This Villain is Soft - Chapter 36



Only Noblemtl

Episode 36

Juyeol, who was leaning against the wall, froze for a while and then raised his head.

The back of my head hit the wall and my gaze was focused on the ceiling.

“… … I’m going crazy.”

The headlights filtered in through the curtains, filling the gaping bullet holes as they passed.

He was overcome with an unfamiliar feeling.

A feeling of anxiety that suddenly goes away and then comes back sharply, making my stomach churn.

It was a feeling that was difficult to express in one word.

‘What did he just say? Did he loose another screw?’

Joo-yeol approached Ha-on, rubbing the back of his neck.

Even if I push his shoulder and make him lie down on the sofa, he doesn’t move at all.

Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, his gaunt appearance, and the fact that he fell asleep in an instant, it seemed like he hadn’t slept for quite some time.

He turned his eyes to the bluebird sitting quietly near Haon.

He asked quietly, after pondering whether that would answer my question.

“How long have you been missing sleep?”

[Haon has been sleeping an average of two hours a day recently.]

Fortunately, Blue answered so I didn’t feel embarrassed.

“Why can’t I sleep?”

[Insomnia caused by psychological factors.]

“Last time, you had to have someone next to you to sleep well.”

Can’t you sleep alone? As soon as I thought about that, I snickered at the pride I had forgotten about.

Even though everyone was afraid of me, it wasn’t Eunhaon.

He felt safe enough to hide behind me, avoid other heroes, and sleep soundly next to me.

It was part of the favor she extended to me.

‘As long as I search for a best friend who doesn’t exist, he will continue to be by my side… … .’

He muttered, then suddenly furrowed his eyebrows as he felt himself falling.

* * *

From that day on, Ha-on visited Ju-yeol once every two days.

When the sun was up, he would look for the Awakening Sphere and stay in the Dimensional Gate Laboratory, and when the sun set, he would go to his safe house.

Joo-yeol, who had been acting awkward the first few times as if he didn’t know I would come again, gradually got used to it.

There were many times when I looked at Haon with a face that seemed to have a lot to say and sighed, but I didn’t chase him away.

Their haggard faces gradually became more lively, and they never sat around blankly when they were together.

The living room sofa became her bed, and the chair opposite the dining table, which she used to hang her coat on, was also hers.

Then, Ha-on suddenly felt that he was indebted to Ju-yeol too much.

‘I have to do something today!’

Ha-on, who was very excited, opened the door to An-ga’s house as if it were the door to his own house.

“Juyeol! I’m here. Today, I will personally… …?”

Haon, who was entering the house, stopped in his tracks at the sight that was different from usual.

When I opened the door, I should have seen the sofa in the small living room, but today my eyes met with someone hanging upside down from the ceiling.

His complexion was pale and he looked younger than Juyeol.

“Uh… … Hello?”

He was startled when I awkwardly greeted him.

“Uh, Dr. Eun?”

The man struggled to free himself from the rope around his ankles and fell to the floor with a loud crash.

Haon took a few steps back, wondering why, and only then noticed the purple goblin pattern drawn on his black clothes.

“… … !”

I wasn’t even mentally prepared when I suddenly met another hero. And he didn’t even cover his face!

When Ha-on, who was hiding behind Ju-yeol in surprise, stomped his feet, Hero sighed and made a strange sound as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have seen.

“Why is that to you, hyung… … What the heck is this… … .”

Joo-yeol sighed with an annoyed look on his face and helped him up.

“Hyung, why is Dr. Eun here… … . What are you? Why are you here?”

The hero got up in a hurry, put his back against the front door, and took out his gun.

Haon hesitated and then answered in a crawling voice.

“Hey, I came to eat. Hey, if you want to… eat together… .”

“What is this?”

He looked at Juyeol with a bewildered expression.

“What are you talking about? I just came to eat.”

“If you had a prior engagement, should I come later?”

When Ha-on asked cautiously, Ju-yeol shook his head without hesitation.

“Okay. Since you kept knocking on the door, I thought I’d hang you up for a bit and then let you go. Well, as you know, this is Eunhaon and this is Chaser.”

“brother!”

Chaser gasped as he made eye contact with Haon, even though he was about to shout. A cold sweat began to form on his pale face.

“Hey, Mr. Chaser? Uh, where does it hurt? Why are you shaking like that?”

“Now, what, what did you say?”

Chaser shivered but showed a cold expression.

Did I misspeak? Ha-on, flustered, covered his mouth with his fist and glanced up at Ju-yeol.

Joo-yeol shook his head a few times and then turned Chaser’s body around.

“It seems like you haven’t fully recovered yet, so just go for today.”

“Where are you going! Are you telling me to leave you and that crazy woman behind?”

“I beat up the hero so I have nothing to talk to you about.”

“Hey, wait a minute, bro!”

He was unable to withstand the force of the heat pushing him out and was kicked out of the house.

Even after the front door closed, I knocked on it several times, but Juyeol only gave me a dry warning, “Get out before I throw all the remaining grenades at headquarters.”

Chaser grumbled softly and left, as if he really thought he would do it if it was Joo-yeol.

Ha-on, who had been silently watching the scene, looked around while holding the grocery bag tightly.

“Do all the heroes hate me that much?”

“Chaser makes me shiver, especially if it’s you.”

“why?”

“You should… … .”

“a little?”

“Just know that I have a history of torture. The aftereffects are so severe that I sometimes see hallucinations.”

“… … ?”

Ha-on stood there dumbfounded at the unimaginable word ‘torture’ and then sighed.

Somehow, I felt that the wavelength of mana was a little different from that of other Awakened beings, and it seemed that he had serious scars.

‘How on earth did you survive, ‘Eunhaon-ssi’… …!’

It was so unfair that I, who had nothing to do with it, had to endure all her karma.

Joo-yeol snatched the crumpled paper bag from Ha-on’s arms.

“Did you buy something to eat?”

Then, he realized that what was inside was not food but ingredients and made a puzzled expression.

“What is this?”

Ha-on, who had been holding his head, raised his head and said, “Oh, that’s right.”

“I’m going to cook for you today.”

“You’re going to cook for me?”

“Sit down. I’ll do it right away!”

Haon sat Joo-yeol down at the table with a proud expression on his face and started cooking.

Joo-yeol was quite used to seeing those tiny creatures loitering around in his house, but this was so new.

It’s strange that someone would go into the kitchen, which I don’t even use often, and it’s Eunhaon.

Joo-yeol muttered as he blankly watched the back of the person moving busily.

“… … Why is that guy acting like this?”

Haon turned around to hear his words, which were hidden by the sound of the bell.

“Huh? What did you say?”

It was a fierce face with no trace of caution.

When Juyeol looked away from the kitchen with an even more disturbed expression, Haon tilted his head and then focused on cooking again.

Haon, who had been moving around busily for a while, put down the dishes on the table in excitement.

“Come and try it.”

The fried rice and egg soup with steam rising from it looked quite good.

Joo-yeol looked at the fried rice with a surprised expression, then scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth.

After chewing it a few times, a small, crunching sound came out.

“… … .”

“……uh?”

Ha-on, who was flustered, quickly took a bite of the fried rice in front of him.

The more I chewed, the more the bitter salty and gritty taste filled my mouth, and by the time my pupils twitched, the eggshell was crunching.

“Father, it was fine when I first checked the liver… … .”

Ha-on, who barely swallowed the salty fried rice, took a bite of egg soup while keeping an eye on things.

How does it taste like this?

It was ridiculously tasteless.

Joo-yeol put down his spoon, sighed deeply, and went into the kitchen.

And in an instant, freshly made fried rice and freshly made egg soup were brought out.

Haon hesitated at the appearance of the fried rice, which had a distinctly different smell, and then tasted it.

“hmm?”

His eyes widened and he ate the egg soup and then raised his head.

“You’re so good at cooking, why do you buy food?”

‘Juyeol’ wasn’t very good at cooking, but what he made was so delicious.

The taste was incomparable to that of convenience store fried rice lunch boxes or frozen fried rice.

“It’s annoying. I’m just going to buy it while looking around to see if there are any annoying people around.”

Joo-yeol responded indifferently and ate the fried rice.

The meal was so delicious that it even helped him shake off his awkward feelings, so Haon kept moving his spoon without stopping.

Then, I suddenly pout at the sight of him smirking as if he was really impressed.

“Next time will be different. I can do better.”

“Don’t even think about going into the kitchen.”

Haon’s chin formed a walnut at the answer that came back without hesitation.

Of course, I ate every last bit of the fried rice.

* * *

From the day when Juyeol first cooked for her, his food usually filled the table when they had dinner together.

Surprisingly, there was almost no dish he couldn’t make as long as he had the ingredients.

Every day when Ha-on went to his parents’ house, he had a lot of fun choosing the ingredients and thinking about what kind of food to ask for that day.

Since I haven’t tried many different foods, the menu I can think of is limited, but Juyeol made everything taste good.

‘The rice cake soup was delicious. It reminded me of Seollal.’

As I was recalling yesterday’s dinner, unexpected gifts suddenly arrived at the lab.