130) Chapter 19. M-Me Too……! (8)

Ah.

Ah, I think I understand a little.

I think I understand Soi and Chae-yi’s feelings a little.

You see, from my previous life until now, I’ve always lived timidly.

Well, I say “timid,” but if I think back on how I was treated at school, I was honestly closer to being a loser.

It’s not like I had absolutely no friends, and it’s not like I was outright bullied or targeted with school violence, but I was the kind of loser who, if I didn’t have close friends around, would just stay silent in the corner of the classroom without talking to anyone—the kind of person nobody would even remember a year after graduation.

That personality doesn’t change easily, and even in this world where my appearance alone practically gave me the aura of a popular kid, I still hadn’t changed that much.

Though back in elementary school, lots of kids liked me thanks to Soi. But even then, they were closer to Soi’s friends than mine.

So from the perspective of cheerful, outgoing girls like Soi and Chae-yi, maybe I was someone easy to tease—in other words, someone whose reactions were satisfying.

First of all, my looks were decent, we were close, and despite being close, I still acted timid around Soi and Chae-yi.

Maybe there was even a little frustration on their part mixed into it.

……Anyway.

Because of that, I’d never really had the chance to tease someone before.

And by “tease,” I definitely don’t mean like an actual delinquent or a real school bully.

You know, someone you could lightly tease as a joke, make harmless little remarks to, things like that.

Even looking around me, Soi and Chae-yi both had pretty strong personalities. If I tried to tease them, it felt more like they’d seize the opportunity and counterattack me twice as hard.

And Hyeonji gave off the kind of impression that made it feel dangerous to joke around with her carelessly in the first place.

If I had to name someone, there were Mirae and Jihye from middle school, but I didn’t meet them all that often either. Besides, I wasn’t sure whether they were the type who’d “play along” well with teasing.

So in other words, Jinwoo was the first person I’d ever met who was this easy to tease.

Someone who turned bright red and stuttered whenever I said anything.

……Am I like this in front of Soi and Chae-yi?

Is that why they keep teasing me?

Hmm, though unlike those two, I don’t exactly feel the urge to bury my face in someone’s chest.

“U-uu……”

Even after we left the clothing store, Jinwoo had at least been able to answer in mostly understandable language at first, but now she could barely speak at all anymore.

Holding hands…… felt a bit much, so I’d mostly been grabbing her wrist or sleeve while leading her around, but every time my hand touched her body like that, Jinwoo’s language ability kept deteriorating further.

No, honestly, I was starting to get genuinely worried there might actually be something wrong with her brain? I mean, aren’t humans the kind of creatures who can literally die while using the bathroom?

Well, I trusted that Jinwoo wasn’t old enough or fragile enough for her blood vessels to burst over something like this.

And it’s not like I’d even done anything particularly outrageous.

I really had just brought her around with me.

Walking around the streets together looking at different places, going to cafés and eating tasty things.

Whenever Jinwoo’s pace slowed while we walked around town, I’d simply tugged on her wrist. At cafés, I’d simply sat across from her and watched her eat.

There were moments where I considered feeding her something myself, but whenever I had thoughts like that, Soi and Chae-yi kept stuffing things into my mouth instead, so I never actually went through with it.

Well, honestly, our relationship was a little too ambiguous for that.

We were fairly close, and I did think of her as approachable, but I still wasn’t confident we were “that close.”

As cold, sweet things entered my mouth, I regained enough composure to think that much at least.

If things had gone wrong, I really might’ve crossed a line here.

I silently thanked Soi and Chae-yi in my heart.

“……”

For reference, unlike Soi and Chae-yi, who still talked to me and Jinwoo from time to time, Hyeonji had worn a very complicated expression ever since we left the store.

She no longer seemed suspicious about Jinwoo’s gender, but maybe she was worrying about the situation Jinwoo was in now.

Was it too naive to simply assume the Principal must have had her reasons for going this far?

Well, maybe I was only relaxed because I’d already seen Nam Jinwoo successfully graduate from the Academy in the original novel.

I’d already seen the future where she graduated safely once, so I could feel reassured. Otherwise, I probably would’ve had similar worries too. Wondering whether she’d get found out midway through.

……No, maybe things had already changed.

Just as small parts of this world had changed because of my existence, causing events that shouldn’t have happened, maybe I’d become too huge a variable in Jinwoo’s future too.

For example, running into that girl today.

Push.

“Mmff?”

“Instead of overthinking things, eat your shaved ice. It’s melting.”

My thoughts were interrupted by something cold and sweet suddenly entering my mouth.

“There, bite down. Good girl.”

Soi’s voice rang beside my ear.

Without realizing it, I bit down on the spoon, and slowly, sliiide, I could feel it being pulled back out of my mouth while pressed firmly against both my upper and lower lips.

No, who are you calling a little kid?

I looked at Soi with slightly resentful eyes.

Ah.

Soi scooped up another spoonful of shaved ice with that same spoon she was holding, then put it directly into her own mouth.

Huuhhh?

“Hm? What?”

“N-no, it’s nothing……”

Seeing Soi tilt her head like this was the most natural thing in the world, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

That’s right.

It’s not like an indirect kiss is something worth caring about. W-we just happened to press the same spoon against our lips, that’s all—

“Mmff!?”

But before I could finish that thought, another attack interrupted me.

Like some sort of assassin, a spoon suddenly appeared from behind and slipped naturally into my mouth, just as sweet as Soi’s had been.

When I turned my head, that spoon too slowly brushed against my upper and lower lips as it slid back out—

—and then went directly into Chae-yi’s mouth.

Huh?

But Chae-yi, didn’t you not actually scoop anything onto it just now? Isn’t that kind of weird?

“Hm? What?”

But Chae-yi simply tilted her head innocently and brushed aside my confusion.

That’s right. With indirect kisses, somehow the person who worries about it ends up seeming like the weird one.

“N-no, nothing……”

In the end, I couldn’t say anything else.

“……”

And Jinwoo, who had been watching the three of us.

“M-me too.”

She scooped up some shaved ice too, but—

the moment Soi and Chae-yi’s gazes simultaneously turned toward her, she hiccuped once and immediately stuffed it into her own mouth instead.

Right. Even if it might be okay for Soi and Chae-yi, it’d definitely be a problem if Jinwoo started teasing me like that, absolutely, definitely.

And Hyeonji was looking at the four of us like we were utterly pathetic.

Soi and Chae-yi were so shamelessly confident that her gaze didn’t seem to affect them at all.

But Jinwoo and I could only lower our heads deeply.

*

Originally, I’d thought about staying out until evening and eating dinner outside too, but Jinwoo gradually started staggering more and more, so we had no choice but to return home.

By the time we got back, it was around four thirty in the afternoon. Auntie Yujin and Uncle Dohyun still hadn’t returned yet, so the house was extremely quiet.

“Haa, haa……”

Once I sat Jinwoo down on the sofa, she finally managed to exhale.

Seeing that made me feel a little sorry for her. Hmm, maybe this had been too much for her first day dressing like a girl?

Well, not that it was really crossdressing.

Since she was a girl to begin with.

I was about to sit down on the sofa too when someone lightly tapped my shoulder.

“Hm?”

The moment I turned around, I felt a heavy weight settle against my chest.

“S-Soi? We haven’t even washed up yet.”

The moment I said it, I realized something about that sounded strange, but it was already too late.

Of course, Soi didn’t move her face away, so I could only smile bitterly and hug her tightly instead.

“Hehe.”

Soi let out a delighted laugh while enjoying the feeling of my chest.

After staying hugged for a while, Soi finally pulled away, and then it was Chae-yi’s turn.

At this point, these hugs had practically become a ritual at the dorm.

According to Soi and Chae-yi, if they didn’t receive my “energy,” they couldn’t gather strength for the next day.

It’s not like I had any special ability to share energy with people. Still, I knew they simply loved me that much, so I hugged them anyway.

“Hngh.”

After taking a deep inhale, Chae-yi let out a faintly dazed laugh. Moments like this really made her seem strangely gloomy, even though she normally sparkled all the time.

After Chae-yi reluctantly pulled away, the only person left was Hyeonji.

Her face was so red that it made the stiff expression she’d worn all day feel unnatural now, and she fidgeted awkwardly.

This was one of the rare moments when Hyeonji showed embarrassment.

When I opened my arms, Hyeonji finally approached hesitantly with the expression of someone giving up on something important, then buried her face deeply into my chest.

When I hugged her tightly, her body trembled slightly.

Maybe because she felt embarrassed, she stayed there for a much shorter time than Soi and Chae-yi.

“M-me too……!”

The shout came the moment Hyeonji pulled away.

Soi and Chae-yi moved as though trying to stop her, but Jinwoo had already sprung up from the sofa—

—and the moment she stood, her legs gave out.

Thump.

Startled, I turned toward her just in time for her to bury her face directly into my chest.

As I hurriedly caught her, I instinctively tightened my arms around her, causing Jinwoo’s face to sink deeply between my breasts.

……How should I put this, but this part really does feel like the protagonist of a harem series.

Well, she’s a girl anyway.

And since I’d hugged everyone else, it’d feel weird to leave only her out—while I was thinking that and continuing to hold Jinwoo—

her body suddenly trembled once, then went limp.

“Huh? Jinwoo?”

I quickly loosened my arms slightly, and Jinwoo’s limp neck tilted backward a little, revealing her face.

Her face, which had been buried tightly between my breasts, was completely red, and one eye was half-closed and trembling faintly.

Tears were gathered in those eyes, and a little saliva was dribbling from her mouth.

How should I put this? Judging only from her expression, it looked like... that thing. That ahe-whatever expression.

No, that’s not what’s important right now.

“N-nosebleed!?”

I cried out in shock without realizing it.

That’s right.

A stream of red blood was pouring from one of Jinwoo’s nostrils.

And some of it had stained my shirt.

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Pub: 17 May 2026 08:18 UTC

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