This Villain is Soft - Chapter 45



Only Noblemtl

Episode 45

Strangely, it was slow to come to mind.

It wasn’t that long ago that he would glare at me as if he was going to kill me or laugh at me as if I was being sarcastic. Was it because he was looking at that fierce face right in front of me?

He gently pressed Ha-on’s cheek with his fingertips.

It was funny how his eyebrows furrowed and he gasped for breath.

As I was thinking about that, the words I always repeat to myself at least once whenever I get involved with Eunha On passed through my mind.

‘I don’t know what I’m doing now.’

It was just me and this guy in Eunhaon’s penthouse, not anyone else.

It also didn’t feel real that I was stuck there taking care of the sick.

‘It’s not that I’m weird. It’s weirder that I let something so fragile fall down.’

At that moment, Haon let out a small groan and started to struggle slowly.

Joo-yeol covered his eyes with his hand and pressed them hard. His forehead felt hot against his palm.

“tight.”

Haon gave up quickly and his body drooped.

“Juyeol… … . Do you remember that?”

He chuckled at the hazy, mumbling voice. His mind seemed as if he were asleep.

“what.”

“When I had the flu… …you took care of me.”

“……what?”

Joo-yeol’s face quickly hardened.

Because of the fever and the sleepiness, I felt like I was out of my mind in another sense.

“When I first started college… … .”

Haon moved his small mouth in a dazed manner as if he was out of his mind.

“Everything was unfamiliar and lonely… … I was even sad because I was in pain.”

“… … .”

“I was out of my mind because my fever was high, but you… … covered my forehead with your hand.”

He rubbed his face lightly, feeling the coolness of the hand covering his eyes, and let out a faint laugh.

“Do you know how comforting that was? … … You looked really cool that day. You looked so sturdy and your shoulders looked so broad.”

“… … .”

“Don’t you know that I was a little… excited back then?”

Joo-yeol burst out laughing at how shy he was even in such a hectic situation.

“It was a little like that back then. Just a little bit… … .”

Haon, who had been mumbling and shaking, fell into deep sleep again without being able to finish his words.

Joo-yeol’s expression was completely crumpled.

He took his warm hands away and glanced at Ha-on with displeasure.

“I was the one who fed you and put you to bed. Today, when you collapsed, I picked you up and even called a doctor for you. Why are you blaming another guy?”

Discomfort and annoyance began to creep up on me.

Even when I brought the Awakening Orb to Eunhaon and when I woke her up from her nightmare, she treated me like a dear friend, but isn’t it different now?

I was annoyed that he didn’t recognize me when I was using his house as a dining room and bedroom.

Why are delusions so detailed?

Joo-yeol was feeling unlucky because of the ‘other space fever’ that Ha-on mentioned, and fell into a shallow sense of inferiority.

‘Is madness contagious? What the hell is that bastard… … .’

I was about to poke Ha-on’s cheek because I was annoyed for no reason, but I held back, remembering that he was still a patient.

He sat on the sofa opposite and listened to the sound of breathing.

And I thought about the day I discovered the strange galaxy.

It was a day when I thought many times about whether I should really shoot him.

If someone else had come across him first back then, he would have been the one to gain Ha-on’s favor.

“… … .”

Joo-yeol suddenly felt his stomach turn, and he reached for his holster out of habit. The cold metal touching his hand did not help relieve the discomfort.

An uneasy feeling came over me from somewhere I couldn’t tell, and my stomach started to churn.

‘That’s because I find it annoying. What other reason could there be?’

He stayed in that position until morning, grumbling that he was annoyed by the sight of that annoying, annoying guy.

* * *

The next day, Ha-on woke up and realized that his eyeballs were throbbing and feverish every time he rolled his eyes.

I sweated so much while I was sleeping that my whole body felt uncomfortable, so I took a shower and came out.

Then, in my half-asleep state, I suddenly remembered what happened yesterday that I had forgotten.

“uh……?”

The last thing I saw was Juyeol’s face.

“Blue. Did Joo-yeol bring me to the penthouse yesterday?”

[That’s right! A welcome guest has called Solmae and visited Solmae’s penthouse.]

“Elder? Then how long was Juyeol there?”

[The guest is still in the penthouse.]

“uh?”

Now that I think about it, I slept soundly without even dreaming.

I went out to the living room blankly and there was Juyeol standing there with a drowsy expression.

“Juyeol. Have you been here the whole time?”

“Go eat.”

I followed him into the kitchen, bewildered, and there was a bowl of porridge.

Haon sat down at the table with his eyes wide open.

The smell of delicious porridge made me feel very hungry. I ended up collapsing after drinking only orange juice yesterday and was very hungry.

“Did you make it here? You probably didn’t have any ingredients?”

“I bought it nearby and did it.”

Haon, who was looking at him with bright eyes, quickly put the food in his mouth.

Only when the warm and soft porridge filled my empty stomach did I feel like I could live.

“Oh my gosh!”

“What are you saying?”

“It’s so delicious! How do you cook porridge so well?”

“If you search for it, you’ll find most recipes.”

Ha-on, who had been eating the food without thinking, lay down on the chair with a happy expression.

Then, water and medicine were placed in front of me.

“In the meantime, An Ga… … .”

Joo-yeol frowned and asked again, his voice trailing off.

“I’m so tired and sleep deprived from all this work.”

“I was thinking of a way to nullify stimulants and was trying to make one.”

“Is that possible? Is that the prototype that Hunter asked me to bring you?”

Haon raised his head with a surprised look.

“Really? The heroes want to try out the prototype I made?”

“I’ll try it out when I get it.”

“Just wait a minute.”

Haon, who was still a little sagging, brought three prototypes of the potion nullification patch.

Joo-yeol looked at the devices that looked like portable card terminals and pressed the buttons as Ha-on had told him.

The patch fired with a bang and stuck to the wall.

A blue light flashed and thin blue particles began to form, forming a swirling atomic shape.

An engineer was explaining how the patch worked next to me, but more than half of what he was saying was incomprehensible.

Joo-yeol removed the patch that had turned off the blue light and looked back at Ha-on, who was full of anticipation.

“Did you really make the potion?”

Haon’s shoulders flinched at the sudden question.

Yesterday, in front of the other heroes, I didn’t deny it because I had to explain the investment I received from Halo, but when I told Juyeol about it, I couldn’t open my mouth.

Haon, who had been hesitating, eventually shook his head.

“That’s not me.”

“I see.”

“… … ?”

Haon blinked at the unexpectedly calm reaction. Then his expression gradually brightened.

“Do you believe me?”

“Oh, it’s annoying to have to go all the way to headquarters.”

He slyly changed the subject and picked up the patch launchers.

Then he coughed a few times and asked as if it was nothing.

“Why didn’t you contact me? I even gave you my number.”

“I didn’t do it because I thought you were a little bothered by me going to Anga… … . Were you waiting for me?”

“Who are you waiting for? It’s a waste if the food you bought just goes bad.”

“Oh, I see. If I can’t go for a few days in the future, I’ll definitely contact you.”

Haon, who had been agreeing, was puzzled by the question that came to his mind belatedly.

“What brought you here yesterday?”

“……out of whack.”

In one corner of the kitchen, where he pointed dryly, there was a miserable-looking toaster.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Did you throw it on the floor?”

“What, what the hell are you talking about? Why did you throw that on the floor? Anyway, fix it.”

Ha-on looked at the broken toaster with curiosity even after Ju-yeol had left in a hurry.

How did it break into this shape?

It doesn’t look like he was shot or hit by a bike.

‘But isn’t this something you usually leave to AS? If it’s this bad, won’t you fix it?’

I felt a chill as I fiddled with the dented part of the toaster.

It had been so long since I took the medicine that my body aches couldn’t get any better.

‘I’m really dying.’

Ha-on, who was lying down with the blanket wrapped around him, closed his eyes, stared at the ceiling, and wiggled his hands and feet.

The silence in the penthouse grew heavier and heavier.

‘… … It’s strange because I’m not doing anything.’

It was something I could never have imagined, lying under the covers in broad daylight when I had work to do.

Even though I knew in my head that I should rest when I’m sick, it still felt awkward.

Even after the war started and I was dropped into this dimension, I was always busy until just before I fell asleep.

The only time I had what could be called a rest was when I went to Juyeol’s house.

I was also able to sleep comfortably.

‘You won’t be able to sleep since you’re alone today, right? But if you get a good night’s rest, you’ll be fine for a while.’

Ha-on, who was lying on his side, hugged the blanket tightly as loneliness suddenly came over him.

It feels like the warmth of the person next to you has been ripped away and you’re left floating alone in space.

Small feet swept across the blanket.

Even though I was clearly standing here, my feet felt empty.

‘… … It’s because I didn’t do any work.’

Haon finally decided to go down to the lab once his fever went down a little.

When I’m upset, I mutter that I have to do something.

But Joo-yeol returned to the penthouse as soon as the sun set.