Chapter 17: Something to Say

Stepping out of the car with a sigh , holding the unfinished can of beer and with some considerable struggle, I turned my gaze towards the neon signboard that boldly proclaimed "Dom's Workshop."

As I walked towards the shop door, my legs felt like they'd been swapped out for some heavyweights.

It's strange how the integration of the bloodline has bulked up my muscles and made them denser to the point where a punch to it would feel like striking a dense iron anvil.

As for my height, I couldn't be entirely sure. Cursed energy or whatever in the name of god it was, it had clearly done something weird to my body.

I thought of the strange idea that maybe the cursed energy provided the necessary materials for the transformation.

'Without it, would the integration have failed and left me as an incomplete and unfinished work, or would I have starved from the lack of resources to rebuild my body from the inside out?'

I just took a deep sigh inhaling the cold air and looking at the still-raining dark sky, I just opted to keep these questions to myself, because even if asked myself I wouldn't know anything else than just probabilities of what could have happened.

My head was already throbbing from multiple headaches and I didn't want to add more, and that fight just before felt like riding a rollercoaster without any safety locks.

'Sigh.... too many sighs for a single day..'

I walked towards the glass door in front of me where a closed sign hung up. I was annoyed seeing it, I wanted to just break in, but that would have been very rude

Fueled by frustration and experiencing a near-death situation for the first time in a long while, I couldn't bear the idea of being locked out after driving for a half hour covering half the city, breaking every traffic rule.

Exhaustion was setting in after all this time, who knows how long I had been fighting. The relentless heavy rain was the only thing keeping me awake.

I needed to finish what I came here for and just..just quickly find a bed to crash in, that's all I can think of now.

My hand, still gripping a can of beer, turned into an improvised battering ram as I pounded on the concrete wall beside me with just enough force.

I tried to hit it just right, you know, avoiding any accidental renovations, but let's say I wasn't good at controlling my strength just yet as small cracks began to appear on the wall

'Fuck It!' saying that I was going to punch through it but my hands suddenly stopped as I begin to hear the sound of the hurried footstep coming from the other side

I almost forgot to mention, that having a near-death experience made me realize something I've kept hidden in my heart for a long time, something that sometimes felt suffocating for me

It's something I've wanted to understand for a while, and now I think I finally do.

' I have fallen in love '

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General POV

The door swung open, revealing a girl wrapped in a bathrobe, her bare feet comfortably nestled in the floor with water dripping from them.

A It was evident she had just finished a bath. Her damp hair clung to her shoulders, and the scent of fresh jasmine lingered around her. The flush on her cheeks resembled a ripe tomato upon seeing the unexpected visitor at her doorstep.

Clearly, an unexpected visitor wasn't on her mind, as her face displayed a mix of annoyance and curiosity at this untimely interruption. Ryu looked at her face for a moment, realizing he must've picked the most inconvenient moment to arrive.

Her expression went in between irritation of being disturbed and curiosity of what he is doing here late infront of the house.

As she faced an unanticipated late-night guest, noticeable through the glass door

Her eyes briefly locked onto his before swiftly averting with an audible huff, further creating an awkward situation for both of them.

Ryu couldn't help but scream in his mind,

'Why on earth do I deserve this level of hate from you? We only met a year ago!'

Completely forgetting that he had just been banging on the wall of the shop past midnight, with him nearly beginning to think the idea of even barging inside without permission.

He examined her attire and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Mmm... do you usually..." He struggled to find the right words so that the other don't get it wrong, and the girl in front of him quickly grasped the question, her face reddening even further.

She swiftly pointed her finger toward the camera mounted in the door's corner. Ryu followed her direction, mentally nodding.

Then, he gazed at her once more as she questioned, "Did you come here in the middle of the night just to ask me this?"

"No,..... uh-," just as he was starting to build up the courage to speak, she interrupted him once again with her brows furrowed, and she faked a polite smile as she asked would you like to come in or stand in the rain for the whole night.

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Ryu Hanma POV

After taking a long, contemplative sigh, I decided to confess the feelings rather than bottling it like some dense anime protagonist,

"I know this might be a bit sudden, but I love you." As the words left my lips, I could feel my heart racing, because I don't know of how she would react.

The prolonged silence made the atmosphere slightly awkward, but it felt necessary. I could see a rollercoaster of emotions playing across her face.

Haeun's cheeks tinted a little shade of pink, and she couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

Her gaze dropped momentarily, almost as if she was finding the answer within herself. With a hint of vulnerability in her voice, she continued in a softer tone, tears glistening in her eyes, "Do you think I'm an easy girl just because I act little freely around you, or..."

I interrupted her words by leaning incredibly close to her face, making her stop in mid-sentence with a hic.

Our breaths entangled with each other, and I looked deep into her eyes as I spoke, "Even I realized it just moments ago, I've come to realize how deep I have fallen for you.

From the enchanting curve of your smile to the gentle rhythm of your breath, every little thing about you appears not just cute but incredibly beautiful in my eyes.

I realized it's something I want for myself, something I yearn to exist solely for me, a little secret shared only between us." I said with a hush in a voice near her ear

Hearing my confession, Haeun's breath quickened, and her face grew even redder with her eyes pooling drops of tears.

Seeing her in such a vulnerable state, just a hand's breadth away from me, and with only a towel around her, it surely stirred some naughty thoughts inside me, and I wasn't sure if I could control them any longer, But...

"Fuck....."

Without warning, a sudden dizziness washed over me, causing the world to spin uncontrollably.

Before I could even respond, everything blurred, and the next thing I knew, I was collapsing onto the couch. It felt as though I haven't slept for months.

My body felt super tired, like carrying a huge weight on every arm and leg. My vision got so dark in my head, and I just fell asleep without meaning to.

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