153. A Grand Intersection (9)
After finishing my part-time job at the meat restaurant.
Ji-eun, who had worked with me, suddenly handed me a box.
“What’s this?”
“Just… something. A gift for you.”
“What’s in it, then?”
“What’s with the questions? Just open it and see for yourself.”
I guess that’s right?
It’s not a big deal to open the packaged box.
“Okay, I’ll be right back! I need to use the restroom!”
“Alright, go ahead.”
I heard her say that and immediately opened the box to check its contents.
Inside, there were brown objects of various shapes, emitting a sweet aroma.
“…Are these chocolates?”
The moment I realized what was inside.
I heard some prickly words from behind.
“Has your eyesight gotten worse or something?”
“…Huh. I really don’t get it.”
“Is this real? You’ve been a trainee for how many years now.”
It seemed like they were complaining to me, but why were they getting angry?
It’s just chocolate, after all. It’s not like it’s some rare item…
“I don’t know. Maybe I should just return it.”
As I was about to close the box again.
“Hey! Min-hyuk, what are you doing?”
Ji-eun suddenly rushed over and stopped me from closing the box.
“What’s going on? Why are you closing it? I gave it to you to eat!”
“I’m not particularly fond of sweet things, so.”
“What?”
Ji-eun looked at me with a mixture of surprise and disappointment.
“Hey, at least show some appreciation and eat one or two!”
“Never mind. There are people who like sweet things over there. You can give it to them.”
I pointed to the other part-time male workers who were muttering behind me, and said so.
Then, Ji-eun asked me with a seemingly innocent face.
“You… do you not know what day it is today?”
“What?”
“February 14th. Don’t you know what day it is?”
“February 14th is just February 14th. It’s not a special day. I went to school and came back, so it’s not a holiday. It’s just a normal day with part-time work, right?”
“…”
Ji-eun, who was tapping her forehead in silence, let out a deep sigh with a cryptic remark.
“Yeah… you’re not that kind of person… sigh.”
It wasn’t a wrong thing to say, but…
As she saw me trying to close the box again, she slightly pouted her lips and opened the box once more, putting a piece of chocolate into my mouth.
“Ugh.”
“Didn’t I make it sweet for you? At least eat it out of courtesy?”
There was an inexplicable pressure in her tone.
If I spat it out, saying I wouldn’t eat it, my back would feel cold or my feet would feel a burning sensation.
‘…I can’t even spit it out.’
No choice. I was sweating profusely as I chewed the chocolate.
“Try eating it, and it’s not that sweet, right? You have to eat everything in there. If you throw it away or give it to someone, you’ll die.”
After eating the chocolate, it wasn’t as sweet as I thought, just like Ji-eun said.
Only then did Ji-eun’s harsh expression fade away, and she seemed to be muttering something to herself.
What was I saying? I heard it until the part where…
It doesn’t matter anyway.
I did as I was told.
I thought the pressure was gone, but Ji-eun didn’t let me off the hook even after that.
“When is your birthday, Min-hyeok?”
“What?”
“When is your birthday?”
“What’s with the sudden question about my birthday?”
“It’s just… um…”
Avoiding eye contact, she fiddled with her hands and said,
“The chocolate gift is not that great, so I thought I’d give you a real gift!”
As I recalled my birthday, I couldn’t think of anything good, so I replied dryly.
Do you really need to know that?
Then, Ji-eun suddenly pushed me down onto the chair.
“Ugh! What are you doing?!”
“I won’t let you go until you talk. You have to answer me honestly, right?”
“No, no! What’s with this pressure…! Waaah, waaah!”
“Tell me your birthday quickly!!”
“Waaah!!”
Forced to sit on her knees, she told me to wish her a happy birthday.
Thanks to her, I learned how terrifying it is to be trapped in someone’s body.
That feeling…
It was like being stuck in something soft and fluffy, unable to breathe.
Yes, just like now.
…
…Huh?
“Woah, woah!”
When I opened my eyes, something enormous was blocking my vision.
How can this happen twice?!
It’s the same feeling as when I was buried in someone’s soft, fluffy skin, feeling my life threatened!
“Woah, woah!!”
Instinctively, I struggled and freed my face from the embracing arms, using both hands to lift my shoulders and break free from the threat.
“I thought I was going to die…”
Who would have thought I’d experience this twice?
Is it even possible to experience this in a game?
Either way, it’s definitely abnormal.
– Tingling!
▶Abnormal Status: Breathing Difficulty Level 3 has been removed.◀
▶Abnormal Status: Suffocation Level 2 has been removed.◀
“This is ridiculous. Even in this situation, I’m getting an abnormal status report.”
In games, this wouldn’t happen, but in reality, it seems even ridiculous deaths like this exist.
I suppose I’ll just have to accept it.
But… I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep.
I said I wouldn’t sleep, but it seems I slept for quite a while on her knees.
“Huh…? Carsein?”
Meanwhile, Harinee woke up, rubbing her eyes.
Covering her mouth, she let out a small yawn and looked at Bo-ok and me alternately, nodding her head.
“It’s because of Bo-ok’s power that you wouldn’t have been able to get up from my knees, but since you did, it seems you slept properly.”
“…”
“Oh, I was just waiting, but I got too sleepy and dozed off.”
“Do you get sleepy in a situation like this? Really?” I wanted to ask, but… it seems I should be asking something else.
“Harinee, you need to be more cautious.”
“What’s with that sudden nonsense?” she asked, laughing.
“You should know it’s dangerous. Don’t you think our current situation is dangerous?”
At that, Harinee, who had been blinking rapidly, covered her mouth and chuckled.
“What’s dangerous? Being with you?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“Ahahahaha.”
Then Harinee burst out laughing.
“Really? You can cover me up, so be careful now?”
What’s going on? It doesn’t seem like I didn’t understand.
“You’re going to cover me up while I’m sleeping. Ugh.”
“…I’m a man, by the way?”
“If it were another man, I’d naturally be on guard. But since it’s you, Carsein, it’s okay.”
She laughed loudly, as if she had let out a sigh of relief, and added calmly.
“You don’t know, but if someone tries to cover me up, I’ll immediately sense it. I can feel their gaze.”
“Gaze?”
“Yes. Like my lips, my neck, or my exposed shoulders. They’re already looking at me from the start.”
“Then aren’t you the same as those men?”
“How can I not look? It’s only natural to take in the beauty of a beautiful person.”
To be honest, when we first met, I was wary, but after the contract, I couldn’t help but glance over at her.
How can such a beautiful person exist? I thought to myself.
Harnie smiled again and replied.
From noble mtl dot com
“That’s why you’re different, Carsein. You’re someone who speaks honestly like that.”
“Isn’t that a bit contradictory to what you just said?”
“Those people only reveal their lust towards me, but they don’t speak honestly like that. They pretend not to look, but they’re actually checking me out, and it’s disgusting. You know what I mean?”
“…”
“They attach all sorts of flattering words to my beauty, but they’re actually hiding their true intentions. They’re spewing out dirty words from their mouths. But you, what about you? Don’t you have any lies about your gaze or words? Are you really the same as those people, Carsein?”
Her words were a trap to test me, weren’t they?
I got caught properly.
“If you were going to cover me up, you would have had many chances from the start. I knew from the first meeting that you, Carsein Bagrand, weren’t hiding any lies from me.”
I have my own way of distinguishing.
It’s my own sense that catches their gaze and lies.
So, I don’t need to worry.
Harnie was confidently boasting.
Of course, she must have had her own guard up.
My fiancée wasn’t someone I had met for the first time, was she? Although it was vague, I had a sense that I hadn’t been deceived by men before, and I was prepared for danger.
But I had to say this.
“I’m also a man, unchanged. Please be on guard just the same.”
Then Harnie smiled lazily and asked again, covering her mouth.
“By the way, when’s your birthday?”
“…”
“Carsein?”
What a coincidence.
I had a dream where Ji-eun asked about my birthday, and now Harnie is asking about it too.
The more surprising coincidence was that my birthday and Carsein’s were exactly the same.
Thanks to that, the question about my birthday wasn’t difficult.
“December 31st.”
December 31st was my birthday, and Harnie exclaimed, “You’re already past that age, aren’t you!” with a big fuss.
I thought, “It’s just a birthday, what’s the big deal?” but…
“…Let’s celebrate together next time.”
With that, she put an end to this conversation.
***
“Hey, Karcein?”
“Yes.”
“We should get going soon. We can’t stay at the party venue forever, right?”
“…Yeah, we should leave.”
-Tingling!
▶The party schedule has been completed.◀
▶Calculating the achievement rate.◀
It seemed like the status window was unnecessarily displayed, and before I knew it, a lot of time had passed.
“…I slept for 4 hours?”
I couldn’t believe I had wasted so much time sleeping.
It was incredible that nothing had happened during that time.
However, what was more worrying was that I hadn’t completed the penalty for this episode.
“Why didn’t Arina come?”
It was already time for her to arrive.
Since the penalty was obvious, Arina would definitely find Karcein at this point.
It was only natural that the choices would appear on this terrace.
“What’s going on? Did I miss something?”
I wondered, and left the party venue with Harnie.
On the first floor lobby, Arina was walking towards us.
“Karcein.”
Harnie looked worried, but I nodded as if everything was fine.
After a while, Harnie stepped aside, and Arina spoke up.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Something happened, didn’t it?”
…What’s going on?
This wasn’t the kind of question I was expecting.