Chapter 9: A Jealous Man Who Still Needs Taehyun

The guild members from the other guilds left the dungeon one by one, citing their own schedules, and Rigor and Taehyun were the last to depart. Before they left, the Replica unexpectedly offered its thanks once more.

[[System (Temporary)] Thank you. I think I really do need you. I look forward to working with you from now on.]

“Hm? Uh, yeah…. I’ll help as much as I can.”

One might have considered the Replica’s words shameless, but Taehyun felt a certain joy and satisfaction upon hearing them. There was something good about filling in someone else’s shortcomings.

It wasn’t simply a matter of doing a good deed; it was also about filling out a part of his own nature.

For some reason, however, Rigor seemed to become sulky again upon hearing those words.

What on earth was wrong with him?

Taehyun briefly wondered whether he would have to play another game of twenty questions to pry out the source of Rigor’s dissatisfaction, just as he had earlier.

Fortunately, however, it did not take long to discover what was going on inside that inscrutable man’s head.

It was around the time they returned home.

Seohyun had plans with her friends that day and would be coming home late, leaving only Taehyun and Rigor in the house.

Rigor, who had been silent the entire way, finally muttered in a slightly sulky tone.

“…It’s enough if I’m the only one who needs Taehyun.”

What was he suddenly talking about?

Taehyun stared at that shamelessly composed face for a long moment before something clicked.

Surely he wasn’t…

“Mr. Rigor, now that I think about it, are you jealous of the Replica? Because I keep doing favors for it?”

“Me? N-No. Of course not.”

Rigor coughed and looked away, but his earlobes—and even the back of his neck—were bright red.

Ah.

So that was it.

Come to think of it, perhaps everyone except Taehyun had known all along. No wonder Han Hasang had unusually teased Rigor earlier. If even that gentle man had felt comfortable joking about it, maybe Taehyun really was the only one who hadn’t noticed.

Instead of feeling embarrassed by his ignorance, however, Taehyun put on his most shameless smile and continued.

“Ah, are you really okay? I was worried you were feeling hurt.”

“Y-Yeah. I’m not hurt. Not at all. Besides, Taehyun is only keeping an eye on the Replica so it doesn’t cause trouble, right?”

“Right. I’m only keeping an eye on it. But…. whenever that young AI seems to rely on me, it feels a little strange. I don’t know how to put it. It makes my heart feel all tingly.”

“…Master.”

“Although you still call me Master, you don’t really depend on me that much anymore, do you? You don’t even take my energy during battle anymore, and you don’t need me for some particular purpose like you used to. So I suppose I feel a little anxious about that…. Hmm.”

Taehyun said this while repeatedly stealing glances at Rigor.

How would Rigor react?

Objectively speaking, none of this was wrong. The Replica always needed Taehyun, while Rigor was far more stable than he had been in the past.

So perhaps it wasn’t all that strange that Taehyun had begun to feel a tiny bit attached to the Replica….

But then Rigor’s lips, which had seemed gloomy until that moment, curved into a mischievous smile.

“Our Taehyun has grown up so much. Now he even knows how to whine.”

“What? Uh, wha-?!”

Taehyun’s body suddenly floated into the air.

More precisely, Rigor had grabbed him and swept him into his arms.

Taehyun flailed in alarm as Rigor carried him toward the bedroom.

Or, more precisely, toward the bed.

“W-Wait…?!”

“Our Taehyun must have learned quite a lot from watching those friends today.”

Despite having picked him up as roughly as though he were carrying away a hostage, Rigor placed Taehyun on the bed with remarkable gentleness.

Taehyun’s face grew hot as he hesitated, and Rigor smoothly climbed on top of him.

The embarrassment from moments earlier had completely disappeared.

Looking down at Taehyun was the familiar, confident smile of the Rigor who enjoyed teasing and tormenting him.

Only then did Taehyun stop pretending to be awkward and pouted.

“Well, of course he had to learn. You keep trying to compete with the Replica. What are you, a child? Isn’t that a little childish?”

“Perhaps. Maybe I haven’t learned anything during all those endless cycles, just like my little mechanical friend. And besides, they say everyone becomes a child when they fall in love.”

That was an incredibly blunt choice of words compared to how embarrassed he had been earlier.

Taehyun struggled to decide what to say while Rigor simply watched him.

It was as though he were waiting for some sort of explanation.

Taehyun couldn’t possibly fail to know what Rigor wanted to hear.

He had dragged things out long enough by teasing him.

It was time to say it.

“Yes, Mr. Rigor is always like a child. He pretends to be confident all the time, but he’s still someone who can’t manage without me.”

“Hmm.”

“You decided you wanted to get along with other people without lying, yet you still have all your old habits, so you’re always lying or teasing people. In that sense, you and the Spider Painter are quite alike. The two of you still have a lot of work to do, from what I can see.”

“…”

“It’s the same this time. If you were jealous of the Replica and wanted to beg me for things, fuss over me, whine, and sincerely thank me just like that newly born dungeon system, wouldn’t it have been better to tell me from the start? If you only hint at it after everything is over, how am I supposed to know?”

“Everyone else knew. The Curses knew, and even Han Hasang knew. You were the only one who didn’t.”

“If I don’t know, then tell me! I’m not Mr. Rigor. I can’t read people’s minds when they deliberately choose not to say what they’re thinking!”

“You seemed pretty good at it with the Gatekeeper today. Maybe you can read everyone else’s feelings, but you’re the only one who can’t read mine.”

“Sorry about that. Seriously…”

Taehyun answered every word without yielding an inch, grumbling like a child himself.

But unlike before, he no longer felt as though Rigor was impossible to deal with.

There had been a time when talking to that man felt like talking to a wall.

Not anymore.

The current Rigor, despite acting sulky and grumpy, was essentially telling Taehyun exactly what he wanted.

“The one thing Taehyun knows is that Rigor is always desperate because he likes him. Honestly, perhaps he doesn’t need to know anything else.”

“…!”

“So Taehyun should always stay beside Rigor. After all, who else besides Taehyun would like someone as fussy and self-willed as Rigor?”

You always need me, after all.

Taehyun whispered the words and wrapped his arms around Rigor’s waist.

Rigor’s face turned as red as a ripe tomato, and he said nothing.

Yet beyond that silence, there was a faint sense of satisfaction, as though he had finally heard the words he had secretly been hoping for.

He was already making that face.

Taehyun still had more he wanted to say.

“Besides, need doesn’t only flow in one direction, you know? I need Rigor even more than Rigor needs me. That matters too.”

“…Why do you need me?”

“Why else? Because I like you.”

In this particular feeling, Taehyun had won.

It was a feeling Rigor had possessed long before he had even realized it himself, while Taehyun had carried it inside and struggled with it long before Rigor understood his own heart.

If Rigor knew that and still became jealous of something like the Replica, then that would truly be ridiculous.

What did he take Taehyun’s feelings for?

Taehyun finished speaking and quietly looked up at him.

Rigor met his eyes, a shy smile slowly spreading across his face.

Then, a moment later…

“…Thank you.”

“I love you too, Taehyun.”

The whisper had barely passed between them when Taehyun’s breath was gently stolen away.

Warm, moist heat brushed against his lips as the sunset-colored hair, shimmering in the fading light, spilled softly across his cheek.

That was enough.

Taehyun decided on his own that there was no need to tease or scold this jealous man any further.

Moments that they could never have imagined in the distant past had become intertwined with their feelings and quietly seeped into their everyday lives.

Sometimes things would become tangled.

Sometimes they would bicker and argue.

But even so, they would always lean on each other as they lived their lives.

Another day passed, one in which they once again confirmed that fact.

Taehyun closed his eyes quietly, feeling completely content with it.

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