I Don’t Want This Reincarnation

‘If he had voluntarily joined the Praus Cult, he would have had more information to gain.’

Of course, if that was the case, it wouldn’t have been this easy. I was so disappointed that I had a lot of useless thoughts.

As I clicked my tongue and folded the open document, I heard a brief, neat knock on the front door.

Who is it? I tilted my head since there was no one to come and opened the front door.

“Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi?”

“Good afternoon.”

The person standing outside the door was unexpectedly Woo Seo-hyuk. Woo Seo-hyuk, who greeted me calmly when I was surprised, came up with a question.

“Are you busy?”

“No, I was looking at the document from Roheon. Come in.”

I glanced behind him as I answered, but no one was in sight. Did he come alone?

It must have been an important business if Woo Seo-hyuk, not someone else, came to visit me. I led him into the room and met his gaze.

“……”

“……?”

What? Why didn’t he say anything?

A sudden silence came while facing Woo Seo-hyuk.

Should I say anything first? I was seriously thinking about it, but after a while, Woo Seo-hyuk hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Han Yi-gyeol-ssi.”

“Yes.”

“That…”

Unlike usual, his behaviour which wasn’t being able to speak easily while looking around, only made my doubts grow even bigger.

It was at that time when I was worried that Woo Seo-hyuk, who had been calm all along, might have had something bad that caused him to hesitate.

“Could you… give me some time?”

“Time?”

“Yes. If you don’t mind, I would like you to go out with me.”

Going out? He asked me to take some time, so I thought it was just a conversation, but I guess that wasn’t the case.

It was the first time I received such an offer from Woo Seo-hyuk, so I was a bit surprised, but nothing was impossible. Rather, it was quite nice to go out with Woo Seo-hyuk, who still felt awkward compared to other team members.

“All right. Are we leaving right now?”

“Yes.”

“Where is the destination?”

When I asked while putting on the cardigan that had been laid on the sofa, Woo Seo-hyuk avoided answering by turning his face away this time.

What the hell were you doing. It was Woo Seo-hyuk who answered quickly to whatever I asked. This look was so unfamiliar that I doubted if he was the same person.

“All right. Let’s go out first.”

Well, I’ll know when we go. Thinking lightly, I passed Woo Seo-hyuk and left the room first, and he quietly followed me.

* * *

“…um, Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi.”

The place I arrived at was really a place very different from what I had imagined.

Touching the corner of my mouth and feeling embarrassed, I struggled to open my mouth.

“Therefore…”

How should I talk about this? I looked down at the pale yellow object in front of me and spoke as carefully as I could.

“The place you tried to come with me… is this right?”

“Yes.”

Right? Feeling embarrassed, I looked at the table placed between Woo Seo-hyuk and me.

The round wooden table was filled with various desserts and drinks, from cheesecake to vanilla latte. I rolled my head again, but I couldn’t figure it out.

“Why is the café…?”

“Healer Min Ah-rin told me that it was a new cafe that opened a while ago.”

Aa. Come to think of it, it seemed that Min Ah-rin said something similar to me. Here is where it was.

“As Han Yi-gyeol-ssi knows, I didn’t have anyone who could come with me to a place like this, so I asked.”

“I see. You want to come to the new cafe…”

Woo Seo-hyuk, who returned with a blunt expression, which I didn’t know where that hesitating attitude that he showed before go, naturally pushed a plate of cheesecake in front of me.

“Please eat.”

I was embarrassed, but there was no sin in food, so I raised the fork in silence.

Yeah, Woo Seo-hyuk is also a human being, so he must want to come out to get some fresh air from time to time. Considering his job, where he always worked by Cheon Sa-yeon’s side and worked overtime like a meal, it might be rather natural.

‘I feel sorry for him…’

He must be very busy with just his original secretary job, but since he went from researching materials related to the Praus Cult to following them here and there as a team… How much rest like this was needed in the meantime.

I guessed I was a little careless. I received a lot of help from Woo Seo-hyuk, but I didn’t think of giving it back. I didn’t have too much shame.

Feeling sorry, I swallowed all the desserts and coffee piled up on the table. After leaving the cafe and getting back into the car, I fastened my seat belt and asked Woo Seo-hyuk.

“Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi. Are there any other places you would like to go to?”

I didn’t know why Cheon Sa-yeon sent Woo Seo-hyuk out of work hell, but I couldn’t blow this opportunity just by visiting a cafe.

“What about Han Yi-gyeol-ssi?”

I wanted to avoid going back to the guild like this, so I quickly thought of places worth visiting. But there was no way I knew a good place.

“I don’t know.”

If Min Ah-rin had been here, she would have told me a good place. Or Kwon Jeong-han.

It was difficult for me to suggest a good choice to Woo Seo-hyuk because I could count on my hands the memories of going out.

‘Should I ask on the phone?’

When I couldn’t speak easily and my worries grew longer, Woo Seo-hyuk, who started the car, opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“If you don’t have it, we will return to the guild.”

“Wa, wait a minute. That… how about the Han River?”

Grabbing Woo Seo-hyuk’s arm as he was going to the guild without regret, I hurriedly shouted about the Han River. It was the most plausible and safe place among the things squeezed out of past memories.

“Han River… do you want to go there?”

“Yes. Rather than doing something great… Let’s walk for a while. I ate two of those cakes and I’m so full that I want to walk a little.”

If it was the Han River, it wasn’t too far from here. As I added an explanation, Woo Seo-hyuk gave me a small nod and started the car.

I could feel that he was somehow happy from the profile of Woo Seo-hyuk driving. As expected, he must have wanted to play more when he said he wanted to go back to the guild.

There were quite a lot of people who came out for a walk at the Han River, which we arrived soon after. It was full of trees and wild flowers coloured with colourful leaves, and people with their families and lovers.

Woo Seo-hyeok and I also parked the car in a suitable place and entered the promenade. Perhaps because of the brief rain during the day, the wind that blew was cool and clean.

“Shall we just walk around the area?”

“Yes.”

When I asked while sweeping the nape of my neck, Woo Seo-hyuk nodded again. In the awkward air, I started walking along the Han River side by side with Woo Seo-hyuk.

‘The attention is amazing.’

Everyone who passed by looked at Woo Seo-hyuk’s face once and passed by. Looking at Woo Seo-hyuk’s appearance and the atmosphere he gave off, it was understandable that they reacted like that, but it was true that it was a bit burdensome.

Woo Seo-hyuk still had a calm expression in the eyes of others who were stuck in me. Was he familiar with it? Not only because of his appearance, but because he had been working as Cheon Sa-yeon’s secretary for a long time, I expected him to be insensitive to this kind of stare.

‘Should I not come here?’

It was time to sigh inwardly and regret belatedly. His big hand gently gripped my wrist.

“Han Yi-gyeol-ssi.”

Warm heat spread from my wrist like paint. Woo Seo-hyuk, who caught me, stopped and pointed at the Han River.

“The sun is setting.”

When I turned my gaze to the place he pointed, I saw the Han River and wild flowers dyed red by the sunset. The dark blue sky turned to purple-red as it got closer to the sun.

As the darkness settled down little by little, the lights on the buildings across the Han River turned on one by one. Looking at the panoramic view in front of me, I deeply understood why people come to the Han River to play.

“It’s pretty.”

It was a landscape that I wouldn’t get tired of even standing still and looking at for a long time. While watching the diminishing sunset, I said to Woo Seo-hyuk.

“I hope you can have a break like this sometimes.”

“……”

“It’s not something I should say because I always ask Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi.”

Woo Seo-hyuk, who blinked for a moment, asked in a low voice.

“Next time… would you come with me?”

“Of course.”

It wouldn’t be fun to be with me, who wasn’t good at talking and had no sense, but I was grateful that Woo Seo-hyuk asked me to come with him next time.

Next time, I must come with Min Ah-rin or Kwon Jeong-han as well. Then we would be able to go to more fun and nice places other than the Han River.

We finished watching the sunset and got back in the car. The time I walked along the Han River was less than 30 minutes and I only watched the sunset, but it was a satisfying enough time.

Woo Seo-hyuk, who parked the car in front of the guild gate, handed over the car key to the bodyguard and followed closely behind me. I was a little suspicious of the closer distance than usual, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, so I headed for the elevator without saying anything, but I heard the voice I heard the other day from behind.

“Oh my, Talented Han Yi-gyeol.”

When I reflexively looked back, Alice was approaching me with a smile.

Beside her, I also saw the secretary who had attended the meeting the other day. He said his name was Theo.

“It’s a coincidence that we meet here. I guess you just come back from an outing?”

“Yes. It’s good to see you again, Deputy Master Alice.”

“It’s nice to see you, too.”

Alice narrowed her eyes as she greeted me with her hand held out toward me.

“Requiem didn’t tell us Talented Han Yi-gyeol’s schedule. No matter how many times I asked, they didn’t even pretend to listen.”

Alice’s black eyes, which contained her irritation, went back and forth between me and Woo Seo-hyuk once.

“Master Cheon Sa-yeon said that today the guild was completely empty. I guess you were on your way back after going out with Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk?”

“……”

It was only then that I realized the reason why Woo Seo-hyuk suddenly came to my room and asked me to leave.

‘That’s why it was strange.’

Cheon Sa-yeon made Woo Seo-hyuk go outside with me while Alice was at the guild. The mysterious doubt left in the corner of my head was resolved in an instant.

Did he not want me to meet Alice enough to make Woo Seo-hyuk go outside? I thought it was a joke, but I guessed he meant it.

Should I call this jealousy? Later, when I meet Cheon Sa-yeon separately, I should point this out properly.