Chapter 63
“Seong Jia.”
“….”
She didn’t answer, even when he called her.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Juhyeok asked with tightly pressed lips,
“Why is there only one bed?”
It was late, and after traveling together by car, they finally arrived at the hotel.
They followed the staff’s directions, finished check-in, and entered the room—
only to be met by a small room with an ocean view…
…And a single small bed, in a room already barely big enough for two people.
“Hold on a second.”
Pressing her temples, Jia contacted someone.
She opened a palm-sized screen for the call, and it connected after only a few rings.
She immediately asked what was going on.
[What if one of you falls more than ten meters away while sleeping?]
The answer was simple.
This was to prevent them from accidentally getting more than ten meters apart.
It was a reasoning so solid that there was no room for rebuttal.
If the room were any bigger, one could accidentally go farther than 10 meters while sleeping.
Still, couldn’t they have put at least two beds?
Even if the room was small, surely they could’ve squeezed in another bed somehow.
Did they simply not think of it? Or did they ignore it deliberately?
Either way, this wasn’t the time to argue over details.
“Let’s just sleep.”
“I can’t sleep in the same bed as you.”
“Then sleep on the floor.”
If you don’t like the temple, then the monk has to leave—what else could he say.
“My body is my livelihood. I need to rest properly.”
“…Ugh.”
Her sulky reaction only made her face turn red like a boiling kettle.
He wondered how she didn’t tire herself out, cycling between pale and flushed like that.
Too exhausted to react anymore, he simply ignored it and walked into the shower.
“I’m washing first.”
“Do whatever you want!”
Her voice was loud enough to be heard by the next room.
She had expected this situation, but now that it was happening, it seemed even harder for her to handle.
‘I mean… I’ve never slept next to a girl either.’
Not that he felt nervous.
His mind was too preoccupied with one thing—
What if he accidentally moved and she got more than 10 meters away?
He didn’t have the mental space to be embarrassed about being alone with her.
The sound of running water and the faint hotel shampoo scent…
He changed into the clothes he’d brought from home and stepped out, hair still wet.
“Go ahead.”
“….”
Jia hesitated, then grabbed her towel and clothes and hurried toward the bathroom.
She closed the door, then cracked it open again.
“Just saying, in case you try anything—”
“I’m not peeking.”
“….”
The bathroom door closed.
Shuffling slippers, the sound of clothes brushing—
If any man hearing these everyday noises were visiting a hotel with a woman for the first time, they might find every sound thrilling.
But none of it reached Juhyeok’s ears.
He calmly stretched his muscles before sleeping.
By the time he finished stretching from his toes to his neck, Jia came out.
“…What are you doing?”
“Stretching. I’m wrapping up.”
He finished the last neck stretch and immediately lay down.
He burrowed under the heavy hotel comforter and settled on one side.
Then he put on the sleep mask he’d brought.
“Hurry up and get ready for bed.”
“….”
He wasn’t nervous at all about sharing a bed with a woman.
His harmless calmness irritated Jia.
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you? Stayed somewhere like this with a girl?”
“It’s my first time.”
“Then why are you so calm?”
Her pride took a hit—a younger guy being calmer than her.
Juhyeok answered plainly, as if her tone annoyed him.
“Then do you want me to get excited for you?”
“Wh— What are you talking about!”
“It’s a joke. Keep your voice down.”
Even in a well-soundproofed hotel, her voice rose dramatically whenever she panicked.
Her watch was on the verge of warning her about hearing damage.
“Just sleep already.”
“…Tch.”
With no choice, she got into the bed.
She didn’t like the idea of sharing a bed with a man she didn’t even like, but—
Seeing how completely unaffected he was made her not want to back down either.
Was it stubborn pride?
Or curiosity she herself didn’t recognize?
Without understanding what exactly was filling her chest, she carefully slipped under the blanket—
as far from him as physically possible.
Right at the edge, close to falling off.
Unaware of her inner turmoil, Juhyeok casually announced:
“We’re training early tomorrow morning, so sleep.”
“Training?”
“Yeah. We rested today, so tomorrow we go hard.”
Juhyeok couldn’t stand skipping a day of training.
Recently he’d been taking rest days on recommendations from Hyunsoo and other hunters,
but he still hated resting.
“You’re going to train when you can’t be more than ten meters away?”
“There’s a way.”
He’d already planned everything while they were eating bread earlier.
He pushed up his sleep mask and asked,
“What’s your weight?”
“Why?”
“It’s part of training.”
He asked a woman’s weight with zero hesitation.
Jia frowned at his lack of manners, but she wasn’t the type to obsess over it.
“Forty.”
“That works.”
“What works?”
“You’re perfect for training.”
“…What?”
She had no idea what he meant.
A suspicion crept in.
“Wait—am I supposed to train too?”
“No. Just help.”
“I don’t want to go outside…”
She disliked going out on a normal day.
She often hid in smoking cafés or lounged in the office.
She only went out when work absolutely demanded it—and even then, someone else usually took the job.
Her lifestyle made her a night owl with deep dark circles.
Practically a shut-in.
The idea of going outside to train made her whole body feel lazy.
“I’m staying in here.”
“Then we’ll stay in.”
They could roll around all day and order delivery.
Because of the Mephisto contract, she couldn’t work anyway—
so she could slack off without guilt.
A rare chance to laze around.
She had no intention of wasting it on training—
But wait… that means staying in here with him… all day.
Because of the 10-meter rule, if one stayed inside, both had to.
Her friends, monitoring the situation from outside, would report:
[You two haven’t come out even once… You’re just staying in the room all day…]
A man and woman staying in a hotel room all day without stepping out—
Her friends would absolutely misunderstand.
She imagined Yeonho’s smug grin.
‘That bastard would spread it everywhere.’
Even if he didn’t mean to, the leave of absence paperwork would expose everything.
Her friends would all see it.
[Jia~ You said you’re not interested in guys, but you stayed in a hotel room for a whole week? Doing what~?]
“I changed my mind. I’ll go out.”
“Huh?”
“I said I’ll go out!”
The thought of their teasing wiped out all desire to stay inside.
Juhyeok had no idea why her attitude flipped so suddenly, but nodded.
“…Well, good choice.”
He didn’t know what caused the change, but it didn’t concern him.
Good is good.
He was about to pull his sleep mask down again when he noticed her curled up at the very edge.
“What are you doing over there?”
“What.”
“Are you planning to fall off?”
She lay right at the edge, practically dangling.
She turned her head slightly.
“…Then you sleep on the floor.”
“You really live life the hard way.”
He spoke like comforting a fussy child.
“Stop being dramatic and move to the middle.”
“…You’re planning something weird, aren’t you.”
“Thinking too much is a disease.”
How long was she going to keep whining?
He was tired of it and slid the sleep mask down.
“Do what you want.”
“….”
Silence fell.
Soon, he heard her shifting closer.
He drifted off to sleep as she shuffled nearer than before.
The Next Morning
“So how exactly are we training?”
A refreshing morning.
Jia, who clearly hadn’t slept well, looked exhausted as they stepped outside.
“For the record, I’m not running.”
“You don’t have to.”
Juhyeok tightened his shoelaces.
While doing light stretches, he said,
“You said you weigh forty kilograms.”
“It’s actually forty-one… why?”
“Perfect.”
He approached, turned around, and crouched down.
Stretching his arms back, he said:
“Get on.”
“….”
Jia was too shocked to speak.
She asked again, just in case.
“What?”
“Get on.”
So she had heard him correctly.
While she processed this, he added,
“I’m running laps with you on my back.”
“No.”
“Then run with me.”
“I’d rather die.”
Being piggybacked by a man while jogging around the neighborhood?!
She’d rather Mephisto point a gun at her head.
Especially since it was the weekend—there were plenty of people outside.
Being carried through crowds?!
No way.
Running with him was even worse.
She stubbornly refused, standing her ground—
But her opponent was Jeong Juhyeok.
Usually he was willing to bend, but not when it came to training.
“Then die.”
And with that, he grabbed her in one swift motion and lifted her into his arms.
“Wh— Hey!!”
Panicking, she screamed, but he didn’t spare her a glance.
Holding her firmly so she couldn’t escape, Juhyeok started running.
