episode_0087

Tears kept welling up in my eyes.

I don’t know why this keeps happening.

Seeing me sobbing like a baby, Lager, feeling embarrassed, tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

“Oh, look at you, crying your eyes out. This is totally…”

He was about to tease me, but stopped abruptly. Lager doesn’t know that Lena considers herself a goddess.

So, his attempt at teasing me was quite evident.

“…She’s a total heavenly woman.”

“What, what’s with that weird expression!”

“What’s weird about it? Being a heavenly woman is a good thing, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know!”

I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand, feeling a mix of emotions that were hard to put into words.

I found Lager’s messy beard repulsive yet pitiful.

His yawning and stretching made me feel annoyed, but also relieved.

Every time he exhaled, I worried about his health since he couldn’t smoke, but also wondered if he felt cold without it.

My mind felt muddled.

Lager sat there, chin in hand, silently looking at me before finally asking.

“Are you eating well?”

“I’m out of the academy, so…”

“Are you sleeping well? Does it take a long time to get used to the bed?”

“I bought a sleeping bag. The blanket arrived yesterday.”

“Is it warm enough?”

“It’s just fine. It’s okay.”

“Is your house not too cold?”

“It’s quite spacious…”

It would be better if you were here.

I didn’t say that out loud.

“This place is better than I thought. It’s fun to talk secretly rather than openly, isn’t it?”

“You’re quite something. Are you finding fun in all this?”

“You have to live positively. Hey, do you know what really surprised me?”

“What is it?”

“Here, everyone showers together in one room, and there’s no one in our room with a bigger… you know. They all envy me so much. Hehe…”

Disgusting pervert. I shook my head with a look of disgust.

That guy is definitely not a woman. He wasn’t a woman even before coming here. Or maybe he’s a veteran pervert.

Otherwise, why would he think about boasting about the size of his private parts while other men are naked around him?

“Don’t worry, Ale. You’re quite well-endowed among women too. That’s enough to wrap mine and…”

“Shut up, please just shut up.”

There are Lena and the staff right next to us. You perverted jerk.

I felt a sudden urge to cry. I regretted getting sentimental in front of this jerk.

Lager either didn’t know or didn’t care about my feelings and just grinned.

“You’re not crying now.”

“You don’t look pretty when you cry.”

“What…”

Before I could relax, Lager’s attack hit me like a stab in the side, making me shiver.

“You’re pretty except when you cry. Don’t cry.”

Insane.

In, insane…

This crazy bastard!

“Well, since you seem to be doing well, I should go now. Do you need anything?”

“No. Oh, could you come at this time next week too? I want you to come home with me after work.”

“If I have time.”

“What could possibly keep you from having time? You’re not even a student at the academy now. There’s no emergency deployment…”

“Oh, anyway! If I have time, I’ll come!”

Somehow, I didn’t want to give a straightforward answer that I would go.

Maybe because I didn’t want it to seem too easy.

“I want to spend time with you at home soon.”

“Stop talking nonsense. I’ll take care of all the little details, so don’t worry about that.”

“Make sure to buy condoms. Just in case, you know, a little… surprise happens…”

“I’m going.”

“Hey, hey! I was just kidding!”

This is real. Why did you just say, “Let’s go back and lie down on the bed in our honeymoon house and cuddle all night long”?

I grumbled as I tried to get up, but Lager called out to me, “Hey, Ale! There’s something!”

What now?

I turned back with a look of annoyance, and Lager got up and smiled brightly.

“I love you.”

He said something strange again.

“Your answer?”

Although Lager asked me that way.

I shook my head once and avoided eye contact.

“I’m not there yet.”

*

After finishing the visit, meeting Yooju, we left the prison. The guard station, which looked very stern at first, now looked somehow pathetic.

What would those inmates do over the weekend? Would they be given proper rest time?

I thought that the people who did various things for Lager’s convenience were in a place like that, and all sorts of absurd thoughts came to mind.

Strange.

After leaving the prison and walking along the new road we had walked before, Lena suggested, “The weather is chilly, should we have a bowl of sundae gukbap? Let’s have some soju too.”

Lena asked in a tone that sounded like an old man, trying to put her arm around my neck… but failed because she was slightly shorter.

I almost thought Lena, with her hopping steps, was cute.

“Sounds good. Red soju for me.”

“Of course. If you’re a man, red… oh wait. You’re a woman?”

“No.”

“Oh, the heavenly woman that even the prince acknowledged… Agh! Agh!”

Smack, smack.

I crossed my arms and whipped Lena with my tail like a whip.

“It may not have the same effect as stabbing, but it’s a pretty good weapon for hitting, isn’t it?”

“That, that was your preference. But Lager won’t easily be tied to your tail… Ugh!”

She needs a stronger punishment.

Wrapping my tail around Lena’s waist, I squeezed and twisted her like a snake suffocating its prey.

Lena made dying sounds and tapped her tail, signaling surrender.

“Tsk, tsk! I’m dying, I’m dying!”

Well…

There’s a lot to say, but I won’t.

As we walked in the opposite direction from the subway station, we came across a market that suited the expression ‘countryside.’

So far, all we had seen while walking were barren fields after the crops had been harvested, but here, there was a bustling atmosphere that smelled of human life.

We entered a shabby sundae gukbap restaurant in a corner of the market. One bowl for 5,000 won. A very satisfying price.

The food came out quickly. We each poured a glass of soju and clinked lightly before quickly devouring it.

Ah. A satisfying sound escaped from my mouth.

To wash away the bitter taste of the soju, I took a sip of the clear broth and slurped it down.

Lena, whether she took a sip of the broth or not, immediately launched into her tough guy reaction.

“Ugh, this is killer.”

Doing such a tough reaction while not smoking is forgivable.

I was about to start eating properly, but today my hair felt a bit itchy. It was precarious, as if I might fall into the broth with a slight mistake.

How did I eat without caring about this kind of thing before?

I combed my hair to one side and started sipping the broth.

After clinking glasses once more, Lena casually asked, “Is the food good here?”

“It’s not bad.”

“Is this good enough for the prince’s approval?”

“Hey, I’d rather give a trillion to KakaoMap than believe in this kind of thing.”

By the way, I wonder what happened to the Kakao stocks I bought before I came to this world. It was around 150,000 won per share. I wonder how much it has risen now.

Suddenly, I felt good.

“What are you thinking about that you’re smiling like that?”

“Oh, just thinking about stocks. I bought Kakao shares at 150,000 won per share before coming here.”

“It’s 120,000 won per share now.”

“What a scam.”

Well, that’s true. What kind of god is this?

“Well, there’s nothing you can do about it. How about having a beer after a long time?”

Lina asked, handing me a soju bottle. The clear liquor filled the small soju glass.

“It’s nothing special. Just coming to see how you’re doing.”

Remembering how I wanted to see her cry earlier, I quickly emptied the soju glass to hide my embarrassment and refilled it.

Lina looked at me with a pleased expression.

“You’re cute.”

“What?”

“Denying being in love so desperately. It’s too cute.”

“Shut up, you juice bug.”

“Juice bug? Are you treating me like an insect?!”

Lina pouted as if she felt wronged.

I ignored her and emptied the glass again, then refilled it and drank it down.

“I don’t do things like love. Don’t imagine strange things.”

Love, what a ridiculous thing.

Lina still smiled and handed me the glass, asking for more alcohol.

“We all know. You two always liked each other.”

“It’s not like that!”

“Ugh.”

The glass was filled.

Looking at the filled glass, Lina muttered.

“If you just stop being stubborn, both of you will be happy.”

“No…”

“Just confess honestly this time when he comes out.”

My mind was in turmoil.

I thought it had all cooled down. I thought our timing was off and that we were no longer meant to be together.

Has another chance come?

Has this ridiculous situation happened for that chance?

He became a man and I became a woman, so can I think that a new opportunity has come, unlike the previous experiences that didn’t match?

What if it doesn’t work out here either?

What if we meet with such good feelings and then break up because it doesn’t work out?

At that time, when I was resigned due to the unresolved complex thoughts.

“…Can I fall in love again?”

I blurted out without realizing it.