Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 317 - Side Story 1. An Ordinary Romance (12) 

Side Story 1. An Ordinary Romance (12) 

 

“So after that, you didn’t see your cousin’s face again… until we met in the parking lot?” 

 

“That’s not true.”

 

“So what did you talk about when you met again?”

 

Her pinky wiggled as it brushed against Han Woohyun’s finger. 

 

It’s small. 

 

Her hands were small, her face was small, and her body was small.

 

Actually, Han Woohyun’s side was the bigger one, but it was still “relatively” small. 

 

Han Woohyun scrunched up his face, suddenly noticing it all over again. 

 

If they stay like this, it’ll be a little… 

 

It’s dangerous, isn’t it? 

 

For one, being surrounded on all sides and having a roof gives the constant illusion that it’s almost like being indoors.

 

But this is clearly inside a car.

 

But those words were so powerful that she almost wanted to forget that fact.

 

‘Tell me more.’

 

The fact that you’re as curious about me as I am about you feels just right—barely enough, but perfect.

 

It feels as if I’ve become someone important to you. 

 

Of course, even so, it was already past midnight.

 

“Go inside. I’ll tell you more once we’re in.”

 

Was there always this many questions?

 

Han Woohyun squeezed Junghyo’s increasingly drunken hand a little tighter, then let it go. 

 

He’d spent the entire vacation drinking, but he didn’t think he’d ever seen her this drunk before.

 

She looked completely different from when she was with other people.

 

Han Woohyun opened the car door and went around to the other side to open that door. 

 

“Let’s get up.”

 

“….”

 

“Mhm?” 

 

Even at his words, Junghyo barely reacted.

 

She simply looked up at him quietly and said in an apologetic voice.

 

“Um… Uh… I can’t walk?”

 

That’s about it.

 

That’s how cute she is.

 

Han Woohyun, slightly taken aback, unbuckled the backseat seat belt and asked.

 

“Since when have you been this drunk?”

 

“Ah… Since when?”

 

“Do you always get this cute when you’re drunk?”

 

“…?”

 

“Why haven’t you been like this before?”

 

Junghyo briefly scrunched up her face at Han Woohyun’s question. 

 

As if she were lost in deep thought.

 

Then, as if no matter how much she thought about it, it still seemed strange, she looked up at him and spoke. 

 

“No…? I’ve been cute all along… haven’t you…?” 

 

A laugh escaped him without any resistance.

 

He laughed so hard his back shook, then managed to get out a single word—

 

“Yeah. That’s right.” 

 

He leaned forward, offering his back to Junghyo.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

At the same moment, Junghyo’s hand wrapped around Han Woohyun’s neck.

 

Han Woohyun supported Junghyo’s body with one hand and slung her bag over her shoulder. 

 

“Hehe… being like this somehow feels…”

 

“What?”

 

“Like I’ve become a heavy load.”

 

“It’s okay. Even if you’re a heavy load, you’re still cute.”

 

“…”

 

“But…”

 

“But?”

 

“Can you take the key card out of your bag?”

 

“No, I can’t. I can’t… I can’t. I can’t…”

 

“Why?”

 

Why can’t she take her card key out in front of the house?

 

Han Woohyun was taken aback by the firm refusal. 

 

But the answer he received soon made sense.

 

“I can’t quite remember where it is.”

 

“…It’s okay. I know.”

 

Han Woohyun gently moved some of her hair aside and took a black wallet out of her bag. 

 

Then he took the key card out of the wallet and unlocked the door.

 

“Wow.”

 

She’s impressed.

 

“I finally found the card key.”

 

“….”

 

She held the elevator, got off, entered the front door code, and finally, upon reaching the apartment entrance, Junghyo slid down like coming down a slide and sank to the floor in front of the door.

 

“Ugh.” 

 

“Are you going to throw up?”

 

“No, it’s not that. I’m just… exhausted…”

 

“It is, isn’t it?”

 

How could it not be hard? 

 

Han Woohyun finally realized that all the alcohol accumulated over the vacation might have just hit her now.

 

“…Really!”

 

“Really?”

 

“Will I ever be able to take off my shoes?”

 

At those words, Junghyo stared at her shoes with a determined expression.

 

It seemed as if she was intently studying how to take off her shoes.

 

Seeing that, Han Woohyun sat down beside her.

 

“Why on earth…”

 

“….”

 

“How did you get so cute? Seriously.”

 

* * *

 

“So you quit smoking from that day? Really?”

 

Han Woohyun nodded and studied the glass bottle that had come out of the pouch.

 

Among those glass bottles, there was an item that needed to be used now.

 

Definitely. 

 

‘But I don’t know what it is.’

 

Something used to remove makeup.

 

Han Woohyun carefully looked at his phone and the nearby glass bottles, then picked up one of the bottles.

 

Eye remover.

 

He felt like he’d guessed the right answer.

 

This should be used first.

 

“…What are you doing…?”

 

“I found the eye remover.”

 

“I didn’t put on any eye makeup.”

 

Junghyo briefly lifted her head, then rested it back on Han Woohyun’s thigh.

 

“And it’s okay if I go to sleep without removing my makeup… it’s fine… it’ll work out somehow…”

 

Junghyo mumbled while hugging a cushion from the sofa to her chest.

 

“Tomorrow, I’ll figure it out somehow.”

 

Junghyo, just lazing around like this…

 

Precious.

 

Han Woohyun felt he understood why the association president kept Junghyo’s childhood photos like a collection. 

 

She hardly ever showed that relaxed side, and whenever he did see it he wanted to keep it for himself.

 

Actually, even if she showed it often, he’d still want to keep it.

 

Just watching her makes him feel good—just like now.

 

Han Woohyun brushed Junghyo’s hair aside as she lay with her head on his leg.

 

“Why don’t you ever show this side of yourself normally?”

 

“Me? I… hmmm…?”

 

Junghyo’s face briefly scrunched up before relaxing. She mumbled, half-buried in the cushion.

 

“People might dislike it.”

 

“…What?”

 

Han Woohyun’s eyes momentarily blanked.

 

Like being hit in the head with a blunt object.

 

“No, no. So… um…”

 

Junghyo pressed the cushion with her fingers as she mumbled.

 

“First, Uncles and Aunt worry way too much.” 

 

The “Uncles and Aunt” she was referring to were Guild Master Hanwoon, the Association President, and Master Craftsman Hwang Misoon. 

 

“And… um… I… uh… I’m just living here, so I can’t whine too much…” 

 

Junghyo, with her eyes half-closed, spoke drowsily.

 

Hearing this for the first time, Han Woohyun’s expression stiffened.

 

He didn’t know what expression to make.

 

It was really her first time.

 

For Junghyo to share what was in her heart like this. 

 

“You felt the same way… didn’t you? You said you liked that I was strong.” 

 

“That kind of thing…”

 

He said it.

 

He said it.

 

Junghyo had always been someone who never gave up. 

 

No matter the crisis, she was someone who made decisions without hesitation and acted on them.

 

And she was someone who still had the capacity to care for others.

 

Because he thought that was admirable.

 

‘Apologize to me.’

 

It was the same back then. 

 

Hearing that tear-tinged voice, he felt like killing that bastard— 

 

‘Still, apologize to me.’

 

In the end, he couldn’t help but admire her unyielding strength. 

 

Maybe that’s why he had forgotten for a moment.

 

That the reason for your strength wasn’t solely the result of your own choices.

 

Even though there were always reliable adults by your side since childhood, that didn’t mean there weren’t gaps or shortcomings.

 

“…I wish I could become a strong person too. I’m not there yet… so, um… I don’t want to show my weak side.”

 

It was when Junghyo completely buried her face in the cushion.

 

Through her darkened, blocked vision, she felt the spot next to her on the sofa sink under weight. 

 

“Huh?”

 

When Junghyo moved the cushion aside, Han Woohyun was there. 

 

Han Woohyun and Junghyo had their faces pressed against each other, a cushion between them. 

 

“I don’t hate you.”

 

“…”

 

“I won’t dislike you just because you show your weak side.”

 

“That’s…”

 

“Just as you’re curious about me, I’m curious about you.”

 

Han Woohyun’s voice lowered.

 

“Every side of you is fun and interesting, and I want to hear more.”

 

“….”

 

“Tell me everything. Everything.”

 

A large hand covered the hand holding the cushion.

 

Their clasped hands slid downward as their lips met.

 

With a soft friction, Han Woohyun’s lips moved from Junghyo’s lips to the bridge of her nose, from the bridge to her cheek, and from her cheek down to her neck.

 

Shivering at the heightened sensations, Junghyo wrapped her hands around Han Woohyun’s neck and her legs around his waist. 

 

It felt similar to when she had been carried earlier.

 

It felt like she was being held tightly in his arms.

 

It felt like she was holding onto him and sinking down into the ground.

 

Like she had become a burden. 

 

But now she knows.

 

She had to overcome this feeling for them to rise together.

 

Junghyo looked up at Han Woohyun’s brown eyes above her and spoke. 

 

“Thank you… for saying you were sorry to me.”

 

After hearing the story, the memory came back to her vividly.

 

‘It wasn’t because of you.’

 

How many people could say that to a phone call out of the blue?

 

She desperately needed those words back then.

 

It wasn’t simply because her pride was hurt, but because she needed the strength and motivation to be able to love someone again—and to endure being hurt once more. 

 

She wanted to hear that she wasn’t someone who drained the people around her dry.

 

She wanted to be reassured of it.

 

Even if it was the kind of self-esteem that could only be restored through her own conviction rather than someone else’s validation, just as a well needs a bit of priming water to start flowing, she, too, needed just a few small words.

 

And you were the one who said those words to her.

 

Even if, as Han Woohyun said, those words were something she actually wanted to say to herself, it didn’t matter. 

 

Junghyo avoided Han Woohyun’s gaze, which was quietly watching her as if waiting. 

 

She steadied her voice and slowly let the words she wanted to say slip out.

 

“You’re someone I really need. You’re… important to me, and… also…”

 

Han Woohyun’s lips curved into a slightly crooked smile. 

 

As if that wasn’t what he was waiting for.

 

“…I like you.”

 

“….”

 

“…Please like me. Don’t hate me. Even if I show you my weak side… just keep… liking me.”

 

Junghyo’s fingers dug into the nape of Han Woohyun’s neck.  

 

Their breaths mingled for a moment, then drifted apart.

 

Han Woohyun whispered in Junghyo’s ear.

 

“I will. I will continue to love you.”