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Join the ServerThe snacks I had packed in my backpack and all my other personal belongings were thankfully unharmed. The real issue, however, was the bedding I had so carefully clutched to myself.
“Ah… I won’t be able to use this today,” I lamented. Not a single item, from the blanket to the pillow, had escaped unscathed. The spot where I’d tumbled was unfortunately covered in thick, squelching mud, leaving everything a complete mess. It appeared the winter’s melted snow had turned the ground into a damp quagmire.
Squatting on the ground, I felt utterly bewildered, unsure where to even begin salvaging the situation. It was then that I sensed a presence drawing near, stopping just behind me.
“Hey, Sogum.”
Startled, I quickly turned my head, only to find Yoon Geon-woo standing directly behind me, clad in surprisingly casual attire. It wasn’t his usual Esper uniform, but rather comfortable loungewear—the kind one would wear lounging at home. And, for some inexplicable reason, he was barefoot.
“Yoon Geon-woo? Why are you out here like this?”
I sprang to my feet, utterly aghast at his choice of clothing. He had wandered around in a flimsy examination gown last time, and now, with the last whispers of the late winter chill barely beginning to recede, I couldn’t for the life of me understand why he was dressed in such a manner.
Yoon Geon-woo, however, stepped boldly onto the muddy ground, seemingly unfazed by his bare feet. As he drew closer, I found myself craning my neck significantly to meet his gaze, even with his lack of footwear.
A shimmering blue aura pulsed around him, making me wonder if he had utilized his abilities to arrive.
‘So, from the seventh floor… he just jumped down?’
“No way, were you watching me from the window?”
“As soon as you see me, you start spouting nonsense again.”
“No?”
“Do I look like I have time to spare?”
I had subtly tried to pry, but Yoon Geon-woo immediately crumpled his face into a frown, as if I had uttered something utterly ridiculous. If it wasn’t true, then it wasn’t. Yet, his way of putting it was anything but charming.
“You don’t exactly have anything to do, anyway.”
When I grumbled under my breath, Yoon Geon-woo let out a low click of his tongue, as if my words were utterly preposterous. I pursed my lips, then probed him cautiously.
“Then what were you doing by yourself? The sun’s already starting to set.”
“Nothing much.”
What? If that was the case, didn’t he, in fact, have time to spare? I longed to contradict him directly, but I refrained, fearing this aloof, cat-like individual would simply hiss at me.
‘It’s only been a week, but his face looks much better already.’
From my lower vantage point, Yoon Geon-woo’s sharp facial contours appeared even more striking. Perhaps it was due to his contamination level stabilizing within a safe range, but his complexion was decidedly healthier than when we first met.
As I continued to scrutinize Yoon Geon-woo, he averted his gaze, then gestured with his chin toward the soiled bedding strewn across the ground.
“I wondered why you were taking so long…”
He appeared rather dumbfounded by the utter chaos before him.
“Ah, I was already worried about that.”
Yoon Geon-woo’s room didn’t even have a bed, let alone any other bedding. Large furniture certainly wouldn’t materialize in a day or two simply by putting in a request for supplies. At this rate, I’d arrive at Blue Building 714 only to find myself sleeping on a makeshift bed of clothes.
“I’d rather stay a few more days at my original accommodation. Just until all the furnishings arrive in your room.”
Since his current contamination level wasn’t immediately dangerous, a few more days’ delay in moving in wouldn’t pose any problems. After finishing the cleanup of the chaotic surroundings, I was about to head back to my old room when Yoon Geon-woo abruptly interjected.
“You’re going back?”
“Yeah, I’ll clean this up and then leave. You can go back to resting.”
With Han Seon-ho also absent, it seemed preferable to simply stay in the room I had been using previously.
“You’re not actually thinking of picking that up and using it, are you?”
“It’ll be clean again if I wash it.”
Yoon Geon-woo behaved as though my words, indicating I intended to take the soiled bedding back, were utterly beyond his comprehension. I, in turn, felt a sudden surge of pity for my mud-soaked bedding and cast a mournful glance its way.
While it was certainly unsightly, it was only lightly contaminated. I figured if I just picked it up, removed the covers, and washed them, it might somehow be salvaged.
Whoosh…!
In that very instant, a torrent of energy erupted from Yoon Geon-woo, swirling around the spot where we stood, as brilliant blue flames burst forth. The moment I looked up, bewildered by his actions, I realized his gaze, too, was fixed squarely on my bedding.
I was too stunned to even attempt to stop him. The blue flames swiftly engulfed my bedding, incinerating every single piece strewn across the ground.
“Are you crazy? What are you doing?”
The flames subsided as cleanly as they had erupted, leaving not even a trace of my mud-caked pillow and blanket. I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded, but Yoon Geon-woo merely acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
“Just buy new ones. How could you possibly use something like that?”
“No, no matter what, how could you just… destroy someone else’s…”
I yearned to retort further, but Yoon Geon-woo had already effortlessly scooped up my duffel bag, which lay sprawled on the floor, and my snack-laden backpack, all with a single hand.
“What are you doing? If you don’t follow me quickly, I’ll make this disappear too.”
He barked, his tone implying that my belongings, clutched in his hand, were nothing less than hostages.
“Hey, no, don’t! There’s something important in there!”
I instantly recalled that the duffel bag held So-eun’s last remaining photograph. I immediately rushed after Yoon Geon-woo, but he clearly had no intention of waiting, disappearing into the room ahead of me.
With no other option, I followed him, stepping into Blue Building Room 714. It was my first time entering that room since the day we had our initial guiding session.
And there, before my eyes, a room awaited me with a sight far different from what I had anticipated.
“…Is this really the same room from last time?”
While becoming his roommate was purely my own request, I couldn’t fathom how things had spiraled to this point. He had just incinerated my bedding and then bolted into the room, leaving me to mentally prepare myself for a shivering night’s sleep, only to find…
“There’s a bed! All the furniture has arrived too.”
If this was indeed the case, I was utterly dumbfounded as to why he hadn’t corrected me earlier when I was fretting over having nowhere to sleep.
“So?”
“What? Is that your answer?”
As I huffed in exasperation and strode towards him, Yoon Geon-woo responded with an utterly nonchalant tone.
“You said you needed them last time. So I told them upstairs to prepare them. What’s the problem?”
“No, if there was something, you should have told me. I thought it was an empty room.”
“I never said there wasn’t anything. You just mistakenly assumed there was nothing.”
Yoon Geon-woo shot me a fleeting glance, as if to ask if I was finally satisfied, then simply walked past. While his words weren’t entirely incorrect, an undeniable sense of injustice stirred within me, prompting me to seize Yoon Geon-woo’s sleeve.
“Yoon Geon-woo, even so…”
“I need to wash up.”
Yoon Geon-woo gestured towards his mud-caked feet. Trails of dirt and dust had flaked off, clearly marking the path he had taken.
‘What an exasperating individual.’
The meticulous care I had grown accustomed to receiving from Han Seon-ho was now definitively over. The stark reality that I was now to live with this ‘golden child’ truly settled in. A peculiar sensation of speechlessness and dizzying exasperation washed over me.
I let out a profound sigh, released his sleeve, and waved my hand, urging him to go wash up quickly. As I watched Yoon Geon-woo enter the bathroom without a single word, a familiar wave of worry inevitably began to surface.
‘One year… I’ll be able to endure it, right?’
Having expended energy on such peculiar matters, I felt utterly drained, despite having accomplished nothing. While I yearned desperately to simply collapse and rest, I forced myself to regain composure and slowly began to tidy up.
While most dorm rooms were much of a muchness, Yoon Geon-woo’s room had always possessed an unusually spacious feel. However, unlike my previous visit, the space was now furnished, imbuing it with a surprising sense of comfort.
Yet, as I surveyed the space, now equipped with essential dorm furnishings—a bed, a desk, and a simple chair—a sudden, unsettling worry began to gnaw at me.
‘Did I… do the right thing?’
My sole purpose in becoming Yoon Geon-woo’s roommate was to provide him with sleep guiding, wasn’t it? Yet, observing the current trajectory of events, it seemed we would simply be cohabiting, drifting further and further from our original objective.
Determined to discuss this with Yoon Geon-woo once he emerged, I perched myself on the edge of the bed, where only a mattress currently rested.
‘Ah, this was here all along.’
My luggage bag, which I had previously left in Yoon Geon-woo’s room, appeared untouched by him, lying neglected in a corner. As it contained nothing more than a change of clothes, it wasn’t a significant concern.
As I began to unpack and organize my belongings, both old and new, a dripping wet Yoon Geon-woo emerged from the bathroom a short while later. Water streamed from his hair, steadily saturating the thin, short-sleeved T-shirt he wore, rendering his skin visible beneath the damp fabric.
“Yoon Geon-woo, you’re going to catch a cold walking around like that.”
“You always say that whenever you see me.”
“That’s because you’re always dressed so lightly.”
Yoon Geon-woo gave a dismissive shake of his head, as if to signal an end to my nagging. There was no conceivable way his hair would dry with such a half-hearted attempt.
“Dry it properly. It’s all wet…”
“I’m fine because of my ability. Mind your own business.”
“What does your ability have to do with your hair? Everyone catches a cold the same way.”
I pulled a towel from my duffel bag and offered it to Yoon Geon-woo. The towel draped over his shoulder already looked thoroughly soaked and useless.
Yoon Geon-woo, however, gave a bored shrug, casually ignoring my offering.
“Don’t need it.”
“What do you mean, ‘don’t need it’? If you’re too lazy to do it yourself, come here and sit down.”
I forcefully pulled the ‘Yoon-child’ who refused to dry his hair onto the seat in front of me. Then, I mind-controlled myself into believing the person before me was Bok-sil, who had just finished a bath, and managed to coax him into letting me dry his hair. Truly, he was a handful, stubborn and high-maintenance.
“If you come out like this again while we’re living together, you’ll have to deal with this every time. Understand?”
“Why would I?”
“Why? Because you’re all wet. How can we sleep together like that?”
I stated the obvious, given that we would likely be sharing bedding for future sleep guiding sessions. Yoon Geon-woo stared intently at me for a moment. Then, his face slowly flushed with embarrassment, and he stammered, opening his mouth.
“Sleep… together?”
You’ve got to see this next! I Just Wanted An Ordinary Life This Time will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : I Just Wanted An Ordinary Life This Time
