episode_0019

“I’m going crazy, what have I done?”

Nayuna, inside the elevator, gazed at her flushed face in the wall mirror.

She had just escorted a handsome junior, the school’s idol, to her studio apartment. Nayuna, achieving a feat even most alpha girls couldn’t easily accomplish, doubted if this moment was real.

She turned her gaze to the reflection of Kim Maru in the mirror. His damp shirt clung tightly, revealing his sturdy upper body, with raindrops collected in the deep collarbone and the defined chest muscles clearly on display. Faintly visible 11 abs stuck to the shirt, as if he exercised daily.

“This is too provocative!”

It felt much more realistic than seeing a man’s naked body in a video, almost making Nayuna snort.

The elevator arrived at Nayuna’s floor. Standing in front of her studio apartment, she began to worry about the practicalities.

“I brought him along to show my gratitude, but my room is a mess right now.”

Clothes were scattered on the floor, the door to the broadcasting room was wide open, and the trash can was overflowing with tissue balls.

“Maru, could you wait in front of the door if that’s okay?”

“Sure.”

Kim Maru nodded indifferently, wringing out the water from his shirt. As soon as she got permission, Nayuna rushed into the house like an arrow and started clearing away the large items.

She roughly stuffed scattered underwear and clothes into the closet and slammed its door shut. Despite this, when the closet door seemed to open again, she hung it shut with a broomstick. Next was the trash can.

A strange smell emanated from the haphazardly thrown tissue balls. Nayuna, wrinkling her nose, put them in a regular trash bag and tied it up.

She swiftly threw the tied bag onto the veranda and then tidied up the broadcasting equipment before closing the door.

It might have taken a few minutes, but she thought she had finished tidying up, so she hurriedly ran to the entrance and opened the door.

“It’s fine… You can come in.”

“Are you sure? You’re sweating a lot.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. It must be hot today because of the rain.”

“Then, excuse me.”

Kim Maru stepped into the entranceway.

Finally, a man had set foot in Na Yuna’s studio apartment for the first time. At this momentous occasion, Na Yuna almost burst into tears.

‘Mom… Your daughter did it…!’

Na Yuna handed a towel to Kim Maru, who took it and dried himself off.

But then, out of the blue, Kim Maru made a bombshell statement.

“Can I take a shower? If you lend me some clothes, I’ll wash them and return them to you.”

“…What?”

“Is that a bit much?”

“Oh, no. It doesn’t matter, but… really, a shower?”

“If I stay like this, I feel like I might catch a cold. It’s crucial to manage my condition well right now.”

“Fine! You helped me, so I should do at least that much!”

“Thank you.”

After the stormy conversation, Na Yuna was dumbfounded. Kim Maru went into the bathroom.

From the bathroom came the sound of him undressing.

The sound of a shirt slipping off his shoulders.

The sound of unbuckling his pants.

Eventually, the sound of the shower hitting the floor.

It’s been said that sometimes auditory stimuli surpass visual stimuli. Just as the saying goes, Na Yuna’s hearing was being stimulated to an unprecedented degree.

‘Maru is naked… Maru is naked… Maru is naked… Maru is naked… Maru is naked… Maru is naked… Maru is naked… Maru is naked… Maru is naked… Maru is naked…’

With her linguistic structure deteriorating, Na Yuna leaned against the bathroom door for a while, blankly listening to the sound of the shower. Her thighs began to tremble, and she started to twist her body.

‘What am I going to do… to maintain my composure…’

At this point, it was unclear how the situation would unfold.

The cool insider junior coming out of the shower.

He carefully speaks with his wet hair pushed back.

“Sis, do you have no uterus?”

“A guy following you to your room to shower, do you really think he came without any ulterior motive?”

“It won’t work. I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

“Squeeeak!”

“What’s wrong!”

The bathroom door suddenly swung open. Na Yuna, who had been leaning against the door, naturally fell onto the bathroom floor.

And then, she saw.

Kim Maru looked at himself through his glasses, which were smeared with fog and made it hard to see. He couldn’t stand it. Fwoosh! Fwoosh! He let out a fountain of sneezes, and in the midst of the convulsions, he lost consciousness. His lower body felt damp, but being unconscious, he had no concern for it.

‘What on earth is going on?’

He hastily halted his shower and moved the fainting Nayuna to the living room sofa. Her face was covered in snot and she fell into a deep sleep.

“Let’s get myself sorted out first.”

Hearing Nayuna’s scream, I rushed out, practically naked. I dried myself with a towel and put on the white shirt and sweatpants that Nayuna had brought. My wet underwear had been placed in my bag along with my school uniform, so every time it brushed against my pants, it felt strange.

“This must be the pants Nayuna wore….”

Feeling embarrassed, I stopped my thoughts and carefully sat down on the living room floor. Then, I gazed at Nayuna’s sleeping face.

Her long bangs flowed down, revealing her face clearly.

“It’s strange not seeing this face on screen.”

Certainly, she was beautiful. If she removed her makeup from the thumbnail video, this was the face that would appear.

“To live covering such a face due to trauma.”

If she had spent her past normally, she might have become a second Kim Noeul. I slowly shifted my gaze downward, past her towering chest, towards her lower body. Only the crotch area of the pants she was wearing had a different color.

“What’s this? Did the shower water splash?”

As I continued my thoughts, Nayuna opened her eyes wide and abruptly got up. Then, like a malfunctioning machine, she jerked her head back and forth to look at me.

“You’re up early.”

“Oh, um…!”

Nayuna, with her mouth agape, got off the sofa and slammed her head on the floor in front of me.

“I’m sorry! Please don’t report me!”

“…I won’t. It was just an accident.”

“But, still, I was… I was naked….”

As Nayuna tried to mention it directly, my face also grew hot. Looking down at her in a dogeza position, I couldn’t help but notice her slender waist and contrasting plump buttocks.

“Stop. Let’s end this conversation. It’s embarrassing for both of us.”

“…How cute.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing!”

I managed to calm down, and Yuna, who was sitting across the table from me, sat down.

We remained silent for a while. Then Yuna stood up again.

“I didn’t properly serve my guest. I’ll go get some juice or something.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I’m not okay.”

Left alone in the living room, I glanced around. I knew it was impolite to snoop around someone else’s house, but my curiosity was hard to contain.

“There must be a separate room for broadcasting. Is that closed door over there the one?”

While the other rooms had their doors slightly open, only one room’s door was firmly shut.

That room was probably Yuna’s trauma and held traces of her past.

“I shouldn’t force my way in.”

It’s best to naturally overcome it, like in webtoons, by mingling with friends and facing it head-on. I decided not to forcibly pry into Yuna’s secret.

Before I knew it, Yuna returned with two glasses of orange juice on a tray and placed one in front of me. I thanked her and took a sip.

“Oh, did you get your grades today…?”

Yuna brought up the topic of exams. She probably isn’t very interested in exams herself, so why is she talking about it?

“I heard you and Noeul got first and second place in the 2nd year. That’s really impressive.”

She brought up the topic to praise me. Her choice of topic after fainting wasn’t ordinary. Did she have an awakening of sorts?

“It’s just the result of working hard. It’s nothing special.”

“N-Nothing special, huh.”

My response was meant to be modest, but it seemed more like boasting.

“I feel embarrassed because the underclassmen in the counseling department are top students. I need to work hard too…”

“A senior should just do what they’re good at.”

“What am I good at?”

‘Yuna is good at listening to others.’

Seeing her frequently doing counseling content on broadcasts, she has a talent for listening to others’ stories. This ability could be well utilized in the counseling department.

“You brought up that topic just to compliment me, right? You can do that in the counseling department too.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yeah, it is.”

As I lifted my head to take another sip of juice, I noticed a game console connected to the wall-mounted TV.

“Is that a Switch?”

“Yeah. Are you interested… by any chance?”

Nayuna often plays games on her broadcasts. She frequently engages in online gaming, but she has a greater interest in console games.

In my past life, I also enjoyed the Switch, PlayStation, and Steam games.

“Where’s the person who doesn’t know about the Switch? Is this the Zelda edition?”

When I accurately guessed the model of the Switch, Nayuna’s expression changed. It was like the look of a hardcore fan when they hear a story about an anime they know.

As we talked about games, time flew by. We spent time playing a two-player game with two Joy-Cons.

“Senpai, let’s go to the shell~.”

“Yeah, block it with a banana.”

Nayuna, who seemed timid while playing games, showed a glimpse of her broadcast mode self.

She gradually needs to show this side to her real-life friends as well.

After finishing the game, Nayuna, who was all fired up, seemed reluctant to see me off.

“Already leaving?”

“The rain has stopped, and I have to go now. I can’t sleep here, can I?”

“…Yeah, that’s right. You can’t sleep here.”

Leaving behind her somewhat regretful voice, I opened the front door. I slightly bowed my head.

“It was fun today. Can I come again later?”

“Of course! You can come anytime! Should I give you the password!?”

Nayuna’s face, consumed by a kind of madness, made me feel frightened, so I stepped back, widening the distance between us.

“There’s no need to give me the password, but if I have time, I’ll get in touch.”

Closing the door and stepping into the elevator, I took out my phone.

“The midterms are over, and the science competition is approaching, so I need to prepare for Jegal Hwarin’s side too.”

When I entered the academic community forum, I was able to gather a lot of meaningful information.

[Lately, they’ve been gathering Jegal Hwarin kids. Wonder what they’re up to (2,320 views)]

[Heavenly, it’s messed up lol ‘Seondobujang’ re-entered the forum!! (498 views)]

[Ee Ji-hye was seen giving something to a teacher near the academy (1,658 views)]

As I descended from the first floor and left the girls’ dormitory building, I received a message.

[Kim Noeul: It’s over now]

Kim Noeul, who had been taking supplementary classes at school because of the competition, sent me a text.

[Me: Are you confident? If you win, you get a lot of benefits from the academic community, you know]

[Kim Noeul: That’s why we have to work hard, right]

[Kim Noeul: It’s advantageous to have a track record when running for student council president.]

Kim Noeul was not only supporting me but also building up her own credentials.

Yes, this is the way to go.

[Kim Noeul: Where are you?]

She suddenly asks about my location. She probably thinks I went home.

[Me: Home.]

It’s not a lie since I’m about to go home. But the following message is unsettling.

[Kim Noeul: Home?]

To be honest, if I tell her I went to Senior Nayeon’s house, she might find out too early and it could affect how things unfold. ‘This is clearly deviating from the original plot. Could this impact the story? Maybe it’s better to keep it hidden.’ Feeling a sense of guilt, I evaded with a lie.

[Me: Obviously, I’m at home. It was raining just now. Do you think I’d be standing outside getting soaked in the rain?]

[Kim Noeul: Oh.]

Surprisingly, Kim Noeul didn’t probe further and didn’t send any more texts. Relieved that it seemed to pass, I put my phone in my pocket and headed home.

Just then, near the entrance of the dormitory where Kim Maru had been moments ago, Kim Noeul engaged in conversation with a friend from the competition.

“Why are you seeing me off all the way here? I’m not a guy.”

“Just taking a walk. Hurry back inside.”

“Thanks, if you have any problems, just text me.”

Her friend waved and went into the dormitory. Kim Noeul stood still for a while, then abruptly turned her head in the direction where Kim Maru had disappeared.

“That’s the girls’ dormitory over there.”

Kim Noeul muttered quietly.

Why did Kim Maru come out from there?

She pondered over their recent conversation.

[Kim Maru: Obviously, I’m at home. It was raining just now. Do you think I’d be standing outside getting soaked in the rain?]

“…Ha.”

With a bitter smile, Kim Noeul pocketed her phone and turned on her heel.