Illusion Blind Date - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 27

“Please, don’t say such hurtful things. Surgery is my minor, after all! Of course I think of it that way in my heart. And without me, this house falls apart. I’m the one who cleans the rooms, pulls weeds from the garden, takes out the trash—I do everything.”
“…….”
Armed with such brazenness, he looked like someone who’d been rolling through the emergency room for a good ten years.
In a way, he seemed to get along best with Han Bom.
“I’m serious. Don’t you guys believe me?”
“Don’t believe him, sir. It’s a lie. The moment he tidies his room, that’s where he sleeps.”
Yoon Gun, clearly holding back years of grievances, glared at Bang Soo Ho as he spoke.
“Your room’s a beggar’s den, isn’t it?”
“Heh, uh, looks like Ji Moon’s burning all the meat. I’d better take over. Let me show you my real skills today.”
Bang Soo Ho snatched the tongs from Ji Moon’s hands and made a fuss about it.
They say you’ve lived a successful life if you have just two close friends in the world, yet Ji Moon had many good ones around him.
Watching Ji Moon roughhouse and play with those friends, Tae Moon pulled out a Non-alcoholic Beer and took a satisfying sip.
Though they were in Seoul proper, looking up at the sky brought him peace.
His longing heart finally felt soothed.
“I’m here!”
Han Bom appeared in a pale pink indoor outfit, holding a well-ripened kimchi she’d taken from the refrigerator.
The lace apron tied around her waist fluttered gently in the breeze.
Tae Moon’s throat suddenly felt parched, and he drained the remaining can.
“Oh, are you drinking alone, sir?”
It seemed Han Bom had overheard the conversation through the open window.
Working up her courage, she’d called him “sir” herself, but shyness tinged her small, rounded cheeks a rosy pink like ripe peaches.
She really is beautiful.
Tae Moon thought as much and picked up another can.
Click.
“Here, drink.”
“Thank you.”
Han Bom accepted it with both hands and took a long sip.
Then she hurried over to where the meat was being grilled and began transferring the cooked pieces onto a plate.
“Bang Soo Ho, what’s wrong with the meat?”
Yet she didn’t forget to point out the flaw.
“What, what’s wrong with it?”
“You can’t cook beef until it’s that charred.”
Tae Moon picked up an extra pair of tongs and approached the grill.
“You grill the pork. I’ll handle the beef.”
“Roger!”
He remembered his father, startled at his son’s request for premium cuts prepared in generous portions.

“Son, you’re not shacking up with some girl, are you? Suddenly grilling meat at home?”

When Tae Moon ordered twenty servings, his father’s suspicions evaporated.
There was no need to say anything in his defense.
Through his father’s personal secretary, Tae Moon received all the meat and vegetables needed for the barbecue, and with the secretary’s help, he’d been able to set everything up perfectly.
Tae Moon cut the beef to just the right degree of doneness with scissors and called out to Han Bom, who stood across from him.
“Han Bom.”
“Yes?”
Rabbit-like Han Bom looked up at him.
He cooled the meat with a gentle breath, then extended his chopsticks toward her.
“Here, try it. Be careful—it’s hot.”
In that instant, all the chatter and laughter vanished, and silence fell.
Crackle, crackle.
Only the sound of charcoal burning in the grill could be heard.
“What are you doing? The sir is giving it to you—hurry up and eat.”
Bang Soo Ho’s eyes wavered as he nudged Han Bom, urging her on.
Unable to resist, Han Bom parted her small cherry-like lips.
Seeing her mouth tremble slightly, Tae Moon let out a small laugh.
He placed the meat into Han Bom’s mouth. Her neat, pristine teeth flashed for a moment, then disappeared.
Han Bom’s eyes widened slowly as she chewed, sparkling with delight.
God, this is incredible.
All he’d done was put a single piece of meat in her mouth…
Tae Moon hadn’t anticipated such a visceral reaction, and he let out a helpless laugh.
“So very tasty.”
Watching Han Bom give him a thumbs-up without even properly chewing, her voice sweet and childlike, Tae Moon found himself thinking:
There was no limit to her cuteness.
“Um…”
The eyes of the others, who had been watching and swallowing hard beside him, turned toward Tae Moon.
The look said: Why doesn’t he feed us too?
“Sir, don’t we have mouths as well? Only Han Bom gets fed?”
The moment Bang Soo Ho finished speaking, Tae Moon shoved a large piece of meat directly into Soo Ho’s mouth.
“Ow, hot!”
Soo Ho bounced on his seat, the meat still in his mouth.
“You want some too?”
“No, no. We’ll eat ourselves.”
After that, Tae Moon grilled the meat until it was ready and transferred it to the table.
“Come on, let’s eat.”
“We’re grateful for the meal!”
They began eating with the table laden with food.
Han Bom wrapped meat in a lettuce leaf and held it out to Tae Moon’s mouth.
“Sir, please try this. You worked hard grilling the meat.”
He heard her call him by what she wanted to call him but found awkward—her pronunciation was strange, endearing even. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“This is for me?”
“Yes. Ah, open up.”
The fact that he was aroused by that innocent, harmless smile made him the problem.
Bastard.
Tae Moon took the wrap eagerly.
Her soft fingers—so tender he wanted to suck on them—brushed against his lips before withdrawing.
“Han Bom, I worked hard grilling the pork belly too. Won’t you wrap one for me?”
“Yeah, does only he have a mouth? We have mouths too.”
“For crying out loud, be quiet. Wait your turn. Even cold water flows downward.”
Each of them received a wrap from Han Bom, and their mouths fell open in wonder.
These damn kids…
As Tae Moon narrowed his eyes and looked at each of them in turn as if stamping them down, Han Bom called out to him.
“Um, sir, should we make a toast?”
Han Bom suggested it with a bright smile.
“Let’s toast!”
Then the oblivious ones shouted along.
God, what am I going to do with these people. Can’t even get rid of them.
“Then we’ll do the traditional toast: ‘Naga-ja’—meaning may ‘I’ prosper, may ‘you’ prosper, and may ‘we all’ prosper.”
At Han Bom’s words, Tae Moon smiled and nodded.
“Though these are non-alcoholic, please raise them high.”
Among this group, Han Bom was clearly the life of the party.
There was nothing Han Bom couldn’t do.
She stood up from her seat—barely any difference in height whether sitting or standing—and planted one hand on her hip, raising the can high.
“To our beloved sir and godly landlord above all landlords, the magnificent Professor Cha Tae Moon! We all welcome you with open arms! We look forward to working with you! Now everyone, let’s toast!”
“Naga-ja!”
Tae Moon shouted along with the others, their voices ringing clear through the night air.
Yes, naga-ja. This is really nice.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
Really hopeless.
At thirty-five years old, acting like this with people eight years younger—it wasn’t even funny to him anymore.
But that wasn’t all.
His gaze kept drifting toward Han Bom without his realizing it, which was even more hopeless.
He was just completely insane.

***

Eventually, everyone headed to the hospital, leaving only Tae Moon and Han Bom behind. She set about tidying up the scattered items.
Unlike children who needed to be told every little thing, the professor had such a gift for tidying that there was nothing left to criticize—everything was done smoothly and efficiently.
In fact, he did it better than I did.
After putting everything away neatly and offering a polite bow, Han Bom was about to head up the stairs when Tae Moon called out to her.
“Han Bom.”
Han Bom, who had already placed one foot on the stairs, turned at the sound of his voice.
There was something unsettling in his tone.
“…Yes?”
Tae Moon’s dark eyes pierced through her, gleaming with a wet intensity.
It was the same raw, predatory aura she’d sensed the first time they’d met at that restaurant.
“Is there something you’d like me to do?”
Stay calm. I have to stay calm.
Han Bom forced herself to speak, fighting to steady the trembling in her chest.
There were only two of them in this sprawling house, and she recalled how his gaze had felt strange ever since they’d been organizing dishes in the kitchen earlier.

“Hopeless creature, …acting without restraint, …no sense of proportion at all.”

He’d even muttered those cryptic words under his breath.
The words “hopeless creature” seemed to be directed at her.
Something about pushing forward without discretion, crossing every boundary—wasn’t that what he meant?
She should have held back. Should have been more cautious.
Han Bom cursed herself for all that playful teasing, calling him “brother” with such ease.
“Leaving already?”
As he approached, his long legs eating up the distance between them, Han Bom gripped the banister tightly, her knuckles whitening.
“Why?”
“I’m going to light a bonfire. Why don’t you stay a little longer and come back inside with me?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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