chapter_0021

Chapter 20: Beautiful Hands – (1)

Chapter 20: Beautiful Hands – (1)

……

…….

…….

Ding, dong, ding, dong

The sound from the speakers hanging on the dormitory ceiling-

That noise-mixed sound pierced through the sparse dorm room, which only had two beds (though only I use them), a wardrobe, and a small desk.

At the same time, my eyes snapped open.

“Ugh…?!”

Ahh.

I was startled.

Along with the soft ringing sound,

The cello and violin melodies, which I had heard somewhere before, softly resonated.

“Come on, wake up! Time to rise, rise!”

“Today’s studio duty goes to Eunji and Mina, after breakfast come to the dormitory office.”

The atmosphere was bustling from early in the morning.

My uncle had left for work at dawn, so this noisy vibe was a stark contrast to the quiet one of his small villa apartment. But after a month, I had adapted to it.

Although, there wasn’t really much to adapt to.

I rubbed my face and tried to get up from the bed.

“Ughhh…”

But reality wasn’t so kind.

My body crawled back into the blanket.Slippery—

“Ah, I’m so sleepy.”

In my mind, I was already awake and walking. But my body, like a squid swimming through the blanket, was sluggish and groggy.

“Ugh, ugh…”

I was a sight to behold.

My mind, floating around like a balloon, was in no state to think clearly, and I unconsciously made strange sounds.

The loose pajamas had long slipped down from one shoulder.

I could feel saliva dripping from my mouth, and my long hair was swaying like a broom in all directions.

“I know I must look a mess…”

But my sleep-addled body wasn’t listening.

It felt like I had been hit by a flash or paralysis debuff in a game. It was like watching a character that couldn’t move no matter how much you pressed the arrow keys.

This was my first complaint after the regression.

This body’s reboot speed was abysmal.

“My age got younger, but why is it so hard to get up now…?”

The first sense of discomfort after becoming a woman…

My body had become relatively more flexible and lighter, which was great, but it seemed like my recovery speed from fatigue had slowed down compared to my past life.

In my past life, I used to move briskly every morning.

Even when I was in my 30s, juggling manual labor and artistic work.

But now…

This weakened body slowly tried to merge back with the blanket. Eventually, my upper body burrowed into the blanket like a fox buried in snow.

And with my frail lower body, I felt the cool breeze of September’s wind.

This was the true miracle morning.

It was the perfect temperature for a late sleep.

When you’re young… you need to sleep a lot… to grow tall…

“…Waaah, I’m a baby.”

this tall…

“Ugh…?”

Just as I was slowly slipping back into the depths of sleep, a high school girl with short hair like an athlete burst through the door.

She opened it with such force that it felt like she was about to break it, and pulled the blanket away.

Flash!

Light flooded in front of me!

The greatest energy God created first struck my eyes and jolted my senses awake.

A first-year high schooler, known as “Cola Senior,” Kang Jina, grabbed my face with a bright grin and shouted.

“Ha~ It’s me!! What do you think you are, a child of darkness?!”

Squeeze, squeeze.
Soft, soft.

“Did you try to sleep in again, huh?! What’s with your weak condition? This won’t do! From tomorrow, we’re going jogging together first thing in the morning. Get up!!”

“No, Job! Get up!” Ah,

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
Ah, the fear.

Is that what the biblical beast Leviathan looks like?

The shadow, backlit by the morning sun, was terrifying.

And beyond it, sneaking up on me, those luscious lips…! A half-American-style French kiss crashed into me like a truck from an otherworldly past life.

Uh-oh.

“Oh, no…! Yi, if you keep going like this…!

“Kaaaak? My lips are still pure!”

And the time of judgment slowly approached.

“Wooboo…! Don’t, don’t, don’t!! Okay, big sister!! I’ll get up early!! And I’ll go out to eat now!!”

Putting me down, Kang Jina sobered up and finally spoke in a sane tone.

“…Okay.”

“Seriously, why do you oversleep every morning like this? You look like a schoolboy.”

“It’s just a sweet saying that I often forget because I’m an adult.” Too

Kang Jina smiled bitterly when she heard my answer, and pulled up my pajamas, which were halfway down while I was dreaming. And I said in a serious tone.

“As you’ve probably heard, you have to dress properly from the front door of the girls’ dormitory, because there are male staff walking around, and male children.

You have to dress properly, and don’t mistake the restroom for the bathroom, and don’t pick up the phone when boys call.

when they call you. Oh, of course, none of them are that bad…

‘Why are you suddenly worried about boys…? That’s a bit excessive. I’m a guy on social media, so I know what it’s like.

With that thought in mind.

“You’re an elementary school student. Who would think that…’

Kang Jina hesitated several times before trying to say something, but in the end, she kept her mouth shut. In the end, she patted my head and said.

We walked out the front door just like that.

‘It’s just a normal dorm scene, except for the overwhelming sex ratio of male 1: female 9.

“Did you finish preparing the materials for today’s study abroad practical? I heard they’re supposed to finish the work right from the beginning of the semester. It’s really rushed.”

“I don’t forget, Mr. An’s class is all about oil painting.”

“Artists are supposed to cut up their lives to paint…”

“The person who said this was caught sneaking ramen noodles at night by the supervisor.”

“The person who says, “I confessed to a male senior in the dance department and got dumped.””

“Do you really want to search?”

…This is a conversation I can’t get my head around.

As she matched my stride, she suddenly opened her mouth.

She wasn’t expecting an answer.

“The seniors told me that in the 90s, they used to bring breakfast to each dormitory like room service. The staff used to push carts, one for each room. So it was a really long distance deal. It wasn’t on the way to and from campus. It’s flat, easy to push a cart.”

“Do they bring meals to the students?”

“Yeah, they don’t bring them to every room, they bring them to an empty table in front of the break room, but it’s interesting, right?”

“Well, there was a lot of talk about how hard it was on the staff, so they ended up having the students walk there themselves.”

 But.

“Heh…”

Something…

“I don’t know how to react.

We headed over and waved to the rest of the juniors and seniors who were eating earlier.

“…Sorry.”

Senior Oh Yoo-jin said while munching on his bread.

“At least you managed to wake up, so it’s okay.”

Yujin Oh scratched his head.

And so we merged seamlessly into the group, picked up breakfast (which was surprisingly buffet-style), and ate.

*

The seniors, feeling comfortable with me, started talking to me in a normal way, pretending to be friendly, and I took it in stride while eating.

I felt like I blended into the dorm, which wasn’t a bad thing.

I washed my face and changed into my school uniform.

However, I headed to the main building differently from the other dormitory students.

I was expecting to learn about art theory and general education as usual, but…

“Yeah. They said they need your help with one.”

It came out of nowhere.