White Clouds
Cheon Ma-ru and I had talked several times during our conversations about the hardships of living alone. I had no idea what was so difficult about it for a guy who still got his rent and living expenses from his mother.
"You live by yourself, right? Let's use your place."
"No. That's..."
The voice of opposition came from an unexpected person—not Cheon Ma-ru, but Kim Chae-eun.
"A-rang, no matter what, going over to a house where only a guy lives feels a bit..."
"Why? Is there some kind of problem?"
"How should I explain it..."
Was she worried about safety? Entering the house of a man who used to be Geum Tae-yang didn't exactly thrill me either. But that was an unnecessary concern.
"First of all, isn't this guy the weakest one here?"
"Ugh."
"If he tries anything weird, just tell me. I'll rip his guts out. Don't worry."
No matter how hard this guy tried to fly or crawl, I could still beat him just by using my feet.
"Or do you have a boyfriend or something?"
If she had a lover, it would make sense for her to feel awkward about it.
"No, it's not that."
"I don't have a partner either..."
"Then there's no issue. There's a park right in front of the house, so we'll have space to move around. Taking the elevator is a bit annoying, though."
And we'd have to deal with the stares of passersby as well.
"Well, there aren't really any other options. I'm in favor."
"M-me too..."
"She's okay with it. Is that fine with you?"
Come to think of it, I had pushed the conversation forward without asking for permission. After thinking for a moment, Cheon Ma-ru nodded with a slightly reluctant expression.
"Well, it's no big deal."
"Then let's meet up tomorrow. Right after regular classes end."
"Got it!"
After regular classes ended and he arrived home, Cheon Ma-ru fell into deep thought.
“...”
Staring at the state of his room, he couldn't figure out how to clean it up. This was the reason he had wanted to refuse at first. His room was an absolute disaster.
Empty instant food containers and delivery boxes. Recycling he had put off. Laundry piled up to wash all at once. And the tissues in front of the computer... hadn't he thrown those out? He had known it was bad, but the moment he realized he had to invite people inside, it looked worse than a disaster. This wasn't a house. It was a garbage dump.
Still, they couldn't hold a group project in this condition, so he started cleaning. He had to do it sooner or later anyway.
Thirty minutes later.
“...”
The disaster had turned into a complete pigsty. At least before, food remnants hadn't been rolling around on the floor.
I'm fucked.
With sleep and tomorrow's academy schedule to consider, he didn't have much time. Cleaning all of this within the remaining hours was impossible for him right now. Just as he was despairing over reality—
Ding-dong—
The doorbell rang. The delivery food he had ordered to eat after cleaning must have arrived. He wasn't sure eating would even be possible in this state, but he decided to bring it in first. The moment he opened the door thinking that—
"Are you doing construction?"
There stood Baek A-rang, holding the ordered food in one hand and looking at him strangely.
...Huh?
Even when I didn't trust Cheon Ma-ru and was monitoring him, I never spied inside his house. That would have been crossing the line too far. He might spread my identity online, but if he was planning to do that, there was no way to stop him short of killing him.
Anyway, that meant I had no idea what Cheon Ma-ru did inside his house. Whether he studied, exercised, or enjoyed his happy time was none of my business.
But...
"Is he trying to demolish the place?"
It wasn't bedtime yet, but the continuous sounds from next door—like someone arranging pots and banging on drums—made it impossible to ignore. Wall noise should have limits. After enduring it as long as I could, I stormed over, grabbing the tang-jjambbong that was cooling by the door as well.
When the door opened, I saw a flustered Cheon Ma-ru. It would be surprising if your classmate from next door suddenly appeared at your door holding your delivery order. Especially when that classmate had openly declared she would be monitoring you.
"What exactly are you doing to make so much noise?"
"Ah, that's..."
While he stood frozen, I looked past him and instantly understood the situation.
"Whoa..."
“...”
It was like a scene from hell. Cup ramen broth was spilled across the floor like bloodstains at a crime scene. It was as if an X-rank gate had opened here. I'd need to gather all the hunters again. This was the end of the world.
“...”
I pushed aside Cheon Ma-ru, who stood with his head bowed in shame at having his home's state exposed, and stepped inside. Cheon Ma-ru, finally snapping out of it, asked in a panic.
"W-what are you doing?"
"What does it look like? Cleaning. How are we supposed to do a group project in this mess?"
Seeing this, Kim Chae-eun and Heo Yeon-hwa would have been justified in boycotting the group project. The place was in such bad shape that you couldn't even ask a criminal to live here.
"First, let's get rid of all the trash. Separate what to throw away from what we shouldn't."
"Okay."
Knowing he couldn't handle it alone, he obediently followed my instructions.
Cup ramen containers, bossam boxes, and this... was it jjambbong?
"Don't you know how to cook?"
"I can make ramen and curry."
"The three-minute kind?"
"Yeah."
"Society has collectively agreed that we call that not knowing how to cook."
He proudly announced he could cook by simply using the microwave. No wonder delivery containers were piled everywhere.
Before starting the real cleaning, I took off my glasses. As my previously hidden tail and ears reappeared—
"What?"
"No, um, is that okay?"
I wondered why he was so surprised. He already knew everything.
"You already know about it, so what's the big deal? These are actually pretty inconvenient."
Having ears and a tail came with more inconveniences than one might think. The ears weren't an issue if I didn't need to wear hats, but the tail would get pressed or caught when lying down or sitting, which was surprisingly annoying. I also had to have my clothes custom-made.
But wearing the glasses didn't solve everything. In their own way, the places where my ears and tail should be felt empty, which put me in a strange mood. It was like my favorite stuffed toy that had always been with me had suddenly disappeared.
That's why I usually took the glasses off at home. It felt more comfortable when standing. After silencing Cheon Ma-ru, I resumed cleaning.
"Look at the state of this house..."
This building was actually quite nice. Three rooms, a kitchen, and even a veranda. It was practically a family home. Far too much space for someone who had just become an adult living alone. Turning a place like this into such a mess was a talent in itself.
"This area..."
The living room and bedroom were somewhat bearable. This seemed to be a study room with the computer and books, yet it was even worse. He'd left the perfectly good bookshelf alone and stacked books into towers instead. Had he not organized anything since moving in? And the thing in front of the computer was...
"...Hey."
"What?"
"You clean this up yourself."
"What is it? Oh..."
I told him to clean up the wad of tissues that smelled like night flowers himself. It would be better for both of us that way.
After cleaning the kitchen, veranda, and bathroom, I suddenly thought:
Why am I doing this?
Reality hit me like a ton of bricks. Why was I cleaning the house of a classmate who happened to live next door? We weren't childhood friends, and we'd only known each other for a month. Ever since this guy found out my identity, nothing seemed to go the way I wanted.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing. Just some random thoughts. How's the bathroom?"
"All done."
I hadn't cleaned everything thoroughly. There wasn't enough time for that. I'd just made it lightly presentable.
"Haah. Let's take a short break."
"You've worked hard. You saved me."
Cheon Ma-ru brought a cola from the refrigerator. I hated carbonated drinks, though.
"Don't you have anything else? Like twenty-two percent or something."
"I have cider... and juice too."
"Then just give me the juice."
"Alright."
I quenched my thirst with orange juice. It wasn't bad after not having it for a while. As I moistened my throat, which had grown dry from inhaling dust, Cheon Ma-ru kept staring at my head. Or rather, at my hair?
"Why? Is there something on it?"
"No. It's just fascinating. There aren't many white-haired people even among awakened ones."
"True."
White hair wasn't common. Even among the colorful hunters, white hair was rare.
"What? Is it pretty?"
"Yes. It's like white clouds. It looks fluffy and soft."
“?!”
The juice I was drinking nearly sprayed out. I'd been trying to tease him because the hard work had left me annoyed, but I ended up taking a counterattack instead.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. More importantly, can you wipe that up quickly?"
"Sure. Just a moment."
"Our daughter's hair is like white clouds, I love it so much! Can I stroke it a little more?"
"Ehh... It'll ruin my hair."
"Sis! Fluffy fluffy hair!"
"Sigh. You have to touch it carefully."
It had been so long since I'd heard someone say my hair was like white clouds. As Cheon Ma-ru finished wiping the juice I'd spilled and approached me, he suddenly used a fresh wet tissue to wipe my mouth.
"What is this, are you flirting?"
"Huh? No, I didn't mean to..."
"I'm not mad or anything."
Normally I would have snatched the tissue and wiped it myself, but the long-forgotten good memory had left my heart feeling warm and I wanted to savor it a little longer. Watching Cheon Ma-ru carefully wipe my mouth, I suddenly found the situation amusing. If you looked at it, his appearance was on the cute side. The only problem was that he was the blonde delinquent.
"Alright, I'll head back now and get some sleep."
I couldn't stay here forever, so I grabbed the glasses I'd taken off and returned to my house. After a quick wash and changing into comfortable clothes, I lay down on the bed.
Yeah. It's like white clouds. It looks soft.
For some reason, I didn't try to forget the voice that kept echoing in my ears.
