episode_0036

The vampire, captivated by the clothes Araque handed over, entered the room and changed into them.

Meanwhile, Jaehyuk, left alone in the kitchen, sipped his drink, eagerly awaiting his friend’s return.

“…Interesting.”

After a brief chat with the landlord, his friend disappeared into the room, holding the women’s clothing he so despised.

About a month ago, Jaehyuk recalled her smiling words and got lost in thought.

Wasn’t it not to his liking to wear women’s clothes because it made him feel like he was cross-dressing?

Why had his once steadfast thoughts suddenly changed?

As Jaehyuk gazed at Araque with questioning eyes, she turned her head towards the direction she felt his gaze, with a smile, confusion, and curiosity in her eyes.

Approaching him slowly with a grin, Araque addressed him, “Fellow bartender, right? I really enjoyed the catharsis you made for me last time. You’re quite skilled.”

“…Thank you for enjoying it.”

“Hehe, you’re so stiff. I thought it was just at the bar, but you’re no different outside. By the way…”

Pausing for a moment, Araque then asked Jaehyuk with a mischievous look, “What’s the relationship between you two? It doesn’t seem like a simple work colleague… Are you perhaps lovers?”

“No, we’re just friends. We’ve been connected since middle school.”

“Hmm, I heard there’s no friendship between men and women… Do you have feelings for each other?”

“…Let’s pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Shaking his head firmly, Jaehyuk downed his drink in one go.

Having feelings for that guy? What a dreadful thought.

Despite dismissing it as a bad joke with a forced laugh, he couldn’t help but remember that living together was more enjoyable than being alone in his room.

‘Feelings, huh…’

A small ripple caused by Araque’s question.

He began to look at the closed door behind which the vampire hid, with a puzzled expression.

Living together is enjoyable, but does that necessarily mean having feelings for each other?

Living comfortably with a close friend doesn’t imply romantic feelings.

It feels more like living with a cat that listens well and is easy to communicate with, albeit with the added annoyance of needing attention.

Yes, the pleasure he felt probably stemmed from that.

Numerous hypotheses raced through his mind, but Jaehyuk couldn’t easily define the unfamiliar emotion he was experiencing.

One thing was certain, though—it wasn’t love.

The sensations he felt when he had a crush on someone were absent when he looked at Yuu.

The racing heart, the flush on his face, the awkward feeling from the fluttering emotions—all those typical symptoms were nowhere to be found with the vampire.

Of course, occasionally, he felt the rush of blood below unintentionally, but wasn’t that inevitable?

She was a beauty to confess to if you didn’t know there was a muscular man inside her body.

Anyway.

Deciding that this tingling sensation wasn’t ‘love,’ he labeled this emotion as ‘liking.’

To have a liking for a friend, even if something was off about it, was undoubtedly wrong.

But he had no choice. That was the only word that came to mind.

A man caught in turmoil.

Unaware of the situation, Araque danced around happily.

‘A budding romance… It always makes my heart flutter.’

Will their relationship truly improve with this newfound understanding?

She fell in love with the vampire who wore carefully selected clothes; no man could resist her charm.

“By the way… It seems like men have to put in quite a bit of effort, huh?”

Arachne pondered for a moment, recalling the vampire and the man she had seen earlier, resting her chin on her hand.

Although she had said herself that there was no such thing as “friends” in relationships between men and women, these two truly treated each other as friends.

Rather than friends of the opposite sex, it felt more like how one would treat a same-sex friend.

While the man seemed to be contemplating something different now, the vampire, on the other hand…

“I didn’t see him as a man. Hmm, how can I change that perception…”

Lost in thought for a moment, she soon shook her head lightly.

Oh, I got too involved without realizing it.

Right, I’m not Cupid, meddling in others’ love lives.

“…Seriously, I’m busy finding a husband, why should I care about anyone else?”

Arachne and the human man, both lost in their thoughts, the room fell silent.

However, the heavy silence was shattered moments later by the sound of the door opening.

“…So, how does it look? Does it suit me well?”

Jiwoo asked Jaehyuk, looking embarrassed as she tried on women’s clothing for the first time, which felt quite awkward to her.

Jaehyuk, who had been admiring her peculiar appearance that stirred his masculine instincts, quickly averted his gaze and mumbled in response.

“…It’s pretty.”

“What?”

“Clothes are wings, you know! Why ask again!”

After snapping, Jaehyuk ran off to the bathroom as if fleeing.

Watching him quietly, Arachne chuckled mischievously and silently applauded in her mind.

“It seems like it’s over for the men.”

How long will this subtle relationship continue?

Suppressing her growing curiosity, she slowly approached the vampire, who was smiling mysteriously.

For now, recording the inspiration that was emerging was her priority.

“How do the clothes look? Do you like them?”

The returning answer was one of silent approval.

—

Wearing women’s clothing for the first time in her life.

In fact, until she entered the room and put on the clothes, she had doubts like ‘Is this right?’

Being drawn to clothes that emphasized the beauty women possess rather than exuding masculinity brought me great confusion.

“…Living as a woman for less than two months is greater than living as a man for 23 years.”

An inexplicable sense of loss gnawing at my inner self.

But even that bitter feeling surprisingly disappeared cleanly when I changed into the clothes.

The comfort of finally wearing clothes that suited me, and the noble and beautiful appearance of the vampire captured in the photo.

Rather than feeling like I lost something, it made me feel incredibly satisfied.

“I look pretty.”

Comparing a photo taken a year ago just after discharge with the one taken just now.

Who would think that the rugged-looking man and this delicate and beautiful vampire were the same person?

If someone who knew me didn’t recognize me, they would surely think I was a completely different person.

“Suddenly feeling disheartened.”

With a shrug and a weak smile, I slowly got up as I remembered that Arachne and Jaehyuk were waiting outside.

We had set the meeting time late, and the night was short already, so I couldn’t delay any longer.

It was embarrassing to show myself in women’s clothing to others, but there was no other choice but to go out wearing them.

Showing myself in the outfit designed by Arachne was the condition for her making cosplay costumes.

Creak.

Carefully opening the door and stepping out, the gazes of two beings… no, two presences focused on me.

Gazes filled with surprise, joy, satisfaction, longing, and various complex emotions.

As I stared intently, unable to withstand the embarrassment, I asked Jaehyuk how he was doing to divert my gaze, but…

He suddenly exclaimed and quickly got up, as if he urgently needed to use the restroom.

…His face was flushed. Did he drink with the Arachne guest while changing clothes?

“Hmm, for that, there doesn’t seem to be any smell of alcohol at all.”

Smiling awkwardly, Arachne approached quietly, looking at the restroom door, and asked about the clothes.

There were many things I wanted to say, but feeling inadequate in vocabulary, I simply expressed minimal appreciation.

“…Today, I learned why luxury is called luxury. Wearing these clothes makes me so satisfied; it’s the first time.”

“Hehe, I’m glad you liked the chosen clothes. Honestly, I’d say you could just wear them as they are, matching your heart.”

“I don’t expect that. Even roughly, they seem like they would cost a few hundred; how can you just give them away?”

“No, it’s not about the price. It’s about giving you clothes that suit you better than those. That’s my intention.”

“…”

Although she said I could take them if I wanted, I politely took off the clothes and returned them to Arachne.

…I generally avoid receiving favors without reciprocating. It feels burdensome, like incurring a debt.

After returning the clothes, we parted ways, promising to meet again after the cosplay costumes were ready.

Though disappointment dripped from Arachne’s face, what could be done? The time to part had already come.

If truly desired, I mentioned that I could ask the manager to lift the ban for her.

“Oh, right! I’ll talk to the manager about the cocktail bar access…”

“It’s okay. The incident was quite significant, and soon I must return to where I originally belonged. I appreciate it, but I must decline.”

She gently declined and issued a farewell command to Jaehyuk and me.

Leaving behind a meeting that was worry-free despite concerns, on the way back to my studio apartment.

Unlike usual, I glanced at the usually taciturn Jaehyuk and questioned with a worried tone.

“…Did something happen between you two while I was away? Why do you look so troubled?”

“Nothing happened. Mind your own business.”

“Don’t tell me nothing happened; I’m not gone for just a day or two. Tell me, did you do something to Arachne?”

“I have a normal sex drive, you crazy bastard. And mind your own business; what do you mean ‘this hyung’? My birthday is earlier than yours, you know?”

Jaehyuk seemed to want to distance himself from me as if finding even interacting with me bothersome.

As I followed him briskly, trying to figure out the reason, a memory flashed through my mind of his face turning as red as a beet in the studio apartment.

…Could that be related to this? It seems highly likely to be true.

I immediately quickened my pace to close the gap and playfully asked him.

“Oh, right. Your face was all red at the studio apartment. What was that about?”

“…”

“Pfft! You fell for me back then, didn’t you? Hey, kidding ~ ”

Seeing his embarrassed reaction amused me so much that I continued teasing him mercilessly.

“Haha… You’re hopeless. I tried not to use this, but…”

“What? Hey, wait a minute. That’s not fair!”

“That’s not fair? Count them, then. Wasn’t it 290 in total?”

…Apparently quite irritated, he threw a cylinder filled with rice grains at me and headed back to his room.

Ah, should have teased him more moderately.

Well… 290 is still a decent number.

After exhaling a sigh of relief, I sat on a nearby bench and meticulously began counting the rice grains.

I soon realized that he had lied to me.

“Two hundred ninety… Two hundred ninety-one… What, it’s not two hundred ninety?”

…After counting, it turned out to be 397.

He’s such a shameless bastard.

I hope he trips over a tree root while walking down the street.