Chapter 169: Little by Little, Slowly (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 169: Little by Little, Slowly (4)
There was one major fact I had overlooked. The only reason we had all had sex together was that all my girlfriends had agreed to it, and they only agreed because they had accepted Yura’s opinion that our previous way of meeting wasn't working well.
That encounter was meant to change the way we saw each other moving forward and, before that, to ensure I wouldn't be conscious of any particular "order" when dealing with them.
It wasn't as if Yubin and Su-ah had suddenly dropped their opposition to the harem, nor had the competitive streaks of Yura, Hayoung, and Eunha—who had agreed to the harem—completely vanished.
I felt like things were improving, and I figured that since we’d all had sex together, everything would be fine as long as I didn't go out of my way to stir up conflict. That complacent thought was exactly what ended up fueling the fire.
My moving into Su-ah’s house wasn't even a settled matter yet. I had only brought it up to see what Su-ah thought, since she was the one who had suggested it first. Bringing it up at all was my mistake.
Because I asked in a way that made it sound like it was already decided that I’d be living at Su-ah’s, my girlfriends spoke up urgently, as if their lives depended on it.
“My place is great, isn't it? Let’s live together and drink every day. Okay?”
“Honey, you’re the one who got me my place. So, how about living with me to save on moving costs?”
“Oppa, my place is fine too…”
“Oppa! Let’s look for a new house together. Please?”
Without listening to anyone else, each of them prioritized shouting out their own invitation for me to live with them. I never knew that living with me was such a monumental issue. Seeing even Yura make an appeal, it seemed to be a matter of extreme importance to them.
However, I had a very specific reason for thinking it would be okay to move into Su-ah’s house.
First of all, the house was huge. It wasn't that I decided based on the thought of, 'I should live in a big house.' The reason I hadn't considered the others' homes was that a home is a strictly private space.
There is a world of difference between a boyfriend visiting every day and a boyfriend actually living there. Ultimately, it was their private sanctuary, and I would be intruding upon it.
But Su-ah’s place was massive. It was a large penthouse with eight rooms, four bathrooms, two washrooms, and two living rooms. Even if I moved in, the chances of me infringing on Su-ah’s personal space were significantly lower.
Plus, since we were a couple, we could have our private time and then meet up whenever we wanted…
As I was thinking, I suddenly realized why my girlfriends were reacting with such raised voices.
The problem wasn't the act of living in the same house as me. The problem was that I had suggested living in one specific person's house.
“Everyone, calm down. This is for A to decide.”
Normally, Su-ah would have brushed off such a reaction from the others, but perhaps because everyone else was getting so loud, she stepped in to mediate.
“I guess your shoulders are standing tall now that A said he’d live at your place?”
Yura frowned as she looked at Su-ah. Only then did I look at Su-ah’s face; she had a faint smirk playing on her lips, and that expression only provoked the others further.
“Oppa, why do you want to live at Yellow’s house? What about living with me?”
“Why is it a given that you’re living with Red? Since you’re the one who got me my place, it’s only right that you live with me.”
It was a huge mistake. I had no idea that saying I’d live at one person’s house would turn into such a disaster. Even Hayoung was siding with Yubin’s logic, claiming it was only right for me to live with her.
Wondering what to do, I looked at Eunha, who was at least staying relatively quiet.
“How about my house?”
Eunha, it seemed, also wanted us to live together.
“Wait a minute.”
I couldn't let everyone keep heating up like this, so I decided to calm them down first.
“I haven't officially decided to live at Su-ah’s place yet.”
“Why?!”
At that, Su-ah’s voice spiked. Su-ah, who had been acting relaxed with that faint smile, narrowed her eyes the moment I said it wasn't a done deal.
“I only brought it up to ask for your opinion in the first place. I definitely plan to move, but I haven't even started preparing yet.”
My attempt to ask Su-ah—who had suggested living together to look for a new place—for her thoughts had somehow been communicated as: “I want to live at your house, what do you think?”
“Then why did you only ask Yellow? It’s not because you want to spend more time with Yellow, is it?”
Yura, sitting next to me, leaned in close to ask, and everyone’s eyes locked onto me. It was a situation where I had to be careful with every word, so I couldn't say anything and just swallowed hard.
“It’s not that. It’s just that Su-ah’s house is so big…”
“My place is big enough for us to live together too.”
“Mine too!”
I opened my mouth to explain, but my words lost their way amidst my girlfriends' self-appeals.
“We could just live in an even bigger house.”
To make matters worse, Su-ah threw out a provocative blanket statement, and the atmosphere in the living room turned icy.
“I’m more than happy to have A move in.”
The moment she drove that stake into the ground, the others' glares turned back to me. Their sharp eyes seemed to be asking, 'Are you really going to live with Yellow?'
“Alright, I get it. But I’m still looking for a place, so let’s talk about this later.”
Rather than trying to resolve the situation by answering every single point, my first thought was that I needed to suppress the current atmosphere. Feeling as if my energy was being drained, I spoke up to bring the situation to a close.
“It’s not like I brought it up because I specifically wanted to spend more time with Su-ah. I just mentioned it because we decided to meet whenever we had time.”
“If you live at Yellow’s house, it’s not just 'meeting when you have time,' you’ll be together all the time.”
Yura grumbled with a pouting lip, clearly dissatisfied with the fact that I’d even asked if living at Su-ah’s was okay.
Since we had all had sex at Su-ah’s place, I thought it would be good to meet there often, but if I were to live there, everyone except Su-ah and me would have to commute to the house.
Even if the conditions for meeting were technically the same, I had proposed an option that would naturally give Su-ah more time with me.
“Wasn't the condition that we wouldn't put limits on meeting? Then you shouldn't put limits on what A chooses either.”
“If A said he wanted to spend a day alone with Yellow, I would have said fine. But living together is a completely different issue.”
It felt like sparks were flying between Yura and Su-ah. Seeing the two of them, who used to be on bad terms, clashing eyes for the first time made a cold sweat run down my back.
They weren't going to physically harm each other, but just watching the psychological warfare between the two women was nerve-wracking. Adding to the tension was the fact that even though the two were glaring sharply at each other, not a single one of the other members was taking either side.
“You’ll be sleeping together every day, waking up together, bumping into each other at all hours. You’ll be living like newlyweds, won't you?”
“A and I only play games when we’re together anyway.”
“You’ll have sex too!”
When Su-ah and I were together, we spent far more time playing games than having sex. We’d play games until we were sick of them during the day and then have sex briefly at night.
We did have sex during the day occasionally, but it couldn't compare to the amount of time we spent gaming.
However, that wasn't the point for Yura. No matter how much we played games, living together meant seeing each other constantly. After finally agreeing to the harem, she felt like most of the time we could spend together would be stolen by Su-ah, who actually opposed the harem.
Yura had said she was fine with her own time with me decreasing as long as I met everyone frequently. But living with one specific person wasn't just about "frequent meetings"; it was about living attached at the hip. That was why even Yura, who agreed to the harem, was expressing such opposition.
Without overthinking it, her stance seemed to be: 'I agree to the harem, but I don't agree to cohabitation.'
I wondered if there was really that much of a difference, but I knew I shouldn't try to understand the current situation through logic.
Yura thought I’d be having sex with Su-ah all day, but the reality was different. It was just as Su-ah said—we spent way more time gaming. I could have just said that, but the problem was that Su-ah wasn't offering any rebuttal.
“……We might have a little sex!”
And then Su-ah blurted that out. At her loud exclamation, I let out a sigh and pressed my hand to my forehead.
“See! You were planning on having sex every day too, that’s why you wanted to live together.”
“Fine! I want to drink with A every day and have sex with him too!”
Looking at Yura as she spoke without hesitation, I didn't know whether to call her bold or something else.
“I want to be with Oppa every day too!”
Seeing Su-ah and Yura constantly clashing, Yubin also raised her voice, perhaps feeling like only those two were fighting over me.
“Everyone, calm down. Nothing has been decided yet, and if you fight like this, I don't think I’ll even be able to bring up who I’ll live with or who I’ll meet in the future.”
Thinking I couldn't let this continue, I intentionally mixed a bit of irritation into my voice. Yubin, Yura, and Su-ah, who had been raising their voices, realized they were ruining the mood and shut their mouths.
“Then what are you going to do, honey?”
“I’m putting the house issue on hold. I’ll say it again: I don't want any fighting because of me.”
I had no intention of being authoritative with my girlfriends, but I felt it was better to be a bit firm this time.
“If we fight over the moving issue again, I’m just going to live alone.”
I wondered if I even had the right to say such a thing, but it seemed it wasn't entirely ineffective. My girlfriends kept their mouths shut and cautiously watched my reaction.
“……Oppa. Are you mad?”
At some point, realizing they had been fighting amongst themselves without regard for my opinion, Yubin was the first to ask tentatively.
I had only intentionally sounded annoyed to get them to focus; I wasn't actually angry.
It was true I was flustered, but my girlfriends only brought it up because they wanted to live with me. Since I was the one who started it, I had no reason to be angry with them.
“No. I’m not mad.”
I hated them fighting, but I hated them walking on eggshells around me even more. I’d rather be the one walking on eggshells around them.
To make it clear that I wasn't angry, I smiled and pulled Yubin into a hug.
“Oppa.”
Hearing that sweet voice call me again, I felt a hug wouldn't be enough. I loosened the embrace slightly, looked into her eyes, and pressed my lips against her soft ones.
“Mmm.”
Responding to the kiss, Yubin pressed her body against mine. Our tongues intertwined, licking each other's membranes as we shared a deep, thick kiss.
Yura and Su-ah, who had been so heated just moments ago, had apparently cooled their heads as they watched Yubin and me kiss in silence.
“Honey.”
While I was enjoying the kiss for a moment, Hayoung, who was next to me, tugged on my sleeve. After the kiss with Yubin ended, I looked at Hayoung.
The moment our eyes met, Hayoung pressed close, and in an instant, I had both Yubin and Hayoung in my arms.
“Me too…”
Eunha, who had been waiting for the right timing, approached and asked for a kiss, followed by Su-ah and Yura. With everyone pressing in at once, I was stuck and couldn't move, but since all my girlfriends wanted to kiss, I couldn't hide the grin spreading across my face.
“Alright. I’ll give you all the same, so let’s go one by one, slowly.”
Starting with Yubin, the kissing session continued with all my girlfriends. I had predicted this the moment I kissed Yubin, but I didn't expect to spend thirty minutes doing nothing but kissing.
My girlfriends, whose heads had been hot over the moving issue, were finally able to calm down through the kisses. Meanwhile, I kept a firm grip on my sanity, thinking, 'If I lose my reason now, sex will start all over again.'
I wanted to have sex, of course, but if I had sex with everyone for two days straight, my body definitely wouldn't hold up. Besides, we could have sex whenever we wanted, so there was no need to rush.
After that fairly long kissing session, I tried to resume the meeting, but the atmosphere just wasn't right for a discussion. Instead, we all ate together, folded the freshly laundered blankets, and spent some time relaxing.
Though there were no major breakthroughs, I thought the fact that we all sat down together for the first time to talk about the future was meaningful in itself.
And if there was one thing I realized, it was that I should refrain from making any comments that might seem to tip the balance in front of my girlfriends.