44 – Preliminary (1)

After leaving Yoon Do-shik’s laboratory, Baek Woo-jin went to Yu Hee-shin’s temple on the street of light instead of the mansion.

-That’s… … .

– It’s really big.

-But why are you wearing those glasses?

Since it was the end of the day, the street of light was crowded with young apprentice priests who had finished classes, and Baek Woo-jin, dressed in a dark black suit, was enough to attract attention while everyone was wearing white robes. .

Clearly ignoring the gazes and whispers around him, Baek Woo-jin went into Yu-hee-shin’s temple where the door was not yet closed.

“Have you come?”

As soon as Lee Ye-sol, who was standing guard near the entrance, saw Baek Woo-jin, she approached him with quick but unpredictable steps. Then, he took out a small box from the inside of his wide sleeve and handed it to Baek Woo-jin.

Baek Woo-jin received the box from Lee Ye-sol and checked the contents inside.

It was a black-based smartphone.

“It’s not the type I used originally.”

“The one you used was discontinued 10 years ago.”

“is it.”

“If you give me a little more time, I could have saved enough for you… … .”

“no. Okay.”

Baek Woo-jin said while putting the box in his bag and his smartphone in his inner pocket.

“I’m sorry for asking you to run errands like this.”

“Hoho, I went for a walk, so don’t worry about it.”

It wasn’t a lie. Baek Woo-jin’s errand itself actually went with a happy heart.

Instead, you don’t know how much you sweat to stop going into the prayer room and destroying the stone statue of the person you respect.

“Is Claire upstairs?”

“Yes. You haven’t come down yet.”

Baek Woo-jin looked at the stairs for a moment, and Ye-sol Lee quickly continued with a clear voice.

“Why don’t you go see her face at least once?”

“… You must be sleeping.”

“I see.”

“… … ?”

“oh.”

Lee Ye-sol, whose true intentions came out at the moment, secretly covered her mouth with the palm of her hand.

When Baek Woo-jin was quietly looking at Lee Ye-sol.

“Oh, it’s the professor.”

“hello.”

Idney and Maria came in and found Baek Woo-jin standing in front of them and greeted them happily.

Idney stood next to Baek Woo-jin, her pink hair flowing.

“Are you waiting for Executor?”

“Don’t bother Professor, go upstairs and change your clothes first.”

“Eh~”

Before Baek Woo-jin could reply, Ye-sol Lee intervened first, and Idney extended her horse’s tail while clinging to the back of her head.

Damn-!!

“… … ?!”

“sorry. professor. Hana didn’t play with me because she was busy with an assignment, but let’s see.”

Maria grinned, rubbed her back, grabbed Idni, who was silently complaining of pain, and disappeared down the stairs.

-I’m really embarrassed… … . Please be polite in front of the professor. You’re both 20 years old now, right?

-No, even the professor doesn’t say anything, so why are you fucking?! And please don’t hit me on the back!!

– Uh-huh, motherfucker. So will you become a paladin?

The sound of their bickering gradually faded away, and before long it was completely inaudible.

Lee Ye-sol quietly lowered her voice and said.

“I will be responsible for cracking down on children, so stop by and go.”

“I don’t know if there’s anything to crack down on.”

“Oops, I made another mistake.”

Baek Woo-jin slightly lowered his head and looked down at Lee Ye-sol’s exposed crown for a moment, then turned to the stairs.

Lee Ye-sol quickly opens her mouth.

“You can go to the top floor.”

“… … .”

Baek Woo-jin stepped on the stairs one by one without a sound.

**

In the dark where nothing can be seen.

It’s not that the room is dark or anything like that. It was just that Claire’s eyelids were tightly closed.

‘… … .’

I regained my mind a while ago, but somehow my body didn’t move like my heart.

To be more precise, I was in a situation where I couldn’t move a single finger according to my will.

She sighed inwardly for an unknown number of times.

I couldn’t get a good night’s sleep because I was so emotional about yesterday’s events. Then dawn passed and when the sun rose, the smart watch I had put on my bedside glowed and looked like this.

There was no need to find the culprit separately, it was so obvious who was doing it that Claire couldn’t bear to swear inwardly.

In the end, the moment she was about to think again after accepting that there was nothing she could do right now.

Click.

The sound of the doorknob turning caught Claire’s mind.

Click.

sound heard again.

At the same time, Claire’s heart started beating fast.

Although the body could not move, the five senses were not paralyzed. Therefore, her hearing and sense of smell were all normal, but Claire did not feel anything except the sound of the doorknob turning.

I didn’t even feel the presence of someone approaching, and the concentration of magic power didn’t change. I couldn’t even hear the sound of footsteps, which is inevitable for anyone.

And she knew someone who met all these conditions.

Hoo-wook.

The smell of the study, which has now become my favorite, seeps into my nose.

And that wasn’t all.

Swoop. A slight weight was added to the top of the chest with the sound of the soft cloth rubbing.

Claire was grateful even though she was embarrassed by the current situation.

If the body had been free, there would have been a change in the expression.

At the same time, Claire’s mind was complicated.

It was because he couldn’t remember exactly what he was wearing on the bed or the condition of the room.

Clothes are roughly taken off and left unwashed.

‘… I curled up on the bed.’

A bright red flame slowly began to bloom on Claire’s face, who remembered that far.

Something warm and cozy touched her forehead, which made her want to bite her tongue right away if she could.

Swoop.

He brushed his hair over and covered his forehead.

Woe-!!

The crimson heat that bloomed on Claire’s face gradually deepened and turned red.

The added weight to my forehead was gone after a while. However, the heat that bloomed on Claire’s face was still in full bloom.

-Tiriling~!!

A short but loud bell sound.

Then came the sound of clothes brushing and knocking on something.

“I remember that it was over in the morning.”

Baek Woo-jin’s voice clearly penetrates the brain.

Claire’s raging mind naturally calmed down and began to focus on his voice.

“I must have said I needed time.”

“Tsk.”

After briefly clicking his tongue, Baek Woo-jin’s voice was not heard for a while.

silence came again.

Claire waited for the silence to break, and at the end of the wait, Baek Woo-jin’s voice came back.

“Next summer.”

next summer.

what happened then?

But Claire couldn’t get an answer to that question.

Click.

In the ensuing silence, the sound of a doorknob turning was heard.

**

Baek Woo-jin, who came out of Claire’s room, stepped on the stairs and came down.

Coincidentally, Lee Ye-sol, who was preparing dinner, put down the tableware and approached Woo-jin Baek.

“You came down early.”

“There is no reason to stay long.”

“okay.”

When Lee Ye-sol showed a little regret, Baek Woo-jin added.

“Looks like you have a little fever, so go up and check it out later. I didn’t see anything wrong with my body.”

“… yes.”

Lee Ye-sol covered her mouth with her hand and answered quickly.

Baek Woo-jin glared at Lee Ye-sol for a while before saying,

“I’d like you to check it out, and if you’re feeling well, I’d like you to ask me if you’d like to come with me on an outside schedule tomorrow. If you leave a separate e-mail, it is obvious that he will reply that he will be with you even if it is not good.”

“Yes. Surely, I will.”

Lee Ye-sol once again shows herself the top of her head.

Baek Woo-jin looked down at her for a moment and then quietly turned around.

Baek Woo-jin left the temple leaving Lee Ye-sol’s greeting as if it were not a farewell.

The first thing that welcomed Baek Woo-jin was the sky, which was gradually dyed in vermilion.

With the sky gradually darkening in color as the background, we returned to the mansion after passing through the quiet streets of light.

Baek Woo-jin, who opened the door of the mansion and entered the front door, took off his coat and hung it on a hanger. Then, changing into furry slippers given to her by Hana Baek, she walked down the hallway.

Baek Woo-jin, who was walking down the hallway where nothing had changed, hesitated.

A faint coffee scent emanating from the front.

At that, Baek Woo-jin’s steps turned from the study to the kitchen.

After passing through the long hallway and turning the corner, I finally entered the kitchen following the strong coffee aroma.

“under.”

A sigh, close to a sigh, flowed from Baek Woo-jin’s tightly closed mouth.

Coffee sticks scattered here and there and the contents that were supposed to be contained there were scattered all over the floor and table, starting with the shelf.

Bassrock.

An empty cereal bag flew into Baek Woo-jin’s hand.

It seems that the cereal alone did not fill the stomach.

Baek Woo-jin first left the kitchen unattended and walked along the white powder scattered on the floor. The identity of the powder was sugar, and it was directly connected to the study.

I pushed the door open wider than before I left in the morning.

“Sigh.”

A slightly longer breath flowed from Baek Woo-jin’s mouth.

Glittering earrings and necklaces placed all over the study, and miscellaneous shiny things you don’t know where they came from.

Baek Woo-jin looked around the messy library and pulled the bedroom door.

Unlike the study, which has completely changed, the bedroom has maintained its appearance in the morning. except for one place.

– Pia… .

The sound of a chick coming from the bed.

Baek Woo-jin approached the small basket placed next to his pillow.

-Beep… beep… … .

In a basket lined with red cloth, an innocent rascal with cream and coffee powder all over his body curled up and exhaled evenly.

Baek Woo-jin, who watched for a while, quietly left the bedroom and stood in front of the study window.

Tok, Todok.

Through the wide open window, a few white petals that were blooming in the bush flew in and piled up on Baek Woo-jin’s palm.

The petals that reached the length of Baek Woo-jin’s index finger curled up, and Baek Woo-jin held them firmly with his thumb and forefinger.

Poof! Poof!

After swinging it lightly a few times, he nodded contentedly and went into the bedroom.

Click.

The bedroom door closed quietly.