon could act so comfortably was because she didn’t even notice Siwoo.
In other words, it could be said that she didn’t even think of Siwoo as a man.
Otherwise, even if it was indoor clothing, would she walk around in front of him like that?
“No, let’s eat.”
It was funny how fickle people’s minds were; even though he had declared he had no ulterior motives, Siwoo felt a little bitter seeing Sharon’s actions.
And Siwoo’s suspicion turned into certainty by Sharon, who was sitting across from him.
Her chest, which was particularly prominent because she was sitting close to the table.
Two faint protrusions were visible through the white fabric.
In other words, she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“Cough, cough! Ugh… what’s with the chili oil…”
Sharon, oblivious to Siwoo’s bewildered expression, wrinkled her face as if she was about to sneeze from the smell of the Mala Tang.
While going braless was common in Western countries, Siwoo’s sense of sexuality was not yet that advanced.
But what could he say?
Could he say, “Your nipples are stimulating my gaze even through your clothes, so could you please put on a bra?”
He just had to keep his mouth shut until she noticed it herself.
Or maybe she already knew and was doing it on purpose.
3.
Sharon seemed satisfied with the Mala Tang, which she was trying for the first time, and diligently ate her way through the 8-person portion.
Of course, it was a time of hardship and agony for Siwoo, who had to try to avert his gaze from the pair of peaks that were seductively swaying and trying to capture his attention every time she picked up food.
After eating their fill, the two decided to lie down on the sofa and watch a movie, as suggested by Siwoo.
The preparations:
Close the blackout curtains in the living room and turn off the lights.
Grab popcorn fresh from the microwave and beer, and lean back on the sofa.
Watching a movie on a 146-inch TV with a booming surround sound system would be as good as a movie theater.
“I’ve never watched a movie before.”
Sharon, who was sitting particularly close to Siwoo again, was already fidgeting before the movie even started.
Each time, a fragrant scent wafted over, like fluttering a paper sprayed with perfume.
Now, instead of finding her cute, Siwoo felt pity for her.
“You really just lived making money?”
“I need to catch the homunculus quickly so I can sell the inheritance and make a fortune.”
“How much is an inheritance usually worth?”
“They’re auctioned off through the Witch Point, and the first bidding right goes to the witches of Gehenna.
Those witches tend to offer more money. It depends on the type, but if it’s just research documents, it’s between 10 million to 1 billion won, artifacts are two or three times more, and Gnosis eggs are worth much, much more depending on the type.”
Siwoo could understand why Sharon wasn’t attached to her convenience store job.
For her, her main income wasn’t her part-time job, but hunting homunculi.
“I’ve only gotten scraps of documents so far, but who knows? Maybe if I get a Gnosis egg, I can pay off my debt all at once?”
Even as she spoke, her tone lacked confidence.
Siwoo was reminded of the immense value of the Law of Shadows that the twins had given him.
Anyway, Siwoo’s choice for today was a laptop.
It was the number one movie that made men cry because of their girlfriends.
It was a story about a protagonist who truly loved his wife, who, as an old man, tells their long and arduous love story to his wife who has dementia, so she can remember.
But for Siwoo, it was more fun to observe Sharon’s reactions than the movie itself.
Was it because everything was a first experience, or was her reaction just that rich?
“Is that what’s exciting? Why is that woman acting like that?”
“Are they falling in love? But why?”
“Oh my… what should they do…”
“No, ugh… still, she shouldn’t have left!”
“Seriously, this is so frustrating! They were even engaged, what are they trying to do now! Leave the protagonist alone, you bad woman!”
Until the middle of the movie, Sharon was frustrated, munching on popcorn, and getting heated like an old woman watching a soap opera.
However, as the movie reached its climax, her hand, which had been reaching for popcorn, stopped.
Tears streamed down her face as she stared intently at the screen.
Her eyes were particularly red as she watched the movie, as if she wouldn’t miss a single scene.
In the end, the love story of a man and a woman ended with the protagonist dying at the same time as his beloved wife.
“………”
“Ahem.”
Siwoo operated the remote control and turned on the lights.
Even then, Sharon was still staring blankly at the screen, as if still immersed in the afterglow of the movie, with tears streaming down her face.
Now that he looked, the popcorn she was holding in her hand.
It looked like she had been like that for about 30 minutes.
It was as if she had become a statue in that state.
Seeing Sharon crying for no reason, Siwoo felt a little regretful.
Should he have just chosen a decent Hollywood movie or an action movie?
He wondered if he had made her feel more depressed because he had chosen a romance movie, thinking that she would like it because she was a woman.
“Sniff.”
Sharon put the popcorn she had been holding in her hand into her mouth and wiped away her tears with her wrist.
“It’s so… fun, but so sad… to be able to create these emotions in just two hours… humans are really amazing.”
Sharon was muttering in admiration.
“Should I not have suggested watching this? Let’s watch a fun movie next time.”
“Huh? No, no, I had so much fun and it was touching. I want to watch it again next time. But can’t we watch just one more today? I think I like romance movies.”
“Hmm… then…”
Like a late-blooming thief who doesn’t know when the day ends.
That day, Sharon and Siwoo watched a total of three romance movies until dawn.
