Grocery Run and a Gentle Facade
I stood at the entrance of the villa as Kang Sujeong asked me, “Um… Jinhyun, where do you usually go grocery shopping?”
“I was thinking of heading to V Mart. It’s close by and pretty big. Do you usually go somewhere else, Sujeong?”
“Ah~ No, not at all! I was actually planning to go to V Mart too.”
The keyword really did make things convenient. Her intentions were reflected perfectly. There were three fairly large supermarkets near our building, and V Mart was the biggest of them all. Since it was only about a five-to-six-minute walk from home, I’d stopped by a few times before.
I looked at her. She was wearing a slightly oversized t-shirt, yet it still couldn’t hide the way her voluptuous chest stood out proudly. The moment I laid eyes on her, the image of her lying beneath me, moaning desperately, flashed through my mind.
That felt so damn good.
Just thinking about it made my lower body start to swell. I could feel it coming.
“Jinhyun?” she asked when she noticed me staring.
I met her eyes. “Oh, sorry. You just looked like you were struggling a bit. Are you okay?”
“…It does hurt a little. Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize. Don’t worry about it. When else would I get to walk around with a beauty like you?”
“B-beauty… Th-thank you.”
Her voice had shrunk to a whisper, but she didn’t seem entirely displeased. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
She was walking beside me with her hand lightly gripping my arm. It wasn’t quite linking arms, but we were still incredibly close. It seemed every step sent a jolt of pain through her lower abdomen. She could probably walk on her own, but I understood why she was leaning on me.
“Looks like we’re almost there. Just tell me what you want to buy and I’ll grab it for you.”
“Ah, no, you really don’t have to go that far…”
“It’s fine. Think of me as your personal jungle boy and boss me around however you like.”
“Pfft.”
I’d thrown out the joke thinking she liked Legend League, and her reaction was better than expected. We continued chatting lightly as we shopped. She filled her basket with milk, eggs, meat, vegetables, rice, and other basics. I grabbed some instant rice, eggs, Spam, drinks, and snacks. A textbook example of a typical bachelor’s shopping list.
She glanced at my basket and asked, “Hmm… Do you always shop like this?”
“Not really. This is actually my first time. I used to order delivery every day, but since I quit my part-time job, I figured I’d eat simple for a while and save some money.”
“I see. Your part-time job… was that the convenience store one?”
Come to think of it, I had mentioned it to her before. Ugh… My face burned just remembering that moment. Back when my stress had hit its peak, I’d stormed over to her and yelled about how I’d deliberately switched to the night shift because of her. Sigh… Even though it was months ago, we’d both been worked up and raised our voices at each other.
“Yeah. Working nights was completely messing up my body clock. So I’m looking for something else.”
“That’s a smart decision.”
She said that while still sneaking glances at my basket. What’s up with her? It looks like she wants to say something… But she never opened her mouth, and we finished checking out and stepped outside.
I carried both of our bags.
“You could’ve just had it delivered…” she said, watching me.
It was true—if you spent over thirty thousand won, they offered delivery. But I shook my head.
“Then I’d have to wait longer to get the stuff, plus I’d end up with extra boxes… It’s only a five-minute walk. Don’t worry about it.”
“Alright…”
It is pretty heavy, though.
With three kilograms of rice included, carrying both bags was no joke. If I learn that Thousand-Li Flame Energy Technique, will I be able to lift this like it weighs nothing?
With that thought in mind, we soon arrived back at the villa. I ignored her attempts to refuse and deliberately carried everything up one more floor, setting her groceries down right in front of her door.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
“Go inside and get some proper rest. And here—this drink is supposed to be good for recovering from fatigue. Give it a try.”
“Ah…”
When I pulled one of the drinks I’d bought out of the bag and placed it in her hand, her eyes widened like a startled rabbit. Then she smiled.
“Jinhyun… you’re actually a really kind person. I honestly didn’t know that about you. I see you in a new light now.”
She looked a little shy as she said it.
Kindness, huh? That word and I were like opposite poles of a magnet. Still, I could always put on a kind act on the surface. I gave her a bashful laugh in response to her compliment.
“It’s nothing special. I was just the one who lacked common sense all this time. Let’s get along better from now on, Sujeong.”
“…Yes, of course.”
Nailed it.
After our warm farewell, I went back to my own place and immediately opened the Heroine App.
You have completed the event.
100 coins have been awarded as a reward.
(Current Coins: 2117)
I closed the message and immediately checked her status.
Affection: 37
Fated Connection: 16
Sexual Desire: 30
Appetite: 69
Fatigue: 71
“Whoa.”
This was huge. In a single event, her Fated Connection had jumped four points from twelve to sixteen, and her Affection had shot up from thirty to thirty-seven.
Let’s see… Raising a single-digit Affection by one point costs 5 coins. For teens, it’s 10 coins per point. For twenties, it’s 20 coins per point…
That probably meant thirties cost 40 coins per point. If that was the case, this one event had essentially earned me 280 coins.
I need to do every event I can from now on.
If I could raise both Affection and Fated Connection through events and then use coins to push Affection even higher, that would be perfect.
Nothing else for today, huh.
I checked the event list just in case, but there were no more events left for the day. So what should I do now?
Just because I can’t raise her Affection with coins right this second doesn’t mean I’m going to stop collecting them.
The more coins, the better. No matter how tired she was, I planned to summon her and have my way with her every single day.
But maybe I should let her rest a little for now.
It had just turned noon, so I could summon her around four. Then what should I do until then… Oh!
I’d been thinking about clearing the rest of my daily quests, but then I suddenly remembered the Thousand-Li Flame Energy Technique that had come out of the box this morning.
******
What is this…?
Kang Sujeong rolled the drink Jinhyun had given her between her hands as she thought.
If she had to describe her original relationship with Jinhyun in a single word, it would be “enemies.” He was the kind of person who irritated her the moment she saw his face. Someone she didn’t even want to talk to.
Yet today, for some strange reason, she’d felt comfortable around him. When they’d run into each other by chance, the emotion that rose in her wasn’t annoyance—it was gladness. Especially the part where she’d held onto his arm while walking. That was something she never would have imagined doing just a day ago.
“And he was so kind, too…”
Had he dropped something heavy on his head while working at the convenience store? His behavior was completely off. Even when she and Yehwa had gone downstairs because of that red thread, he’d been the same irritable guy he always was toward her. But today he seemed like a completely different person.
Especially when he’d first asked if she wanted to go together—she’d been genuinely shocked. He’d carried her groceries, and at the end he’d even given her a drink because he was worried about her. It might have been a small gesture, but it had warmed her heart.
Yesterday, when she’d woken up at home after being raped by that unidentified man, she’d wished with all her heart that it had all been a dream. Tears had poured down her face. She hated that her first time had been stolen from her. She hated even more that she’d felt pleasure during it. And that pleasure had only existed in the moment—once she got home, the terrible pain had continued without end.
Ever since she was young, her large breasts and curvy figure had drawn lewd stares from men. Because of that, she honestly didn’t like men very much. She hated those eyes that looked her up and down. She wasn’t particularly fond of going outside, and she wasn’t very sociable either. Though she didn’t seem like it, she had a slightly introverted personality, so she only showed her true self in front of her closest friends.
After attending all-girls middle and high schools, she’d started internet streaming at a friend’s suggestion. At first it had felt awkward, and since most of her audience was men—whom she didn’t particularly like—she’d felt some resistance. But once she realized she couldn’t see their gazes, it became bearable. All she had to do was play games and talk by herself. She’d managed to do that quite well.
Even so, the constant sexual harassment in chat had kept her from developing any positive feelings toward men.
But still…
Even then, when she read romance fantasy novels in her free time, a part of her still believed there was someone out there who would think of her. She believed she would one day have a fated encounter.
But that belief had completely shattered yesterday when she was raped. Her first time taken by force. Those brutal hands. The thought that all men were beasts had taken root in her mind.
Yes. She’d thought it had all come crashing down…
Cheon Jinhyun, maybe?
Perhaps she could put that thought on hold for a little longer. It wasn’t love. But at the very least, she felt some affection toward him now. Even that much was a first for her.
“If I go out again tomorrow at the same time… will he be there?”
It was unlikely anyone went grocery shopping at exactly the same time every day, but she decided she would try going out at the same hour tomorrow anyway. Then she took a sip of the drink he had given her.