Wandering Mercenary in an Open World - Chapter 98

Noel likes his world quiet, clean, and perfectly organized. He’s the kind of guy who alphabetizes his books, avoids eye contact, and considers a wild night one where he reads past midnight. Drama? Not his thing. Parties? Pass. Sharing a dorm with a chaotic stranger? Just another obstacle to endure—hopefully, temporarily.Enter Luca: flirtatious, chaotic, and chronically shirtless. A walking disaster with too many admirers and not enough awareness, he leaves messes—and broken hearts—wherever he goes. Loud, reckless, and charming, he’s everything Noel can’t stand… and somehow, everything he can’t stop noticing.What starts as a clash of lifestyles soon turns into late-night conversations, innocent pranks, and lingering stares. Somewhere between eye rolls and shared ramen, their rivalry begins to blur—until even Noel can’t deny his quiet little world feels empty without Luca.Noel wonders why his heart skips a beat whenever Luca’s near. And Luca? He’s realizing the one person who doesn’t fall for his charm might be the only one who truly sees him.Falling in love was never part of the roommate agreement—but hearts don’t follow house rules.---Vibes & Tropes:Grumpy x SunshineForced ProximityMutual Pining & Slow BurnSass, Snark, and Secret SoftnessMovie nights, pranks, cuddles, and the accidental love story

Running from her past, Nivritti joins a new job in South Korea as a Script Coordinator in K&Q Media Company. She works for a successful K-pop boyband. On her first day, she is kissed by the leader of that boy band. The problem is, she is five years older than him. Will that kiss grow into a relationship or will be forgotten by both of them?

*****

She tried to pull her wrists, but she failed. She looked at him and again tried to pull her hands but in vain.

“Yes, you do. You have been licking your lips since you started talking. I think it’s an unconscious gesture that you don’t know about,” informed Kyung-Soo.

“Will you please let go of my hands?” she pulled again but Kyung-Soo tightened his grip.

Without hearing her he continued, “and by distracting, I mean that I really want to hear what you have to say but because of your lips all I can think of is this…

He pulled her wrists pulling her close to him, moved one of his hands on her waist and another one on the back of her neck and softly placed his lips on hers and kissed her.

Arriving in a new world where the steam industry was booming, he inherited a three-story apartment on the capital’s royal square, took in someone else’s cat, and listened to the whispers at his ear, ready to witness this mysterious and bizarre era. The epic of the Sixth Era was about to commence, and behind the curtain, The Chosen One was destined to step into legend. Old Gods, Relics, steam, witches, detectives, ancient secrets, the Era’s brilliance... “Would you like to play a round of Roder Cards?” Time engraved the hours, as Silvermoon illuminated the shadows. I compose your legend, you whisper your verses to me.

He was about to join the beta test on the newest VR games, Second World.