Chapter 54

-Why did you answer so quickly?

When Morae picked up the phone immediately, Pado on the other end sounded genuinely surprised.

Hearing his reaction made her feel embarrassed for answering so eagerly.

“…I was just using my phone. Why?”

She should’ve waited a little longer before answering.

She had picked up so quickly that it looked like she had been waiting for his call.

The thought made her feel embarrassed.

Had she really been that impatient?

-What are you doing?

“I was contacting some people I haven’t talked to in a while, doing some shopping, and just wasting time.”

-Good. If you have time, can I ask you for a favor?

“What is it?”

-I think my computer broke. Come fix it for me. I have that cake you like. I’ll give it to you.

Morae looked up at the clock.

It was already 10 p.m.

The weather had been getting warmer lately, but at ten at night, it was still dark outside.

“It’s nighttime.”

-So? Are you going to sleep now?

It wasn’t that late.

But it was late enough to visit someone else’s room.

Calling someone over at 10 p.m. to fix a computer…

And preparing their favorite snack in advance.

It was such an obvious and classic tactic.

Just as classic and bold as showing up at someone’s door and asking them to let you in because you wanted a glass of water.

“…”

Inviting her to his room late at night…

No matter how many times she thought about it, it was incredibly obvious and bold.

When she had invited him to her room, he had simply left.

When she had gone to his room herself, he had kicked her out.

So was there actually a time when he wanted her there?

But still…

It was annoying.

Did he really think she would come running just because he called?

Even if he added the excuse of needing help with his computer, did he think she would pretend not to notice?

A grown adult didn’t blindly believe such a flimsy excuse.

-Can’t you? Should I wait until tomorrow?

When she didn’t answer, a cute—at least, Morae thought it was cute—voice began urging her.

Morae looked back and forth between the clock and the bathroom before answering.

“I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

Thirty minutes was a short amount of time to get ready.

Because her hair reached all the way down to her waist, there wasn’t enough time to wash and dry it properly.

In the end, she took a quick shower, then put on a pretty set of matching underwear she had prepared beforehand.

Finally.

The day had come when she could show him underwear that actually matched top and bottom.

She had been embarrassed because until now, whenever he saw her underwear, it had always been when she was wearing something comfortable.

Despite having such elegant underwear, he had only ever seen her in casual ones.

The clothes she wore over it were something easy to put on and take off.

She had plenty of flashy or luxurious outfits, but none of them felt appropriate for going to fix a computer after casually hanging out in her room.

Wouldn’t that make it look like she had come running over with too much expectation?

But she couldn’t exactly choose something worn-out or overly revealing either.

In the end, Morae chose comfortable dolphin shorts that still caught attention and a loose-fitting T-shirt.

Standing in front of the mirror, she lightly slapped her thighs and applied makeup so subtle it was hard to tell whether she had put any on at all.

A little cushion foundation and a touch of highlight were enough to make her face look slightly brighter.

Pado probably wouldn’t notice.

And that was exactly why she liked it.

Finally, she applied solid perfume to her wrists and left her room.

Exactly 30 minutes had passed.

She had hurried to make sure she arrived on time, but the moment she reached his door, she suddenly felt nervous.

Standing in front of Pado’s room, Morae collected herself and took a deep breath.

About a minute passed.

Once she had finished calming herself down, she knocked.

Pado opened the door looking relaxed.

“You arrived exactly on time. Come in.”

Pado appeared wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt.

He looked completely comfortable.

His hair was slightly messy, as if he had been lying around on his bed until just moments ago.

“You called someone over and came out wearing pajamas?”

She was slightly disappointed that he hadn’t dressed up at all.

But at the same time, his comfortable appearance was strangely appealing.

Since they had never shared a room, this was her first time seeing him dressed casually in pajamas.

She lightly scolded him, but Pado barely seemed to listen as he guided her inside.

He picked up the cleaning slime that almost got kicked by his foot and hugged it like a giant stuffed animal.

The newly replaced slime relaxed in his arms, stretching lazily.

Seeing him wearing an unfashionable T-shirt that looked suitable only as pajamas while hugging a slime like that somehow made her laugh.

“You really do carry that thing around a lot.”

“Because you don’t spoil me enough. I have to play with this one instead.”

“…You’re not supposed to use a cleaning slime like that. You’ll damage your skin.”

“What?”

When she whispered the warning, Pado looked completely confused.

Realizing she had jumped ahead too far, Morae cleared her throat awkwardly.

“I mean the inside is more delicate than you think, so be careful not to pop it. Where’s the computer?”

The fact that Hunters had tough skin and sometimes used things like that for personal purposes didn’t need to be mentioned.

Finding herself in an awkward situation, Morae quickly changed the subject.

“Here. It turns on, but something seems wrong starting from the desktop.”

“Let me see. …You’re right.”

Morae bent over and checked the computer sitting on the desk.

It successfully reached the desktop, but after that, nothing she clicked worked properly.

She had assumed the computer problem was just an excuse.

So she was a little surprised that it was actually broken.

“This happens sometimes here. You were trying to connect back to where you originally used it, right? The firewall got confused.”

The error itself was nothing serious.

After looking around for a little while, she quickly found the solution.

“Mm-hm.”

“They’re trying to block our connection from their side, so this happens sometimes… I’ll fix it quickly, so just wait.”

There was no point explaining everything in detail.

Pado wouldn’t understand or care anyway.

Morae guided the restless man behind her to sit on the bed.

Pado sat comfortably and watched her fix the computer.

Morae ignored the stare boring into the back of her head and continued repairing the error.

“Done.”

It had taken less time than it took her to get ready.

There were still ten minutes left until 11.

“Does it work now? Wait, don’t open the internet. I’ll check it myself.”

“If I turn it on and check… heh, it’s obvious. If you have something you don’t want me to see, you shouldn’t have called me.”

“You can look if you want. But you’ll be the one regretting it.”

Pado’s warning was serious.

Morae immediately pulled her hand away from the mouse and stepped back.

After being tricked several times already, his warnings about regret sent a chill down her spine.

If she underestimated Pado’s threats, she would definitely suffer for it.

She was curious.

But she didn’t want to accidentally open Pandora’s box and bring trouble upon herself.

Especially if he had some strange or terrible taste hidden there…

Who knew what would happen?

“Not looking. I already took measures so this won’t happen again. It shouldn’t break from the same issue.”

“Thanks. You really do fix things quickly like a professional. Here, your sweet reward: Sweet Time Oreo Cake.”

Pado took a small box out of the refrigerator and held it out.

The size looked just right for a small cake, and the logo of a dessert shop called “Sweet Time” was printed on the outside.

Morae accepted the cake box without thinking and froze for a moment.

“Huh?”

When her eyes widened, Pado’s eyes widened as well.

He looked back and forth between her hand and the cake, confused.

“Why?”

“…You’re giving it to me?”

“Yeah.”

She asked with a faint sense of disbelief, but Pado looked completely unaware that anything was wrong.

He casually tapped the cake box.

Receiving the packaged cake left Morae flustered.

Of course, she had assumed they would eat it here.

It was only natural.

She hadn’t even considered another possibility.

In her mind, it was as obvious as walking on two legs.

So this felt like she had been hit out of nowhere.

She had thought they would sit around the table together, maybe drink some wine or a light alcoholic drink, and eat the cake together.

But then he suddenly handed her a packaged cake, and her brain stopped working.

“You like the cakes from this place because they’re delicious, right? They’re hard to get.”

Pado looked confused because Morae’s reaction to his gift wasn’t what he expected.

He looked her up and down, but he couldn’t figure out why she was so flustered.

That completely innocent expression pushed Morae to the edge.

What was she supposed to say here?

“Yeah… I like it.”

Morae weakly nodded.

“Right? Oreo cake is your favorite, isn’t it? They only make a limited amount, so hide it and eat it all yourself.”

Pado happily patted her arm.

At that moment, Morae became even more confused.

Sweet Time was a famous dessert shop in Seoul where people normally had to wait at least an hour just to get inside.

It was located on a busy street with many people and good security, making it difficult for underground Hunters to approach.

If he had managed to get it from there, regardless of how he obtained it, it was a precious gift.

Whether he had received it as a gift from someone else or gone out of his way to buy it himself, it showed genuine effort.

Seeing how proud he looked, it was obvious he had paid attention because he wanted to give it to her.

Sweet Time cakes were one of the common gifts that people brought whenever they visited Morae.

She had received several during her recent hospital stay as well, and she had shown how happy she was about them.

That meant Pado had been paying attention to her preferences.

The consideration and affection behind it made her feel a little happy.

But…

That was it.

He had used the excuse of needing her to fix his computer late at night to bring her into his room…

And then he simply gave her cake as a gift and ended things there.

It felt like a lie.

Morae hesitated and glanced at the clock.

“…It’s gotten late.”

“Yeah, it has. It’s already 11.”

“It’s time to sleep, isn’t it?”

“I usually sleep around 1. Are you tired? Then go get some rest early. It was baked today, so you can eat it tomorrow.”

“…Thanks. It must’ve been difficult to get. Aren’t you going to eat any? Cakes from this place are really good.”

“I’m fine. I can’t really tell the difference between cakes anyway. It’s better if someone who likes it eats it.”

The moment she tried to hint at eating together, he shut it down.

Morae slowly began wondering if Pado was actually playing with her.

How could he set up this whole situation and remain this calm?

Was he pretending not to understand on purpose?

Trying to make her impatient until she was the one who brought it up first?

But then again…

His relaxed and cheerful expression bothered her.

Morae made a slightly discouraged sound and quietly turned around.

“Mm… thanks. Then I’ll go.”

“Be careful. Though it’s safe since we’re inside the building.”

Pado, who had been opening a video site to check its condition, put down the mouse and came out to see her off.

He said goodbye calmly, without looking even slightly reluctant.

Slowly walking out of the room, Morae turned around one last time.

“I’m leaving?”

She threw out one final, desperate line.

But as expected, Pado only waved his hand.

“Sleep well.”

Now there was no reason for her to stay.

Morae slowly left the room.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Even after she walked that far, Pado didn’t come after her.

The door closed.

No sound came from behind.

When even the final possibility disappeared, Morae’s thoughts became completely chaotic.

Huh?

That’s it?

It’s really over?

Seriously?