Chapter 97.2
āShit, shit, shitā¦!ā
Heād been caught.
How? No, that didnāt matter now. The fact was, heād been caught. Absolutely, utterly caught!
“I-Iāll leave!”
Without even thinking, Baek Saheon stammered in a trembling voice.
“Supervisor! Youāre rightāIām not fit to be your roommate! Iāll leave immediately! I swear I wonāt come back!”
Kim Soleum frowned.
“Ugh, my headās pounding. Donāt you know any etiquette? Why are you shouting in a shared building this late at night?”
Shitā¦!
Internally cursing up a storm, Baek Saheon begrudgingly shut his mouth, hating himself for doing so instinctively.
“Braun.”
In the meantime, Kim Soleum turned back to the rabbit doll and spoke.
“Hearing someone beg so loudly makes me thinkā¦ maybe I should give him one chance, even if heās not qualified to live here.”
What?!
“I donāt neā”
“Donāt need it?”
Kim Soleum turned his head sharply.
“Youāre saying you donāt need the chance to live here?”
“ā¦ā¦”
Why did that sound like āYou donāt need a chance to continue living in this plane of existenceāā¦?
Baek Saheon swallowed hard and answered,
“I need it.”
“Really?”
“Yesā¦”
“Good. Then hand over the item.”
“ā¦ā¦!”
“The fountain pen you were using. The one where you write something on a sticky note, and it becomes a suggestion.”
“ā¦ā¦”
“I donāt trust you not to pull another stunt, so Iāll keep it somewhere safe for now.”
How the hell does he know that?
Even as fear crept up his spine, Baek Saheon gritted his teeth.
“Iā¦ canāt.”
“ā¦ā¦”
“T-Think about it, Supervisor, sir. Honestly, I havenāt caused you any harm with my actions, have I?”
He spoke desperately, his voice full of urgency.
“I need this item. I absolutely canāt give it to anyone. I swear I wonāt use it on you again, so pleaseā¦”
“Hmm.”
Kim Soleum responded flatly.
“Why would I believe that?”
“ā¦ā¦!”
“Take a good look at yourself.”
Kim Soleum pointed at him.
“I told you the confirmed entry method to get into Sekwang Technical High School. Even when you tried to kill me there, I didnāt get madā¦”
It was a simple fact.
“And yet you repay me with hypnosis? I have no reason to trust you.”
“ā¦ā¦”
Thatā¦ that wasā¦
He couldnāt argue with that.
Even if the supervisor in front of him was a lunatic, he was a skilled one. And perhaps Baek Saheon was the crazy one for picking a fight with him.
āWhatās happening? Was I wrong?ā
Baek Saheonās mind whirled, torn between faint guilt, self-loathing, and overwhelming fear, all tangled in a storm of rationalization.
And thenā
“But since itās still your item, hmmā¦ Let me offer some compensation.”
Huh?
Kim Soleum reached for something heād placed on the kitchen table.
It was transparently wrapped andā¦
“Your left eye.”
What the fuck!!
Baek Saheon barely suppressed a scream as he stared at the small black sphere with a faint violet iris shifting within.
Butā¦
“This isnāt just an eye. Itās bio-equipment.”
“ā¦ā¦!”
“A piece of equipment with certain abilitiesā¦”
Kim Soleum explained the capabilities of the āeyeā. As he continued, Baek Saheonās expression shifted dramatically.
“ā¦ā¦”
“Do you want it?”
Baek Saheon clenched his teeth.
It was hard to believe, butā¦
“ā¦Yes.”
He willingly handed over the pen.
With trembling hands, a mix of anticipation and confusion, he accepted the bio-equipment Kim Soleum offered him.
āHuuā¦ā
Thatās a shitton of cold sweat.
I finally ended my conversation with Baek Saheon and slumped onto my bed, battling headaches and coughing up blood.
It had been a struggle to mask my pain.
āI managed to maintain control, didnāt I?ā
At one point, heād lunged over to nab the eye and I almost flinched. It was ridiculous to be dealing with this in my condition, butā¦
There was no time for self-pity.
I couldnāt leave a sociopath with a brainwashing item lingering near me while I was sick for the next three days.
āI think I handled the carrot-and-stick approach well.ā
I thought about the purple eye Iād handed over.
It wasnāt a threat to me but had useful features for Baek Saheon.
Well, it just so happened to be a left eye, so he could use it without needing an extraction.
Anyway, of all people, I ended up as roommates with that guyā¦ Though, come to think of it, Go Yeongeun and Jang Heoun were the special cases, and Baek Saheon might just have the average company personality.
In this place, it feels like you canāt swing a stick without hitting a sociopath!
āThe more I dwell on it, the more depressing it gets. Letās think of something positiveā¦ā
For exampleā¦ the upcoming gift presentation ceremony.
“Braun.”
I stood up and retrieved an item from my tattoo inventory.
A ribbon hair tie, which I had bought in lieu of change at the boutique.
“A gift.”
– ā¦ā¦!
“Do you like it? I had a feeling you might have guessed itās for you.”
If it didnāt suit his aesthetic, Iād probably end up sweating bullets trying to find another offeringā¦
But Braunās response was cheerful.
– Ah, it was quite obvious, wasnāt it?
– Not realizing it wouldāve been unacceptable as a show host, but pretending not to notice is also part of an entertainerās job.
– At last, even this stuffed body can be properly dressed.
His tone carried a rare note of excitement.
āThank goodness.ā
Smiling, I adjusted the hair tie and neatly tied it around the plush bunny.
“Thanks for everything, Braun.”
The bunnyās round button eyes gazed into the air. When I looked away, his familiar, upbeat hostās voice followed.
– As your friend, it was the natural thing to do, Mr. Roe Deer.
The ribbon might have been purely ornamental, but Braunās voice brimmed with joy as it was donned like a bowtie.
– A neat appearance is an essential courtesy for anyone performing in front of an audience, wouldnāt you agree?
Braun seemed delighted as I repeatedly adjusted the bowtie for the perfect angle. At the same time, he urged me to rest.
– Mr. Roe Deer, maintaining your condition is a basic professional skill. Rest is essential, so itās best you head to dreamland promptly!
“Gotcha.”
A gift presentation ceremony for a good friendāone of todayās few rewarding momentsā¦
Normally, Iād revisit the wiki for a read-through, but I doubted my broken phone or my ailing body could manage it tonight.
āIāll get a new phone or repair this one first thing tomorrowā¦ā
As long as the Memorial Popsocket was intact, swapping phones wouldnāt hinder my wiki access.
I lay back comfortably on my bed and prepared to remove the popsocket from the broken phone.
“ā¦ā¦”
– Friend?
I quickly flipped the phone over.
The popsocketā¦ had a crack.
