The Returning Hero Summons an S-Class Companion
Shwaaa__
Morning sunlight streamed through the bathroom.
Cha Seo-rin was taking a shower.
Recalling the night spent under the same roof with Si-ho.
Filled with hope that it would continue like this forever.
‘Ha… I’m so happy.’
Of course, last night hadn’t involved anything special with Si-ho.
Seo-rin had thrown a tantrum to sleep in the same room, but Si-ho had firmly refused.
Even though the house was big, why sleep in the same room?
Yet when she woke up this morning, he was sleeping and muttering in the next room.
To Seo-rin, that reality was nothing but sweet.
The simple daily life she had dreamed of for ten years.
The small happiness that had seemed out of reach.
She had finally grasped it.
‘Elysia… that guy will probably be summoned around tomorrow.’
Of course, it wasn’t perfect.
Elysia, the uninvited guest, had also joined the space that was supposed to be just the two of them.
‘Tch. She’s nothing but a fox pretending to be a bear. My eyes can’t be fooled.’
If viewed through the eyes of a third party, Elysia would simply appear as Si-ho’s loyal disciple.
But to Seo-rin, it was obvious that she felt more than just disciple-master affection toward him.
Probably because Elysia saw Seo-rin as a rival and showed it so clearly.
The one thing fortunate for Seo-rin was that, unlike herself who skillfully played the woman card, Elysia seemed completely unfamiliar with such actions.
‘It looks like she only knows how to handle a sword. She has no idea how to handle a man. Good thing I’m not her opponent. Hmph!’
Seo-rin let out a trivial comfort in her heart as she finished bathing.
Kkuk-
The bathroom door opened.
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
It was Si-ho.
The two were startled by the sudden eye contact.
Without deciding who came first, they both let out a weird sound at the same time.
“Uuu… eek?”
“Kyah-! Close the door quickly!”
Swish!
Seo-rin shouted and threw the soap.
Thunk!
“Ouch.”
The soap hit Si-ho’s nose directly.
***
Blood was dripping from Si-ho’s nose.
Seo-rin rolled tissues by hand and put them in his nose.
“So… why did you suddenly open the bathroom door and cause a fuss?”
“The toilet was urgent… sorry.”
A man who lived alone was too used to it and had opened the door without thinking.
He hadn’t imagined there would be someone else inside.
Seo-rin had lived alone in this house for a long time too.
When she suddenly saw someone entering, she was startled and threw the soap.
“Why is this soap so hard? It’ll break my nose.”
“Expensive stuff is like that.”
Seo-rin stroked Si-ho’s nose and thought.
Maybe I wasted a good chance.
‘Hah… I should have come in naturally instead of panicking.’
Last night, he had been so strict.
It was somewhat regrettable that I missed the chance to get physically closer.
“Anyway, since you saw my body for free, you have to take responsibility.”
Seo-rin decided to pass it at this point.
“What, responsibility… huh, responsibility?”
“Did you not see? You saw, didn’t you?”
Because of the thick steam, it wasn’t clear, so saying I didn’t see wasn’t a lie.
However, the silhouette I had caught a glimpse of.
It bothered me to boldly deny it.
“You’re stuttering. Hmph~”
Seo-rin’s eyes were slyly probing.
Si-ho avoided her gaze.
Honestly, he wanted to scold her with ‘I didn’t even see anything.’
But Seo-rin wasn’t a woman who would accept vague words.
Rather, she had a figure that was too perfect.
Fluid and sensual curves.
‘Even back then… I thought it was normal, but now it’s obvious.’
Ten years ago, when she was just starting high school, Seo-rin had already been famous for that.
That was why bad guys had clung to her.
And whenever those guys made her suffer, Si-ho had always cleaned it up.
“Oppa, what are you thinking?”
“Ah, just… old memories.”
Seo-rin wondered if the old memories Si-ho mentioned were from which era.
“Our childhood?”
“…It’s a secret.”
Si-ho said it was a secret so he wouldn’t get caught up in Seo-rin’s pace anymore.
But Seo-rin opened her mouth with a strange look.
“Can I guess?”
“What are you even guessing?”
“Um… when I was in middle school? When weird oppa guys kept clinging and I cried asking for help?”
Seo-rin casually brought up what might be a dark past.
She had a face as if she just wanted to talk about that time, without any relation.
“How did you guess?”
“Just… a woman’s intuition.”
Si-ho had been thinking that it wasn’t only Elysia who was scary.
Seo-rin closed her eyes slightly and recalled that time.
“Back then, oppa was really scary. When I cried asking for scolding, those oppa guys got beaten up big time.”
“Really? I don’t remember well.”
“Liar.”
It was impossible not to remember.
Even now, the dirty talk those guys did to Seo-rin was too embarrassing to say out loud.
The face of Seo-rin who cried after hearing those words was still vividly in his mind.
“That was around that time.”
“What?”
“I started liking oppa.”
Seo-rin’s sudden confession hit Si-ho like a truck, and his breath caught.
Should I take this as a confession?
Or should I treat it as just a passing memory?
Which rhythm to follow?
It was a difficult choice.
Depending on his choice, how he would treat Seo-rin from now on would change.
Si-ho thought while scratching his head.
It wasn’t long.
Seeing Si-ho standing there blankly lost in thought, Seo-rin spoke first.
“Hehe. Why are you spacing out again?”
“Ah… just. Hmm.”
“Anyway, since you saw my body, you have to pay for it, right?”
“Pay? No, I didn’t do it on purpose…”
“Today’s date is your payment.”
Seo-rin stood up without waiting for his answer.
‘This is hard. So hard.’
Handling Seo-rin with words was harder than competing with Giseok and swordsmanship from yesterday’s spar.
Si-ho stood up too.
***
Preparing to go out, he had on a hat, mask, and sunglasses.
Seo-rin was completely covered.
“Do you really need to do that much?”
“You don’t know anything, oppa. If it spreads that we’re walking together, it’ll be troublesome on the community.”
The Terda Guild was still rising in stock price.
It was important not to throw out unnecessary gossip.
“Then just stay home…”
“No.”
Seo-rin shot killing intent from her eyes when Si-ho suggested staying home.
With Elysia absent, she seemed even more proactive.
It wasn’t bad to spend time with Seo-rin after a long time.
Si-ho thought that and they went out around noon.
“Shall we eat first?”
“There. Let’s go to that tteokbokki place we went to when we were kids.”
The tteokbokki place they often went to when they were close.
Even ten years later, it was still running well.
“This place is still fine even after all that time.”
“There’s no other tteokbokki place like this back then.”
Why did women go crazy for tteokbokki?
When I was young, I ate it almost like a meal.
“You still like tteokbokki?”
“Of course? Not as much as when I was young, but…”
Seo-rin naturally sat and ordered.
“Here it is~”
“Thank you.”
Bright red sauce tteokbokki that made your mouth water just by looking.
Thinking about it, it was a food I hadn’t eaten even once since returning to this world.
The spicy-sweet taste I hadn’t had for almost ten years made me enjoy it with my chopsticks.
“Oppa still eats well.”
Seo-rin smiled faintly and looked at him.
The childlike appearance she had when she was young still faintly remained.
While recalling the past, there was a strange feeling that she no longer looked like a child.
“Oppa, you still like tteokbokki too?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while, so it tastes great.”
Seo-rin put down her chopsticks as if she was done.
And a subtle expectation came from Seo-rin’s voice.
“More than me?”
The four letters with Seo-rin’s voice added in.
My chopsticks stopped moving.
That word with double meaning shook my thoughts.
If thought simply, it was just ‘Do you like tteokbokki as much as I do?’
But it felt like it hid the true meaning of ‘Do you like me more than tteokbokki?’
Maybe it would look like self-awareness overload, but…
“Hehe~”
Seo-rin had a innocent smile as if she found my reaction funny.
She was waiting for my answer.
Probably she had intended it.
I could be sure.
This girl loved such wordplay.
***
After finishing lunch, they moved to the department store.
Seo-rin had said she wanted to shop after a long time and guided the way.
“Welcome. Miss Seo-rin, it’s been a while.”
“Sorry for being busy lately. Hehe.”
A tall man in a neat suit bowed to Seo-rin and greeted her.
He looked like a department store employee, but he instantly spotted the completely armed Seo-rin.
“What, weren’t we not supposed to be seen together?”
“I’m a VIP here. This person is my dedicated staff. Nothing will leak, so don’t worry.”
After Seo-rin said that, the department store staff turned to me.
“Ah, the person next to you is Mr. Kang Si-ho, right? I’ve heard a lot. You’re the guild master of the guild Miss Seo-rin is in.”
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
“It’s a principle not to leak information about department store VIPs. You don’t have to worry.”
The man neatly combed his hair smiled.
He gave off a professional vibe.
“Oppa! Come here and try this on.”
“I came to buy my own clothes, though.”
“Since you came, buy oppa’s too.”
The clothes Seo-rin chose were all luxurious brand items.
Of course, the price was not cheap.
“I didn’t think I’d spend that much on clothes.”
“I’ll buy them, so just try them on!”
Seo-rin kept pushing clothes at me.
Watching her excitedly shopping with a big smile, I thought I shouldn’t ruin the mood.
So I followed her words.
“Oh, it suits you?”
“How is it?”
“It’s not just okay… it’s very nice.”
Seo-rin focused more on choosing my clothes than her own.
“Try this and that too.”
“Too many, aren’t they?”
“Shh! Noona will buy them, so just try them on.”
Seo-rin was so excited her cheeks were slightly red as she brought items from everywhere.
Thinking about it, since I had been searching for her since I went to the other world.
Maybe Seo-rin missed this small daily life with me so much.
“Then please calculate all of this from here to here.”
“Yes, thank you.”
With both hands full, they left the department store.
Seo-rin had a proud expression.
“There will be many official events ahead. Wear what I bought.”
“Even this much?”
Seeing my lukewarm reaction, Seo-rin objected.
“Of course! When people see the guild, they don’t just look at skill. It depends on the appearance on the outside.”
“Even wearing luxury brands is a strategic choice?”
“Not really. There are some who wear it for self-satisfaction, but it’s also a means to raise our value.”
It made sense.
The other world was in the middle of war and always threatened by life.
Only the strong could receive honor and respect.
But here it was much more complicated.
Threats from gates and monsters existed, but daily peace somehow coexisted.
That was why people didn’t just respect the strong.
They had to appeal in various ways.
‘Even managing appearance is one of them.’
Sure enough, Seo-rin was better at reading the current world’s atmosphere than me.
It was fortunate to be able to have Seo-rin as a guild member.
“But… I’m not going to continue being an Awakened just because of me, right?”
The reason Seo-rin had been active as an Awakened until now.
She had said it was to find me.
Then why did she need to be active as an Awakened now?
It seemed she was struggling just to be an Awakened alone.
These thoughts suddenly came to mind.
Seo-rin answered without thinking.
“That’s right?”
“Ah… yeah…?”
Seeing my flustered face, the corner of Seo-rin’s mouth twitched.
“Hehe. Flustered? I was joking.”
“…”
She had deliberately said something provocative to enjoy my reaction.
“Even if oppa is F-class, I can’t just not be worried.”
Seo-rin slipped her arm through mine and continued.
As if there was nothing to think about, the answer was natural.
“It was hard to do it alone for a while, but it’s good. I think it’ll be easier with oppa.”
She said that and leaned her head on my shoulder.
I couldn’t pull her away.
“Oppa, why do you want to do it? Being active as an Awakened.”
Why do you want to be active as an Awakened?
Si-ho was momentarily lost in thought.
He thought about why he wanted to be active as an Awakened.
“Well… I originally planned to throw away the big cause of saving the world and just live comfortably after returning to this world.”
Looking at the distant mountain with his eyes, he answered.
Seo-rin glanced at his face.
“Well, oppa?”
“Why?”
“Just… I don’t think oppa is the type who would do that.”
Seo-rin tilted her head and slightly curled her lips.
What kind of person did Seo-rin think I was?
Thinking like that, after leaving the department store,
at the moment of returning home,
“Kyaaaah-!!”
A sharp sound that pierced his eardrum startled him.
Not just him and Seo-rin, but everyone around looked toward the source of the sound.
In the direction the gaze reached, a man wearing a mask was kidnapping a child.