32 – Discipline 14. The leading manager takes care of his colleagues (2)
Bubble bubble.
‘I’m tired.’
The ramen was cooked well.
It’s impressive no matter which angle you look at it from.
Properly cooked kimchi and meat side dishes were placed on the table, and a stand was placed in the middle.
A pot of ramen was placed on the stand. I really liked the well-cooked eggs and the chewy noodles. I guess I was hungry too.
“Baekseo, it’s done. “It is a masterpiece of my conversion after 17 years of ramen life.”
“Wow…. “It sounds delicious.”
The white paper that had already arrived at the table let out an exclamation. Maybe it’s because his voice is kind, but even his exclamations are calm.
There was a familiar smell of shampoo and body lotion.
I turned my head and looked that way.
“Hurry up and eat…” .”
At that moment, I stopped speaking.
‘Ugh… !’
This can’t be right.
I had already anticipated and prepared for this.
A shape more destructive than I imagined invaded my vision.
Wet hair right after washing. A white paper wearing only my dress shirt.
Under the hem of the shirt, the beautiful legs boasting fair skin stretched out. It was truly a fatal sight.
‘Heart… !’
A sudden shock came to my heart.
I managed to control my facial expression by biting my tongue, but it was difficult to control the intermittent tremors of my body.
“Would you like an apron? “I’m afraid it might splatter on my clothes.”
“It’s here.”
“… Why are you giving it to me so carefully?”
It must have been strange to see him handing me an apron with his arms outstretched while trying to avoid eye contact.
The white paper tilted his head and laughed quietly. What a meaningful smile it was.
We sat across from each other at the table and ate ramen in bowls.
I was so tired of going through so many tiring things and worrying so much that I forgot that I was hungry. It felt as delicious as 1/3 of the ramen I ate during the night march during my previous life as a soldier.
I glanced sideways at the white paper. It was lovely to see him eating kimchi and noodles together with chopsticks while tucking one side of his hair behind his ear.
‘If I get married, will I be able to see this view every day?’
A happy thought suddenly arose in my head, which had been just a dull worry until a moment ago.
When I’m having a hard time, I read the Five Hundred Books.
Because just looking at it is healing.
But that doesn’t mean you can enjoy only beautiful things.
I thought while eating ramen again.
‘… ‘He probably doesn’t know about the relationship between the principal and Dalby.’
If I hadn’t had the knowledge of the game, the many clues, and even one of the goblin’s messages, I wouldn’t have been convinced that the headmaster was the one to consider for my assignment.
‘It would be better for me to know that for now. It’s difficult to explain, and it’s obvious that it will only put a lot of pressure on you. ‘I hope you can rest in peace right now.’
I squinted at the white paper’s hand. Although her hand tremors had improved, I still couldn’t help but worry about her.
“Manager, you cook ramen well.”
Suddenly, Baekseo spoke up.
“Because I ate it often. “This is basic.”
“It would be fair to call him a ramen craftsman.”
“What is your tone…?” ? Anyway, I’ll boil it again if you want, so just tell me anytime.”
“I like quick-witted kids like you.”
The white paper spoke jokingly and smiled kindly. Soon, Baek Seo, who was eating her ramen, asked an unexpected question.
“Now that I think about it, is there anyone else other than me who stopped by the manager’s house?”
“?”
What question is this?
Of course it had to happen.
‘Except that Dalbi came often when I was young.’
I have never invited anyone else to my house.
“I’ve never had a friend come over in the past. Why?”
“… It’s nothing. “I suddenly became curious.”
White Paper shook his head.
Was he worried that someone might come to visit in the middle of the night?
‘It makes sense.’
If an acquaintance suddenly visits my house and sees me and Baek Seo together, how would I react?
Well, there was no need to worry about that.
“Is that so?”
I brushed aside the topic and went back to eating ramen.
Every now and then, whenever White Paper came into view, my attention was drawn to her outfit without realizing it.
‘Every time I see you, you’re pretty…’ .’
I am impressed.
The mind is strongly influenced by the body. As I was in the midst of a vigorous period, the sight of an admittedly beautiful woman wearing only my dress shirt was extremely provocative.
Even more so, given that he is the person the other person likes, the level of stimulation is bound to become even more ferocious.
In the end, the heat gathered in my lower body and I couldn’t get up from the chair. I had no choice but to sing the national anthem to myself.
After finally finishing her ramen, Baek Seo stood up from her seat.
“I ate well. “I will do the dishes.”
“That’s it. Customers need to rest. I’ll do it.”
“Okay… ? But what are you doing when you’re not up?”
“I thought of something to think about for a moment. “Go and rest first.”
Even though the national anthem was sung up to the fourth verse, it did not have much effect. It seems he lacked patriotism in his past life.
The white paper watched me quietly for a moment, then smiled a little awkwardly.
“Yes…. “Then I’ll do it next time.”
Fortunately, the white paper left her position.
‘It was dangerous…’ .’
In the end, as a last resort, I was able to overcome the crisis by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and the Mahapanyaparamita Heart Sutra. As expected, the power of God was great.
When I returned from washing her dishes, I saw a white paper. She was sitting on the sofa and looking at her smartphone.
Just listen to that right away… !
“I’m going to take a shower.”
… When an impulsive thought occurred to me, I quickly headed to the shower room.
* * *
While Ahn Woo-jin went to wash, Oh Baek-seo looked around the house. Then he found his middle school yearbook.
Baek Seo looked for Woo-jin with his short hair and carefully stroked his photo. He was the Woojin he didn’t know.
“… ….”
Today, I planned to pretend to be asleep and wait for Woojin to fall asleep, take Baekryundo and stay up all night. This is because you never know when a threat will come.
That’s why I had Baekryundo around me. Although he was calm on the outside, he was on alert on the inside.
Then a word from Woojin suddenly came to mind.
─ ‘I’ve never had a friend come over before.’
No one has come in or out recently.
At least for Woojin, it seemed like a fait accompli.
Baekseo remembers the day Woojin got sick with the flu, and the white porridge he didn’t know who had cooked for him. Who on earth did that?
That too, in a residential area with many security robots, secretly without Woojin noticing… ?
White Paper manipulated the smartphone and placed the personal security drones that were kept near the house at Woojin’s home address. This was possible because approval was given from the security team in this residential area.
“I guess I’ll have to stay with Woojin for a while….”
A white paper that quietly monologues.
It would be better to stay by Woojin’s side until we can be sure of his safety.
It would have been best to stay at Woojin’s house, but of course that would have been difficult.
Aside from getting permission, I didn’t want to harm Woojin’s privacy.
“Then…” .”
I felt like I would need to drain my savings soon.
Soon, Woojin, who had washed up and changed his clothes, came out to the living room.
“It’s a white paper.”
And.
“Shall we watch a movie?”
“?”
An unexpected suggestion came out of Woojin’s mouth.
In a moment.
After turning off all the lights in the house, the two sat side by side on the sofa and covered themselves with a blanket. Soon Woojin turned on the movie.
“What movie is it?”
“Hero movie. Saw?”
“I didn’t see that. “Let’s take a look.”
It was an unexpected situation, but Baekseo realized that Woojin was doing it because he cared about him and remained calm.
Hero movies, a remnant of the culture left behind by older humans, began to play on TV.
A genius engineer flying through the sky with his body covered in steel, a man in tights who was able to use the powers of a spider after being bitten by a spider, a blue man with a flying shield, etc.
The main content was a battle between several heroes using all kinds of skills against evil villains.
It was an old movie made before the mysterious power called ‘mana’ appeared in the world, but the city where it was set was not much different from the feel of current Neo Seoul.
According to history, while billions of people lost their lives, human culture and technology deteriorated. So, it was understandable that the environment was similar now and in the past.
Woojin was immersed in movies. Surprisingly, there was longing in his eyes. Baekseo liked seeing Woojin like that better than in the movie.
“Oh.”
Suddenly, Woojin let out an exclamation.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I forgot something important.”
When Woojin brought a large container of snacks and drinks, the two began to share them.
“… ….”
Now I’m watching a movie with Woojin, leaning side by side under a warm blanket.
The white paper enjoyed a deep sense of satisfaction while maintaining a state of tension.
A white paper gently stroking the forehead.
Suddenly, the trembling of his hands subsided, and the thoughts he did not want to think about subsided. There may be a reason why the penalty for Unsa’s unique skill has decreased over time, but even taking this into account, the rate of improvement was quite fast.
When the movie reached the latter half, Woojin’s eyes blinked helplessly and his head bobbed. As dawn approached, without recovering from his fatigue, he began to fall asleep.
The white paper pretended not to see what was happening and watched the movie in silence.
“It’s a white paper.”
“Huh?”
Woojin, who guessed that he was drowsy, spoke in a subdued voice.
“Recently, I have a new security drone. If someone breaks in, an alarm will sound. Therefore… If I get caught, I can run away too. “You don’t have to worry too much.”
This was said to ease Baek Seo’s concerns even a little.
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
The white paper answered with a kind smile.
The movie ended and the credits started rolling over the black screen. White Paper turned his head to the side. Woojin was sound asleep, leaning his neck against the back of the sofa.
“… You’re careless, Chief. “What if someone attacks me?”
A white paper whispering playfully in a very low voice. That intimate tone filled the air.
Baek Seo got up from the sofa and was contemplating whether to lay Woo Jin down, then carefully took his head and placed it gently on his shoulder.
Then, ignoring the pounding of my heart, I leaned my head against Woojin’s head.
The white paper slowly closed his eyes.
“I know everything….”
The white paper said:
“Pretending not to know.”
The two people had already guessed each other’s feelings.
If we look back at the ways we have shown each other so far, it would not have been difficult for even the most oblivious person to detect the other person’s feelings.
However, White Paper is quick-witted.
It has been a long time since we realized that Woojin took on great hardships to become a leading manager.
I don’t know exactly what the problem was, but I knew that Woojin had no time to be distracted. The white paper only respects the obsession he has as a manager.
So, the white paper had already made a commitment.
I decided to follow Woojin’s path without saying anything.
In the process, I gradually intervened in Woojin’s life and added my own color to it.
On the day when Woojin finally laid down his burden as the leader, Baek Seo naturally planned to reveal his feelings.
“… “Sleep well.”
Baekseo smiled softly and gently placed his hand on Woojin’s hand.
* * *
“This is Five Baekseo. “A new person moved in next door today.”
“…… ?”
“Shall I give you some money to move?”
Suddenly we have a new next door neighbor.