HIF 63

The Same Room

“I will be on the first floor. Please come down slowly.”

He moved with light steps and went back down the stairs.

Earlier, I saw that the first floor was a space like a dining area. About half of it was blocked off as a space for cooking, and in front of it were a few round tables and chairs.

Come to think of it, Ledeo was like that too—why is the number of rooms like this everywhere? Maybe there’s an unspoken rule that you have to make exactly four rooms per place.

‘I’ve never shared a bed before.’

At the temple, I always stayed separately in the annex. To begin with, sharing a room with Song Ha-gyun was the first time, so there’s no way I’ve ever shared a bed.

Can I say I want to use the room alone? Even if not, I should at least bring it up. Just as I was thinking that and about to open my mouth—

Ding.

A familiar sound was heard.

Damn System. How can you push people around so unreasonably? I don’t know what sleeping in the same bed has to do with getting to know each other.

Moreover, I couldn’t even guess what the success reward or penalty might be. Of course, it’s certain that the reward is better than the penalty.

I let out a small sigh. That’s how the world is. It urges you to make choices without properly explaining anything. It’s a good thing I’m keeping my wits about me. I calmly racked my brain.

‘Since I tend to sleep early and wake up late.’

If I’m sharing a room, I should be with someone I can cause the least inconvenience to.

Although I’ve always shared a room with Song Ha-gyun, I’ve never seen him sleeping. If I fall asleep first, Song Ha-gyun might feel uncomfortable in the room.

Raen also didn’t fall asleep until late last time I saw. Min Joo-hyuk wakes up way too early in the morning. Then…

“Yul.”

Park Yul, who was opening the doors one by one, met my eyes as if telling me to continue.

“When do you sleep and when do you wake up?”

“Huh? Why?”

I didn’t expect the question to bounce back. It felt a bit awkward to say it directly. I cautiously opened my mouth.

“I was wondering if… you could share a room with me.”

Does it really take this much courage to say just this one sentence? Without realizing it, I clenched my trembling hand tightly.

Park Yul looked at me and blinked his eyes briefly. Then he approached me and lightly ruffled my hair. A calm voice followed.

“Sorry, Yi-han-ah. I stay up late, so I’m worried I might wake you up.”

It wasn’t really something to be sorry about. Well, there’s no way anyone sleeps earlier than me. My thinking was short-sighted.

Then it seemed like it wouldn’t matter who I slept with. Everyone’s sleeping times probably wouldn’t match mine anyway. Just as I was thinking that, Park Yul knelt down to meet my eyes.

“It’s not for any other reason, really. That’s why I’ve never shared a room with anyone until now.”

“I know it’s true.”

Then I felt a hand tousling my hair. I looked up. Min Joo-hyuk was standing beside me with a grin.

“You don’t look like you know, Seon Yi-han. But it’s true. None of us have ever shared a room with Park Yul hyungnim.”

I don’t look like I know? I said I know.

Then maybe the sleeping time Park Yul mentioned was just an excuse. Park Yul values his privacy, I guess. Come to think of it, even when we were in Ledeo, I don’t think I’ve ever been inside Park Yul’s room.

Beside me, Min Joo-hyuk continued with a laugh.

“I thought you’d ask me first.”

“Why would I?”

“Why? We’re the same age. Of course we should share a room.”

Ah, have they been doing it that way until now? Then maybe when there weren’t enough rooms until now, Song Ha-gyun and Raen might have shared a room. I was about to nod when I heard Raen’s voice from behind.

“Ju-hyeok. Since when have we divided rooms like that?”

Min Joo-hyuk seemed more shameless than I thought.

“The youngest ones will share a room. Wouldn’t it be better for the hyungs to sleep comfortably?”

It definitely made sense. Maybe Min Joo-hyuk is more meticulous than I thought.

Raen, who had paused briefly, looked at me and opened his mouth.

“Isn’t what Yi-han wants the most important thing?”

Why is that important? My opinion doesn’t really matter. I just need to sleep in the same bed with someone.

“I’m fine with anyone. But the hyungs tend to sleep late, right? I fall asleep early, so I’m worried it might be inconvenient.”

Seeing Min Joo-hyuk wake up early in the morning, he must sleep early. There’s no way he sleeps late and wakes up early.

Upon hearing my words, Raen thought for a moment and continued in a calm voice.

“I’ve been sleeping early lately. I’m trying not to overexert myself now. So…”

Raen bit his lip lightly after saying that. Blood rushed to Raen’s lips, turning them red. Raen continued slowly, as if hesitating.

“Even if not today, check on me next time.”

Is my confirmation really necessary? I thought that, but it’s good that he said he won’t overexert himself. I nodded happily.

Then I felt a hand grabbing my wrist from beside me. I turned my head. Song Ha-gyun, holding my wrist, slowly walked toward the room over there.

“Ha-gyeon hyung…?”

“Let’s go. We’ve always been in the same room.”

“But you stay awake until late.”

“…I’ll be quiet.”

Song Ha-gyun was already always quiet. If Song Ha-gyun becomes even quieter here, there might be no presence at all. I quickly shook my head.

“No, that’s not it. I’m worried I might be a bother.”

“That won’t happen.”

Song Ha-gyun’s voice was firm. Well then, it’s not bad. Since I’ve shared a room with Song Ha-gyun until now, it might be more comfortable. It should be familiar.

From behind, I heard Min Joo-hyuk’s light voice.

“Ah, what a shame. It almost worked.”

Song Ha-gyun glanced back at Min Joo-hyuk with a slight smile, opened the door, and stepped inside. As soon as I set foot in the room, the door closed firmly behind me.

“The bed… there’s really only one.”

Actually checking it made my heart feel unsettled again. Since it’s a quest, I wanted to accept it calmly, but unfamiliar things are unavoidable.

“…Is this your first time sleeping like this?”

“It’s my first time. Even at the temple, I had my own room.”

Song Ha-gyun stared at me intently. Then he continued slowly.

“…It’s my first time too.”

“Haven’t you traveled to many places until now? Never once?”

“Sharing a bed… with you.”

That… was obvious even without saying it. I nodded and plopped down on the bed. The thin sky-blue blanket rustled. It was a cool material.

Fortunately, the bed wasn’t that small. Though not spacious enough for two people to sleep comfortably.

I was a bit worried since Song Ha-gyun is tall and has a sturdy build. But that wasn’t just Song Ha-gyun; everyone was like that. Is it because they’re Heroes? It’s not that I’m small.

“…Wait.”

After saying that, Song Ha-gyun carefully stacked several wooden bags in one corner of the room. Once the luggage was organized, we could go down to the first floor together.

“Okay. Take your time, hyung.”

Of course, even if I didn’t say it separately, he’d probably take his time.

I looked around the room. There was a small sliding window on the wall, and right in front of it was a square wooden desk and chair. That was all the furniture here.

‘Quest Window.’

As soon as I thought it, a blue window appeared before my eyes.

As expected, it was already selected. The Quest Window that had been floating since I entered the room with Song Ha-gyun earlier disappeared before my eyes. So it proceeds automatically.

Since there’s plenty of time and I’ll succeed soon, I didn’t feel rushed. While I was quietly looking at the Quest Window, Song Ha-gyun approached me, having finished organizing the luggage.

“Let’s go.”

I took Song Ha-gyun’s outstretched hand and stood up. We left the room and went down the stairs.

Song Ha-gyun and I were the last. I thought we were pretty fast, but how did everyone else move so quickly?

The person who brought us here seemed to have already left. That person was really quick too. Park Yul, Raen, and Min Joo-hyuk relayed what they heard from him to us.

“He said there’s a Cloud-Flowing Valley next to here. From what I heard, it seems Monsters have already seeped into that cloud.”

“That’s right. Fortunately, the cloud is only spread inside the valley, so it hasn’t come down to the village.”

“But it seems we need to hurry.”

“Right. The village representative said they deployed magic around, but we still need to check the situation.”

Still, it’s fortunate the damage hasn’t reached the village. Now we just need to finish safely without you getting hurt. Of course, that’ll be the hardest part. I’ll do my best from now on too.

“…Why couldn’t we make contact?”

“He said due to the village representative’s personal circumstances, he couldn’t convey the message.”

“Right. He said he’d tell them to come find us soon, so I said it’d be good to hear it directly then.”

Now that we’ve unpacked and assessed the situation, they said we’d go to the valley before sunset today. Quite some time had already passed, and the sun was taking on a yellow hue.

“If Monsters have seeped into the cloud, dealing with them won’t be easy.”

“It seems so. It’ll be quite tricky.”

“We won’t know until we check. No need to worry too much already.”

“…We can adjust the strategy after we come back.”

Everyone seemed to be getting ready to move. I also sprang up from my seat.

“I want to go too. I won’t be in the way. There’s something I want to check.”

“Alright, Yi-han-ah. You want to learn about the Twisted Place, right?”

Park Yul nodded and immediately responded. It seemed like it was already decided that I’d go along. That’s good.

“Then let’s depart now.”

Raen gently wrapped his arm around my back. Simultaneously, a strong wind blew, and the location changed.

An unfamiliar landscape unfolded before my eyes.