Dojin’s eyes widened just slightly. While he stared at the packet of gummies that had popped out of nowhere, that soft, mushy way of talking went on.
“Jihan told me that when you do hard work, your sugar runs out. And training’s hard, right? So I thought, like, maybe you could eat these while you do it.”
The colorful packet sat all alone on a white palm. Dojin didn’t take it; he just looked at it, blank-faced. Somehow, Ain started to get nervous.
Why isn’t he taking it?
When he snuck a glance up at Dojin, the man abruptly tilted his face to one side.
“How did you know?”
“Huh?”
“That I eat these. I’m asking how you knew.”
How do I know... I know ’cause you gave ’em to me. Ain’s words dried up, his mouth opening and closing, before he finally answered.
“I saw you having some.”
“That’s serious...”
Dojin muttered it in a low voice, then slid the gummies out of Ain’s hand. Hard fingertips grazed soft skin. At that contact, Ain’s eyes went perfectly round.
Dojin touched... me! My human body, for the very first time!
He was blinking at the wonder of it when Dojin spoke again.
“I’ve seen plenty of guys like you. There was another one like you who got into the company a while back.”
“Oh, I see.”
He had no idea what exactly a guy like himself was supposed to be, but Ain answered in earnest all the same. Dojin’s brows twitched at that reply and he lowered his head. The distance between them closed another notch.
“You know where he is now?”
“...No.”
Ain barely managed the answer, cheeks gone red. Dojin closing the gap like that was extremely dangerous. That gorgeous face right under his nose, that good scent tickling his nostrils, it left him a little unable to think straight. Then a grim voice came from above his head.
“Hospital.”
...Huh? Hospital? The place you go when you’re hurt, the one Dojin was in for a while?
When Ain’s head snapped up to look at him, Dojin straightened back up, arrogant, and folded his arms.
“He’s been in the hospital a month now.”
“...Why?”
“Why do you think?”
“...”
“...”
“...Why?”
“...”
Ain tilted his head and asked again, but no answer came. Then, on instinct, he realized that the mood around Dojin had turned very, very bad. He shuffled back a step. Watching him do it, Dojin let out a short snort of a laugh.
“And as for this crap.”
Dojin gripped the gummies in his hand and started walking. That big hand rose over the little trash bin hooked to the cleaning cart.
Uh, uh, no way...!
Ain stared at him with startled eyes. Dojin stood in front of the bin, his hand hesitating for a moment, and his brows drew together as though something about it didn’t sit right. But a second later he opened his fingers without a trace of regret. The gummies got sucked into the trash bin like there was a magnet in there.
“Don’t ever bring that again.”
“Hey, the gummies!”
Ain cried out at the sight. Dojin gave him one blank-faced glance, then walked right past him toward where the training goggles were.
Ain’s eyes went back and forth between Dojin’s retreating back and the gummies down in the bin, and when he couldn’t decide what to do, he gave up on the man already walking away and ran for the trash bin instead.
Oh, come on...!
Ain quickly fished the gummies back out. Luckily the bin liner had been changed not long ago, so it was clean. He wiped the bins down every single day, too, so he could personally vouch for the hygiene.
Ain brushed the gummy packet clean with a few pats of his palm and looked at Dojin, standing in the middle of the training hall, his eyebrows drooping.
These gummies are precious. How could he throw ’em out like that?
It hurt his feelings. Ain understood now just how rare a single packet of these gummies had been down in the dungeon. And that back then, Dojin must have been terribly hungry and unbelievably worn out.
If they were still in the dungeon, he’d have rationed this one packet out bit by bit, for sure. And if Ain could go back to those days himself, he wouldn’t thoughtlessly absorb every last gummy just because they tasted good; he wouldn’t eat even one, he’d save them all for Dojin. That was how precious these gummies were. And he’d just dumped them in the trash like they were nothing.
A shiver. Ain trembled without meaning to. And his plump, smooth cheeks quivered right along with him. Ain called out at Dojin’s back.
“You can’t throw gummies away. And anyway I can’t bring any more. ’Cause I don’t have money.”
“...”
Dojin gave him one sweeping look and put the goggles on. Just like that, he was indifferent again.
Ain gazed at Dojin standing in the middle of the training hall with his goggles on. He was tall, his legs were incredibly long, and with cool glasses like that on top of it, he looked exactly like one of those popular characters from the games Jihan played.
He’s so cool.
The whole thing that had just happened was already forgotten as he watched Dojin and marveled for a moment. Then he came back to himself and shook his head. No, this wasn’t the time for that.
Ain narrowed his brows into a serious line and thought it over.
Dojin’s definitely come down with the fit-throwing sickness. He went to the hospital, so he ought to be all better. Why’d he come out still sick? His arm even grew back, and on the outside he looked totally fine, so does he have to go back to the hospital?
It made no sense to him, but then the human world was crammed full of things that made no sense. So there was nothing strange about it, really.
Dojin pressed a finger to some square thing floating in midair. Looked like this training business was about to start. The Supervisor had told him not to get in the way of training. So as not to disturb him, Ain pulled the cleaning cart out of the room, gripping the handle tight.
Working that hard even while he’s sick. This time I’ll be the one looking after Dojin and helping him. This time I’ve got arms, and legs too. I’m not the little round slime anymore. Which means there’s way more I can do for him.
Ain glanced back at Dojin one last time before he left, then slammed the door shut with all his strength.
Bang!
At the racket, Dojin turned his goggled gaze toward the door.
Throwing a tantrum, huh. Little thing.
Dojin looked back at the screen. His focused stare was sharp enough to cut.
Tromp, tromp.
Long legs cut down the corridor. Every time the man passed, the people in the hallway turned their heads to look at him. Most of those gazes were admiration; here and there, a few were steeped in envy.
The man acted like none of it mattered, sweeping down the corridor and yanking open one of the doors along it. The man sitting inside jumped half out of his skin and stared at the door.
“Woo Dojin? Try knocking.”
“Look up an employee for me.”
As always, Dojin didn’t bother answering him. He tossed his sports bag onto the sofa and said it out of nowhere. At the abrupt request, Chief Lee raised one eyebrow.
“An employee? Who?”
“...A cleaner.”
“A cleaner? Why would you suddenly want a cleaner...”
Chief Lee repeated Dojin’s words back at him. Dojin’s brow crumpled hard at that, and only then did Chief Lee read the room and scramble to put his hands on the keyboard.
“Let’s see. The cleaning team is... ah, here it is.”
He clicked the mouse and the cleaning team’s personnel list spilled down the screen. Dojin glanced at the names lined up there and made another demand.
“Can’t you pull up photos?”
“Photos? Uh... hang on.”
Each time he clicked one of the small pictures on the monitor, it blew up large. Dojin watched with his arms folded. Chief Lee clicked the next one and stole a look at Dojin. Blank. Another click. Same expression.
How many times did they repeat that? Chief Lee clicked the entry at the very bottom.
Click.
A window opened, and a man’s face came up with it. Chief Lee froze without meaning to.
“Huh? This guy is...”
Chief Lee suddenly looked up at Dojin with a frown, then craned his neck and stared a hole through the monitor. Dojin tossed out a question.
“Why’d you stop talking?”
Chief Lee studied the man on the screen with a grave face, then spoke.
“He’s seriously good-looking, this one.”
“...”
Dojin leveled a terrifying glare at him. Chief Lee quietly dodged that stare and asked the thing he’d been wondering.
“But... why the cleaning team, all of a sudden?”
“No reason.”
“Did he do something to you?”
“Who knows.”
Dojin gave his vague answer and fixed his eyes on the monitor again.
A soft, round face wearing a dopey expression. The hair brushing the nape of his neck looked sleek and healthy, though a few strands stuck out from never being tended to, and the round eyes stared straight ahead as if he’d been startled. His lips were a vivid red, and so round they caught and held the gaze. Maybe it was because his skin was so pale. His nose was small and neat too, suiting the tidy set of his features.
He’s got that startled face on every single time. Even in the photo.
Without thinking, Dojin called up the image of him and studied the photo for a long while, then let his eyes drop.
Shin Ain.
So this is why I mixed him up with the slime.
He couldn’t believe he’d made such a ridiculous mistake. Sure, he was obsessed with finding the slime, but still. Looking at a human being and calling him a slime.
Tsk. He clicked his tongue, face sour, and jerked his chin at the monitor.
“Can I see this guy’s résumé?”
“...What?”
Chief Lee looked at Dojin like he had no idea what was going on.
