The Second Request
The feeling of my blood running cold from the weight of it all was overwhelming, but her request turned out to be just two simple things. The first was...
"Are you sure this is okay?"
"It feels a little awkward because our heights don't match, but... I'm satisfied."
She wanted me to link arms with her until our shopping trip was over. There was nothing unpleasant about it. The Management Team Leader was undeniably beautiful, and she had helped me more than once. Still, the way she kept bringing up Harpy while we walked, apologizing that she wasn't quite as soft, made the whole experience strangely exhausting.
"...Should I lower my shoulder a bit?"
When I tilted one shoulder down to ease her discomfort, she laughed as if it were the most amusing thing in the world.
"Is the luggage too heavy?"
"...It's fine."
Our shopping spree lasted until late evening, and it could only be described as grueling. Of course, compared to the value of everything she had bought me today, it was hardly any labor at all. Now that it seemed to be winding down, my heart was finally starting to settle. Watching her casually swipe her card for hundreds of millions had somehow made my own burden feel lighter. It appeared she had only intended to show me a moderate amount of kindness. The bags I was already carrying were worth a fortune, so my mind kept drifting back to them instead.
"Hmm... It must be heavy."
She glanced up at me while I was lost in thought and smiled playfully.
'You shouldn't lie, Ung-ssi.'
"Actually... it is a little heavy."
"Pfft. Let's head back now. Are you hungry?"
"...Not really."
Whenever we'd gotten thirsty or needed a break during shopping, we'd stopped for snacks. I'd assumed someone like her wouldn't even glance at commoner food like the bread and champagne in the lounge, but she proved me wrong.
"I don't mind either. Good... Then I suppose it's time to tell you my second request."
"...Huh?"
With a mischievous, impish expression, she tightened her grip on my linked arm.
"What I'd like to ask of you, Ung-ssi, is..."
"...Gulp."
Vroooom...!
The clock was approaching nine in the evening. Her car slid smoothly into the narrow alley near my villa, headlights cutting through the darkness, and came to a stop in the first available parking spot. Then the engine cut off.
"I thought parking would be difficult this late, but there are more spots than I expected."
"A lot of students live around here."
"Ah... I see. Sorry about that."
"N-No, you don't have to apologize to me."
The car fell silent. She unbuckled her seatbelt as she spoke, and I followed suit, though I wasn't sure what came next. Then she asked,
"You're really going to let me in?"
"Yes. That was the request, after all."
Her will was firm, contrary to my hopes.
"It's really cramped. If one more person goes in, there's barely any space... and I have a cat who gets extremely nervous around strangers—"
"Do you not want me to enter your place, Ung-ssi?"
She cut me off the moment my excuses started to drag on. The question left me no room to answer honestly.
"No! It's not that I don't want you to... I just thought it might be rude to Seo Ye-rin."
"It won't be rude, so don't worry. See that smallest shopping bag? Bring that one and the plain one next to it."
Clunk. Thud.
With that, she stepped out of the car for real. I had no choice but to follow, dutifully gathering the bags she'd asked for.
"And these are...?"
One of them felt heavier than the others.
"Your clothes and shoes from earlier. And this~"
She took the heavier bag from my hands and pulled out a green glass bottle with a delighted expression, shaking it lightly. Alcohol...? Soju, and... were those chicken feet inside? When had she even bought this?
"Let's go inside. Driving on unfamiliar roads has made my legs ache and my throat dry."
Unable to resist her dramatic performance of exhaustion as she pushed me forward, I eventually found myself standing in front of my own front door.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep...
Entering the password was an ordinary, everyday action, yet having a woman standing behind me made it feel strangely awkward. The door finally opened, revealing a pair of glowing eyes watching us from the dark room. I greeted her as usual.
"Nero, I'm back—"
But—
"Hyaaaah...!"
'What the—?! Who is that woman?!'
"W-Wait a second?"
Nero spotted the Management Team Leader behind me and immediately began hissing with all her might, fur bristling in clear hostility.
"N-Nero...?"
"Her name is Nero? Hello. She really is shy, just like you said... She won't scratch, will she?"
"Hyaaaah...!"
As if answering the question, Nero extended her sharp claws from her front paws. I was completely flustered. I knew she was wary of strangers, but I hadn't expected this level of open aggression.
'Tell her right now—if she takes even one step inside, I'll turn her face into a checkerboard.'
I dropped to my knees in the entryway without even taking off my shoes, pleading with Nero. It felt like the roles of owner and pet had reversed, but there was no helping it.
"Nero...? This is my team leader from work. I'm in a situation I can't refuse right now... Could you just let it slide for today?"
'It's been a while since you tasted my claws, hasn't it?'
Nero placed her clawed paw on the back of my hand, forcing me to recall unpleasant memories. I knew she wouldn't actually scratch me, but she clearly wasn't going to back down easily either.
"I-I'll do anything you want later! Whatever you ask for!"
'Anything...?'
"...?"
'...I'll be watching. If you try anything weird, you're done.'
After a brief silence, Nero finally retracted her claws and shot me a glare before turning away with a sulky stride toward a dark corner.
"You can talk to cats too?"
"Nero's a little special, but... yes, I can."
"How fascinating. Most cats don't have the intelligence for proper conversation... Well, that's not important right now, is it?"
She walked in ahead of me, turned on the lights, and naturally perched on the edge of my bed. I was quietly grateful I'd cleaned the place yesterday. There shouldn't be any strange smells... right? Nero's comment from this morning was still nagging at me.
"Whew... This feels strange. So this is what it's like to enter a single man's room."
'Nyaa~ It feels kind of cozy. Maybe because the place is so small?'
"Give me your coat. I'll hang it up."
"You're already trying to undress me the moment I walk in?"
"...Huh?"
"Kidding, kidding. Here, the coat... You're always the same, aren't you?"
She handed me her coat while watching me flail my arms like a malfunctioning robot, clearly amused. That single joke made my heart pound so hard it hurt. Before joining this company, I'd never really had proper conversations with girls my age...
"Nyaauuung..."
'She's really pushing it...'
"Ahem. Give me that too. I'll warm it up."
It was a relief she couldn't hear Nero's words. He was especially prickly today... Maybe because I'd stopped petting him halfway through this morning.
"You keep the place surprisingly clean for living alone."
"Ahaha... There's not much in here to begin with."
Besides the basic appliances and furniture that came with the studio, the room was practically empty. My only real hobby was playing with Nero or petting him, so of course it stayed tidy.
"Then I suppose you don't have proper soju glasses either."
"No... I don't drink much, so paper cups are fine, right?"
"Whatever you have is fine. I'm the one being treated, after all."
I set up the small folding table on the floor and placed two paper cups filled with freshly microwaved spicy chicken feet on it. That was all it took to fill the tiny surface. The Management Team Leader sat down across from me, licking her lips. When it was just me, the space never felt cramped, but with one more person sitting here, it suddenly felt incredibly small.
"It's a bit late to ask, but... why did you want to come to my place?"
"Should I have taken you to mine instead? Do you really want to see how a woman living alone keeps her nest that badly?"
"T-That's not what I meant..."
Her car was ridiculously nice, and she'd spent a fortune shopping today without batting an eye. Of course I was curious what her house looked like. But the way she phrased it made my face heat up, which only flustered me more. I expected her to laugh it off as another joke, but her next words caught me completely off guard.
"My house, my car... they're all bugged. I can't comfortably bring anyone over to talk."
"Bugged? By who... the company?"
"Yes. As a team leader, surveillance is necessary. Especially since my ability is hypnosis... It's dangerous, after all."
"..."
I'd experienced it firsthand, and remembering how she'd hypnotized the entire field team to create a blind spot in surveillance, I couldn't easily deny her words. If even team leaders were being watched... it was probably on the President's orders. No wonder she couldn't relax even at home.
"That's why I really wanted to come to your place, Ung-ssi. Does that answer your question?"
"...Yes. It's small, but I hope you can at least relax here."
She smiled brightly at my words and picked up the soju bottle.
"Thank you. Ah, I'll pour for you. Shall we toast?"
"Ah... Understood."
Paper cups didn't make a proper clinking sound, but somehow raising them together still lifted my mood. Thanks to the spicy side dish, even I could manage the soju. This stuff was really spicy, though... She was handling it incredibly well. Her lips were flushed red, and beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. She was even breathing a little heavily as she tried to cool her burning tongue.
"..."
Her bright blonde hair and sharp eyes suited that slightly tipsy expression surprisingly well. For some reason, the thought suddenly struck me. Was I actually finding the way she ate chicken feet sexy? Maybe it was because I hadn't drunk in so long...
"...?"
"...Ah."
She caught me staring. It had only been a few seconds, but getting caught still felt unfair. Fortunately, she didn't seem offended.
"What were you looking at so intently?"
"...I was just thinking you handle spicy food really well."
"I love spicy things. Can't you eat them?"
She really could handle it. My assumption that someone with her wealth would only eat expensive food had been thoroughly dismantled by microwave chicken feet and soju.
"It's not that I can't eat it... I can manage."
"...Hmm."
"...?"
From that short exchange, she seemed to sense something unsatisfactory and narrowed her eyes with a soft hum.
"Huuung..."
'I don't like that.'
"...!"
W-What didn't she like? I wondered if I'd answered wrong, but her next words made it clear that wasn't the case.
"Ung-ah, let's drop the formal speech, okay?"
"...Excuse me?"
"I checked your profile. We're the same age."
"..."
"My birthday's earlier, so I'm technically your noona... What do you think?"
'If I've said this much, you'll just agree, right?'
When she asked so openly, laying all her cards on the table, there was only one answer I could give.
"Then... let's do that. But... what should I call you...?"
"Hehe, just use my name. That's why I told you."
"...Okay."
Though we'd only dropped the honorifics, she looked genuinely delighted as she refilled our paper cups with soju.
"Want to toast again?"
The atmosphere had definitely improved, which was nice, but by the time I came back to my senses—
"Yaaah! Ung-ie...!"
She had already polished off the chicken feet, mindlessly scraping at the leftover sauce with chopsticks while downing straight shots of soju. Despite insisting she wasn't drunk, she ended up getting tipsy before I did, leaving me in an extremely awkward and troublesome situation.