Want to Stay the Night?
The news caught my attention the moment we stepped into the restaurant.
I'd been slacking off quite a bit lately under the title of Special Agent, but maybe it was just the fact that I still worked in the hero industry. My eyes drifted toward the screen before I even realized it.
"Well... it's a story that keeps coming up."
"It is."
"Do you think it's actually a problem too, Eun-hwa? The news keeps going on about it one way or another."
"Yes. It is a problem."
"Oh?"
I'd tossed the question casually at the girl following behind me, and her answer came so naturally it caught me a little off guard. She was a hero who worked in the field — I'd half expected her to have a slightly different take. Instead, Baek Eun-hwa agreed without a second's hesitation. Apparently it really was that serious.
...Well, rumors about something going wrong in the factory district had been circulating nonstop for months now.
"It needs to get resolved properly."
"Yeah."
We kept chatting as we sat down and figured out what to order. Normally... I spent my evenings at Baek Eun-hwa's place starting around dinnertime. But today her schedule had run far longer than expected, and she'd been so busy that meeting her late at night had been the only option.
The only reason we'd been able to meet Friday evenings at all was because she'd been redistributing her Friday schedule as much as possible for a while now. The truth was, Baekyeou's calendar was far more packed than most people realized. Just being able to see her at night like this was something I should count myself lucky for.
"What would you like to order, Eun-hwa?"
"Just the offal soup."
"Pfft..."
"What? Does it not suit me?"
"Of course not. It's just surprising that someone as pretty as you would want gukbap, and even more surprising that you'd say it like it's nothing."
"...Is that so?"
When I went out to eat with most girls, we always ended up somewhere with a nice atmosphere, and the food itself tended to be on the lighter side. Maratang was a separate matter, of course. But someone suggesting gukbap first? That almost never, ever happened.
Well, okay — sometimes the Team Leader or the office staff, dead on their feet after pulling overtime, would suggest gukbap. But that was different.
"It is delicious, though. I've ordered delivery myself when I was too tired to cook."
"Then why did you say all that to me?"
"Well... someone as pretty and refined as you eating gukbap just hits different, you know?"
"And you're the one saying that, Agent?"
"Heh. Am I?"
The way she praised me — half incredulous — actually made me pretty happy. Among everyone I'd met so far, people who looked as precious and beautiful as Baek Eun-hwa were rare. She was practically a celebrity. She shot ads, did all kinds of photoshoots, appeared at official events. She put a lot of work into taking care of herself, and she received a lot of care in return.
Sometimes when I called her on the weekend... I'd hear she was getting a facial at some ridiculously fancy spa, and I'd wonder how two people who were both twenty-one could live such different lives. And now that same person had basically just called me pretty.
"Heheh..."
"...What?"
"Nothing, I just... suddenly feel my self-esteem going up? Someone as pretty as you just told me I'm pretty."
"...I never said you were pretty."
"Come on, it's the same thing."
"......"
Anyway. I was happy.
After we'd warmed ourselves up with steaming bowls of gukbap and replenished some of Baek Eun-hwa's energy, we naturally headed to her place. Technically a proper gukbap meal called for a bottle of soju on the side... but Baek Eun-hwa had to drive. So neither of us touched a drop, and we arrived at her house like that.
"I think I'm getting pretty used to walking into your place by now."
"I suppose so."
"Heheh. Tomorrow's a rare day off, right? No schedule, no dispatches?"
"Yes. I'm off-duty, so nothing's planned... but if something dangerous happens, I'll have to go out."
"Really not an easy job to rest in, is it?"
"It's also a job that helps people, in equal measure."
We talked as I slipped off my coat and hung it up, then started helping her tidy the apartment bit by bit. According to Baek Eun-hwa, this week had been busier than usual, so the place was messier than it typically was... which meant there was quite a bit to put away.
"Whew... all done!"
"It is. If I'd done it alone, it would've taken a little longer. Maybe that's the difference of doing it together."
"That's it."
Dinner had been late, but it'd been a hearty meal. Eating anything more now would just leave us bloated. So we settled for some light snacks and started talking again.
"You shot a cameo in a drama this week? You're basically a celebrity at this point."
"...It's not like that. A filming request just happened to come in. We even use a studio in the same building."
"Oh?"
...So she couldn't turn it down again, huh?
Hmm.
I felt a lecture coming on, but she'd only appeared for about a minute, so I didn't push it too hard. There were plenty of other things I could nag Baek Eun-hwa about anyway. There always were.
"You worked incredibly hard this week too."
"......I did."
"Heheh."
"......"
And then, just like last time, I stroked her hair and praised her thoroughly. Of course, I wove the compliments together with carefully chosen words, hoping she'd slowly start to change her behavior... that was the intention behind everything I kept saying.
"I'm just glad you haven't gotten sick again since that last bout of the flu. I was really worried about you then."
"...Thank you, for that time."
"Heheh. I was just doing what I had to do."
"......"
Baek Eun-hwa had gotten properly, thoroughly sick last time. All the fatigue she'd been stacking up had finally exploded, and I hoped that experience had shifted her thinking even a little. At the very least, she probably... probably... wouldn't drive herself into the ground with that insane schedule anymore.
Yeah. I hoped so.
The fact that she'd told me she was off-duty tomorrow and wasn't planning to respond to any hero dispatches... couldn't that be counted as one of the results? It might've been wishful thinking, but I wanted it to be true.
"Heheh... You really did well. So this weekend, rest easy. Stay home if you want, or go for a walk, or wander around somewhere. Just take it easy."
"......Maybe I will."
"Yes, of course. That's what days off are for, isn't it?"
...Please, I thought. Just do that.
I stroked her hair even more diligently. In the end, talking was all I could do. Growth was only possible if Baek Eun-hwa herself changed. Forcing her to rest by calling the Association President, the way I had before, wasn't going to be enough.
"......You."
"Yes?"
I'd been spending the time petting that fox head when, unusually, Baek Eun-hwa called out to me first. She'd been answering quietly this whole time, and then that. Why was she calling me? Had I accidentally brushed her ear while stroking her hair and made her uncomfortable?
"...What are you doing this weekend?"
"This weekend?"
"Yes, the weekend. What are you doing tomorrow, or on Sunday."
"Uh...... nothing? Unless it's a day I'm meeting one of the people I counsel, I don't do anything."
"...Then could I borrow some of your time this weekend?"
"......?"
Baek Eun-hwa's sudden question caught me a little off guard. In all the time I'd known this fox, I'd never once heard her say something like that first. It was actually kind of amazing.
"Is that all right...?"
But separate from my surprise, time was the one thing I had plenty of, and agreeing to her request was a given. Still... why did she actually want to borrow my time? I'd spent a lot of time with the heroes I was assigned to on weekdays, but spending weekends together wasn't something that happened all that often. I was a little puzzled. And a little excited.
"Then tomorrow I'll drive us...... ah. Do you just want to stay the night?"
"...Tonight?"
"Yes. We already decided I'd borrow your time tomorrow, and a girl taking a taxi home alone this late... isn't that dangerous?"
...And the words that followed from Baek Eun-hwa left me even more bewildered.
No, I understood. It wasn't that I didn't understand. But when someone suddenly tells you to sleep over at their place, your mind can't help but go to weird places, can it? I was a guy in my past life, and when someone as gorgeous as Baek Eun-hwa says something like that, of course you're going to misunderstand. At least, that's what I thought.
Especially that violently attractive body of hers I'd witnessed last time... um......
It had been pretty sexy.
Yeah. I'd had a rough idea before, but actually seeing it in person that day had been a first. Even if she'd been wearing underwear? I couldn't help but twist the meaning of it in my head.
"Haha..."
"Ah, would that be uncomfortable...? We lived together for a week last time, so I thought it wouldn't be a problem..."
"......"
And then she looked at me with those cautious eyes, asking the question. A beautiful white-haired nine-tailed fox, tempting me without meaning to tempt me. Turning that down coldly would be... quite... quite...
"Then shall we do that...?"
I seriously believed it was an impossibly difficult thing to do.