Chapter 27

< OFF(3) >

“Mr. Han Yujin?”

Kim Sung-han looked worriedly at the man across the table.

The glass that had fallen from Han Yujin’s hand rolled and stopped when it hit a plate. The spilled drink dripped down to the floor beneath the table.

“Are you okay?”

In response to the question, Han Yujin shook his head slightly and let out a deep sigh.

“Mr. Kim Sung-han.”

He lifted his head, which had been lowered, and let out a series of sighs. His half-open eyes and flushed skin clearly showed that he was heavily drunk.

“It seems I’m quite drunk. Let’s get up now.”

“No, wait a moment.”

Han Yujin shook his head.

Despite being drunk, his pronunciation was clear and his voice was sharp, which made Kim Sung-han momentarily confused. Is this person really drunk?

“There’s something I still need to do.”

“Something you need to do?”

“Yes. I don’t want to, but... I have no choice. Ah, really, why such a thing...”

He muttered to himself and rubbed his face. His expression clearly showed that he really didn’t want to do it, making Kim Sung-han curious about what he was going to do.

“If you tell me in detail, I can help you.”

“Help... No, just sit there quietly. Don’t laugh. Don’t treat me like I’m crazy. Just sit there solemnly as usual... Yes.”

Then he let out another deep sigh.

Han Yujin, looking as if he might cry, took the ice from his drink and rubbed it on his flushed cheeks. It seemed like he was trying to sober up.

“This isn’t really my true intention, Mr. Kim Sung-han.”

“Yes.”

“Still, if you’re okay with it, can you listen to me seriously? I really don’t want to do this, but I think I have to say it now.”

“Go ahead.”

Kim Sung-han unconsciously straightened his posture. It clearly seemed like he was drunk, but his speech was too coherent to be just drunk.

Could he really be about to reveal something important?

Over the past few days, Han Yujin had seemed like someone with many secrets. If it weren’t for the confirmed information that he was the older brother of the guild leader, his identity would have been suspicious. He knew too much and acted too skillfully for someone who had just registered as an Awakened.

Therefore, at this moment, when his guard was down, Kim Sung-han couldn’t help but listen to what he had to say.

“Mr. Kim Sung-han.”

“Yes.”

The corners of Han Yujin’s lips trembled slightly. After hesitating, he finally spoke his mind.

“I love you.”

“...What?”

Kim Sung-han asked, with the most bewildered expression he had ever had in his 30 years of life. The words seemed to be stuck in his ears, circling around without reaching his brain.

The emotions that followed were as varied as fireworks.

He felt embarrassed, absurd, and even a bit funny. The disappointment of his expectations being shattered left him feeling deflated, but at the same time, he felt a human connection, realizing that even this man couldn’t control himself when drunk.

Overall, it wasn’t bad. In fact, it was quite amusing.

“So, the confession was just a drunk rant.”

Kim Sung-han suppressed a burst of laughter and said.

“If that was what you had to do, let’s go back now.”

“What I had to do? Oh, right.”

Han Yujin rubbed his face again.

“Did I, by any chance, say I love you?”

When he asked seriously again, a burst of laughter finally escaped. Kim Sung-han cleared his throat and nodded.

“Yes.”

“Really? Damn. No, I didn’t mean to say it to you, Sung-han. But did I say I love someone?”

“Yes.”

“Really? But why... Oh, I was floating? When did I float?”

He said incomprehensible things and laughed helplessly. Kim Sung-han, looking at Han Yujin, felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

This was the first time they had had a drink together. Clearly the first time, yet it didn’t feel strange. It felt like he had seen someone drunk like this before.

No, he had definitely seen it.

Kim Sung-han searched his memory. It wasn’t a very old memory. He had seen it two years ago, and even before that, when he was a child.

“...Grandfather.”

The thought suddenly came to him. Kim Sung-han took a small breath.

His grandfather.

A thin old man who, when slightly drunk, would laugh and say he loved his grandson, whom his heartless son had abandoned.

The wrinkled, wooden-like hands that patted his back and rubbed his head were vivid in his memory.

“...He’s almost ten years younger than me. Am I drunk too?”

To think of a young man in his twenties as a seventy-year-old. There’s a limit to delusion.

But that strange sense of dissonance was quickly erased by a powerful force.

Only the deep emotions for the old man, his excellent guardian, remained.

Of course, Han Yujin wasn’t his real grandfather. He was a different person. He knew that clearly.

But it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that he had someone he could trust and rely on, someone he could think of occasionally.

In a world where even blood relatives couldn’t be easily trusted, feeling completely safe was irresistibly tempting. And the reason to resist that temptation was gone.

Kim Sung-han smiled.

“You’re quite drunk.”

He said as he stood up. Han Yujin looked up at Kim Sung-han, who was approaching him, with a blank expression.

“...I’m sorry, but I have to say I love you.”

“You already said it.”

“Oh... I did? I said it? Damn, that’s not what I meant...”

Kim Sung-han grabbed the arm of the drunk man, who was babbling, and helped him up.

Han Yujin, surprisingly, walked steadily without any wobbling. If it weren’t for his love talk and glazed eyes, one wouldn’t even notice he was drunk.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to do this, but...”

“It’s okay.”

“I’m okay, but I have one more thing to say.”

He looked up at the man who was supporting him, with a serious expression.

“I love you.”

This time, Kim Sung-han tried to laugh it off. But he suddenly remembered.

Unlike when he was young, he had become a mature and serious person who valued his dignity. He had always ignored his grandfather’s drunk rants without responding.

“...I do too.”

So, he said something he hadn’t said since his teenage years.

“I loved you.”

Grandfather.

...My head feels like it’s cracked. And it feels like some crazy guy is poking my brain through the cracks, playing with it.

My head. Damn. What the hell happened before I fell asleep...

“Ugh, you idiot, ugh... Ouch... My head...”

He tried to get up but buried his face back into the pillow. I feel like I’m going to die...

‘So... I turned off the skill.’

What the hell. Why did the passive skill turn off? Well, the system didn’t say it was a passive skill. People just called it passive.

Still, it turned off. Ugh, I need to turn it back on.

‘Activate the poison resistance skill.’

...What? No response.

‘Why isn’t it working? Poison resistance skill ON. Can’t you hear me, system?’

The message window still didn’t appear. What the hell, is it permanently off? If so, I’d be a complete idiot.

‘Activate the poison resistance skill, poison resistance skill ON!’

Come on, turn on.

[Poison Resistance (L) skill activated.]

The message window appeared, and the headache disappeared like magic. The body, which felt like it had a few chunks of metal on it, became light. Wow, the skill effect is great. It even cures hangovers. Truly legendary.

‘But, does a passive skill need to be turned on and off twice?’

Is it some kind of safety mechanism? To check, I tried to turn off the fear resistance skill, which I shouldn’t turn off.

‘Turn off the fear resistance skill, turn off the fear resistance skill.’

[Fear Resistance (L) skill canceled.]

Oh, it turned off. Why doesn’t the system tell me these things? Whoever made it is so inconsiderate. At least give me a user manual now.

‘But yesterday... I didn’t say anything crazy when I was completely drunk, did I?’

As my mind cleared, I started to worry.

I’m in my bedroom in the guild dormitory. And my clothes... they’re pajamas. Did someone change them for me? Did I vomit?

I picked up my phone from the table next to the bed. It’s been a day, and it’s a little past 10 AM.

Please, let me have just passed out quietly.

I opened the status window and checked my baby’s best skill.

[My Baby is the Best (L) - Target’s growth rate +100% when moved by the keyword

Duration: 3 days

Once moved, the keyword is not needed

Cannot be used on the same target again

30-day cooldown for reuse on the same target

Keyword: I love you

*Does not apply if the target is aware of the keyword’s effect

Moved targets (4)

Han Yuhun (S), Yoo Myung-woo (F), Park Yerim (S), Kim Sung-han (A)]

...Ha ha ha, crazy.

Kim Sung-han is there. Why is he there? System, is this a bug? Tell me it’s a bug.

‘...But he doesn’t seem to know about the skill, at least.’

If I had revealed everything while drunk, the skill wouldn’t have worked on Kim Sung-han. ...I hope it doesn’t apply retroactively. I hope I didn’t say anything stupid, please.

I sat up and turned on my phone again.

‘I need to check, but...’

I don’t want to call. I told him that confessing is my drunk habit, but I didn’t expect to actually say “I love you.”

...Did I just say it once and be done with it? Did I not say anything unnecessary?

I swallowed a few times and pressed the call button with determination. It’s okay. Nothing happened. It’s okay...

[Yes, this is Kim Sung-han.]

“Ah, hello. Mr. Sung-han.”

My voice trembled involuntarily. Even talking to my first love after ten years wouldn’t make me this nervous.

“Um, did I... did I go home quietly yesterday...?”

Please say yes.

A small laugh came from the other end of the phone. Damn. This doesn’t sound good.

[You were quite coherent for someone who was drunk.]

“R-Really?”

Phew, thank goodness...

[Except for saying you love me about thirty times.]

...Thirty ways to commit suicide flashed through my mind.

What the hell did I do? Can’t I just go back in time once more? God, please. If I could just be shot away by a shotgun while drunk, I’d be happy.

“I... I was... really, really, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, 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