Saturday's Master

Volume 3 - Chapter 13

I wanted to check if the door code had been changed, but I rang the bell and waited. I took a deep breath. He groaned as if something was stuck in his chest.

Faint footsteps approached. There was the sound of shoes scraping in the hallway. With a click, the lock was released and the door opened.

"Come in."

He said. He was holding a towel in one hand and his hair was wet. It was a comfortable outfit I had rarely seen. As I looked at it, Team leader Han handed me the open doorknob, turned his back, and disappeared toward the kitchen. I stepped into the door cautiously.

And as I followed him with my gaze, I almost stumbled. There was a thud and a dull sound. When I came to my senses, what caught my toe was a large ice box by the front door.

"Don't kick it."

He called out from afar. A bright light was pouring from the kitchen. I could hear the cupboard door opening and closing, and the sound of the microwave oven running. I looked down at the icebox as I tucked my tingly toes together. It seemed that the lid was half-draped and fell off when I bumped into it with my toe. A chill seeped in. Bend down to look inside, there were several packs of what appeared to be packaged meat. There was also a clear tub containing a colorful vegetable that looked like bell peppers.

The living room was exactly as I remembered it. As I stood vaguely in the center of the living room, clutching my bag, Team leader Han who came out of the kitchen with a large plastic bucket saw me and raised his eyebrows.

"What are you doing there?"

"... I."

"Will you like a cup of coffee? Have you had breakfast?"

I stared at the arm with the sleeves rolled up. A hint of kindness spread over indifferent words must be my delusion. I tried to say that I didn't need coffee or anything, but my throat was tight and I couldn't speak. I looked away, cleared my throat, and asked without looking at him.

"Where are you going?"

"What?"

He was putting the barrel in the icebox. As if considering the arrangement of the bowls, he took out the tin of bell peppers and put the big one in first.

"Food, drink... Where are you going?"

Should I be relieved or disappointed if he tell me to go home now? I was trying to keep my mind strong so that my hand holding the strap of the bag was white, but after tidying up the icebox, he stood up and answered blankly.

"If so, what will you do?"

"... Then I will go home."

"Go get your own toothbrush in the bathroom. The clothes are still in the dressing room, so pack one or two more. Also wear a thick coat. We leave at ten past nine."

And he went back into the kitchen. I stood there until he came out again with a couple of snack bags.

"What are you doing?"

I heard a scolding from him closing the lid of the icebox.

"Did you not sleep well? Your complexion is fresh blue."

"... Will you send me back by tomorrow evening?"

"Does it sound like I'm kidnapping Lee Seo Dan?"

He asked with an expressionless face, not knowing if he was joking.

"Did the idea of locking you in the cellar sound like a joke?"

I closed my mouth. He saw my expression and smiled with the tip of his nose.