Chapter 103

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“…”

Is this right?

I pressed my hand firmly against my chest to calm my pounding heart as I lay on one side of the newly purchased bed.

A pleasant sensation traveled through my hand, but my heart beat fiercely.

I felt like screaming out loud.

I would have been kicking the blankets if Siwoo wasn’t sleeping next to me.

…He is sleeping, right?

I turned my head slightly to look at Siwoo.

The bed we first slept in when we started living together here. Siwoo was sound asleep there.

“Phew…”

As I sighed, I felt like some of the heat in my chest was released.

But perhaps because of my still pounding heart.

I couldn’t control my body properly due to the strange sensation that was rising again.

Did he notice? Did he not notice?

The fifteen minutes I was away from Siwoo.

Siwoo’s clothes that I hurriedly took then.

I still had one in my possession.

“What should I do with this…”

I fidgeted and took out the item I had hidden from Siwoo’s gaze.

A t-shirt he often wears at home.

It’s the clothes he wears when training alone. Maybe because it needs to be washed every day? I remember there were lots of similar garments.

He buys several at once and adds more whenever he runs out since they get dirty or torn quickly.

“…”

I took out the shirt I had unconsciously taken and looked at it.

Now that Siwoo is sleeping, wouldn’t it be okay if I return it now?

He probably wouldn’t notice such a small detail, even with his intuition.

If he knew I was holding his clothes, he would have said something by now.

Today, Siwoo didn’t show any signs of noticing.

Even when I said I accidentally spilled it, he just smiled and said it was okay. He didn’t seem very interested in the contents.

I’m not sure why… Maybe he didn’t notice?

Yes, otherwise, Siwoo wouldn’t have acted normally.

Right. It should be fine if I return it.

I got up quietly, keeping an eye on Siwoo.

Will Siwoo’s intuition notice me? Or will it just pass by?

Hoping he wouldn’t notice, I gently got up from the bed.

“Mmm…”

“…!”

I froze momentarily, startled by Siwoo’s movement in his sleep.

I sighed in relief as I watched Siwoo turn over again.

…He’s sleeping. That scared me.

I felt annoyed at Siwoo for no reason.

It’s not like I’m trying to steal anything.

I’m just going to return it. Do I have to be this anxious?

Leaving Siwoo still sleeping, I once again stepped out into the living room.

“Phew… Thank goodness.”

Thinking that Siwoo might wake up from the sound if I closed the door, I ran to the laundry room on tiptoes without closing it.

“Let’s see, it should be here…”

After returning to the living room, Siwoo took the basket and said he would do it later.

Sure enough, the washing machine was quietly running late at night, making a low noise.

Compared to the old world, it’s strangely advanced in these small details.

Is it because of mana? I’m not sure.

No, now is not the time to be impressed by the washing machine’s performance.

I need to return this quickly.

It’s still washing, so it should be fine if I put it together.

Thinking that, just as I was about to put the clothes in my hand into the washing machine.

Suddenly, the clock caught my eye.

“Come to think of it…”

Although I was apart for fifteen minutes today, there was no problem.

That was the reason why I had unconsciously taken Siwoo’s clothes.

It was just in case, just maybe.

If I took Siwoo’s clothes. If so, I thought maybe it would be okay to be apart for a while.

So I was thinking about taking Siwoo’s clothes and unconsciously took them.

When I almost got caught, did I hide them without realizing it?

As quickly as hiding inappropriate videos from parents.

I never thought I could react that fast.

I quickly pulled out Siwoo’s clothes’ thread thin enough not to be noticed by his eyes, rolled it up as much as possible and stuck it to my back, and he didn’t notice.

Moving was a bit awkward because I would be caught if I showed my back.

…No, that’s not important right now.

Siwoo’s clothes. Will it really have the effect I thought it would?

“Since it’s come to this, should I test it…”

Siwoo is sleeping anyway.

Even if my breathing becomes rapid, it should be fine if I return to the room quickly.

Thinking that, I decided to spend time leisurely.

Using the washing machine’s soft white noise as background, I spent about twenty minutes doing the cat’s cradle by pulling out a little thread.*

With slightly trembling hands, I touched Siwoo’s clothes.

“…Why.”

Why does this actually work?

Unable to hide my confusion, I fiddled with Siwoo’s clothes, and the trembling in my hands subsided a little.

“No, this shouldn’t be possible…”

I just thought it might work.

I didn’t really think it would actually work.

I was rather confused when what I had only thought about became reality.

It really works. I can endure for a long time even without Siwoo around.

Numerous emotions swirled in my head.

Relief that I might not need Siwoo’s help anymore.

Joy that I could alleviate some of the guilt I’ve been carrying recently.

I hugged Siwoo’s clothes.

It felt like the warmth was embracing my body.

Before I knew it, quite some time had passed.

A soft melody signaling the end of the wash cycle played from the washing machine.

“…Ah.”

I randomly picked up some clothes from the washing machine as if entranced.

“It’s cold…”

I couldn’t feel any warmth.

It should be warm since even the drying is finished.

Far from being warm, the night air felt cold.

I put the clothes back in the washing machine and hugged the clothes in my hand once more.

It was still warm.

“…I have no choice.”

Yes.

There’s no other way.

I can’t possibly tell Siwoo about this.

Even if I say I need his clothes, Siwoo would lend them without suspicion, thinking there must be some reason.

Conversely, no matter how much I needed them, he wouldn’t give me unwashed clothes.

So this is unavoidable.

There’s no other way.

I looked at the clothes in my hand and then at the clock once more.

About an hour had passed.

I tightly hugged Siwoo’s clothes.

A shirt larger than my body.

The large clothes felt as if they were embracing me.

When I entered Siwoo’s room and lay on the bed, nothing was in my hands.

***

“…”

Arte returned to the bed, and soon, steady breathing could be heard.

She’s asleep.

Even without looking, Siwoo could be certain she was asleep. Siwoo had that ability.

Looking at the clock, more than an hour had passed.

Siwoo carefully stepped out to the living room so as not to wake Arte and looked at her again.

She was still asleep.

“Strange.”

What happened for Arte to be walking around so normally like that?

What was she doing and where for over an hour?

Siwoo recalled Arte’s behavior today.

Something seemed suspicious right after she asked him what he had been doing recently.

“It doesn’t seem like she found out.”

When she suddenly asked if it was a woman, he unconsciously avoided her eyes, wondering if she had found out.

Amelia said that these things are most effective when received without knowing anything.

Arte’s information-gathering skills are quite good.

Still, he thought it would be better than her getting anxious and her symptoms worsening, so he was going to tell her, but somehow, he ended up not saying anything and glossing over it.

After that, she suddenly went out, saying she would do laundry.

From then on, Arte’s behavior became a bit strange.

“It seems like she is hiding something…”

Siwoo usually sensed Arte’s danger through intuition.

The reason he could find her like clockwork after ten minutes was because his intuition told him she was in danger.

So today too, he was spending time thinking she would return soon.

Suddenly, he looked at the time and found that more than ten minutes had passed.

“Why didn’t I notice…”

Did he rely too much on his Intuition?

Self-deprecating like that, Siwoo rushed to Arte and was shocked to see her fine.

That’s when he realized. His intuition didn’t work because it thought Arte was okay.

“…Hmm.”

Siwoo realized. Surely, Arte’s sudden improvement in condition must be related to her behavior today.

The sudden unusual behavior she showed must be connected.

He headed to the laundry room where Arte had been staying.

She had been here for almost an hour. What did she want to do?

Siwoo looked around the laundry room for a while.

No matter how much he looked, nothing strange caught his eye, and his intuition didn’t react either.

Surely there must be something here.

Suddenly, Siwoo’s eyes fell on the washing machine, which had completed its cycle.

There were traces of someone touching it.

Since only one other person besides him is living in this house, it must have been Arte.

What did she do here?

Siwoo looked around the washing machine for a long time, checked all the clothes inside it, and then muttered.

“…Why is one piece of clothing missing?”