Chapter 28: Be embarrassed by a mistake.

The uninhabited island I had gone to for a test.
As soon as I reconciled with the Japanese Angel there, I somehow naturally returned to Seoul.

‘Huh…? Didn’t I go there for my test…?’
What was this…?
Had everyone forgotten?
Or was it consideration because I might be tired…?

Thanks to this, I felt a little uneasy.
Still, thinking of it as skipping a schedule, there was nothing bad about it.

Finally, back in my familiar lab room.
I immediately started preparing ways for the Japanese Angel to get along with everyone….
But I ended up falling asleep.

I don’t know how much time passed after that.
Finally, my consciousness, which had been cut off at some point, completely returned.

Thump!
The moment I sensed a chilly feeling, I was startled and quickly sat up.

‘Ah, I didn’t mean to sleep…!’
As expected, I was lying on a bed.
Even looking around the room belatedly, the Japanese Angel was nowhere to be seen.

‘Me… how long did I even sleep….’
Oh no….
To boast that I would help and then immediately fall asleep.
How dumbfounded must the Japanese Angel have been looking at me?

‘And I even said that when I sleep this long, I don’t wake up even if someone tries to rouse me….’
It was a situation where I had inadvertently lied.
I felt incredibly sorry.

So I asked the only other person in the room.
Lee Hyejin had already noticed I was awake, perhaps because I had woken up quite noisily today.

“…How long did I sleep…?”
“Hmm, you woke up a bit earlier than expected this time! 13 days!”

13 days…?
This… if the Japanese Angel got angry, I really wouldn’t have anything to say….

It was certainly shorter than last time, but the answer was just as bewildering.
As I let out a deep sigh that escaped on its own, this time, she asked first.

“The Japanese Angel is currently out for a bit. Shall I contact her?”
“…What? She didn’t go back?”
“Oh, no. The Angel said she had something to tell you and would wait in Korea.”
“Oh…?”

Huh, I naturally assumed she would have gone back to Japan…?
Could it be that she was planning to stay here until I woke up…?

Feeling bewildered, I gave a small nod.
Soon after, the Japanese Angel entered the room, smiling brightly.

“Maknae~! You finally woke up~!? Why do you sleep for so long!”
“Huh? S-sorry….”

She probably didn’t say that with any particular intention.
But feeling guilty myself, I apologized without realizing it.

The Japanese Angel tilted her head, as if puzzled by that.
Soon after, she dove onto the bed next to me, lying down and smiling broadly while meeting my eyes.

“So, are you going to tell me now?”

Just then, the sunlight warmly illuminating the room.
It illuminated the girl’s long, white eyelashes, making her look even more beautiful.

Huh…? I think she can just stay as she is…?
She’s already incredibly cute…?

In fact, it made no sense for her to be unpopular based solely on her appearance.
The Japanese Angel naturally just wanted more attention than me; it wasn’t that people disliked her at all.

‘The problem is that many people are afraid because of her jealousy, isn’t it…?’
That’s why what I was ultimately trying to tell her was.
Basic things like not using her powers recklessly on people.

I wasn’t sure if I had told her that in Japan.
In any case, seeing that it wasn’t being followed well, it seemed better to emphasize it clearly again.

‘As for popularity… that alone would probably be enough…?’
Honestly, when comparing the Japanese Angel and me objectively.
I felt that the Japanese Angel, being lively and active, had far more elements that people would like.

‘After all, I just sleep all the time….’
For that reason, I felt I could easily keep the promise I made with the girl.
Next, when I tried to think about how to eliminate ‘jealousy’.

‘Hmm….’
Truthfully, nothing specific came to mind.
After all, I myself couldn’t resist sleep and had just woken up after sleeping for 13 days.

‘Is it even possible to get rid of desires…?’
Because of that, I pondered for a long time, tilting my head.
In the end, to learn more about jealousy, I asked for help.

“Hyejin.”
“Yes?”
“Tell me a story that would make me jealous.”
“…What? Suddenly?”

Lee Hyejin’s utterly bewildered expression.
I nodded at it, showing my resolve.

“I really need it now.”
“Oh… really? Hmm, jealousy…”

Then Lee Hyejin tapped her chin with her index finger, lost in thought.
After a long time, she finally opened her mouth.

“You know the mango bingsu you like best, Angel? How about just Senior and I eat that?”
“…….”

No, mango bingsu…? Does this person think I’m some kind of child…?
Are you seriously suggesting I’d be jealous over that?

Honestly, if that really happened, I would feel a bit bitter, of course….
I would also be a little disappointed….
But it’s not that much, no matter what, you know?

I exhaled softly and stared intently at Lee Hyejin.
She tapped her chin with her index finger a few more times, then continued.

“Then, how about if you, Angel, have a full schedule, but only Senior and I get to sleep soundly?”

Uh… th-that might make me a little jealous…?

“Or, when you’re completely stuck with people, what if we just pass by comfortably?”

…Huh? Something…
That, jealousy… it’s related, right…?

“Or, instead of going where you, Angel, want to travel, we only go where we want to go?”

……What?

“What about if we deliberately don’t grant any of your requests, Angel?”

Th-that’s…. That’s just bullying me….
What, I didn’t see her that way… a bad person….

“I dislike you, Hyejin….”
Somehow, listening to her talk, I felt depressed.
With a terrible sense of disappointment, I pouted and hung my head low.

“Huh…? Oh, no! Those were just examples! Just examples! Of course, I would never do that!!!”
Lee Hyejin, who had been completely immersed, seemed to finally snap back to reality.
I heard her startled, hurrying footsteps.

Thud! Wham!
Incredibly noisy sounds also reverberated.
Lee Hyejin quickly ran to the front of the bed, and kneeling down, she met my eyes as I kept my head bowed.

“A-Angel~ Of course, it was all nonsense~ You know that, right?”
“……Weren’t you really wanting to do that?”
“Wha, what?! Of course not! Taking care of you, Angel, is the reason for my life!?”

Lee Hyejin gasped and grabbed my hand, but my mood remained complicated.

Since I was always the one being taken care of.
I couldn’t help but wonder if she really thought that way.

As I continued to sag and receive all sorts of comforting words.

“Ah~! So that’s how you do it! Okay, I understand!”
“No…!”

I reflexively shouted.

I, I didn’t tell you anything just now…!?
You don’t need to learn things like this…!

It was an utterly bewildering statement.
I had to quickly clear up the misunderstanding the Japanese Angel had developed.

“You shouldn’t use your powers on people? Why?”
The Japanese Angel tilted her head.
I pondered for a moment before answering.

“Uh… well, because they get scared…?”

Then came the next question.

“Why do they get scared?”
“Huh…? Hmm… w-well…? Because it hurts?”
“What is ‘hurt’?”
“……Huh?”

What is ‘hurt’…?
Hurt, hurt is… hurt…?
A question where I had no idea how to explain it.
My words caught in my throat, and I stared blankly at the girl.

‘Come to think of it… Angels don’t have pain receptors, do they…?’
Thinking about it, I hadn’t felt any particular pain since my body changed.
At first, I thought it was simply because my body was hard to injure, so I hadn’t been hurt.
But thinking about what happened at the folk village, that was definitely not the case.

In other words, since pain receptors didn’t exist in the first place, it was perfectly natural for the Japanese Angel not to know what pain was.
This dreadful lack of basic common sense couldn’t be helped.

“Huh~? What is ‘hurt’? What is it? What is it?”
The Japanese Angel pushed her face right up to mine and asked again.
Suddenly, I felt the girl’s breath right in front of my nose.

Greatly flustered, I inadvertently blurted out whatever came to mind.
Without even the slightest filter.

“Ah, ‘hurt’ is like, ‘ow-ow’…”
“‘Ow-ow’?”

The Japanese Angel tilted her head, full of doubt.
Seeing that, I belatedly realized what I had just said.

Huh…? Huh-huh…? Oh, no….
Wh-what did I just say…!?

Startled, I quickly covered my mouth with both hands.
But countless people must have already seen it through cameras.
Thinking that, an unbearable wave of shame began to wash over me.

I wasn’t sure why this was embarrassing.
But it just was embarrassing, somehow.

Because of that, my face flushed red in real-time.
The Japanese Angel, who had been staring intently at me, spoke.

“Ah~! So Maknae likes ‘ow-ow’?”
“N-no…!”

The Japanese Angel was making another strange misunderstanding.
Because of that, I reflexively shouted again, and then I had to explain ‘pain’ step by step for a long time.