Chapter 38

“You’re not even here to wash. Why’d you barge in?”

“But this place is better.”

“For what?”

“For masturbating.”

“…”

Pado’s eyes turned ice-cold.

Despite sitting in hot water, the atmosphere instantly became chilly.

Morae shivered under his look of utter disdain.

“You said you’d do it! Here, it’s just the two of us, and it’s easy to clean up afterward.”

Her logic made sense, but it still felt wrong.

Pado mercilessly turned his head away.

“I’m not doing it here. I’ll do it when I feel like it.”

“When?”

“Whenever. Stop pestering me. And if you’re going to keep pestering me, at least get me hard first.”

Since he’d made the promise, he would keep it someday.

Just not now.

He was exhausted, and he had no intention of putting on a show exactly where and how Morae wanted.

He couldn’t promise when it would happen, but he’d rather do it when he was the one in control.

Or… if she shyly stripped naked in front of him, then maybe he’d consider it.

Rejected so bluntly, Morae mumbled dejectedly.

“It’s unfair that I’m the only embarrassed one.”

“I’m the one sitting here completely naked!”

The person who had barged into someone else’s bath without a shred of hesitation had some nerve talking about embarrassment.

Pado snatched the large towel from Morae’s hands and draped it over his lap.

The wet towel covered the space between his thighs, and Morae, who had been sneaking glances there, looked slightly disappointed.

Once Pado covered himself, Morae, who had only been soaking her feet, lowered herself fully into the tub.

The water sloshed and spilled over the edge.

The moment she sat down, she idly splashed the water with her feet.

Seated beside her, Pado kept his gaze fixed outside the glass window.

Ever since they had slept together, every moment they were left alone felt awkward.

Even doing nothing made him feel like invisible fingernails were scratching at him, leaving his hands restless.

Knowing they’d thoroughly seen—and tasted—each other’s bare bodies that night made it difficult for him to stay composed.

“…”

“…”

Apparently Morae felt the same.

Neither of them spoke.

Moments like this made him think that, even if Morae hadn’t tried to stop him, he and the Downtown Workshop were never a good match.

Sleeping with one person in the same group had already made things this awkward.

He couldn’t imagine what it would be like if there were two or more.

Just thinking about it made his chest feel as heavy as if he’d swallowed a stone.

“Were you really upset?”

Out of nowhere, Morae spoke.

As usual, her questions came without warning.

“About losing?”

“No. It wasn’t a real fight, and nobody could beat Mom in a spar. I meant the article.”

“Oh… the article. …You were upset?”

“Huh?”

This time it was Morae who looked confused.

Neither of them understood what the other meant, so they turned to face each other.

“The article made you sound like some woman-chasing fool who became an underground Hunter just because he followed a pretty face. Everyone was treating you like an idiot. Weren’t you angry about that?”

“I figured strangers could say whatever they wanted. I thought you’d be upset because the article made it sound like you seduced me with a honey trap.”

“Not really. They’re just strangers talking.”

They’d been talking about the same article all along—just different parts of it.

Once they realized what each had been worrying about, the conversation fell silent.

Neither of them cared much about what had been said about themselves.

They’d only been worried that the other person might have been hurt.

The realization made things feel awkward… and strangely warm.

Their eyes met, drifted away for a moment, then found each other again.

Whether from the heat or something else, Morae’s cheeks flushed pink as she sank deeper into the water.

“So you weren’t upset after all. I was worried those comments might’ve really gotten to you.”

“I guess you felt guilty because you said something pretty similar yourself.”

“A little.”

Pado had been about to scoff, but her sheepish answer made him chuckle instead.

The way she answered honestly instead of dodging the question was unexpectedly adorable.

Before he knew it, the irritation he’d felt toward her had dissolved into the bathwater.

Turning away from the window, he rested both arms along the edge of the tub.

Perhaps it was the warmth of the water, but both his hostility and his guard gradually melted away.

“I’ve got enough conscience not to get mad over something that’s true.”

“Huh?”

“I did follow a woman. How old am I? They kept interfering so I couldn’t even date. Then they piled false accusations on top of that, so once I realized things were hopeless, I ran.”

He idly tapped the edge of the tub with a finger as he spoke.

Morae’s eyes widened.

Her lips barely moved; only her eyes searched his face, unable to tell whether he was joking or completely serious.

She had never seen Pado show much interest in women before, so her suspicion was only natural.

Pado found it amusing how seriously she was thinking over something so trivial.

Closing his eyes halfway, he spoke with a teasing smile.

“I told you before, didn’t I? No parents, no siblings, and they wouldn’t even let me date. I was desperate for a little warmth. I’m easy. I’m starved for affection. Just treat me nicely, and I’ll fall for you in no time.”

“If that were true, then you should’ve fallen for me.”

“Didn’t you read the article? It literally said I fell for Eun Morae’s honey trap and joined the West Sea Legion.”

The expression on Morae’s face froze.

She couldn’t tell what he really meant.

Was he just teasing her…

Or was he disguising the truth as a joke?

Words weren’t something she could simply believe at face value.

She remembered how, back when he’d first joined the Legion, he’d kept his distance from all the women, and how he’d snarled, “You think I’d get hard over someone like you?”

She also couldn’t forget the time he’d carried her on his back after saying, “You gonna take care of this?” only to laugh at her afterward.

Then again…

She also remembered how he’d held her so tightly, as though he would never let her go.

Reason and fleeting emotion battled fiercely inside her, leaving every muscle in her face stiff.

Seeing Morae’s cheeks flush while she remained speechless, Pado flicked a few drops of water at her.

“I’m kidding.”

It was as if he’d thrown her a lifeline.

Morae finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

“…I figured. I know. If I told you there are plenty of good women in our Legion, you’d just make one excuse after another and slither away like a snake.”

She decided to pretend she believed he was joking.

The truth was impossible to know anyway.

Pado had a face that looked incapable of lying, yet he bluffed surprisingly well.

She couldn’t take everything he said at face value.

Somehow, she felt like she’d been fooled again.

Determined not to lose to him, Morae flicked water back at him.

Not a single drop reached him.

Every droplet bounced away as though hitting an invisible wall before splashing back into Morae’s own face.

She narrowed her eyes and puffed out her cheeks.

“Then why were you trying so hard today? You always take it easy when you’re sparring with Mom.”

“I wasn’t taking it easy.”

“You were. You couldn’t even bring yourself to hit her face or her stomach.”

“You might not understand since you were raised by villains, but ordinary people have something called a conscience. I can’t punch the face or stomach of a kind, gentle lady who makes snacks for me when I’ve got no grudge against her.”

At that moment, Pado once again felt just how different Morae was.

Here he was struggling to hit the kind Han Nokyeong, who was practically a stranger to him…

Meanwhile, Morae was complaining that he hadn’t hit her own mother harder.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes, just as she had done to him.

Morae clicked her tongue.

“Well, aren’t you so noble with your superior morals? Then why’d you throw your conscience away today?”

Because—

His lips pressed shut.

Some things could be said lightly.

Others couldn’t.

This belonged to the latter.

He couldn’t say it now.

“…”

Saying it was because of you wasn’t something he could bring himself to do.

Not here.

Not when the two of them were alone in a bath, dressed in little more than towels.

It would sound too much like a confession.

But it really had been because of Morae.

Because Eun Morae wanted him to grow stronger by fighting Han Nokyeong.

Ever since morning, thoughts of Morae had filled his mind.

He kept thinking he should grant her request, and the thought wouldn’t leave him alone, so he’d thrown himself into the spar just to clear his head.

Either way, Morae had been the reason.

Either way, he couldn’t possibly say it aloud.

“…”

“Why?”

“I just… felt like it.”

“So you just happened to feel like fighting my mom to the death?”

At this point, he had to answer with something.

If he didn’t, he’d sound like a lunatic who randomly wanted to beat up Morae’s mother.

Pado hurriedly searched for a believable excuse.

“…It pissed me off that they published that article just to provoke me. Why would they suddenly release a personal attack after staying quiet all this time? They couldn’t talk me into coming back, so now they’re trying to isolate me by humiliating me. Of course I was angry.”

The excuse sounded reasonable enough.

Morae gave a small hum and nodded.

Apparently it made perfect sense to her, because she accepted it without pressing any further.

As she nodded to herself, she quietly reached over and took hold of Pado’s arm.

He flinched and instinctively leaned away.

Even though he had a towel around his waist, he was practically naked, making even the slightest touch feel embarrassingly intimate.

Scooting closer, Morae spoke with complete seriousness.

“If you stay with the Legion, I’ll be the first one to crush those people.”

Sweet… and terrifying.

Her harsh yet gentle words struck him right in the chest.

He couldn’t tell whether his heart tightened because he’d been moved by her immediate promise to take revenge for him…

Or because he was imagining the disaster she’d undoubtedly cause.

“Thanks. Even just hearing that means a lot.”

“Just say the word. I’ll humiliate them so badly they won’t be able to show their faces—or I’ll blow up their house.”

Her fingers gently traced along his arm.

“I mean it. You know that, right?”

She was always kind like this.

She really would take revenge for him.

Without expecting anything in return.

That was exactly why everyone treated Morae like a princess.

Because she wasn’t calculating.

She was sincere.

The situation couldn’t have been worse.

The two of them alone in the warm bath.

Eun Morae’s skin glistening with water.

Her nearly bare body pressed against his arm as she whispered those gentle words…

Pado swallowed several times before slowly leaning toward her.

Even inside the humid bathhouse, his lips felt unbearably dry.

An irresistible urge to wet them pulled him forward.

“Eun Morae… wait…”

His request for her to look his way dissolved into the rising steam.

Just as the towel over his lap began to tent upward—

Morae suddenly let go of his arm and sprang out of the bath.

“Pwah! I can’t take it anymore!”

Her pale skin had turned rosy from the heat.

She hurried out of the tub as though fleeing, breathing heavily.

“It’s too hot. I can’t stay in there.”

As Morae climbed out, the water level dropped, and somehow the heat seemed to lessen.

The water itself hadn’t changed temperature at all.

Yet the space around him suddenly felt much cooler.

Coming back to his senses, Pado grabbed his own thigh.

His fingernails dug deep into his bare skin, leaving vivid marks behind.

That had been close.