episode_0040

“Damn, hold on a sec, I’m seriously not getting this cognitive dissonance.”

Upon hearing Jiwoon’s mention of his girlfriend, I didn’t know what to say.

After pondering for a while, I stared at Jiwoon.

Returning home, I sat Jiwoon down and immediately asked him what he meant by having a girlfriend.

“First, calm down a bit. You just got back, so you must be tired.”

I understand that Jiwoon is tired, but there’s only one reason why I’m tired!

The only thing I was worried about regarding this jerk’s girlfriend was just that.

“So, have you guys had sex?”

“We call it ‘virtual intimacy.’”

Jiwoon grabbed me and started blabbering about virtual intimacy.

Well… it’s the same scene with a different actor.

Still, I can’t help but ask.

I kept Jiwoon seated and spoke.

“So, what does having a girlfriend mean?”

As I asked Jiwoon, he seemed to be lost in thought, saying, “Um…”

Now, if he says he doesn’t remember, I’ll have to accept it.

This guy seems to have early-onset dementia.

I never thought he’d get dementia at his age.

I thought he belonged in the youth category.

“Just a girl I met in Tera.”

As he finally remembered, Jiwoon mentioned the girl he met…

“Wait, Tera? Where’s Tera? Like StarCraft Terran?”

“No, it’s a game called Tales Runner.”

Damn… he’s calling a girl his girlfriend whom he met in a game.

I’ve only seen people meeting their girlfriends in games in dramas or comics.

It’s the first time I’ve witnessed it in real life.

Although I occasionally play online games, I don’t socialize much.

For a long time, Jiwoon talked about the person.

“So, she mostly comforted me with jokes.”

“She often joked around, saying ‘Hey, babe,’ but she seemed to genuinely like me.”

It’s similar to what happened before.

I did call Jiwoon “babe” during high school, but I stopped after he became a girl.

Thinking about it, I asked if she really was a girl.

Since there are online relationships, I asked if she might be one, but…

“One talked through Discord, so I knew she was a girl, but the other one, I’m not sure.”

This guy is quite the player.

He had two girlfriends.

Seems like he’s the type to stack two slices of pizza and eat them together.

I really saw Jiwoon in a new light, with two girlfriends…

This guy was creating his own harem in the internet world.

I got myself such a girl…

Now, I’m not sure if my mind is messed up or if I am.

After staring at Jiwoon for a while, I awkwardly spoke.

Jiwoon looked at me, unsure of what to say.

After gazing at Jiwoon for a while, unsure of what to say…

He then looked at his smartphone, starting to reply to the thought of why she was here.

And upon seeing his reply:

“[She said she’ll play with me whenever I come~]”

Looking at Jiwoon’s smartphone, I spoke with a puzzled expression.

“Did I really say that?”

“Do you seriously have early-onset dementia?”

I genuinely became curious if Jiwoon had early-onset dementia.

With that thought in mind, Jiwoon said we should meet up sometime.

It was unexpected for him to suddenly suggest that, but well… since they’re both girls, there shouldn’t be an issue, right?

That’s what I thought.

“Jihoo, take care of her for me.”

“Huh…?”

Jiwoon grabbed my shoulder, asking me to take care of her.

What on earth is he talking about, I wondered aloud.

“I mean, what’s that supposed to mean, really?”

Jiwoon chuckled in response to my words.

“No, I can’t meet people now that I’ve become a woman.”

“So, I should ask the only man near me for a favor.”

Listening to Jiwon’s words, I thought it was absurd.

But Jiwon had a point.

He must have thought of Jiwon as a man.

If a sudden woman appears and starts talking, surely they will feel strange and betrayed.

And because of the thought of what if that person is a man. Also, there was a worrying feeling, so I eventually agreed.

There’s no other way, right?

**

I entered the cafe Jiwon mentioned and ordered a cup of coffee.

I dressed up thinking I should look my best, but is dressing this seriously the issue? I wondered because Jiwon was watching from behind.

When unsure about a topic, I could just ask via text.

Thinking like that, I waited for the person Jiwon called his girlfriend.

After waiting for a while, a message came from Jiwon saying she arrived.

I stood up. Trying to find the person Jiwon mentioned, I asked who it was since I didn’t know.

“A girl with yellow hair on the right?”

Yellow hair? Not even close to blonde…

It didn’t take long for me to think.

Next to me, there was a girl with a yellow bob haircut.

Slowly approaching me, she said, “Hey?”

Ah… That’s right.

Thinking it was her, I nodded first.

As she approached me, she started hugging me.

“Uh…?”

Seeing the girl hug me, I didn’t know what to say.

Caught off guard by the sudden hug, I didn’t understand why she was doing this.

Trying to figure out what to say, I stared at her for a while.

That day, I saw something new.

Jiwon’s… angry expression…

I had never seen him so angry before.

“Should we sit down for now?”

To calm the situation, I suggested sitting down.

She nodded and took a seat.

Now, the biggest problem here is…

What should I call her?

I usually just call people ‘hey’ or ‘dude.’

So, I asked Jiwon what to call her.

“Just call her ‘Jizone.’”

Huh? Jizone? Are you talking about that Zlzone I know?

Is this a joke? Despite my doubts, I texted back, then looked at Jizone.

“So… Jizone, right?”

At my words, Jizone smiled again and said, “Yes!”

Damn… She really is Jizone…

It was a nickname I sometimes saw when playing games in the past…

Taking a deep breath, unsure of what to do next, I decided to stay quiet. The woman began asking me various questions.

Please stop… I haven’t contacted her for almost two months, and suddenly we’re getting close and talking.

Feeling flustered… Jizone asked if I was okay.

“Ah… Yeah, I’m fine, yeah, totally fine.”

Relieved by my words, Jizone expressed her relief.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

Not knowing how to respond to Jizone, I asked Jiwon directly.

“I’ll ask Jinhu, the insider.”

This jerk… He’s just dumping this situation on me.

I usually stay at home, so I don’t know what to do…

Sighing, I thought about looking for a nearby restaurant.

“So, how’s the novel going now?”

Huh? A novel?

What is she talking about now?

A novel… Did Jiwon write a novel?

I heard he wanted to become a web novel writer in high school.

Really doing it.

For now, in this situation… just…

“Yeah… It’s going well.”

It’s probably best to just say that things are going well for now.

And so, with a smile, Jiwon and Jiwon were talking about the novel.

I don’t know the details, but I sometimes read web novels too.

While they were having a conversation like that,

“So, how should I write the next episode?”

I froze.

I’ve never read Jiwon’s novel before.

How do I talk about the next episode?

Not knowing what to say, I decided to text Jiwon…

[You don’t have to know.]

Jiwon simply said I didn’t have to know.

No way. In a situation where I need to know, if you say I don’t have to know, what am I supposed to do?

I told her not to joke around and asked her to tell me quickly.

“Okay! Don’t talk about the novel!”

Jiwon seemed determined not to reveal her novel.

“Oh.. I haven’t really thought about the next episode yet.”

In the end, I said I still didn’t have plans for the next episode.

“But, in the last chapter. I really found this scene very interesting.”

Saying that, Jiwon handed me her smartphone and showed me her novel.

Unintentionally, I ended up seeing Jiwon’s novel.

Wait.. what is this?

In the novel Jiwon showed me, it was written in red numbers: 19.

Could it be…?

An adult novel?

In a state of shock, I checked the novel.

No matter how much I looked, scrolling up and down.

Expressions of moaning, and intense scenes.

It was a perfect adult novel…