Chapter 32
It wasn’t the couch itself that was fascinating, but rather the pair snoring and sprawled out across it.
“Snore… Pfffff….”
Tangled up like a pair of overgrown cats, the ones passed out were none other than Kiss and Smokey.
No one knew what exactly they’d been doing before dozing off, but judging from their disheveled clothes and bruised, blotchy faces, it was clear they’d had a proper brawl.
The coffee table in the center of the couch was also in a state of utter ruin, with something spilled and shards of broken cups scattered everywhere.
“What on earth happened here?”
Unlike the puzzled Nina, Messi clicked his tongue and averted his eyes.
“Let’s just leave them.”
“Is it really okay to just leave them like that?”
“Even if we wake them up now, they’ll just start fighting again.”
He had a point.
They tiptoed across the living room to avoid waking the two executives, and soon a large arched doorway came into view.
“Here we are.”
As Nina looked at the strangely shaped door Messi pointed to, a question came to mind.
Why out of all the rooms had they given her one without a door?
‘Is it so they can keep an eye on me?’
Sensing her suspicion, Messi quickly explained.
“This was originally the suite’s kids’ room. It’s been recently remodeled.”
“Oh… Do kids’ rooms usually not have doors?”
“It depends on the hotel, but sometimes they leave them off for safety reasons.”
Having never stayed in a hotel before—let alone a kids’ suite—Nina simply accepted it.
“Wow…”
Still, as soon as she stepped into the room, she couldn’t help but gasp.
All the furniture was pink and white, and the room even had a properly designed vanity and a child-sized dressing room.
‘Hotels are… amazing.’
Though smaller than her quarters in the 1st Princess Palace, this room felt far brighter and more charming. As Nina looked around in wonder, she suddenly felt a quiet sense of solemnity.
Meanwhile, Messi was peeking behind walls and under the bed, as if checking something, before finally raising his head.
“The bathroom is through that door. Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it’s really pretty. But… where will you be staying, Messi?”
“I’ll be in one of the other rooms outside.”
“…Was this originally your room, and I took it?”
Messi shook his head, holding back laughter.
“Nope. I always room with my brother.”
“Phew, I thought I stole it from you… So, how long will we be staying here?”
“Why? Hoping I’ll leave soon?”
His golden eyes sparkled mischievously.
Flustered, Nina shook her head hard.
“Of course not! I actually hope we stay longer… I haven’t really had a chance to play with friends before.”
Not “not often”—never.
In that sense, the time she spent today with Messi and Katya was incredibly special and meaningful for her.
“Is that so? I’ve never played with such a cute little girl like you either.”
“…You think I’m cute?”
“Yup. I’ve never seen anyone as adorably cute as you.”
Messi’s eyes curled playfully as he smiled.
Nina’s cheeks flushed red in surprise.
“You’re even cuter than me, though.”
“Thanks, Nina. You’re very modest.”
“I’m not really trying to be…”
“Alright then, I’ll leave you to rest. You must be tired. Take your time looking around and get some rest.”
He sounded like a gentle older brother.
As he turned to leave, Nina called out without thinking.
“Um, Messi.”
“Hmm?”
Messi turned back, tilting his head.
Nina hesitated.
‘Why isn’t he asking anything?’
What happened today was entirely unexpected, even for Nina. If Messi had asked about the pink wristwatch—how she knew about it—it would’ve been a serious problem.
Which is why she was surprised he hadn’t asked anything.
“Nina?”
In her moment of indecision, something Messi had once said came to mind.
‘You’ve got your own secrets too, little princess. Don’t worry, I’m not the type to pry.’
“Sorry… I just thought you’d know. Will Mr. Ravian be staying here too…?”
No matter how fancy the penthouse, without Ravian, it wouldn’t mean anything.
Her voice trailed off, and she lowered her eyes in embarrassment.
Messi looked at her for a long moment, a faint and unreadable smile playing in his golden gaze.
“I think he will. That guy—he called you ‘his’ earlier, you know.”
* *
As morning broke, brilliant sunlight poured through the glass walls.
Everything sparkled beautifully.
Even Kiss and Smokey, still sound asleep in the center of the luxurious living room, sparkled in the morning light.
Ravian stood with his arms crossed, silently staring down at the pair.
The boss had just come back after working all night, only to find his top subordinates knocked out like this. It was almost too ridiculous for words.
To make things worse, Messi arrived right then and began explaining things no one asked about.
“They’ve been like this since last night. It was kinda embarrassing, but luckily Nina seemed to like the place.”
“…”
Ravian’s eyebrow twitched silently.
Why the hell was that guy still in that state?
‘Clearly picked the wrong guys as executives.’
With a grimace that suggested he was seriously considering firing everyone, Ravian finally spoke.
“You. Come with me.”
Messi obediently followed, without making any of his usual cheeky remarks.
They moved to the smoking room attached to the kitchen.
Lighting a cigarette without a word, Ravian exhaled with a heavy sigh. Messi gave him a look of mock disapproval.
“Don’t you think smoking around kids is a bit inappropriate?”
“…”
Ravian took a long drag and stared into space.
When did this guy become such a damn clown?
“Cut the crap. What the hell’s with the get-up? Regressing to childhood now?”
“I figured the little princess could use a playmate. It wouldn’t look right if a grown man she barely knows hovered around trying to play with her.”
“But kidnapping her as a grown man she barely knows was fine?”
Grinding his teeth at the nonsense, Ravian lowered his voice and growled.
Messi—originally Merci—awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“When you put it that way, it does sound ironic.”
“You ironic lunatic.”
Ravian buried his face in his palm with a groan.
Most people were wrong about who was the most dangerous among his subordinates. It wasn’t Kiss, and it wasn’t Mira.
It was Merci.
Publicly, he played the role of a gentle, mysterious heartthrob—but in reality, he was a low-key maniac with a few screws loose.
And now, that low-key maniac was acting like a child with unsettling ease.
“…You know Nina’s of Cerny blood, right? And you’re still pulling this crap?”
Ravian’s voice was oddly calm, but anyone who knew him would realize this was just the calm before the storm.
Messi blinked innocently, then let out a dry chuckle.
“Are you testing me? You think I’d actually do something bad to the little princess?”
“You’re definitely capable of it.”
“That’s not something you should be saying. Besides, I’m not the type to drag kids into adult problems.”
“You mean aside from the whole kidnapping thing?”
They were truly the last people who should be preaching about not involving children in adult matters.
Of course, neither of them acknowledged the hypocrisy.
“Then what exactly are you doing, dressing like that?”
Ravian already found dealing with one kid—Nina—utterly exhausting. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she had him at his wit’s end.
And now it was like he’d caught some kind of “snot-nosed curse”—just one kid in the house, and suddenly the whole place was turning into a preschool.
