Ch. 51 - Simple is best

After Yoo Seo-Eun washed up, it was my turn to take a shower.As I was washing every inch of my body with a towel, I had a sudden thought.

"I think my breasts have gotten a little bigger."

Lately, my underwear has felt a little tight. I wondered if I'd gained weight, but my belly fat hasn't changed.

In other words, my breasts have gotten bigger.

"They're still growing at this age?"

Usually, your body stops growing in high school. I'm still on the younger side, so maybe they can still get bigger?

I don't know much about girls' bodies.

"...Should I order a new size online again?"

I didn't feel very good about my breasts because there was honestly nothing good about them.

I know most women take pride in their breast size, but I don't understand that notion. It's only been a bother to me.

After I got out of the shower, I got dressed and dried my hair. Normally, I would have dried myself naked and then put on my clothes, but with Seo-Eun here, I couldn't.

I guess it's okay for girls to get naked around each other, but to be honest, I'm embarrassed to show my body to others, which is not like me.

"Seo-Eun, do you want a beer?"

I asked Yoo Seo-Eun, who was sitting on the living room couch watching TV, as I finished drying my hair.

I had already taken a can of beer out of the fridge for myself.

"I told you to cut back on the alcohol."

"It's only one can; I'll drink just this. How about you?"

I handed the chilled beer to Yoo Seo-Eun, who immediately took it.

"Yeah. I've been missing beer, too."

We drank beer and watched Netflix dramas. Yoo Seo-Eun said she didn't know what to watch first because there were so many interesting ones.

I recommended a moderately interesting drama, and we were sipping our beers when I got a call.

It was from Jung Ha-Yeon.

"Yes, Ms. Ha-Yeon. What's up?"

[Ms. Hye-Rim, can you tell me where you live?]

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I pick up the phone, wondering what's going on, and she immediately asks for my home address.

I wondered if I had misheard her, so I asked her again and she explained.

[I received a gift of snow crab from someone I know this time, and the amount was too much, so I thought it would be good to share it with both of you since Hye-Rim lives with Seo-Eun now.]

"Oh, I see, you don't have to do that..."

[I usually receive a lot of things from Hye-Rim, so if something like this happens, I should share it with you].

I thanked her and gave her my address.

There's no reason not to accept something delicious. I was planning to have Yoo Seo-Eun's cooking for dinner tomorrow, but it looks like I'll just have steamed snow crab.

"Thank you, Mr. Ha-Yeon. I'll eat well with Seo-Eun."

[I'm more grateful that you'll eat it well, but... Ms. Hye-Rim, you must have gotten quite close to Ms. Seo-Eun, because you're comfortable calling her casually.]

"What? Well... I guess so?"

I thanked her and was about to hang up the phone when Jung Ha-Yeon asked another question.

[Ms. Hye-Rim's age is 23, isn't it? I'm also 23, so can you talk casually to me, too?]

"I can, but...so suddenly?"

[It's not sudden, Ms. Hye-Rim and I have known each other for a while, so it's not strange if you speak to me informally.]

'So, would you feel comfortable calling me by my first name?'

What is this? I wonder if she's always been like this. She didn't care how anyone called her or treated her.

"Okay... Ha-Yeon, can I call you that?"

[......]

I did what she wanted, but she didn't answer.

I wondered if she didn't hear me, so I called her again.

"Ha-Yeon?"

[...Oh, yes. Ms. Hye-Rim, I think it would be nice if you could call me that from now on. Rather, this is better.]

"You said this is comfortable, Ha-Yeon, but you're still addressing me respectfully, aren't you?"

[That...my heart is not ready for it yet.]

"...?"

I don't know what she's saying, but it sounds like she's still going to talk to me respectfully.

It didn't really matter, so I just let her call me whatever she felt comfortable with.

[Anyway, please eat well with Ms. Seo-Eun, and by the way, can I visit Ms. Hye-Rim's house sometime soon?]

Jung Ha-Yeon said that she would like to visit me with Lee Yoon-Seo, and from the sound of it, Lee Yoon-Seo really wanted to see me.

She asked me what I wanted as a gift while visiting, but I told her it didn't matter.

I could have refused, but they seemed to feel more comfortable if they were able to bring one.

[Okay. I'll see you soon.]

"Yeah, okay, see you then."

After I ended the call and hung up the phone, Yoo Seo-Eun, who had been looking at me from the side, asked.

"Did that silver-haired hero call you?"

"Yes. She wanted to send us some snow crab."

"Snow crab? That sounds delicious!"

Yoo Seo-Eun's eyes lit up at the thought of eating snow crab.

"And she said she'd come to my house soon?"

"...Ah."

Yoo Seo-Eun's excited face quickly turned sour.

"I think I know why she wants to come. I think it's because of me..."

"What do you mean, because of you?"

"No, I mean... Sigh. Never mind. It's better for you to not know, Hye-Rim."

"...What do you mean?"

She keeps saying things I don't understand, so I ask her what she means, but she doesn't explain and keeps muttering, "If I do something wrong, I could die...?"

What the hell is wrong with her?

After watching the drama, time flew by, and it was almost 12 o'clock. It's time to go to bed.

Yoo Seo-Eun and I went to our room. I lay down on the blanket that I had spread out on the floor earlier, and Yoo Seo-Eun lay down on the bed.

"Tomorrow, Hye-Rim, you can sleep in your bed. I'll sleep here only for tonight."

"I said it's fine. If it bothers you so much, we can take turns."

Yoo Seo-Eun looked at me to see if I still thought she was stealing the bed. I told her it was okay, but it probably still bothers her.

I told her to go to sleep, and I closed my eyes immediately. She didn't say anything and decided to go to sleep too.

But five minutes later, she spoke to me again.

"...Hye-Rim, are you asleep?"

"I was just about to go to dreamland."

"I must have woken you up. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. What's wrong?"

I asked, sitting up and making eye contact with Yoo Seo-Eun, who was lying on the bed. After locking eyes with me, she hesitantly rolled her eyes downward.

"I just... I just wanted to say thank you. Hye-Rim said that if it weren't for you, I'd still be hiding in the academy."

"I've heard enough thank yous; you don't have to."

With a chuckle, I flicked Yoo Seo-Eun in the forehead.

"Ouch!"

"If you say that too much, I'll bleed in my ears. I told you, you just need to decide how you're going to live your life."

"...Okay."

Rubbing her forehead, Yoo Seo-Eun laughed softly. Her face looks wistful, as if she's had a burst of emotion.

"Then I'll say this one last time, and we won't talk about this anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Hye-Rim, you told me to trust you with my life."

"I did."

"I trusted you because I had no other choice at the time, but...I'm glad I trusted you with my life."

I'll give you all of me.

After saying that, Yoo Seo-Eun closed her eyes, saying that she really wanted to sleep.

I looked down at her for a while without saying anything.

The next morning, I woke up to find Yoo Seo-Eun sleeping soundly.

She slept so sweetly once she started sleeping. As if she had slept peacefully for the first time in years, she didn't wake up when I called her.

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her a few times, and she finally opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Mm....Is it morning already?"

"Yeah. We have to get ready for work."

"Mmm..."

Yoo Seo-Eun stretched her upper body and rubbed her eyes. She still looks like she hasn't woken up and could go back to sleep at any moment.

"This bed is so comfortable. I should get this one next time I buy a bed."

"It's really good, isn't it? It's worth the money."

"How much did it cost?"

"A little over a million won."

"M-million?"

Yoo Seo-Eun's eyes widened in surprise when she heard the amount. She must have woken up.

"Even if I make money, can I buy this right away?"

"You'll just have to pay it in installments. Now, get up and get cleaned up."

After getting ready for work and a quick breakfast, we headed straight to the Association.

When we arrived at the office, Park Oh-Jin, who always arrives early, greeted me and Yoo Seo-Eun, followed by Lee So-Young and Shin Yu-Sung.

"Now that everyone is here, I'll tell you what we're going to do today. Today, we're going to catch the villains who dared to challenge me."

Normally, our job is to suppress villains after they appear. However, on rare occasions, if we can infer the location of a villain's organization, we may attack them first.

Today, I'm going to wipe out the villainous organization that threatened to take me down yesterday.

It's something the five of us have always done, but it's Yoo Seo-Eun's first time. When Yoo Seo-Eun hears that we're going to take down the villains, she looks a little nervous.

"So-Young, did you find their hideout?"

"Yes. I tracked down one of the villains who went on a rampage yesterday by pretending to miss them on purpose."

So-Young has the ability to track the Awakened.

After a stealthy chase, she had already identified the villains' hideout.

"Good, now I'll explain how we're going to capture them."

I raised my index finger as I spoke.

"First, we'll go to this hideout that So-Young found."

I raised my middle finger next.

"Second, we're going to collapse the whole place and take it down."

"...Huh?"

At that, Yoo Seo-Eun tilted her head.