Unexpected Kindness

What kind of question is this? Is he asking if I'm a masochist? Cha Eui-jae scrunched up his face and shot back as if it was nonsense.

"Why would I?"

Lee Sa-young, not backing down, furrowed his brows.

"What's different between this and the container earlier?"

"Hey, how can you compare it to that? This is much cleaner. There's even a blanket and a pillow."

"Clean the container and put a blanket and pillow there. It's the same."

"Are you wishing for me to move to Incheon Port or something?"

Lee Sa-young was genuinely dumbfounded. He had taken him to a hangover soup restaurant thinking he might be tired, but instead, a tiny room appeared where he wondered if he could even stretch his legs properly. And Cha Eui-jae was naturally taking off his old sneakers and crawling into that tiny room.

If it had been the usual scene, it wouldn't have bothered him this much. But Lee Sa-young didn't intend to be harsh to someone who had come all the way to Incheon to help him. And thinking about Cha Eui-jae staying still despite his temper while he was getting beaten up…

"…"

"Hey… your expression looks weird."

"What?"

By now, the transport vehicle might have arrived. I should handle it myself instead of handing it over to the management. No, I must handle it myself.

Lee Sa-young finally decided to completely revise his original plan. The original plan was to take Cha Eui-jae home and then return immediately, but seeing the condition of Cha Eui-jae's "home," he couldn't leave him there. After checking if he was wearing gloves, Lee Sa-young grabbed Cha Eui-jae's arm.

"Get out."

Cha Eui-jae opened his eyes wide, seemingly surprised by the unexpected response.

"Huh?"

Lee Sa-young stubbornly pulled his arm.

"There's somewhere we need to go."

A brief silent confrontation ensued. In fact, Cha Eui-jae wasn't one to back down easily. However, seeing Lee Sa-young's face glaring with his mouth tightly shut, the thought, "What's the point of standing up to a kid?" began to cross his mind. Cha Eui-jae shrugged his shoulders and bent to put on his sneakers.

"Fine, fine. Where to? Do you need another favor?"

Lee Sa-young silently tore off the emergency escape button again.

A little later, they arrived at the entrance of a house. It was as big as attaching dozens of hangover soup restaurants together, but it felt more empty and chilly rather than just large.

Cha Eui-jae felt strange. Although it was a place where people lived, there was no warmth in the house.

"…Where is this?"

"My home."

Lee Sa-young, who answered briefly, headed inside as if it was nothing unusual and opened the refrigerator. Inside, neatly packed instant meals and bottled water were visible. Lee Sa-young took out a bottle of water, drank it, and pointed to a door. It seemed to be the bathroom.

"Wash up. I'll leave clothes in front."

The bathroom in this house was also very spacious. Feeling sticky all over, Cha Eui-jae quickly finished his shower and peeked out the door to check for clothes. Neatly placed were brand-new, unopened underwear and a navy silk pajama set.

'Does he… sleep in pajamas?'

Cha Eui-jae unconsciously imagined Lee Sa-young in pajamas, then quickly erased the thought. Despite not having much of a size difference, the clothes were slightly loose. After rolling up the sleeves, Cha Eui-jae followed the sound of Lee Sa-young's movements. Lee Sa-young was sitting in a recliner chair that looked like it belonged in a bedroom. Glancing at Cha Eui-jae, Lee Sa-young pointed to the bed.

"Sleep there."

At his fingertips was a king-sized bed, big enough for two people. But not wanting to lie next to Lee Sa-young, nor wanting to occupy the bed alone while the owner stayed elsewhere, he replied indifferently.

"I'm not that shameless. Just give me a pillow. I'll sleep on the floor."

"Sleep on the bed."

"No. If you have a sleeping bag, give me that."

Ha, came a sound of exasperation. Lee Sa-young sneered. He twisted his lips.

"Who carries a sleeping bag these days?"

"In my time, a sleeping bag was essential for dungeon trips, you punk."

"You know you sound like a damn old geezer even though there's only a four-year difference, right, Hyung? Anyone would think you've been a hunter for ten years…"

It was an eerily accurate statement. But saying it out loud would be a death sentence. Cha Eui-jae shamelessly replied.

"Sleeping in a sleeping bag feels like camping, how nice is that. Besides, you've had it too easy as a hunter…"

"Yes, yes, I've had it easy as a hunter, so I'll live uncomfortably starting today. Lie down."

"Don't make me the shameless guy who comes to someone else's house and takes their bed."

"Making the guest sleep on the floor is worse, so lie down."

"You're a jerk anyway, why do you care about that?"

"If you just listen for once—"

"Equal contract relationship, you punk. Am I your subordinate? This is an equal—"

As they bickered, their tempers flared, and the furniture in the room began to rattle slightly. But they didn't care and raised their voices. The spacious house echoed with the shouts of the two men.

Snap!

A menacing sound came from the room, and the two men, who had been arguing over trivial matters, fell silent as if on cue.

The middle of the large mattress and the soft blanket had been blown out.

Standing side by side in front of the broken bed, Lee Sa-young and Cha Eui-jae sighed simultaneously. If it had just been the bed frame that broke, they could have found a way to manage, but with the mattress perfectly split and sagging, there was no way to fix it. They couldn't exactly quick-deliver this enormous mattress.

Staring at the mattress, which now had a gaping hole like the black hole in the sky, Cha Eui-jae muttered.

"…I'll pay for it."

Lee Sa-young scoffed.

"With what money?"

"…I can sell magic stones."

"Ah, fuck… Don't even mention magic stones."

Lee Sa-young growled. His following words were in a somewhat whining tone.

"Because of that, there were articles about me and Jung Bin being close."

"…"

Cha Eui-jae bowed his head solemnly. Was this how hunters felt when rumors about them dating spread just because they had a brief conversation? Lee Sa-young and Jung Bin had only exchanged information and ate hangover soup. Cha Eui-jae vowed not to indulge in gossip about celebrities and hunters. Next to the solemn Cha Eui-jae, Lee Sa-young, arms crossed, muttered.

"…Wait."

He took out a gas mask from his inventory, put it on, and disappeared. Left alone, Cha Eui-jae lifted the mattress slightly. He saw the perfectly split and deeply sunk bed frame.

How many bowls of hangover soup would he need to sell to compensate for this? It surely wouldn't be a modest price considering Lee Sa-young's fastidious nature. Cha Eui-jae sighed heavily.

***

At 3:40 AM, when most guild members had gone home and only a few were on duty, a post appeared. It was on the anonymous board of the Pado Guild.

Title: [Anonymous] The sleeping room's blankets and pillows were all stolen…

240 took all the blankets and pillows from the sleeping room.

Comments (3)

—Is this a dream you had?

—Not funny.

—Good night.

Pado Guild members naturally ignored it. It wasn't even a joke worth considering. There's a limit to trolling…

But another post quickly followed. This time, there was a photo of the sleeping room.

Title: [Anonymous] Seriously, everything was taken??? (Proof)

(Photo.JPEG)

I'm serious.

I saw it clearly.

Comments (8)

—Huh?

—Where did all the blankets and pillows go???

—Did the cleaning staff take them for washing?

⤷No, they clean during the day when no one's around;; they don't take stuff with people there.

—Did 240 really take them?

—Please share more.

—Bro, hurry up and share more, a beautiful hunter is waiting.

—Wow, I can't sleep now.

The Pado Guild's shower and sleeping rooms were a kind of welfare facility. They provided a space for hunters to rest comfortably after dungeon raids, which made their senses extremely sensitive.

For this reason, the quality of the Pado Guild's sleeping room was exceptionally high. Each person was assigned an individual room, equipped with beds and bedding to help them sleep, and even dungeon-specific fragrances to help relax. This sleeping room was one of the many boasts of the Pado Guild.

But now, all the precious bedding in that sleeping room has been stolen. The beds were left empty. And the one who took it was Lee Sa-young! It was an unbelievable story, but… there was photographic evidence. No one would dare fake a photo and mention Lee Sa-young. The conclusion was clear.

This post was real.

It was a wake-up call. Those who checked the Blind Post before bed were now cursed with the desperation of waiting for the next post. They helplessly refreshed Blind Post, waiting for the storyteller savior.

Just before the Pado Guild members were about to die of thirst, the original poster returned with more details.

Title: [Anonymous] E40 Jean Valjean Story (Deleting in 10 minutes)

Stayed late to finish a report.

After finishing work, I was too lazy to go home.

So, I decided to just sleep in the rest area and go to work from there.

But then someone slammed open the door of the next rest room, and it was almost 4 AM.

I thought, "What kind of rude ** is this?" and opened the door to check.

It was 240.

From that moment on, I couldn't think… it was like watching a movie.

240 started gathering up all the blankets and pillows from the rest rooms.

Not just one, but from every single room.

It looked like he was about to take the beds too, but he just took the blankets.

I was in the very last room.

As 240 got closer, my senses kicked in.

I was going crazy, worrying he'd take mine too.

Our eyes met as I hugged my blanket tightly.

Thankfully, he didn't take mine.

He even kindly closed the door before leaving.

The end.

Comments (13)

—Can I fact-check something? What was 240 wearing?

⤷White short-sleeve shirt, black sweatpants, gas mask, and striped indoor slippers.

⤷This story is real.

⤷How do you know?

⤷I rode the elevator with 240 dressed exactly like that earlier. Almost fainted.

⤷Ah...

—240 shows consideration, doesn't take the blanket from the person working late.

⤷Even kindly closes the door.

⤷God40

—This anonymous poster is something else too. More afraid of losing their blanket than 240 ㅋㅋㅋ.

—But technically, 240 paid for all that stuff, so can't really complain if he takes it.

⤷LOL so true ㅋㅋ.

—So why did 240 take the blankets and pillows???

***

How long has it been since Cha Eui-jae started waiting for Lee Sa-young to return? He heard the door lock beep as it unlocked. Stretching to pass the time, Cha Eui-jae peeked his head out.

What came through the door was… a white pile of cloth. At first, it looked like a ghost, but then he noticed long black legs sticking out from underneath. Those legs walked briskly down the hallway, despite not being able to see, and entered the spacious living room. Then the figure dropped all the cloth onto the floor like a waterfall. It was all blankets and pillows.

What the hell is this? Cha Eui-jae looked back and forth between the pile of bedding and Lee Sa-young, trying to understand. It was a silent demand for an explanation, but Lee Sa-young said nothing. Finally, Cha Eui-jae asked seriously.

"…Did you rob a bedding store?"

Lee Sa-young put away the gas mask into his inventory and looked at Cha Eui-jae. His face was cold.

"Do you think I'm some kind of thief?"

Cha Eui-jae thought that the broken bed must have really shocked Lee Sa-young, who still seemed tense. Lee Sa-young placed his hands on his hips and gestured to the leather sofa with his chin.

"Lie down."

"…You're the homeowner, can't you sleep on the sofa?"

"Say one more word."

"…"

"And I'll understand it as a desire to break the sofa and sleep on the floor together."

Cha Eui-jae obediently lay down.