Chapter 6 - Today is my first time...
[ Today is my first time... ]
=== Today is my first time... ===
Ah, an unfamiliar ceiling.
...?
Wait, this isn't even a ceiling.
It was dark.
The pungent smell of laundry detergent stung the tip of my nose. The space was incredibly cramped.
"...Where am I?"
My groggy brain slowly began to function.
Narrow walls, fabric brushing against my arms, legs folded up to my chest.
Ah.
A closet.
My memories came rushing back all at once.
The SS-class Special Meal.
Hiding because of mana depletion, and then passing out.
'...I hid because it told me to, but...'
Did I really not get caught?
If I'd been caught, they definitely would've woken me up. They would've been thrilled to interrogate me about why the hell I was sleeping in their closet.
Even if they didn't, they would've at least left the closet door open.
Muttering to myself, I pulled out my phone to check the time.
'Four hours?!'
I'd been passed out for nearly four hours.
Holding my breath, I listened closely.
There was no sign of life.
No sound from the living room TV, no footsteps.
I wasn't sure if I should be relieved that I hadn't been caught, but I couldn't help but feel incredibly awkward.
I carefully pushed the closet door open.
Creak.
I slipped out as it gave a faint creak.
The utility room light was off.
The living room was dark, too.
Only clean, empty dishes remained on the dining table.
"...They ate it."
I wondered what Yoo Seo-rin and Yoo Ra-eun thought of the food.
Coming home to find a feast laid out with no one around must have been bizarre...
Eating food from an unknown source without a second thought... I was genuinely worried about how they'd survive in this world being so naive. Then, a sudden realization hit me.
'Ah. If they ate the food, they must have noticed the buff, too.'
Still, since they hadn't contacted me, they probably didn't suspect me. What a relief.
Letting out a long breath, I quietly opened the front door and slipped out.
Only after I left the apartment complex did I finally relax.
My status window had returned to normal before I knew it, so my mana was fully restored, but a terrible fatigue still lingered from sleeping crumpled up for four hours.
But the more I thought about today's events, the clearer my head became.
SS-class.
Special Meal.
All stats increased by 100%.
This time, I felt it clearly.
The unique ability 'Snail Husband,' which allowed me to obtain this with a single click, was no mere 'housework ability.'
It was a game-breaking unique ability.
"How... should I use this?"
Special Meal (SS).
A skill that consumes no ingredients, materializing food out of thin air using only mana and stamina.
This time, I had recklessly poured in all my mana, but I knew instinctively:
If I had balanced my stamina and mana, I wouldn't have passed out.
The issue was its performance.
All stats doubled, lasting for twelve hours.
This went far beyond a simple buff.
While this would apply to Hunters of any level...
For S-class Hunters in particular, the efficiency would be absolutely insane.
If they ate just one meal before a battle, it could easily turn an S-class into an S+... no, maybe even an unprecedented SS-class.
It could probably elevate a skilled A-class Hunter to S-class, too.
"Money..."
The thought crossed my mind.
How much could I charge high-ranking Hunters for a single meal?
What if I signed informal contracts and worked as a dedicated pre-raid buff chef?
Tens of millions of won per meal?
Hundreds of millions...?
Or a direct contract with the Association?
......
But...
"Then I'd immediately be put under strict management."
The moment this ability is revealed,
since I have no combat power of my own, instead of being treated as a 'Support-type S-class,'
I might become a 'national strategic asset.'
I could end up spending the rest of my life cooking under constant surveillance, all in the name of '24-hour protection.'
Some might think I'm being needlessly paranoid about the Association, or that I'm overreacting.
But the Association was exactly that kind of crowd.
Without backing, you just get used.
There were even rumors circulating in secret that a powerless S-class blacksmith had been exploited until they committed suicide. My suspicion was entirely reasonable.
I didn't know if the rumors were true, but there was no harm in being careful.
"This... isn't a card to be played lightly."
At least not until I find a trustworthy, powerful connection.
"Third floor. The doors are opening."
"Huh?"
"Ah, hello?"
Just as I was agonizing over it, I ran into someone completely unexpected.
Han Cho-yeon, the girl I'd run into in this exact same spot yesterday.
As the elevator doors opened, she stood there in a somewhat awkward posture.
At first, she only wanted to get closer to him.
But how to go about it was the problem.
"We've only met once. How could we run into each other 'by chance' again..."
Unless they met under the guise of a coincidence, she had no excuse to suddenly approach her next-door neighbor.
She couldn't exactly walk up to him and say, 'Excuse me, you broke into my house, didn't you?'
So, Han Cho-yeon rationalized it to herself.
Yoo Ga-on had entered her house without permission, so why couldn't she do something a little shady, too?
"Let's just... keep an eye out from inside."
That was how it started.
She turned the flowerpot so it faced the entrance.
By casting a simple surveillance skill,
she could at least sense when people came and went.
Normally, she used it to check for deliveries,
since couriers often left packages in front of the door these days.
Fiddling with her phone to pass the time, she kept half her consciousness anchored near the entrance, running to the door to check whenever someone was detected.
"Ugh."
Of course, every time was a false alarm, and before she knew it, dawn had arrived.
"What on earth am I doing...?"
Just as she was starting to feel a wave of self-loathing, wondering why she cared so much about this guy—
Buzz—
'Sigh. It's probably not him again.'
Just as she decided to check this last person and go to bed,
"Oh...!"
Finally.
The face she had been waiting for appeared.
She hastily withdrew her senses and stood up.
She glanced in the mirror.
Is my expression okay?
She couldn't let it be obvious that she'd been waiting.
After drinking a glass of water, she stepped out of her front door and walked naturally toward the elevator.
"Third floor. The doors are opening."
The elevator's automated voice echoed through the hallway.
And the moment the doors opened,
their eyes met.
Ah.
This feels a bit too calculated.
"Huh?"
Yoo Ga-on let out a surprised sound, and Han Cho-yeon spoke, trying to look as casual as possible.
"Ah, hello?"
"Hello. Are you heading to the convenience store?"
I asked because she was wearing comfortable, casual clothes.
"Pardon?"
"...Yes?"
"Oh, ah, yes! Yes! I was just heading to the convenience store..."
'...Why is she so flustered?'
Maybe because we ran into each other so unexpectedly, Han Cho-yeon was acting incredibly awkward, as if her brain had short-circuited.
I was about to walk past her to give her some space...
But she took a step closer.
"Excuse me... do you happen to have some time right now?"
...Suddenly?
I stopped in my tracks.
"Yes? Ah... yeah. What's up?"
A brief silence followed.
Han Cho-yeon hesitated for a moment, then threw out a completely unexpected question.
"Would you like to have a drink?"
"...Pardon?"
"Uaaah...! It's not like I do this with just anyone—"
And with that, Han Cho-yeon began rattling off explanations at rapid-fire speed.
But before I could even process what she was saying, my brain ground to a halt.
Right now?
At this hour?
Suddenly?
When running into each other in the elevator yesterday was literally our only interaction?
No way.
My heart sank.
Could it be?
By some absolute, tiny chance...
Was there a camera in her house that I missed, and did she catch me today?
'Excuse me, did you happen to enter my house?'
Is she trying to bring that up indirectly?
Or...
to test me?
Probing me under the guise of having a drink?
My thoughts raced.
There was no way a beauty of Han Cho-yeon's caliber would actually be interested in me. Despite the sudden invitation, only worst-case scenarios filled my head.
What if I refuse?
I still didn't know how sure she was.
What if I ended up looking unnecessarily suspicious? That suspicion could easily turn into certainty.
'Why is he avoiding me like that?'
Something like that.
Or, in the worst-case scenario...
reporting me to the Association.
...Am I overthinking this?
"Ah... so suddenly?"
I laughed lightly, trying to gauge her reaction.
Han Cho-yeon, having calmed down a bit, shrugged and continued.
"We live next door on the same floor, but we haven't even greeted each other properly. Just... as neighbors?"
Neighbors.
That word actually made me more anxious.
It felt like a relationship I couldn't easily run away from.
I caught my breath for a brief moment and nodded.
"Ah, well... sure. I don't really have anything to do anyway."
Since it was true that I had nothing to do.
At my agreement, Han Cho-yeon's expression visibly brightened as she led the way.
"...Excuse me? Why back here..."
But she wasn't heading outside the apartment complex... she was walking toward her place.
"Just wait here for a moment and I'll go buy some alcohol!"
"...Pardon? No, wait—"
Han Cho-yeon practically shoved me inside her apartment while my brain was still frozen. Leaving me standing there blankly, she ran off to the convenience store.
...What on earth is going on?
Bringing a guy she barely knew—and one with absolutely nothing going for him, at that—into her own home to drink.
She didn't look like a honey-trap scammer...
"Shit... am I fucked?"
I've definitely been caught, right?
Having reached the most logical yet tragic conclusion, I slumped down in the entryway, clutching my head as I awaited my impending doom.
Fortunately,
most fortunately,
I hadn't been caught.
At least, not judging by the current atmosphere.
The drinking session began. Han Cho-yeon had returned lugging a load of soju and beer, and we sat around the table in the middle of the room, pouring drinks and eating snacks.
As one glass turned into two,
the atmosphere became surprisingly relaxed.
I had worried it might be an interrogation, but thankfully, Han Cho-yeon only talked about everyday things.
Like how she was actually a nature-type Awakened,
to how grueling Hunter work was.
To how too many strange plants were appearing in Gates lately.
To how she hadn't known someone around her age lived on the same floor.
Ah, Han Cho-yeon was twenty-three. She was a year older than me—a noona.
Even though we were practically strangers, as I chimed in and reacted to her stories, the conversation flowed surprisingly well...
And above all, Han Cho-yeon was gorgeous, so it was a feast for the eyes, too.
...And she had an incredibly 'generous heart,' too.
By the time we'd emptied two bottles of soju and opened a third can of beer, Han Cho-yeon's cheeks were visibly flushed.
"Umm... but you know..."
Her words slurred slightly.
"I really don't do this with just anyone, you know?"
"...? Ah, yes."
"Seriously. Don't misunderstand. I'm not that kind of person."
...Didn't she say that earlier?
"It's just... well..."
Holding the can with both hands, she stared intently at me.
"When I saw you in the elevator yesterday... it was a bit strange."
My heart skipped a beat.
Here it comes.
"...What do you mean, strange?"
"Well, rather than strange... um... I can't really explain it..."
A brief silence followed.
I kept my face as calm as possible to avoid showing my panic.
"You look... so ordinary."
...Wait, is that an insult?
"But you have this vibe that isn't ordinary."
...?
What, is this some kind of oxymoron?
Please, just tell me you won't report me.
But her next words went in an entirely unexpected direction.
"So I was curious."
"...About me?"
"Yes."
She nodded, then suddenly blushed and added,
"No, not in that* way! Just as a neighbor! As a resident on the same floor!"
Here she went again.
It was cute how she kept struggling to explain herself. Was she really this drunk?
"I don't normally ask people to drink with me first."
"Yes."
"Really. I don't do this with just anyone."
"Right, right."
"Today is my first time."
Why was she even saying that?
Maybe because the alcohol was kicking in, Han Cho-yeon started repeating herself.
"Don't misunderstand... I'm not an easy person..."
"Yes, you certainly don't seem like one."
"Really... I don't let just anyone into my house... Since you've already been inside anyway..."
...Wait.
"Ah."
"...Ah."
I got caught, didn't I?