94 Honey

Today.

Starting with Namgoong Yeon and Jessica, then even Raichen and Kim Dajeong.

Maybe because I'd seen so much of them squabbling among themselves.

Unintentionally, a chance like that came to me too.

A date.

What a fluffy word to hear after so long.

At first glance, it sounded like an exciting proposal.

But I'm the head of a matchmaking company, and Ms. Baek Yeonhwa is a client.

The line needs to be drawn clearly.

"Ahem, Ms. Baek Yeonhwa. As I said last time, I don't have private relationships with customers."

Even after I took a step back and spoke firmly, she instead stepped forward and closed the distance again.

"I know, Hero. You're such a wonderful person who keeps business and personal matters completely separate!"

"……."

What.

She's accepting that way too easily.

"But Hero, I'm not a member of Miracle, you know."

"……."

"My name is listed in the Bimu Takhon registry, and I haven't paid any remaining balance, so I can't really be called a customer, can I?"

Baek Yeonhwa smiled confidently, one hand on her hip.

"The one who pays gets treated accordingly. Isn't that the definition of a customer written in the ledger?"

"……."

"But this humble one has paid for nothing, so calling me a customer would be quite improper."

People really do need to read books.

She'd apparently spent her whole life reading, because she spoke so softly and politely.

"What do you think, Hero?"

The perfect reason to refuse had vanished.

Baek Yeonhwa smiled and held out the ticket again.

"I'm just asking you out as a woman."

When I flicked my eyes sideways, I could feel the gazes of Raichen and Lenea watching us.

Even Lenea was watching with the intensity of someone hooked on a drama.

"Ahem, Ms. Baek Yeonhwa. As I said last time—"

"I know, Hero."

Baek Yeonhwa gently took my hand.

"Over the past few months, after learning romance from books, I realized just how ridiculous I'd been. Bimu Takhon... Shouldn't affection be built by sharing our hearts?"

"Oh?"

I was flustered that a normal conversation was suddenly actually working. Is this the power of books?

The old saying that adults should read books wasn't for nothing.

"But Hero, that's exactly why I want to spend even more time with you. To build feelings, and to spend time getting to know each other."

Her gaze as she looked up at me was so earnest.

Before I knew it, I had no choice but to nod.

* * *

Seoul Cinema.

The largest movie theater in Seoul.

The latest movie technology and new releases are always screened here.

There's a skybridge connected directly to Seoul Station, but on the way home it's actually more crowded because of all the people coming out of the station.

"Waaah. There are so many people."

Lenea, wearing noise-canceling headphones, clutched my clothes.

Even having overly sharp hearing seems inconvenient in situations like this.

'But are the other elves okay?'

It wasn't as if Lenea was the only elf around, and I could spot elves here and there among the commuting crowd.

Yet they weren't wearing headphones or anything and were just getting by fine.

Is Lenea just a little sensitive?

"L-let's go. W-we'll be late for the movie."

In contrast, Kim Yang was excitedly tugging us along, saying we should hurry. She'd been so obvious about wanting to see Residual Heat, and now that the chance had come, she wasn't hesitating at all.

Even the suit she'd worn to work had been changed into casual clothes.

"Hero……."

Then, Baek Yeonhwa called me from behind. Her signature blue hair somehow felt especially chilly.

"I clearly said this was a date, didn't I?"

"……."

"Hero?"

Listen to that murderous tone.

That's right, the four of us had come to Seoul Cinema together to watch Residual Heat.

But blaming me for how this turned out was a little unfair.

"You agreed to it too, Yeonhwa."

"I-I couldn't refuse that hopeful look on your face."

"Then why did you book four tickets?"

"B-but—!"

The main culprit behind this situation was, without a doubt, Baek Yeonhwa booking four tickets, which were hard to get in the first place.

Even I’m not crazy enough to ask a woman who invited me on a date, "Could I bring the staff too?"

But getting older means.

It means becoming that much more shameless.

Like an old lady muttering, "Oh dear, my legs hurt," while clearing her throat in front of the priority seats.

Baek Yeonhwa simply couldn't turn down Lenea, who muttered, "Wow, I want to see it too," after hearing there were four tickets.

By the way, since Baek Yeonhwa had sent so many letters, Lenea and Kim Yang had replied a few times.

And it seemed the three of them had gotten somewhat close.

"By the way, why did you book four seats in the first place? I heard those are hard to get."

Walking behind Lenea and Kim Yang as they headed toward Seoul Cinema, I asked, and Baek Yeonhwa fidgeted with her fingers, looking shy.

"In a book called The Love Doctor's Handbook, it said you shouldn't make your partner feel threatened."

"So?"

"When we sit down in the theater, even if I'm sitting next to you, there could be another person sitting on the other side, right?"

"……."

"S-so I wanted to block that—"

In other words, she'd paid to make sure no one sat next to us while we watched the movie.

The fact that she'd burned 200,000 won for that really drove home that Baek Yeonhwa was the daughter of a martial arts family.

"Besides, when I looked at it—"

She apparently still wasn't done, because she fidgeted and whispered softly.

"W-when I looked at the list of physical contact you'd do in a movie theater... I-it seemed like I'd be too embarrassed if someone were sitting next to me."

"The list of physical contact?"

"I read a book called Adult Push and Pull, and there were so many of them."

"……What kinds of things?"

When I asked out of pure curiosity, Baek Yeonhwa moved her hands all around, explaining by shaping them.

"Leaning on a shoulder, holding hands, interlocking fingers—"

That's more wholesome than I expected.

Grandma should read a book like that and learn—

"If it's a romance movie, you naturally kiss during the kissing scenes. And if there happens to be a scene like that, you watch the mood and go all the way—"

"There's a book like that?"

"Yes, yes! It's in 'Adult Push and Pull' by author Zephyrus!"

I looked it up on my phone, and he's a wolf beastman.

As expected of a beastman, he wrote a book just like himself.

'What was the Azure Dragon doing?'

Was he just watching while his own daughter was picking up the wrong knowledge?

Or maybe even the Azure Dragon doesn't know much.

"Ahem, Ms. Baek Yeonhwa. Things like this require a lot of preparation. As you said earlier, romance is about building feelings step by step, so physical affection needs preparation too."

But when I explained it roundaboutly, Baek Yeonhwa pouted and shouted.

"I know that too, Hero! I've already prepared everything!"

Prepared?

Before I could ask again, she reached into her dobok and pulled out—

A pink condom.

"This one, right? It was written in 'Adult Push and Pull.' It said you absolutely had to carry one with you. A must-have item."

It was already the commute home.

The people around us all flinched when they saw what was in Baek Yeonhwa's hand.

"N-no, what—!"

I hurriedly snatched it away, shoved it in my pocket, and gripped Baek Yeonhwa's shoulders tightly to warn her.

"Throw that book away right now."

"Huh? Uh... yes."

Judging by her slightly sulky expression, she must have found the book entertaining.

Even so, this was too much.

"Boss! What are you doing?"

"H-hurry up and come on."

Lenea and Kim Yang, who had been marching along by themselves, had already arrived in front of the theater.

I wiped away the sweat I'd broken out in for no reason and led Baek Yeonhwa along, wanting to rest already.

"Let's go watch the movie first."

* * *

S.E.L. screening room.

I naturally thought it'd just be ordinary movie theater seats.

But it wasn't.

First of all, the absolute no-food rule tripped me up.

"Didn't the boss tell us to eat a little less for lunch because we'd be eating popcorn!"

"What, they won't even let us eat popcorn in the theater."

Before entering, we filled out a simple consent form.

It was about not holding them responsible for emotional shock and lingering aftereffects during the screening.

I'd expected 3D glasses or some huge helmet.

But there was only a small patch that stuck to the temple and a pulse sensor worn on the wrist.

"Doesn't seem all that different, does it?"

"Y-yeah, I guess."

"I think this is amazing too."

But our impression changed completely once we went inside the theater.

All the seats were single-person recliners.

These things called Sync Chairs looked like something you'd see in a dentist's office.

The screen was on the ceiling.

So you watch while lying down.

'It really is amazing.'

I reclined in my seat, marveling that thanks to Baek Yeonhwa I was getting to experience such an expensive treat.

"I-I won't be able to use what I learned like this, Hero?!"

With Baek Yeonhwa's disappointed cry, the theater went dark.

'……!'

The slums of Cyber City.

A shabby old apartment block in dingy gray.

The damp smell of mold.

A child crying its eyes out.

The weight of the breadwinner's burden on your shoulders.

The reason you smoke on the balcony amid poverty and boredom is that it makes you mistake yourself for a bird in a cage.

You want to believe you can fly once the barred door opens.

But the cruel reality is that no matter how wide the bars open, you still can't fly.

Exactly five seconds.

I'm experiencing everything James, the protagonist of <Residual Heat>, feels and thinks.

"Honey, the baby's crying."

"I just lit it."

"I told you to stop smoking at home."

The nagging wife, Wensy.

The prickling sensation on my back was bizarre.

Then suddenly, the screen showed Wensy cooking stew while holding the child in one arm.

This time, another sensation naturally took over my mind.

Irritation.

Regret.

Maternal love.

Memories.

Longing.

"Honey, then at least take out the trash for me."

"Haa... all right."

As James stubbed out his cigarette and went outside, the flood of emotions cut off cleanly.

Only then did I realize it.

I had just experienced James and Wensy.

I'd experienced both of their sensations.

The burden of a household borne by an incompetent breadwinner, along with skeptical looks.

The regret and longing felt while watching the man she once loved so brightly slowly sink away.

Who you empathize with.

That was the key reason the movie's ratings were split so drastically.

'No wonder the reviews are divided.'

Swallowing hard, a little anticipation rose for what would come next.

* * *

"It's boring."

As we left the S.E.L. theater, Lenea immediately started complaining.

"Honestly, I didn't understand a single thing they were saying! At this rate, I should've just watched Ttoribot again!"

What a grandma, watching it for free and then hurling out a savage review. But my opinion was surprisingly similar.

"It's just disgustingly unpleasant."

The plot is simple.

James happens to see Nellie, the coffee shop owner.

They're both married to other people, but they can't stop themselves from being drawn to each other.

The affair begins.

Then comes the agony, while Wensy keeps suspecting him again and again.

In the end, Nellie moves away, and James returns to his family.

James, tense while cheating on his wife.

Wensy, doggedly interrogating her husband while suspecting him of infidelity.

Nellie, unable to resist her wavering heart, keeps sleeping with James.

"And what was that line at the end supposed to mean? If he broke up with Nellie, then he broke up with her. 'There's still heat left in my chest'? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

I stopped Lenea, who was grumbling without understanding a thing, and asked the other two.

"How was it? Was it fun?"

"N-nope. Boring."

"Hmm... It was my first time seeing a movie, but it wasn't a very good experience, Hero."

In short, we just burned money.

Well, it wasn't my money.

"Let's get dinner. I'll treat you—"

Bzzzz! Bzzzz! Bzzzz!

The phone I'd turned off started ringing violently.

Checking the caller, it was 'Yu Yena'.

I took the call while walking out of the theater with the others down the hallway.

"Hello?"

- What were you doing, not answering your phone?

"I was watching a movie. What is it?"

- Could you meet me for a bit today?

"All of a sudden?"

I wondered if something had happened.

Yu Yena already sounded prepared, because she answered without hesitation.

- It's about the 7th floor.

"……Nothing serious, right?"

- Depends on the situation.

I let out a short sigh, said I'd understood, set a time, and hung up.

"Hey, I'll give you the company card, so—"

The moment I turned around to tell them to eat separately and go home.

"Who is it?"

Baek Yeonhwa was standing right in front of me, staring straight at me. She was so close it felt like our noses might touch.

"Pardon?"

"Who is it?"

"Uh... Yena."

In the eerie atmosphere, when I answered cautiously, the corners of Baek Yeonhwa's mouth lifted faintly as she covered her face with both hands.

"Ah, that woman. Again... again that woman?"

Huh?

That's a line from the movie I just watched.

"Hah, haha. Right. Ah, so you're leaving me after all. And we even have a child."

"What?!"

What kind of insane nonsense is that?

She seemed to be misunderstanding things because of the aftereffects of SEL; her condition looked even worse than Namgoong Yeon's.

"H-Huh?! Boss, you had a kid?!"

"Stop spouting nonsense and help me calm her down first!"

Baek Yeonhwa clutched my arm tightly and refused to let go.

Lenea hurriedly tried to peel her off, grunting, and Kim Yang, who had been walking behind us, came over too—

Grab!

She grabbed my arm and said tearfully.

"Honey, don't go."