Just Waiting for the Right Time
Baek Eun-hwa's house was spacious, and it was spacious.
Basically, it was definitely a large house for her to live alone, so there was no special sense of it being narrower just because two people were living there, and thus living with her wasn't anything special.
With the help of the Association president and Baek Eun-hwa's permission, I was able to stay with her for about a week.
In such a situation, I first thought of making her psychologically as comfortable as possible.
It was like a kind of refreshment and recovery.
Well, since I was basically a hero, there wouldn't be a big problem with physical fatigue accumulating, but mental fatigue was something everyone had, after all.
“It's boring.”
“Eh….”
“Just watching movies like this quietly isn't very fun. Honestly, it's boring.”
“Whoa.”
Is it boring?
I found it quite fun, and actually, the reviews were pretty good.
Instead, it was strangely surprising that she didn't feel any fun in such things at all.
“Hmm…. Then, what do you usually do at home? There's a TV here, so maybe watching TV. Or listening to music. Nothing?”
“I don't come home much.”
“Ah.”
“Usually, I go out in the morning and have a schedule until night. As a hero, catching villains, sometimes shooting ads… the things I mentioned earlier. I have to do them.”
“……Hmm.”
Right.
That's right.
This person was working way too much, to the point of being excessively serious.
A person who didn't really have the concept of resting time.
A person who says it's hard but doesn't actually rest...
“…Hmm.”
What should I do about this?
I first thought of making her take some rest and feel comfortable, but contrary to my thoughts… Baek Eun-hwa was someone who didn't enjoy just relaxing.
“Then, is there nothing you usually want to do… like that?”
“Nothing.”
“……”
“Manager, I don't know how you think of me. I don't really care.”
“……”
Don't care?
But saying that, the person who was just now muttering while drinking alone in a small izakaya a few days ago was herself.
I couldn't understand why such words were coming out.
Was it just that being cared for didn't sit well with her and felt uncomfortable?
Generally, saying something like this that you're fine is… honestly not ordinary.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Like you're pitying me. It's a bit unfair.”
Baek Eun-hwa's reaction to me looking at her didn't understand at all.
As an A-class hero, is it some kind of pride?
Or perhaps from a sense of mission.
But rather than that, I had the thought that I wanted to be seen as a kind of good child by people, so it was like a kind of paranoia that I had to only show that.
Feeling burdened, struggling, and tiring is something that everyone commonly feels.
Children and adults, students and office workers, ordinary people and celebrities.
Everyone feels it, and it's a natural fact that no one can deny it if it's a living being… but Baek Eun-hwa seemed to want to hide her pain anyway.
I didn't understand.
“So? Now, what method do you plan to use? You canceled my week's schedule all at once, so there must be some thought, right?”
…She looked at me like she was challenging me and asked that.
Yeah, after all, I had taken a week of her time, and I hadn't been able to help much yet, so her reaction of acting like it's nothing was understandable.
If I had made her feel a real sense of openness and liberation… it would have been a bit different.
But it wasn't even that yet.
“Yes, there are still many ways. So… shall we spend the week very cozily? I'll do my best to help Eun-hwa-ssi.”
“…You don't have to say that.”
I smiled at her while thinking internally.
Actually, dealing with people who don't show sincerity and try not to reveal their inner feelings was an extremely simple method for me.
But using it right away was a bit ambiguous…
“First, shall we change clothes?”
“Clothes?”
“Yes, as far as I know, Eun-hwa-ssi’s ability isn’t just creating ears and tails, right?”
First, I decided to use another method to make time comfortable.
She showed a somewhat curious reaction even though I hadn't brought up the main point yet, but the explanation wasn't difficult.
“That’s right. Why?”
“Using flames called Fox Fire, and using magical tricks. For someone like that, changing hair and eye color a bit should be easy, right?”
“…It's true that preparation is needed, but it's possible. Why?”
“When going out, if I wander around with such white hair and pretty appearance, everyone will think I'm Baek Eun-hwa, right? It would allow me to look around outside a bit more comfortably and not worry about others. Wouldn't that be good?”
I decided to use another method to make time comfortable.
Basically, if internal time passing without thinking doesn't solve it, recommend going for a walk outside.
Instead, it was a much more commonly recommended way than the former.
The ordinary act of walking had surprisingly good effects, and the effects included generating hormones like dopamine and endorphins through activity, starting from a slight sense of openness.
Of course, it might not be anything special for Baek Eun-hwa, who was very familiar with the act of fighting as a hero and had only a little of it.
“It's a rare holiday, it's a shame to spend it only at home?”
After all, my current thought was to be with her until evening and night.
I wanted to have dinner and drink a bit of alcohol during that process, and watch Baek Eun-hwa slowly loosen up.
“Is that not possible…?”
“……Haa. Okay. I'll prepare. Wait here. I'll change clothes.”
Fortunately, just by speaking to her with a somewhat pitiful expression… Baek Eun-hwa started to accept my words.
Now, I was starting to understand her behavioral principles a bit.
Well, in a different way from Batori.
Yeah, easy.
“Hehe.”
Just a person who feels sorry for others and wants to help…?
She was really an easy person to take advantage of.
Basically, she had a personality that was easy to take advantage of, and she even had a kind of good child complex… so probably, without A-class hero level ability, she would have been scammed in many ways.
*
“Walking… was comfortable. People not recognizing me was pretty good.”
“Even if I usually just change my hair, wouldn't it be comfortable?”
“I don't have a chance to go out privately usually, so I need to be careful about that.”
“…Aha.”
…Well, the walk itself seemed rather ordinary.
Actually, there was nothing particularly annoying in the process of continuously walking outside, and since the weather was moderately warm, I could walk comfortably outside.
Basically, her house was located in a very very expensive neighborhood.
Naturally, there were ecological parks around, and I spent time walking slowly in such a park and then entered a nearby cafe to chat.
In addition, I spent time by entering bookstores, etc.
“Originally, I don't do things like walking around the neighborhood. If I had time, wouldn't I often walk around like this?”
“You drank alcohol in the izakaya in front of the association last time, right?”
“That was to solve dinner. After working, there was something to handle at the association, and after handling that… there was nothing better than that place.”
“That izakaya is good. The sushi is delicious, the alcohol is decent, and it's relatively quiet at the end?”
After walking around outside like that, I returned to her house.
Time had now passed 6 PM.
It was a pretty good time to enjoy dinner… and it was also suitable for doing what I had planned before going for a walk.
“Ah, right. I have one question for Eun-hwa-ssi.”
“What is it this time? I don't know how many questions I've heard from you, the manager, today.”
“Aha ha… that's right.”
There were many questions.
After all, the structure was such that I had to ask questions, but even considering that… there were quite a lot of things to be curious about.
“Eun-hwa-ssi lives alone, right? But you don't solve dinner at the izakaya every day, and you wouldn't start from the morning at the izakaya. How do you usually solve meals?”
“I cook myself.”
“…Oh?”
“It's not like as an A-class hero I can't cook. Why, were you surprised?”
“Of course. I was naturally surprised. Most people who live alone have enough money, so they don't cook and mostly eat delivery.”
“I've been living alone for a few years, so if I can't cook, it would be even more impressive, right?”
“Haha, that's right.”
…Baek Eun-hwa's words were quite pleasing to me.
Moreover, she seemed to have some pride in living by cooking herself.
I didn't know much about her skills, but the impression that she was clearly boasting was clear.
“Why. Should I cook dinner for you, the manager?”
“Can you do that?”
She took my words as if mocking me, treating me like a fool, and demanded.
After all, she had spoken to me first.
I had wanted that from the beginning.
“…This is really accepting it is unbelievable.”
“Hehe.”
When I first visited her house, I brought a bottle of wine as a simple gift to spend time comfortably.
Clearly, the thing I brought with that intention was now a tool for the plan.
I was still smiling, hiding my intention, and just waiting for the right time.