Can't We Start a Week From Now?
It had been less than two hours since the group chat was created when the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
I straightened the clothes I'd thrown on and opened the door.
Baek Seorin, her face hidden beneath a hat and mask, stood there with Doa. Seorin held a shopping basket overflowing with groceries and cooking gear in both hands, while Doa hugged an armful of household supplies—toilet paper, towels, that sort of thing.
"...You bought all of this?"
"You said I was moving in right away. I'd need my own things, wouldn't I?"
She walked straight past me into the apartment. Doa kicked off her shoes and followed, heading directly for the bathroom—both of them far more at home than the man who had only become its tenant that very day.
I scratched my head for a moment, then belatedly closed the front door. After a brief debate over where to start, I headed for the bathroom, where Doa was busily stocking toilet paper and towels.
"I just grabbed whatever looked like you'd need right away."
"Still... how much did it come to?"
"Oh, come on. It wasn't much, so don't worry about it. If it really bothers you, you can pay me back with something even nicer later."
Doa said it with a beaming smile.
...Exactly how nice would this "something nicer" have to be?
Coming from an S-rank hunter of all people, I couldn't even begin to guess what her idea of "nicer" meant. Paying her back in plain cash felt far easier on my conscience.
"Okay. Then should I help you put things away now?"
"Huh? No need. I'm almost done, so the landlord can just go outside and rest."
"But... it's my place."
"Which is exactly why you should rest more."
I'd tried to ease my guilt by lending a hand, and instead the actual owner of the house got evicted from it. Left with no choice, I drifted out to the living room and stood there awkwardly, while Seorin, in the meantime, gave the interior a remarkably thorough once-over.
Not a single ingredient was left in sight in the kitchen—she must have already stowed everything she'd brought into the fridge. It had looked like at least as much as Doa's armful, and yet it was astonishingly quick.
"Smaller than I expected. Only two rooms, too."
"I live alone, so this is plenty. Anything bigger would just mean extra cleaning for space I'd never use. More trouble than it's worth."
I'd never lusted after a big house—though a place with a view of the Han River might have been nice. Privately, being alone somewhere too huge felt like it would leave me hollow. This size suited me just right.
"Fair enough. I've got my share of unused rooms, too... Let's eat. What do you want? Pick one—Japanese, Western, or Korean—and I'll make it."
"...Seriously? Hmm..."
I'd half expected this the moment she showed up with groceries, but I'd never dreamed she'd actually cook for me herself. Just what did the Sword Saint's cooking taste like? I was still weighing hope half against dread when—
"Oh, right. Unni, did you hear?"
Doa, fresh out of the bathroom at some point, cut in out of nowhere.
"The real estate agent thought we were there to look at a newlywed home."
"A newlywed home?"
Baek Seorin's eyes went back and forth between Doa and me.
"...And what did you say?"
"Of course, oppa shot her down right away. Told her we were just acquaintances."
"Just acquaintances..."
Seorin's gaze shifted to me.
"Jaemin. Why didn't you tell me you were looking for a place?"
"The money landed this morning and I started looking right away. I never planned to sign a contract this fast."
"And Doa went along?"
"She just happened to be there."
The gaze swung back to Doa. Doa nodded, a smile hooked at the corner of her mouth, as if nothing had ever been so funny.
"Next time something like this comes up, tell me first."
"Even house hunting?"
"I have to know where my disciple lives, don't I?"
Did I really have to report even that to my master? It hardly felt like the moment to argue, though.
"...Understood."
"So—what are you eating?"
"J-Japanese, maybe?"
The menu: gyudon—soy-simmered beef over rice—and miso soup.
While Seorin prepped the ingredients, I washed the rice and Doa set out bowls and spoons. A kitchen rented for one man's solitary living got decidedly cramped the moment three of us piled in. After our shoulders knocked together more times than I could count, I was shunted to the rice cooker and Doa to the dining table, while the quickest hands of the three, Seorin's, took over everything else.
Vwooom—with a flick of her finger, the three kitchen knives lying nearby rose into the air at once. Two of them, wreathed in rippling crimson mana, sliced onion and scallion into perfectly even rounds while Seorin took up the third herself and began cutting the meat.
...
Watching her work, on a sudden what-if, I decided to give it a try—tugging at the wooden rice paddle resting beside the cooker. Remote Traction had only just climbed to E-rank, after all; surely I could handle one lightweight paddle as smoothly as she did.
When I curled my fingers slightly, the paddle rattled and bounced in place.
Slowly.
I nudged a little more strength into it.
Whoosh—and the paddle vanished from right in front of my eyes.
I instinctively wrenched my head aside, but the corner of the incoming paddle raked a long line across my right cheek as it blew past.
Thwack! The paddle slammed into the wall behind me and dropped to the floor with a hefty clatter.
...Please tell me the wall isn't damaged.
I'd only rented this place today—had I even taken photos of it yet? I whipped around in a panic. Thankfully, the wall bore not a single mark. Seemed that seeing the paddle fly at my face had startled me into cutting the power mid-flight.
"Oppa!"
Doa sprinted straight over and took hold of my face. Only then did one cheek begin to burn.
"Aigo, you're bleeding. Honestly... hold still for me."
Green light spread from her hand and swept over the scraped wound. The split skin sealed itself within seconds and the pain ebbed away, but Doa's expression only hardened further.
"If it had been just a little to the side, that could've taken your eye."
"I was trying to bring it over gently..."
Seorin, who had turned our way at some point, looked down at the paddle lying on the floor. Behind her, the knives were still darting busily back and forth across the cutting board.
She's doing that without even watching them.
While I marveled despite myself, Seorin flicked her finger. The fallen paddle rose again and came rocketing straight at me.
"S-Seorin?!"
This time, a handspan short of my face, the paddle stopped dead—as if nailed to empty air.
"Your power's definitely gotten stronger, but your control is still a mess."
The paddle slowly changed course. It circled my head a full revolution, then settled soundlessly into the sink.
"All you thought about was pulling it toward you, weren't you?"
"Yes. Just now, I got startled and let the power go midway."
"Letting go midway doesn't make something that's already in the air stop for you."
Just as she said—earlier, even after I'd released the skill, the paddle had flown on and raked across my cheek all the same. If it had been a blade or a lump of steel, one round of healing wouldn't have covered it.
"Don't practice on your own from now on."
"...Yes, ma'am."
Before long, a sweet-savory aroma filled the kitchen. Freshly steamed rice mounded high with sauce-glazed beef and onions, plus a piping-hot bowl of miso soup on the side—somehow, a proper spread had come together.
"Thank you for the meal."
I took a careful first spoonful. The tender meat was soaked through with seasoning both savory and sweet. It was good enough to make all my earlier worry feel ridiculous.
"Whoaaa... Seorin, this is seriously delicious? I've never had gyudon this good in my life."
"Quit making a scene and sit still and eat."
"Yes, ma'am."
I ducked my head as ordered and picked the spoon back up.
"Pfft."
Laughter burst out beside me. When I turned, Doa hurriedly swiveled her face the other way—but she couldn't hide the shaking of her shoulders.
So this is what living looks like.
Spoon still in hand, I looked around the living room. Freshly papered walls, a window far bigger than my old one. Even with three of us around the table, there was room to spare. No view of the Han River, granted—but it was the first home I'd secured with money I'd earned myself.
"Why are you smiling to yourself?"
"Just happy. My hunter license came through, and I got a place."
"It's that big a deal?"
"Live in a semi-basement sometime and you'll get it."
I said it like a joke, but it was only now—more than when the money had landed in my account—that it truly sank in: I had really left that room behind. From here on, shuttling through low-rank gates would pile up money and experience alike, little by little. For now, this was plenty.
Thinking that, I raised my spoon again—only to find Seorin's gaze resting on my cheek.
"Starting tomorrow, we practice what I mentioned earlier."
"Stopping the paddle?"
"Precisely: practicing to stop an incoming object exactly where you want it."
Seorin pushed her empty bowl to one side.
"I pulled an all-nighter just the other day to get it up to E-rank, though."
"All you did was grow the raw power. Right now you can't even keep one paddle steady."
"Wouldn't it come naturally as I practice?"
"And what if, in the meantime, you put out an eye—like you nearly did today?"
I had no comeback.
"You intend to keep going into gates, don't you?"
"Yes. That's the only way I can make money."
"Then you need to learn more. Doa and I can't stay glued to your side forever."
Doa, listening in, nodded along.
"Your healing is still clumsy too. I'll take charge of that side."
"Do both of you really have to teach me in person?"
"Yes."
"That's right."
Not a sliver of hesitation in either answer.
"...Then what time do we start tomorrow?"
Seorin took out her phone and skimmed her schedule.
"I'll be tied up for a while, but I can manage the small hours."
"I have Association training tomorrow, though."
"Until what time?"
"Nine."
"Then we start at five and wrap up at eight."
Three hours. Every single day, from five in the morning no less.
"Isn't that a bit long to start with?"
"Doa can heal you in between. You'll be fine."
"Right. I'll come pick you up right when we finish. If I heal you on the way, you'll still make it to the Association on time."
"Let's do that."
"Yes, unni."
Nobody asked for my opinion, and just like that the entire schedule was settled. Gambling my last hope, I opened my mouth carefully.
"Um... couldn't we start a week from now?"
Rather than answer, Baek Seorin gathered the empty bowls and rose from her seat.
"Sleep early tonight. You're going to be busy from tomorrow on."
"...Yes, ma'am."
Yeah. Not a chance in hell.
And then, at dawn the very next day, the doorbell rang.
"You look like you slept just fine to me?"
"..."
We were already past the hour we'd agreed on. Cold sweat slid down my back in a long, slow sheet.