# Chapter 165
## 14. Please Take Care of the Cat
…despite my resolution.
“What are you doing?”
Iyeon tilted his head to peek over Sano’s shoulder. Though the height difference made it difficult to see clearly over his shoulder, he could at least tell that a lavish meal was being prepared.
The noisy rice cooker and the delicious smell escaping from the pot. It was a scene only visible on days when Sano was on meal duty. Saliva automatically gathered in his mouth.
Sano, not even looking at Iyeon who was salivating, coldly reprimanded him.
“Don’t bring animals into the kitchen.”
“It doesn’t even shed fur.”
Though Mungchi’s exterior appeared to be covered with fur, it wasn’t actual mammalian skin. It was soft, but it had never shed anything like fur in the house.
He persisted a bit longer, but Sano’s expression remained resolute. Eventually, Iyeon was chased back to the living room with Mungchi in his arms.
“So strict.”
Iyeon, pouting, sat on the sofa and gently stroked Mungchi’s back. Mungchi purred and burrowed into Iyeon’s arms, pressing against his forearm. Iyeon’s gaze, which had been briefly examining Mungchi, slowly shifted toward Sano who was cooking.
From Iyeon’s angle, since Sano had his back turned, he could only see a bit of his earlobe and cheek, glossy black hair, and the neckline extending to his shoulders. Strictly speaking, nothing was properly visible.
Yet his eyes kept drifting there. Before he knew it, Iyeon was aimlessly watching Sano’s movements when he suddenly felt something tapping against his foot, bringing him back to reality as he lowered his gaze.
[Cleaning path obstructed. Please move.]
FT-4 was tapping on one of his legs that he had extended under the sofa. This smart robot vacuum that D.S had gifted him was equipped with a function that didn’t avoid humans. With an “Oh,” and a disgruntled sound, Iyeon lifted his remaining leg, and FT-4 neatly swept and cleaned where his foot had been, as if nothing had happened. Blankly watching the mechanical movements operating rhythmically, Iyeon secretly sighed.
It had been like this lately. Strangely, whenever he regained his senses, all his attention was on Sano.
Well, it wasn’t like he didn’t already have that tendency before. Iyeon mumbled inwardly as if making an excuse, but the fact that he had been consistently paying attention to Sano since a very long time ago wasn’t exactly a refreshing alibi.
His heart was truly uncontrollable. No matter how hard he tried to suppress and fold it away, it grew vigorously and expanded in volume. The goal was clearly to maintain the status quo. Despite his resolute determination, whenever he looked at Sano, his walls would somehow soften.
It was even more embarrassing because Sano seemed unchanged.
He was almost the same as when they first met. Always blunt, indifferent, willful, and everything that came out of his mouth was irritating. It seemed like he had learned it all from some academy.
Among all the people, Je Sano of all people. Iyeon sighed involuntarily at his incomprehensible taste. This time, without even trying to hide it, he sighed deeply and stroked Mungchi. Mungchi, oblivious to his inner turmoil, happily flipped onto its back.
After a hearty dinner, it was Iyeon’s task to move the dishes to the dishwasher. Finding it bothersome to go back and forth multiple times, Iyeon stacked about seven dishes at once and lifted them with a strained “Ugh.” The tall tower of dishes wobbled precariously. Sano, who had not yet left his seat after finishing his meal, looked at the sight as if it were pathetic.
“Why are you moving them like that?”
“Don’t… tell me what to do…”
Iyeon retorted without even blinking, staring only at the tower of dishes. His steps, carefully taken to avoid disrupting the balance, were more cautious than during variant missions. It was as slow as a beetle crawling.
At that moment of unnecessary tension, something carelessly bumped the back of Iyeon’s heel.
[Cleaning path obstructed. Please move.]
“Ah, no. Not now.”
[Please move.]
FT-4, repeating the same words without any change in tone, tapped his foot again. Its firm resolve not to be hindered in its cleaning by mere humans was admirable.
Iyeon couldn’t do anything about FT-4 because he felt the dishes would collapse immediately if he took his eyes off them even slightly. With a trembling voice, he mumbled and asked Sano for help.
“Hey… can you do something about this thing?”
“What.”
With that response, Sano stood up. He’s really going to help? Iyeon, who had just casually asked without actually expecting Sano to move, looked surprised. Since his gaze was still fixed on the tower, he just looked like someone surprised by the dishes…
However, Sano, who approached Iyeon in just a few steps, didn’t touch FT-4 at all. Instead, he lightly tapped the upper part of the dish tower that Iyeon was preciously holding with both hands.
“Looks like you’re performing a trick.”
“N-no…”
As the dish tower swayed with Sano’s indifferent touch, Iyeon’s face went pale. Turns out he was surrounded by troublemakers on all sides. Fortunately, the dangerously wobbling dishes barely maintained their balance without spilling.
“What a shame.”
Sano murmured as if disappointed. This jerk. Iyeon was upset, but with his hands tied in the situation, there wasn’t much he could do.
“Hey, are you really going to act like this?”
“Was I ever not like this?”
“…”
This guy… He had excellent self-awareness. Iyeon couldn’t find a retort and closed his mouth with an indignant face. This annoying bastard? An anguish incomparable to a moment ago swept over him.
[Please move.]
FT-4 warned tirelessly from beneath his feet. Next to him, Sano tapped the dish tower with a mischievous face. Iyeon furrowed his brow and blinked his eyes a couple of times. His deliberation wasn’t long.
Iyeon released his hands that had been precariously supporting the tower.
As the dishes fell, Iyeon pushed away the robot vacuum with his foot and grabbed Sano by the collar. White sand gathered densely, gently enveloping the dishes while strongly seizing Sano. Pulled along, Sano lost his balance. His upper body swayed and he fell backward.
Iyeon, as a final consideration, laid down white sand on the floor. The thickly piled sand soon transformed into a soft mattress.
Just as he was about to release the collar with a triumphant face, a large hand wrapped around his waist.
“Eh?”
Uttering a dumb exclamation, Iyeon was pulled in an instant. Before he could react, he lost balance and his center of gravity shifted forward. The round beige eyes and mischievous green eyes met for a moment. In an instant, his vision flipped.
Plop.
“…”
Completely flipped over, Iyeon opened his eyes that had been tightly closed. A chest and abdomen made of firm muscles supported him. Of course, it was harder than the mattress beneath Sano, but it didn’t hurt as much as expected. It must have been thanks to Sano’s two arms, which had been wrapped around Iyeon’s waist, moving to his head and back as they fell, minimizing the impact.
Belatedly, with a light “plop” sound, the dishes fell. Since they all landed on the mattress, none broke. This was according to plan, but…
Sano’s chest could be felt fully beneath his cheek, with just a thin layer of cloth between them. A beat late, he became aware that not only his upper body but also his thighs and ankles were all overlapping.
His body temperature quickly rose. Iyeon, who hurriedly sat up, raised the corners of his mouth as if this was the intended outcome.
“How is it?”
“…What an incredible waste of talent.”
Sano replied while still lying down. It was unclear whether his tone was sarcastic or admiring.
“My ability usage is becoming more and more proficient.”
“I was already proficient, you know?”
Iyeon grumbled like that, but Sano was right. The ability that he had hardly used for years had developed dramatically in proficiency as its usage increased due to various recent events. It was a bit funny that he was using this proficiency to knock over Je Sano, but…
“At least now you won’t foolishly roll down a slope with your bare body.”
“Hey, that was so long ago…”
Iyeon replied with an embarrassed face. Even though it had been several months, Sano occasionally brought up that story to scold Iyeon.
“You hurt your ankle.”
Sano’s hand grasped Iyeon’s calf, which was at either side of his waist. It was a gentle touch, as if checking the wound that had been injured. The body heat transmitted through the training pants was warm, but strangely, it gave him goosebumps. The sensation of long, thick fingers adhering to his calf was vivid.
Only then did Iyeon realize that not only was he sprawled on top of Sano, but this posture of straddling his stomach was also somewhat strange.
