Chapter 266: Going Ho
The ho I returned to.
The mont Ho-cheol entered the password and grabbed the doorknob.
Clang―!
The door flew open from the opposite side first.
Ho-cheol, who was holding the doorknob, was flustered and was pulled inside along with it.
And then.
“Mister!”
Ji-an, as if she had been waiting, threw herself at him.
Thud―!
His body staggered backward for a mont from how fiercely she charged at him.
Not caring that he was backing up several steps, leaning his back against the hallway wall in confusion, Ji-an simply poured out her overwhelming emotions.
“Hic! You said you’d be back soon, what is thissss!”
Pressing her face against Ho-cheol’s chest, she vigorously rubbed her cheek against it, shaking her head.
“MisterMisterMisterMisterMisterMister!”
“Oh dear. My bad.”
Still, I wondered if it was a good thing or a bad thing that this was the extent of her reaction after I’d contacted her upon exiting the Gate.
Following Ho-cheol’s half-hearted apology, So-hee, who ca out from the front door, added.
“She. Waited crouched down next to the front door for a whole day, starting from midnight yesterday. Thinking, ‘When is our Mister coming’ and ‘Is he coming now’ whenever she heard a rustle in the hallway, then ‘Nope’ like that.”
“Why. I texted once earlier.”
Once, imdiately after coming out of the Gate.
And once while tracking the corpse thief after coming out of the Korean Spa.
This was several tis more consideration than I usually showed.
“You only said it would be slightly delayed, you didn’t say when you’d arrive. So she was continuously on standby, saying she had to greet you imdiately when you ca. Even if I told her to wait in her room, would she listen to a word I said about this kind of thing?”
Ho-cheol smiled, looking troubled.
“I guess next ti I need to give the exact ti.”
He gently massaged Ji-an’s nape in comfort.
Then, he raised his head and spoke to So-hee.
“I’m ho.”
“Welco ho.”
Only then did So-hee, who had maintained a blank expression until now, relax her face and smile lightly.
Although I had dropped the honorifics last ti, that was slightly influenced by the early morning sentint.
Using polite language was still more familiar.
“It’s good to see you after a long ti.”
“A long ti, you say?”
At his words, So-hee tilted her head in confusion.
Although he had returned after two full days, it wasn’t enough to describe it as a long ti, was it?
Only then did Ho-cheol realize his slip-up and shut his mouth.
The ti he felt inside the Gate was close to ten days, but there was no need to deliberately tell her that.
It would only cause unnecessary worry.
“That’s plenty long enough.”
Just as he was trying to co up with a suitable excuse.
Ji-an stood on her tiptoes and pressed her entire body against Ho-cheol.
She hugged his back tightly, raised her head, and looked at Ho-cheol with affectionate eyes.
“I can’t wait anymore. The Botanical Garden, we absolutely have to go!”
“Ah. The Botanical Garden.”
“Only the two of us, of course!”
I definitely made that promise.
Although it was slightly ambiguous to say everything was completely over.
Ho-cheol thought for a mont, then chuckled.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Anyway, I had to focus on recovering my completely worn-out body for the next few days.
What possibly could happen at a Botanical Garden?
“Tomorrow! Without anyone else! Just the two of us! We’re going, right!”
“Yes. Let’s go just the two of us.”
“Yahoo!”
Whether because her Trait was related to plants, it was Ji-an’s one hobby and interest that she could definitively say she liked, excluding Ho-cheol, even though she linked all her hobbies and other things to him.
And at that mont.
Grumble―
At the distinct self-assertion rising from below, Ho-cheol’s head dropped down.
The sound didn’t co from my own stomach.
Then, of course…
Ji-an’s ears, all the way to the back of her neck, instantly flushed bright red at the sound she made.
Since she had abstained from food and drink until Ho-cheol returned, it was natural for her stomach to whine for food.
Ho-cheol let out a small laugh.
Although it was late, close to midnight, there were plenty of ingredients at ho.
“The Botanical Garden is good, but let’s eat first.”
“Yes…”
Ji-an, who had been so rambunctious, instantly beca docile and obediently followed Ho-cheol back inside the house.
As I crossed the threshold, a sudden question made Ho-cheol frown.
“But when did you start coming out of my house so naturally? What about your own house?”
Not just Ji-an, but So-hee also subtly avoided his gaze, feigning ignorance.
Ho-cheol shook his head at the sight of the two deliberately avoiding eye contact.
***
The very next day.
To keep his promise, Ho-cheol visited the Botanical Garden with just Ji-an.
As if she had already figured everything out, Ji-an had perfectly prepared the location and the day’s schedule.
A date.
This was a date.
Ji-an, who kept muttering the word ‘date,’ was in an extrely excited state.
“Mister! Here! Over here!”
Ji-an, her eyes sparkling, first trotted ahead, and Ho-cheol leisurely followed her footsteps.
He looked at the Botanical Garden visible in the distance and let out a small gasp of admiration.
Simply saying 'Botanical Garden' made think of a slightly large greenhouse, but this was on a different level.
A colossal building large enough to house an apartnt complex, with more than half of it made of glass, looked less like a Botanical Garden and more like a massive work of art.
I worried that even a whole day wouldn't be enough to look through all of this.
Thinking that, Ho-cheol stepped inside the Botanical Garden.
The midday sun passed through the greenhouse glass, casting light.
At the entrance, a free guided tour was offered to the two of them, but Ji-an’s plant knowledge was already at the level of a seasoned expert, so she imdiately refused.
No, even if she lacked the relevant knowledge, Ji-an would never allow anyone to intrude on their date.
Ji-an, who had been waiting for Ho-cheol at the entrance, subtly hooked her arm through his.
Ho-cheol, unlike usual, chuckled and didn't shake her hand off.
Ho-cheol and Ji-an stepped into the Botanical Garden, their steps matched, and the sll of moss and earth stimulated their noses.
With her free hand, she pointed to a plant.
“Look at this! It’s Pteridium aquilinum!”
“P-Predator Equalizer?”
Hearing a na for the first ti in my life, I was montarily flustered and even stamred.
“Pteridium aquilinum!”
“Ah, right. That’s incredibly complicated.”
I was unenthusiastic.
It looked so familiar that I thought it was a plant I already knew.
“I just thought it was bracken.”
“Ah, it is bracken. That’s its scientific na.”
Saying that, Ji-an giggled.
After that, we wandered through various parts of the Botanical Garden.
We lightly pricked our fingertips on the spines of a cactus, and took pictures against the backdrop of the vibrant water lilies blooming on the pond.
We marveled at rare plant species not typically seen in this country inside the tropical greenhouse, and in the Gate area, we observed special species that only grew within the Gates.
Ho-cheol was a layman in front of other plants, but he had a little sothing to say about Gate-native plants.
“This one you can eat. This one you can’t.”
“Is it delicious?”
“Of course not.”
Of course, that was the extent of his knowledge.
“Ah.”
In the anti, Ho-cheol, upon discovering a Rainbow Cosmos, montarily showed a complex expression, but he quickly returned to his usual self after rubbing his face a few tis.
Afterward, we even visited the Starlight Garden on the rooftop, which opened in the evening, staying all day from the Botanical Garden's opening to its closing ti.
Literally, I had monopolized Ho-cheol’s day and used it to the fullest, leaving no regrets.
A broadcast announcing the closing ti requested visitors to leave, and the two imdiately exited the Botanical Garden.
Ji-an's hands, coming out of the souvenir shop we stopped at last, were full of plant kits.
All were new family mbers to be raised.
For Ho-cheol, raising the single flower pot he had previously received from Ji-an was enough, so all he bought in return was a small bookmark.
As they were exiting the Botanical Garden’s entrance, Ho-cheol turned his head and asked Ji-an.
“Did you have fun?”
“Is that even a question? Of course, I loved it. Enough to want to live here forever.”
Although the person, not the place, was the key.
“I’m glad you had fun.”
“What about you, Mister?”
Ho-cheol instantly froze with his mouth open.
Honestly, it was a completely unexpected question.
Regaining his composure, he pondered and trailed off his sentence.
“I…”
From this morning until this very mont.
I savored every mont and situation one by one, retracing every emotion and feeling, every single thing.
And I was certain.
“It was good. It was a strange experience, too.”
“Phew. Honestly, I was worried that I was the only one enjoying myself too much. I’m glad. Right?”
“But you really like those weeds that much?”
“Of course. Plants don’t change.”
Ji-an opened her shopping bag and checked the plants.
“When I was young, locked up in that laboratory and waiting only for the day I’d die. I said I had a friend, didn’t I? Thanks to that friend, I was sohow able to hold on without dying.”
Ho-cheol flinched slightly at the sudden ntion of her past.
I didn’t expect her to bring up such a heavy topic so abruptly.
However, he quickly regained his composure and answered calmly.
“You did.”
“Actually, there was one more thing. It’s a bit ambiguous to call it a friend, but it did help hold on.”
A small flower pot placed on soone’s desk, beyond the bars and glass wall.
I didn't know the species or the na.
Maybe it was an artificial flower for decoration.
It was rely an ordinary ornantal plant.
“I thought that plant. While the other test subjects, only called by numbers next to , were dying every day, its constant presence there was sohow amazing. I was envious, too. In a situation where everyone there didn't know if they'd see tomorrow, it alone would be in that spot tomorrow too.”
Ji-an let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Though she seed to be calmly sharing her past now, her fingertips were trembling subtly.
That trembling soon spread to her entire body.
mories painful just to recall do not easily fade, no matter how much ti passes.
Scars are sothing you carry with you for life.
“It’s strange, right? It sounds like sothing a crazy person would say, but I was so cornered back then. I guess I was that…”
“No.”
Ho-cheol cut Ji-an off.
“It’s not strange. It’s not crazy talk either. So…”
Ho-cheol couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
Instead, he silently held her.
She might seem cheerful and as if she’s shaken it all off now, but that was only on the surface.
Past wounds never disappear.
You only carry the scars for life.
Ji-an seed surprised, her eyes wide, perhaps not expecting Ho-cheol to embrace her first.
But she quickly closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest.
“It’s okay. Yes. It’s okay now.”
How long did they stay like that?
Ji-an sniffled once and then smiled sweetly.
“It’s okay now. Really.”
Then, she wrapped her arm around Ho-cheol’s arm.
“Let’s go ho. Our ho.”
“Okay.”
Our ho, indeed.
***
It was late, past midnight.
His second cell phone rang loudly.
This was the contact for serious matters, not everyday life.
The fact that it was ringing repeatedly like this ant it was not an ordinary matter.
The ssages ca from the Hero Association, Unhappy, and even [The Top].
This was the first ti three groups had sent ssages simultaneously among the countless incidents Ho-cheol had experienced.
This looks like more than a normal level of seriousness.
Muttering that, Ho-cheol decoded the ssage’s cipher.
And he realized.
This went far beyond just being normally serious.
The location was Africa.
It was an area humanity had already given up on, and a place infinitely far from this country.
A place there was no reason or need to care about.
The problem was what happened there.
“Terrible news.”
Ho-cheol sighed.
The intelligence that a second sun had risen in Africa clearly indicated one thing.
It ant that the worst enemy, whom Ho-cheol no longer wanted to worry about, was still alive and well.
And it didn’t just end there.
The last place he was sighted was on the deck of a ship heading for this country.
“Right. He wasn’t the kind of person to just vanish without a fight.”
Muttering that, Ho-cheol got up from his chair again.
He certainly wouldn’t have returned to his holand just because of hosickness, so shouldn't I prepare thoroughly to greet him?
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