Chapter 21: Who is Elodie Blanche? (2)

The meal Elodie prepared was so delicious that comparing it to delivery food would be an insult.

The pasta was perfectly seasoned, and the ingredients’ aromas were beautifully brought out, so I ate every last drop of the sauce.

Even the steak was so delicious that I cleaned the plate.

Elodie, naturally, knew Kwon Se-ah’s ‘single serving’ better than anyone, so I could have a very satisfying meal.

“Ugh… Maybe because it’s been a while since I’ve received this, but I feel incredibly itchy! It’s okay, right?”

“You might get hurt if you move, so please stay still.”

And the long, long beauty time that naturally started after the meal wasn’t as bad as I thought.

I thought it would be incredibly boring and uninteresting, but surprisingly, I was able to get information about ‘Who was Kwon Se-ah?’ from various angles.

Moreover, because the small talk continued endlessly, I even learned Elodie’s name.
‘Elodie Blanche.’

As her name suggested, she was French.

The reason her Korean was fluent was because she was of mixed heritage.

“But, Elodie unnie? Where did we first meet? I really don’t remember anything.”

“You met me at the ESMOD main campus in Paris.”

(TL: ESMOD is a real international fashion design school.)

“We’ve been close ever since then, right?”

“Many things happened after that, but you, Young Miss, diligently completed the diploma course and graduated splendidly.”

What’s a diploma?

What’s ESMOD, and what’s a main campus?

“I still vividly remember you draping all night long, Young Miss. Your graduation project was so outstanding that even the notoriously fussy Madame acknowledged it.”

“Um… I’m really, really sorry, Elodie unnie. What kind of place is ESMOD?”

“Oh my, oh my? It’s a world-renowned fashion school. It’s a place you proudly graduated from, Young Miss.”

Graduated from some fashion thing in Paris?

Oh, oh… So that’s why she confidently held a position like ‘director’ of something like character IP business at Hansung Lifestyle & Style?

…But what do I do?

I don’t know a thing about fashion!

“Hmm… I don’t remember clearly, but it’s vaguely coming back to me.”

Fortunately, Elodie smiled and continued with the nail care… or was this called a manicure?

She kept doing that.

…Having a sticky, strange mask pack on my face and receiving this kind of treatment really makes me feel like a young lady.

“But, Elodie unnie, what was your first impression of me?”

I needed to know more about Kwon Se-ah as a person.

“You were a student, and I was an assistant, Young Miss. But that’s not the kind of formal meeting you were asking about, is it?”

As expected of a woman who exudes a super maid aura, she’s quick-witted.

“Yes, since we’ve continued to meet like this. I’m curious about our first private meeting.”

“If it’s about our first meeting like that… it was when I saw you clutching a toilet and throwing up in the bathroom of a party venue.”

… … What?

Why was that our first meeting?

“I have eyes and ears too, so I knew you were the youngest daughter of the Hansung Group, Young Miss.”

“Ahaha…”

“And as if to prove those rumors true, you seemed to have very good relationships with your peers, Young Miss. You made quite a few friends in Paris and had no problems with school life.”

She had many friends?

…It felt more like the opposite?

“However, that was a pleasant image you created, Young Miss. I found out that fact at our first meeting.”

“How?”

“Hehehe, because you were crying and throwing up in the party venue’s bathroom for 30 minutes, and no one came looking for you.”

Right, there would be many people who approach the youngest daughter of a chaebol thinking they can get a lot out of being friends with her.

And there’s no way Kwon Se-ah wouldn’t know that.

So even if she seemed to have many friends, when she actually showed a ‘weak side,’ there were no friends she could ask to come with her, and no friends came looking for her.

“Even after showing such a side, you smiled brightly at me and asked me to pretend I hadn’t seen anything,

Young Miss. Surprisingly, you even remembered my name correctly when you asked.”

Elodie looked at my neatly finished nails with a satisfied gaze.

“So I felt like I wanted to take care of you.”

“…So you followed me to Korea? I feel a bit sorry.”

“Oh my, oh my, this Elodie is not such a soft and tender woman.”

Elodie smiled and took off the mask pack from my face, continuing the care.

“You and I continued to chat privately about various things and became close after that, Young Miss. However, the reason I decided I had to be with you was entirely different.”

“…I, I don’t remember that, but you’ll tell me, right?”

Elodie smiled.

“There was a time when my dream disappeared entirely.”

“…Uh, why?”

“Society is a place teeming with scary wolves. It’s a place where even clothes I poured my heart and soul into can become someone else’s genius work due to a very trivial mistake and foolish behavior.”

Elodie fiddled with my long hair.

“I despaired, wondering how a woman who had even been an assistant could act so foolishly. It wasn’t a situation that could be resolved by telling anyone.”

“So…?”

“The one who helped me then was you, Miss Se-ah. The seemingly endless gloomy days ended with a sudden apology call.”

Elodie continued speaking while holding scissors.

“I didn’t tell this story to anyone. But you, Miss Se-ah, remembered my work, and as soon as you found out it was being exhibited under someone else’s name, you resolved it.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, and you didn’t say anything to me. You didn’t even say that you had resolved the matter. You simply helped me as the sun rises in the morning, and you didn’t expect anything in return.”

With a snipping sound, Elodie trimmed my hair.

“That day, I made a decision. Just as you helped me find what I had lost, Young Miss, this time I had to help you find your ‘lost self’.”

“…My current self is a bit lacking, isn’t it?”

“Oh my, oh my, well? I’m not sure if it’s lacking or overflowing.”

It was a more ordinary story than I expected.

I was a little nervous that if it was a relationship harshly entangled with money, my current friendly way of calling her “unnie- unnie” might feel grating.

Moreover, hearing the story, it’s not a relationship I can’t handle.

“Is my hair all done too?”

“Yes, now if you receive a massage, today’s care will be finished.”

Ugh, I still have to get a massage after all.

“Then, well… Um, should I just go to the bedroom and lie down?”

“Hehe, yes. Please feel free to undress and lie down.”

Elodie said, cleaning the room with a smiling face.

“…Undress?”

I must have misheard, right?

She didn’t tell me to get completely naked and lie down, did she?!

***

“Ah, ah, ugh… Uuuuugh…!”

“It’s normal to feel pain, so please endure it patiently.”

“U-unnie! I’m, dy…! Dyi, dying! Ugh!!!”

It wasn’t about undressing or showing my naked body or anything like that!

Where did the massage, which started with a feeling of dying from embarrassment and shame, go?

Now I feel like I’m going to die!

Dying, I’m dying…!!!

“The more pain you feel, the stiffer your body is, so please receive the massage quietly, okay?”

“Ah, nooo…! This just feels painful…!!!”

The massage really had an atmosphere at first!

Something a bit sensual?

They even lit incense with a calming scent, which made my heart pound for no reason.

Come to think of it, since I’m a man on the inside, I even thought it might be a great deal for a beauty like Elodie to give me a massage.

Even when her hands touched my shoulders, the oily, incredibly smooth feeling made me think I was receiving a young lady-like care, but…!

“Ughghghghghghgh!!!”

It hurts!

It just hurts!!!

Why can a person feel this kind of pain in their shoulders and calves?!

Is it true that my body has stiffened, or is she melting my muscles right now?!

Far from feeling ashamed of being naked, it hurts so much I feel like I’m being tortured…!!!

“Still, you’re enduring it well for someone who’s screaming.”

“Th-this… Isn’t this, like, a stress test or something?”

“Oh my, oh my, I don’t know what you mean?”

“Until I scream that I can’t take the pain anymore, haaaack…!!!”

Ah, ah, it really hurts!

My shoulders are this tense?

Are you kidding me?

…No, is it because my chest is a bit big?

Thinking about it, I did feel a bit stiff, right?

“Ugh, kugh… Ah… Heok, ugh… I thought I was going to die.”

Fortunately, the torture wasn’t eternal.

The burning pain all over my body remained as a tingling sensation, but at some point, Elodie’s massage became gentle.

Right… Well, an oil massage can’t hurt like this continuously.

─ Jiiing!

“Shall I get your smartphone, Young Miss?”

“Hmm, let me check.”

Did Chief Secretary Lee Eun-byul send a message or something?

【Galaxy Train】

〔The defense deck organized by the Pioneer has been defeated! Please reconfirm your strategy!〕

What’s this?

Did the person who’s been strangely crashing and burning since earlier finally figure out a strategy?

Is it finally time to properly farm Arcanas?

Since the game has been open and the first version is ending, it seems like people with set-ups are starting to appear.

Is the effectiveness of pure stats bound to diminish?

As soon as I checked the alarm, I clicked and launched Galaxy Train.

“Ah…”

Right.

In a situation where I was showing my back to Elodie, naked, I held my smartphone horizontally with both hands and launched Galaxy Train.

The youngest daughter of a chaebol family.

Kwon Se-ah turned on a mobile game while receiving a massage naked.

“Heup…!”

Habit is scary for this reason…!

I’m not an idiot, how could I check the alarm and turn on the game right away!

Ah, really!

Really!

What would Elodie think if she saw this?!

She’d laugh at me, wondering why there was no contact for two months, only to find out I’ve become a game addict!

“Oh my, oh my? It seems you play Galaxy Train too, Young Miss.”

“Uh… Yes?”

“Hehe, I play it too. It’s a more fun game than I thought.”

Elodie spoke as if it were nothing, pressing my sides and pelvis to massage me.

“Ugh, ugh… E-Elodie unnie, you play mobile games too?”

“Yes, I play it lightly. They advertise a lot, and there are many characters in pretty clothes, so I play it casually.”

What, really?

Is she really playing it?

This is a story I never imagined.

Suddenly, my heart started pounding.

Could the fact that I can talk about my hobbies in real life be this joyful?

“I think the clothes Meiring wears are quite pretty. The way they made the qipao into a very stylish and elegant cheongsam was very impressive.”

“I… I also think Meiring is very pretty.”

Unexpectedly, I found someone in real life with whom I could talk about Galaxy Train.

“Elodie unnie, do you want to be game friends with me?”