Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 8: Camaraderie (2).

“Did Seoyoon collapse?”

“Yes.”

Deokgu asked with a serious expression. I nodded and explained what happened inside the dungeon.

Of course, I couldn’t bring myself to say that Seoyoon collapsed due to the side effects of her ability, and that it was caused by the heat from arousal.

To explain that, I would have to reveal the ability I’d been hiding all this time, why I kept it secret, and even whether I had done anything inappropriate to Seoyoon.

“Hmm… Well, dungeon exploration isn’t easy. You’ve been going in and out nonstop for a month.”

“Then give us a break!”

“Alright. You guys take a break for today.”

“…Are you sure that’s okay?”

I said it half-expecting him to refuse, but Deokgu responded casually as if it were no big deal.

“I’ve got some savings and just got paid, so even if you take a day off, we’re not going to starve.”

In fact, he said that since we’d been working hard for a month, we should take the chance to rest now.

After getting the day off, I immediately called Seoyoon and Eunha to let them know today was a holiday.

“A holiday?”

“Yeah. I’m planning to rest, but you guys…”

“Let’s go shopping. Come with us.”

“…Huh?”

“Eunha, you want to come too?”

“I want to rest…”

“Alright, then, Dojin, you’re coming with me.”

Seoyoon said that and went to her room, saying she’d change clothes. I grabbed her as she was leaving and said,

“I’m planning to rest too…”

“So what? Isn’t going shopping also resting?”

“No, I mean, I want to lounge around in the room.”

“Tsk, Dojin. So you’re going to make me go alone? A girl? By myself? Isn’t that dangerous?”

I looked at her in disbelief. Considering her abilities, there was no way she would be in danger.

What could possibly be a threat to someone who could instantly freeze and kill dozens of monsters?

Still, when she brushed my hand away and asked if I was going to keep holding on, I had no choice but to let go.

Because she limped slightly as she walked to her room.

‘…I’ll let it slide this time. Just this once.’

Yeah, sending a girl who just lost her virginity yesterday out alone didn’t sit right with me. And if something happened outside, it would be a problem for the whole party.

I headed to my room to change clothes. Then I froze.

“…Wait a minute.”

Going somewhere alone with a woman in Korea… It was called a date.

And now I was heading downtown alone with Seoyoon.

‘Isn’t this a date?!’

Which led to a sweet yet absurd thought.

Even if it was just for a moment.

“What are you wearing?”

“…I bought the cheapest one. All the guys got something like this.”

“It’s ugly.”

“The clothes?”

“…”

Seoyoon didn’t respond. She just grabbed my arm and dragged me into a clothing store. As soon as we entered, Seoyoon started flipping through the racks, searching for clothes that would suit me.

“How much money do you have?”

“Money? None. Because of… you know, that thing earlier…”

“Ugh, useless. I’ll cover it this time. Pay me back later.”

Saying so, she picked out a stylish outfit and handed it to me.

“Go try this on.”

A moment later, after changing with the help of the clerk, Seoyoon let out a small, approving hum as she looked at me.

“Hmm… Not bad.”

“Who do you think picked it out?”

“You don’t have to flatter yourself.”

With that, Seoyoon began picking out more clothes and piling them into my arms. I started to feel the growing weight of the clothes in my arms.

“Wait, why so many clothes…?”

“You’re going to wear them anyway, and this costs less than what I make in a day.”

“Of course! It really suits you, Dear Customer…”

“I’ll let you know when I’m done choosing, so please be quiet until then.”

“…Yes.”

After silencing the approaching clerk, Seoyoon pushed me toward the fitting room.

She picked a few outfits from the pile stacked on my arm and headed to the fitting room. Being a girl, changing clothes seemed to take forever.

“How is it?”

“…What?”

“This is when you’re supposed to say I look pretty.”

“…You’re pretty.”

“I know.”

Then another, and another… and another.

She must have tried on over a dozen outfits while I stood there, shifting my aching arms and waiting for her.

“I’m done deciding.”

“Finally…?”

“I’ll take all of these.”

“Yes, Dear Customer! Thank you so much!”

The clerk moved like lightning, gathering all the clothes from my arms and packaging them up.

Acting as if there was no turning back, she quickly finished the payment and smiled as she announced the price.

“Three silver coins!”

“That’s cheap. Here you go.”

“Thank you, Dear Customer! Please come again!”

Seoyoon glanced at the mountain of shopping bags and gestured at me.

“What are you doing? Pick it all up.”

“…Why am I even doing this?”

I let out a sigh and picked up the bags. Her powers were completely useless in moments like this.

With my hands full of bags, I followed behind her.

‘Being pretty has its perks.’

Seoyoon had a nasty and cold personality, yet her beauty was enough to keep people from actually disliking her.

Thanks to that, we probably looked like a noblewoman or the daughter of a wealthy merchant being followed by her servant.

Thinking about it that way, it seemed like appearance was everything.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“I’m hungry.”

“…So what?”

“Over there.”

Seoyoon pointed at a street food stall nearby. The smell of grilled meat and sauce was mouthwatering.

“Go buy some.”

“Hey, two skewers.”

The stall owner skillfully brushed sauce over the skewers he had been grilling and handed them over.

After paying and receiving the skewers, I hurried back to the bench where Seoyoon was sitting, hoping to avoid getting scolded.

While I was away, a group of shady-looking guys were hitting on her.

‘So there are people like that even in this world.’

Well, if controlling men’s lust was that easy, the profession of a prostitute would have disappeared long ago.

Not to mention, Seoyoon was a rare beauty with an exotic, East Asian look in this world—making her stand out even more.

I quickly approached Seoyoon and handed her the skewer.

“You’re late.”

“Sorry.”

“Hey, Oppa~ Can’t you see we’re talking to her? Why don’t you step aside?”

I looked at the man who spoke. Oppa? I thought my ears were deceiving me.

With his bulky, muscular physique and bald head from an overflow of male hormones, hearing him say that was downright disgusting.

I gagged and pushed him away.

“Ugh. Oppa, really…”

“Are you telling me to get lost?”

“Hearing a bald guy say that almost made me throw up.”

“Guess words aren’t gonna cut it.”

The bald guy flared up at my words and reached for the sword at his waist. Idiot. He should’ve just thrown a punch instead…

I reached out and grabbed his wrist. That alone was enough to stop him from drawing his sword. No matter how strong his wrist was, it was weaker than the strength of the whole body.

I firmly twisted his wrist, creating a structure where it would dislocate on its own, then added my weight to it.

“Aaaarghhh!”

He collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. Unless he was some kind of masochist hoping to break his own wrist, that reaction was only natural.

This was the pinnacle of grappling arts—something that only came into existence in Earth’s 20th century despite centuries of martial arts development.

It was Aikido.

“W-Wait! Argh! Let go—ahhh! It’s gonna break! It’s gonna break!!”

“It won’t break. I’m controlling it.”

And even if it breaks, I could undo it as if it never happened. Knowing that gave me the confidence to push further.

Crunch.

“Aaarghhh!”

“Shh. Quiet.”

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

“I’ll let you go, so be quiet and get lost. Got it?”

“Mmph!”

The bald guy nodded frantically. If he had any hair follicles left, the force might’ve made them sprout from all the shaking.

I finally let go of his wrist, and he clutched it tightly as he fled swiftly.

Watching him run off while munching on a skewer was quite a spectacle.

“Hey, but why didn’t you stop them yourself…?”

“Thanks.”

“…Huh?”

“I said thanks.”

“Oh… uh, sure.”

Hearing Seoyoon thank me felt strange. Déjà vu washed over me.

And it didn’t take long for me to understand what kind of situation this was. A scene you’d occasionally see in comics, where the boyfriend saves the girlfriend.

With Seoyoon’s rare words of gratitude added into the mix, the mood began to take on a strangely romantic hue.

“…With your powers, you could’ve brushed them off easily. Why didn’t you?”

“How?”

“I mean, you could pretend to be a magician or something.”

“Are you jealous?”

“Huh?”

“Would you prefer it if I didn’t talk to other men?”

Listening to her strangely gentle tone, I plopped down next to her. Then I looked at her face.

She looked slightly flushed. No way… that Seoyoon? Shaking off the thought, I quickly denied it.

“No, it’s not like that.”

“…I’m going to go talk to that guy.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I like him.”

“Wait, what the?”

Seeing Seoyoon actually try to get up, I grabbed her wrist.

“What are you doing?”

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“Let go.”

“At least tell me why before you go.”

“I just want to satisfy my sexual desire. Isn’t casual dating healthier than paying for a prostitute?”

When she said that, I was at a loss for words as my jaw dropped. That was not something a girl should be saying.

It was so vulgar that I thought I misheard her for a moment.

“Wh-what did you say?”

“I heard bald men have great stamina. I’ll go check if it’s true.”

“Wait. Are you… serious?”

I knew her ability came with the risk of sexual desire. B-but this is a bit… too much.

‘Well, she did try to cling to any man yesterday…’

Just in case, I checked if she was aroused. She wasn’t. Was it possible the side effects had worsened so much that she was acting like this even when she was sober?

“Why? Do you want to take care of it for me?”

“We can’t do that as comrades.”

“You were fine with it yesterday.”

“No, I mean—what?!”

I stared at Seoyoon, stunned. She grabbed my collar and pulled me closer until our faces were inches apart.

Even at this distance, she was flawless. She gazed at my face before slowly leaning toward my ear.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Shh.”

At that moment, I felt as if my heart had stopped. And then I remembered that I had said the exact same thing to the bald man earlier.

“Found you.”

Soon, an icy collar formed around my neck.

A woman’s senses are keen.

Especially when she’s in heat.

After countless climaxes, her senses—heightened to their peak with every cell in her body fully activated—were sharper than ever.

In that moment, her sense of smell was as keen as a beast’s.

Yes, especially during that time when she had been assaulted by an unknown attacker.

‘This smell…’

It was a very familiar scent—one she had been surrounded by in a confined space for an entire month, so much so that it had blended with her own.

It didn’t take her long to realize that the scent belonged to Dojin.

However, she couldn’t trust unscientific evidence like her sense of smell.

She needed more evidence.

“Let’s go shopping.”

So she dragged Dojin out to the city. To obtain clothes saturated with his scent, she bought him new clothes, and while he was changing, she buried her nose in his clothes and sniffed.

‘It’s the exact same smell.’

The moment she caught that scent, memories of the previous night resurfaced, and a trickle of arousal ran down her thigh.

With her underwear stained, she had no choice but to buy new clothes and change.

She carefully tucked his old clothes into her bags, concealing them between her own, and sat on a bench to gather her thoughts.

“Go buy some.”

Maybe he felt guilty about something because, today, he was unusually obedient to her demands.

Everything was pointing to him as the culprit. But she still needed irrefutable proof.

Proof so solid enough that it could be used in a modern court…

And it wasn’t long before she was able to obtain that proof.

“Shh. Quiet.”

Dojin whispered into her ears. It was a voice she had rehearsed many times in her head.

‘Found you.’

When he sat next to her, every sense screamed that he was the culprit. That he was the one who did this to her.

The silhouette she had barely managed to capture with her eyes.

The voice she had memorized through her ears.

The scent that lingered in her nose.

The touch she had felt on her skin.

Even the taste of his semen that lingered on her tongue.

Everything.

It was him.

Everything told her he was her master.

“Found you.”

Seoyoon fastened a leash around his neck, ensuring he couldn’t escape.

She wouldn’t let him go. Not ever again.