“Isn't today Monday?”

Park Yeon asked as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. His disheveled appearance made it clear he had just woken up.

“Did I wake you up?”

“I woke up to the alarm. It’s time for my morning drama.”

...Right, I forgot about that.

“I came to grab my wallet. I accidentally left it here yesterday.”

Flinch!

“I see. Got it.”

Yesterday, he had definitely put the wallet in the apron. Seo-jun went into the kitchen and checked the apron. Sure enough, the wallet was in the pocket.

But...

‘Why is there only forty thousand won?’

These days, there's rarely a need to carry cash. After all, a smartphone can handle everything now.

Even so, Seo-jun always kept about a hundred thousand won in his wallet. There was just something psychologically reassuring about a bulky wallet.

“……”

Just then, Park Yeon, who had been drinking water from the purifier, locked eyes with him. The moment their eyes met, Park Yeon stretched and looked away, pretending to be nonchalant.

“Hmm, today’s weather seems really nice. On a day like this, a poem comes to mind. Birds chirp, the sun rises high. The sunlight is warm and I...”

“...Stole some money.”

“Stole some mo—!”

“……”

“W-What are you talking about!”

“A poem came to me too.”

“What poem? The Demon King with the emotional depth of a teaspoon is spouting poetry now?”

“The title is 'Stole Some Money.' Stole some money. Out of the one hundred thousand won in the wallet, sixty thousand was sneakily taken. Why sixty thousand, you ask? Ah, I see three cans of cola. One cola is twenty thousand, three make sixty thousand...”

“Stop!”

“Not a fan?”

“……”

“Just reciting a poem, that’s all. I used to be quite the sensitive soul, you know.”

“...I borrowed it!”

“Without permission?”

“I texted you!”

Seo-jun inhaled sharply. He pulled out his phone and checked the message Park Yeon had sent the day before.

[Hero] yu6mㆍnman bᅟᅵᆯlldvddaaasssd

‘How the hell is this…?’

As Seo-jun looked dumbfounded, Park Yeon began explaining point by point.

“I typed up to ‘sixty thousand won’ fine, but then hit the wrong button. Yeon-jun said there’s a way to fix it, but I forgot what, so I just sent it like that.”

“...You thought I’d understand that gibberish?”

“You’re the Demon King, so I figured you’d get it in one go. Guess the Demon King ain’t all that.”

Seo-jun seriously began to question Park Yeon’s mental state, but decided not to waste energy in the wrong place. Today was a rare day off, after all.

As Seo-jun stepped out of the store, Park Yeon asked,

“Heading home?”

“To the movies…”

Seo-jun answered without thinking, then realized his mistake.

Today was a holiday.

He had planned to watch a movie alone and enjoy some time to himself. But he’d said it. The forbidden word…

“Movies!”

“……”

“Why movies all of a sudden? Going to watch one? Ah... well, you wouldn’t go just to eat popcorn. Oh right, there’s a movie that just came out called The Great Battle, I heard it's good. And also…”

After babbling on for a while, Park Yeon finally asked a simple question:

“So, what are you going to watch?”

“You probably wouldn’t know even if I told you. It’s a re-release.”

“Don’t tell me it’s The Admiral?”

“...Yeah.”

“I was actually planning to watch that too.”

“……”

“I’m a big fan of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. I asked Yeon-jun about him and he said there were lots of dramas and movies made about him.”

“……”

“Yeon-jun also recommended that movie to me. I’ve always wanted to watch it, just never got the chance.”

“……”

“To be more honest, I didn’t have the chance or the money. I wonder what it’s about. 'Great Battle' must mean a major victory, so I guess he defeats the foreign invaders, just like you'd expect from Admiral Yi Sun-sin.”

“……”

“I’ve defeated foreign enemies myself in the past… Now that I think about it, the Admiral and I have quite a bit in common. Strategic brain, benevolent heart, unmatched bravery.”

Any more of this and Seo-jun feared he’d develop neurosis. He quickly left the store. Park Yeon followed him out, still chatting away.

“Do you know what a turtle ship is? It breathes fire from its mouth. Apparently, it defeated tons of foreign enemies with that. Pretty amazing in a world with no magic. Oh, and it’s not just that. There’s also a famous quote. 'I still have twelve ships left.'”

“……”

“When I heard that line in The Admiral, I got goosebumps all over. Such incredible spirit. And…”

“...Just come with me.”

“That wasn’t my intention but... okay. So which theater are we going to?”

“The closest one is probably C…”

“I like Gigabox better.”

They arrived at the theater. Seo-jun had nothing to do. All he had done was hand his card over to Park Yeon.

Despite it being Seo-jun’s first visit to the theater in millennia, Park Yeon was more experienced in every way.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve come to the movies with a guy.’

Watching Park Yeon confidently operate the unmanned ticketing machine, Seo-jun suddenly had that thought.

As soon as that thought occurred, a chain of other thoughts popped into his head like a mind map.

‘Right... guys don’t usually go to the movies together.’

Sure, friends sometimes do. But it’s rare. Even if they do, it’s usually a group of three or more—not just two.

‘Hmm…’

No wonder everyone at the theater was paired up male-female.

“Looks like we’ll have to wait a bit.”

Park Yeon returned, carrying an armful of snacks along with the tickets.

There was nothing he didn’t have. Grilled butter squid, popcorn, cola, nachos, cheese balls, hot dogs…

“...Do you always buy this much when you come to the movies?”

“Not when I come alone, but when I come with President Hwang, this is the usual.”

Park Yeon said this to the speechless Seo-jun.

“We’ve got about forty minutes to wait, so we might as well start eating. Cheese balls especially taste bad if they get cold.”

That’s what Park Yeon said as he settled down in a suitable spot and began eating the snacks.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I ate a lot before coming, so I’m fine.”

“Well, then I’ll just eat by myself.”

“Do you always watch movies here?”

“Usually, if there’s nothing special going on.”

“Why go out of your way when there’s a place nearby?”

“It’s just a thing I have.”

Seo-jun shrugged. Everyone has at least one silly personal philosophy.

Still, the popcorn looked kind of good. Was it caramel popcorn?

He slyly picked one up and popped it into his mouth. It was caramel popcorn. One turned into two. It was the kind of taste that kept his hand going back for more.

“Do you still keep in touch with Kim I-seul?”

“Why?”

“It just seemed like you two haven’t been talking lately.”

“We’re not.”

Seo-jun tossed the last remaining popcorn into his mouth and asked,

“Why?”

“I-seul insulted me.”

“Kim I-seul did?”

“Yeah. She called me a perverted bastard. At first, I didn’t even know what that meant. But I soon found out. It’s an insult on par with calling someone a demon king.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“To someone as pure as me, yes! A pervert! To someone as noble as me!”

Apparently holding in a lot, Park Yeon shouted loud enough to shake the store. For a moment, all eyes turned toward them.

Two men sitting cozily together. On top of that, one of them was yelling about perverts loud enough to fill the entire space.

Yes… this was it.

This feeling—this was what embarrassment felt like!

Seo-jun lowered his eyes quickly, feeling the flush of embarrassment for the first time in thousands of years.

The ending credits rolled, and the movie came to an end.

So it was Do-seok.

Watching the credits scroll, Seo-jun gave a small laugh.

There’s more to a movie than just entertainment. It brings back memories for those who watch it again in the future. It reminds you of that time in your life.

That’s why Seo-jun had watched this film.

He had once received help from a former classmate. At the time, he’d been in a tight spot, falling behind on rent due to unavoidable circumstances.

Just when things felt hopeless, that classmate deposited a whopping one million won into his account, leaving a message saying he could pay it back after graduation.

He had felt bad because he couldn’t remember the friend’s name. But after watching this movie, it came back to him.

While watching, memories of laughing together in that friend’s small apartment surfaced like a mind map, and with that, his name popped into his head.

Yes, that friend’s name was Do-seok.

Choi Do-seok.

He felt a renewed sense of guilt toward that friend. How could he have forgotten the name of someone who helped him so much?

It didn’t seem right to just blame the circumstances he was living under. That would just be an excuse.

If I had at least paid him back, I wouldn’t feel this bad…

Seo-jun gave a bitter smile. He really wanted to repay him. Once he got himself established… then he wanted to pay him back twofold, threefold—tenfold if he could.

In the end, though, that thought had remained just that—only a thought.

But what’s that sound?

A noise was persistently tickling his ears.

Thump-thump!

Thump-thump-thump!

Is that a heartbeat?

Seo-jun’s senses had already reached their peak. There was nothing he couldn’t see or hear.

This had been a great help back in the demon realm, where danger lurked around every corner.

But on Earth, it was different. There wasn’t any real danger here. In fact, his heightened senses only made things more exhausting.

So, upon arriving on Earth, Seo-jun had minimized all his senses.

If he had been operating at a level of 1000 before, now he lived with them reduced to just 1.

Of course, even that 1 was unimaginable to a normal person…

Anyway, thanks to that 1, he was still able to hear a heartbeat.

Thump-thump!

Thump-thump-BANG!

The source was Park Yeon. His heart was pounding like mad. His expression didn’t look good either.

It was as if his soul had left his body?

Just as Seo-jun was about to ask if he was okay, Park Yeon murmured,

“The Great Goddess…!”

The Great Goddess?

Seo-jun followed Park Yeon’s gaze and turned his head.

He saw a staff member chatting with coworkers while tidying the seats.

The closer she got, the louder Park Yeon’s heartbeat became.

“She’s coming… she’s coming! What do I do? What should I do? What should I do, I say?!”

Ba-dump, ba-dump!

Park Yeon squirmed in his seat, lifting his butt repeatedly, clearly antsy.

Suddenly, he clutched his chest.

“Shut up… shut the hell up! How can I do anything if you don’t shut up?!”

Seo-jun couldn’t help but chuckle.

But Park Yeon’s one-man show wasn’t over yet.

“It’s not that hard… it’s not hard at all, Veltebray! Easy. This is an easy problem. Wasn’t it you who studied every drama and movie for moments like this?!”

“……”

“It’s simple. All I have to do is ask for her number. That’s it. Excuse me, could I have your number? That’s all. See? Just that one line—how hard can it be? Okay.”

Just as Park Yeon calmed his heart, a shadow fell over him. The Great Goddess had arrived!

“Um, sorry to bother you, especially since we’ve just met… Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not usually this type of person, but… um, could I possibly ask for your number?”

Well done! He did it calmly!

Not too rude, either. He did great!

…But wait a second.

Is this really how my voice sounds?

Park Yeon looked up.

The Great Goddess was holding out her phone with a shy smile.