I quickly followed the senior's instructions.
Ricardo was making pasta. Octopus oil pasta. The savory smell filled the kitchen, and the noodles tossed around in the frying pan.
Wow, I was really hungry.
The smell made my hands move faster as I set the table.
Just as I finished setting everything neatly, the food came out.
I heard the senior's words as he waved his hand, signaling me to sit.
I also heard his instruction to eat, clear as day.
"Wow."
What was this?
I widened my eyes the moment I took a bite of the oil pasta.
Then I stupidly stared down at the pasta.
It was incredibly delicious.
A wave of emotion hit me, comparable to the thrill I felt eating the basic noodles from my favorite franchise. Those basic noodles had a unique seasoning that suited me perfectly, but this was an oil pasta that anyone would rave about.
I gazed at the pasta in a daze.
"It's so delicious."
Ricardo raised one eyebrow.
The senior glanced at my expression and let out a chuckle.
"Delicious~?"
"Yes. It's really delicious."
My vocabulary was too limited to express this properly.
I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly, trying to convey the emotion.
Meanwhile, my fork kept moving diligently. Since I'd emptied my stomach earlier, the food went down even better.
Eating the noodles with the octopus brought an even greater rush of delight.
I'd resolved to apologize sincerely for the trouble I'd caused at noon, but that determination had already been pushed aside.
As I happily swallowed the pasta, I said,
"It's so delicious. As good as Lexick Basic Noodles."
"Lexick...?"
"Yes. It's a restaurant, and I absolutely love their basic noodles."
Ricardo furrowed his brow and reached for the smartphone on the table.
While he swiped through it with one hand, I blissfully devoured the oil pasta.
Then his words made me choke.
"You're saying this tastes similar to that shitty franchise's noodles right now~?"
I coughed for a good while.
I nearly spat out the noodles in my mouth. Barely avoiding that embarrassing scene, I held out my palm to clear up the misunderstanding.
No.
This was so unfair.
"I really said that because I love their noodles!"
"And it's not even their best menu—it's the basic noodles...."
"That's the best one. Honestly."
I meant it.
For some reason, my sincerity never seemed to get through to him.
It was hard to joke around comfortably, like I could with Yoon. As I twisted noodles onto my fork, I stole glances at the man sitting across from me.
Ricardo stared at his smartphone for a moment before smirking.
"Just eat it~."
"...But it really is delicious."
"I get it~."
"If you don't believe me, I could buy dinner there later...."
...But was it okay for me to say something like that?
I'd been about to casually offer to treat him to dinner there when I stopped myself.
The kitchen fell suddenly quiet.
The senior, mid-bite of pasta, noticed my shift immediately.
His green eyes narrowed.
I couldn't meet his gaze and muttered while twirling my fork.
"I'm sorry."
The senior let out a sound like a snort.
My head drooped even lower. To hide my fear, guilt, and awkwardness, I shoved the forkful of rolled-up noodles into my mouth.
Even in this moment, the pasta was delicious....
"Hildebert."
I nearly choked on the pasta.
After barely swallowing, I replied.
"Yes."
"Do you not regret betraying your kin~?"
My fork stopped.
I looked at the man across from me without moving. He held my gaze, waiting for my answer. Just like when I'd first tumbled out of the portal—he hadn't let me out of his sight.
In any case, I intended to tell him only the truth.
I set my fork down on the table.
"I don't know."
Not right now, when I couldn't recall the exact circumstances of that decision.
"Only after I remember everything completely will I know the answer."
"Confident you can remember~?"
"I still have four more games."
He blinked as I spoke quietly.
I smiled faintly.
"One of them is even in my cabin. If I dig through all of them, won't I remember more of what I'd forgotten?"
"So you have to have four more outbursts.... That's going to be a hassle...."
"I'm sorry for the trouble."
I bowed my head in apology.
If only he'd just handed me the games. Told me to hole up in my cabin and hunt for Easter eggs. Then I wouldn't have had to dirty his home or his hands.
He was the last person who needed to understand my situation.
Ricardo fell silent for a long time.
Then he shattered it with another question that twisted my guts.
"How close were you to the creature that Ye-hyeon killed?"
I let out a small breath.
Fortunately, I'd braced for a tough question, so my response didn't lag too much.
"It was a friend, a cohort, a comrade-in-arms...."
In truth, it had been by my side ever since I started truly facing the vast world.
"I'd hardly ever imagined its absence."
"Why did you give the sword to Ye-hyeon?"
"Because I thought he might hesitate."
I curled my lips in self-mockery.
"I figured that if he paused even for a moment at the sight of my sword, it might give him a chance to win."
Silence stretched on.
The long black kitchen light cast its glow over the reddish-brown table. Salt, pepper, bay leaves, basil, pasta noodles, and various other ingredients were neatly arranged. The kitchen was tidy but carried a sense of lived-in warmth.
Quiet settled over the space, fitting for the senior.
I figured it was time to prepare to leave.
"If it were me, I probably couldn't have done what you did...."
In that moment, Ricardo muttered, almost to himself.
I lifted my eyelids.
He came into view, eyes half-lidded, staring at some spot on the table.
"That's what's normal. Not betraying. Who would trust someone who'd committed a sin like that?"
"Did I ever tell you I hated my family~?"
He didn't raise his lowered gaze.
Memories resurfaced from the elevator in the ruined arena. How he'd despised his mafia father and wandered the streets. How he'd run around scouting ways to escape to another region.
Even in the moment disaster struck, he'd been searching for a way out to somewhere else.
"I couldn't stop a single one of all the crimes that bastard committed."
His whisper came out low and rough.
"I agonized over it dozens of times, but I never mustered the resolve to act."
"You were too young."
I stated the obvious.
Meeting his eyes straight on as he slowly raised his lids.
"Besides, you loved your family."
What could he have done?
No one would blame Ricardo for that. He was young and loved his mother and siblings. He was the only one who'd strayed in the family, or so he'd said. He must have known better than anyone that toppling his father would drag the whole family down.
That was never his fault.
As I tried to say as much, Ricardo gave a bitter smile.
"You think you didn't love them~?"
Ah.
I was speechless.
Seeing my reaction, the senior smiled bitterly.
"Are you heading out to kill them yourself?"
"Yes."
After getting the smartphone, I'd contact Ye-hyeon immediately.
I needed to report what I'd remembered. Then I'd ask when I could leave. He was surely handling the arrangements, but recalling the past had made me even more impatient.
Especially after seeing Eve's letter.
The humid early evening.
Ricardo lowered his elbow from the back of the chair beside him.
"I'll go with you~."
The bombshell dropped.
My eyes went wide.
Amused by the sight, a hint of laughter crept into the green-eyed man's voice as he continued.
"Better to bend willingly than stubbornly resist and regret it more...."
I didn't understand.
What stubbornness? What further regret? But I didn't ask. My mouth hung open in shock until I finally snapped out of it and nodded. It was the urgency talking.
Only after that hasty agreement did gratitude wash over me.
Along with a heavy guilt.
"Thank you."
I added softly.
"I'm really sorry."
"Don't apologize~. Makes me feel like I should too~."
Ricardo replied casually.
With that, the conversation wrapped up. Silence blanketed the kitchen. Emotions tangled inside me—dozens of them, leaving me unsure if I wanted to cry, rejoice, or lash out—as I ate my pasta.
Afterward, the senior focused silently on his dinner.
Once the meal ended, we cleaned up in quiet.
Afterward, Ricardo brewed me coffee.
Espresso.
When I tried to add water, he scolded me.
"Please don't do something so barbaric~."
But this time, I stood my ground.
"How can anyone drink that stuff? It tastes like medicine."
Ricardo shot me a weary look, as if dealing with someone who had no taste.
People from his country were notoriously picky about certain foods, and that hadn't changed. They'd fuss over something as mainstream as Americano.
If I brought out Hawaiian pizza, he'd give me that same glare.
Their stubbornness was something else.
So I steadfastly made my Americano right beside Ricardo.
Under his contemptuous stare, I finished it and hurried to the entrance.
"I've been a bother. I'll head out now. Good night, senior."
"Why not stay over~?"
"It's a generous offer, but I miss my cabin too much. I haven't looked after it in days."
I replied smoothly.
Then, glancing at the man leaning against the entryway, I gave a wry smile.
"I plan to crawl under the covers alone and cry myself to sleep."
He eyed me with a puzzled expression.
Those green eyes were still hard to read. But the anger that had burned there before was gone now. I couldn't tell what had replaced it.
The man, standing wordless, nodded in lieu of a goodbye.
I returned the silent greeting and headed home.
*
"Hildebert."
The next morning, I faced someone I hadn't expected at all.
"Your smartphone."
Jonathan Kudo.
The man who'd shown up at my door that morning, latest-model smartphone in hand, was my old patrol partner from back then.
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