Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 466

468

“Excuse me. Where are you headed?”

As they rode the elevator together, Bum-seok, responding to Rosa’s question, checked the number on his electronic key and said,

“I’m going to room 11212.”

“Oh, really? That’s across from our room then.”

Margaret looked even more flustered and uneasy at those words. She was suddenly under surveillance right in front of her door. She had planned to leave the hotel immediately after parting with Rosa.

Bum-seok wore a triumphant smile as he replied in a calm tone,

“Oh, what a coincidence.”

“Yes. By the way, when are you planning to leave tomorrow? Since we’ve met like this, I’d love to have breakfast together.”

Margaret’s face turned completely pale. If Bum-seok agreed, she would be stuck staying until tomorrow morning.

He glanced at Margaret’s expression and shook his head. It was a good opportunity, but pushing her too hard wouldn’t be good. And he didn’t like Rosa’s brazenness.

Knowing full well what it meant for a man and woman to stay in a hotel, she kept flirting, which annoyed him slightly. Most other people would pretend not to notice and ignore it.

“Well, I have to wake up early and return to the national team’s training camp. Let’s have a meal together if we have the chance in the future.”

Rosa clicked her tongue as if disappointed and pressed the 112th-floor button. After all, the Avand national team she belonged to had also reached the semi-finals, so they couldn’t give their gladiators unlimited leave. With the World Cup semi-final match just three days away, time was tight.

“Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

The elevator quickly arrived at the 112th floor. As the doors opened, Bum-seok took Margaret and headed down the central hallway to his room. Soon after arriving at the door, Bum-seok nodded goodbye to Rosa and entered room 11212 with Margaret.

‘Hooh. It really does look like a VIP room.’

The first thing that caught his eye was the electric fireplace located inside the room. It wasn’t operating since it was summer, but it was great for adding charm to the room.

Three crystal chandeliers were arranged in a ‘ㄱ’ shape along the ceiling, spreading a cozy atmosphere throughout the room with their soft light. In the living room, which doubled as a bedroom, there was a luxurious two-person bed and a flat glass table where two people could enjoy refreshments together.

He opened the refrigerator door next to the TV to see if there was any beer. Drinking alcohol would ease his tension somewhat, and he also needed hydration to quench his thirst.

Bum-seok took out two bottles of beer and called out to Margaret, who was sitting on the living room sofa.

“Margaret, let’s have a drink.”

“Alcohol? The semi-finals are in four days, are you sure it’s okay?”

“It’s fine. You know very well that a beer or two won’t affect me much, even if I’m not a modified human. And the next match is at the Lima City Colosseum, and our opponent is Arkan. I’m very confident.”

The Arkan national team was centered around Chaplin Whisper, who had won the previous World League, and was considered one of the dark horses for this World Cup.

Of course, difficulties were expected, but for some reason, he was very confident.

“But the Arkan national team is strong, aren’t they? Why are you so confident?”

“Hehe. That’s right. But if the renovations are completed and we play at the Lima City Colosseum, they’ll never beat us.”

“Why?”

“Three of their main gladiators use whips, and two of them are terrible at handling other weapons, so they’re quite easy to deal with. Of course, the fact that the remaining one is Amelie is a bit of a problem, but she doesn’t know forest terrain battles well, so she’s just as manageable.

Why else do you think Chaplin Whisper has never won a single match against the Forest Elves on the road?”

“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”

“Yeah. So, take a drink. Honestly, there’s nothing else we can do here besides drink.”

After saying this, Bum-seok poured beer into the glass on the table. Margaret glanced at him, picked up the glass, and took a small sip. Then, a subtle silence fell. After a while, feeling awkward, she quickly drank the entire glass of beer.

Bum-seok also emptied his glass and refilled both glasses with beer.

“Drink slowly. You’ll get drunk… You’re not usually good at drinking.”

“No. I used to be, but I’ve improved a lot since I started having company dinners with my colleagues. My colleagues are quite good at drinking.”

“Hmm. Well, those who use their bodies are probably good at drinking. So, shall we have another drink?”

“Yes.”

The glasses clinked in the air and were emptied again. This time, Margaret tilted the bottle. They drank and then fell into silence again. They usually joked and talked intimately, but today was different. The fact that they were alone together in this large hotel VIP room made them feel awkward.

‘Damn it. Did I get my hopes up for nothing? It would have been better not to come.’

With nothing else to say, Bum-seok went back to the refrigerator.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to get some cheese as a snack. It’s bitter just drinking.”

“Ah, okay.”

Margaret smiled as she watched Bum-seok rummaging through the refrigerator. It was cute to see him, who had lived so self-centeredly, being cautious around her because the atmosphere had changed a bit. At other times, he would have been showing off and talking non-stop.

She put down her glass and looked at Bum-seok.

“Aren’t you going to wash up? You must be tired from playing all day; you should relax.”

“Already?”

“I want to wash up. It’s been so hot today, and I haven’t been able to shower properly.”

“Ah, okay.”

Bum-seok immediately got up and went into the bathroom. He had showered after the match, but his body felt a bit sticky due to the early summer heat.

As the sound of the shower could be heard, Margaret drank alone. The only alcohol prepared was two bottles of beer. It was a bit much for her, but she could handle it. And by the time she had emptied all the alcohol, Bum-seok came out in his pajamas.

“You came out quickly?”

“Men usually wash quickly.”

“That’s why they get called dirty.”

Bum-seok frowned and looked at her.

“Are you going to scrub my back here? I’m telling you this now because you don’t seem to know, but honestly, I’m cleaner than you.”

“Hey. No way……”

“It’s not a lie. Do you know how many times I shower a day? I wash as soon as I wake up, then again after morning training before breakfast, then again after morning and afternoon training, and then again before going to bed at night. There’s no time to scrub even if I wanted to.”

“Heh. Okay.”

Margaret, exhaling a puff of air, got up and then entered the bathroom. And she stared with a deep gaze at the tub filling with water. He had only taken a shower, so there was no need to fill the tub. He was clearly preparing it for her. Bum-seok was truly a man who thought of women in every detail.

She put her hand in the tub water and murmured softly.

“Ah. It’s cold.”

But there was always a lacking part in his thoughtfulness, which was dissatisfying. There was no need to make the tub water ice-cold just because it was summer.

‘Well, it’s a relief that Bum-seok didn’t put ice in it, thinking of me.’

Margaret took off her clothes and hung them on the towel rack. Then, she turned on the shower and wet her body before starting to shampoo.

‘But when did I start calling Bum-seok ‘Bum-seok nim’ [a formal way to address someone]?’

Margaret, washing the foam away with the shower water, fell into thought. The first day she met him was near the LHN headquarters building.

At first, she was excited to see a promising gladiator in the area, but after hearing about the incident that led to the meeting, she was stunned and stood there blankly for a while. She was dumbfounded that he had infiltrated the LHN building, which had security so tight that even she was amazed, alone, to meet the group’s chairman, Balar.

It would have been more likely to simply go and request a meeting, but he couldn’t do that because of his pride, and he insisted on breaking through with force, which was even laughable.

But he did it. He broke through the security that even she couldn’t break through with force and met Chairman Balar. And she burst out laughing at the scene where he only came to steal 3 clang [unit of currency], received 5 clang, and gave back 2 clang as change.

‘Maybe. It was from then on. I respected Bum-seok nim’s confident appearance. I couldn’t do that.’

Until then, Margaret was a cracker [a type of hacker] working in the shadows. She lived by infiltrating computer networks and siphoning off illegal funds from banks, so she was far from being confident. That’s why the shock of learning that such a life existed was truly indescribable.

‘So I wanted to live like Bum-seok nim. And……’

The most touching thing for Margaret was the reason he did such crazy things. When he only stole 3 clang, she knew he wasn’t very greedy, but she never dreamed that he would risk danger for his lover, Gloria.

A man who showed such love to a woman was rare not only now but also in the past before the birth of the elves. Perhaps this was why she changed the way she called him so stiffly.

To cut off her own feelings and protect the love between Bum-seok and Gloria.

Suddenly, Margaret clenched her fist holding the showerhead and sharpened her eyes.

‘But how many lovers does he have! I’m so pathetic.’

Soon she lowered her head with a resigned look. Still, he had done his best for every woman. This was the same for her.

In the past, when she was kidnapped by the Black Society and called him out, he didn’t show any resentment towards her, who had led him into a death trap, and even comforted her. The gratitude and apology at that time became unforgettable memories for the rest of her life.

“Sigh~”

Margaret, who had finished showering, put her body in the cold tub water and shivered. It was definitely cold. But it didn’t seem bad to accept his sincerity. And there was nothing better than a cold water bath to beat the summer heat.

“Did you wait long?”

Margaret came out covering her wet body with a towel. Bum-seok, who was drinking a newly brought beer straight from the bottle, glanced at her and shivered slightly. Beautiful skin illuminated by the soft chandelier light. Moist black hair. And a lively, bright smile. She was truly a beautiful woman.

“Our Margaret is really pretty.”

“I’ve always been pretty. You’re just noticing it now.”

“Hehe. That’s why I’ve been saying you’re pretty all along.”

“But you say that to all the girls.”

Bum-seok quietly put down his glass and smiled brightly. It was the first time in a long time that she had called him ‘oppa’ [older brother or boyfriend]. The first day they met, Margaret had called him that, but as they faced each other in official business, it had changed to the stiff ‘Bum-seok nim’ at some point.

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard that.”

“Heard what?”

“Nothing.”

Margaret let out a long sigh.

“Sigh~ Oppa, you’re so bland.”

“What’s bland? Where in the world is there someone as sincere as me?”

“Well, you’re usually like that, but you always gloss over things at crucial moments.”

“What am I doing?”

“Sigh~ There’s something like that.”

Margaret turned off all the lights except for the bedside lamp with a voice command. Then she sat on the bed and looked at Bum-seok.

“Let’s just go to sleep. I’ve been busy with work lately, so I’m tired.”

“Ah. Really? Well, let’s do that.”

Bum-seok got up, cleared the table, and put the empty bottles next to the door. It wasn’t time to go to bed yet, but he was also very tired from today’s match, so he was desperate to sleep.

Bum-seok took the blanket and made a nest on the sofa.

“Are you going to sleep there?”

“Yeah. We can’t sleep in the same bed.”

Margaret pouted. That’s why she had called him bland just now. He always avoided things at crucial moments. He really didn’t seem like a guy who was dating several lovers. Of course, Bum-seok was showing this behavior to manage his favorability, but she had no way of knowing.

“How can you make the hope of the Avand national team sleep in such a place? What if something happens to your body overnight? It would all be my responsibility.”

“Then what should I do? You know very well that I barely got this room.”

Margaret cleared one side of the bed and called him.

“Come here. But we’re just going to hold hands and sleep?”

Bum-seok felt his esophagus dry up in an instant. He couldn’t tell if it was really for the Avand national team or if she was trying to seduce him.

‘Usually, when a woman says something like that, it means she’s giving permission? Did she get into the mood somewhere? It’s not usually like this yet……’

Bum-seok hesitated, looking at her, and eventually lay back down on the sofa. He could raise the remaining 2 points of favorability with normal conversation, so he didn’t want to take a risk.

If she said those words with a pure heart, and he attacked her here, it would be the end. He would probably be emaciated from Margaret’s nagging for a while.

He had learned his lesson from the Susan incident, so it was difficult to take risks unless he had to.

“Forget it. I’m going to sleep here.”

At the same time as those words, a pillow flew and hit Bum-seok’s face directly. It was the minimum punishment for his indifference and insensitivity. Perhaps because her anger wasn’t relieved, Margaret shouted.

“Oppa! Are you really trying to make me a traitor to Avand!”

Bum-seok, who was looking at her with his head slightly raised, got up and sat on the sofa. Anyone could have noticed at this point. No one would get angry for rejecting a polite invitation.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

The weather is like summer. I went out because I had an appointment with a friend, and the sunlight was stinging my skin. I remember always wearing a jacket or long sleeves during Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving] in the past, but now it’s hot even in short sleeves. The environment has definitely changed a lot.

Then be careful of the autumn heat. I’ll see you again tomorrow.