Chapter 21
How long have they been going around together? He was not unfamiliar with Ahyeon, and there must be a reason for it. Instinctively, Yongcheol took a step back.
“Now, wait a minute. No. I’m done. I won’t listen…”
But Ahyeon’s words were quicker than Yongcheol’s feet.
“The price is your Jeep.”
“Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?”
Grinning widely at Yongcheol, who opened his mouth in disbelief, Ahyeon’s face, as always, was beautifully bright. A stranger might have found it charming, but to Yongcheol’s eyes, it was no different from a highwayman.
“Just lend it to me for a bit, and I’ll return it to you nicely, okay?”
“No way. Absolutely not.”
Yongcheol let out a frustrated sigh, puffing out his characteristic chubby cheeks even more.
“No, the more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is. Hey, that Jeep is something special!”
To him, it was more precious than a high-end sports car. Yongcheol started to reveal his attachment to the car, thumping his chest.
“I painstakingly installed an electrical network to keep out those zombie bastards! How can I just lend that to someone else!”
“Am I a stranger?”
“Then what are you if not a stranger?”
Yongcheol raised his chin defiantly, squinting at Ahyeon.
“Especially you, it’ll be ruined in less than a week in your hands.”
Less than a week? No, even before ‘especially in my hands’? What’s wrong with my hands being in the negatives? Ahyeon furrowed her brow.
“Hey, what makes you so confident about that?”
In response, Yongcheol snorted and raised his chin.
“Don’t you remember when you tried to ride Min-jae’s Ferrari and ended up breaking the door?”
“No, that was because the door suddenly went up.”
“Min-jae kept saying no, but you kept insisting on riding it just once, and ended up breaking the door. And you don’t even remember Min-jae lying down in frustration?”
No, if you bring up old stories like that, I really have nothing to say.
Faced with her own clear mistakes being revealed, Ahyeon licked her lips and spoke softly, pretending to pray with her hands clasped.
“Don’t make me sad by talking about the dead Min-jae like that. Let him ride the Ferrari to his heart’s content there.”
“Bullshit, really. Anyway, don’t even think about taking my Jeep. It’s not happening.”
“You little…”
Infuriated, Ahyeon suddenly kicked Yongcheol’s shin. Yongcheol jumped with a yelp, shouting angrily.
“Ow! Now you’re even hitting me? Even if you do that, I won’t lend it to you!”
“Fine! I won’t ask! Even if I do, it’s just a Jeep with an electric mosquito swatter, what… Fine! Forget it, I’m really done!”
“Hey! You said you wouldn’t ask? You said you’re done?”
“Yeah! I won’t ask, I’m done!”
Grumbling, Ahyeon left, and Yongcheol, clutching his shin, finally sighed in relief.
Hmph, no matter how important the information is, I can’t just hand over my precious treasure for a few pieces of data. Muttering to himself, Yongcheol hummed a tune as he went back inside, reveling in his victory over Ahyeon.
Unaware that the car keys in his back pocket had disappeared.
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Vroom, I gripped the Jeep’s handle tightly and adjusted the rearview mirror. Then, I flicked the electric device’s switch up and down.
The wire mesh surrounding the entire front of the car was connected to the battery. It was designed so that when the switch was turned on, current would flow through the wire.
This electric fence alone couldn’t kill the infected, but it would be enough to momentarily knock down any infected creatures that tried to charge or cling to the car. That’s why I needed this Jeep so much. The mutated infected we recently encountered were much more agile and difficult to deal with than the average infected.
I did feel bad for Yongcheol, who argued vehemently to protect the Jeep in front of me… But I’ll just return it nicely. And later, if things get crazy, I can throw him some needed information as compensation.
Mumbling to myself, I grabbed the handle tightly again and took a deep breath.
How long has it been since I drove… I had a license, but I hadn’t driven a car since the world ended. I never got to drive, even when I tried to ride Min-jae’s Ferrari and ended up just breaking the door. So, this was the gear. Holding the manual gear shifter while vaguely recalling the blurry memories and Yong-cheol driving. But strangely, the gear didn’t move.
‘Why?’
I tried grabbing the gear again and shaking it, but the stick didn’t move, just wobbled like it was about to break, and a warning sound went “clack, clack.” Cold sweat broke out.
“Especially you, it’ll be ruined in less than a week in your hands.”
Was Yong-cheol right? Oh, man, this can’t be happening. Despite his loud protests, I stole it and broke it without even getting to drive it once. Wiping the sweaty palms on my thighs, the car door suddenly swung open just as I was about to grab the steering wheel again.
“Yongcheol, I’m really sorry.”
Assuming it was Yongcheol, I apologized without even checking who it was.
But the response was not Yongcheol’s angry outburst, but a soft chuckle.
Huh?
That’s when I realized the one who opened the door was not Yongcheol.
The familiar laughter.
It was Shin Hae-jun.
His well-groomed and sleek face leaned towards me as he opened the car door.
Yongcheol’s Jeep was heavily modified, and the suspension was incredibly high to sometimes drive over infected. The wheels were large, making the overall height quite tall. Compared to a regular Jeep, it was about 1.5 times bigger. Sitting in the driver’s seat, an average person’s face would be around my waist level.
But Shin Hae-jun was casually meeting my gaze. How tall is this guy anyway? Of course, I couldn’t continue with such frivolous and rough thoughts.
Because his handsome face was too close for comfort.
“What are you doing here?”
Damn it, damn it, damn it! Facing a face I hadn’t expected, or rather, a face I had tried hard not to think about, I awkwardly pretended to be calm as I gripped the gearshift. My palms were sweaty.
“Uh, um. I was just trying to remember how to put the manual gear in.”
Even to my thoughts, the voice sounded stupid, and the response was even stupider. Shin Hae-jun fell silent for a moment before offering a somewhat kind question.
“…Did you step on the brake?”
“Ah, right.”
Mumbling, I tried to move the gearshift again, but suddenly, Shin Hae-jun leaned into the car and blocked my path. What’s going on? I tensed up. It was a reflexive response, fearing that Shin Hae-jun might knock me down again.
But the composed face of Shin Hae-jun, with one hand holding my left arm and leaning his upper body into the car deeper, then grabbed my hand holding the gearshift with his other hand. I knew logically that his actions had no particular intention, but my face flushed at his gesture.
Yongcheol had stripped out all the unnecessary machines and mercilessly turned the interior of the Jeep. It was for prioritizing supplies. So, despite the Jeep’s relatively spacious interior, the space quickly became tight when Shin Hae-jun squeezed in. I unconsciously swallowed dry saliva as I looked at Shin Hae-jun’s face, which was now only a hand’s width away from mine.
“Min Ahyeon.”
As always, Shin Hae-jun looked down at me with his characteristically languid gaze, and I, as always, couldn’t simply ignore him or respond nonchalantly.
The events of last night kept assaulting my mind. The way his lips licked and his teeth marked my body resurfaced abruptly, causing me to press my head further back against the headrest, holding my breath. But Shin Hae-jun’s gaze did not leave me. As his fingertips brushed against me, my body involuntarily tensed up. His mouth opened at that moment.
“When did you get your driver’s license?”
“…I, didn’t catch that?”
“When did you get your license?”
“…Uh…”
Was that really important right now? I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh, feeling like a deflated balloon. Was it because of that? It seemed that Shin Hae-jun thought I hadn’t answered because I couldn’t remember.
“Where’s the accelerator?”
“Uh…?”
Flustered by his interrogating tone, I hesitated.
“Le, left…?”
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Thank you for reading! ♡
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[ The Multidimensional Cocktail Bar of the Other World ]
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
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