Chapter 45

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 45

Chapter Title: Breakthrough

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Once the dam broke, Jeong Seohee and I grew close at a rapid pace.

We went everywhere together and worked side by side.

Except for the times I slipped away to relieve myself.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

"Ngh. Seyoung-ah, here it comes!"

"Eut. Hnng. Woojin, please... not inside..."

"Just like always, straight into your womb! Lift those hips!"

Squelch. Squelch. Squiiiirt.

"Hnnngh. Eut. Haaah."

"Hoo. Min-ah-ssi. Could you clean my dick for me? Make it nice and spotless."

"......"

Of course, the twins' influence was still strong, so she'd turn cold toward me back at the settlement. But if I dragged her out under the pretense of needing help with work, she'd act friendly again like nothing had happened.

As our time together increased, we even started having casual everyday conversations.

"You really work hard, don't you."

"Me? Have I been?"

"You're moving nonstop almost every day without rest."

...Yeah, that's true.

To spend more time with Jeong Seohee, I'd been heading out constantly, and on days I stayed in, I was busy relieving my urges.

In the end, I was bustling around without ever settling down at base.

"I didn't realize you were working this hard just to feed everyone. This isn't right. Other people should be pitching in too."

"Yuri and Yejin too?"

"Yes."

Uh... I hadn't expected Jeong Seohee to say that.

I'd already been planning to put everyone to work anyway. I'd just put it off while focusing on seducing her.

I scratched my cheek and replied.

"It's a bit early for that. When everyone first fled here, they looked half-dead. They were on the verge of starving to death. They've only just started regaining their strength. Let's tough it out a little longer ourselves."

Jeong Seohee blinked a few times, then smiled softly.

"Woojin, you're a really thoughtful guy. I respect you."

Anyway, my relationship with Jeong Seohee had progressed considerably.

We ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weren't just chatting casually now; we were close enough to badmouth others behind their backs.

"But shouldn't you check on your classmates at least once?"

"Nah. Those guys are trash. A friend I'd spent three years with vanished, and not only did they not help search for her, they tried to stop me from looking. They're not friends."

Every time I confirmed we'd grown closer, I'd push a little further.

To do that, I even casually revealed my secret.

"Catch 'em like this, and they turn into cash. That's how I buy food."

"I see. That's a really amazing ability. But is it okay to tell me something like this?"

"What's the big deal? Anyone else, maybe not, but I trust you."

"!!"

Once I showed that level of trust, even the prideful, iron-willed Jeong Seohee started opening her heart bit by bit.

"Something bothering you? You look down."

"Sigh. It's Yuri and Yejin. They say they won't even talk to me until you're fully recovered. I don't know what to do."

Now she was even confiding her worries in me.

Even her deepest thoughts.

But that final wall still stood firm.

I needed to tear down that last barrier to lay her down, but it showed no signs of cracking.

Growing a bit frustrated, I asked directly.

"Seohee-ya. What do you think of me?"

"I think a honest, capable guy like you is pretty good. I'd like to stay close as friends."

Aaah. As friends.

To Jeong Seohee right now, I was apparently a really good friend.

"What're you spacing out for, dummy? Come on, let's head back to the settlement and grab some food, Woojin."

Maybe her romantic senses... no, her awareness of that stuff between men and women was completely underdeveloped.

Just look at how her only close relationships were with twins.

'The twins were exactly like that.'

They wouldn't even lactate no matter how much I teased them.

I hopped across the sandy beach toward Jeong Seohee, who was waving at me.

"By the way, don't big boobs like yours hurt when you jump?"

They were swinging from her head level down to her navel.

"They're a bit cumbersome because of the size, but it's fine. I've gotten used to it."

Jeong Seohee said this while jiggling her own breasts.

They were definitely smaller than Kim Yeonju's overall, but still impressively large and perky. Super bouncy, you could say.

"Woojin. Aren't you staring a bit too much?"

"Ah, sorry."

I quickly changed the subject.

"I've been wondering for a while—why do you talk like that?"

"Ah, it's a habit."

According to Jeong Seohee, she'd been adopted and formally learned Korean, but afterward, hanging around her adoptive father made her pick up an older person's speech patterns.

She'd considered changing it, but decided it gave her a sense of gravitas, so she stuck with it.

"Does it sound weird?"

"Nah. It's unique. I like it."

"Heh. You sure know how to sweet-talk. Anything else you're curious about me? Ask away."

"Nah. I've got a ton of questions, but I won't ask if it'd put you in a tough spot."

"Pfft. Were you copying my line just now?"

Jeong Seohee grinned brightly as she said it.

"That actually makes me happy?"

She stuck close to my side as we walked.

This felt straight out of a childhood friends rom-com. She was treating me exactly like her best buddy, just like she'd said.

There was zero vibe of it developing into anything romantic.

'How do I get even closer from here?'

Sure, friends could suddenly hook up.

Like borrowing the power of alcohol or something.

But that carried too high a risk of unexpected problems popping up.

I couldn't gamble after coming this far.

'Should've approached her as a man from the start instead of letting it feel so platonic.'

Maybe I should've confessed that day instead of offering cola? Said I liked her?

No, no. That could've killed the mood like dumping cold water on it.

'Sigh. So how the hell do I peel off that final layer?'

As I pondered this, a sudden idea flashed through my mind.

I grabbed Jeong Seohee's hand firmly.

"Seohee-ya."

"?"

"Teach me how to fight."

What brought ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jeong Seohee and me together?

Work.

More precisely, the moments when one taught and the other learned.

When I focused on teaching her what clams were, and she threw herself into learning it, that's when we grew close.

'In those moments, we could lower our walls and approach each other.'

Of course, getting close wasn't my only goal.

I was already plenty close to Jeong Seohee.

My remaining task was to become someone precious to her.

'People inevitably pour affection into what's theirs.'

Not all pets in the world are cute.

Your own kid is special. That's why you take photos and brag.

A disciple who'd received my teachings.

A student I'd poured time and effort into raising.

To a master, their prized pupil feels like an adopted child. You can't help but lavish them with affection.

It's like sinking money into stocks and obsessing over them day and night, your heart always there.

Even if the disciple messes up, you can't cut them loose mid-loss because of the sunk cost—you end up in a love-hate bond.

'The more effort invested, the deeper the bond.'

That's exactly what I was aiming for.

Prideful with clear standards, but in a master-disciple relationship, I might reach the depths of her heart.

"You want me to teach you to fight?"

"Yeah."

Jeong Seohee ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stared at me intently. It was a serious expression I hadn't seen in a while.

She gazed into my eyes and face for a long moment, then abruptly turned and started walking.

"...I'll think about it."

But no immediate answer came.

The mood sank heavily, and no conversation passed between us for a while.

'Did I mess up?'

The silence lasted until we reached the settlement.

Jeong Seohee remained tight-lipped.

She brightened briefly at the sight of the twins, but deflated when they rushed past her to cling to me.

Tug. Tug.

The twins grabbed my left and right index fingers and pulled.

"Alright, alright. Let's eat and have some strawberries. Seohee-ya, come eat with us."

Nod.

Now Jeong Seohee even ate with us at the same spot.

Her weakness was the twins anyway, so no need for the homeroom teacher or Kim Yeonju to step in.

"Here, this one's for Yuri. This for Yejin."

The little ones snatched the strawberries I gave them and popped them straight into their mouths.

Munch. Munch.

Cheeks bulging like chipmunks.

Seeing them scarf it down made me think starving them a few more days could've been dangerous for real.

'Got a scare this morning.'

I woke to a weird feeling and found the twins invading my sleeping spot, yanking down my pants.

They firmly believed sucking my dick for cum would get them bonus strawberries.

'Training worked too well, but it's still risky.'

I looked at the twins.

Peek.

Having finished their strawberries, they lifted the hem of my shirt to peek inside.

Spotting the fading bruises, they let out heavy sighs like deflating balloons.

'Bruises are almost gone now, so I can't exactly refuse to play.'

Either way, I had even more reason to wrap up the Jeong Seohee operation ASAP.

"Woojin-ah."

Hm. Needed progress fast for that.

"Woojin-ah?"

"Ah, yes. Teacher. You called?"

"Shouldn't we move those somewhere else? There's too many piling up."

The homeroom teacher pointed to the center of the settlement, stacked with 2-liter water bottles.

Over 300 now, all bought while grinding daily quests.

"They're in the way whenever we walk around, super annoying. We tried moving them ourselves while you were gone, but I figured we should get your permission."

"Yeah, even I think we need to relocate them. Let's clear space upstream. Since we're done eating, let's do it now."

As we all grabbed bottles to haul 50 meters away, Jeong Seohee spoke up.

"Woojin, earlier you asked me to teach you how to fight, right?"

Oh. Finally giving an answer.

"You will?"

"I will. But fighting ultimately needs stamina to back it up. Yours is too low right now."

Not wrong.

It'd been bothering me lately.

And not just talk—the 'Stamina' stat in my status window had actually dropped.

My stamina used to be 13. Now it was down to 11.

Alarm bells went off.

Stamina dropping on this uninhabited island? Wasn't that seriously dangerous?

"Even when I first saw you, your stamina seemed a bit weak, but lately it's gotten worse. You're gassing out quicker, with shorter recovery times."

Jeong Seohee diagnosed my condition perfectly without even seeing my status window.

"Your routine right now is too focused on cardio. You're not carrying anything heavy since you stash it in that subspace or whatever, right? That's probably why your stamina's tanking. You need to build muscle."

Just one thing—she had no idea why it dropped.

No way she'd guess I was sneaking off for threesomes whenever I could.

"Move all those by yourself."

"Huh?"

"And tomorrow, stay put and rest fully. From now on, we batch the work. Grind hard, then rest hard."

"......"

"I'll handle deliveries to your classmates alone, so you rest at base."

She was genuinely looking out for me, but...

No way. 300 bottles of 2-liter—2kg each—for me alone?

The homeroom teacher protested from the side.

"No way! What if Woojin hurts his back?"

Kim Yeonju joined in.

"Not his back! Anything but his back!"

The twins piled on.

Flail. Flail.

Probably scared I'd be out of commission longer if I got hurt again.

"Absolutely not!"

All four women shouted in unison against it.

Jeong Seohee looked flustered, clearly not expecting such unified opposition.

"I'll do it."

But I calmed everyone down, saying it was fine. The homeroom teacher approached to stop me.

"Woojin-ah, don't. That's ridiculous."

I knew it was ridiculous.

But I had to do it.

A path to the depths of Jeong Seohee's heart had finally opened.

The moment to become special to her had arrived.

'If I accept this, I'll be irreplaceable to her. Precious.'

And that was it?

No— it'd open the door to mounting that short-haired white horse, yanking her ponytail, flooding her with cum, and knocking her up.

For that, this was nothing.

I gleefully snatched the water bottle from the homeroom teacher's hands.

But right then, ding—a familiar sound rang out.

'Hm?'

I opened the quest window.

Choice 2's progress had gone up.

'I didn't buy new water, so why's it increased? What's going on?'

I couldn't figure it out. Before, when I'd tossed some on the ground and picked it back up just in case, the count hadn't budged.

Why this time?

Then it hit me.

'Back when I first went clam hunting.'

When I deliberately didn't complete the quest to memorize what clams looked like, resetting the progress.

Throwing them in a sack didn't reset, but handing them to Kim Yeonju did.

'I vaguely thought it had something to do with ownership back then, but is that principle applying now?'

Unbelievable.

Just passing it hand-to-hand let me reuse water already counted once for a quest?

'Isn't this a glitch?'

Glitch or not, who cares. Easier for me is fine.

"We'll help too, Master!"

"Yeah, Woojin-ah!"

"No. I'll carry them all myself."

I waved off everyone offering to help, telling them absolutely not.

Then, to Jeong Seohee who looked surprised, I said,

"But Seohee-ya, if I lift every single one alone, I might really tweak my back. So could others at least hand them to me? Training stamina's important, but so is managing my condition."

"Got it. But you're carrying them solo."

And so the operation began: my women handing me water bottles to haul.

My steps were light.

Because I could clear the daily without spending?

Yeah, that's part of it. But hauling 2kg per hand for 50 meters was exhausting enough without that joy.

Truth was, I was excited for another reason.

'Might as well aim for S-grade this time.'

The S-grade reward I'd never confirmed due to the high bar.

With 300 bottles, now was the chance to test the conditions and rewards.

"Woojin-ah, fighting!"

"Go, Master!"

I started methodical testing while solo-hauling the 2-liters.

'Last time, 9 got me only A-grade.'

This time, start generous at 14.

Sweat pouring, I cleared the quest with 14 bottles.

A-grade again.

Next, 20 bottles.

'20: Still A.'

'24: A.'

'30 too...'

Huff. Huff.

Exhausting. Hauling just 4kg total felt multiplied by the island heat.

Still, I kept pushing.

Plenty of water left. I'd haul till I hit the desired reward.

'40 this time.'

And finally, after hauling 40 two-liter bottles.

The change came.

A special, dramatic one.