Chapter 123: What Sincerity Is
"...It's nothing special, but have some."
After seating us at the table, Song A-rin brought out coffee.
"...Oh..."
Song A-rin's home was an apartment. I'd assumed it would be a house.
"I'm not on the Isolation Team."
"Weren't you something similar?"
"That's true. But still, no."
As if reading my expression, Song A-rin replied coolly and set down the coffee.
"Here, an iced Americano for you."
Soon, coffee was placed in front of Jang Chae-yeon and Yu Daon as well.
"A warm vanilla latte, and a warm cappuccino. Right?"
"...Yeah."
"That's right! How did you know?"
"Since my job is playing with people's hearts, I should at least know what they like."
In response to Yu Daon's question, Song A-rin answered as if it were nothing and glanced at me.
"...So."
"...Me?"
"Yeah, you."
"Why me?"
"...What do you think?"
"Ah, it's delicious? The acidity is just right."
"No, not the coffee!"
Ugh, I wish she wouldn't suddenly raise her voice like that.
Song A-rin let out a yelp and pointed around her home.
"My house!"
"Ms. Song A-rin's house."
"What do you think!"
"Ah."
Only then did I start looking around at Song A-rin's words.
A rather cozy setup.
Dolls were placed here and there, and the overall atmosphere of the room felt quite warm.
All the room doors were open. Except for one.
Unlike all the other open rooms, there was only one that was closed.
Except for that—
"It's nice, isn't it?"
"Yeah. This is our home."
As if she were in a very good mood for some reason, Song A-rin lifted her chin and spoke happily.
"Nothing particularly special about it."
"Out of all of us, it is the most normal, I suppose?"
"Who's the one living in a detached house and looking like a beggar calling someone else normal right now?"
At the words of Jang Chae-yeon and Yu Daon, Song A-rin looked at the two with a thoroughly annoyed expression.
"Let's stop fighting now."
It's been three days that we've been seeing each other non-stop; I'm reaching a point of amazement at how they can keep fighting like this till the end.
"But, now that we're actually in a house where everything is so well put together..."
"Now that we're here, what? It's so great?"
"No. It's just... there's nothing to do?"
At Jang Chae-yeon's house, we just drank alcohol all day, and at Yu Daon's house, I was busy all day helping assemble furniture, but now that we're in a place where everything is already provided, I guess you could say there's nothing to do.
"..."
Song A-rin stared at me with her usual axe-eyed glare,
"It's possible there's nothing to do."
"Haha..."
Jang Chae-yeon just had to add a comment, and Yu Daon also just let out a dry laugh, not making any move to stop Jang Chae-yeon.
"..."
Thanks to that, only Song A-rin's face turned red with anger, and she said nothing.
"Alright, alright, let's stop here."
I guess I really have to be the one to mediate now.
Sighing, I mediated between the three and looked at Song A-rin as I spoke.
"Ms. Song A-rin."
"...What."
Was she sulking? She answered in a curt voice.
"I like your house."
"...Well, it's a house I've put some care into living in."
As if her mood had finally improved, Song A-rin's voice softened considerably.
"..."
"..."
"Can we look around the rooms?"
"Yeah. Except that one."
Song A-rin pointed to the closed door.
"Why not that one?"
"...If I say don't look, then don't look."
"Understood."
I am curious, though. But since she herself said not to look, there's nothing I can do.
And so, the final housewarming at Song A-rin's began.
To be honest, nothing much happened.
Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin fought, Yu Daon or I mediated between the two, and sometimes they teamed up to tease each other.
The surprising thing was that Song A-rin didn't know how to cook, though.
"...Well, I can learn later."
That's what she said.
And so the day passed without any major incident.
No, I thought it would.
*
"...Ugh."
In the end, this time too, I ended up falling asleep here without going home.
What's more, since I volunteered to sleep on the sofa because I'm the only guy, my back was gradually getting quite sore, to the point I felt like dying.
Maybe because of that. When I woke up in the early morning and checked the time, it was 3 AM.
"..."
After blankly checking the time, just as I was about to go back to sleep.
"...Huh?"
The door to the room Song A-rin had said was closed was open.
"..."
I quietly looked into the room where the three were sleeping.
Three semi-transparent windows appeared in order.
They're all sleeping soundly.
"..."
Was it because I wasn't fully awake? My curiosity to see inside the room overcame my reason.
Yawning, I shuffled my steps towards the room.
As I grabbed the doorknob, a zing pain shot through my temples, but I ignored it and opened the door.
The room didn't contain all that much.
There were just a few books and one or two paintings placed there.
"..."
Was there any reason to hide something like this?
I picked up a book.
<How Not to Care About Other People's Opinions.>
<He Has the Right to Hate You.>
They were all self-help books.
"..."
What's so great about this?
I put the book down and looked at the wall.
"..."
My sleepiness vanished instantly.
There was a painting.
And it was a painting I had seen before.
"...This is..."
It was the painting I saw at the art museum.
Did she bring the painting here? No, that can't be.
I blinked several times while looking at the painting, but no semi-transparent window appeared.
And, more than anything, the feeling was different.
I didn't sense the ominous aura I felt when I saw the painting at the museum.
I looked at the painting again.
Song A-rin standing amidst a crowd of shining people. And,
"Army-Study-One-System."
A cold voice sounded behind me.
I slowly turned my head.
"...Ms. Song A-rin."
Song A-rin was looking at me with her arms crossed.
"Didn't I tell you not to come here?"
"..."
"Why did you come?"
"The door was open."
"If a door is open, you just go anywhere... No, forget it."
Letting out a big sigh, Song A-rin put her hand on her own forehead.
"Get out."
"Wait a moment."
"I said get out."
"Ms. Song A-rin. Is this painting a copy of the one that was in the art museum?"
"..."
At my words, Song A-rin stopped speaking.
"...Yes."
Soon, she nodded slowly.
"...Ms. Song A-rin, what on earth is this..."
"..."
Song A-rin slowly closed the door.
Silence flowed between us.
A zing of pain ran through my temples.
"...Why are you suddenly using a mental attack on me—"
"Mental-type ability."
Song A-rin cut me off with a cold voice.
"When you hear this, what do you think?"
"...Uh. That it's dangerous?"
I guess manipulating someone's mind is synonymous with manipulating their body.
"Right. That's what people usually think of me."
Song A-rin continued with a snorting laugh.
"Then, what would you do?"
"Huh?"
"What would you do if you saw me, under the assumption that you had no mental defense ability?"
"...I'd be cautious."
"Right."
A self-deprecating smile bloomed on Song A-rin's face.
"It's not easy to receive caution and wariness from others from the very first meeting."
"..."
"And, I'm often suspected too."
"..."
"A prime example, if I become friends with someone, other people will say."
Song A-rin continued as if it were nothing.
"Ah, that crazy bitch is brainwashing people again to make friends."
"There are people who..."
"The problem is that there are such people."
Still not erasing her smile, Song A-rin continued.
"Then what I start thinking is."
She looked at me and smiled.
"I end up worrying too. Wondering if the favorable feelings this person is showing me are actually because I've been controlling them without even realizing it."
"...But we're all close to you, Ms. Song A-rin."
"...It's a bit of a stretch to describe those two as 'close'."
Song A-rin scratched her cheek and gave an ambiguous answer.
"No. On the contrary, precisely because there's no sense of being completely close, they're more trustworthy."
Hyena-like bastards, Song A-rin muttered.
"Anyway. They're a bit different."
"...I'm here, you know."
Me, who isn't affected by mental attacks.
At my words, Song A-rin's movements stopped, and she stared piercingly at me.
"Right. You are different from the others."
"..."
"You are special."
It wasn't her usual axe-eyed stare.
"I can believe the words you say to me."
"What do you—"
"Because your expressions and words are something I could never have manipulated."
Song A-rin gave a snorting laugh and opened the door.
"That's why."
"Song A-rin, what—"
"Get out. I'm sleepy."
Cutting me off, Song A-rin dragged me by the sleeve and pulled me outside.
"...Ms. Song A-rin."
"I'm sleeping. Good night."
Then she yawned and went back into her room.
"..."
I thought about calling out to her, but was she doing it on purpose? The intermittent pain in my temples made it seem like she didn't want me to.
And so, I had no choice but to greet the morning with wide-open eyes.
*
"Did you rest well?"
"..."
"Why does the kid look more tired after going to a housewarming?"
"Would you like to go next time, Team Leader?"
"Staying overnight at a female employee's house? Are you telling me to get a divorce now?"
The Team Leader looked at me as if it were absurd, then clapped his hands.
The attention of all four turned to the Team Leader.
"Alright, attention. From now on, a guest intern is joining our team."
"What's a guest intern?"
"You'll see when you meet them. Come in!"
When the Team Leader shouted loudly, the door opened and someone came in.
Black hair with distinctive pink bridges. And a face that anyone could see was youthful.
"Oppa, hello!"
"Team Leader. I don't support minors being employed, you know."
Ignoring Park Ye-eun, who was waving and greeting me, I looked at the Team Leader. The Team Leader sighed and made eye contact with me.
"Hey, I tried to talk her out of it too. But she insisted so much that she wouldn't do it unless it was this team."
"..."
"Still, she's a guest intern. We've agreed that we'll try not to send her out on field work as much as possible. Only take her along when you really think her help is necessary."
"I can do well!"
"Sigh."
I didn't even bother trying to stop the sigh that escaped me as I looked at Park Ye-eun, when suddenly,
A text arrived on my phone.
[Eileen]
<Come to the basement isolation ward immediately.>
And that was the end of the text.
What I had asked Eileen was if there were any changes in the isolation ward. The fact that she texted me meant...
"Excuse me."
I flung the door open and ran down the corridor.
"Hey, where are you going!"
The Team Leader shouted from behind, but it didn't reach my ears.
Something had happened.