Vol 6 Chapter 33

Yes. That's what he would do. Once he had made a decision, his mind, which worked incredibly fast, approved, and there was nothing left to hold him back.

"That's it. The choice from here on is yours."

Although the inner deliberation had been long, it was short when spoken aloud. After Kapros finished, Je-hwan became even more taciturn. After rubbing his face for a long time again, when Je-hwan finally lowered his hand, his stiff expression showed some signs of resolve.

"I... thought that if you said this as a result of ignoring my feelings and thinking irresponsibly, I should refuse for the sake of my pride. But if you say it like that..."

"I know my body is precious too."

At this somewhat joking, blunt response, Je-hwan's lips seemed to curl up slightly.

"...Yeah. If I don't accept this, I probably won't get another chance like this. So I'll accept the offer and try to make you like me in the meantime."

From Kapros's perspective, that was a rather embarrassing confidence.

"Alright. It's decided then. Are we doing it now?"

Kapros knew it wasn't something to say while sitting on the floor with messy hair and not even having taken off his parka, but he couldn't help it. Je-hwan, who was also sitting against the wall on the floor like Kapros, looked him up and down and slowly shook his head.

"No. Today you look a bit... tired."

"Yeah. Actually, not a bit, but very tired. Thanks for that. Then can I turn on the lights and wash up now?"

Kapros stood up lightly, trying not to lose his balance as he pushed off the ground, then felt along the wall to turn on the switch. As the light suddenly flooded the living room, he had to blink several times due to the momentary brightness. Looking at the clock, he saw it was already deep into the early morning hours. He took off his parka and threw it towards the sofa, then unbuttoned the top of his shirt to relieve his stuffy neck before turning back to Je-hwan.

The tall guy was looking at Kapros with a somewhat deflated expression. Seeing him like that, Kapros found it a bit funny, unable to imagine that this was the same person who had dragged him in so fiercely earlier.

"It's too late for you to go home too, right? Stay over."

Je-hwan suddenly startled and detached himself from the wall he had been leaning against.

"No. I..."

"I don't feel like sending you out at 3 AM, so just sleep. I'll wash up first, and you can do it after if you want."

When Kapros said this with a bit of force, Je-hwan, who had been silent, slowly nodded. Thinking it was fortunate, Kapros went into the bathroom, turned on the faucet at the sink, and waited for it to fill. Only then did he realize that this long day had finally ended, and he suddenly felt extremely tired.

"Phew..."

Thinking about it, it really had been a long day. First, he had been discharged from the hospital, then met Je-hwan and rode the motorcycle home, only to encounter Jeong Seung-jo waiting in the hallway. After that, he had fought with Je-hwan who tried to chase after Seung-jo, and because Je-hwan had left hurt, Kapros had met with Min-hoo. Then, after seeing Min-hoo off to the taxi stand and returning, he had suddenly been grabbed by Je-hwan again, dragged into the house, and after various events, ended up here.

Looking back, it really had been a tumultuous day.

Swallowing the hollow laughter that threatened to escape, Kapros waited for the sink to fill, rolled up his sleeves, and washed his face with the hand that wasn't in a cast. After roughly drying off with a towel and shaking his wet bangs, he went out to find Je-hwan standing in an unexpected place.

"What are you doing there?"

"...This."

The place where Je-hwan was standing was in front of the wooden sword that had been leaning against the corner of the wall near the bedroom door.

"It's a wooden sword."

"I know that... I was just wondering if it was yours."

If there was a wooden sword in his house, wouldn't it naturally be his? Why would it belong to someone else? Kapros was puzzled for a moment before realizing that he had never properly explained to Je-hwan or the others he had become close to in MIST that he used to do kendo. He let out an "Ah" sound.

"Oh. That's mine."

"It looks like you still use it...?"

The hesitant question's intent was probably wondering if Kapros, with his leg condition, could possibly be using the wooden sword that showed signs of recent use.

Of course, he still swung it sometimes, but it must have seemed strange for someone who couldn't use his leg to have a wooden sword. To explain this in detail would require talking about the past, and Kapros wasn't sure how much he should explain. After pondering how to answer, he finally nodded with an outwardly nonchalant expression.

"Well... Of course I can't use it properly, but since it was something I used to enjoy, I sometimes just swing it with my arms. Seeing it in a visible place makes me feel at ease."

"Ah..."

Fortunately, Je-hwan seemed to accept the answer and didn't ask any further questions, but he looked at Kapros with an expression that suggested a long-held curiosity had been satisfied.

"So that's why you were good with swords in MIST. I was a bit worried at first."

While it was true that real-life experience had helped in MIST, what had happened at first?

'Ah!'

A memory suddenly flashed through Kapros's mind. When he had first unlocked the scroll containing Superior's sword skills in MIST and was just beginning to train again, he had received help from Yu-wan to dilute the trauma of holding a sword that had remained until then. The help had merely consisted of both of them drawing their swords and facing each other in a standoff, but at that time when his mindset wasn't fully settled, it had been a great help. He also remembered Yu-wan asking if he had a phobia of swords when he saw Kapros struggling back then.

"Hmm... Well. Aren't you going to wash up?"

Feeling embarrassed that Je-hwan still remembered such things, Kapros changed the subject and pushed him towards the bathroom. After changing into comfortable clothes he wore at home, Kapros picked out another set of suitable clothes for Je-hwan and left them in front of the bathroom door. Perhaps due to the relief of having finished everything he needed to do, drowsiness began to wash over him like a tidal wave.

There was a bed in the other room too, but it wasn't big enough for two adult men to sleep together, so Kapros thought he should tell Je-hwan to take that room while he slept on the sofa. He sat there thinking this for a moment, but soon he started nodding off, and before he knew it, his consciousness slipped away with his face buried in the sofa.