Wrong Meal 120

# Chapter 120

“They… felt real to you?”

His tone was incredulous, as if he had heard something absurd. Sure enough, Jeon Seohan seemed to be dismissing my words as nonsense, even giving a small laugh as if it was ridiculous.

I seriously considered whether to tell him the truth about what I had experienced.

He might think it was crazy talk, but he seemed to be the only person I could tell about living briefly as a character in that anime. After all, wasn’t he the one who created it?

Maybe he knows something.

I gulped, moved my lips, and slowly uttered the difficult words.

“You might think what I’m saying is strange, but in… my dream! I ended up living with my body switched with a character from the anime.”

When I spoke with a slight lie mixed in, Jeon Seohan’s mouth, which had been slightly open from laughing, closed firmly. There was a hint of suspicion and wariness in his upturned eyes.

Feeling I needed to organize my thoughts more, I hesitated before forcing out one word at a time. I included crucial details just in case he would think I was crazy.

“Yoon Taeho. I keep switching with him, but he’s supposed to be an extra villain who disappears early on, right? But he had a rather pitiful past. He was bullied in middle school and continued to be bullied in high school… As I tried to survive by getting along with Moon Seoheon, the content started to change.”

If he didn’t understand what I meant, I resolved to quietly shut my mouth and focus on cleaning.

“……”

Then, as if shocked, Jeon Seohan opened his eyes wide and stared blankly at me. His expression made it unclear whether he understood or not.

We silently looked at each other for a long time. Though the surroundings were quiet, the atmosphere was tense with our sharp gazes meeting.

Breaking the silence, Jeon Seohan removed his back from where he had been comfortably leaning and leaned his upper body forward. His hands were interlocked and placed on his knees.

“By Yoon Taeho, do you mean the character who gets caught in the storage room, has his rank lowered, and is expelled?”

“…Yes.”

“And you’re saying that this child was bullied when he was young and continued to be bullied as he grew up, and you became that child?”

When I nodded, Jeon Seohan touched his chin with his unlocked hand. It seemed like a habit when he was thinking.

“Is that an emotion you inferred while watching the anime? It seems you were deeply immersed. As an author, I’m grateful, but it’s a bit embarrassing.”

Huh, did he not understand?

From his attitude, it seemed like he did understand, but was my expectation wrong? Somehow, it felt like he was acting as if to test me.

Anyway, contrary to what I had anticipated, the tension that had been building throughout my body dissipated with a whoosh at his behavior. Whether he had no connection to this situation or was trying to hide the truth, what could I do now by finding out?

What if that place wasn’t simply a created world? Could I handle it? It’s all in the past anyway, and I won’t be going back…

Facing reality, an empty laugh escaped. Jeon Seohan stared at me at the sound of my deflated laughter.

“That’s right. I guess it’s because I enjoyed watching it so much.”

I don’t even know what I’m saying. Mumbling just anything, I bowed my head deeply as if apologizing for the disturbance. Then I started running the vacuum cleaner again. Only after thoroughly cleaning the bathroom and organizing the supplies could I leave the room.

A deep sigh burst out only after I heard the sound of the door closing.

My body felt heavy from the hard labor and was just drooping, and with my mind exhausted as well, I couldn’t keep my balance. To shake off all the distracting thoughts flooding in, I collected myself and trudged upstairs.

Now that the room management was done, I just needed to wait at the front desk and perform tasks as orders came in. A colleague who had already finished work and arrived first was already at the front desk. As soon as our eyes met, he smiled slyly as if gauging my mood, which cooled my intention to get angry.

Having no energy to even open my mouth, I quietly stood beside him, and he, glancing at me, spoke.

“Hey. Are you angry?”

“…No.”

“Come on. You are angry. Did that troublesome guest cause a lot of problems?”

Of course I wasn’t not angry, but it didn’t seem necessary to be that angry, so I shook my head. Misunderstanding me, he immediately took on a serious expression and gasped.

“Was it that bad? Um… this is no joke. Hey, I’m sorry. Anyway, when you’re in charge of that section later, I’ll take over for a day.”

I was honestly just ignoring it as it didn’t matter, but my hand, which was about to check the next check-in, paused at his latter words.

“Later? Will he be staying that long?”

“Huh? Yeah. Think of it as him staying here all year. It seemed like he was planning to live here. That’s why he’s a VIP.”

“Ah……”

Then I’ll see him often. I didn’t want to get involved because every time I saw him, I would only have useless thoughts. Well, I should just focus on work. It seems he doesn’t care much about me either.

I nodded casually and printed out the reservation list. As I pinned the paper to the board and looked through it to check if there was anything else to prepare, my colleague, still thinking I was angry, spoke as if doing me a favor.

“Hey, there’s something called green onion-flavored milk at the convenience store. As an apology and to celebrate your discharge, I’ll treat you.”

I was about to immediately accept the tempting offer but narrowed my eyes as if asking if that was all. At my look, he said fine and told me to buy whatever I wanted, which I promptly accepted. Thanks to that, we bought so many things that we could have had a party.

* * *

It had already been almost a month since I returned to work. Including the time I rested after waking up in the hospital and went on a trip, it had been much longer since I returned to the original world.

I had adjusted to work, so it wasn’t as hard as the first day, and I had passed without major friction with the VIP customer I had considered a potential problem. Of course, Jeon Seohan’s gaze, which constantly watched me as if monitoring me while I cleaned, made me quite uncomfortable. But he didn’t express major complaints or yell at me as much as I had expected.

So it was strange. Every time I returned from managing Jeon Seohan’s room, acting as if nothing was wrong, fellow employees would ask me like this:

“So you’re saying it was okay? He didn’t throw a fit, saying put this here and don’t touch that?!”

“There are some things he says not to touch occasionally, but… it’s not that bad.”

At my words, the employees frowned, looked at each other, and shouted, asking why on earth that was. It wasn’t something I could answer even if asked.

Starting tomorrow, the assigned areas would change again, and the employee who would be going to Jeon Seohan’s room looked gloomy. Honestly, aren’t they making too much of a fuss? There are more difficult troublemakers that show up all the time.

Anyway, it wasn’t my concern anymore, so whatever they said, it went in one ear and out the other. I was working without any particular incidents.

I was organizing key cards after finishing a check-out when, as if seizing the moment I let my guard down, the manager called for me. And at the sudden instruction that came down, I was momentarily dumbfounded.

“What?”

“From now on, you’ll be in charge of Room 2231.”

Room 2231 was where Jeon Seohan was staying. I looked at the manager with an expression of not understanding.

“The guest seems to really like you. He even specifically requested you. I asked the others, and they said you were doing well without any problems.”

The manager patted my shoulder, saying I did very well. I hadn’t shown any signs of difficulty when asked if there were problems, and this change seemed to be very satisfactory to the manager.

“So do well. They say he gives good tips. I’ll give you a hefty bonus when it’s over too.”

Though I felt uneasy and reluctant, I soon agreed.

Standing in front of the room that I would have gone elsewhere if not for this, I took a moment to catch my breath. I thought that when I saw Jeon Seohan’s face, I would ask why he had requested me, or he would say something first.

But Jeon Seohan, who was waiting inside, greeted me with an expressionless face and didn’t say anything.

Rather, I was so taken aback that I felt like I should say something and asked if his work was going well, only to be ignored.

And the cleaning time was no different from usual. As time passed while I replaced the bedding and organized things as always, I became calmer.

“Is there anything else you need?”

He sometimes drank wine, so he would ask for a wine opener, or occasionally ordered food, so it had become a habit to ask this every day. But this time, contrary to expectations, he asked a different question.

“Do you have other duties after this is done?”

“Pardon?”

“If not, please spare me some time. If you do, I’ll contact your supervisor.”

As he made a gesture of picking up the provided telephone, I hesitated for a moment and then said.

“It’s almost quitting time anyway, so there’s no need to inform separately. I was told to finish any incoming orders and then leave on my own.”

Indeed, there was less than an hour until quitting time. Since I was told to go home after finishing without coming up to the desk, it was fine to spare a little time.

At my words, Jeon Seohan smiled slightly, saying that was good, and took out a bottle of wine.

I was about to decline, thinking he wanted to drink together. I couldn’t drink while still working. As if he sensed my thoughts, Jeon Seohan spoke first.

“You said you’re about to finish work, right? Have just one glass. There’s something I want to ask too.”

Something he wants to ask? Maybe about “Class”? Could the reason he requested me be because he wanted to talk? I decided to accept without much consideration. After all, I just needed to have one drink.

At his gesture to sit down, I quietly sat in the chair. I placed the wine glasses that were already set up because they hadn’t been returned and picked up the wine opener. Since this was also a kind of service, I poured the wine and placed it in front of each of us.

“Do you need any snacks?”

“No. We’ll just drink lightly. Try it. I bought one with a nice aroma.”

Jeon Seohan picked up his glass and lightly touched the wine glass I was holding. I reciprocated the toast and smelled the wine. It indeed seemed like a high-quality wine, with a sweet floral scent.

I took a few sips of wine as if wetting my throat. It had a higher alcohol content than I expected, making my head ring.

I would have had just one glass anyway, even without his urging. Careful not to make any mistakes, I put the glass down and raised my head, and Jeon Seohan, whose eyes met mine, smiled.

I opened my mouth to tell him to say what he wanted to say, but my words came out slightly slurred. Wondering if I had gotten drunk already, I caressed my throat, and the sensation of my mind becoming increasingly foggy grew.

Without time to do anything, Jeon Seohan’s face became blurry, my eyes closed, and I lost consciousness.

* * *

My throat hurt terribly. A groan escaped involuntarily, as if someone was pressing down on me. After swallowing a few times due to the dry sensation in my throat, I finally held my throbbing head.

But realizing something was wrong with my body when my hand wouldn’t rise at all, anger surged at the thought that Jeon Seohan, that bastard, had done something.

“Tae, Taeho-ya……”

A voice, weak yet clear. At the words buzzing in my ears, my eyes flew open.