MTLNOVEL Chapter 19
Chapter 19: The Second Day of the Holiday
—–CROW—–
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An insomniac’s sleep is shallow.
Short bursts of slumber are always filled with endless dreams,
wandering through unfamiliar alleyways in dreams I can’t even remember, only to have them vanish when I open my eyes.
Instead of feeling refreshed, I wake up drained, starting the day in a daze.
But it’s strange.
How many days has it been since I last had a dream?
No, wait, when did I even fall asleep?
I don’t remember falling asleep, but I opened my eyes to morning.
It’s like I passed out.
It’s a weekend morning that makes me smile just by thinking about it.
Perhaps because I slept so soundly for the first time in a while, my body felt as light as air. My mood, too.
Sunlight stretched across the bed.
A small head rested on my right arm, her hair giving off a lavender scent.
Within that hair, I could see her delicate nape.
And the fine hairs that grew neatly along it.
Even her vellus hair is beautiful.
Some people have to shave every day; this world’s balance is messed up.
And my left hand was… hmm.
It was warm and pleasant, but a bit too stimulating for this early in the morning.
My hand buried in the chest of a woman who wasn’t even my girlfriend…
A hand stained with sin, worthy of Midas.
It was a morning every man probably dreamed of, but this time, it wasn’t a dream or an illusion.
It was undeniably real.
Ugh.
The memory of before I fell asleep surfaced.
*[Park Da-Hye. Just live here. That’s my wish.]*
With that single, insistent “wish,” this place had become Park Da-Hye’s home, starting today.
Damn it.
This was infuriating.
Why did I keep spouting lines like a romance manga protagonist?
What was funnier was that it actually worked.
When Da-Hye followed me home, when I showed her the gaming room, and even last night with my ridiculous wish…
No matter how much I messed up, Da-Hye always gave me the answer I wanted.
At this rate, if someone asked me to co-sign a loan, I might actually do it.
I needed to be more careful with my words from now on.
Still, I was thankful that Da-Hye’s wish was just a back hug.
If it were a regular hug, we would have made eye contact the moment I woke up.
After making such a scene last night, how could I face her?
*Sigh…*
But there was nothing I could do.
I just had to endure it.
The wish I made last night wasn’t just drunken nonsense; it was sincere.
It was better for me to die of embarrassment than to watch Da-Hye return to that residence.
Since Park Da-Hye was right here in front of me, I just had to bear the embarrassment.
“♬~ ♪~”
Da-Hye was humming a tune, nestled against me.
A refreshing melody that lifted my spirits just by listening to it.
This time, it was “Hymn of the Beginning,” one of the BGMs from Billion Saga.
Right.
Every beginning is awkward, but not everyone who experiences a beginning is hesitant.
Some beginnings are just mindlessly cheerful, like that BGM.
So, I should forget about my embarrassment and start the morning energetically.
First, a nice, big stretch!
“Ughhh! Huh?”
I tried to stretch and get up, but my body wouldn’t move.
*This girl…*
I thought she was still half-asleep because she was so quiet.
But she was already awake and knew I was too.
My body was immobile because Da-Hye had locked my arms in place by putting all her weight on my head and arms.
She was strong for her size.
“What? What are you doing?”
“…”
“I know you’re awake. If you don’t let go by the count of three, I’m throwing you off.”
“…”
“One.”
“Two.”
“Thr-”
“Wait! Okay, okay, wait!”
“See? You were awake. So, what are you doing?”
“Sung-Hyeon, think carefully. You’re currently granting my wish.”
“So what? It’s been a day.”
“Not really~ I never specified a time limit. So calm down and lie back down.”
What was she talking about?
Was she saying her last wish was still in effect?
That’s ridiculous.
It was 9 AM. We fell asleep around 2 AM, so we’d been cuddling in the same position for seven hours, and she still wanted more?
Sleeping while hugging all night should be enough. How long did she want to go on?
“Do you like back hugs that much?”
“No… it’s my last wish, and… I might never be able to do this again…”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes…”
*Sigh.*
I lay back down.
I knew Park Da-Hye couldn’t lie to me.
I didn’t know why, but she seemed to still feel guilty about lying to me during our first encounter in the game.
It was such a small thing; she was so sensitive.
That’s why she never lied, no matter how uncomfortable or embarrassing the question.
So, when she said something like that…
It was hard to refuse.
She seemed to enjoy it so much; it felt wrong to reject her.
Kids her age usually liked idols or other glamorous people, so it was heartbreaking to see her like this with me.
How starved for warmth must she be?
Perhaps Da-Hye was experiencing a kind of Stockholm Syndrome.
In my case, it wasn’t kidnapping but a request… I hoped she’d get better.
“Just a little longer. Just bear with it a bit more, Sung-Hyeon.”
“How much longer?”
“About twenty hours?”
“Was your wish a back hug or a burial?”
“I’ll let go before you die, don’t worry. Just wait. Heehee.”
We weren’t even newlyweds; what were we doing like this in the morning?
But I had anticipated this to some extent.
I knew Da-Hye longed for human warmth.
I didn’t tell Park Da-Hye to live here without thinking.
She’d played games with me for eight years.
She was someone who spent all day sitting in her room playing Billion Saga, without preparing for the future.
It was the life Park Da-Hye chose, so I didn’t want to tell her it was wrong.
But… someday, Da-Hye would have to leave the game and live her own life.
Until then, I wanted to be the home she could stay in.
I wanted to help her prepare for her future, teach her some basic life skills.
And… when she felt overwhelmingly lonely and wanted to cry, I wanted to fill that void in her heart.
That was the way to ease my guilt, even just a little.
Da-Hye’s gaming-obsessed life was practically my fault.
I knew I shouldn’t take advantage of the physical intimacy with Da-Hye…
But right now, my job was to fill the emptiness in her heart.
Until someone appeared whom she could truly confide in.
I hugged Da-Hye tightly.
This time, it wasn’t intimacy; it was a form of assassination.
“Die, Park Da-Hye!”
“Eeeeek!!”
“Still want more? Still?”
“I can endure!!! Holy Shield!!”
She seemed to enjoy it even more, which was discouraging.
I should stop.
“Heehee. Sung-Hyeon, I was just kidding. Let’s stay like this for a bit and talk about what we’re going to do today.”
“Hmm… aren’t you hungry?”
“A little? Should we eat the leftover chicken from yesterday?”
“Let’s have something else. It’s the weekend; we should eat something delicious.”
“Oh, right. You said you were going to make braised short ribs yesterday.”
“That’s for dinner. Speaking of which, we need to go grocery shopping.”
“Wow, I haven’t been to a supermarket since I moved to this neighborhood.”
“How have you even survived, human? It’s a miracle you’re still alive…”
“Convenience store meals contain all the necessary nutrients.”
“And a whole lot of MSG and sodium, too.”
There was one more thing I had to do.
Now that I was hugging her, I could say this with certainty:
Da-Hye had absolutely no muscle.
Not a single ounce.
Her waist was soft, her chest was soft, and if her back was this delicate and soft, well, that said it all.
Spending all year round cooped up in her room playing games, there’s no way she’d be healthy.
She’d probably be diagnosed with skinny fat syndrome at the hospital.
Not to mention her muscle mass, her bone density might be terrible too.
I wondered if she was even taking vitamins.
Probably not.
If I were Da-Hye’s parent, I would be crying.
So, while Da-Hye was staying here, I wanted to make sure she was eating nutritious food.
And one more thing.
If I left her to her own devices, she’d stay inside all day.
It was my job to lure her outside.
“Da-Hye, should we get up now?”
“No… twenty more minutes… If you hug me tighter, I’ll reduce it to ten.”
“Forget it. I’ll do something even better.”
“Huh? What?”
“Let’s go on a date.”
“Huh?”
As expected of Park Da-Hye, a woman driven by desire.
It worked instantly.
The seal on my arms was released, and the freed demon sprang up.
Then she settled on top of me, her weight pressing down on my shoulders.
Ugh.
Now it was a mount position?
And her face was too close.
Her wide, round eyes were overwhelming.
Could she please tone down the beauty level in the mornings?
And if she bent over like that… I could see inside her pajamas.
“A date? Really?”
“Yeah. We’re both free today.”
“What do you do on a date? Do you wear a dress and go to a fancy restaurant?”
“What kind of dramas have you been watching? If a man and a woman go out together and have fun, that’s a date. Oh, I guess it’s different these days. Can guys go on dates with guys now?”
“Wow. Going out and having fun.”
“Do you like it?”
“I like it! What are we going to do?”
“Hmm… let’s go out for a delicious breakfast, do some grocery shopping, and maybe buy you some clothes? You only have one set of underwear.”
“Wow… let’s get up quickly, Sung-Hyeon.”
“You go wash up first. I need to stay here for a bit.”
“Why? You were just telling me to hurry up.”
“Why, you ask… I’m a reservist in the Republic of Korea. I have to sing the national anthem every morning.”
“Really? Okay. Hurry up and come out!”
*Sigh*… I didn’t know.
Could I really do this?
If I kept being exposed to such a defenseless Da-Hye… I might become the best national anthem singer in the world.
But today… first, the date.
Let’s take things one step at a time.
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—–CROW—–
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