Ch.138The Resemblance Is Uncanny (10)

After the school trip, the first summer arrived in the world of <Half Peninsula>.

Actually, it wasn’t the first summer, but since it was the first one I was experiencing after possessing the main heroine, I’ll call it the first summer.

“It’s hot!”

“Well, it is summer…”

“Iced coffee!”

“…Huh?”

The summer in <Half Peninsula> wasn’t any different from reality.

This was a world of pure youth romance genre, without magic, superpowers, or fighting spirit.

I thought Ban Do-young’s body, which was sensitive to cold, would be stronger against heat,

but by the end of May, let alone June, I became someone who could live without Do Ha-min but couldn’t survive without air conditioning.

“Ugh… I can still smell the sweat of those kids who used the dojo mat earlier… Dad! I told you to lower the air conditioner temperature!”

“What power cooling mode are you talking about when there are just two of us? 26 degrees is plenty. The real heat hasn’t even started yet, and you’re already wanting to run it at full blast.”

“How can you say exactly what Teacher Miso says at school with the same temperature setting… Maybe Ha-min can handle it, but I can’t! Ha-min’s body naturally runs hot, so it’s terrifying to sit next to him! That guy can make even a Zero Lime straight from the fridge turn lukewarm in his hands!”

“Th-that’s why I bought ice cups too…”

Even after learning each other’s goals,

my daily life with Do Ha-min hadn’t changed much.

After school, as had become routine, I would help with his physical training

during kendo classes at “Ban’s Kendo School” operated on the first floor of my house.

After finishing early semester events like midterms and the school trip,

with summer arriving and no special events at school, naturally Do Ha-min and I spent more time together at the kendo school.

Ironically, it was only when summer—the most difficult season for physical activity—arrived

that we could have classes without any trouble.

“Alright, let’s wrap up for today. Ah, it’s hot. Where’s that Zero Lime that Ha-min bought…”

“Wait, Do-young. Could you watch me practice a little longer?”

“What? You only have 10 minutes left before evening self-study. You’re drenched in sweat—you need to shower before going.”

“Just five more minutes… five more. I can shower in five minutes. I still feel like I have some energy left. I’d feel disappointed going to study like this. Please?”

“Hey, okay, but don’t come any closer! Don’t let your shadow fall over my head!”

“O-okay… sorry.”

As I mentioned earlier, our daily routine hadn’t changed much.

The only thing that had changed was Do Ha-min, who had grown unreasonably tall.

Classes, kendo, evening self-study, and then straight to bed after returning home.

This routine, faithfully repeated every day, had caused Do Ha-min’s growth plates to create an absurd upward curve in such a short time, bringing his eye level even with Ban Do-young’s.

Do Ha-min’s voice, which used to come from just below my chin, now hit precisely into my ear canal.

Occasionally, when it felt like his voice was coming from above, it gave me quite an eerie feeling.

Fortunately, those times were when I had slightly bent my knees, making my eye level lower than his,

but it seemed to foretell that such a situation would soon become permanent.

Because of this, lately when standing next to Do Ha-min, I made sure to keep my legs as straight as possible.

“Thanks for teaching me well today too. I’ll head in first.”

“S-sure. Get in safely.”

“Huh… Do-young, what’s wrong? Did you get a leg cramp? Why are you suddenly standing on your tiptoes…”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Even that became insufficient at some point, and I found myself standing on tiptoes.

Every time I saw Do Ha-min off as he went to evening study,

I used to stand under the streetlight at the school gate where my shadow would completely engulf his.

Now, the silly cowlick on top of Do Ha-min’s head protruded above my shadow.

No matter how much I stood on tiptoes, I couldn’t erase or cover it.

“D-don’t think about chatting with me, just hurry up and go in. Evening study started three minutes ago.”

“Today’s supervisor is Teacher Yoon from Ethics, so it’s fine. He always comes 10 minutes late.”

“Even if it’s the Ethics teacher, that doesn’t make it okay. And you’re no different! Just because the teacher is late doesn’t mean you can be late for study! Do you think you can become the top student in school like that? Won’t the class president beat you again?”

“Before, you used to stop me when I tried to go in early…”

“Th-that was different because it wasn’t exam period like now! Hurry up and go study! Hunch your back, cross your legs, bend your waist, and pull all-nighters!”

“Y-you told me not to do those things because they’d stunt my growth!”

“I don’t care! Just go study!”

The back of Do Ha-min, whom I forcibly pushed beyond the gate, now seemed quite imposing.

Before, he would quickly disappear from my sight, but now his figure lingered in my vision for an unusually long time.

Surely his legs had grown longer, so he should be walking faster.

Was this really the back of the Do Ha-mi… no, he’d get angry if I called him that.

Was this really the person born from Do Ha-min’s mother’s womb?

I know.

I know that when boys start growing, it happens rapidly.

I really do know.

But there should be some limit.

Shouldn’t there be some balance?

If this world is strict enough to not allow me to return to my original world even after a confession,

why is it so generous with the protagonist’s growth plates?

If that’s how it was going to be, they should have set him as a 180+ alpha male from the beginning.

Would have saved me some trouble.

“I always joked that it would be troublesome if he became handsome, but…”

Of course, reactions to Do Ha-min’s growth weren’t limited to Ban Do-young.

The protagonist’s settings, the foundation of this world, were gradually changing.

One way or another, there would be various reactions from those around.

“Doesn’t Do Ha-min seem… different these days?”

“Oh, yeah. Until recently, I couldn’t even remember if his surname was Do or Jo, but now I clearly remember his name since I see him more often.”

“Me too! Until the school trip, I thought his name was Do Ha-jin because some boys called him that.”

The whispers of the female students inevitably reached my ears due to their tone and pitch.

Do Ha-min’s name, which hadn’t even been mentioned among the female students until before the school trip, was now being discussed at an alarming rate.

“Maybe it’s because he’s grown taller and lost the baby fat in his face. He seems much more mature. And… he doesn’t wear those nerdy horn-rimmed glasses anymore except during class.”

“Has he been… working out or something? His shoulders have definitely broadened, making him look different.”

“I caught a glimpse through his t-shirt earlier, and the veins on his forearms were really prominent. Whatever he’s doing, he must be working out intensely.”

“Come to think of it… I noticed that guys like Lee Jeong-gyu can’t pick on him anymore these days.”

Among the groups mentioning Do Ha-min were Kim Hae-jo, who had forced class duties onto Do Ha-min, and others who hadn’t even known his name correctly.

It meant that even in their eyes, Do Ha-min was starting to look different.

“Before, he looked so tiny next to Ban Do-young… but these days, I don’t really get that impression anymore.”

“Right? Sometimes Ban Do-young even looks smaller than him now.”

I expected him to become a topic of conversation.

The official immortal goddess, the sexual harassment comment during the official event, rescuing Ban Do-young at the amusement park—

regardless of what anyone said, Do Ha-min had been the center of attention during the school trip.

But it was a bit blatant that there was no mention right after the school trip ended,

and only now were people talking about him.

“What should we do? Should we ask him to join our Korean language team project?”

“Hey, what if Ban Do-young gets angry? Do Ha-min always does those projects with people like Ban Do-young and Choi Sa-hyang.”

“Why? It’s not like they’re dating.”

For reference, the fact that Do Ha-min and Ban Do-young were dating was still kept secret at school.

“Aren’t they always together though? Aren’t they dating?”

“Idiot, Ban Do-young just likes having Do Ha-min around as a plaything. Nothing has changed since they enrolled.”

“You never know, Do Ha-min might look different to her now.”

“Would you date someone you’ve always looked down on, even if they became good-looking? I could never do it out of pride. Especially girls like Ban Do-young.”

Actually, we weren’t deliberately keeping it a secret.

People just didn’t believe it.

Whether before or after becoming a couple, nothing had changed in how we acted,

so no one suspected or questioned the relationship between me and Do Ha-min.

“Hey, Do Ha-min! You’re joining basketball in PE today too, right?”

“Oh, yeah. I think that’ll be fine.”

“Hey, let’s make new teams. It’s too unfair that we have to choose between this guy and Lee Dan-cheong every time we do rock-paper-scissors now that he’s grown taller.”

The reactions from the male students had changed as well.

Do Ha-min, whose oversized gym clothes now fit him perfectly, was no longer treated as the short one or a penalty among the boys.

It seems like just yesterday when we always stood next to each other when lining up by height.

Although he wasn’t yet the tallest boy in the class,

now I had to turn my head quite far back to see Do Ha-min standing in line with the other boys by height.

“…You’re getting good reactions from the kids these days?”

“…Huh? What reactions?”

“Wow, this guy’s pretending not to know. As if you haven’t heard it all with your own ears. Like some hack writer searching their name on community sites after getting a bit of popularity, with your ears wide open.”

“I-I really don’t understand that comparison at all…”

After class ended, while buying Zero Lime at the convenience store on our way to the dojo,

I wanted to know how he felt about the reactions from the other kids, so I casually probed for his response.

“Ah… I try not to listen to what other kids are whispering. Up through middle school, nothing good ever came from hearing those things.”

“It’s not like you can choose not to hear just by trying not to.”

“That’s true, but when I focus on what’s important, I don’t really notice it much. Right now, keeping my promise to you is much more important to me.”

“…Do Ha-min, you.”

“Please help me with kendo practice today too, Do-young. I’ll work hard on my evening studies until the finals.”

“Sigh… I was hoping to see some flustered, nerdy reactions from you.”

Whether I liked it or not, I couldn’t stop Do Ha-min’s growth.

Questions that would have made him blush and hesitate before, he now handled quite smoothly.

That part could have stayed the same, and I wouldn’t have minded.

How harsh is the path that the ‘real’ Ban Do-young wants for her man.

“Oh, sorry. I covered you with my shadow again. You said you didn’t like that, right? Being in my shadow. That it’s hot and gloomy.”

“It’s fine, just walk right next to me. And don’t look at other girls.”

“W-who’s looking at other girls…!”

Right, if he’s going to give himself to anyone, it should be to the future Ban Do-young.

Not to any other girl, absolutely not.

Don’t forget.

That face, that height—I raised it all.

.

.

.

The next day after a quite intense training session was the weekend.

As the intensity of the training Do Ha-min requested gradually increased,

Ban Do-young’s fatigue level also rose.

“Huh… how long have I been sleeping?”

Because of this, I had slept through breakfast until almost lunchtime.

“Wow, sleeping this late is a first since becoming Ban Do-young. I’m surprised Dad Ban let me sleep in this long.”

It was well past the time when Dad would normally have been knocking on my third-floor bedroom door to wake me up,

but for some reason, there was no sign of Dad’s noisy alarm call today.

“Don’t tell me Dad overslept too…”

-Thump thump

-Thump thump thump thump

Just then, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs from the second floor.

The rough sound of someone climbing the stairs suggested they were quite angry.

It must be Dad, coming to scold me for still being in bed.

“Sorry, Dad. I was so tired yesterday that I—”

Just as I was about to apologize to Dad who was about to burst through the door,

-CRASH!

Ban Do-young’s bedroom door was destroyed with a loud noise.

“D-door?”

“Long time no see, Ban the thief.”

Through the shattered door and rising dust, an unfamiliar voice reached me,

and I naturally turned my gaze toward the source of the voice.

“Did you eat the snacks that were on the kitchen shelf, you thief?”

There stood a girl with a face remarkably similar to Ban Do-young’s, glaring at me in bed while holding a bamboo sword.