episode_0060

Throughout the subway ride, Lager seemed quite happy. I knew she would come along if I asked, but I didn’t expect her to enjoy it this much.

Today, our destination is the city of Azagar, located east of the academy, which is said to be a neighborhood similar to Yongsan Electronics Market, where electronic products are gathered in one place.

Exiting the subway station amidst the aggressive touting of street vendors, I was a bit disoriented for a while. Fortunately, I had a fair amount of IT background knowledge, and I had done various searches before coming here, so I was able to confidently face the underworld merchants in this world.

After purchasing a tablet at a reasonable price, we headed towards the food alley outside the market. Even just buying a tablet made me feel exhausted.

“Ugh. I’ll collapse if I come back to buy it again.”

“Why didn’t you just order it online and buy it?”

“There weren’t enough discounts. I thought I might as well go out and explore Echant while I’m at it.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Lager chuckled vaguely and nodded her head.

What’s with that expression full of bitterness?

We found a hidden sundae soup restaurant in the corner of the food alley and went in. Upon hearing Lager’s assurance that drinking was allowed as long as we didn’t get too drunk, we immediately ordered boiled pork slices and soju as well.

The ajumma brought us kimchi, pickled shrimp, cucumber and chili peppers, and ssamjang. Lager dipped the cucumber in ssamjang and took a mouthful, savoring it. Watching her enjoy it so much, I found myself reaching for the cucumber involuntarily.

While munching on the cucumber, I suddenly became curious about Lager’s recent situation and brought up the topic of caregiving.

“By the way, how is caregiving?”

“It’s tough. What’s good about it?”

“Why is it tough? Isn’t it great! Taking care of the top beauty of the capital for a month, isn’t this a complete romance flag?”

Just imagining the scenario of that strong beauty becoming weak and relying on me gave me immense satisfaction.

Even if Lager was a woman, she must be influenced by hormones by now. No matter how much she denies it, she’s still a woman on the outside, so seeing me, who she thinks is a man, she might have confessed her feelings.

In short, Lager’s fall from grace as a male is already over.

So, if I blow some appropriate wind during that month, Lager will naturally sort out her feelings towards me and start showing interest in Dakota.

“What kind of tasks do you do while caregiving? Since you lost your arm, there must be a lot of things I need to assist you with.”

“Don’t even mention it. Bringing food is the basic, and depending on the menu, you have to feed me too.”

“Oh, it sounds quite nice.”

“Nice atmosphere? How embarrassing.”

“What’s embarrassing about it? Just do everything she asks you to do, right?”

“Hey, why is she so stubborn and dissatisfied? If she’s determined for a month to…”

Before finishing that sentence, Lager closed her mouth with a sigh.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Okay, okay, whatever. Anyway, things seem to be going well between the two of you.”

Seeing them act like they had planned something, I decided not to pry into any secrets between them. Sharing secrets means that two people are becoming special to each other. I should respect that. Hehe.

As we happily conversed, the ajumma brought a large stainless steel tray with rice soup and boiled pork.

“Here’s your ordered sundae soup and boiled pork.”

“Oh, and for the boss, red soju.”

“Yes, red one.”

The landlady who set down the rice soup mutters “red, red” and heads to the refrigerator. Lager knocks on the table and asks in a mixed voice of concern.

“Are you crazy? Why red all of a sudden?”

“Men drink red, not blue or soft drinks. Those are for weaklings.”

“You’re insane, you’re a woman now.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you want to cancel?”

“No.”

Despite her appearance as a woman, Lager insists on drinking red because inside her lies a hard-boiled man who goes well with cigarettes and shotguns, making it the right way to drink.

As the owner sets down the soju, Lager quickly grabs a bottle and swirls it around to create a whirlpool. Then, after pouring the first glass for herself, she hands me the bottle.

Her unnecessary consideration is truly irritatingly gentle.

“They say the first drink is a superstition.”

“There’s also a saying that it’s not a superstition.”

“You just assumed my wildness as you pleased.”

“What nonsense. You’ve already become tamed since coming to this world. Tamed by TS.”

“Do you want me to tame you too? I can do it with physical force.”

“Sorry. I don’t want to go through that pain again.”

I chuckle. Lager hands me the bottle, and I quickly drink the first glass. The sharp alcohol scent makes me instinctively crave for the soup.

Stirring the soup, I uncover the chunks of blood sausage beneath the sundae soup, and then I notice the boiled pork belly. The sight of the white and tender pork belly with the rising steam of seaweed makes me reach for the chopsticks involuntarily.

“Don’t overdo it.”

Lager looks at me with concern as I chew on the pork belly. She hands me the soju bottle.

“It’s worrying how quickly someone who’s worried about you fills up your glass.”

“If the glass is empty, there’s no luck, mate.”

I laugh as I take the bottle from Lager. I clink glasses again and drink the soju, feeling quite good.

Lager drinks a few sips of the sundae soup and then lets out a deep sigh. Despite looking like she’s already drunk, there’s no sign of her eyes getting watery or unfocused.

“I didn’t want to do it, but why did I?”

I ask first, knowing it’s a rhetorical question, and Lager starts to vent.

“Hey, Dakota, she does 500 squats every day.”

“What? Not 50, but 500?”

“Yeah. They say strong physical abilities all come from squats. Except for the first day she was hospitalized, she never missed a day and completed the numbers.”

“That’s really intense. It’s not something just anyone can do.”

But if you can become strong enough to overcome demons by doing 500 squats every day, it might be worth investing in such training.

“Do you want to do it with me? 500 squats?”

“I’m not against it. I need to get stronger too, so there’s no harm in doing that and listening to someone who has become stronger.”

“So what’s the problem?”

After drinking a glass of soju on her own, Lager frowns and grumbles.

“Well, she asked me to shower together.”

“Wow.”

“She said she sweated too, and it would help her if I helped her shower.”

“Amazing.”

“Even if I were a woman, isn’t it a bit too much to take it to the point of showering together?”

“Seems like she wanted to seduce you with her beauty.”

I laugh and pour Lager another shot.

Lager’s reaction is welcoming. Even though she’s a woman, there’s nothing to be ashamed of when a girl asks to shower together. She’s fully aware of being a man, so it’s a natural instinctive reaction.

Well done, our Lager beer!

“Maybe I should just admit that I was originally a woman….”

Such a crazy idea. Canceling it right now.

“That’s what you’re saying? What do you expect to achieve by saying that? Do you think I can handle it?”

Despite the incredulous expression on his face, Lager seemed to be seriously contemplating.

“That’s right. How can you think you’re deceiving Dakota? The Lager Godin character he liked doesn’t exist in this world anymore.”

Watching Lager’s worried face, I grabbed the bottle with just about two cups left, took a swig, and let out a sigh.

Feeling a bit tipsy, Lager suddenly got up in a hurry and reached out to me.

“Hey, you…!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It was just enough for two drinks.”

I waved my hand reassuringly and ordered another bottle of soju. Of course, the red one.

But Lager grabbed my arm and pulled it down, trying to stop me.

“Hey, let’s just have a light drink. Don’t drink more.”

“We have to drink one bottle each for it to be a light drink. What’s the big deal with this amount?”

I clapped my hands and offered the bottle of soju brought by the lady to Lager.

Pouring him a drink with a reluctant expression, I casually spoke.

“You’re making excuses about deceiving Dakota. Blaming it on me.”

Lager suddenly looked up at me.

His eyes seemed to ask how I knew, looking somewhat embarrassed. I couldn’t hold his gaze for long and handed him the drink.

Lager chuckled bitterly.

“Did I give myself away?”

His words sounded somewhat mocking, so I clinked the glasses a bit harder.

Clank, the glasses collided with a sense of futility.

“I totally gave myself away, man.”