Chapter 155: When Eva Falls in Love
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155: When Eva Falls in Love
“I wanna do it with Ha-chan again~. You know, like that time.”
I gulped, looking down at Seol-hyang as she dragged out her words and gazed up at me.
What was I going to do with her?
“Do what?”
The voice from my side made me flinch, my body instantly tensing up.
There stood Si-ho, glaring daggers at us with a juice glass in her hand.
Seol-hyang let out a dry cough and turned away. Si-ho shot a disgruntled look between the two of us before plopping down beside me.
“Si-ho is going to sleep next to her manager tonight.”
“…Miss Si-ho? That would be uncomfortable for Ha-chan. You’re nineteen, you shouldn’t be acting like a child.”
“Si-ho doesn’t know about that. Si-ho was a child until just a month ago. I can’t sleep without my manager. Right?”
As Si-ho burrowed into my chest, whining like a child, Seol-hyang’s face twisted into an expression of disbelief.
“What a brazen little fox…”
…Si-ho really was being a bit of a fox.
“Domi-oppa!”
Just as I was patting Si-ho’s head, offering a wry smile to a disgruntled Seol-hyang, an excited Ahyu suddenly appeared.
Ahyu, who seemed pretty drunk, was grinning goofily with a higher energy than usual, holding something in her hands.
“Domi-oppa, try this on!”
“What is that?”
I reflexively took the thing she was waving around. It was none other than a Murim-style outfit.
Where on earth did she get this?
I stood there for a moment, blankly holding the outfit in disbelief, when I noticed Ahyu watching me with an expectant gaze.
“I want to see you in an outfit like this, Domi-oppa.”
Isn’t this the kind of thing guys usually ask their girlfriends to wear?
While I stood there looking dumbfounded, the expressions in both Seol-hyang’s and Si-ho’s eyes shifted at the same time.
At their subtle, intrigued gazes, I scratched my head and finally stood up.
“Alright, alright.”
She seemed drunk, but it was Ahyu’s request.
And there was no reason I couldn’t grant it.
With no other choice, I got up from my seat and went into a different room.
Unfolding the clothes, I saw it was a Murim-style outfit, solid black with red trim.
Looked like some kind of wuxia cosplay.
After putting on the clothes, I gave a wry smile and walked back out.
“Ah.”
The moment I opened the door, I came face to face with Eva-noona.
She was walking by, a drink in her hand, and her eyes widened the moment she saw me.
“D-Domi?”
Her gaze swept over me from top to bottom, as if confirming it was really me, and her lips began to tremble.
“Uh, th-that…”
“Eva-noona?”
“Ah, n-no, it’s nothing.”
With a flustered look, Eva-noona took a few steps back before turning and bolting.
I watched her flee, scratching my head, before turning back to the others.
“Whoa, Domi, not bad.”
“You think so?”
Naek happened to look over and compliment me, making me feel a little proud.
[ She says she thinks so, too. ]
Juksim chimed in with her own compliment.
However, the three who had actually wanted me to wear the outfit were strangely silent.
When I turned my head, Ahyu came over.
“Domi-oppa, come here. You tied the sash wrong.”
“Ah, I knew it.”
With that, Ahyu came over, untied my sash, and began to retie it for me.
“Me doing this… it’s like a wife dressing her husband before he goes to work. Right?”
She laughed playfully, so I played along.
“Well, you are my wife.”
“Ah, h-hehe.”
Ahyu’s cheeks turned red as she beamed with delight.
When she finished, she looked at her work with a satisfied expression.
“My oppa is so handsome.”
“Next to Do Hwa, I’d probably just look like some background bodyguard.”
“What are you talking about? You’re the most handsome young master in the world.”
Ahyu said, pulling me into a hug.
She didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed about showing her affection in front of everyone.
As I patted Ahyu’s head, I looked up and my eyes met Si-ho’s.
Si-ho stared at me with hazy eyes before slowly walking over.
“Manager, you look like a prince from a historical drama.”
So Si-ho has a thing for this kind of stuff, huh.
I felt a little embarrassed as Si-ho gazed up at me, her face slightly flushed.
“Haaah.”
Just then, Seol-hyang let out a hot, breathy sigh for some reason.
Looking into her hazy eyes as she stared intently at me, I felt a shiver run down my spine.
I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through the night.
*
The room was filled with boisterous laughter.
A blonde woman sitting quietly with a drink in her hand let out a long sigh.
She—Song Se-hee, known to Ha-chan as Eva—was replaying the earlier scene in her mind.
What she was picturing was none other than Ha-chan in that Murim outfit.
As a returnee from Gihangjeon, she had spent her entire childhood growing up in that world.
The world of Murim and Gihangjeon shared a similar, East Asian style of dress.
Perhaps that was why her own tastes leaned more toward that style than modern clothing.
After all, she had lived there through her sensitive adolescent years and her early twenties.
It was only natural for her preferences to develop that way.
And so, when Ha-chan had walked out in that Murim outfit, she had been rendered completely speechless.
She had tried her best to deny it ever since he’d saved her, but Se-hee’s heart was already halfway his.
But today, seeing him in an outfit that perfectly matched her tastes, she found she couldn’t bear to look at him directly.
Even now, she was fighting the urge to let her gaze drift his way.
That’s cheating. It’s just not fair.
Se-hee buried her beet-red face in her hands.
He was her savior.
Seeing him so desperately save others, even going so far as to tear up the wish-granting talisman she’d given him, she had thought to herself that such a person could actually exist in the world.
Lately, he had been appearing in her dreams more often, and she found herself waiting for his calls and texts for no particular reason.
But that was as far as it went.
Se-hee didn’t really have a type when it came to men.
More accurately, she tended to avoid men ever since she was nearly raped by Maro.
But Ha-chan felt like the most harmless man she had ever met, which was probably why it was so easy to think of him.
Today, however, she realized she did have a type after all.
The moment she saw Ha-chan in that outfit, clinging to the lean body he’d honed through training, her heart had pounded wildly for the very first time.
“Ugh, ughh.”
Before, he was just someone on her mind.
There were already so many women who liked him, and he was her savior, so she had tried to stop herself from daring to think of him that way.
But that wavering resolve had completely crumbled the moment she saw him.
I’m going crazy. What am I supposed to do?
Se-hee took her hands from her face and let out a long sigh.
Just then, Hyeok-seo, who had been watching her intently, set down his glass.
“Hey, Song Se-hee.”
“Huh? W-what?”
As Se-hee looked up in surprise, Hyeok-seo rested his chin on his hand and spoke.
“You like Domi?”
Se-hee’s body went rigid.
Hyeok-seo stared at the frozen Se-hee for a moment, then sighed.
“That Domi bastard. With his personality, he’s bound to have tons of women chasing after him.”
Se-hee averted her eyes as if she already knew.
“Things with them seem to be getting complicated. To be honest, I just want you to live a life where you don’t get hurt.”
Hyeok-seo’s only wish was to see Se-hee live with a smile on her face.
At his words, Se-hee nodded, as if she already knew.
“So just do whatever you want.”
“…Whatever I want?”
“Yeah, whatever you want.”
Hyeok-seo took another swig of his drink.
“If you’re going to do it, see it through to the end. As long as a guy has a dick, there’s no way he won’t be captivated by you.”
“W-what! Are you crazy, oppa?! What kind of nonsense are you spouting!”
“Quiet. You’re old enough, damn it. How long are you gonna hide? You’ve got no room to back down. Just go for it.”
“Aargh! Seriously!”
As Se-hee lunged at Hyeok-seo and started smacking him on the head, Juksim, who had quietly finished her seventh bottle, had a silent thought.
She wondered if Ha-chan would soon reappear as a shriveled-up mummy.
*
Sometime after the party wound down, I slowly opened my eyes, realizing I must have dozed off after drinking so much.
It was still dark outside, seemingly before dawn. My vision slowly came back into focus.
I could feel a bed beneath me and a blanket draped over me. Someone must have moved me.
I raised a hand to check what I was wearing and found I was still in the Murim outfit Ahyu had given me.
A faint hangover lingered, so I circulated my aura, and the feeling quickly vanished.
I should have done that before falling asleep, but I’d forgotten.
The clothes are fine.
The look in Seol-hyang’s eyes from earlier came to mind, and I let out a long yawn.
I could hear voices from outside, so it seemed everyone was still awake.
Maybe I should sleep a little longer.
I closed my eyes, drifting in a drowsy haze, when a sound from the doorway caught my attention.
Wondering if someone else had come in to rest, I cracked my eyes open and saw a head of blonde hair.
Seeing the swaying blonde hair, I knew who it was.
Eva-noona?
Eva-noona must have been drunk; I could hear her stumbling footsteps.
I watched through my half-closed eyes as she approached.
Despite there being several other beds in the room, she came right over to mine and plopped down on the edge.
Just as I was wondering why, I felt her gaze fall upon me.
“…Haaaah.”
I heard her let out a long sigh.
At the same time, I felt a hand gently stroking my forehead.
“…Domi, are you asleep?”
Hearing her ask, I started to get up, but the situation felt too awkward.
The way she was looking down at me, it was as if she was hoping I wouldn’t.
“Why do you keep lingering in my thoughts?”
As I wondered what she meant, her face began to draw closer to mine.
“You’re not asleep, are you?”
Just as I mumbled in response to her cautious question, she whispered softly.
“You had to show up in an outfit like this, my favorite kind… I’ve held back as much as I could.”
What had she been holding back?
Just as I was pondering that, her hair brushed against my face, tickling my skin.
She remained like that for a long moment, as if holding her breath.
Then, she spoke.
“…I like you.”
The moment I heard those words, I flinched and went still.
Then she lowered her head, and her lips met mine.
I was so stunned by the unexpected act that I couldn’t even open my eyes. She kept her lips pressed against mine for a long moment.
A moment later, I realized her breathing had evened out.
I cautiously opened my eyes and saw her sleeping peacefully.
She had passed out drunk.
I stared at her blankly for a moment before carefully sitting up and helping her lie down properly on the bed.
I hesitantly touched my lips.
She, on the other hand, was sleeping soundly.
…Why Eva-noona?
Since when had she felt this way about me?
I didn’t know, but now that I had somehow learned her true feelings, I ran a hand over my face.
I felt dazed.
My mind was a mess. I never expected to wake up to a confession from Eva-noona.
But she just kept sleeping soundly.
She probably only did it because she was drunk. I wondered if she would even remember it when she woke up.
“Ha-chan.”
It was at that moment.
Hearing a voice I hadn’t heard in a very long time, I lifted my head.
In a corner of the room, draped in the early morning shadows.
A woman with flowing, jet-black hair stepped out.
As my eyes met hers, they slowly widened in shock.
“Eunnamu.”
Stunned by the appearance of Eunnamu, who I hadn’t been able to contact at all, I breathed her name.