episode_0019

19

A brief love affair had ended.

Just one more time.

After continuing my relationship with Lee Hayoon exactly as it was, I tied off the end of the rubber condom filled with semen and tossed it beside her.

In my heart, I wanted to keep going until dawn, and realistically, I could have if I’d really wanted to…

But for now, I held back, steadying my rough breaths.

If Hayoon suddenly stayed out overnight, Lee Jiyoon would naturally suspect me first.

If Hayoon were the type to enjoy staying out often, it might’ve been fine, but given how buried she is in part-time work, she probably doesn’t do that much.

And besides, didn’t that kind of thing just happen yesterday?

There’s no need to take the hard path just for a fleeting moment of wild pleasure.

Unless my goal was solely to perfectly tame Hayoon—but what I want goes far beyond just her.

The first thing that comes to mind, of course, is Hayoon’s younger sister, Lee Jiyoon.

And then, the other heroes from Miren Academy I haven’t fully figured out yet.

…Had I known it’d be like this, I should’ve memorized which academy each of them came from before worrying about how to take them down.

“Are your clothes okay?”

“…My panties feel weird.”

It was now 10:40 PM, hours after I’d laid Hayoon down on the bed.

Having no choice but to put on the same panties she’d just worn, she chewed her kimchi fried rice with a sullen expression.

“You should’ve at least hand-washed them while I was showering.”

“N-No need… What hand-washing… I’ll do it myself if I have to.”

“What about your body? If there’s anywhere still uncomfortable, I’ll heal you more.”

“…I’m fine. I’m all good now. Yeah.”

Her voice grew quieter as she poked at the fried egg on her plate.

I watched her and gulped down some cold water.

Given what had just happened, the awkwardness in the air was unavoidable…

But seeing Hayoon eat so earnestly, like a hamster, made me smile faintly.

How is that an older sister?

She’s more like a little sister.

“Strange. Even though it was my first time, you put it all the way in, so I thought I might’ve gotten hurt somewhere else.”

Cough, cough. The moment she finished speaking, Hayoon sneezed as if she’d choked, patting her chest.

I quickly poured her a glass of water and continued.

“Like I said, if anything hurts, tell me right away. Stop worrying about money.”

“Mmm…”

The cost of healing her body was a brief fatigue.

At a glance, it’s a simple yet groundbreaking ability, but upon closer inspection, there are a few other useful ones…

But seeing how confused Hayoon looks, it doesn’t seem necessary to try them yet.

…Well, it’s not like they’re anything that amazing anyway.

If now isn’t the time, I can always try them later.

As I sat at the table, chin resting on my hand, watching the clock tick away—

“Uh, by the way.”

“Yeah.”

“…What about that?”

Hayoon asked, her nose practically buried in her plate as if avoiding eye contact.

At the tip of her finger was the bed, which looked far from fresh.

From the slick wetness pooled where her hips had been to the splattered stains from when she’d squirted multiple times—

If Jiyoon had seen this, she would’ve instantly bloomed several ice flowers on my neck.

“What about it? Just throw it in the wash.”

“Well, yeah, but… the mattress…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Unless she’d outright wet herself, a little slickness wouldn’t affect the mattress at all.

It’s not like there’s no mattress cover or pad.

There’s something more important right now.

“Instead of worrying about my mattress, shouldn’t you be leaving soon?”

“Huh?”

“It’s 10:40. You said you get off at 11.”

“Already?”

Hayoon’s head whipped around mid-bite of fried rice.

Maybe because of that—

The scent of the body wash I used.

And the shampoo lingered faintly on her.

This was bad.

Of course, I liked the idea of sharing the same shower space with Hayoon…

But if her sister caught a whiff of this scent, the outcome would be painfully obvious.

Someday, I’d like to have both sisters lying in the same bed, but it’s still too soon.

To erase any traces, I stood up—only to hear Hayoon’s voice from behind.

“…It’s a little tight. From here to my place… Ugh… I might have to run…”

“I’ll clean this up, so just go. Oh, want me to walk you out?”

Spritz, spritz. I sprayed Febreze over her, noticing she’d obediently spread her arms, as if she’d figured out why.

The strong yet subtle contradictory scent erased the secret traces.

“…Huh? Walk me?”

“Yeah.”

“…Do you have to ask? Isn’t that just what you’re supposed to do?”

“I thought you might find it annoying.”

“Annoying…? N-No, I don’t. We had s… sex. And kissed. So basically, we’re dating… Ah, r-right. First, your number…”

“Uh, um… Hold on.”

“Wait…! Give me your phone. I-I’ll put my number in. Since I’m the older one…”

Hayoon rambled incoherently.

To summarize, it went something like this:

We had sex.

We kissed.

So obviously, we’re dating.

That kind of feeling.

It seemed words like “one-night stand” or “sex partner” didn’t exist in her vocabulary.

Well, it didn’t matter what Hayoon thought our relationship was.

As long as Jiyoon kept protecting and shielding her sister, Hayoon wouldn’t go around announcing we were dating.

Even if rumors started spreading that she had a boyfriend, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Depending on the person, it could even help lower their guard.

He has a girlfriend, so he’s probably fine.

That kind of angle.

“Okay. Here. Your phone back.”

“Then let’s head out. Noona. It’s 10:41.”

“Mm. Wait… ……Ah, never mind.”

“…What’s wrong?”

She started to leave but then hopped on her heels and spun back toward me.

“…When couples say goodbye, they usually kiss lightly, right?”

“……”

“But I just ate kimchi fried rice, so…”

“Stop talking nonsense and check if you forgot anything first. You’re the one who asked me to walk you out. What ‘goodbye’?”

“Ah, right…”

“I’ll take you to the intersection up ahead. From there, it’s a straight shot to the convenience store.”

“Huh? The intersection?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, um… …M-My friend said her boyfriend walks her all the way to her door…”

“…Let’s go. For now. I’ll do whatever you want, Noona.”

“Heheh. Good. Then… …Oh? How do you unlock your door?”

“Press the button underneath…”

…I feel oddly exhilarated.

Is this what it’s like playing with a niece during the holidays?

I wouldn’t know—I’ve never been anywhere for the holidays.

After spending nearly 30 minutes talking—well, listening—I walked Hayoon home and then jogged lightly back to my studio.

The cold February night wind brushed against my cheeks and ears, stealing my body heat.

Should I call it fate?

By sheer luck, I’d gotten my hands on an excellent lure—Lee Hayoon.

In the future, South Korea’s No. 8.

Codename: Witch.

The person who knows Lee Jiyoon better than anyone else.

In the past—before the regression—Jiyoon was a quiet hero who didn’t even appear in the most common commercials.

After finishing off villains with her snow-white hair fluttering, she’d simply disappear somewhere, avoiding the eyes of those busy broadcasting live on every platform.

Because of that, no matter how much I investigated, there was no opening for me to exploit, so I’d long given up on her…

And isn’t Hayoon’s own potential considerable too?

The only downside is that, for now, she’s a half-baked hero who could easily get hurt—but that’s a problem I can solve to some extent.

If I play my cards right, Hayoon might even bloom her own unique flower.

Later, after “negotiating” with Jiyoon and taming her, once Hayoon becomes a famous, admired hero, the thrill of secretly meeting them behind their fans’ backs will double.

A good start.

As I finished my light run, trying to control my pounding heart—

“Uuugh…”

I ran into a strange person in front of the shared lobby.

A moderately late time, past 11 PM.

Fingers fumbling endlessly over the keypad.

And a staggering figure.

Putting it all together, it was probably just a drunk passerby.

Or maybe a resident who’d had too much to drink and kept entering the wrong passcode.

Or someone from the next building over, mistakenly pressing the wrong numbers here.

Either way, it’s annoying.

If it’s the latter, it’s even worse, so I’d rather it be the former.

“Sigh…”

The fact that it was a woman made it even more troublesome—if I panted too hard, I might get mistaken for a creep. So I steadied my breathing and approached.

She was shorter than I’d thought.

From a distance, her proportions made her seem taller, but up close, she barely looked 160 cm.

Other notable features included her navy-blue hair, long enough to reach her hips, resembling the night sky.

Maybe because her hair was so long?

It reminded me of how Yozora used to come to my hideout back in the day and rant about “the downsides of long hair” whenever she was bored.

All I’d said was that holding a hairdryer for over 40 minutes was noisy, but she kept at it for months.

That damn woman…

“……”

…Wait a second.

Now that I think about it, around this time, Yozora’s hair was about that length…

My gaze, fixed on her hair, shifted to the keypad.

The fingers wobbling over it pressed: 205. Then the call button.

Unit 205.

My unit.

“Maybe this isn’t the right address…”

A calm voice that suited hot tea more than cold alcohol.

But the end of it dragged out, thick with the stench of liquor.

…And it was a voice I knew all too well.

I carefully took a step back.

Stay calm.

If I lay low at a PC bang for about two hours before coming back…

Or maybe just crash at a motel…

Right then—

“Let’s see… 205 is correct… Wrong address…?”

“……”

“……Huh?”

“……”

Her body turned sluggishly, and I met her wine-red eyes, glazed over and unfocused.

Not like blazing flames—but like freshly spilled blood.

That kind of sticky crimson.

“Oh. Woojin. You were out exercising…”

“……”

“Should’ve called first… Not that you would’ve answered…”

“……”

“Oof.”

I had nothing to say, so I tried pretending not to know her, but it was useless.

Clutching a black plastic bag that clinked with every step, Yozora trudged toward me.

“Gaaah…”

She nearly tripped over her own feet, but a sudden inky-black tail sprouted and stabbed the ground, barely keeping her balance.

…Along with two small, dark horns that appeared on her head before vanishing without a trace.

As if nothing had happened.

“Ugh… Woojin… I got rejected once… but can’t you give me one more chance…?”

“……”

“I even bought all this alcohol to drink with you…”

Mutant. Demon.

Hato Yozora.

She enjoys beer,

likes soju,

and is married to hard liquor.

“Ta-dah…… How many bottles of soju do you think this is…?”

A woman who loves hangovers that feel like her skull is splitting.

“A whopping ten bottles…”

She smiled prettily at me.