I Became the Academy's Kibitz Villain [part 1]

Chapter 59: Mental Care, At Your Service (5)

Baek Seol-hee was lying in bed, tightly hugging the blanket.

The place where she was lying was a pension on Ulleung Island.

She had come unannounced to a man who had counseled her and poured out her troubles. After listening to them silently, her boiling emotions had cooled down, and she was there, talking about her thoughts.

[Can you comfort me like this often in the future?]

[Am I the one who's comforting? I think I benefit more from spending time with someone like Ms. Baek Seol-hee this late at night.]

[In what sense?]

[Just by spending time with someone like Ms. Seol-hee, I profit.]

And so, she spent time with this man late into the night.

The place where she was lying was a new place, not where she usually should be sleeping. The fact that she was lying in a place that should not be exposed carelessly to others felt very strange to her.

It felt like a good child doing something adults told them not to do.

Like children splattering red paint on a blank white canvas that they were told not to paint anything on.

Having lived like a child for 25 years, it felt like she finally opened the door to adulthood and became an 'adult'.

Although summarizing it as just a feeling was an understatement, Baek Seol-hee decided to just sleep quietly, given the intensity of what happened the previous night.

Rustle, rustle.

But she couldn't sleep.

Next to her, on the recliner chair placed next to the bed, she saw Do Ji-hwan reading a book in the darkness, and she was engulfed in many thoughts.

He said he liked books because he was a librarian, but even here, Do Ji-hwan was reading an e-book.

Perhaps thinking she was fast asleep, he quietly slid out of bed, sat down in the recliner chair, and continued reading something on his tablet with the light dimmed as much as possible.

Was it a book meant for show?

Or was he truly reading because he wanted to?

She could at least guess if there was a physical book, but regrettably, Do Ji-hwan was just silently reading an e-book.

"What are you reading?"

"Weren't you sleeping?"

"I tried to sleep, but I thought talking would be better than sleeping?"

"Hmm... Was I bothering you?"

"No, it's nice, like ASMR I can listen to while sleeping. It's not the actual sound of a book, though. I just... maybe I wanted to talk a bit more...?"

"We've been talking non-stop until 3 a.m., and you still want to talk more?"

"Yes."

"...Hoo."

Do Ji-hwan placed his tablet on the bedside table.

"Can I ask what the book is about?"

"It's one of the collections of Korean folk tales. I'm researching various folk tales spread among the Korean public."

"Folk tales?"

"Yes. Even though I'm not someone with special abilities, I'm considering trying psychological counseling and special abilities consulting."

"That sounds like a very interesting job, but what does that have to do with Korean folk tales?"

"If I take a motif from the folk tales, people in this country will like it."