episode_0017

“Hello, I’m Min Chaewon.”

Throughout the introduction, Yoon Jichang marveled at how he had never seen such a beautiful woman before.

“What’s this? Are you an idol? Or a voice actor? A YouTuber?”

“I’m just an ordinary person…”

“Why does your voice sound familiar? Would you consider being a YouTuber now? I know Papa Mama who can make my daughter the best in the universe.”

That’s right.

Yoon Jichang was the one who introduced me to Acclert.

Living in the world of insiders, my older sister and her rare otaku interests from Hanyedae are completely different.

When I teased about why she likes Acclert, her response was top-notch.

“A girl in perfect cosplay is considered 2.5D, legal, Muggle. And nowadays, you can’t distinguish between 2D and 3D. Why? Because times have changed, and the boundaries between 2D and 3D have long since collapsed.”

… Anyway, that’s the kind of guy he is.

Although we’re best friends, there were many things we didn’t understand about each other.

“Chaewon has never dubbed a video before, right…?”

If that’s the case, Yoon Jichang and Min Chaewon are complete strangers.

Normally, Yoon Jichang should have only heard about Chaewon through Siu, so this meeting itself is an unexpected variable.

“Chaewon seems uncomfortable. Back off a bit.”

“Chaewon? You’re calling her by her name too casually. Are you really not in a relationship?”

“No, we’re not.”

“I said no.”

Yoon Jichang gathers his hands in surprise.

He didn’t know when to stop with his flattery.

“Wow, the timing of their responses was perfect just now. Gave me chills.”

“Oh man, seriously.”

After placing the plastic bag on the floor, Siu pushed Yoon Jichang all the way to the wall.

They whispered to each other while glancing in my direction.

… Why do I feel like I can predict their conversation?

Do we really need to use harsh words among ourselves?

Who is this person that important?

No, not really.

I’m worried that Siu’s brave actions might cause trouble, so it’s best to quickly usher them out and head on our way.

Yoon Jichang may be a good friend, but…

He’s a mixed-breed otaku who loves pretty 3D girls.

There will be no good outcome if Chaewon gets involved with him.

“Siu, for now, let’s go back and rest. We’ll have coffee later.”

“Huh?”

“Be careful carrying it; it’s heavy.”

“Uh, okay…”

Sending a brief glance as if to say, “Tell them we met after a long time,” urging me to speak.

Well, I’m not sure if they understood.

Still, I must avoid getting directly involved.

If I try to explain the situation myself, I might get tangled in Yoon Jichang’s eloquence and only fuel misunderstandings.

However, I’m somewhat grateful for Yoon Jichang’s sudden appearance.

If it weren’t for him, the ranking would have been settled by now.

“There’s still a chance.”

I must gain the upper hand.

That way, it will be easier to salvage the situation.

Without looking back, I headed to the mart, but when I tried to call a taxi, I realized my phone was missing.

“Oh no.”

Chaewon’s main phone was gone.

It suddenly dawned on me that I had thrown it together with the plastic bag earlier, thinking Chaewon was protecting it.

I have to go back and pick it up. It should still be there.

“Excuse me, did you say you’re Min Chaewon?”

… As I turned around, I saw white sneakers.

Raising my head, I was greeted by a mischievous face at eye level.

Under the guise of a cold demeanor chasing away solicitors, I half-closed my eyes.

“What’s the matter?”

“Oh, don’t give me that scary look. I came to do a good deed. I just heard you met here, not with a girlfriend. Sorry.”

Despite being an otaku, he showed no discomfort around women at all.

That’s why Yoon Jichang always received jabs from real fans, saying, “You’re an otaku apologist.”

Certainly, he’s an intriguing character when viewed this way.

Unlike when he first approached Chaewon, trembling, there was no distance between us now.

“A good deed?”

“Here, take this.”

He handed me a flat object.

It was my lost phone.

“My phone!”

“Good deed, right?”

“… Yes. That’s right.”

Grateful as I was, this guy had a tendency to relentlessly probe for weaknesses.

I raised my guard even higher and glared fiercely at Yoon Jichang.

“Oh… that look.”

“…?”

“Not so innocent. Seems like it’ll haunt me in my dreams.”

This bastard. Did he enjoy being stepped on?

Claiming to like big sisters, was he actually into the ones who stepped on him?

“Just kidding. I did a good deed, can I ask you one question?”

“Go ahead.”

Waiting anxiously for the question, he pointed to the back of the phone he handed me.

“Where did you get this printed? It’s done so neatly that I want to use the same company.”

An otaku question.

As a piano otaku, this wasn’t something I could answer.

“And come to think of it…”

On the back of Chaewon’s main phone, what was the character drawn there?

A girl carrying an accordion on her back.

She looked just like a magical girl.

The old-fashioned vibe from her large pupils. Although the character seemed older than Chaewon, lacking in geekiness, I couldn’t figure out who it was.

“It’s been so long that I can’t remember. Can I go check it out then?”

“That’s a shame… Anyway, thanks for answering~.”

Yoon Jichang retreated, fiddling with his bangs like a three-year-old.

Looking in the direction he was heading, Siwoo was coming out of the mart.

— Hand it over, punk~.

— What do you mean, hand what over? Are you a robber?

— Give me the plastic bag. My ribs are broken.

— They’re not broken… Wait. Did the professor really say that?

— Yeah, he exaggerated a lot. So where are the broken ribs? Adam created Eve, but you can’t make a girlfriend out of that?

— Have you been day drinking? Hurry up and take it.

— This guy doesn’t even show hesitation when handing it over.

— When will you if you don’t do it now? A lazy music major who doesn’t practice, when will you ever do it?

The two of them headed home chuckling.

Siwoo’s way of speaking was completely different from how he addressed me.

…Actually, that’s just the basic way guys talk to each other.

He only gets unusually soft when dealing with Chaewon.

Anyway, thanks to Chaewon, I won’t be able to mix words with Yoon Jichang for a while.

Not being able to hang out with that jerk for a while.

Pretty great.

Always bothering me when I’m busy practicing.

As a colleague, he’s practically useless, truly a layabout.

Still, thanks to him, I was able to break free from Yoon Jiyu’s shadow for a while. Enough teasing.

“Knight, please take me to the Hana Hotel.”

“Namsan, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, buckle up~.”

Maybe I should turn back.

Have a serious conversation with the maid.

***

The maid seemed taken aback by my sudden appearance without blinking.

“How much are you going to tease me?”

“It’s a serious matter.”

I rolled my eyes around, and another maid silently asked to be excused.

“… Alright. Just a moment.”

Soon, she whispered and sent all the other maids out of the suite room.

Taking off her apron, the maids received card-like objects from the maid and left chattering outside the door.

It seems like they’ve all been granted a brief vacation.

“You’re trying to tell me something important, right?”

The returning maid seemed calm and ready to have a serious conversation after taking off her apron.

We sat facing each other at the table, exchanging glances for a moment.

The maid brought up the conversation first.

“Guess my name, Miss.”

A quiz all of a sudden?

“…………….”

I hesitated, unsure of what I knew.

“H… K…”

The only name of the maid saved on my phone was this.

Her eyes narrowed upon hearing those words.

With an expression of realization, she took a deep breath.

“After years of nothing happening, I thought things were finally okay….”

The maid retrieved something hidden and pinned it to her chest.

[ Kang Hwi / Housekeeper ]

It was an elegant gold-plated nameplate adorned with gilded roses.

This was the first time she had worn such a nameplate on her chest since meeting her this morning.

“You haven’t addressed us by our names properly since this morning.”

“I… I see.”

This was bad.

Did she just catch on that it wasn’t Min Chaewon but some stranger sitting there?

Maid, why are you so quick-witted?

Usually, shouldn’t it be “You must have lost your memory due to the accident” first?

“Perhaps you couldn’t remember our names. I understand. We all deliberately took off our nameplates to check the lady’s condition.”

“Uh… Yeah….”

I see. The maid knew all along….

“Yeah?”

She was confused.

Why was she accepting this situation so naturally?

Could it be that something similar happened before?

“Your attitude towards us has changed. You couldn’t control Relka as usual. You seemed flustered when you saw Master Sunghyuk…. Anyway, it wasn’t just one or two things that caught my attention.”

I silently waited for the next words.

It was right before Chaewon’s hidden secret was about to be revealed.

“Right around this time, you would suddenly act out of character, or people would change abruptly. You’ve been quiet for a few years, so I thought everything was fine. But it seems like something happened during your overnight stay yesterday….”

The maid clasped my hand on the table with a sad expression.

“… I’m sorry. I unintentionally said things only I could understand.”

Sigh.

The maid, after taking a short breath, soon brought a thick booklet.

The title of the book, which looked like an album, was quite impressive.

[ Adaptation Guide for the New Min Chaewon ]

What kind of title is this?

“If you read through this from the beginning, it should help you. It’s faster than me explaining a hundred times.”

“Uh. Okay.”

I’ll read it, but still.

[ Welcome to Chaewon’s body.

Please don’t be surprised and read this page carefully. ]

From the first page, unsettling content greeted me.

[ You are the 26th visitor to this body. ]

…Huh?