I Don’t Want This Reincarnation

“Looks like you’ve been resting well.”

“…what are you doing here?”

“Aren’t you going to let me in?”

Why would I let you in?

“What’s your business here?”

“It’s not good to have a conversation while standing outside like this. Shall we go eat together?”

“Haah…”

Despite how I didn’t hide my discomfort at his presence, Park Geon-ho remained steadfast in the face of my question.

I had felt this since last time, but Park Geon-ho had the look of an expensive bed*—that is, unshakeable shamelessness.

“Yi-gyeol-ssi, who is that?”

I didn’t know if they heard the conversation, but Min Ah-rin and Kim Woo-jin showed their faces. Min Ah-rin saw Park Geon-ho standing in front of the door and her eyes widened.

“Oh—Team Leader Park Geon-ho… oh my!”

Min Ah-rin, who was greeting him warmly, immediately became startled and covered her mouth with her hand. Kim Woo-jin’s face, standing behind her, also became weird at the same time. Why were you guys like that?

“What’s wrong?”

“Yi-gyeol-ssi, Yi-gyeol-ssi,” Min Ah-rin said in an excited voice, rushing up to me and grabbing my arm.

“Team Leader Park Geon-ho’s outfit!”

“Pardon?”

Why are you suddenly talking about his outfit…

I reflexively glanced at Park Geon-ho’s clothes. Park Geon-ho also bowed his head with a puzzled look and checked his clothes.

‘Oh, jeez.’

I covered my forehead and lamented. No, why this all of a sudden?

“That’s it: white tee and jeans! Yi-gyeol-ssi’s ideal type!”

“Ideal type?” Park Geon-ho, who was still listening, asked.

“It definitely seems pure. I think I know what Yi-gyeol-ssi’s taste…”

“Stop! Stop, Min Ah-rin-ssi.”

I hurriedly blocked Min Ah-rin’s words. However, Park Geon-ho smiled with an odd look on his face as if he had already figured out the situation.

“I guess a pure person in a white t-shirt and jeans is your cup of tea? I didn’t think you’d like that but…”

“No, it’s not. It’s not that.”

I gritted my teeth and answered firmly, but Park Geon-ho patted me on the shoulder without even pretending to hear it.

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“Well, I understand. I do look pretty good in a white t-shirt and jeans.”

“If you’re going to keep talking nonsense like that, please leave.”

“Right. Tell him to get lost.” Kim Woo-jin growled. Apparently, he didn’t like Park Geon-ho.

“Don’t be too thorny. How about we get to know each other as we eat?”

Park Geon-ho ignored Kim Woo-jin’s words and looked at me. Knowing what he wanted from me, I shook my head.

“I will decline any offer to join the Special Operations Division.”

“Can’t you hear me out? I’m the team leader, but objectively, my division’s benefits are quite worth the work we do.”

I looked at him with distrustful eyes. Objective? If it was worth the work, other guild members should have thought the same.

“Rumors say otherwise.”

“They’re false rumours.”

“You know what I heard and they’re all false rumours?”

“Whatever you heard,” Park Geon-ho answered confidently and looked down at me with his arms crossed. Reading the persistence in those eyes, I sighed. It wouldn’t be easy to shake him off.

“I don’t intend to belong anywhere. Right now, I’m just helping Master Cheon Sa-yeon.”

“……”

“I seriously refuse. There are plenty of A-rank talented people like me, so look for someone else.”

When I spoke calmly, Park Geon-ho made a complicated expression. Park Geon-ho, who was thinking about something while touching his lips, smiled bitterly.

“This makes it hard to push recklessly.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No need.” Park Geon-ho frowned and continued with a voice full of regret. “Han Yi-gyeol. As you said, there are many A-rank ability users. But there are very few people who can judge situations and use their abilities as efficiently as you do. I’m not suggesting you because you’re an A-rank, but I’m making a suggestion based on your skills.”

“…still, my answer is the same.”

“Ah, too bad.” He shrugged lightly. “I’ll leave you alone for now. I’m sorry to interrupt your rest.”

“Pardon?”

Are you really going? Just like that?

It was rather me who was embarrassed to see him backing away more calmly than expected. Park Geon-ho turned his back on me neatly and left.

“That’s surprising. Team Leader Park Geon-ho is so well-known for his persistence that everyone in the guild knows it,” Min Ah-rin said, having the same thoughts as me.

I closed the door and asked Min Ah-rin, “Does he recruit people a lot?”

“Not a lot, but when someone he likes appears, he chases after them and persuades them to join the team.”

“What’s with that? So trashy,” Kim Woo-jin grumbled next to me as he listened. Wasn’t “trashy” a little too much?

“But most of them accept his offer. Needless to say, the Special Operations Division has better welfare and higher salary than other divisions. There is also a separate risk allowance because they only go to dangerous gates… The schedule is not very tight, so they’re usually free except when they enter the gate.”

“Definitely… not bad.”

“Not bad, my ass. It’s completely absurd.” Kim Woo-jin kept interrupting me. What was he so dissatisfied with?

“Well, anyway… I’m sure he won’t come to see me anymore because I’ve refused.”

“Yeah. Stop paying attention to that bastard and eat some snacks.” As if Kim Woo-jin was waiting, he handed a bag of snacks to me.

“How about eating something other than snacks? There’s a new famous pizza place nearby. Let’s order pizza!”

“Pizza all of a sudden? No, wait—how long will you guys be here…”

“Good, pizza. Let’s order right now.”

Kim Woo-jin, who hadn’t even been pretending to listen to Min Ah-rin until now, actively joined the opinion of ordering pizza. Min Ah-rin, who felt better, smiled broadly when Kim Woo-jin, who was difficult to get close to because of his timid and vigilant nature, responded back.

“Right? It’s pizza at times like this! Woo-jin-ssi, do you have a favourite type of pizza?”

“I’m fine with anything… Hey, Han Yi-gyeol. What do you want to eat?”

“Huh? I’ll go for something on the spicy side…”

“Then how about this? Hot Chicken.”

“Gasp. Let’s put shrimp in it, too. Does anyone have a shrimp allergy? Then let’s go with this.”

“Okaaay…”

Being swept away by pizza like that, I failed to kick out Min Ah-rin and Kim Woo-jin.

The two of them, after finishing a whole pizza, begged to watch a movie which ended at midnight. In the end, I had to give them a place to sleep.

* * *

Since there was only one bed, Kim Woo-jin and I gave up the bed to Min Ah-rin and slept on the sofa together. No matter how big and nice the sofa was, it was very cramped for two adult men to sleep, but Kim Woo-jin unexpectedly lay down quietly without making a sound. I was going to kick him out if he complained. Like a ghost, he had keen instincts**.

The next morning after spending the day like that.

Bang bang!

“Uh…”

I woke up half-asleep at the noise coming from somewhere.

“Ah…”

As soon as I opened my eyes, what I saw was Kim Woo-jin’s white neck above his t-shirt. I wondered why it was so hot and stuffy—this kid was sleeping while hugging me like a bamboo wife***. I, who had a stiff upper body, swept back my frizzy hair and kicked Kim Woo-jin’s stomach.

“Ugh!”

Kim Woo-jin yelped and fell down the sofa. That was the price for treating me like a pillow.

Bang bang!

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

The source of the noise was knocking on the door. Who was here so early in the morning? I walked towards the door while complaining and opened the door roughly with annoyance.

“Good morning.”

“……”

Park Geon-ho smiled at me brightly. Yesterday’s situation overlapped with the present and my expression became bitter.

“Looks like you’re awake now.”

“…hello, Team Leader Park Geon-ho.”

“Oh, wait, wait.” Park Geon-ho blocked my mouth as I was about to say something. “I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it.”

“Isn’t it that?”

“I’m not here to offer you a place on the team today.”

When I stared suspiciously, Park Geon-ho raised the corner of his mouth and held out a box. “Here.”

“What the hell is this?”

“You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Let’s eat together.”

“I don’t need it.”

I tried to close the door quickly, but Park Geon-ho was faster. Park Geon-ho, who put his foot through the gap in the door, forced the door open.

“Hey, that’s… Do you use your S-rank power for something like this?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You put your feet there and pretend you don’t know?”

“I just wanted to have breakfast with you, but you’re treating me like this. That’s unfair.”

“Do people who feel wronged die?” (TN: as in, “big whoop, it’s not like you’re dead.”)

After struggling for a while, I finally gave up. There was no way an A-rank could defeat an S-rank by force. It would be my loss to waste my energy like this.

“Okay, wait here. There are guests who came first.”

“Okay.”

I brought my exhausted body back into the room. Kim Woo-jin, who woke up with me, looked very unhappy like he noticed that Park Geon-ho had come, and Min Ah-rin, who had just come out of the bedroom, seemed to be unaware of the situation yet.

“I’m fine with it. Yi-gyeol-ssi is the owner of this place. I’ll wash up first.”

When I said that Park Geon-ho had come, Min Ah-rin said he was free to come in, and she headed to the bathroom. I, who hoped Min Ah-rin would refuse, stretched my shoulders and gestured to Park Geon-ho to come in.

* * *

“I didn’t know what Han Yi-gyeol likes, so I bought several. This is great.”

“Wow. Isn’t this a very expensive Korean restaurant lunch box?”

After Min Ah-rin, Kim Woo-jin, and I washed up, Park Geon-ho took out lunch boxes one after another as if he was waiting. Min Ah-rin, who saw the logo embedded on the lid of the lunch box, exclaimed with joy.

“I really wanted to try eating at this place, but it was fully booked, so I couldn’t even afford to. How did you get it?”

“I know the person in charge.”

I picked up a lunch box as I held the chopsticks in my mouth. It certainly looked expensive, with a variety of side dishes and had a fine appearance. I had no particular dislike except for raw carrots, so I opened the lunch box without any complaints.

“Kim Woo-jin. Aren’t you going to eat?”

“…I don’t want to eat.”

Compared to Min Ah-rin, who ate very well, Kim Woo-jin only glared at Park Geon-ho with a sullen face but had not touched the lunch box. I looked at the lunch boxes spread out on the table and handed him the one with pork cutlet and sausage.

“But you still have to eat breakfast. This one looks like it’ll be delicious.”

“Yeah.”

It looked cute and seemed like young people would like it, so I thought it was a perfect fit for Kim Woo-jin. As expected, Kim Woo-jin did not refuse and received the lunch box.

“What does your family look like?” Park Geon-ho asked, who was watching Kim Woo-jin with his chin on his hand.

I put the tofu in my mouth and answered without sincerity, “What’s the point of you asking that?”

“That’s cold. I’m just curious.”

“Don’t be fooled,” Kim Woo-jin interrupted, swallowing his food in a hurry. “He’s wearing a white t-shirt and jeans again today. Obviously, he has an ulterior motive.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being likeable.”

“That’s a good mindset!”

“…can we stop talking about that?”

I lowered my head as I felt my face heat up.

Oh, it’s really hard to handle these three.