Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: A Sleepless Night
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Bani, the part-timer working at the first-floor waiting area and cafe of Eun Haon's research institute, was wiping a cup, but her ears and attention were focused elsewhere.
On Haon and Nova, who were sitting side by side on the sofa, whispering to each other.
‘Hadn't they broken up?’
Nova never let any man who showed interest in Haon get away with it, but that was all.
It was as if he were warning them not to touch his property.
From his usual expression and attitude, anyone could see that Haon was the one chasing after Nova.
So when that same Nova gently tucked Haon's hair behind her ear, Bani's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Seeing their roles reversed, it was clear that Nova must have begged and pleaded to get back together with her.
Wasn't he the one who'd been knocking on the institute's door almost every day?
She'd thought Haon had moved on to Ghost, but it ended up like this after all.
Bani finished wiping the last cup, set it down, and discreetly pulled out her phone.
She couldn't possibly keep this interesting news to herself. She had to tell Chacha right away.
Meanwhile, Haon and Nova, sitting close together on the sofa, continued their conversation in voices too low for Bani to hear.
“—so I've tried all kinds of sleeping pills, but nothing works.”
“That must be tough. But darling. What are we doing right now?”
Haon tilted her head, cradling a mug of warm tea in both hands.
“Sharing our troubles?”
“I mean…”
Unable to comprehend the situation, Nova trailed off and looked around.
Bani, who was fiddling with her phone, flinched and turned her head away.
He pointed at Bani as if he'd finally understood.
“Aha. Is it because that kid is watching?”
“That is why I was speaking quietly, but…”
“If that's the case, let's go up to the penthouse. The sun has already set.”
“Oh? You're right!”
Haon checked the time and shot to her feet.
“Bani. You can head home now.”
Seeing Haon's face brighten for the first time in a while, Bani hastily left. Her steps were light with the thought of meeting Chacha to gossip.
Standing in front of the elevator, Haon saw Nova following and waved her hand.
“Ah, wait just a moment. I'll be right back.”
The elevator that had taken Haon up came back down, and a walking blanket emerged.
“C-Could you take one of these?”
As Nova, looking puzzled, lifted one of the blankets, a tired yet cute face was revealed.
Haon gave a shy smile, carried the blankets to the sofa, set them down, and dimmed the first-floor lights.
Nova also put down the blanket he was holding under his arm. He had a look of surprise.
“Here?”
“I actually threw out my bed. And the sofa is comfy.”
He shrugged and let out a small laugh.
“I don't mind, but.”
As he reached out with his youthful face, Haon, wrapped tightly in a blanket, curled up on the sofa.
“Good night, Nova.”
Her mumbled voice was heavy with exhaustion.
Nova, his hand still outstretched, blinked a few times before speaking.
“You're sleeping?”
“Mhm. I'm sleepy.”
From the moment he'd stepped into the institute, the situation had unfolded completely differently than he'd expected, leaving him bewildered.
“Darling. I'm a little confused here, did you really just mean to sleep?”
“What else? Do you need something?”
And the moment Haon sluggishly poked only her head out of the blanket, all the tension drained out of him.
Having lost all motivation in the face of her harmless expression, Nova perched on the edge of the sofa next to where Haon lay.
“…No. Go to sleep.”
“Okay. Good night.”
Her listless voice was so drained of energy that it made him chuckle emptily.
Nova rested his arm on the back of the sofa, sitting quietly for a moment before muttering.
“She's actually sleeping?”
He thought of Dr. Eun's delicate nape, though he wasn't sure when he'd seen it.
The very same nape that was now buried in that blanket.
A neck that looked so fragile it might snap with the slightest pressure, yet she was sleeping fearlessly right in front of him.
The sound of her soft, even breathing confirmed she was truly asleep.
‘Should I just kill her?’
Nova stared at the round lump of blankets under the dim light.
If she was going to give the ‘gift’ she wouldn't give him to other guys, she would just be in the way.
He could kill her in an instant.
‘But she's interesting. And she did say she'd make me something, even if it's not a weapon.’
He withdrew the hand that was reaching for the blanket and stroked his chin.
She'd seemed interesting from the moment he met her. To have Eun Haon's face but wear such a dazed expression.
It was also strange to see her on the verge of tears with that face. Eun Haon never cried.
How much time had passed? Suddenly, a whimpering groan came from inside the blanket.
“Ugh, sob… hhh…”
Nova recalled what Haon had told him earlier. Something about having nightmares because of what happened in her hometown.
Just as he was wondering what would happen next…
“Gasp…!”
Haon let out a choked sound and shot upright.
Her shoulders trembled as she gasped for breath, her face pale.
With a rare look of surprise, Nova gently tucked a strand of hair, stuck to her with cold sweat, behind her ear.
Haon seemed dazed and confused, apparently unaware of who was beside her.
Just as he was about to call her ‘darling,’ she bent over and buried her face in the blanket.
And then she called someone's name in a whining tone.
“Juyeol…”
“…”
Nova froze for a moment, then leaned back against the sofa.
“I hired her. Dr. Eun is my engineer now.”
Ghost's words came back to him, and a sharp sense of displeasure surged through him.
He didn't know the source of the feeling, but he was in such a foul mood that he wanted to grab someone and take it out on them.
Throughout the night, Haon would fall asleep for a short while only to wake up with a start, repeating the cycle over and over.
Each time she tearfully called Ghost's name, Nova's expression grew colder.
* * *
‘This isn't working.’
That was Haon's first thought upon waking.
Even though Nova had been beside her all night, she was plagued by nightmares and couldn't sleep properly.
She was truly grateful that he had been much more well-behaved than she'd expected, but unfortunately, it hadn't helped much.
‘I think I slept a little more than when I'm alone, but it's still not nearly enough.’
Haon rubbed her bloodshot eyes and fumbled to fold the blankets.
‘Do I need Juyeol? Or could I not sleep because I don't trust Nova?’
As she placed the messily folded blankets on one side of the sofa, Nova held out his hand.
“You said you'd make me something other than a weapon. My heart aches because of you, so I need to get it right now.”
“Your heart?”
Confused by his words, Haon tried to recall the hazy memories of last night. Nothing came to mind, so she figured it was just his way of demanding she give him something.
“It's my first time making something like this, so I don't know how long it will take.”
“I don't care. I'm not leaving until I get it.”
“Then I'll go make it. You can get some juice from over there to drink.”
As Haon headed for the elevator, Nova followed her with long strides.
“You want me to wait here again? I get lonely easily, so I'll stay by your side.”
“You can't come up here. No one is allowed upstairs.”
He stared at someone's engineer shaking her head, then asked.
“Not even Ghost?”
Surprised by the sudden name drop, Haon tilted her head before answering.
“Juyeol can go up.”
Nova let out a sigh-like laugh and returned to the sofa.
‘What's with him?’
With a bewildered expression, Haon headed to her workshop.
After only making things tailored to Mana Engineering, creating items for guns and swords felt unfamiliar.
But it wasn't impossible.
Haon wasn't called a genius for nothing.
She'd already developed a new Mana Engineering app to better deal with guns and swords, so making something with special fibers was a piece of cake.
The result of wielding mana with Blue in her workshop was quite impressive.
After finishing her tests, about two hours later, Haon returned to the first-floor cafe with a pair of white gloves in her hands.
“Gloves?”
Nova's expression soured at the unexpected item.
Seeing him just holding the gloves instead of trying them on, Haon explained.
“They're gloves made by infusing Kevlar with mana. They're bulletproof, stab-proof, and heat-resistant, and they're incomparable to anything you can find on the market.”
“Hmm.”
Nova finally tried on the gloves and couldn't help but be surprised.
He'd worn Kevlar gloves before. But none had ever been this thin or allowed for such easy finger movement.
They were short enough to leave the back of his hand slightly exposed, so they weren't bothersome.
“Do you like them?”
Even without an answer, Haon knew he was pleased.
Nova didn't take off the gloves, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists.
“Where did you come from, darling?”
“…!”
Haon was a little surprised.
She never thought the man who seemed interested in nothing but her gifts would ask such a question.
‘He's just asking, right?’
“I'm actually from another dimension.”
“You're human, at least, right? That's all that matters.”
“…?”
Haon, who had answered without much expectation, was taken aback by his reaction.
‘Does he believe me? And yet he's treating it so casually?’
Just as she was thinking what an unpredictable person he was, Blue chirped.
[Haon! Someone's here to see you. It's Chacha and Bani!]
Soon, a head of red hair appeared.
“Eun Haon! I heard everything from Bani—”
Chacha, who was entering the cafe with an excited expression, froze when she spotted Nova.
Bani, who was following behind, also flinched, not expecting him to still be at the institute.
“Are you here to hang out at the cafe?”
Chacha answered Haon's question with feigned innocence.
“Yeah. Just wanted to finish a conversation with Bani. But you look tired. Did you have a rough night?”
“I feel like I didn't sleep a wink.”
“I'll bet.”
Chacha gave a knowing smile and glanced at Nova.
“Maybe I should go see Juyeol today.”
But her jaw dropped at Haon's next words.
“Wow, Eun Haon…!”