Evil Organization’s Extra Mr. A – Chapter 13

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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It was a disaster. Usually, you only become aware of the cleanliness of your living space when it surpasses a certain threshold of acceptable messiness.

As a typical bachelor, I wasn’t particularly tidy or a frequent cleaner. I didn’t live in squalor, but I also didn’t prioritize maintaining a spotless environment.

However, with my girlfriend about to come over, my apartment was a disgrace. Every single strand of hair in the corner was visible, and the floor, which had seemed fine before I left this morning, now felt strangely sticky.

The trash bag in the corner was almost full, and the recycling bag, overflowing with plastic bottles, sat uselessly beside a neat stack of more bottles.

“Argh!”

I berated myself for not cleaning and started tidying up every nook and cranny. I had about an hour. My small studio apartment, usually cramped but manageable, suddenly felt enormous.

After vacuuming the hair and dust off the floor and mopping, the dust under the bed caught my eye, and I expanded my cleaning radius.

I still had the kitchen and bathroom to clean, and the task felt daunting.

“Ah! Laundry!”

I opened the dryer and checked the clothes I’d left inside for days. Thanks to the dryer, they didn’t smell, but the wrinkled clothes, left crumpled inside, had lost their shape.

“These are beyond saving.”

Trying to iron them would be like rearranging trash, so I tossed them back into the washing machine without hesitation.

“Next…”

Having only ever cleaned superficially, I didn’t know where to start now that I was attempting a proper clean.

Forgetting about the pain in my jaw, I started cleaning one thing at a time, but even a small studio apartment couldn’t be thoroughly cleaned in an hour.

Just as the hour was up, the doorbell rang. I checked the intercom screen. Yu-bin was standing at the entrance of the building. I looked around my still-unfinished apartment.

“I’m screwed.”

I’d finished the surface cleaning, but I hadn’t taken out the trash, and the laundry was still running. I was worried about dust and hair lurking in the corners, despite having vacuumed twice, but I couldn’t keep Yu-bin waiting, so I pressed the button to unlock the door.

Moments later, I heard a knock and opened the door. Yu-bin was standing there, wearing a beige high-waisted maxi skirt and a white blouse.

“Hi, Oppa.”

“Hey, come in.”

Yu-bin entered, carrying a shopping bag overflowing with… something. We’d been fighting just two hours ago. How did she have time to pack so much?

“I tried to clean up, but it’s still a bit messy.”

I gave her a heads-up, just in case. Yu-bin looked around and nodded.

“It’s clean, though.”

My efforts seemed to have paid off; nothing appeared to bother her. Relieved, I was about to relax when Yu-bin went into the kitchen and sat down her shopping bag.

“What’s that?”

“Groceries. I’m going to make you dinner.”

“Dinner?”

Her sudden declaration surprised me. As I stared at her blankly, she took out an apron from the shopping bag.

“Tie it for me.”

She turned around, asking me to tie the apron strings, and I obliged.

“Why dinner all of a sudden?”

“You always eat convenience store food or takeout, so I thought I should cook for you sometimes.”

I appreciated the gesture, but a fundamental question arose.

“Are you a good cook?”

“…”

She didn’t answer. I’d learned from our conversations that she often ate out, too. While anyone with hands could cook, I was curious about her skills. Her silence made me uneasy.

“I looked up a recipe online!”

She blurted out defensively, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Okay, then I’ll look forward to it.”

“Don’t get your hopes up.”

She took out the ingredients from the shopping bag and started preparing. I peeked inside the bag, which still seemed quite full.

“Pajamas, toiletries, clothes… and underwear?”

“Ah! Don’t look through my things!”

“I already saw what’s inside.”

She snatched the bag and hid it in the corner of the kitchen. I’d already seen everything, so I wasn’t sure what the point of hiding it was, but she clearly didn’t want me to see it.

“…Are you planning to stay the night?”

I asked as I watched her wash the vegetables, and she blushed and nodded.

While the unexpected turn of events was a little surprising, what was wrong with my girlfriend staying over? It was perfectly normal.

“I have work tomorrow, and it’s close by.”

“I see.” I replied and retreated to the sofa, watching her prepare dinner.

She kept glancing back at me as she worked, checking what I was doing. Our eyes met each time, and unable to think of anything to say, I just smiled.

She blushed at my smile and went back to cooking.

“What are you making?”

“Kimchi jjigae and rolled omelet.”

It was an ordinary meal, but I had no reason to dislike it. Kimchi jjigae was the first Korean dish I’d tried when I arrived, and I had a good impression of it, so I had ordered it several times since then.

Once Yu-bin started cooking in earnest, I couldn’t find the right moment to talk to her. Watching her busy movements, I was mesmerized, forgetting to speak.

After she put the lid on the kimchi jjigae pot and started preparing the rolled omelet, I walked over and rested my chin on her shoulder.

“!!”

She jumped and turned around, our eyes meeting.

“I just wanted to watch. Is that okay?”

“It’s not that it’s not okay, but…”

“Then I’ll watch.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close, and watched her as she worked. Perhaps bothered by my gaze, her hands occasionally faltered.

“Oppa, you’re too close…”

“Really? Should I move back?”

Was I disturbing her cooking? She wouldn’t get hurt from a small cut, but she couldn’t reveal her superhuman, Hunter Killer-level defense to me.

“No.”

It seemed she didn’t want me to move, even though she found me close. I didn’t quite understand, but I decided to stay put, holding her.

I followed her every move, mirroring her actions.

After she finished the rolled omelet, she took hold of my arms around her waist, turned around, and we were facing each other, still close.

Seeing Yu-bin tilt her chin up slightly and close her eyes, I understood the signal and kissed her gently.

She opened her eyes when I pulled away, looking up at me.

“Just one kiss?”

“Of course not.”

I kissed her again, and again, moving from her lips to her cheeks, then slowly downwards.

As I kissed her collarbone, visible through the open top button of her blouse, I heard her voice.

“Oppa!”

“Yeah?”

Brought back to my senses by the urgency in her voice, I pulled away and looked at Yu-bin. She was blushing furiously, flustered, her eyes meeting mine.

“Dinner first…”

“Right.”

I’d forgotten about the food. Was I more excited about my girlfriend being in my apartment than I’d realized?

We sat across from each other at the table, and Yu-bin watched me nervously, wondering if I’d like her cooking.

“Are you going to eat?”

Her anxious gaze made me nervous, even though all I had to do was eat. I nodded, and she took a spoonful of the kimchi jjigae and tasted it.

“…”

She waited for my verdict, tension filling the air. I savored the flavor and gave her my honest assessment.

“It’s salty.”

If it was good, I’d say so. If it wasn’t, I’d say so. I needed to be honest. I told Yu-bin exactly what I tasted, and she seemed deflated, lowering her head.

But I couldn’t help it. Cooking was a sensitive matter, and you had to be honest about problems for improvement.

“Sorry…”

She seemed quite discouraged, even though she’d put in the effort, and I started eating without much reaction.

“Oppa, you don’t have to eat it if it’s salty.”

“It’s salty, but I have to eat it. You made it for me.”

It was definitely salty to me. I didn’t know about other people’s tastes. It might not be salty to those who preferred salty food, but it was salty to me.

But salty or not, it was rude to refuse food someone had made for you with good intentions.

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

She seemed to think I was forcing myself to eat it after saying it was salty. While I’d said it was salty, it wasn’t inedible.

“I’m not forcing myself. You eat, too.”

“…Okay.”

Yu-bin took a spoonful and tasted it.

“It is salty.”

It seemed even she thought it was salty.

“I’ll look forward to next time.”

“Huh?”

She looked up from her food at my words. Sensing her gaze, I looked up, and our eyes met.

“You’re not going to make it again?”

“I will. I’ll make it really delicious next time.”

I had been worried that my comment about the saltiness had hurt her feelings and she wouldn’t cook for me again. How could I refuse a home-cooked meal from my girlfriend, regardless of the taste?

“Okay.”

The tension eased as we continued eating, and I felt a pain in my jaw.

“!”

I winced as I chewed, and Yu-bin, noticing, stopped eating.

“Did you bite your tongue?”

“No.”

The pain had come on suddenly, so I quickly thought of an excuse. I couldn’t tell her my jaw hurt from her punch during the duel.

“I think I slept wrong. My jaw hurts.”

I didn’t know how you could sleep wrong and hurt your jaw. I’d slept in awkward positions before, but my jaw had never hurt. Yet, that was the excuse that came to mind, and I felt pathetic.

‘Would anyone believe that?’

Even I doubted the plausibility of my excuse.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

But she believed me. While she probably wondered how I could possibly have slept in a way that hurt my jaw, she didn’t question it.

“No, it just hurts a little when I chew.”

She stared at my jaw for a moment, then resumed eating. After dinner, she insisted on doing the dishes, and I folded the laundry while waiting.

“Oppa, can I use the bathroom?”

Yu-bin, finished with the dishes, was holding the shopping bag with her things.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

I’d thoroughly cleaned the bathroom, so there was nothing to worry about. I readily agreed, and she went into the bathroom. It wasn’t until I heard the shower running that I realized what was happening.

‘Is it time?’

We hadn’t slept together since the motel incident. As I’d said before, it wasn’t intentional; we were both busy, and the opportunity hadn’t arisen.

Had Yu-bin come over today hoping to sleep with me again after our first time?

But I could be wrong. Maybe she genuinely just wanted to have dinner, hang out, and spend the night before going to work in the morning.

I had to consider that possibility. I couldn’t be an animal driven purely by instinct.

I’d finished folding and putting away the laundry without realizing it.

I listened to the sound of the shower, waiting for Yu-bin to come out. When the door opened, I was captivated by the sight of her in her pajamas.

“What?”

Was she self-conscious about my staring? I had been staring intensely.

“You’re beautiful.”

I voiced my honest admiration, and Yu-bin beamed.

Seeing her like this stirred something within me, but I controlled myself.

Time passed as we talked, and it was almost time for bed.

“You can take the bed, Yu-bin.”

My bed was a standard single size, spacious enough for one adult man, but too small for two. I decided to give the bed to Yu-bin and sleep on the sofa.

“What about you, Oppa?”

“The bed’s too small, so I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Yu-bin, sitting on the bed, looked at me. Control yourself, I told my inner beast.

I calmed myself down and was about to go to the sofa when Yu-bin called out to me.

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

I turned around. Yu-bin, blushing, patted the bed.

“Let’s sleep together.”

I wasn’t an animal driven by primal urges.

I wasn’t an animal driven by primal urges.

I wasn’t an animal driven by primal urges.

Okay. I’d told myself three times, so I should be able to control myself.

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