Iris stepped inside with an awkward smile.
There was a pause before Johannes, having closed the door, finally understood what Iris meant and clumsily pushed his sunglasses up.
“Uh, th-these sunglasses… Do they look weird?”
“Hm? …No. They don’t look weird.”
How could she say they looked weird when he was asking like that? Whatever he wore in his own house was up to him anyway.
She could also understand why he would want to hide his eyes because of <Mind Reading>.
Iris, letting out a harmless white lie, changed into indoor slippers and entered the living room.
Her honey-colored eyes grew slightly wide as she took a turn, glancing around the house. Johannes’s place was, unexpectedly, very bright and clean.
Unlike Iris’s house, which was always a mess, the living room here was neatly organized, and she couldn’t help but be impressed on the inside.
‘I thought it would be gloomy, but that was just my prejudice. I imagined piles of stuff everywhere… Maybe he cleans a lot. Everything’s sparkling. I’m the only one who lives in a mess.’
There wasn’t a single thing lying around in the white-toned living room—not even a stray hair could be seen.
The furniture and appliances were spotless, as if they’d just been brought in.
It was so neat that, in a way, it didn’t even show traces of anyone actually living there.
Of course, Iris had no way of knowing it was because Johannes barely spent any time in this place.
In fact, the room at his Home where he mainly stayed was so messy, it looked more like a storage room, packed with Iris’s photos and belongings.
When Iris turned around, Johannes quickly lowered his head.
He was so used to always bowing his head whenever facing her that even with sunglasses on, he found himself unconsciously avoiding her gaze.
He felt ridiculous, but what could he do about being nervous?
While Johannes was scratching the wallpaper absentmindedly to hide his anxiety, Iris spoke up.
“This place is really tidy. You must like cleaning.”
“N-no, not really… But, thanks.”
Since James or Auntie Helper always did the cleaning, Johannes rarely had to clean himself.
Plus, he hardly came to this Apartment, so there was nothing to clean in the first place.
He’d only visited a few times since signing the contract on this place, which he’d gotten just to see Iris more often.
Especially recently, he had mostly stayed at his Home and just driven to Iris’s neighborhood every morning to see her.
But since there was no need to correct her, he let the misunderstanding be.
After all, it wasn’t a bad thing if she thought he liked cleaning.
“Oh? Something smells delicious.”
Just then, a savory scent wafted to Iris’s nose. Sniffing, she followed Johannes, who motioned her into the Dining Room and then scratched the back of his neck shyly.
“I-I thought you might be hungry….”
“Wow.”
Iris’s face brightened at the sight of the beautiful spread on the table.
She was already hungry, and now the table was full of her favorite foods: Cream Pasta, Rose Tteokbokki, and more.
Of course, the food wasn’t made by Johannes, who was clumsy at cooking—James had hastily ordered a catering service when he heard Iris would visit the Apartment.
‘I felt this when he brought me snacks from the convenience store before, but Johannes and I really have similar tastes. It’s all the food I like.’
Iris wasn’t picky and could eat almost anything, but there were foods she especially loved.
She particularly liked anything with cream, and now the table was packed with cream-based dishes, making her wonder if Johannes’s tastes matched hers.
When a gentle smile appeared on Iris’s lips, Johannes’s face turned red. In the past, he could only see that smile from afar, a smile she showed only to others.
Now, seeing it up close felt like a dream. No matter how many times he saw her smile, he never got tired of it—it was always fresh and electrifying.
He thought he’d never get sick of it, not even until the day he died.
‘It was the right call to send James the list of Iris’s favorite foods.’
Johannes, dazed while staring at Iris, was about to sit next to her but suddenly remembered James’s warning, ‘Don’t lose your mind,’ and hurriedly moved to the seat across from her.
Without thinking, he’d almost sat by her side. If he had, Iris might have looked at him strangely.
Excited, Johannes unconsciously wiggled his foot. When he shifted in his seat, the chair rattled along.
Realizing how odd he might look, he started clenching and unclenching his hands, trying to calm himself down, but it was hard to settle his nerves when he thought about being alone in the house with Iris.
His mind went blank, and his heart pounded so fast it felt like it might explode. He hadn’t been this nervous on their movie date—probably because there were lots of people around then.
Now, in a closed space with just the two of them, his brain felt like it was melting, and it was almost impossible to take his eyes off Iris.
‘Thank goodness I didn’t wear loose pants.’
Johannes had been aroused even before Iris arrived. No matter how hard he tried to think innocent thoughts, it was useless.
He felt perverted for getting hard just from her coming over, but there was nothing he could do about his body’s reaction.
He’d nearly embarrassed himself, so after worrying about it, he decided to wear jeans.
They were uncomfortable to wear indoors, but it was still better than Iris seeing his erection and despising him.
“Mm!”
Iris, holding a fork, tasted the Rose Tteokbokki and cupped her cheek in delight. Humming a tune, she enjoyed the delicious food.
Watching her from across the table, Johannes quickly lowered his head when Iris looked his way.
Just feeling her gaze was enough to make his straining bulge fight to break free from the tight jeans.
With Rose sauce on her lips, Iris asked cheerfully, “Johannes, did you make all this?”
“Ah, um… No. I-I ordered it.”
Johannes felt an urge to say he’d cooked it himself. But if he lied clumsily and got caught, it’d be embarrassing.
Hesitating, he confessed the truth, and Iris nodded as she picked up another piece of tteokbokki.
“I see. I guess you and I have similar tastes. This is all my favorite food.”
Johannes watched Iris stuff her cheeks like a hamster and, mesmerized, finally spoke up.
“I-I’m thinking of learning how to cook. I ordered this time, but next time! I’ll, uh, make it… myself.”
“You’re going to learn to cook? Oh, nice. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Yeah…”
At her words, Johannes’s face grew even hotter. If Iris would come to his house again, wasn’t that practically dating?
Even James, when he heard Iris would visit the house after their movie date, had confidently declared, “This is a budding romance.”
Glancing at Johannes, Iris smiled and continued eating.
‘He doesn’t lie. I like how honest he is.’
Every dish was delicious. And since they were plated so beautifully, she figured a beginner couldn’t have made them.
That’s why she’d asked, and sure enough, Johannes hadn’t made them.
Instead of disappointing her, his honesty felt even more attractive. Even his determination to learn to cook and make her food next time was adorable.
‘How could such a pure kid be a Villain? Didn’t he say his Father was the Enraka Sect Leader? Maybe he’s forced to do bad things because of his Father. That’s why he showed up as a Villain in the Comic.’
She tried to think rationally, but every time she faced Johannes, her resolve softened. Still, a Villain was a Villain.
Even if he was forced by his Father, it didn’t change the fact that he’d done bad things.
To defeat Enraka Church—the great evil from the Comic—she had no choice but to steal Johannes’s Skill, so he couldn’t keep doing wrong.
‘Taking away might actually be good for Johannes. Seeing how he goes out of his way to wear sunglasses indoors just to avoid reading minds…’
No matter how many times she agonized over it, she always came back to the same conclusion: she had to take Johannes’s Skill.
If it were as simple as just stealing it, she’d do it right now. But the problem was, she had to sleep with him to take his Skill.
‘Ah, whatever. Let’s just eat first.’
When stressed, delicious food was the best remedy. Rubbing her aching temple, she twirled pasta around her fork.
The scarf she’d tightly wrapped around her neck to hide her necklace felt suffocating, almost like it was choking her.
‘I can’t even take this off… Ugh, but it’s not really the scarf’s fault. It’s the necklace. Because of this, I really don’t feel like seducing Johannes right now.’