James gave an exasperated gasp and waved his hand dismissively at Johannes’ maddening tendency to latch onto nonsense so precisely.
“No, no. That was just my foolish remark, definitely not true… Ugh, if you’re really upset, should I try contacting Miss Iris using the young master’s phone? You said you held hands and hugged, so maybe it’s finally okay to set up a meeting.”
“Well… I suppose so? Skinship like that isn’t something trivial.”
“Yes… yes. I think that’s probably the case.”
A cold sweat dripped down James’ temple. Surely nothing had happened between them. But still, they had to meet first for anything to happen, right?
So he tailored his response to suit Johannes’ mood and suggested reaching out.
Johannes’ face brightened as if he had never cried. He crawled over and retrieved the phone that had been lying on the floor.
He had been gloomily staring at Iris’s empty Profile Status and Profile History, then, out of frustration, had thrown the phone down.
He handed the phone to James and bowed deeply. His pale cheeks flushed red.
“It’s not the time to confess love yet… Just, set up a meeting. No, maybe I should just ask what she’s doing? But what if she ignores me… Ah, maybe that’s no good after all…”
“Wait. Let’s send something, anything.”
Just as Johannes reached to grab the phone back, James shook his head and stepped back. Then he typed, ‘What are you doing?’ Although their marriage was arranged, James had heard enough from others to understand the basics of how men and women communicate.
Both of them smiled brightly and nodded, but the atmosphere turned grim after Iris didn’t read the message for thirty minutes.
Avoiding Johannes’ increasingly dark expression, James felt cold sweat dripping down his temple.
“Read it, please read it!”
***
A few days later, Iris was bustling about early in the morning. Today was the day of the Potion Transport Mission.
After preparing, she checked her Hero Phone. It had two contacts saved: Rainbow Girl, and Laika’s other number, which she had hesitated over but decided to save anyway.
After much deliberation, she finally summoned the courage to contact Rainbow Girl, and they exchanged what missions they were taking.
There was a cheerful message waiting from Rainbow Girl.
「Potion Transport? I picked that mission too! It’s reassuring that you’re with Angel Girl. Also, Angel Girl, I got a new skill! Just like you said, I awakened a skill by swinging my sword!」
「That’s great news! See you soon.」
After sending her reply, Iris tucked the phone into her bag. She felt more reassured now.
Rainbow Girl possessed various Debuff and Buff Skills and had even unlocked a usable Attack Skill, making her the perfect companion.
It was certainly more comforting than meeting a brand-new Hero.
‘Angel Girl has Blessing of the Cat, right? That buff skill that saves you in danger. I have an Escape Item I bought at the Secret Exchange… Hehe, soon I’ll have six months’ Bakery Part-Time Wages in my bank account.’
While gathering her coat on the sofa, she froze at the rustling noise by her feet. It was the snack bag Johannes had given her.
She had dropped it under the sofa the day she returned from meeting him and then forgotten about it.
She pulled out a snack and tasted it, then sat down on the sofa. Taking out her regular phone instead of the Hero Phone, she wondered what Johannes was up to after leaving so abruptly.
‘I never even checked in after he left like that. Hmm… What’s this? Johannes messaged me?’
She had been distracted these past few days and apparently swiped past his message without reading it properly.
But now, faced with his message from a few days ago, she hesitated over what to reply, moving her fingers slowly.
「Going to work. That day was fun!」
Just as she closed the phone, a reply came immediately. It didn’t really require an answer.
「I see.」
‘What, that’s so bland? No special meaning? Maybe he just messaged to check in, embarrassed about what happened that day?’
If she pressed him about that day’s details, Johannes might feel awkward. Staring absentmindedly at the reply, Iris unconsciously tapped his messenger profile.
‘Hmm, his Profile Status… Does he have someone he likes?’
Johannes’ profile picture was a sunflower. The status message read, ‘Always, forever.’ It seemed he had been harboring a long-standing crush.
She wished she had stopped there, but instead, she checked his Profile History.
‘Oh my… What is this?’
Her brown eyes widened like lanterns. The history was filled with all sorts of embarrassing past stories.
Although his longing hope that his crush would see them was clear, it would be better if others couldn’t see such things.
Confessions and photos, when traced back to adolescence, became even more ridiculous. She even saw tear-streaked selfies that most kids would take once in a while.
Shaking her head, she exited the Profile History. She had unintentionally glimpsed Johannes’ pitiful history.
‘Doesn’t he know there’s a delete function on messenger? At this point, he might as well confess… He’s decent-looking, actually handsome. Why is he acting like this?’
His crush must be someone exceptional. For wealthy and handsome Johannes to have been pining for someone for so long… His personality was a little, well, quite peculiar, but the rest was fairly admirable.
If the girl knew about this pure, long-term devotion, she might even be moved and accept him.
‘Yeah, with a face like that, shyness is actually an attraction. Handsome guys usually think they’re all that, but Johannes’ awkwardness makes him more endearing… Oh, what am I thinking?’
Iris smacked her cheek sharply. Maybe the spoiled child buff was too strong.
Having even received a snack bag worth several thousand won, her long-standing dislike of Johannes had faded considerably. She even found him a bit cute despite his embarrassing past.
The fact that Johannes was so fixated on a girl made her curious about who she might be.
Judging from the Profile History, he had liked her for a long time, so perhaps it was a girl Iris knew from their shared elementary, middle, or high school days.
Of course, it could have been someone he met outside school, like at church or an academy.
Iris recalled her school days, trying to guess his crush. Countless pretty and academically gifted girls who were well-known at school flashed through her mind. Did any of them get along with Johannes? Narrowing her eyes and dredging up old memories, she gave up. She had no interest in Johannes and barely remembered who was even around him.
More precisely, she had never really tried to look at Johannes.
‘I should care more about other people’s business. Who could she be? Since he keeps changing his profile, she must be someone around him or someone he keeps running into. Maybe a childhood friend. This is the perfect setup for a romance novel.’
She was a little envious but also somewhat regretful. She had briefly misread Johannes’ nervousness around her as a sign of interest.
That couldn’t be the case. This was clearly a crush over ten years old. If he liked her, wouldn’t he have asked for her number and contacted her countless times by now?
So, unintentionally, Iris had ignored the very first message Johannes courageously sent with James’ help for several days.
She had no way of knowing that Johannes, who had spent those days steeped in despair and self-reproach, had become so downhearted that he only dug himself deeper, as revealed by his brief reply.
Leaving the house, Iris drove the rattling old car she saw on the Hero App toward the mission site.
Arriving at a state-of-the-art Potion Factory located quite far from the city center, she was guided by a guard to park in the lot.
Transforming inside the car, she stepped out just as someone waved and ran toward her from a distance.
“Over here, over here!”
It was Rainbow Girl in her colorful costume. She stopped in front of Iris and raised her hand for a high five.
Meeting her hand, Rainbow Girl shook her shoulders and said excitedly,
“Yay! Nice to see you, Angel Girl.”
“Shh, shh. The hero name is…”
“Oh, right. I wasn’t careful enough.”
Since the hero names were fake anyway, it didn’t really matter, but just in case, Iris covered her mouth with her index finger to warn her.
Rainbow Girl sealed her lips and glanced around cautiously. Fortunately, no one else was visible in the parking lot.
The two then headed to the factory’s reception to meet the officials.
While walking toward the building with a tense expression, Iris noticed an expensive car and casually glanced over.
Suddenly, a horn blared, and a hand emerged from the driver’s seat to wave hello.