[Chapter 1: Do You Admit Your Guilt? I Admit You’re a Fool!]
Unable to have dinner, I quietly fell asleep in my room and woke up earlier than usual due to the signal from my stomach demanding food.
“Ugh.”
Groaning, I opened my eyes to see the early morning sunlight streaming into the room.
Stretching, I got up from the bed, tidied the blankets, and moved my body lightly, doing some stretches.
Normally, I would have rolled around in the blankets a bit more, but I couldn’t stay lying down for long because I was so hungry.
“You woke up really early.”
Since I hadn’t eaten and hadn’t slept with my girlfriend, I naturally slept well and woke up early. It had been a while since I fell asleep on time and woke up this early. Remembering that, I yawned so wide it felt like my mouth might tear and left the room.
Following the sounds from the kitchen, I walked down the hallway and entered the living room, where I made eye contact with Hayang, who was preparing breakfast.
“You woke up early?”
“Yeah. I woke up early.”
I approached the kitchen, stood behind Hayang as she prepared the meal, bent down, hugged her, and rested my chin on her shoulder.
“Were you hungry?”
“Yeah.”
“Good thing I woke up early to prepare.”
“You woke up early too today?”
“Just woke up. Since I was up, I thought I’d prepare breakfast.”
We exchanged casual conversation as I glanced at the meal Hayang was preparing. It was a typical breakfast menu.
Hungry as I was, the aroma of the food stimulated my appetite.
“Do you want to eat first?”
“No. I’ll wait until everyone wakes up.”
As hungry as I was, it felt a bit off to eat alone when my girlfriends were all at home. Wanting to eat together, I suppressed my hunger for a moment and stood still, holding Hayang, before letting go of the hug.
“Where are you going?”
Hayang tilted her head as she saw me leave the kitchen.
“I’m going to check if anyone else is up.”
Thinking there might be someone who woke up early and was just staying in their room, I headed towards the rooms where my girlfriends were.
The first place I went was SuA’s room. As the owner of the house, who used the master bedroom, I had been in and out of her room so often that I didn’t even knock anymore.
Opening the door and stepping inside, I saw the light of a smartphone on the bed in the dark room.
SuA, who had been lying down, lifted her head at the sound of someone entering and saw it was me.
“You’re up?”
“Why?”
“Just checking if you’re awake.”
Confirming that there was no particular reason for my visit, SuA lay back down and stared intently at her smartphone.
Wondering what she was so focused on, I approached and sat on the edge of her bed, peeking at the smartphone she was staring at.
“Is it a competition?”
“Yeah. It was a while ago.”
What SuA was watching was none other than a video of a competition for the fighting game she usually enjoyed, “Iron Fist.”
“I wish I could have gone.”
Knowing how much SuA loved the game, I was also aware that there had been a competition recently. Due to the recent embezzlement case and the attack on the communication base, I had been so busy that I hadn’t had a chance to talk about the competition. But if there was an opportunity, I wanted SuA to participate.
“I wouldn’t go even if I could.”
“You’re famous in the community, aren’t you?”
The fighting game she played was wildly popular within its genre, and the community was very active. Her nickname, achieved through numerous wins in online matches, was also well-known in the community.
“As a hyper-human, I wouldn’t even be allowed to compete.”
“Game competitions don’t care about hyper-humans. The people I met at the arcade saw us as game players, not hyper-humans.”
“That’s true.”
I understand SuA’s feelings. Even if the people she met at the arcade saw her as a user rather than a hyper-human, not everyone in the world is like that.
Having seen people within a culture who view others without prejudice, Sua knew well that not everyone in the world was the same.
“Maybe think about it later when you have more time.”
Even though SuA knew, I still said this because there is no prejudice in the culture of gaming. Since communication is only through the game, the distinction between ordinary people and hyper-humans doesn’t apply.
From the perspective of someone who has experienced it, there is no difference outside of the game, but the eyes of those looking at hyper-humans are different.
SuA didn’t respond, and I gently stroked her head as she lay there.
“Hayang is making breakfast, so come out to eat later.”
“Okay.”
After hearing her reply while she was still focused on her smartphone, I left her and exited the room.
Thinking about whose room to go to next, I ran into Eunha, who was coming out of the bathroom.
“Oppa. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. Good morning.”
Eunha, who had just washed up, had dry hair but a little moisture still lingered at the tips.
“Are you planning to stay home all day today?”
“Yes. There are no meetings, and since none of us got enough rest after yesterday’s mission, we plan to rest at home today.”
It wasn’t just me who had gone to work without much sleep after finishing the mission early in the morning. My girlfriends also went to headquarters to assess the situation and didn’t get enough rest.
Even though a day or two of intense work wouldn’t exhaust us, it’s good to get proper rest after work.
“Then we can stay home together today.”
After writing the report, there was no word about going to work today, so I planned to rest at home without going anywhere.
“Yes.”
Eunha smiled at the thought of spending time together at home, and seeing her bright face, I also smiled.
“I should think about what to do today.”
“Let’s think about it together.”
Usually, we would just pass the time chatting or watching TV, but today was the first time since living together that we were at home for the purpose of resting.
Since Eunha and Yura moved in, we’ve been so busy with investigations that we haven’t been able to do much for them. So today, it would be good to make an effort to do something.
“Where’s Yubin?”
“She was still sleeping when I left the room.”
Although the house has many rooms, the only ones with furniture are SuA’s master bedroom, my room, and Yura and Eunha’s room.
Since there was no bed for Yubin and Hayang to use, Yubin slept in Eunha’s room, and Hayang slept in Yura’s room.
During meetings, Yubin and Hayang stayed at SuA’s house more often. Over time, sharing rooms with multiple people naturally settled into this arrangement.
“Are you going to the room?”
“Yes.”
Since I ran into Eunha, I decided to go to the room and check on Yubin, who was lying down.
Walking side by side, we entered the room, where Yubin was just waking up and stretching.
“Oh? You’re awake?”
“I heard voices and woke up.”
“Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“No. I was thinking about getting up soon.”
During the short time we walked to the room, we kept talking, and Yubin, who was a light sleeper, woke up from the distant voices.
As I touched her tousled bangs, Yubin hugged my waist and nestled into my chest.
It had become a habit for her to do this after waking up together.
“Are you going to wash up?”
“Want to do it together?”
I asked if she was going to wash up now that she was awake, but she responded with a question about washing together.
Since we had washed together so often in the past, she probably asked without any particular intention. But after being forced into abstinence due to recent busy days, my mind went in a different direction than hers.
“No. I’m going to check on Yura.”
Though I wanted to hold her, suppressing the urge since starting in the morning might lead to spending the entire day having sex with each person one after the other.
“Okay.”
After answering, Yubin hugged me tighter, burying her face in my chest, then released the hug and got out of bed.
Watching Yubin leave the room, I approached Eunha, who was applying makeup after washing up, and kissed her forehead.
“Hehe.”
After stroking Eunha’s head as she giggled, I left the room and headed to Yura’s room, where she was likely still asleep.
Slowly and quietly opening the door, I saw Yura lying motionless on the bed in the dark room.
As expected, she was still asleep, and I approached to take a closer look at her sleeping face.
Although it was dark, the morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, making Yura’s face clearly visible.
“…”
She didn’t seem to notice my presence, still sleeping soundly. I poked her soft cheek with my finger.
As my finger pressed against her soft cheek, her brow furrowed.
“Ugh…”
Yura groaned and squirmed, pulling the blanket over her head. Seeing her like this made me laugh, and I placed my hand on the blanket and touched her shoulder.
“Hm?”
Her voice, clearer now, came from under the blanket.
Slowly, I pulled the blanket back slightly, and she looked up at me with half-opened eyes.
“Good morning.”
“Yeah. Good morning…”
Her voice was heavy with sleep as she greeted me, and I brushed her bangs aside, fully removing the blanket to reveal her face.
“Are you going to sleep some more?”
“Ugh…”
“Are you going to get up?”
“Ugh…”
She only reflexively responded with groans to any question. If I left her like this, she would probably fall back asleep, so I decided to let her rest and left the room.
“?”
As I stood up to leave the room, Yura’s hand emerged from the blanket and grabbed the hand that had been brushing her bangs.
“Don’t go.”
Her voice was still heavy with sleep, but I could understand her.
Unlike yesterday, when she had woken up immediately and left bed, today Yura seemed unusually lethargic.
“Okay.”
Not sure if she heard me or not, I responded and sat back on the bed, brushing her bangs again.
It was the first time I had woken up early and checked on each girlfriend one by one, making this exceptional rest day feel a bit more special.
