LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 141
In an officetel located in Seoul.
Yawnnn….
There, the security guard Dong-hyuk let out a long yawn.
“Ahh, so bored.”
When he first started working at this officetel, he couldn’t hide his tense demeanor.
Just look at how luxurious this place is.
‘They say people who live here are all picky…’
Asking him to take out the trash, running errands for cigarettes or alcohol, or throwing a fit just because he didn’t greet them properly.
Having read all sorts of experiences and horror stories online, Dong-hyuk assumed the residents here would definitely be like the characters he had read about.
‘If it gets too bad, I’ll just quit.’
And then later, while having a drink with friends, he could shrug it off by saying, “You won’t believe the people I dealt with!”
Even if it’s a rather trivial story, it’d be good enough for some cheap bar snacks, right?
But to his surprise, being a security guard at this officetel wasn’t as bad as Dong-hyuk expected.
In fact, it was quite comfortable.
There were no troublesome customers, and the workload wasn’t that intense.
He just wanted to stay as long as he could.
As he thought this, Dong-hyuk suppressed another yawn and focused on his work.
He had a number of duties, but the most important one was to prevent any suspicious individuals from entering.
So, while he stared intently through the glass window,
Yawnnn…
It wasn’t long before he let out a deflating sigh and dropped his gaze.
Due to the building’s layout, anyone wanting to enter would have to pass through the security room where he was stationed.
Unless they were absent-minded, they would have no choice but to catch his eye.
So, Dong-hyuk shifted his attention to something else.
Tap tap.
Then came a small sound.
Getting up from his seat, Dong-hyuk noticed a little girl standing at the door, knocking.
“…A foreigner?”
Seeing the bright pink hair swaying at her waist, he muttered without realizing it.
However, there was no such foreigner among the residents of this officetel.
Did one of the residents dye their hair or something?
Even so, it was strange. Although Dong-hyuk had worked here for months, he had never seen such a small girl come and go.
‘Even a shut-in would go outside at least once… right?’
After pondering for a moment, Dong-hyuk came to a self-assured conclusion.
“Ah, she must be a guest.”
How silly to overthink such a simple question; I must really be bored.
As he scanned the resident list with a wry smile, he looked up again.
“…Huh?”
The girl, who had just been there, vanished without a trace.
He had clearly seen her standing at the door.
‘…G-g-g-g-ghost?!’
As a chilling sensation swept over him, Dong-hyuk shivered.
No human could vanish like that in an instant.
If a ghost appeared in broad daylight, just how strong could it be?!
“Now that I think about it, the easygoing vibe was suspicious…!”
An officetel filled with ghosts!
In that instant, Dong-hyuk, who had turned into the protagonist of some horror game, was in full-blown panic when
“C-cough…! Are you okay?!”
A gentle voice pierced his ears.
As Dong-hyuk automatically looked up, he saw a woman he had seen many times helping the girl who had fallen on the ground.
“Are you hurt? You shouldn’t rush off like that.”
“I’m fine.”
As the woman brushed the dust off the girl’s clothes while scolding her, the girl responded.
Only then did Dong-hyuk realize that the girl hadn’t disappeared; she had just tripped and fallen out of sight.
And at the realization, an overwhelming wave of embarrassment washed over him.
“Uuuhhh…”
Thinking about the broad daylight, the ghost thing…
This was all because of that horror game stream he’d watched a few days ago.
Dong-hyuk, having extended his imagination without limits, crashed down to reality like Icarus losing his wings and flailed in shame.
“U-uh, is there something going on?”
If the voice hadn’t been inviting, he might have continued wallowing in embarrassment indefinitely.
But his survival instincts forcibly brought him back to his senses.
“Ahem! I-I just have a cramp in my leg. What about the person next to you…?”
“Oh, she’s a girl I decided to live with from now on.”
“Seems like she’s from abroad?”
“From abroad… uh, yeah, sort of.”
‘…What’s that supposed to mean?’
His suspicion was piqued by her lukewarm response, but Dong-hyuk smoothly moved on to finishing the registration process.
The girl, apparently having trouble walking, was being supported by the woman.
‘Haven’t I seen that somewhere before…?’
With a strange sense of déjà vu tickling his mind, Dong-hyuk stared hard at the girl’s back, suddenly caught by surprise when she turned around to look at him.
If she caught him staring openly, she might think he was a pervert.
And it wasn’t hard to imagine the disaster if rumors started circulating about a creepy security guard who leered at little girls.
“…”
“Why are you looking at me?”
“Nothing.”
He desperately pretended not to notice, and somehow it worked. After pausing for a moment, the girl moved away again.
‘By the way, she’s really cute…’
And her voice was adorable too.
“Is she a celebrity? Or maybe a child actress? With a face like that, she could probably do anything.”
That could explain the sense of déjà vu he felt.
It was possible he’d glimpsed her face in a video without realizing it.
“Sigh… Let’s just get back to work.”
Snapping out of it, Dong-hyuk picked up his tablet.
Fortunately, no one witnessed the embarrassing spectacle he’d just made, except for one.
*
Why is she staring like that?
If I had sensed any malice or ill intent, I would have given her a piece of my mind, but since that wasn’t the case, it felt awkward to say anything.
“…Are you okay?”
“Hmm?”
“You look a bit off. Maybe it would have been better to stay a little longer at Demoninus to recover?… I might’ve forced this on you.”
“It’s not because of that.”
I suggested we live together….
I shook my head at Da-eun, who mumbled something like that.
“Just… it feels a bit strange.”
It was just a hasty excuse.
But it wasn’t entirely a lie either.
Having once lived on Earth, the memories were all faint and seemed like they could slip away at any moment.
I was feeling two conflicting emotions: unfamiliarity and familiarity that couldn’t coexist.
Ever since Da-eun suddenly proposed we live together.
Things moved swiftly.
“Why not?”
“…Huh? Is it really okay to answer that easily?”
“It’s stuffy here, and I don’t want to stay.”
Being someone who had thought to eventually leave Demoninus, I had no reason to refuse.
“Do whatever you want; you won’t listen to me anyway.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I don’t understand why I would take care of this arrogant little girl.”
Edel felt the same way.
In fact, she was the one shoving me out the door looking relieved.
And that was how I ended up standing in Da-eun’s officetel.
By the way, everything progressed so quickly that I hadn’t gotten to ask a crucial question.
“Are you okay, Da-eun?”
“U-uh? Where did that come from?”
“You have a new family member now.”
… I don’t want to admit it, but right now I’m not much help.
Actually, it would be a blessing if I didn’t hinder her at all given that I could barely walk.
Plus, I’d be spending more money than when I was living alone, becoming a source of inconvenience in multiple ways.
“Not inconvenient at all! Honestly, I’ve thought this place was too big and lonely to live in alone.”
“What about the money?”
“If I was worried about that, I wouldn’t be living in a place like this. Ah, Kana probably doesn’t realize how expensive this place is.”
“…”
Is she trying to reassure me, or is she bragging?
Her smug demeanor was quite infuriating.
“And Kana helped out a lot too! She saved me from nearly dying, covered most of the travel expenses, bought me an expensive ring… I should be the one giving back!”
“Then buy me a house.”
“…That’s a bit much.”
Da-eun’s confidence deflated instantly.
“N-no, no… I could buy a house, but would Kana be able to live alone? The stuff from Earth is so different from Silia!”
“How hard could it be?”
“Don’t think so naively! There are plenty of cases where kids caused accidents just by playing wrong!”
“…Kids?”
“She’s just a kid! If she didn’t know anything, what else could she be?”
“…”
I didn’t tell Da-eun that I had once lived on Earth.
I thought of myself as an experienced new employee, even though my memories were faint at best.
Thus, I couldn’t argue with Da-eun’s reprimand and kept quiet.
If it were just a matter of lost memory, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but what I had seen was different from the vague memories that existed within me.
For instance, that thing in Da-eun’s hand.
‘What the heck is that?’
‘This? It’s a phone.’
‘…Phone?’
‘Um… how should I explain this?’
The phone I remembered didn’t look anything like that…
Caught in shock, Da-eun mistook my reaction and excitedly explained.
In any case, my memories were not very useful.
“Ah… do you not know? This is called an ‘elevator.’ It’s used to move effectively between high places.”
As I was at a loss for words, Da-eun took the opportunity to tease me.
I wasn’t pleased with that, so I pouted.
“I can do that too.”
“Really? You say Kana can make this? It may look simple, but it operates on a very complex principle. It’s not easy to make.”
“I didn’t say I could make it. I said I can use it.”
“…Not make it, but use it?”
Da-eun exchanged glances with me, sensing the dread looming.
“…Anyway, all you have to do is go up and down.”
I know a way to move much faster than this.
It might make you a little dizzy, but I can guarantee the effectiveness.
“Want me to show you?”
“…No.”
Da-eun lowered her tail.
Just as a moment of awkward silence threatened to elongate, the elevator chimed joyfully and opened its doors.
Quickly stepping out, Da-eun ran toward the door.
Ding, ding ding!
Bang!
“—Come on in! This will be Kana’s new home from now on!”
“Hurry up!”
In her excitement, Da-eun swung the door wide open while repeatedly urging me.
Did she forget that I was struggling to walk by myself?
After glaring sulkily, I leaned against the wall and took one painstaking step at a time.
“…Ah, sorry.”
Realizing her mistake, Da-eun returned to help me, and I finally made it to the door.
The ajar door swung wide open.
And there revealed Da-eun’s haven.
“…Wow.”
I stepped forward, leaving behind Da-eun, who was puffing up her chest proudly.
It was spacious, luxurious.
This was a different kind of luxury from the castles I had seen a million times.
And another sight welcomed me.
“Da-eun.”
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“…The house is dirty.”
“…Huh?”
As I scanned the cluttered piles of items and trash, memories of the first time I visited my father’s house came flooding back.
Of course, it wasn’t as bad as back then…
Why is it that the people who bring me along always leave things like this?
“I swear, I clean up every day! But I couldn’t do it lately because I’ve been so flustered!”
“Ugh…”
What can I do?
I can’t scold the landlord, so I have no choice but to endure it.
With a sigh, I dragged my ailing body into Da-eun’s place.
“I’m telling you, I really do clean up!”