Episode 9
I was caught in a dilemma on whether to continue this detective agency work.
‘It’s good to have my own home and job, but…’
Then suddenly, I remembered my past life.
With no decent qualifications or connections since I was from an orphanage, I had only moved from one low-paying job to another.
No matter how hard I tried, my form of employment was unstable, I had no money or house, and each day was a struggle.
Among all that, what tormented me the most was the feeling that no one needed me.
It was so frightening and unsettling that I even joined a notorious company with a rating of 1.0, believing that if I worked hard, I would be converted to a regular employee someday at least.
I thought all I had to do was hang in there, but… the company collapsed as if it were a lie.
Beside the company computer I had taken instead of my overdue wages, I pondered seriously.
‘Is there no place for me in this world?’
In my rush to make ends meet and survive, I had made neither family nor friends.
It felt like everyone was building their own stories while I alone was given no role.
That’s why I became engrossed in fictional novels.
Because in them, everyone had their own small role, however insignificant.
And then, when I woke up in the office and realized I had possessed someone, I was very happy.
It felt like a special role had sprung up for me, just as I had always dreamed.
‘Yes, it was good up to that point.’
Who would have known that I’d be a detective who has to catch runaway ladies?
Wasn’t this too extreme of a profession to be satisfied and live with?
But the system seemed intent on raising me as a detective, even giving me cheat abilities.
Was this really okay…?
“……”
“Argh!”
I turned my head absentmindedly and let out a scream when I saw the eyes staring back at me.
Damon was standing in the doorway looking at me.
How long had he been standing there?!
“If you’ve come in, you should say something…”
“…”
Despite my words, his lips remained sealed shut like a clam.
“Anyway, since you’ve washed up…”
But I couldn’t finish my sentence.
Because I noticed water dripping from his head onto the wooden floor.
“Mold!”
“…?”
“If water falls on the wood, mold will grow… Ah, no. If you don’t dry your hair properly, you’ll catch a cold.”
I almost worried about the office more than the person without realizing it.
I must’ve grown a little attached to this place, even though I was debating whether to quit the detective work just moments ago.
I awkwardly pointed to the warm fireplace with flickering flames.
“If you come here and dry off, you’ll dry quickly.”
“…”
Damon, who had been looking at my fingertips for a moment, slowly approached the fireplace.
Then, with an extremely awkward motion, he began to fiddle with his hair.
At a pace that would make anyone watching burst with laughter.
It seemed he was trying to ‘dry’ his hair in his own childish way.
“Let me do it.”
As a former Korean, I couldn’t stand watching anymore.
I snatched the towel and started drying his hair myself.
I could see his stiff shoulders rigidly stiffening.
“Relax. I’m doing this because I’m worried you might catch a cold if you leave your hair wet for too long. The house is old, so the cold air coming through can be quite strong.”
I said it out of concern, but for some reason, Damon twisted his body even more awkwardly.
As I focused on the task of drying his hair for a while, I eventually noticed white steam rising from the kettle I had prepared in advance.
I took down the kettle and poured the heated water into a mug. I also added a bit of honey that was in the cupboard.
“A warm drink quickly warms your body up.”
“…”
“Go on, you can drink it.”
“…”
There was no response. He seemed like an unresponsive corpse.
I wondered if the creature I had brought in was a zombie.
“…There’s no need for this.”
After a hellish wait, Damon finally opened his mouth.
It was an indifferent voice that contained utterly no emotion.
“You don’t have to act so kind. If you have something to command, just order me.”
“Order you?”
“…”
He quietly rolled his eyes to look down at the mug from which steam was rising in wisps.
“No matter how hard a task it may be…”
“A hard task…”
I put the cup down for a moment and thought about the kind of hardwork a child might think of.
“Like cleaning the attic?”
“… .”
I said this while recalling the second floor where the dust was so thick that I couldn’t go up.
But there was no response.
Could it be that the children here also took on more difficult labor?
I didn’t really like the idea of that.
Then the child, who had been quiet, spoke again.
“As long as it’s not murder.”
“…What?”
Suddenly, terrifying words that were unimaginable to come out of a child’s mouth came.
“As long as it’s not that, it doesn’t matter.”
“W-wait, what? What are you talking about?”
What bizarre talk was this?
Weren’t we just talking about trivial things like cleaning the attic?
Had I said the ‘obey orders if you want to live’ line without realizing it?
As I stood there with my mouth open in bewilderment, Damon’s gaze narrowed.
They were filled with caution and suspicion.
“I don’t know what to make of your kindness to me considering what you might order me to do.”
“Just a moment.”
“But no matter what, I will never harm a person’s life…”
“No, listen to me!”
When someone talks, you should listen!
Only then did he close his mouth with an expressionless face.
Wow, this was so ridiculous that I didn’t know where to start explaining.
“I’m not going to order you around for anything. That’s not why I brought you here.”
“…”
I thought I had touched on the core of the explanation, but there was no response from the other side.
I added some more words so he could understand.
“All you have to do is take a good rest and then leave.”
“Leave…?”
He asked back, his eyes wide open.
His crimson eyes jolted with anxiety.
“I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you have, but I just… saved you because you seemed to be in danger. I don’t expect anything in return.”
“… .”
“So after the day breaks, you can leave…”
Even before I could finish my sentence, Damon stood up abruptly from his seat.
He looked around and then started walking towards the stairs leading to the second floor.
“Wha—where are you going?”
I wasn’t done talking yet?
“…To clean the attic.”
He said flatly with a low voice.
“You’re going to do that now?”
“…”
How swift he was! He’d even brought cleaning tools from somewhere all of a sudden.
Where did he find them? I couldn’t find them even after searching all day.
“Leave it. I was going to do it.”
“But you didn’t. Doesn’t that mean you don’t intend to do it?”
Ouch. Getting hit so accurately with the nail without any guard was quite painful.
“Anyway, it’s not your job, is it? You can just rest comfortably and leave when you want, so why…?”
“…Because I’m not needed.”
He murmured grimly as he picked up the broom.
“You’re going to throw me away if you don’t need me.”
“What…”
“Let me prove my usefulness.”
The hand gripping the broomstick turned pale.
He seemed to be trying to maintain his composure, but he couldn’t hide the trembling in his eyes.
I didn’t get it.
Why did he want to do unnecessary hard work that he hadn’t been asked to do?
And to ‘prove his usefulness’? What kind of talk was that?
Before he could do something foolish, I quickly approached him and took the broom away from him. A sigh escaped me when I saw his hands covered in dust.
“I just washed you, and now you’re dirty again.”
“…”
I picked up a cloth near me and wiped his hands.
His white hands were covered in rough, calloused skin.
Looking at his hands, which were in such a mess that they didn’t seem like a child’s at all, made me feel even more troubled.
He must have gone through a lot of hardship.
So much so that he was afraid of being abandoned by me, someone he just met…
“That’s a rag.”
“Sorry…”
I had dirtied his hands even more.
I threw the rag I was holding carelessly behind me.
Let’s clean his hands again with water and soap in the bathroom.
Damon was silently staring at his now clean hands.
He only moved his lips a few times before quietly lowering his eyes.
“Please take me in.”
The shadows created by his long eyelashes flickered over his neat face.
As if trying to conceal his anxiety, Damon clenched his fist tightly.
“Rather than being baggage, rather than being discarded because you don’t need me…”
He slowly met my gaze again.
But I could not read any emotion in his dark eyes.
“It’s better to be used.”
The moment I heard that, I couldn’t help but realize why Damon was so willing to endure hardships.
they’re similar, in a way. Also worrying about mold first then a cold is hilarious LMAOO I love her
Wooow I like this story, thank you for your hard work🤗