Chapter 32: In Search of a Home (Part 1)

A certain message popped up, so I asked Kim Ji-eun for her understanding and quickly turned off VRcall.

And then I quickly got out of the VR device and opened the door of my studio apartment.

Then, I saw a square delivery box placed neatly next to the door.

Has it finally, finally arrived?

I quickly picked up the delivery box and entered the room.

And then I started to open the box with my hands, without a knife.

-Riiip! Rip!

I was tearing the tape with a beaming face.

My hands are busy opening the tightly wrapped box.

It’s inevitable since I’ve been waiting for this delivery for quite a long time.

How long have I been waiting!

‘No, no. It’s definitely happier because I waited.’

Isn’t there a saying about the aesthetics of waiting?

It’s worth the long wait.

If this package had arrived immediately after ordering, I wouldn’t have been this happy.

Didn’t the old saying say that marshmallows taste better when you wait to eat them?

A little waiting time was definitely a process of resting happiness.

-Riiiip!

And finally!

My companion, hidden by tape, box, and bubble wrap, finally revealed itself.

It was a dagger!

I finally bought it.

A dagger for going out!

“Oh….”

The silver single-edged blade, shining under the fluorescent light, is beautiful.

Blade length 13cm, total length 24.5cm.

The guard also has a moderate length, and the handle, made of wood and covered with leather, seems to have a good grip.

“…Wow.”

It was a figure that naturally drew admiration.

I put the dagger on my palm for a moment and admired it, then I grabbed the handle with my right hand and swung it.

‘It’s a bit light….’

Considering the characteristics of a dagger, it can’t be helped.

Except for that, everything else was satisfactory.

I grinned and reached for another item I bought together.

It was a sheath.

Finally, I can stop putting the knife in my pocket!

Now I can put the knife in the sheath on my waist!

A big smile naturally forms.

This could be called an innovation in going out.

I don’t have to worry about getting stabbed anymore!

“Good.”

I lay down on the narrow studio floor with the sword in my hand.

And then I held the sword up to the fluorescent light.

The silver blade shines again, reflecting the light of the fluorescent lamp.

Shine… shine shine…

After rolling around on the floor like that for a while.

I realized.

“…It’s small.”

This room, it was too small.

I jumped up from my seat and looked around.

A room filled with a bed and a VR device.

There was even a built-in closet, which made it feel even smaller.

Thanks to that, even though there was objectively little trash, the room looked like a garbage dump.

…I, how did I live in a place like this for the past few months?

I smacked my lips for a moment, then I made up my mind.

It seemed like I needed to move.

“Move?”

At Sung Shihyun’s sudden words, Kim Ji-eun blinked.

Soon, Kim Ji-eun’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You’ve always said some unexpected things… But this is even more unexpected than I thought.”

“…That’s true.”

It’s a somewhat lifeless answer.

Even Kim Ji-eun, who was listening, felt her energy drain.

Suppressing a sigh that was about to come out, Kim Ji-eun rested her chin on the desk and asked.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“So, you want me to help you look for a house?”

“Huh?”

Sung Shihyun’s eyes widened at those words.

Kim Ji-eun shrugged and muttered.

“Isn’t that it? But I can’t think of anything else. Surely you didn’t say it without any particular meaning….”

“…….”

Then, Sung Shihyun closed her mouth tightly.

Kim Ji-eun, seeing that, opened her mouth wide.

Soon, Kim Ji-eun muttered in disbelief.

“…Really? You really said it without thinking?”

“It’s not that, it’s just… I was going to ask if there were any changes in how to find a house compared to before.”

Sung Shihyun scratched her cheek and answered in an awkward tone.

At that, Kim Ji-eun slapped her forehead.

Has the way to find a house changed?

What on earth is this?

Kim Ji-eun couldn’t understand Sung Shihyun’s words at all.

“…Finding a house is all the same. Go to a real estate agent, check the listings, see the landlord’s face, and sign the contract. Isn’t that it?”

“Ah, there’s nothing particularly different.”

“As long as the profession of real estate agent remains, I don’t think this will change… More than that, you’re talking as if you’ve been overseas. Shihyun, you. Did you live abroad for a long time?”

“…? T, that’s not it.”

At Kim Ji-eun’s question, Sung Shihyun shivered.

She shook her head with an awkward face.

At that point, Kim Ji-eun was sure that Sung Shihyun was hiding something.

‘I don’t know what it is.’

Actually, I didn’t really want to know.

No, to be precise, I was curious.

But I didn’t feel the need to pry into what Sung Shihyun didn’t tell me.

‘It could be a sore spot.’

There’s no need to pull the sleeping lion’s whiskers.

Kim Ji-eun thought so inwardly and looked back at Sung Shihyun.

“So, shall I help you look for a house?”

“Huh?”

“No, actually, we promised to see each other’s faces once, right? We can help you look for a house at the same time.”

Sung Shihyun hummed at that.

In the past, I had made a promise to see Kim Ji-eun’s face in reality.

So it wasn’t that I was uncomfortable seeing her face.

It’s just….

“I’m too sorry, that.”

Isn’t it too much of a burden?

Sung Shihyun couldn’t shake that thought.

“Hey, don’t worry about it so much. I said it’s okay. Right?”

To Sung Shihyun, Kim Ji-eun smiled as if telling her not to worry.

It was as she said.

Kim Ji-eun really didn’t think it was a bother to help Sung Shihyun find a new house.

No, to be honest, I wanted to go even if I had to pay.

‘…A super-beautiful girl going around everywhere looking for a new house? How can I resist such a fun event?’

It was absolutely not for any sinister reasons.

Absolutely.

The VRcall conversation with Kim Ji-eun ended.

I feel a bit dazed because it feels like we decided to meet in a flash.

Next Monday.

Isn’t that only 5 days away?

There was a feeling that it was decided a bit hastily.

‘Well, Kim Ji-eun said it’s okay.’

Actually, it’s a good thing for me.

Kim Ji-eun would probably know more about real estate prices and such than I, who had been in another world for a few years, so it would be a great help.

Of course, you can find that kind of information by searching the internet, but there’s no need to say that in front of someone who’s offering to help.

Anyway, the important thing is that I have an appointment to go out next week.

I lightly stroked the new dagger that was carefully placed on the bed.

“Soon it will be time for you to go out.”

I should wear this dagger on that day!

…I don’t know if Kim Ji-eun will be startled when she sees it.

But it can’t be helped.

My anxiety symptoms still don’t seem to be cured, and the trauma switch is still turned on if I don’t have a sword in my hand.

‘It will be cured someday….’

Of course, I think the best way is to go to the hospital.

But, what am I going to say when I go to the hospital?

[Actually, I was dragged into another world for a few years, and because of the terrible things I experienced there, my hands and feet tremble and my chest feels tight if I don’t have a weapon….]

“…They’ll think I’m crazy. Definitely.”

I might be put in a straitjacket under the doctor’s direction and dragged to a mental ward.

So it was impossible to treat this symptom by going to the hospital.

“Sigh.”

Well, I have to wait and believe that it will be cured someday.

Actually, it’s getting better as time goes by, right?

‘In the past, I couldn’t even eat properly if I didn’t hold a knife in my hand, but now I can eat if I just put it next to the dining table.’

This is a great improvement.

You can see how hard I tried to overcome the trauma.

I deserve a reward for this much effort.

‘Well done, me.’

I praised myself and took out the pizza from the freezer.

Normally, the reward for myself would be a freshly delivered pizza, but I can only eat two and a half slices at a time.

So if I order pizza once, about six slices are left.

I can’t throw it away, so I have to freeze it.

“Frozen pizza doesn’t taste good.”

I rolled the dagger in my hand while munching on the soggy pizza that I microwaved.

I was trying various dagger techniques I learned in ‘that world’, when something suddenly came to mind.

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, you can put a cup of water in the microwave when you heat up pizza!

Then you can eat it without it getting soggy!

I opened my notebook to record this realization.

Then, I saw what I had written in the notebook before.

Most of them were useless miscellaneous thoughts, but one of them.

There was one important thing.

[Register for a swordsmanship academy]

“Ah.”

I forgot.
It was the moment when another reason to go outside was added.