Chapter 87

“Is that the face you make when you’re lying?”

Shin Jae-heon felt like his heart had stopped at Shin Yuri’s words.

Did he… have a face like that?

He tried his best not to make the same expression as before while continuing.

“I said I’d answer later.”

You’re sharp in the weirdest ways.

He swallowed a short breath.

He didn’t want to show he was tense.

He forcibly suppressed the habitual upward twitch of his lips and forced the most natural expression he could manage.

But his mind was blank.

“Just like you said, I couldn’t have ignored it back there.”

So he could only parrot her words like a mimic bird.

So Yeri the hunter, watching the whole thing, had long since stopped turning the pages of her book.

“Anyway, I’m not interested in that guy.”

Shin Yuri waved her hand dismissively.

“I told you. What’s the point of making friends in an RP dungeon?”

Her voice was truly light. As light as a feather.

Light enough to fly away on the slightest breeze.

Shin Jae-heon swallowed a brief sigh.

It must have been just a minor blip for her.

He’d seen the words in chat too, but he wondered what expression Shin Yuri had made while typing them.

What kind of face did you make then?

Were you even a little shaken by what that Tenchia guy said?

Or did you brush it off as some silly joke, like when I told you I loved you?

Did his confession shake you even a bit? Or did it sound like just another joke to you, like mine did?

His mind filled with pitch-black questions. One slipped out between his teeth.

“What about in real life, then?”

“Huh?”

He could see Shin Yuri faltering.

He knew he should stop here, but Shin Jae-heon couldn’t.

His heart had already started racing, picking up speed too fast for him to halt.

“Are you thinking of dating someone?”

At his words, Shin Yuri blinked.

In that brief moment, Shin Jae-heon watched her without even breathing.

Do you know I’m nervous?

Do you know?

A selfish wish that she’d notice clashed with the fear that she wouldn’t.

If you knew I started seeing you as more than a friend, you’d definitely feel uncomfortable.

It was then, as he bit the inside of his lip.

After a split-second pause, Shin Yuri held up her hand, splaying her fingers.

“I haven’t really thought about not dating anyone.”

He couldn’t help leaning in at those words.

He couldn’t help hoping for a certain answer.

“If someone good comes along? I might.”

But her follow-up wasn’t what he’d hoped for.

Of course it wasn’t.

A short breath burst from Shin Jae-heon.

If someone good comes along, huh. Yeah, if a good guy shows up.

Which means the person who’s been by your side all this time doesn’t count.

So, you don’t even consider me.

He already knew that.

He was just a friend to Shin Yuri. Nothing more, nothing less.

He knew it, and it had to stay that way.

Because that’s what she wanted.

But his heart felt like it was twisting more and more.

‘But seriously, why’d you come here?’

Are you really curious?

He wanted to answer.

Because of you.

It was true that So Yeri the hunter had come as payment for keeping his secret.

But.

Shin Jae-heon turned to look at Shin Yuri.

She wouldn’t know. She’d never know, even if she died and came back to life.

That he was here because of her, not So Yeri.

That he was here because she came here.

“……”

Why―

He couldn’t open his mouth.

Why do you only know one thing and miss the other two?

Everywhere else, you connect one dot to eleven, but by my side, even when I give you one, you deny it?

Because I haven’t said it directly?

That it’s not a joke, that I really like you, that I don’t see you as a friend anymore?

Because I can’t bring myself to shatter your peace with my own hands?

He bit his lip.

“Isn’t it amazing how the wind carried you up?”

“Of course. Is this magic? A skill?”

“Both?”

While Shin Jae-heon was lost in thought, So Yeri had naturally drawn Shin Yuri into conversation.

“So, you can’t install one of these outside the dungeon?”

“Nope, impossible~”

Shin Yuri gazed wistfully at the wind zone in the center of the magic tower.

She was always like that.

Always curious about everything around her, casting that inquisitive gaze everywhere.

And he liked that gaze of hers.

But.

“……”

Shin Jae-heon’s eyes followed Shin Yuri.

Now she was wondering what the wind could lift.

“So it doesn’t recognize people like an automatic door, right?”

“It’s all up to me.”

“Then if I hang around here and piss off Hunter So Yeri, it drops me?”

Shin Yuri asked, entrusting herself to the wind. So Yeri burst out laughing.

“Yep, it drops you. So hurry up and say the magic words!”

At her gesture, Shin Yuri really shot down to the 19th floor.

Her laughter echoed. Even without seeing her, he could picture exactly how she looked when she laughed.

He especially loved her laughing face.

“Yeri unnie! Unniiiii!”

“Can’t call me that from now on?”

The satisfied So Yeri hunter pulled her back up to the 20th floor. Shin Yuri shook her head.

“Nope.”

“Why? Why? Why?”

As So Yeri hunter asked, Shin Yuri shrugged.

“Then I won’t get to see Hunter So Yeri getting all worked up like this?”

A playful voice rang out.

“Should I have dropped you all the way to the first floor?”

He could see So Yeri hunter narrowing her eyes.

Shin Jae-heon watched from his chair, arm draped over the backrest.

“Wanna try it?”

Then Shin Yuri, meeting his gaze, asked. He waved her off.

“No.”

“Why? It’s fun. She says we can’t do it outside the dungeon.”

She spoke again, floating objects on the wind in fascination.

He knew why her mischievously sparkling black eyes looked so resentful today.

I rushed here faster because you were coming.

But you didn’t. Of course you didn’t.

It must be natural for you.

“It’s not like this happens every day, you know?”

An excited voice rang out. Shin Jae-heon tugged his lips into a smile.

Yeah, it would be natural.

You’re looking at a friend.

At your comfortable friend of over ten years.

Instead of standing, he just gazed quietly at Shin Yuri.

“Hey, think Maletia’s Sword would float here?”

The Maletia’s Sword that Shin Jae-heon used was quite heavy.

It was a rare bound item, one that became enormously heavy for anyone else who tried to hold it.

Hearing that, Shin Jae-heon finally stood from his seat. He reached into his inventory.

[Maletia’s Sword (SS+)]

He pulled out the sword and tossed it unhesitatingly into the windy area.

Shin Yuri’s intrigued gaze followed the sword.

Thanks to that, Shin Jae-heon could look at her to his heart’s content.

He didn’t care if the sword floated or not. Whether it crashed to the floor or cleaved the tower in half.

“……”

I wish you’d love me, even by chance.

He narrowed his eyes.

I wish you’d be aware of me.

Just as I seeped into you at some point, I wish you’d seeped into me unnoticed, and loved me without discomfort.

Shin Jae-heon’s lips felt dry.

Thirst gnawed at him.

―Swish.

Shin Yuri’s hair fluttered in the wind, brushing his cheek.

They could be this close, yet he was just a friend.

“It’s floating! It’s floating! Hunter So Yeri, can you swing a sword like this?”

“You could swing it, but I doubt it’d be very strong……”

So Yeri hunter approached the wind zone, eyes gleaming.

She was clearly eager to experiment with a new attack method(?).

Whatever. Shin Jae-heon’s gaze remained fixed on Shin Yuri.

Her bright face bursting with laughter.

You, pointing here and there in wonder.

“They say a system window pops up if someone else touches Maletia’s Sword. Is one popping up now?”

Shin Yuri asked, eyes sparkling. Shin Jae-heon shook his head.

You, eyes sparkling in fascination.

“None? Then couldn’t you attack with this? It’s gotta weigh a ton……”

As she said that, Shin Yuri suddenly turned to him. Then she poked him.

“You asleep standing up?”

You, looking at me with a different face.

Shin Yuri waved her hand in front of his eyes. Her face appeared and vanished teasingly.

Tantalizingly.

―Snap.

The moment the thought hit, he grabbed her hand.

“What’re you spacing out staring at?”

Her eyebrows shot up as her hand was caught.

You.

Shin Jae-heon nearly said it. He barely clamped his mouth shut and looked away.

A puzzled gaze followed, but he couldn’t say a word.

What do I do?

You’re too beautiful to me.

Because he felt like he’d blurt it out just like that.