Squishy Awakening
Squish. Namgoong Juhee opened her eyes. She was sitting in front of her computer, sipping zero-calorie cola just like any other weekend.
Weekends are best spent holed up at home playing games, she muttered to herself.
Now all she needed was the chicken she'd ordered earlier to arrive, and her perfect weekend would be complete.
But something felt off.
First, the game.
Was there something like this in the game I was playing?
It looked like a wuxia-style RPG with stunning graphics. Especially that red-haired female character—clearly a ton of effort had gone into her design.
A game this polished would've been all over my circles by now. How have I not heard of it?
And why were her hands acting weird?
Where had her usual rough gamer hands gone? Now these delicate jade fingers were tapping away at the keyboard.
She glanced down further, and there were the modest curves ending in pert peaks.
A view that would've driven her wild back in the day, but why was it on her body?
Namgoong Juhee gave her breasts a curious squish.
Freebies were something no modern person turned down.
"Hngh!"
A moan slipped from her lips.
It was a beautiful voice. If she'd done ASMR with it, she'd have blown past a million subscribers easy.
The problem was that it had come from her mouth.
Now that she thought about it, the weirdness wasn't just one or two things. Why was her hair red? Where the hell was her dick? And what was that black mark on her side?
That's when it hit her.
Oh, right. This is a dream.
"Namgung Sojeo?"
Namgoong Juhee's eyes fluttered open to a heart-attackingly beautiful face. A woman with the same red hair as hers, cheeks flushed bright red.
Why's that? Namgoong Juhee wondered inwardly.
She'd slapped those cheeks pretty hard, but only one side, and wounds usually swell up ugly after a while. Not turn into that neat, pretty shade of red.
"Looks like you're not dead."
Good. When her head had gone dizzy and she'd collapsed, she'd figured it was game over for sure.
What kind of game pulled a stunt like that to make her heart drop? She had no idea why they'd thrown in a dream sequence with a computer and keyboard as the backdrop.
Still, waking up to this beat seeing those infant-feeding tits from her baby days again. She had zero interest in reliving that boring childhood grind.
"It's thanks to you, Namgung Sojeo. If not for you, I'd be paying for my sins in hell by now."
Gratitude dripped from her calm tone.
If any of Hayeon's family had seen this, they'd have been shocked. The woman known as the Ice Flower for freezing hearts with just a word.
Merchants were pros at hiding emotions anyway, and Hayeon had been trained in it since childhood.
Seeing her this affectionate? She was the only one in the entire Central Plains who'd witnessed it.
But right now, Hayeon wasn't the Ice Flower. She was squirming, unable to contain her feelings—not merchant material at all. More like a bubbly high school girl.
If the twenty-five-year-old Hayeon heard that, she'd have whispered something cold to her guard with a frosty glare. And a few days later, a cold corpse would've rolled into town.
"Yeah, pretty much."
Namgoong Juhee's reply was straightforward, no exaggeration or downplaying. That was modern common sense.
No point in false modesty and underselling herself—that was for idiots.
She was proud of it.
"Pffft... yeah, you're right. I owe you my life, Namgung Sojeo."
"If you're grateful, cash works. Food's even better."
"Oh? But I've already given you quite the reward."
"Hngh?"
Hayeon said that and suddenly placed her hand on Namgoong Juhee's belly.
Namgoong Juhee panicked—a rare sight.
A cool, soft hand on her bare stomach out of nowhere? Her body twitched involuntarily.
Is this normal distance for girls? Wait, no, girls or not...
Anyway, is it okay to just grab someone's belly like this?
Namgoong Juhee's mind raced, but she couldn't push the hand away.
She had no strength in her body. Normal after a deep sleep.
So Hayeon got to squish her belly to her heart's content. Softer than her male days, with a nice layer of fat.
Namgoong Juhee clamped her mouth shut at the weird sensation. One slip and a strange moan might escape.
"Looks like the energy's settled nicely into your dantian. Worth staying up all night regulating it."
"......Do you really need to grope my belly like that to check?"
"It's a necessary step. Gotta make sure the wondrous medicine soaked in properly."
Wondrous medicine.
A rare drug for treating internal injuries, even pricier than regular spirit pills.
Reinforcing was harder than building up from scratch. It used precious ingredients mixed in exact ratios, and skilled artisans were few and far between.
Hunt them down across the Central Plains, and you'd barely hit double digits.
Wondrous medicine was worth whatever you named.
Namgoong Juhee nodded, convinced. No wonder her serious internal injuries only left her weak—nothing else hurt. Her inner energy even felt fiercer than before the fight.
Hayeon's shady touches must've been to guide the energy.
"Your belly's so soft, Namgung Sojeo. You don't train external arts?"
"Hey, isn't it time to stop?"
"Can't do that. Wounds can flare up if you're not careful. Bear with the tickles a bit longer."
Doesn't feel like it...
But there was nothing Namgoong Juhee could do. No strength to even swat the hand away.
"Hehe... so soft."
Hayeon had noticed, of course. To a merchant, observation was life itself.
She planned to enjoy this skin-to-skin chat while Namgoong Juhee couldn't resist.
Gurgle.
"Oh my."
Until the cute rumble from Namgoong Juhee's belly.
"Silly me. You must be hungry."
"......Yeah, a little."
"Makes sense after three days asleep. Wait just a sec."
Hayeon flashed a bright smile and toddled out.
"Haa..."
Only then did Namgoong Juhee let out a deep sigh and close her eyes.
This is a game. Just a game, she repeated to herself.
Namgoong Juhee had already experienced the Wuhu Merchant Alliance's sincere hospitality once. She'd sampled every delicacy under the sun and stayed in rooms that cost a silver tael a night.
Even got a feel for the Central Plains' superior—albeit primitive—tech.
But the Eonha Merchant Group's treatment over these two days was a cut above.
The food was delicious, naturally. She was the type to wolf down meat boiled in plain water without complaint.
But turning food into art? That was a first.
Carrots carved into dragons, watermelons into black turtles. Was this food or sculpture?
If these hit modern Korea's SNS, they'd go viral instantly.
Namgoong Juhee didn't mind the pampering. If it were real people, maybe. But data mobs? No need to stand on ceremony.
At this rate, Eonha would've gone bankrupt catering to her. Chefs dropping like flies making art.
Yet Eonha remained the world's top merchant group, chefs balanced work and rest fine.
The reason? Yi Hayeon's attitude.
"Here, Namgung Sojeo. Say ahh—"
"I can feed myself."
"No, you can barely hold a spoon. See?"
Hayeon grabbed Namgoong Juhee's hand tight.
No one, not even the world's greatest, could lift a spoon like that. Namgoong Juhee shot her an exasperated look.
"Of course I can't if you hold it down."
"Oh? Didn't expect modesty from you, Namgung Sojeo."
"It's not modesty—"
"One more bite. Ahh—"
Namgoong Juhee reluctantly opened her mouth. Refuse and she'd starve her to death, probably.
Plus, Hayeon's eyes had a weird glint. Stimulate it wrong, and she'd snap.
Better play along for now, she thought.
"Hehe. Eating well. Tasty?"
"Yeah... it is."
"Next up, fried baby shrimp. Our head chef's specialty. Ahh—"
Namgoong Juhee's mouth chomped down, fresh lips working.
It was surprisingly comfy this way. No chopstick hassle, and Hayeon's merchant instincts nailed what she wanted.
Come to think of it, Yi Hayeon was just another data mob, pretty face or not.
No need for pretense, right?
"Oh? Getting used to it?"
"Yeah. I'm the patient here. Why bother with face in front of a data—er, you."
"Touching. Here's some honey-glazed chicken—ahh."
Chomp again.
Eonha's food was legit good. That honey-glazed chicken? A guaranteed hit back home.
Honey-glazed chicken? Done for. You're going down five plates today.
Not a wrong thought.
"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you, Namgung Sojeo."
"Mm? What?"
"Before you collapsed, we sent word to the Namgoong family."
"......Pardon?"
"They replied they'd come right away... They should be here soon."
Cold sweat poured down Juhee's back.
At the same time, she thought,
I gotta bolt. No question.