A Hot and Humid Place (3)

I guess pleasant moments pass by in an instant after all.

It felt like it was all over after I just closed my eyes for a moment.

“I’ll rinse it off now. Close your eyes tight~ for a moment.”

It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel regretful, but we couldn’t just keep washing my hair.

Actually, it probably wasn’t that short a time.

Elderin must have massaged my head for quite a while.

I just got addicted to a strange pleasure.

For some reason, her skill was exceptionally good, and I still love warmth.

There was no way I wouldn’t like the carefully pressing touch.

As instructed, I closed my eyes, and the foam was washed away by flowing water.

A cool sensation unique to cool shampoo remained on my head.

A clear and refreshed feeling. I also turned on the water to rinse off the foam on my body.

“Good girl, our Da-eun.”

“Stop treating me like a child……”

“Right, right, that’s true. I’m sorry.”

A voice that doesn’t sound sorry at all.

Seeing her gently stroking my head while saying she understands, she didn’t listen to me at all.

Well, since Elderin seems to be in a good mood now.

It should be okay to indulge her this much.

“Da-eun, should I wash your body too?”

“No. I’ll wash my body myself.”

No matter what, I have no intention of allowing her to wash my body.

Letting someone touch my hair and letting someone touch my body feel completely different.

I’m not that easy of a person.

No matter how much you look at me like that… Ah, I feel like I might weaken.

Should I just let her?

It’s not like my body has any great value anyway.

There was some hesitation, but my decision didn’t change.

If I allowed that, I felt like my head would overheat before even getting into the bath.

Fortunately, Elderin also took a step back.

“Okay. I got it. Let’s wash quickly and get in the tub.”

Now that the quick shower is over, it’s really time to get in the water.

I sat on the edge of the bath again with Sansae’s support.

I grow too.

People learn from mistakes, and those mistakes ultimately mean experience.

If you’ve experienced a lot, it means you should be able to avoid something at least once.

When I was strong, I could just stride in without a care, but that’s probably too much now.

This weak and sensitive body has no resistance to hot water.

Even when showering at home, I have to adjust the water temperature.

Even then, I was carefully wetting the back of my hand.

So, carefully dipping the tip of my right foot in.

“Hic……”

I endure enough not to let out a shrill scream.

It didn’t seem that hot when I touched it with my hand.

Still, if I endure the burning sensation for a bit, I soon get used to it, and gradually increased the area submerged in water.

Slowly, while Sansae watched with a smile from the side, and Elderin strode in.

It took enough time to submerge below the neck.

……It was a bit embarrassing, but this too was a struggle to survive.

But as they say, after hardship comes sweetness.

The reward that came after the hardship was truly sweet.

“Hueuuu…… This feels good.”

Getting into the warm water relaxes my body.

For no reason, I submerged up to below my eyes and dived, then cupped water with both hands to wet my face.

There was a scent of what might be herbs or flowers from the bath additive.

Thanks to that, I liked how the water had a faint color.

Once inside, we can’t see each other’s bodies.

It solved my biggest worry!

All that was left for me was to enjoy this happy time.

The gently rippling water feels good.

It feels like I’m getting drowsy as heat circulates through my body.

I even felt like I was in clouds as I glimpsed fluffy steam.

As I was enjoying the hot bath after so long, the women started to open up conversation.

“Unnie, do you have any plans for this summer?”

“Me? Well, I don’t have any appointments yet. There’s nowhere in particular I want to go either.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d have a lot of friends. You know, the type of woman popular among women.”

“Not really. I just got piercings because I wanted to change my image. I’ve always been a homebody.”

The conversation between Sansae and Elderin.

It seems the first topic was summer vacation after all.

It’s a difficult topic to join in readily.

If I start adding to the conversation, won’t it seem like I’m hinting that I want to join too?

I pretended not to know and blew bubbles in the water – gurgle gurgle.

My social skills are hard to call good even as an empty compliment.

I’m extremely shy, and it’s difficult to gauge the distance with others.

It’s easier to not approach first from the beginning.

I tend to brighten up when others approach me first… but then I tend to approach too much in the opposite direction.

I shouldn’t bother people who have reached out to me.

If I do as I please, the people around me would have to stay by my side forever without going anywhere.

That would only gift mutual destruction.

Fortunately, I was somewhat trained.

Understanding that I’m abnormal allows for some self-restraint.

It was better to swallow some loneliness or feelings of alienation alone.

Well, if worst comes to worst… I could look for someone to target in the game.

The breath I exhaled made bubbles in front of my eyes that popped.

‘This is more fun than I thought.’

They say even grown men are still children.

It means adult males can be somewhat understood for childish behavior.

As I gathered breath once more to make bubbles, the two people’s voices had stopped.

Two gazes fixed on me.

What is it? Since when were they looking at me?

I glanced around with my eyes, then pulled my head out of the water.

“…Wh-why? Keep talking about what you were discussing.”

“We were asking what you think about places like Jeju Island or Japan, Da-eun.”

“Ah. That. Umm…… I’m not sure. When are you planning to go?”

It might be a bit difficult.

I don’t mean to brush it off.

I have a lot of scheduled events now too.

By the time the Prelude ends, the temporary permission period for the connection device will be over.

Assuming things go well, I’ll be on the roster from the summer league.

From then on, I’ll have to move according to the team schedule.

It’s true that I have some free time until then, but this time broadcasting is holding me back.

My broadcast has just spread its wings.

Wouldn’t taking days off from streaming now be fatal to the growth trend?

A lot of playtime itself was needed to put my name at rank 1.

But it seemed the two had already moved on beyond that.

“So we decided to match your schedule.”

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t hear. I was lost in thought.”

“Pfft, it looked like it. You know it’s better to give an answer early, right? The earlier you book for travel, the better places you can go.”

“I’ll think about it by this week.”

So you were thinking of including me.

Actually, that’s true.

It would be awkward to invite me here and then talk about going on a trip without me.

Still, they couldn’t rashly include me, and even asking about it was a bit scary.

Originally, loners like me were troublesome to deal with.

Soaking in warm water, the warmth spreads to my heart.

Unable to stop the corners of my mouth from rising, I just submerged in the water up to below my eyes again.

It was a bad move.

“But what were you thinking about?”

“Hmm, Da-eun said she would do cosplay on her broadcast before. You haven’t chosen a character yet, right? Were you perhaps thinking about that?”

“Puhueup…… Cough, keck. Kehuck.”

Choking underwater is very painful.

Elderin patted my back from behind.

“Are you okay? You don’t have to feel too burdened. I’m sure whatever you do will suit you well and look pretty.”

That’s not the issue.

I’m not sure if she really doesn’t know, but Sansae keeps smiling brightly.

An expression so bright it’s almost dazzling.

I didn’t know that person’s eyes could shine like that.

“If it’s hard to choose, should I help you decide? I’ll help make the clothes too. Since you’re an assassin in the game, how about completely changing the mood and doing something like a magical girl? Or we could push the line to a risky place…”

“I won’t do anything sexy. I don’t like clothes that are too revealing. I won’t wear them.”

“Da-eun, you still don’t know much. People can be sexy without being explicitly naked. Especially you can do it.”

“…?”

Sansae nodded proudly as if she had made a very accurate statement.

At a glance, Elderin seemed to agree too, but I couldn’t understand what they meant.

It seems they’ve already formed a consensus.

I feel like I’m being terribly slandered right now.

Why am I the only one who doesn’t understand?

Anyway, a promise is a promise. I had no intention of glossing over it just because I don’t like cosplay.

Streamers are ultimately a profession that receives money from people. In other words, they’re professionals.

Words spoken must be kept.

“Actually, I already have something in mind.”

“Really? Just tell us quietly.”

“It’s a secret……”

Because it’s not time yet.