I Became the Cute One in the Problem-Solving Team

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The Day After the Closet Incident that Makes My Face Heat Up Again

I woke up early and cleaned the general store before returning to the office. Just as I opened the door, a thick scent of oil wafted toward me, making me swallow hard.

Are they cooking or something?

As I stepped inside, I spotted Raven, busily grilling sausages until golden brown.

His hair, seemingly unwashed, stood up in a ridiculous nest atop his head, and he was adorably dressed in pajamas.

He looked like he had just woken up not long ago.

I rushed over to Raven and tugged at the hem of his clothes.

Being in his care, I couldn’t just stand around doing nothing, so I figured I’d help out somehow.

“Uh, what’s up? You trying to help?”

“…!”

“Well then… can you pass the forks and knives to the table? I’m almost done, so there’s not much left for you to help with.”

I instinctively followed Raven’s gaze, which pointed to a toasting machine in action. So, breakfast was sausages and toast today.

I definitely arrived too late to help. I should make sure to be quicker next time.

Understanding the situation, I dashed over and set two forks and knives on the table.

Once all the preparations were finished, our meal time was exceptionally quiet.

Raven focused on eating, and I couldn’t bring myself to speak anyway.

As the sound of our knives and forks clinked against our plates echoed for a while, Raven, wiping his mouth with a tissue, suddenly spoke to me.

“Yuria, I just thought of yesterday’s incident and wanted to mention it.”

“…?!”

“Hey, hey. Drink some water. Are you alright?”

*Cough cough!*

I choked a bit because Raven had unexpectedly brought up the incident from yesterday.

And as I finally settled my cough by gulping down the water he offered, I couldn’t help but feel flustered.

Why is he bringing this up now? It wasn’t like the atmosphere was right for it!

Or maybe he thought, upon reconsideration, that it was too light a matter to let slide.

Holding onto the fork and knife in my trembling hands, I anxiously awaited his next words.

Seeing my reaction, Raven smiled wryly and casually rested his hand on my head.

“I’m not trying to scold you, you know. I just wanted to let you know you can come into my room whenever you want… even if it’s just on a whim.”

“…?”

“Not that I… think you’re being too sensitive or anything. Just in case.”

Saying this, he ruffled my hair vigorously, making my gaze sway side to side.

Ugh! I’m getting dizzy, so stop shaking me!

I raised both hands to push his hand away with all my might.

But maybe the difference in strength was too great—before I knew it, I was being tossed around like a rag doll.

“That’s enough. When you’re done eating, make sure to put your plate and utensils in the dishwasher. I’m leaving first.”

“…”

After thoroughly teasing me, did he finally feel satisfied?

He stood up, taking his empty plate and cutlery with him.

But I, whose head was spinning, could only bury my face on the table, groaning helplessly.

How dare he humiliate me like this… I’ll definitely get him back one day!

Once my dizziness started to fade, I vowed revenge while munching on the sausage between my teeth.

Strangely enough, the anxiety that had been so vivid just a moment ago now felt trivial.

*

After that, Alice and David headed to work, and the day passed by uneventfully.

Being a city, various unique clients visited, but thankfully, no dangerous requests that could endanger the entire city came through, considering the current situation.

I hope such events happen after I quit my office job.

I began to recall the moments where Alice treated me like some kind of cherished plush doll.

“Ugh, I don’t want to part with Yuria… but I have to clock out… What should I do, Jin?”

Alice lamented, unreservedly expressing her reluctance to part ways with me.

However, Raven, sprawled out on the sofa and digging in his ear, gave a curt reply.

“Why not just stay then?”

“That’s a bit… Oh, do you want me to stick around? No way, we’re family…”

“Pfft.”

“Wait, don’t laugh! It’s silly that I’m joking when I’m the one being all serious!”

Alice flared up, having tried to poke fun at Raven only to be met with his unimpressed laughter.

It was a moment only a pair who had zero attraction for each other could show.

Alice was indeed a stunning beauty, attractive enough to stand out in the city, while Raven, though he didn’t care for grooming, was good-looking if observed closely.

Perhaps because they didn’t harbor any romantic feelings for each other?

Their relationship felt almost like that of siblings, surpassing even the traditional roles of boss and employee.

If any romantic feelings were to blossom between them, I might begin to suspect that they were under a spell or something.

‘Still, I think Alice and Raven suit each other best… Well, they’ll manage well enough.’

I watched the two bickering as usual, intrigued when my eyes met David’s, who was observing the situation with a similar expression to mine.

You’re enjoying this too, huh? Same here.

Just exchanging glances felt like we understood each other, and we chuckled softly.

“Alright, I’m leaving now! Ugh, seriously, how ridiculous.”

“Yeah, yeah, take care. Just toss out the trash on your way.”

“Hmph, you can handle the trash yourself. Then… Yuria, I’m off! See you tomorrow!”

“…!”

Smooch!

Alice released me from her embrace and planted a wet kiss on the cheek of my fox mask.

Compared to the previous kisses on my crown or hair, this was an utterly exaggerated act of affection.

Caught off-guard while momentarily lost in thought, I could only jump in surprise.

Hey, isn’t she getting more demonstrative with her affection every day?

What sort of ridiculous situation might I find myself in later on…?

I mean, as grateful as I am for such open affection, it feels a bit overwhelming. It’s tricky to know how to reciprocate too.

Rubbing the spot where Alice had kissed me in a daze, I returned her farewell, and she left the office with a cheerful smile. What a troublesome person she is!

“I’ll be off too. Ah, Yuria.”

“…?”

David, who was about to leave just after Alice, suddenly recalled something and turned his gaze to me.

Then he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.

When I tilted my head, asking if I could open it, David nodded as if it didn’t matter.

“It’s a note from Sabrina. She wants to meet in front of Central Plaza this Saturday at 10 o’clock… Um, is that alright with you?”

Saturday, 10 o’clock, Central Plaza.

I had no particular reason to refuse. I was free anyway.

I’d heard last time it was a promise to meet as an apology.

Might as well enjoy something tasty while we’re at it.

Perhaps it was simply to relay my sister’s message, David quietly took his leave.

Thus, once again, only Raven and I remained in this spacious office.

“Shall we have hamburgers today? I heard a place called Peanut Crunch Burger opened nearby. How about peanut burgers? You’re not allergic, right?”

“…!”

I nodded vigorously at Raven’s suggestion to solve dinner with hamburgers.

And I asked him for a super-sized one with my fingers.

The description said it’d be large enough to fill an adult, but considering I’ve been eating a lot lately, it should suffice.

‘Alright, let’s get started then.’

Watching Raven’s pattern of behavior, I realized today was the day of the fierce racing competition featuring A-Ryong.

I figured he’d crack open a beer on the sofa in front of the big TV in the office and shower late at night.

About 30 minutes remained until delivery.

Checking the time, I quickly grabbed a change of clothes and dashed into the shower.

After finishing my shower and changing into my cat pajamas before the delivery arrived, I collected the hamburger set left at my door and we had dinner together.

Showered, fed, and teeth brushed.

Nothing could hold me back now!

Having completed all my preparations, I passed by Raven, who was pulling out a cold beer from the fridge, and dashed to my room to snatch a pillow before heading to his room.

Once I threw the pillow onto the place where the blankets were stored in the closet, I stepped onto each layer and climbed to the very top.

‘Close the closet… Alright, let’s do this!’

I pulled out the Tesseract I had hidden in my pajamas.

Then, I brought the Tesseract close to the ceiling, nearest to the crack.

Immediately, I felt a faint purple energy drawing the Tesseract, as if it was being pulled inside.

Just like when I placed the shard before, the dormant Tesseract was absorbing energy from beyond the crack!

‘Hmm, this is… pretty slow.’

But perhaps it was because the crack was small, the strength and speed of the energy being absorbed by the Tesseract was slow to the point of yawning.

How slow, that my arm, raised high to place the Tesseract near the crack, began trembling uncontrollably.

This truly wouldn’t work. It was becoming too hard to lift the Tesseract, so I used telekinesis to elevate the Tesseract closer to the crack.

‘This is not too strenuous… but if Raven suddenly opens the closet door, things would look a bit suspicious, wouldn’t they?’

If Raven noticed the mysterious necklace hovering in mid-air, it could be trouble…

While I continued to ponder, I held the crack in my telekinesis just in case and tightly embraced the Tesseract.

Suddenly, astonishingly, a fine energy seeping out from the crack began transmitting through my telekinesis into the Tesseract.

It felt like my telekinesis had turned into a wire.

This is it! A brilliant way to awaken the Tesseract without worrying about Raven catching me!

I just had to maintain this telekinesis and let time pass.

Never did I expect the method I had thought about last night would actually work!

So elated, I couldn’t help but roll around on the blanket.

*Rustle.*

“…Is it that fun over there?”

“….”

…Ah, when did you get here?

Raven’s gaze on me, gazing from the closet, felt quite piercing.

His warm look, as if watching a cute little child, was too tormenting.

D-Don’t look at me like that…!

Overwhelmed with embarrassment, I could only wriggle further into the blanket to hide.

I wanted to smack Raven for his amused smirk.