Ch.141My Stuff is Mine, Your Stuff is Also Mine (3)

Miss Ban Do-young’s room was on the third floor.

It was structured in such a way that there was nothing to grab onto—no roof or trees—just a direct drop straight down to the yard.

“Seriously, she’s not even a cat…”

Yet Ban Si-young, that crazy girl, jumped down from this height without hesitation.

And she did it silently, discreetly, and lightly.

Worried she might have twisted her ankle and collapsed, I rushed to the window to check the yard.

“…She’s not there.”

In the yard, there was only a light imprint of footprints about the size of Si-young’s feet.

Si-young had already grabbed her shoes from the entrance and left the house.

I caught a glimpse of her back view as she ran toward school, taking long strides with those legs of hers.

Even then, if I looked away for just a moment, I’d lose sight of her—Si-young’s running speed didn’t seem like that of an ordinary human.

“I should have known when she was launching kamuzari with a bamboo sword…”

She was the type of character that occasionally appears in fiction.

The kind of anomalous character who, in a world without #battle or #action tags, punches through walls like a gorilla or tears apart kendo uniforms with bare hands, defying the conventions of the genre.

Within “Ban’s Half-Peninsula,” Si-young seemed to be that type of character.

Probably Chuk Jun-sook, the unofficial number one in our Ban family hierarchy, was of the same kind.

“Judging by how she rushed out the moment she heard the phone call and figured out the location, her target is definitely Do Ha-min… She’s not just suddenly feeling like running around the school field on a Saturday afternoon.”

I could roughly guess where Si-young was heading.

She must have heard the content of my phone call with Do Ha-min since she was nearby.

The library behind the school where Do Ha-min was—

That was probably Si-young’s destination.

The reason she was targeting Do Ha-min was likely because she thought he was the main culprit who stole her snacks along with me.

“That jerk Do Ha-min, coming to our neighborhood on a day like this…!”

Fortunately, from what I could see of her back, Si-young wasn’t carrying weapons like a bamboo sword or a mop.

But that didn’t mean I could completely relax.

This was a girl who jumped from a third-floor window barefoot without a rope, driven by the desire to avenge her snacks.

I didn’t think her combat ability would be diminished just because she wasn’t carrying a weapon.

“This won’t do… I need to follow her right away…!”

Just as I was about to leave the room and head down the stairs to follow Si-young,

I caught my reflection in the full-length mirror beside the door.

There was Miss Ban Do-young with messy hair from waking up late, an unwashed grimy face,

and a haggard appearance covered in dust from fixing the broken door.

Her reflection frowned at me as if asking if I was really going to meet Do Ha-min looking like this.

A shabby T-shirt stretched out around the shoulders and chest,

with sweat stains around the armpits and chest from last night’s tropical heat.

Dust from cleaning had settled on the sweaty areas,

adding to the stickiness of the already damp sweat marks.

The lower half wasn’t in any better condition.

I had thrown off even my shorts while sleeping because of the heat,

and had just woken up a few hours ago proudly displaying apricot-colored granny panties.

Of course, being the world’s greatest beauty, Miss Ban Do-young’s looks wouldn’t fade despite these penalties.

And Do Ha-min had seen Ban Do-young’s bare face without makeup several times before,

so he wouldn’t be disappointed if I went out looking like this.

“…”

But for some reason,

I couldn’t muster the courage to go outside.

It might be ridiculous to feel embarrassed about showing Ban Do-young’s raw, unfiltered appearance,

but somehow I didn’t want to show this mess of a state to Do Ha-min right now.

It was strange.

When I was a guy, I never cared about things like greasy hair or unwashed face when meeting friends on weekends.

The same went for clothes.

One hoodie and a pair of shorts for spring, summer, and fall.

In winter, I’d just add a long padded jacket over them.

I had never thought about wanting to look good for someone else.

Even after being possessed by Ban Do-young, I usually dressed casually unless it was a special occasion.

Why was I suddenly concerned about how I would look in Do Ha-min’s eyes?

“At a time like this when every minute counts… I should just put on some pants and go after them. I’ve already shown him my bare face without makeup, my just-woken-up face, and even my granny panties and bra, so why am I…”

I kept telling myself this while looking at the disheveled but still beautiful Ban Do-young in the mirror,

but I couldn’t bring myself to move away from the reflection of the messy Ban Do-young.

“…I guess I’ll at least wash my hair before going.”

After deliberating, I came down the stairs and instead of heading to the entrance,

I took off my top and went into the bathroom.

.

.

.

“Haa… Haa… Done! A new record…!”

In 30 minutes, I had washed and styled my hair, applied basic makeup,

changed clothes, and made it to the front door.

People are truly fickle creatures.

After fixing my hair, my bare face caught my attention, leading me to the vanity table.

After applying makeup, my shabby clothes stood out, unconsciously drawing me to the closet.

Still, finishing preparations in just 30 minutes was remarkable progress compared to when I first possessed Ban Do-young and was clumsy with makeup and hair styling.

Back then, just drying my hair and applying skin lotion would take over an hour.

Indeed, people grow when pushed into a corner.

“Don’t worry, Do Ha-min! I came out wearing pants and sneakers so I can run quickly to the library!”

It shouldn’t be too late yet.

Well, it was late, but I hadn’t heard any police or ambulance sirens in the area.

That probably meant he was still alive.

“Recent contacts… Do Ha-min… Do Ha-min…”

I hurriedly made my way toward the library where Do Ha-min was supposed to be.

I called his cell phone to confirm his survival while moving.

“That’s strange… Why isn’t he answering? Don’t tell me he’s already been taken down.”

The speaker kept repeating the ringing sound with no sign of him picking up.

With a sudden ominous feeling, my footsteps quickened to match the rhythm of the rings.

I crossed the street without hesitation at a red light on a narrow road where cars didn’t pass.

“…Huh?”

While passing through the walking path next to the library,

I spotted two people, a man and a woman, standing nearby.

“Found them. That tacky green checkered pattern is definitely…”

A brown-haired man wearing a green checkered shirt,

and a black-haired woman in a black hoodie with orange dolphin pants.

Though their faces were slightly blurry from this distance,

both the man and woman’s descriptions matched exactly with the two people I was looking for.

“That jerk Do Ha-min… I told him that checkered shirt is super tacky and not to wear it. Yet he’s wearing it again…”

How long has it been since the school trip ended,

and his fashion sense has already returned to that hopeless level.

Even if he’s recently grown taller and doesn’t have clothes that fit, still.

Despite my offering to get him some clothes from Ban Sol-young’s closet if needed, he stubbornly refused and kept wearing only these kinds of clothes.

If his height and face hadn’t hit their growth spurt yet,

he would have looked exactly like a default NPC from Akihabara.

“Well, at least I found them before anything happened. Hey, Do Ha-min…”

“It’s such an amazing coincidence. I never thought we’d meet again like this. It’s really nice to see you, Scarlet-chan. Have you been well?”

“Y-yes, I’ve been well… I’m also glad to… meet you, Dwarf Oppa…”

“…Huh?”

What was this situation?

I flinched and stepped back a bit from the two people who were suddenly calling each other by nicknames as if they were at an online gaming guild meetup.

“To think that Scarlet-chan would turn out to be none other than Do-young’s sister… Come to think of it, there were quite a few clues I could have picked up on… You two look alike, and I heard you were studying kendo abroad.”

“I-I didn’t know either… From what Oppa described back then, it seemed like a completely different person from my sister… Who would have thought that the Ban thief girl… I mean, my sister’s boyfriend would be Dwarf Oppa.”

“Ahaha… You still call me Dwarf Oppa? Well, I guess if you’re used to it, it can’t be helped.”

Do Ha-min and Si-young continued their conversation quite naturally.

Even from just listening briefly, they didn’t seem like people meeting for the first time today.

“Um… About that bracelet I gave you last time…”

“Ah, right. I’m sorry about that. For giving you a gift that could cause such an unpleasant misunderstanding.”

“…What?”

“You must have been surprised to suddenly see a bracelet with that message, right? It would be quite shocking to receive a gift with something like that written on it from someone you just met. I’m really sorry about that.”

“N-no… I…”

The name “Scarlet” that came from Do Ha-min’s mouth sounded strangely familiar.

The way they talked as if they had known each other for some time,

using nicknames instead of real names.

And then the clear mention of a “bracelet” from Si-young’s mouth.

“…Oh, I see now.”

I began to understand the background of the mango-scented bracelet incident currently on my wrist.

“I-I never felt bad about it…! Rather, I liked… I mean, it wasn’t bad at all.”

“Th-thank you for being so understanding… Phew. I was worried it might have become a bad memory for Scarlet-chan…”

“S-so from now on, I’ll call you by your name! Ha-min Oppa!”

At that moment, Si-young, who had been slightly blushing toward Do Ha-min, raised her head and spoke.

“S-so when Ha-min Oppa calls me, instead of Scarlet-chan, if you could just use my name…”

“Ah, wait. Sorry, Scarlet-chan.”

Do Ha-min interrupted Si-young and took out his phone from his pocket.

He seemed to have just noticed the screen lighting up from his pants.

“Oh… I had my phone on silent while at the library, so I didn’t realize there was a call. I need to take this call that just came in.”

Do Ha-min’s hand immediately pressed the answer button after seeing the caller’s name.

“Perfect timing.”

After confirming this, I quietly approached the bench where the two were sitting.

“Hello…?”

“Yes, it’s your honey!”

“…Huh?”

Confused by the clear voice that reached the back of their heads despite the speaker not being on, the two turned their heads slightly toward the back.

“Do-young, you’re here?”

“Eek! What the—Ban thief girl! How long have you been there?!”

“Kekeke. You didn’t notice at all, did you? Our Scarlet-chan. How absorbed you must have been in your Dwarf Oppa.”

“D-damn… Did you hear everything?”

I sat down next to Si-young, who couldn’t hide her flustered expression.

“So, how is it? That nerdy Dwarf Oppa, I’ve raised him up to this height. Doesn’t it make your heart swell? Oh, I guess not.”

“Grrrr…!”

“Oh my, I just realized that while it seems you two have introduced yourselves, our Scarlet-chan and I haven’t done so yet.”

I extended my left hand with the mango-scented bracelet toward Scarlet-chan beside me, with a slight smile.

“Nice to meet you, Scarlet-chan. I’m Do Ha-min’s honey.”