Don't Open It No Matter What
“Scarlet? This is your workshop, right?”
She placed her hand on her hip as if to say, *What's the problem?*
“Yeah, it's an awesome place to stay! Way safer than any inn, and best of all, free!”
She winked and pointed toward the inside of the workshop.
*I know she loves the “free” part, but… even if she's not the same gender, this is still a guy.*
According to Scarlet's description, the security and safety were thorough.
The workshop door only opened with her permission, and if someone tried to force it open, the security system would activate.
Kaien would come running like a raging fire.
Finding a safe place like this was no small thing.
“I don't have the energy to check anywhere else, so I'll be in your debt.”
After the intense battle and a day full of tension, I felt so exhausted I wanted to collapse onto the bed right there.
“Really! I'll guide you to my special guest room.”
She led me to her private room in a relatively quiet corner of the workshop.
“You can use the bed. I can just sleep on the mattress.”
Scarlet said it as if it were nothing.
“No, but how can the owner sleep on the floor… If I sleep on the sofa or floor, that should be fine too.”
I protested, but she shook her head.
“It's fine! I'm not the kind of person who tells a guest to sleep on the floor. Besides, after today's battle, you're going to be really tired. You should sleep on a soft surface.”
She laughed heartily and patted my shoulder.
“Rest up.”
“Will you be working?”
“Just finish what you're doing.”
Scarlet picked up the welding mask from the table.
“Oh, right.”
As I was about to leave, she suddenly spun around and pointed to a door in the room.
“That’s the bathroom. And there's a laundry room inside—under no circumstances open that door! Got it?”
She warned me with a stern expression.
It made me even more curious.
When my eyes narrowed, she scolded me like an annoying child.
“Eeek! No! Got it?”
“I won't open it, I won't open it.”
“And, wear this for sleepwear.”
It was a T-shirt with a skull drawn on it.
“Why can't I open the laundry room door? I have to wash my clothes.”
“If you do, you'll regret it. Got it?”
Whether she was tired of talking anymore or just annoyed, she immediately walked out.
*She's making me curious.*
She should have just told me not to.
The more it says not to, the more I want to.
“Well, first, I should bathe.”
I felt safe using the underwear I had picked up from the last Ikarus.
I quickly entered the bathroom and glanced at the door I assumed was the laundry room.
*Was a corpse hidden in there?*
At the same time the creepy thought crossed my mind, the air around me grew eerie.
Why would a lovely girlfriend, as it turns out, be an emotionless killer.
The closet was full of chainsaws instead of clothes, the drain had strangely many hairs… things like that.
*Honestly, I can't even imagine it.*
It sounded like Scarlet's voice was echoing in my ears.
*Never open it!*
“At best, there'd be some underwear. Whatever.”
I wanted to check with my own eyes, but that was too stupid and perverted for me.
“Let’s shower and get out quickly.”
I finished my shower as fast as possible so I wouldn't break my promise with her.
“Smells good.”
A fragrant fabric softener scent wafted from the bed.
Sleep came over me like a wave, and my eyes closed.
How much time had passed?
I woke up from the sound of a door opening and footsteps.
*Is it Scarlet?*
“You really slept well.”
It was her.
She muttered to herself in a grumbling voice and made sounds like she was taking off her clothes.
The sound of clothes hitting the floor.
And then a yawn from fatigue.
It felt strangely tense.
“Are you sleeping? Jinwoo?”
I maintained my lying posture without answering.
Before long, the footsteps gradually approached.
*Creak.*
The bed dipped slightly, and I felt a gaze.
“Hmm… Are you really sleeping, or what?”
If I opened my eyes, I'd probably see Scarlet staring straight at me.
*Ugh, it's hot. I need to shower.*
*Creak.*
The sagging mattress sprang back into place, and the footsteps retreated.
*How persistent.*
When I opened my eyes, I could see her silhouette in the darkness.
*Gulp.*
My throat moved involuntarily.
Scarlet's silhouette turned and loosened the hook, then bent at the waist, presenting her hips, and pulled down her underwear.
Just as she stepped into the bathroom and turned on the light.
Even though it was from behind, I could see Scarlet's body.
*Wow.*
I thought it was big, but it was *too* big.
A moment of silence followed, and the sound of water from the shower filled the room.
*I've slept enough.*
No matter how hard I tried to sleep, the image kept flashing in my head.
A while later, accompanied by the sound of the washing machine, she came out.
Unfortunately, she was wearing her sleepwear.
She stretched her body, then walked toward the bed.
*Creak.*
*No, she said she'd sleep on the mattress. Why is she coming to the bed?*
I could hear my heartbeat thumping.
My head spun from the fabric softener scent and Scarlet's body odor right after her shower.
“Hey, Kang Jinwoo.”
She whispered in my ear without warning.
“You're not sleeping.”
Her voice had a playful tone.
“What? You won't answer.”
While I was debating whether to respond or not, Scarlet's finger poked my cheek with a *quick* sound.
“You won't sleep, I know.”
“…”
“Oh? Still not getting up? Even after I came in?”
Her finger moved down to my neck.
“Why?”
*Pfft.* “When did you start waking up? Before I came in?”
“I just woke up.”
“Lie. I heard your heartbeat loudly.”
I didn't know if she was talking about now or earlier.
“Since you said you'd sleep on the mattress, how could I not get up when you suddenly climbed onto the bed?”
“Now that I think about it… my bed is a double. We could sleep together.”
As I tried to sit up, she grabbed my shoulder.
“Where are you going?”
“I was going to sleep on the mattress.”
“Aww, just sleep.”
“I can't sleep.”
Because of *you*, I managed to sleep.
“You're more patient than I thought? You didn't open the laundry room door?”
“Of course I didn't.”
“I knew you'd try to open it. If you can't sleep, talk to me. That'll make you sleepy.”
“What boring story are you going to tell?”
Scarlet let out a scoff and continued.
“Just a lot on my mind today.”
It was an uncharacteristically cautious tone.
“It's been a while since I set up shop in Terminus, but I've never seen someone like you.”
“If someone saw you, they'd think you're the veteran here.”
Scarlet's in-game age was only twenty-five.
*Now that I think about it, I never asked her age.*
Then, wasn't this a chance to know how much earlier the current time was than the in-game period?
“Scarlet. How old are you?”
“A woman asking that casually? If Kaien heard, she'd flip her eyes and curse you.”
Scarlet turned toward me and said.
“Curious?”
“Yeah.”
“You go first. Then I'll tell you.”
“Twenty-two.”
“What?! We're the same age!”
So, does that mean the current time is three years before the in-game period?
“O-Okay, fine, stop staring.”
“Why?”
“Just because.”
“You're too gentlemanly, that's not good.”
Scarlet muttered and turned her head back to the ceiling.
“Are you uncomfortable? Just fall onto the cold mattress over there? Huh?”
Her voice sounded a little broken.
“That… isn't the case…”
Should I comfort her?
Or… should I be more proactive?
“Jinwoo, where did you come from? I know you were from the Krono mercenary unit when we modified the mech, but how did a pilot like you just suddenly appear.”
She switched topics and asked.
I stayed silent for a moment. I couldn't say anything like, *Actually, I came from another world, and this is similar to the game world I was in.*
I quickly thought of a cover story.
“I wasn't talking about past stories. It just surprised me.”
*Creak.*
Scarlet turned her body away.
“Yawn, sleep comes. Goodnight.”
The conversation ended, and silence fell.
While listening to Scarlet's breathing become regular, I started falling asleep again.
The next morning, I woke up to the faint light seeping through the cracks in the workshop's windows.
My body felt surprisingly refreshed.
Looking beside me, Scarlet didn't seem to have gotten up yet.
When I went outside, she was sitting at the workbench.
“Oh, you're awake? Sleep well?”
“Thanks to you, I slept well.”
“Mm. Really?”
Scarlet fiddled with her tools and glanced up and down at me before fixing her gaze again.
“Are you going to meet that old man named Alexander Valentine today?”
“I probably am.”
“I want to go with you, but I have too much work to do.”
Scarlet moved busily and searched through the drawers.
“Found it.”
She came toward me.
“For self-defense.”
“Pistol?”
“It's energy-based, so no bullets needed. Just be careful not to overuse it. The max is ten shots.”
“Thanks. Scarlet.”
“Be careful, and remember what Kaien said. Don't get too involved. Just hit and run, got it?”
“Yeah.”
At that moment, a message came from Valentine.
It contained coordinates of his location.
*That distance is pretty far.*
It would probably take at least a few dozen hours.
“I'll go.”
“Yeah.”
Scarlet waved her hand briefly.
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