Chapter 387: Sudden Summons (1)

About a week after everyone had spent their respective busy New Year schedules.

Since the absences of the busiest Cheon Jihee Sunbae and Hye-eun had become the norm, the Sky Blue Shield’s meeting room, where at most about two people used to gather, was filled with a slightly bustling atmosphere for the first time in a while.

The reason for that was because, following Kang Hye-eun’s request, a summons for the Sky Blue Shield had been issued for the first time in a while.

Since Hye-eun, who had been the busiest and couldn’t help but be absent, showed her face in the meeting room for the first time in a while, the atmosphere was naturally a bit bustling with people catching up on missed stories.

Although, including me and Min-ah, the people gathered so far were only three of the Sky Blue Shield’s younger members.

“It seems like Jihee-ssi will be a little late because it’s a sudden summons. Apparently, it’ll take her about an hour.”

“Well, can’t be helped. Jihee Unnie must have been just as busy as you, Hye-eun.”

“By the way, everyone really does gather when Hye-eun calls for it. Is it the party leader’s authority?”

“…Authority? They’re just gathering because everyone happened to have the time.”

…At least when it came to Cheon Jihee Sunbae, it felt like she would have rushed over to Hye-eun’s call even if their schedules didn’t align.

I never knew observing a situation while knowing someone else’s secret romantic feelings would feel this strange.

If it was going to be like this, it might have been better if I hadn’t used the Lust Potion on Cheon Jihee Sunbae out of curiosity.

Although, regretting it now is like opening Pandora’s box.

While chatting about this and that with Hye-eun and Min-ah, who had gathered first in the meeting room after I coincidentally met them on the way to work, my smartphone rang, and a KakaoTalk message arrived from Cha Yuri as well.

「It looks like it’ll take about 30 more minutes.」

「Take your time coming. Anyway, it seems Cheon Jihee Sunbae will also take about an hour.」

「Okay.」

I don’t really know why she sent it specifically to me via private message instead of the group chat, but…

Anyway, since I thought I should let the other two know approximately when Cha Yuri would arrive, I relayed the content of her message exactly to Hye-eun and Min-ah.

“Yuri-ssi will also take about 30 minutes to arrive. I just got a DM.”

“…Huh? From Yuri Unnie?”

“Hmm, I see.”

Just by relaying the information received from Cha Yuri as is to the other party members, I received different reactions from each of them.

“Yuri Unnie initiated contact first…?”

“Is that really such a strange thing?”

“I’ve known Yuri Unnie for a year and a half, and she’s never initiated contact with me once…”

“…It seems Yuri-ssi really likes our Taekyung a lot. Judging by the fact that she told Taekyung first about her delay, instead of the group chat or me, the party leader.”

It seemed quite surprising that I was the only one not experiencing issues with Cha Yuri, who apparently had communication problems usually.

Well, in my case, since I built intimacy not just through verbal conversations but also through ‘conversations’ shared physically, it was probably unavoidable, but…

“By the way, Hye-eun, is your work all done? I heard from Yuri-ssi that you’d be busy throughout the whole month of January.”

“I thought so too, and figured I’d be doing only solo activities throughout this month, just like last year.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? You went on an expedition to the Polluted Underground Waterway with me yesterday. And four days ago, we hunted in the Ogre Fortress all morning and afternoon. You weren’t doing only solo activities, were you?”

“…Well, that… of course, that happened, but…”

“…Hmm, I see. You went around various dungeons with Taekyung too. Must have been nice~.”

“……”

For some reason, Han Min-ah suddenly started sweating cold sweat and glancing nervously at Hye-eun.

Then, this time, after exchanging a glance towards me, she hastily started making excuses to Hye-eun.

“It couldn’t be helped! While this Sung Taekyung’s potential ability is said to be Rank A or higher, his actual rank is still Rank B, isn’t it?! Besides, there must be many dungeons he’s not familiar with yet, so I, I have to go around with him and guide him!”

“…That’s true. As you said, Min-ah, it would be a big problem if Taekyung were to get hurt somewhere.”

“Going around alone (just the two of us) was unavoidable because other people couldn’t be included! If we took this Sung Taekyung to another party, wouldn’t strange women surely flock to him? If only you or Yuri Unnie weren’t busy, of course, we would have all gone together!”

“That’s correct too, Min-ah. If strange women were to flock to our Taekyung… that would be unacceptable.”

“O-of course…”

I don’t know at which point, but it seemed like the two of them agreed, and Hye-eun and Min-ah nodded their heads simultaneously.

Not stopping there, Min-ah further elaborated, as if making excuses, about exploring dungeons with me.

“And it wasn’t particularly fun going around alone with him! What’s the point of exploring dungeons alone with a boring guy like this Sung Taekyung…”

“What? It wasn’t fun? I thought it was enjoyable, like a dungeon date. In the Ogre Fortress, we lit a fire in a suitable spot and had an outdoor meal, and in dangerous places like the underground waterway, we even held hands while walking around. It was fun in its own way, wasn’t it?”

“Hey, you, you have no sense…!”

“…What do you mean, Min-ah? How can exploring dungeons alone with Taekyung possibly not be fun? Huh?”

“…What do you want me to do!”

Han Min-ah’s desperate cry, while alternately observing my and Hye-eun’s expressions, rang out once inside the meeting room.

Just at that moment, the meeting room door opened, and a red-haired mage dressed in a navy blue robe appeared.

“Ah, you’ve arrived, Cha Yuri-ssi?”

“…What’s all the commotion? I thought I could hear Min-ah’s voice even from outside the meeting room.”

“Ah, it’s nothing, Yuri Unnie! Please come in quickly and sit down!”

“…Okay.”

Following Min-ah’s words, Cha Yuri entered the meeting room and immediately started looking around for a seat.

Roughly following her gaze, she looked like she was pondering where to sit.

At the long rectangular table, I was seated diagonally to Hye-eun’s left, and to my left was Min-ah.

In reality, the only seats left for Cha Yuri were across from me or diagonally across from me.

Contrary to my expectations, where I thought she would naturally take the seat across from me where she could make eye contact, Cha Yuri seemed hesitant to sit and lingered around.

“Yuri-ssi?”

“…Okay.”

“Are you going to stand for the whole meeting? Anyway, we have to have one meeting and then leave, so it might take a while. Jihee-ssi hasn’t arrived yet either.”

“…I know.”

As if displeased about something, Cha Yuri, who couldn’t seem to settle on a seat, cautiously seemed about to move towards the seat across from me, but then…

Soon after, with an expression of great determination, she plopped down heavily onto a seat.

The problem was, that place wasn’t an ordinary seat.

“……”

“……”

“……”

As soon as Cha Yuri sat down in the meeting room seat, the room was engulfed in silence as if by appointment.

That’s understandable, because the seat she chose was neither of the two empty spots.

With her pushing her butt against one of my thighs as if this was where she was meant to be, everyone in the meeting room showed a considerably surprised reaction.

“…What are you doing?”

“I sat down.”

“There are two empty seats over there, why specifically are you sitting on Taekyung’s lap?”

“The meeting hasn’t started yet. I’ll move when Jihee-ssi arrives, so don’t worry about it.”

“……”

Hye-eun’s expression seemed to show she was speechless at Cha Yuri’s shameless answer.

In contrast, Cha Yuri confidently held onto my clothes, as if she had no intention of moving from this spot.

Despite the subtle warmth felt from my left thigh, I felt a strange sensation, as if a chilling wind was sweeping through the meeting room.

“…I know Yuri-ssi likes Taekyung a lot, but even so, isn’t that a bit indecent?”

“If you call this indecent, how do you even date Taekyung, this bundle of lust?”

“That’s not what I meant. Considering there are other people watching, the very act of behaving like that…”

“Anyway, you guys are all intimate with Taekyung too. It’s strange to be embarrassed after already seeing everything, the good and the bad, with each other.”

“……”

This time too, Cha Yuri acted thoroughly faithfully to her own desires, presenting flawed logic.

And seeing Hye-eun confronting her, it was a moment where a fearful feeling flashed through my mind, wondering if another commotion like last time would break out.

“In the first place, you didn’t even ask Taekyung’s opinion. Didn’t you consider that Taekyung might be uncomfortable?”

“That’s not something for you, Hye-eun, to worry about. It’s a matter for Taekyung to decide.”

“…Taekyung-ah, you say something too. Tell Cha Yuri-ssi to get off your lap.”

“…I’ll get down when Jihee-ssi arrives and the meeting starts. Is it uncomfortable just staying like this until then?”

“……”

Both of them were looking at me, seeking my agreement with their respective opinions.

If I took one side here, there would surely be repercussions later.

Listening to Hye-eun, who was speaking logically and reasonably, I was concerned about Cha Yuri’s feelings, given her apparent affection deficiency.

But if I indulged Cha Yuri’s whim, Hye-eun, who was speaking the right thing, would be shocked instead.

In this situation, there was only one way to at least resolve things smoothly.

-Swoosh.

Leaving my left thigh, where Cha Yuri was sitting, as is, I spread my right thigh open towards Hye-eun’s direction.

While wrapping my left arm around Cha Yuri sitting on my leg, I pointed to my right thigh and asked Hye-eun.

“Do you want to sit here too, Hye-eun-ah?”

“……”

“……”

“……”

It seemed my answer was hard to predict, and this time, silence pervaded the meeting room in a different sense.

However, regardless of that atmosphere, I tapped my right thigh again and said.

“Sit here just until the meeting starts, Hye-eun-ah.”

“N-not that I particularly wanted to sit on your lap, Taekyung, but…”

“It’s because I want you to sit. I want both you and Yuri-ssi to sit on my lap.”

“……”

“Huh? Hye-eun-ah. If you keep hesitating, I’ll tell Min-ah to sit?”

From my left, Han Min-ah muttered words like ‘I wouldn’t sit even if you gave it to me’ in a flustered voice, but it seemed like enough of a stimulus for Hye-eun.

In the end, unable to resist her desire, she too ended up placing her butt on one of my thighs alongside Cha Yuri.

I pulled the two people, who fell within my grasp, into a tight hug with both arms and whispered.

-Squeeeeze.

“Both of you, stop fighting because of me. How many times has this been already?”

“……”

“…S-sorry.”

“Just show me one more time that you’re fighting because of me, and I’ll just leave the party and everything else behind.”

“Ah, okay…”

“We won’t fight anymore…”

Like that, while hugging the two people tightly, a short time passed, sharing only the faint warmth and the skin beyond the fabric.

Thus, when about 5 minutes had passed, the two people simultaneously raised their butts from my body as if by appointment.

“I, I’ll head back to my seat now…. It doesn’t particularly matter if Yuri-ssi is sitting on Taekyung’s lap.”

“…I’m good too. I’ll just sit in my seat.”

With slightly flushed faces, the two people returned to their respective seats.

In the now quiet atmosphere, Cheon Jihee Sunbae entered the meeting room about 10 minutes after that.