Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Part 2, Chapter 47
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“You sleep well in rough places, don’t you?”
Watching Dun easily fall asleep on the bare floor of the igloo, she let out a small sigh of admiration.
Seol Do-yoon pulled a hot pack from her inventory and shook it to warm her cold hands.
Dun might be resistant to the cold, but she doubted she could fall asleep here herself.
The night outside the igloo was pitch black, but she could roughly gauge the location by the stars and find her way.
She had only stepped out for a short exploration, so she hadn’t brought spare clothes or a sleeping bag.
“Dun, you sleeping here? Want to come to the base with me?”
“Too much hassle. You go alone.”
Dun mumbled in reply without opening his eyes. It was cozy enough here, so he had no desire to move.
“Got it. See you tomorrow.”
Seol Do-yoon gathered her still-damp clothes, clutching the hot pack tightly as she stepped out of the igloo.
Whiiing!
The biting wind, fiercer now in the night, pierced through her clothes.
The moisture lingering in her garments began to freeze again, chilling her body rapidly.
‘Cold.’
It was a bit of a walk to where she had parked the snowmobile.
After trudging through the frigid night for three minutes, Seol Do-yoon soon returned to the igloo.
She shed her outer layer, damp again from the snow, and sat by the campfire in minimal clothing.
Shivering and craving warmth, Seol Do-yoon reached out with her ice-cold hands toward the warm nape of Dun, who was snoring softly inside the sleeping bag.
“Dun, I’m cold...”
“Argh!”
Dun’s eyes snapped open as his nape suddenly turned freezing.
“Wanna die?”
Scowling, Dun pulled away sharply, putting distance between them. Seol Do-yoon scooted closer to close the gap.
“Dun, I’m cold...”
“I’ll lend you pajamas again, so put those on and go to the base.”
Dun’s fleece pajama dress.
Aside from the design not being her taste, it was too tight and uncomfortable. Seol Do-yoon’s face paled slightly as she shook her head.
“...I’m just gonna sleep here too. Got a spare sleeping bag by any chance?”
“Nope.”
At his curt reply, Seol Do-yoon paused in thought.
“How about the chopstick game? Winner takes the sleeping bag. One clean round.”
“Why would I do something that stupid?”
“If you win, I’ll buy you whatever you want—a snowmobile, a house, anything.”
“Hoo...”
He perked up immediately.
Seol Do-yoon might be a thug, but she kept her promises about money.
He didn’t particularly want anything, but the idea of demanding something to bankrupt her appealed. Dun crawled out of the sleeping bag and placed it between them.
He raised both index fingers for the chopstick game, and Seol Do-yoon followed suit.
It was a game they often played when sharing a room and couldn’t agree on something.
Feeling a strange nostalgia, Dun zoned out for a moment—then remembered he had never once beaten Seol Do-yoon at this game.
The result was the same this time.
Seol Do-yoon, now in possession of the sleeping bag, lay on her side, propping her chin and gazing at Dun with a smug expression.
“Ah, so warm~”
“......”
A moment of greed had cost him his cozy nest. Dun snorted and wrinkled his nose.
“Tch, that’s why you don’t bet with con artists.”
“Calling the winner a con artist just because you lost? That’s kinda lame, don’t you think?”
“Fine, you don’t have a sleeping bag, that’s true.”
Muttering complaints about Seol Do-yoon, Dun shaped a pillow with snow and rested his head on it.
It felt terribly uncomfortable, probably because he had been lying so blissfully before.
“How do you always win that game?”
Lost in old memories, Dun yawned and mumbled sleepily.
“Always?”
Hearing that, Seol Do-yoon stared at the back of Dun’s head and tilted her head.
She had won chopstick games against others many times before, but this was the first time against Dun.
Feeling a slight unease, Seol Do-yoon gazed at Dun, who was curled up by the campfire.
It wasn’t the first time she’d felt this odd sensation.
Conversations with Dun sometimes made her feel like she was talking to the Korean Lee Saebyeok, who shared all her memories, which puzzled her.
“No way, give me my sleeping bag.”
While she stared, Dun suddenly sat up and approached her.
Coming from the warm, fluffy sleeping bag to the damp, hard ice floor felt awful.
Especially since it was all because of that impulsive bet.
Dun grabbed the sleeping bag and shook it to dislodge Seol Do-yoon.
“Eek.”
Seol Do-yoon clung desperately, resisting. Her protests fell on deaf ears as Dun went berserk.
When she wouldn’t let go easily, Dun briefly hesitated—then simply squeezed into the sleeping bag with her.
This was the sleeping bag Tiarin had made for Dun, who often slept on the ground.
It was enchanted with insulation, cleanliness, fragrance, and other comfort spells, so he couldn’t give it up.
Fortunately, it was spacious inside, allowing Dun to slip in easily.
“There was no rule saying the loser can’t use the sleeping bag.”
“...That’s why you don’t bet with con artists.”
As Dun settled in shamelessly, Seol Do-yoon narrowed her eyes.
The bag was large, so they stuck to the edges without touching—but any movement brought their bodies into contact.
“Isn’t this too close for sleeping?”
Seol Do-yoon asked sweetly with a look of disgust.
She was used to Lee Saebyeok, whom she’d grown up with, but Dun still felt a bit off-limits.
Even if they were the same person, there was a subtle difference.
“Hey, I don’t wanna be stuck to you either~”
Dun grimaced in response.
To avoid touching the finicky Seol Do-yoon, he rolled toward the edge—then their bare skin met.
Curses escaped both their mouths simultaneously.
“It’s the Arctic—put on more than a tank top and shorts.”
“You put your outer clothes back on.”
“If I go get them, you’ll run off with the sleeping bag.”
Territorial skirmishes continued inside the sleeping bag.
But after such an exhausting day, it didn’t last long. Dun soon started snoring again.
Seol Do-yoon rolled her eyes toward him.
Suddenly, she recalled Lee Saebyeok desperately trying to fall asleep first because she was scared of nights alone with eyes open.
Gazing at Dun, Seol Do-yoon drifted off quickly to the sound of his snores.
* * *
Sunlight pierced the igloo’s entrance.
It was morning.
All their efforts to avoid touching had been in vain—they were now wrapped tightly in each other’s arms.
As the Arctic’s cold wind blasted into the igloo, Seol Do-yoon hugged the warm body in her embrace even tighter.
She buried her face in Dun’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around his back and pulling him close.
Dun, sleeping peacefully, instinctively hugged back, assuming it was Prim or Rihaowel.
Whiiing!
Another gust blew in, knocking the outer clothes they had used to block the entrance to the floor.
Strong winds began swirling inside the igloo.
Sensitive to the cold, Seol Do-yoon clutched the warm body tighter—then happened to wake up and open her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Dun’s sleeping face.
Perfect timing—Dun woke from the wind and the squirming, lifting his eyes.
“......”
“......”
Their faces were inches apart. For a few seconds, they just blinked at each other in silence.
Then, as if by agreement, they silently pulled away.
Seol Do-yoon scrambled out of the sleeping bag and spoke abruptly.
“First, we’ll head to the base today. Because of your tantrum yesterday, all our gear is wrecked.”
She quickly packed the unpacked gear inside the igloo.
“This time, I’ll grab the mana field detector, blankets, hot packs, portable shelter. Think about what you need too.”
Dun, hand to his forehead upon waking, stared at her in shock. Her bustling words didn’t register.
‘...That cozy thing was her. Thought it was Mom and rubbed against her X.’
On second thought, Seol Do-yoon had been hugging him even tighter.
‘Chills...’
Still in the sleeping bag, Dun wrapped it around himself like a caterpillar.
Her distinctive scent brought back the memory, making goosebumps rise again. He hated human warmth and would shove people away if they got too close.
As far as he recalled, he only got close when he needed something from them or for image management, like supporting an injured person.
For such a kid to hug purely in sleep was shocking and terrifying.
“Dun, packed everything. Let’s go.”
“Huh? Hey, wait a sec.”
Seol Do-yoon, having neatly packed all their gear, grabbed the sleeping bag’s handle—with Dun still inside—and dragged it outside.
Having hugged for so long, the warmth lingered.
He had slept unusually deeply in that cramped space, feeling strangely comfortable and secure, which unsettled him.
He’d never understood “warm body and heart,” but now he did—and it wasn’t entirely welcome. He wanted to hold onto it yet shake it off desperately.
As expected from the same person, he felt that hard-to-grasp emotion from her that he occasionally did from Lee Saebyeok.
Seol Do-yoon turned to look at Dun being dragged inside the sleeping bag.
Crunch, crunch.
Thirsty, Dun reached for snow on the ground, packing it into his mouth bit by bit. His expression was utterly relaxed.
It irked her that he alone seemed so at ease.
Soon, the parked snowmobile came into view. Five minutes by it to the base.
Walking silently for a bit, Seol Do-yoon glanced at Dun again. He was staring at the sky, munching snow diligently.
“Dun, you must be really thirsty.”
“Yeah.”
Confirming he wasn’t looking, Seol Do-yoon bent down intermittently to pack snow.
It started small, then she rolled it along the ground to grow it.
Yaaawn...
Dun yawned lazily, sleep still clinging to him.
Splat!
A massive snowball suddenly dropped on his face. It burst with a refreshing thud.
His mouth was open mid-yawn, now stuffed with snow.
“......”
Dun spat out the mouthful and turned to find Seol Do-yoon.
Click, vroom!
She had hurled the giant snowball and was speeding off on the snowmobile she’d parked far away.
Dazed for a moment, Dun shook his wet bangs and cracked his neck.
Then he slowly rose from the sleeping bag and clenched his fists.
* * *
Bang!
Dun, rolling a massive snowball, flung open the building’s door.
“So this is your base?”
A hand shot out from the snowball, thumbs-up.
Upon arrival, Dun punched the snowball, shattering it.
Snow cascaded down, and a person tumbled out.
It was Seol Do-yoon, caught after fleeing on the snowmobile.
Brushing back his wet black hair with melted snow revealed his pale forehead and straight brows.
“That’s mean... You know I’m sensitive to cold.”
Sprawled on the floor, Seol Do-yoon whined, meeting Dun’s eyes.