In the Name of God - Chapter 48.1
#2.
Having just woken up, I couldn’t even lift my eyelids properly for a while.
My head felt heavy, as if someone had been stirring through mud inside my brain, and a hot pulse throbbed behind my eyes.
To be precise, it wasn’t just a headache; it felt like someone was physically gripping my brain in their hand.
‘To think I actually blacked out.’
No matter how much I told myself I’d had four cans of beer first, I didn’t expect to suddenly lose my memory after being perfectly fine. And from just two glasses of soju, no less.
On top of that, I was dealing with a hangover—something I had never experienced until entering this body.
It was just one thing after another.
Deciding right then and there never to touch soju again, I got up from the bed.
While scanning the room with my hand pressed to my head, I suddenly felt a sense of emptiness. Echo, with its round, fluffy butt that should have been rolling around next to my pillow, was nowhere to be seen.
“Echo?”
Instead of an answer, a blank system window snapped open in front of my eyes. Then, Echo burst through the screen and lunged at my face rowdily.
-Masterrrrrr-!
“Ugh, hey, wait…!”
Echo wasn’t satisfied with just covering my face with its body; it started kneading my head with its plump front paws.
-I was so shocked because you suddenly disappeared!
“I’m right here, what do you mean I disappeared?”
I could barely speak because it was burying my face so deeply I couldn’t breathe properly.
-Because I disappeared! I was shocked! Waaaah-!
Pretending to cry when it doesn’t even produce tears.
The sound of Echo’s wailing added to the throbbing hangover, making it feel like my head was about to explode. I staggered and sat back down on the edge of the bed.
After peeling Echo off and setting it on the mattress, I pressed my temples and asked.
“And why exactly did you disappear?”
-I don’t know! Yesterday, I didn’t want to get in the way of Master’s fun bonding session, so right here! Right here next to the pillow! I curled up in a ball and stayed quiet! But then I suddenly disappeared! Me!
Exaggerating the situation, Echo hopped around and reenacted exactly where it had been positioned and how it had been curled up. It claimed to have no idea why it happened.
‘It was probably the alcohol.’
It might have been fine while I was just drinking, but it seemed the connection with Echo was severed the moment I blacked out. From Echo’s perspective, being unsummoned without warning would certainly be startling.
I stood up and stroked Echo’s head a bit firmly to calm it down. As Echo began to settle, I had the illusion that my hangover was feeling a bit better too.
Using Echo’s exaggerated sniffling as background noise, I opened the bedroom door.
At that moment, a delicious smell of food I hadn’t noticed before wafted toward me. The rhythmic sound of steady chopping in the kitchen sounded like music to my ears.
I let out a hollow laugh, thinking of Lee Sunho, who was undoubtedly standing in the kitchen.
‘I thought he was just a sheltered young master, but he knows how to cook too?’
In many ways, he’s the perfect guy to spark someone’s jealousy.
I walked out of the room and caught a glimpse of the kitchen. Lee Sunho was standing there with a ladle in one hand, tasting the food with the other. A satisfied smile was playing on his lips.
‘…What is that?’
Looking at the curve of Lee Sunho’s mouth, I felt strangely bothered for some reason. It wasn’t just his mouth; it was hard to take my eyes off that oddly heterogenous face of his.
Since I didn’t know the reason, I just stared at him blankly, and Lee Sunho naturally turned toward me.
The moment our eyes met.
“Are you awake?”
Lee Sunho gave me a very pleasant smile—one I had never seen before. The way his eyes curved elegantly and the corners of his mouth melted into a soft arc felt like watching the male lead of a romance movie in slow motion.
I faltered momentarily at the sight of his smile before quickly crossing my arms and pretending to be composed.
“How come you’re exactly the same the day after drinking? I’m jealous.”
“You look fine too, don’t you?”
“My head is killing me right now. I’m on the verge of collapsing….”
Before I could even finish my sentence, Lee Sunho closed the distance between us in a single stride. Then, as if it were the most natural motion, he lightly placed his hand on my forehead.
“Let’s not go anywhere today and just rest at home. Basic adaptation training starts tomorrow anyway.”
I was momentarily speechless at how he had suddenly closed in.
“…I don’t have anywhere to go so I was going to rest at home anyway, but actually, I’m fine.”
“Now, who was it that just said they were on the verge of collapsing?”
“That was some guy from three minutes ago.”
Answering nonchalantly, I lightly brushed Lee Sunho’s hand away. My head, which had been throbbing from the hangover, already felt a bit better thanks to the “Lee Sunho Painkiller” effect.
“The hangover soup is done, so go wash up and come out quickly.”
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