Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: What Kind of Dream Are You Dreaming, Na-young? (6)
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"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just giving you this because I'm thankful for the massage from yesterday."
What kind of situation is this?
I stared blankly at Joo Na-young, who was holding out a box of chocolates.
A little while ago, Na-young—who had unusually come to work much earlier than everyone else—brushed past me, gritted her teeth, and spat out, "Hold on a sec." I followed her into the break room.
She pulled something out of her handbag, hid it behind her back, and fidgeted with it for a while. After mumbling to herself for ages, she finally spoke up.
"Hey! ...Do you like sweets by any chance?"
"Is that polite speech or casual?"
"Do you like them?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Ju, Jun-young-ah. She's got chocolates behind her back! I saw them! Say you like them! Pomi must have sniffed out the snack already.
"Yeah, I like them."
The moment I finished speaking, a box of chocolates appeared right in front of me.
"It's a gift I received, but I don't like sweets, so I hadn't eaten it... Give it to someone else if you don't want it. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just giving it because I don't want to owe you for yesterday."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Take it! Take it! ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Be quiet for a sec! I can't hear the conversation! "What's with you? Finally growing up?"
"What? If you don't want it, forget it."
"Hey, wait, wait. Why give it and then take it back?"
Pomi was making a pouty face, so I quickly snatched the chocolate box.
"Thanks, I'll enjoy it. Looks expensive—I'll pay you back with a few more massages next time!"
"Whatever."
She must have remembered all the lewd noises she let out yesterday, because she bolted out of the break room with quick steps.
The moment she left, I dropped the smile from my face.
"No way, she said she hates me, so her favorability shouldn't go up just from this."
I'd massaged her only because I was worried she'd collapse from overwork, and I'd racked up a bit of points in the process, but her status info from just now showed her favorability had risen quite a bit.
"But seeing Na-young embarrassed is cuter than I expected?"
Her current favorability status was listed as 'Confusion'.
Even though it was still in the negative numbers, this was impressive...
I shook my head, imagining Na-young acting all cute and spoiled toward me.
"No. If I get attached like this, I won't be able to clear the quest. Her emotions will flip after I succeed anyway."
With that thought settled, I opened my mouth.
"Freeze. Hands off the choco?"
Pomi flinched!
"Wh-what?"
Pomi replied with her cheeks puffed out.
Translating that, it meant 'What?'
"Do I look like a pushover to you?"
"Wha—huh?"
"Proof? Your guilty face is all the proof I need, you little punk. Touching your oppa's gift first—are you some brat from the sticks?"
"I di—didn't know?"
"Open your mouth."
She shook her head no.
"Open it. Not opening?"
Pomi's cheeks bulged out even more.
"How many did you shove in there, you piggy?!"
I stashed the chocolates in my locker and left the break room.
Na-young tried to act normal, like she wasn't conscious of giving me the gift, but she got super awkward whenever she came near me.
She wouldn't even make eye contact, and she gave orders meant for me to Chae-yeon Sister instead, from far away.
"Did something happen with Na-young?"
That dumbass.
She was so obvious that even Chae-yeon Sister asked about it right next to me.
"Same as always, what else? Oh, Sister. Heard the rumors? I'm a massage master now—wanna try it?"
Sister, who'd been squinting at my excuse, jumped up.
"N-No! Next time!"
"Aw, come on, just once..."
"I-I'm serious, next time."
"Promise?"
Guess last time's intensity was too much. I spent the rest of the day enjoying the sight of the two women dodging me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Heading out today?"
"Na-young looked better rested, like she slept well last night?"
I'd used the [Masseur] skill to relieve a lot of her fatigue yesterday, but she still needed a good night's sleep.
When I got home and used [Dream Demon], her status showed she was asleep, but I figured it'd be best to let her rest fully for a day, so I didn't use the skill last night.
"She even gave me chocolates today. Bet she's dying for me to invade her dreams now. Heh, what if she ends up liking me for real?"
"Delusions are free..."
"Spit out the chocolate."
"Na-young's totally fallen for Jun-young! You're too cool~."
After bossing Pomi around a bit, I lay down.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ [Dream Demon] Once again, that feeling of my body being sucked away.
Shooo!
"Cough, cough, hack. Still can't get used to this."
I coughed dryly and sat up. I rolled my tongue around, moistening my parched mouth.
"Tch, ahem, ahem."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Jun-young-ah, you made it okay? "Ugh..."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Hellooo! Jun-young-ah? Hellooo? "Ugh, ahem."
Pomi's voice buzzed in my ears a few times. I shook my head side to side, and my senses finally cleared.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Helooo! Hello! Jun-young-ah! Hello? Hehe. Oppa. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Hey, cut it out. He's awake now. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Have a good trip! So, what dream is it this time? ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ I just woke up, you know? I stood up and looked around.
Na-young's dream, after so long, was different from her previous ones—it was a familiar scene to me too.
"This is... the shop kitchen?"
Unlike the real one I see every day, the interior and kitchen tools were heavily simplified, but the vibe was definitely the shop kitchen.
"...you know!"
I was glancing toward the back of the kitchen when Na-young's voice reached my ears.
"The dining area?"
I headed through a hallway that felt weirdly smaller than in reality toward the dining hall, and her voice grew louder.
"So-eun Sister messed up. Apologize quick. Bong-gwan Bro too."
"Sorry, Na-young. I won't be late again."
"Yeah, Na-young. Sorry for yelling."
"Don't do things you have to apologize for."
This was... that day's scene. The day Lee So-eun was late, Na-young called her out, but ended up being the bad guy.
Normally, Kim Tae-hyung would stop Na-young, So-eun would give a half-hearted apology, and Huh Bong-gwan would argue with her...
But when I reached the dining hall, the scene was different from reality. Everyone surrounding Na-young was groveling and apologizing to her.
The background and the people around her looked off from reality—probably the limits of her imagination.
Like the difference between a major studio's 3D models and some Japanese eroge company's.
But So-eun and Bong-gwan were rendered in more detail than the others.
Probably because she directly fought with them that day—like the difference between leads and extras.
'Man, that's old news... She's got some lingering grudge.'
Na-young, who was berating everyone, whipped her head around and spotted me coming from the kitchen.
"Hey, come here for a sec?"
Wha, aren't we friends now?
"Didn't you hear me?"
"Uh? Y-Yeah, coming, coming."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Loser Degree +1] And this bitch starts with casual speech right away.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Jun-young-ah, endure it! My temper flared, but Pomi's words snapped me back. Right, I have to endure.
Pirates, cats, assassins—zero progress on boosting the Loser Degree in past dreams!
Now that I'm back in the dream, time to properly play the loser today!
Something feels off about my motivation...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ By the way... How'd you know I was pissed, Pomi? ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Your brows furrowed and you looked even uglier. Hehe. *Slurp, chomp. Chomp.* My body back in reality must have scowled.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Yeah, I get that... But are you eating ramen next to me right now? Not sitting on the mat eating it, are you? ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Ah, spilled a little... ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Hey! ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Eh? Wh-Why's the phone acting up all of a sudden? Can't hear! Hello? Hell—beep, beep. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Hey! You bastard! This isn't a phone! Don't beep with your mouth! Heeeey! You're dead when I get back.
My blood boiled more than when Na-young spoke casually to me, and to top it off, her scolding continued.
"Hey, ugly!"
Ugh, endure. I'm not just ugly—I'm a pathetic ugly loser!
"You saw me come in early, right?"
"Y-Yeah, I saw."
"Then why'd you say you didn't see?"
"Huh?"
Damn, starting from there? Dream or not, don't skip the story.
"Why'd you lie about not hearing my greeting?"
"No, but you really didn't greet me..."
Slap!
"Ow!"
I was trying to sound as pathetic as possible with my excuse when Na-young slapped my left cheek.
I was more stunned than hurt.
"N-Na-young-ah. You gave me chocolates. Aren't we friends now..."
Slap!
"Ow! Hey, seriously."
"What? Got a problem? Relax those eyes."
Ugh. Focus on the points. 8K points, go...
"I wasn't glaring. My eyes are tearing up 'cause it hurts."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Loser Degree +3] "Talking back?"
"S-Sorry. I won't."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Loser Degree +3] "Why do things you have to apologize for?"
Ugh, you crazy bitch. Ripping into me like I'm a new recruit. I was an idiot for thinking she was cute even for a second.
Loser Degree shooting up, but my mood plummeting.
Just as my chest boiled over, a fresh voice came from behind.
"Hey, Joo Na-young! What's with that tone to your oppa?!"
Th-this voice...!
I whipped around at the welcome sound, and there she was.
"Yeon, Yeon Du...!"
"Oppa, you okay?"
Yeon Du had stepped in front of me at some point, arms spread wide.
"Yeon Du-ya, she hit me. Hit her back."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Loser Degree +10] "Joo Na-young! Apologize to oppa right now!"
"Ha, acting like a big sister. You little shrimp."
No sooner had Na-young finished than Yeon Du shot up, growing to nearly 170cm.
Seeing it up close, I couldn't help but gasp in awe.
"Oh, ooh!"
Dream or not, this was wild. Loli big-tits turning into a tall, busty beauty!
In response, Na-young started growing too.
"What kind of dream is this? Should I have brought Pomi?"
If I brought Pomi, she'd probably grow back to her old sexy-innocent self in a flash.
But did this jerk clean up the ramen spill?
While I was thinking about Pomi for a sec, Na-young had grown to about my height.
"They say even dogs strut big in their own yard... Her dream, and she's huge. Uh, whoa!"
Giant Na-young's right hand was swinging toward Giant Yeon Du's cheek.
"Dream or not, I can't watch Yeon Du get hit, you bitch! Hit me instead!"
Smaaaack!
I desperately jumped in front of Yeon Du, only to get smacked by Na-young's hand and sent flying—whoomph!
"Argh! U-Ughhh..."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Loser Degree +3] Feels like getting slapped by a women's volleyball player? My cheek wasn't just stinging—my cheekbone felt like it might crack my skull.
"Ow, fuuuck, that hurts."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Mia-ya, I'm dying. Got slapped and it hurts so much. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Huh? What'd you say? Missed it over 'tasty bastards.' Damn, so pathetic. I'm dying here, and this jerk's laughing at mukbangs.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Got hit by Na-young and it hurts too much! ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Ooh, just one big bite! Oooh! Ooooh! Fuck, better pretend this one's not here.
Looking up, Na-young had snuck up and was raising one foot high like she was about to stomp me.
If she steps now, the pain might wake me up.
I scrambled desperately and clung to one of her legs.
"St-Stop! Let's talk it out!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Loser Degree +3] "You said hit you instead?"
She smirked, then started spanking my back with both hands while I dangled from her leg.