Ch.217Side Story – I Became a Heroine After the Pure Love Ending (8)

“Right, I remembered you showed me pictures of Lime before, so I took some of Solmi and Leon too.”

“Oh, let’s take a look. Wait, why is your phone so dark and dull? What happened to the phone cases I bought before coming here? There were some pretty ones too.”

“I can’t use those anyway. I dropped my phone in the lake during the school trip, so I had to replace it.”

“Even so, what kind of high school girl has a phone like this? Your phone is already black, you could at least get a pretty case.”

“And what about you? Does it make sense for a man pushing 30 to have a pastel pink phone case? Why do you walk around with a case that has unnecessary animal ears making it barely fit in your pocket? Don’t they say anything when you use that at work?”

“Hamin noona picked this out because she thought it was pretty.”

“That explains it. The design is well-chosen because it’s cute. Especially the rabbit ear part. I should have given one to Do Hamin when I did that bunny girl cosplay last time.”

Even after deciding to live our own lives, the Ban Do-young who lives in the other world and the Ban Do-young who discovered they could meet continued to see each other.

So we would occasionally meet here to catch up and share our experiences.

In these situations, Ban Do-young’s constitution—being a lightweight who quickly blacks out after drinking in either world—was quite helpful.

There was no need to faint from the shock of a needle or deliberately be knocked out by a beloved wife; we simply had to lie in bed at an agreed-upon time and secretly have a drink.

Though I still felt a bit of self-loathing when coming here,

unable to handle even a sip of dark beer without losing consciousness,

showing absolutely no growth in that regard.

“Hehe. Solmi doesn’t really look like Solyoung oppa in the face. Maybe the mother’s genes are stronger.”

“It would be awkward if a 2-year-old girl showed Ban Solyoung’s features too much. I bet Solyoung himself hopes she takes after her mother rather than him.”

“Ah, but Leon is definitely a perfect half-and-half of his parents. That slightly indifferent look with sharp eyes is exactly like our Chuk Junsuk.”

“Right, he’s quite the looker too. I think he’ll break a lot of girls’ hearts by the time he enters kindergarten. Oh, and here’s a picture I took with Do Hamin last Christmas.”

“Pfft! What’s this? You had her do a Santa girl cosplay for Christmas? Even though you didn’t get to home base?”

“Hey, I at least got a kiss!”

Sharing updates was nice.

It wasn’t that I had lingering attachments to that other world, but naturally, I wanted the other me and my partner in that different world to be happy too.

“Really? Lime is already entering daycare next year? He’ll only be 3 years old.”

“I’d love to keep him where we can see him all the time. But he needs the experience of socializing with other kids. That’s important for Lime too.”

“I see, so the fateful time has finally come. The rabbit class and the dragon class will soon wage a breathless war over the golden Lime.”

“I told you, he’s a boy.”

“Don’t girls fight wars too? If you dig deeper, they’re probably even more persistent.”

“You sound like you really want a war to break out over Lime. Are you jealous? Afraid our Lime might be prettier than your future Do Lime?”

“W-what are you talking about! Coming from Ban Do-young’s womb, the world’s most beautiful girl, she’ll be at least equal if not better! What is there to be jealous about?”

“You do realize that face was originally mine, right?”

However, every time we met and shared updates, I couldn’t help feeling jealous seeing the other world’s Ban Do-young gradually building a family life,

unlike me and Do Hamin who remained students without much progress in our relationship.

“Whew… I think I’ve told you everything I wanted to share. Shall we meet at the same point in time next time?”

“Yeah. Be careful not to get caught stealing alcohol from your mom or other family members next time too.”

After several meetings, we developed a sense of how much time would pass before returning to our original worlds.

It was typically about 1 to 2 hours.

Since the time spent here applied equally to the outside world, we couldn’t just while away the hours carelessly.

And our minds wouldn’t allow us to stay here for too long anyway.

“By the way, next time we meet, it would be nice to hear about you, Ban Do-young, not just about Do Hamin or other family members.”

“Huh? What do you mean by my story? There’s nothing much to tell about my romance with Do Hamin since that jerk has put up such a wall that we’re not making any progress.”

“Your progress with Do Hamin is important, but you’re not exactly living a peaceful life with nothing happening to talk about except other people’s updates.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Ban Do-young, what grade are you in now?”

“…Oh.”

I finally understood what Ban Do-young was trying to say.

.

.

.

“Hehehe… Do Hamin, when you touch there, you should rub a little harder. Hehe.”

“Student Do-young. Wake up and pay attention. Class isn’t over yet.”

*Thud*

In the sweltering midsummer.

Between the shimmering sunlight creating heat haze and the even more piercing cicada sounds ringing in my ears.

“Mmm… huh?”

I had been dreaming about going on a date with Do Hamin while slumped over my classroom desk, when a dull sound effect and a flash of light before my eyes suddenly woke me up.

The electronics store where I had been with Do Hamin had somehow transformed into a summer classroom.

“That’s strange. I was just on an electronics shopping date with Do Hamin at Hiyorocon Mart.”

“What’s with that oddly specific dream?”

Rubbing my aching head, I looked up to see

Teacher Miso standing there with puffed cheeks and a slightly annoyed expression.

In her right hand was what appeared to be a homemade rolled-up workbook turned into a stick.

That was probably the cause of my aching head.

“Where did Do Hamin go, and why is Teacher Miso standing next to me? Was I on a date with Teacher Miso instead of Do Hamin? What’s going on?”

“What do you mean ‘what’s going on’? You’re in a special summer class preparing for the college entrance exam. You’re here for supplementary summer lessons because your scores are below the cutoff line for your target university, and Hamin, whom you’re so desperately looking for, is in the special class next door studying for essay writing and interview preparation.”

“So this is…”

“Not a dream.”

“…WHAT?!”

Another year had passed in the world of “Half of Half-Do.”

Do Hamin and Ban Do-young were now college entrance exam students.

They were spending the summer vacation of their final year in high school, senior year.

“So she assigned all the problems I missed while sleeping as homework to be done by evening?”

“Yeah… she said she’d check if I finished them when she comes to pick up Solmi after work. I thought she’d be less strict about my studies since she’s dating my older brother and had Solmi… but to think she’d volunteer to be my homeroom teacher in senior year because she’s worried about my studies…”

“Then you shouldn’t fall asleep in class, especially considering Teacher Miso’s feelings.”

“Ugh, just like her husband, taking someone else’s side! The supplementary classes are divided by grade level, so I can never be in the same class as you no matter what! What am I supposed to do? I can’t focus on studying without you beside me!”

On our way home after the supplementary class ended.

I complained at length to Do Hamin after we finally reunited, but my words had no effect on the diligent class valedictorian.

There was only one reason I signed up for this summer supplementary class.

It was to get into a university in the same area as Sungcheon University, the top science and engineering school in the country that Do Hamin was aiming for.

That way, I could get permission to live together with Do Hamin,

using the excuse that our schools were in the same area.

“So can’t you help me with my problems when we get home? Please?”

“I know. That was my plan from the beginning when I decided to go to your house.”

“As expected, Do-pyeong always worries about his wife’s grades. Let’s buy some Zero Lime and snacks on our way! My treat!”

“N-no, it’s okay. I’ll pay. I just received my scholarship money.”

“Put it away. I’m not working as a model part-time just to pay for your tuition for nothing, you know?”

So we bought what we needed at the convenience store and headed home.

“I’m home.”

“Oh, Do-young, you’re back. Hamin is with you too.”

“Gomo! Oppa!”

“Oh, Solmi! Did you walk over because you missed your aunt and future uncle?”

“Yes! Love Gomo and Haming oppa!”

As soon as we opened the front door, Solmi, who had been playing in the living room, greeted us with toddling steps.

While Teacher Miso was at school teaching students during the vacation, Solmi would wait for her mother at our house, playing with Leon.

Her vocabulary had grown considerably, making conversation somewhat possible now.

“Gomo! Haming oppa! Play!”

“Uh, aunt needs to do the homework she just got from school…”

“No! No homework!”

The words “Your mom assigned it” almost escaped my throat but stopped.

“Let’s play! Play mommy with Solmi!”

“Um, aunt and future uncle are a bit busy… Can’t you play mommy with Leon?”

“Leon only reads books! Won’t play with Solmi!”

“Sigh… what should we do, Haming oppa?”

“Well, 30 minutes should be fine. Solmi came all the way to the entrance to greet us because she wants to play with us.”

Do Hamin nodded as if it was okay.

With Do Hamin’s help, I wouldn’t have much trouble finishing Teacher Miso’s homework anyway.

So I decided to follow his suggestion and join Solmi’s mommy play.

“Alright, let’s play mommy then. I’ll be the mom, okay?”

“No! Solmi will be mommy!”

“Huh? Then what am I supposed to be?”

“Gomo be baby! Solmi is Gomo’s mommy!”

Ban Do-young instantly became the baby (H-cup) of 2-year-old Solmi’s mother.

“W-wait. Then Solmi, are you planning to call Do Hamin ‘honey’? That’s not allowed! He’s mine!”

“Haming oppa be baby too!”

“…Eh?”

“Solmi is Haming oppa’s mommy!”

“Haha… you really wanted to play mommy, didn’t you, Solmi.”

Like Ban Do-young, Do Hamin became Solmi’s baby (182cm).

Just like that, Do Hamin and Ban Do-young had become siblings overnight.

“So the roles are decided… Solmi, what do we do next?”

“Don’t know!”

“Y-you don’t know?”

“Solmi likes being mommy! Just want to be mommy!”

“You just want to be a mom? Then what?”

“Don’t know!”

“Don’t expect too much direction in children’s play, Mr. Haming Oppa.”

“Ah, children’s play is difficult… Do you know what we should do next, Do-young?”

“Well… since we’re siblings now.”

I whispered softly into the ear of Do Hamin, who was tilting his head, unable to figure out the direction of the play.

“Want to try incest?”

“B-Ban Do-young! What on earth are you saying…!”

“Grandma! What’s ‘incest’?”

“W-wait a minute!”

I got scolded particularly harshly that day.