A few moments later, Kai was tossed out of the van and hit the ground with a grunt.
He stayed calm, quickly realizing they were already somewhere in the city. "Ji-yeong, are you next to me?"
Her voice came from nearby. "Yes, I'm here."
"Good. Can you help me bite open the ropes on my hands?"
He leaned toward the sound of her voice, and Ji-yeong did the same, carefully finding his wrists before biting through the knot.
Once his hands were free, Kai pulled off his blindfold and helped her untie hers.
"I'm relieved you're okay," he said, taking a deep breath.
"Judging by the air and the traffic sounds, this should be downtown Seoul. Probably early morning—no one's around. Let's get out of here and head home."
He started walking, but Ji-yeong followed right behind him.
Kai turned back. "What are you doing? Go home, you."
"I haven't had a home in a long time," she said softly. "You promised to take me to your home."
Kai hesitated, guilt flickering across his face.
"Ji-yeong… I can't return to home yet. I've already agreed to take part in next year's Game."
Ji-yeong's tone carried quiet understanding. "It's because of Kang Sae-byeok, isn't it?"
Kai sighed. "Yeah. If it weren't for her, Cho Sang-woo would've killed us in the sixth round. She ended up in a vegetative state because of me—I can't just abandon her."
"I understand," Ji-yeong murmured. "But I really have nowhere else to go. How about I stay with you?"
Kai blinked. "Huh?"
When they arrived at his small rented apartment, Kai scratched his head awkwardly.
"How about this—book a hotel room downstairs for tonight. My place is too cramped, and there's no spare room. Tomorrow, we'll go house hunting together."
Ji-yeong frowned. "In the middle of the night? You expect me to wander off alone with a bank card worth 15.2 billion won? this is not exactly the safest city. If something happens to me, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
Kai rubbed his temples. "Alright, fair point. In that case, you can crash in the living room."
Ji-yeong pouted. "You're making an underage girl sleep on the couch?"
Kai's patience cracked. "What else do you want? This is my apartment. Be grateful I'm letting you stay! Don't tell me you expect me to give up my own bedroom?"
Ji-yeong folded her arms. "Fine."
Kai unlocked the door, and she followed him in.
"Wait," he said, gesturing toward the entrance. "Slippers. Put them on."
Ji-yeong stared at him, half amused. "You live in a dump like this and you're still this particular?"
Kai scoffed. "Doesn't matter how small the place is—a sense of ritual is important. Without it, what's the difference between us and cattle? Just eating and waiting to die?"
Ji-yeong sighed. "Are you really buying a house tomorrow? With money that's… you know, stained with blood?"
Kai gave her a deadpan look. "Stained? That money was earned with my skill. Why shouldn't I spend it? The four hundred people who died didn't die by my hand. Should I live like a pauper after earning tens of billions? Who the hell would do that?"
Ji-yeong looked down. "Sorry… I just feel a bit uneasy about it."
A moment later, she tilted her head and smirked. "So, in your words, does this count as us… cohabiting?"
Kai almost choked. "It's called sharing a residence! Sharing a residence! Sharing a residence! Don't misuse words like that—if anyone heard I was 'cohabiting' with an underage girl, I'd be shot back home!"
Ji-yeong changed the subject quickly. "Where's the bathroom? I haven't showered in days. I'm starting to smell."
Kai raised both hands. "Don't even think about it. There's just one bathroom here. Man and woman, alone—better not do anything that might give me the wrong idea.
After you buy your own place tomorrow, you can shower all you want. If you really can't wait, do it after I'm asleep."
Ji-yeong rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine."
Kai walked straight to his room, locked the door, threw himself onto the bed, and was out cold within minutes.
Counting everything—the two days he'd been unconscious, the hospital stay, and the endless paranoia—Kai hadn't had a proper night's sleep in weeks.
Even after the Game ended, he hadn't truly relaxed.
But now, back in his own place, he could finally drop his guard.
"There's no place like home," he muttered drowsily. "Truer words were never spoken."
And just like that, he slept like the dead.
When Kai finally opened his eyes again, sunlight was streaming through the blinds.
He blinked at the clock—2:40 in the afternoon.
"Damn," he muttered, stretching. "That might be the best sleep I've had all year."
He stepped out of his bedroom to find Ji-yeong still asleep on the sofa, curled up under a blanket.
He chuckled softly. "My god, she sleeps even more than I do."
Then he noticed something else—her clothes had changed. And not just changed—she was wearing his T-shirt.
Kai sighed. "Don't tell me…"
He glanced toward the bathroom and shook his head. "She actually took a shower while I was asleep."
Still, he grabbed another blanket and draped it gently over her before leaving.
Kai spent the next few hours checking out nearby real estate.
There was no cliché of being looked down upon by smug salespeople—the agent, a cheerful young man, greeted him warmly and treated him like a serious buyer.
By evening, Kai had purchased a spacious apartment nearby, paid in full.
He'd originally planned to buy a villa, but decided against it.
"Better to stay low-profile," he thought. "No point flaunting wealth."
When he returned home, Ji-yeong was awake, sitting on the couch and playing absently with her hair.
"Did you go buy a house?" she asked.
"Yeah," Kai replied, tossing his keys onto the counter.
"Not far from here. You can move in next week. I thought about buying you one too, but I didn't know what kind of place you'd want. Best you pick it yourself."
Ji-yeong's expression soured. "So you're trying to kick me out?"
Kai raised an eyebrow. "No—just being realistic. What would it look like if we kept living together?"
"I don't want to live alone anymore," she said softly. "I don't have any family left."
Kai exhaled slowly. "Then make new friends."
Ji-yeong smiled bitterly. "Do you really think someone like me could make friends? I don't even have the energy to try."
Kai frowned, disappointment in his tone.
"Ji-yeong, you have to at least try to move on. You haven't even made an effort—so how can you know it's impossible?"