After finishing my part-time job at the meat restaurant,
Ji-eun suddenly handed me a box.
“What’s this?”
“Just… well, I’m giving this to you because you’re you.”
“So what is this?”
“Why are you asking? Just open it and see.”
Come to think of it, that makes sense.
I should just open the wrapped box.
“I’ll be right back, I need to use the restroom!”
“Uh, sure.”
Hearing that, I immediately untied the string to check what was inside.
Inside were various brown objects with a sweet aroma.
“…Chocolate?”
The moment I realized what was inside were chocolates.
A prickly voice came from behind my head.
“How did your eyesight get so bad?”
“…Really, I don’t get it.”
“Are you for real? How many times have I made advances?”
Even though her complaints seem pointless, they sound like they’re aimed at me… why is she angry?
Even if it’s chocolate, it’s not like it’s any different from what’s on the market.
‘I don’t get it. I should just return it.’
Just as I was about to cover the box again,
“Hey! Min-hyuk, what are you doing right now?”
Ji-eun dashed over and stopped my action.
“Why are you covering it? It was given to you to eat!”
“I don’t particularly like sweets.”
“What?”
Ji-eun looked at me in disbelief.
“Come on, at least eat one out of courtesy!”
“Fine. The guys who like sweets can have them. Give them to them.”
I pointed at the other male part-timers who were muttering something sharp behind me.
Seeing this, Ji-eun asked me blankly:
“You… Do you know what day it is today?”
“Huh?”
“February 14th. Don’t tell me you don’t know what day this is?”
“February 14th is February 14th. What new day could it be? I came back from school and worked, so it’s not a red day. It’s just a regular weekday for part-time work, right?”
“…”
Ji-eun smacked her forehead.
“Right… You wouldn’t be that kind of person… sigh.”
She sighed deeply with an incomprehensible remark.
Though I hadn’t said anything wrong.
Then, as I tried to cover the box again, she pouted her lips slightly and opened the lid once more, popping a chocolate into my mouth.
“Gack!”
“Did you make it too sweet? Eat one out of courtesy.”
There was some sort of pressure in her tone.
If I refused and spat it out, it feels like my back would tingle or my foot would burn.
“…I can’t just spit it out.”
Fine. I chewed the chocolate while sweating profusely.
“Taste isn’t so bad after all. You should finish everything in there. If you throw it away or give it to someone, it’s a waste.”
When I actually tasted the chocolate, it wasn’t bad. As Ji-eun said, it wasn’t as sweet as I thought.
Only then did Ji-eun’s stern expression soften, and she seemed to mumble something quietly.
I caught “…birthday?” but couldn’t hear the rest.
…It doesn’t matter.
Since I followed her instructions.
The pressure seemed to fade, but Ji-eun didn’t let me go.
“Min-hyuk, when is your birthday?”
“Huh?”
“When is your birthday?”
“Why the sudden question about my birthday?”
“Well…”
Avoiding eye contact, she fidgeted with her hands and said,
“I don’t like chocolate gifts! That’s why I want to give you a real gift!”
Recalling my birthday only brought up bad memories, so I replied indifferently.
There was no need to know.
But Ji-eun suddenly pushed me onto a chair.
“Yah! Why are you pushing me down!”
“I won’t let you go until you answer. Shouldn’t you answer honestly?”
“No, stop! What kind of force is this… Ugh!”
“Quickly say your birthday!”
“Gaaah!!”
Forcing me down onto her knees, she demanded my birthday.
Thanks to her, I understood how terrifying it feels to be pinned down.
That feeling…
Like being completely blocked by something soft, unable to breathe.
Yes, just like this.
…
Huh?
“Gaaah!”
When I opened my eyes, something huge was blocking my vision.
How could this happen twice!
Being buried in soft skin and feeling threatened, just like before!
“Gaaah!!”
Instinctively struggling, I pulled my face free as I did before, lifting my shoulders to escape the threat.
“I thought I was dying…”
To experience such a thing twice…
No, to even experience this in a game…
Either way, it felt abnormal.
-Ding!
>Status Ailment: Suffocation 2nd Stage has been removed.
“What an annoyance. Even now, checking status ailments.”
Even though there were none in the game, it seems there are ridiculous deaths like this in reality.
Now, it doesn’t bother me anymore.
But… I fell asleep without realizing it.
I had said I wouldn’t sleep, yet I took quite a nap on someone’s knee.
“Mmm…? Carsein?”
During this time, Harnier rubbed her eyes and got up.
Covering her mouth, she yawned and nodded at us alternately.
“Thanks to the power of the Gem, you couldn’t get up from my knee originally, but since you got up, it looks like you slept well.”
“…”
“Oh, I was also too sleepy to wait. I ended up falling asleep.”
“Can you fall asleep at a time like this? Seriously?”
But instead, I should question the other side.
“Harnier. You need to increase your alertness.”
“Sleeping and suddenly saying such nonsense?”
“Don’t you realize the danger? Don’t you think the situation we’re in is dangerous?”
At this, Harnier blinked her eyes and smiled slightly.
“What’s dangerous? Being with you?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Ahahaha!”
Harnier laughed out loud.
“Really, you’re saying I should be careful because you might attack me, right?”
What’s this? She doesn’t seem to misunderstand.
“You’d be the one attacking a sleeping person. Phew.”
“…I am a man, after all.”
“If it were another man, I’d definitely be wary. But since it’s Carsein, I don’t mind.”
She lowered her hand, as if she had laughed heartily, and added casually.
“You may not notice, but if someone intends to attack me, they’d notice right away. They can feel the gaze.”
“Gaze?”
“Yes. Like my lips, my neck, or my chest and bare shoulders. People like that start looking from there.”
“If they look like that, I’m no different from those men.”
“Huh?”
“How can I not look? It’s natural to take in the whole sight of a beautiful person.”
To be honest, at first meeting, I reacted instinctively due to the risk, but after the contract, my eyes naturally went to her.
How could such a beautiful person exist?
Still, Harnier laughed and answered.
“That’s why you’re different, Carsein. You’re the kind of person who speaks honestly.”
“But isn’t that contradictory to what you just said?”
“They only show their lust and don’t speak honestly. They pretend not to look and deny where they’re looking. Do you understand?”
“…”
“Even if they use flowery words about my beauty and hide it, in reality, they spit it out. But how about you? There’s no dishonesty in your gaze or words? Are you really the same as those people?”
This statement seems like a trap to test me.
I’ve fallen for it.
“Even if you intended to attack me, you had plenty of chances from the beginning. From the first meeting, I knew the person called Carsein Bargrand doesn’t hold such lies.”
I have my own way of distinguishing.
Seeing through those gazes and lies is a matter of intuition.
So, there’s no need to worry.
Harnier confidently declared.
Indeed, she must have been building up her vigilance thoroughly.
She said she hadn’t had a fiancé before, so she hadn’t been fooled by men and had prepared herself against dangers.
Still, I should say this.
“I’m still a man. You should still be cautious.”
Harnier replied casually and covered her mouth, then asked again.
“Oh, by the way, when is your birthday?”
“…”
“Carsein?”
Coincidence.
In the dream, Ji-eun asked me about my birthday, and now Harnier is asking too.
The strangest coincidence was that Carsein and I shared the exact same birthday.
Thanks to this, answering when my birthday was wasn’t difficult.
“December 31st.”
When I said my birthday was December 31st, Harnier exclaimed, “Then it already passed!”
Birthdays just pass by, so why is she making such a fuss?
But then she said,
“…We’ll celebrate next time.”
And concluded the conversation.
***
“Excuse me, Carsein?”
“Yes?”
“It’s about time we leave. This isn’t a good place to stay in the party hall.”
“…Yes, we should leave.”
-Ding!
>Calculating achievement level.
As if to prove that the status window isn’t useless, a lot of time had already passed.
“…I slept for four hours?”
To have spent so much time sleeping.
It’s amazing nothing happened during that time.
But what worries me more is that I couldn’t finish resolving the penalty of this episode.
‘Why hasn’t Arina come?’
It’s already late.
Given that the penalty was clearly stated, Arina would find Carsein wherever he is at this point.
It’s only natural for a choice to appear here.
‘What could it be? Did I miss something?’
While suspecting this, Harnier and I left the party hall.
In the first floor lobby, Arina was walking towards us.
“Carsein.”
Harnier looked worried, but I nodded to reassure her.
After Harnier moved aside, Arina started speaking.
“Why didn’t you tell me about that incident?”
…What’s going on?
It didn’t seem like she was going to ask this originally.
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