Chapter 488: The Choice is Yours (2)

Cheon Jihee, lost in thought, stood blankly beside the corpse of the fallen White Crystal Spider Queen.

Approaching her, who stood still as if her mind was filled with various thoughts, I subtly asked what was troubling her.

“What are you pondering so deeply about, Cheon Jihee-ssi?”

“……”

Sensing my approach from the side, Cheon Jihee quietly lifted her head, meeting my gaze.

She maintained a slight silence, as if organizing the thoughts in her head, then cautiously began to speak the words held in her heart towards me.

“…Was I… sexually frustrated?”

“Huh?”

“Until now, I just thought it would be enough to be by Hye-eun’s side, so I suppressed my feelings, believing that alone would be satisfying.”

“…Yes, you mentioned that before.”

“So, thinking I had sorted out my feelings in my own way, and fearing my skills would decline, I asked you to take my first time.”

“That’s unavoidable. It’s natural for awakened abilities to weaken after their peak, isn’t it? Aren’t you, Sunbae, actually one who declined a bit later than usual?”

“…I thought I could be satisfied just by watching Hye-eun. Because the moment I expressed my feelings for Hye-eun, I believed she would undoubtedly feel discomfort and humiliation. But….”

After a moment of silence, Cheon Jihee poured out her inner thoughts again.

Her subsequent words seemed to represent Cheon Jihee’s emotions, tangled in a confusing mix of various worries.

“…I don’t know. Whether I truly loved Hye-eun, or if it was just unfulfilled sexual desire.”

“……”

“Whether it was sexual desire for Hye-eun, or sexual desire for a man, or perhaps if it was fulfilled by you because you’re Hye-eun’s boyfriend…. I really can’t tell….”

…Well, from Cheon Jihee’s perspective, this situation would certainly feel a bit confusing.

After all, she had achieved the love she once gave up on in a rather peculiar way, and simultaneously recovered her declining skills.

It was understandable that she was confused about whether it was a certain part of her sexual desire being fulfilled that brought back her skills.

…As for me, the best answer I could give her was something like this.

“There’s no need to figure it out right now, is there?”

“…Huh?”

“What if your feelings, Cheon Jihee-ssi, are a little ambiguous? There’s no need to define emotions as one single, clear thing.”

“……”

“If you really can’t figure it out, just say you feel love for both me and Hye-eun. It’s easier that way, isn’t it?”

“…B-but, what if my skills decline again later….”

“We can just have you held by both me and Hye-eun again, just like last time. I’ll handle persuading Hye-eun, so don’t worry.”

“…You’ll do that for me again?”

“Of course. Why are you even asking?”

As soon as she heard my words, Cheon Jihee blushed, recalling what happened last time.

It seemed she quite liked their previous night together, as she cautiously inquired if they could repeat the experience.

“If you want to be greedy, it’s okay to be a little greedier.”

“……”

“No one will fault you, Cheon Jihee-ssi, for being a little greedier than you are now. At least, I won’t.”

“……”

“Whether you decide to work hard again to climb to a higher rank, Sunbae, or if you want to stay in the same party with Hye-eun going forward, I’ll support you as much as I can. Including resolving your sexual desires, of course.”

Hearing my words, Cheon Jihee nodded, her face subtly flushing.

Now that she had learned how to show affection towards me in her own way, I should also do my best to support her in achieving her goals.

After all, she was a reliable core vanguard for our Sky Blue Shield.

“Ah, but you can’t take Hye-eun away from me. Hye-eun is mine.”

“…I know that. I’m not shameless enough for that.”

“Instead, how about you become mine along with Hye-eun, Cheon Jihee-ssi? Then, making it easier for the three of us to share the same bed like last time would be much simpler.”

“…Do I have to answer right now?”

“No. Take your time and answer whenever you’re comfortable.”

Whether Cheon Jihee truly makes up her mind and wants to continue this peculiar love triangle involving me and Hye-eun.

Or if she simply receives formal sexual release from me and remains in Sky Blue Shield.

The decision regarding that was something she herself had to make.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“That was seriously awesome earlier, Jihee Unnie!”

It was lunchtime for Sky Blue Shield, having smoothly completed their morning expedition.

These were the words Han Min-ah, fidgeting at the serving line and returning last, uttered the moment she saw Cheon Jihee.

“How did you kick the Queen Spider’s leg like that, BAM! Did you know it was totally badass?!”

“……Yeah.”

“It was seriously amazing! That huge leg just snapped….”

Han Min-ah, true to her role as the party’s mood-maker, praised Jihee’s performance in the Crystal Spider nest just now, emphasizing it.

On the food tray she carried, at a glance, one could see rice, packed down tightly, and a mountain of stir-fried pork.

…She sure is eating a lot, calling it free food.

“How did you do that?!”

“…What are you talking about?”

“That flying kick you did in mid-air earlier! The power must have been insane to shatter the Spider Queen’s leg!”

“…I could always do that. Back in my prime.”

“So you’ve returned to your prime skills?! Congratulations, Jihee Unnie!”

Unlike the others, who were relatively quiet, Han Min-ah was the only one excitedly asking Cheon Jihee various questions.

In contrast, Hye-eun and Cha Yuri, who already knew Cheon Jihee from her prime days, weren’t making such a fuss.

Considering the timing, Min-ah joined Sky Blue Shield the latest.

It must have been Min-ah’s first time seeing Cheon Jihee in her prime, just like it was for me.

Of course, having recently shared a bed with her, I had somewhat expected this outcome.

“But what happened? What was the trigger for you to suddenly return to your prime skills, Jihee Unnie?”

“……”

“Oh, speaking of which, Yuri Unnie had something similar happen last time, right? Back then, surely….”

“Yeah, Taekyung helped me. Though back then, I still thought he was Sungchul.”

“So Jihee Unnie finally got a boyfriend….”

If Han Min-ah’s conversation continued on this track, there was a chance the 3P session from last time might get revealed, and not in a good way.

I intervened, cutting her off at an appropriate moment before that wild cat could blurt out anything inappropriate.

“Hey, Han Min-ah. Just eat your food. Stop digging into other people’s private lives for no reason.”

“Wha-what! Jihee Unnie finally got a boyfriend, so it’s natural to be curious!”

“If she wanted to brag about it, she would have said so herself. Surely she wasn’t expecting you to force it out through that mouth of yours.”

“I think Taekyung’s right, Min-ah. Unless Jihee-ssi chooses to reveal it herself, it’s probably best not to ask.”

“…Aw, you’re no fun.”

Thanks to my logical argument and Hye-eun’s timely assist, Han Min-ah quietly shut her mouth.

Well, Hye-eun would probably be embarrassed if the 3P incident from last time came out, so it was an appropriate intervention.

Of course, I had a hunch that it couldn’t be kept secret forever and would eventually be revealed.

But whether it absolutely had to be said today… I felt that wasn’t the case.

Becoming a ‘public pillar for party members’ to the entire party wasn’t particularly a problem. In the first place, I already had that image halfway.

However, Cheon Jihee’s sexual orientation had many sensitive aspects. Considering the possibility of it slipping out with a slip of the tongue, it was better to block this topic from the start.

As for me, I didn’t particularly care whether Cheon Jihee was a lesbian or not, and Hye-eun herself, due to her voyeuristic tendencies, actually preferred it, so it wasn’t an issue.

For Min-ah or Cha Yuri, the moment her personal sexual preference was revealed, there was a possibility of an awkward relationship ensuing.

Even if Cheon Jihee tried to persuade them that she didn’t like all women but only Hye-eun, there was still a chance they might dislike the mere fact of having a homosexual within the same party.

Therefore, before the conversation went too deep, I cut off Han Min-ah’s words to stop the topic, and immediately brought up another subject to salvage the awkward atmosphere.

Shifting my gaze towards the most noticeable and easiest target in the current situation.

“By the way, you’re really eating a lot today, Han Min-ah.”

Watching Han Min-ah eat her tightly packed rice accompanied by a mountain of side dishes, I deliberately muttered a remark loud enough for her to hear.

As expected, Han Min-ah took offense at my words and immediately retorted.

“Wha-what! We had a group expedition today after a long time, so I ran around hard! I deserve to eat this much!”

“Who said anything? I just find it amazing how much you eat.”

“You said it like I’m stuffing my face like a pig!”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You did!”

Although my words were mixed with a bit of teasing, honestly, it was closer to genuine curiosity than teasing.

How all that food fit into such a small frame and was digested was baffling.

Perhaps it’s because she’s an animal-type hunter and a feline model, leading to high calorie consumption?

Otherwise, it’s hard to understand how she eats like that and still has not an ounce of belly fat.

As I thought this while looking at Min-ah’s abdomen, where her ’11’ abs were clearly visible, she offered a slight excuse.

“…And besides, I have to eat a lot today anyway. As soon as we get off work, I need to prepare for moving tomorrow.”

“Right, eat up then.”

“…Somehow, when you say it, it sounds sarcastic?”

“I’m not saying it like that, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”

The reason the group expedition ended in the morning today was, in the first place, due to Min-ah’s moving arrangements.

…Surely she’s not planning to move by herself without calling the moving company, like she mentioned last time.

Getting a strange sense of unease, I subtly asked Min-ah about her moving plans.

“Are you moving your stuff with Jin-ah and Seon-ah?”

“Yeah. Anyway, the luggage is almost all packed, so I just need to organize it now.”

“The moving company? Did you call them?”

“There aren’t that many furniture pieces anyway. I’ll just borrow a cart from the company for things like drawers and pull them, and for clothes or dishes, I’ll just carry them box by box, it’ll work out somehow.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

…Seriously, just listening to Han Min-ah makes me question if I’m living in the 21st or 20th century sometimes.

What is she even talking about, moving with a cart like it’s some drama from the ’88 year.

Even if she can’t afford full-service movers because they’re expensive, she could at least call a delivery truck on the same day.

…I guess I’ll have to head over to her place tomorrow morning and help with the moving.

Still, with my spatial pocket ability, moving would be much easier than struggling while pulling a cart.

“…Han Min-ah, eat a lot.”

“…Have more meat.”

“…If it seems difficult for the three of you to move it, should I help too?”

“…If you need heavy lifting, let me know.”

“Why, why is everyone looking at me with such pity?! I’m really not calling the moving company because I don’t have much stuff! It’s not like I’m short on cash…!”

Shaking off the pitying gazes of all the party members rushing towards her, the expedition for the day concluded.

Maybe that pitiful and shabby sight will improve a bit once she moves.

…I should hope for at least a little improvement.