Chapter 37

If being considerate isn't the right answer, then should I persistently dig into your thoughts?

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

I had expected as much. What is Cha Seo-won thinking? What does he want to say?

"If you have something to say, just say it."

"I don't."

"Are you upset because I didn't tell you about meeting that girl?"

"What does that have to do with me?"

"But why did Cha Seo-won's mouth stick out?"

"Cha Haya."

I thought he would retort that his mouth always sticks out, but he calmly called my name. "Why?" Cha Haya playfully mouthed.

"Just, I'm happy you're rich now."

Cha Haya widened her eyes.

It seemed as if a layer had been peeled off Seo-won's eyes after he finished speaking. The relief in his expression wasn't an illusion.

You can't be serious, right? Is that all you had on your mind?

Cha Haya couldn't shake off her disappointment.

"Rat, that's too much. Did you dislike me because I was poor?"

"…A little."

Is he still half-asleep? Seo-won's reaction was different from usual. Even when provoked, he usually avoids saying anything that could hurt others, which is why he was a good candidate for vice-guild leader and could maintain a balance in friendships.

"Wow, so you kept your distance because I was poor, not because of my dad?"

I thought it was due to inferiority complex, but did you get tired of my poverty and leave? Or maybe both. Anyway, I was poor, so it only left a bitter taste, but it didn't really hurt.

"No. It wasn't that I disliked you for being poor, but the situation."

Seo-won got out of bed, seemingly unwilling to linger any longer.

"What situation?"

"Just, even going to the snack bar felt awkward, and I couldn't casually suggest going out to play."

Seo-won walked with his head down.

"You didn't even eat with me after I got rich, right?"

Looking up from below, Seo-won flinched.

"At that time… it was already awkward."

His downcast eyes clearly showed he was trying to avoid the situation.

Seo-won tried to pass Cha Haya, who was blocking the door. Cha Haya lowered her arm to block the threshold. If he disliked me because I was poor, there would be nothing to say, but he didn't keep his distance even after I got rich. Saying it was awkward wasn't a good enough reason, as it was always Cha Seo-won who pushed me away.

"Why are you running away after throwing the first punch?"

"I never threw the first punch? Move."

"Rather than being awkward, you should have just said it outright. I would have been so happy."

You're too much, Cha Seo-won. Cha Haya, who was joking, sighed.

"…If I had said it outright? Would it have made the money appear? And I said I didn't dislike you. I was already stressed from studying, and everything else was just annoying."

"So, what was the situation?"

"You were a shameless kid who sucked my wallet dry, and I was a fool. I didn't like it when kids talked freely, got it?"

One of the two friends was incredibly rich, and the other was extremely poor.

Classmates always thought Seo-won paid for Cha Haya's PC room fees, but that only happened when Seo-won insisted on going. Cha Haya always remembered and paid him back, but Seo-won said he disliked all those situations. Cha Haya, sensing something different, wore a bitter smile.

"Do you even remember how you reacted when you first came to my house?"

Seo-won raised his eyes, filled with both curiosity and dissatisfaction.

"Is this where people live? I didn't even want to step in."

"Don't push me away. I never thought that much of it."

"Coming to such a place so often was all for your sake."

Seo-won often spent time at their house, the neighborhood playground, or the railing. All were places that didn't cost money.

"Fine. I made a slip of the tongue while half-asleep. Let's stop it."

Seo-won pushed her chest, but Cha Haya didn't budge.

"I thought we had a lot of fun together, even when we had no money. You must have felt uncomfortable every time."

Is it necessary to press this much when the other person has admitted their mistake? But Seo-won's hidden feelings all this time were just that, and it felt like the time they spent together was being negated.

I wasn't this annoyed when I found Seo-won had gone missing. Now, his half-and-half face was grating on my nerves.

"Damn, I didn't know. I thought I had made some mistake. If being poor was a mistake, I couldn't have fixed it. If I had been poor, we would still be distant, right?"

If I hadn't been the top-tier mutant, it would have been impossible to restore our relationship. That was Cha Haya's conclusion.

"Hey… I really am sorry, okay?"

Seo-won took a step back, saying it was an overreaction. But Cha Haya wanted to grab his collar and make him look at her.

"I'll keep living as a poor person. When I go to Korea, I'll donate all my assets and watch you keep your distance again?"

"Don't be sarcastic. You never think about me, do you?"

Seo-won, who didn't accept her apology, raised a sharp gaze.

"I do. It's just too much."

His purple eyes flickered but soon steadied.

"Think about it the other way around. If I had been poor, could you have talked about money openly?"

"Give me all your assets."

"What?"

"See if I can. Or, give me all your assets? If you can talk about money without hesitation, will that prove it?"

"I'll give it all."

"Go to Seoul."

Cha Haya grabbed Seo-won's arm.

Ouch!

Seo-won cried out in pain due to the force of her grip. Cha Haya, startled, let go of his arm.

"Crazy bastard."

Seo-won rubbed his arm to check if it was okay and groaned. He winced every time he moved his arm. Cha Haya, who didn't expect such force to cause a problem, anxiously ran her fingers through her hair.

Seo-won held his right arm with his left hand.

"Get lost. What kind of friend are you? You don't even do this to family."

Seo-won walked past Cha Haya.

Just like at the university entrance, Cha Haya couldn't stop Seo-won. She just followed his departing figure with a blank expression.

She had never cared if anyone pointed at her poverty. Even if Seo-won had, it would have been fine. But why couldn't she bear it now?

Was money so important that it made him keep his distance because of my poverty?

I didn't care about spending money when I was with Cha Seo-won...

'I'm so happy just being with you.'

Suddenly, someone's words came to mind. It must have been a girl she met around her senior year of high school. They met at a part-time job, and she was as poor as Cha Haya.

Whenever the girl visited her house, she would cling to her. She would sit on her legs while she leaned against the wall with her phone, and the same when they watched TV. It wasn't heavy, so she let her, and the girl would always say she was happy just being with her.

They broke up because the girl kept coming to her house without permission, but Cha Haya never understood what made her so happy and content.

'Weren't you happy just being with me too?'

Cha Haya's lips twisted.

She had poured the same complaints onto Seo-won that she couldn't understand from the girl.

Cha Haya's mind was a tangled mess.

***

The landmark in Nam-dong was full of items.

It was the first time Seo-won had seen the reset moment. A black curtain like a gate covered the empty convenience store and soon shrank to a small point.

"…Han Don-hee, that's amazing."

When the curtain disappeared, the convenience store, now stocked with items, was clearly visible.

"Even with us mutants, this is something else."

There was a designated person for gathering supplies, like cleaning the office. Today, it was Han Don-hee and Seo-won. They brought weapons, but they didn't need to draw their swords as expected.

Perhaps because they knew their combat abilities, no vagrants rushed to the reset convenience store first. Even with Seo-won's splint on his right arm.

Han Don-hee glanced at Seo-won as they entered the convenience store.

"Is that Cha Haya's doing?"

"No, it's not."

Seo-won was carrying a market bag with his left arm. Han Don-hee's shoe rack had four bright fluorescent market bags. They were much sturdier than plastic bags and perfect for carrying items.

"Why don't you fix it?"

"It's not serious enough to spend healing stones on."

"Isn't there a healer who can fix injuries from top-tier mutants?"

"I know my body better. It's just a crack, it will heal on its own."

He had cracked a few times fighting mutants, so the tingling sensation was familiar.

"Everyone already noticed. The atmosphere between you two is freezing."

Before, Seo-won kept his distance unilaterally, but now both of them were giving off cold vibes. They didn't openly fight, but there was a tension that made others uncomfortable.

Seo-won filled the cart with frozen pizzas, cereals, and ramen that could last a while. Han Don-hee kindly opened an ice cream and put it in Seo-won's mouth. Only then did she remember that Gang-san and Yoo-chan had asked for ice cream.

After putting a dozen ice creams in the bag, her left shoulder felt heavy. Cha Haya likes soft serve too... even though he's the one who did this to her, she grabbed a few more.

Han Don-hee said their relationship was cold, but Cha Haya seemed unsure of what to do. His gaze would linger on her splinted arm, then show a complex expression before disappearing. On such days, he would return with a mask soaked in sweat, having hunted mutants somewhere.

Seo-won was on high alert, waiting for Cha Haya to return, even while spending time with Han Don-hee. Cha Haya, who left in the morning yesterday, was still nowhere to be seen today.