I'll Buy You Pork Cutlet Later (5)
Truth be told, I already knew. That Do Ha-min hadn't gotten a proper night's sleep yesterday.
Those are the eyes of someone on night duty who wasn't allowed to sleep and had to report in the morning. Total bullshit, but the kind of eyes you see all the time in understaffed military units. You don't even need to have experienced it yourself—just looking at him, you could tell his condition was off from the usual.
But even though I knew, I pretended not to notice on purpose. Because Do Ha-min's blood was the only ticket that could get us into the theater. Washing away guilt with a promise to buy pork cutlet? Thinking a company dinner erases all the workplace abuse? It felt no different from the mindset of those asshole bosses. Have I started picking up their mentality now that I'm in the position of power? Maybe I need to reflect on that a bit.
"A-are you... sleepy...?"
"...?"
And now, here I am, paying the price for abusing the main heroine's privileges so carelessly.
"O-oh..."
Do Ha-min, utterly spent, buried his face straight into my chest and passed out.
Lucky Skebe, they call it. Those unintentional, heart-pounding moments between guys and girls in pure youth romance webtoons. Like tripping and accidentally flashing the heroine's panties, or groping in the dark and realizing it's her boobs—classic old-school manga tropes. A technique that adds tension to what was a dry relationship through unexpected skinship. Plus, it serves up fan service to satisfy readers, so it was a staple in comics and novels before censorship got too tight.
The fact that he did it the second he fell asleep... Yeah, protagonists gonna protagonist.
"H-hey, the fight scene's coming up soon. You gotta see this, right?"
I twisted my body a little to try waking him. Figured a small nudge would do it. I'd never seen him doze off or look wiped out during class before.
"...?"
But Do Ha-min showed zero signs of stirring. If anything, he seemed thrilled with this new pillow, burying his head even deeper into my chest.
"...He's out cold for real."
I could feel a damp sensation through my blouse. The smell of amylase. Proof of deep sleep. Even if I managed to wake him somehow, he'd probably conk out again right away in this state.
"Still, can't leave him like this forever."
Do Ha-min's shorter than me, but his head's not small. The second it dropped onto my chest, it blocked part of the screen. Using my boobs as a pillow? Fine, whatever. As long as your fat head doesn't cover the subtitles down there.
"Ban Do-young's chest isn't a pillow. Not yet, anyway."
I flipped up the armrest between us and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him toward my lap. With the barrier gone, his lolling head flopped right onto my thigh.
"Don't worry, I'll wake you for the best part."
I settled his head on my lap and refocused on the movie. The drool on my left boob? Wiped it off roughly with his hoodie.
By now, the movie had kicked into its lavish battle scene, pouring in manpower and budget. The double protagonists of the series—Pure Marina, the hallucination magical girl, and Pure Harina, the poison magical girl—unleashing breathtaking, otherworldly action that made you feel like you were in a fantasy realm. The sight of Marina's bullets clashing with Harina's arrows before blasting toward the enemy horde? I couldn't help but marvel at how anyone imagined this from text-only source material. It was so good, you forgot it was a fictional creation within a webtoon world.
Yeah, this is what makes it worth paying for.
"Oh ho, so this is the illustrated scene from the end of volume 10."
Having closely read the original novel, I knew it. The book hiding in Do Ha-min's bag was the single volume containing this movie's story. The scene he'd been dying to see was approaching.
Sure, he knew the plot and ending from the source—but experiencing those text-only mental images as vibrant animation? Totally different vibe.
The ending after all the battles. With the Black Witch defeated, the two magical girls smiling under the morning sun—the movie wrapped up there.
"...Mm."
"Whoa, waking up right at this timing? Impressive."
End credits rolling. Did he have a famous scene radar or something? Just as the moment he'd wanted most was about to hit, Do Ha-min started stirring.
"Wh-what...? Why's half my view dark and half bright?"
"Can't help it when half your vision's blocked."
"Whoa!"
Do Ha-min bolted upright from my lap in horror. Lucky there were barely any other viewers, or we'd have been kicked out—his scream was that loud.
"You're up?"
"Wh-why was I... How long was I out?"
"Since the opening. No self-awareness at all, huh."
"Ah... No clue. The armrest was still there for sure... How'd I end up like that?"
"Oh, I moved it."
"...Huh?"
Do Ha-min tilted his head, utterly baffled.
"Why...?"
"You kept shoving your face in my chest—couldn't see the subtitles. Plus, my legs were going numb."
"F-for real...?"
"Nearly ruined my left side for breastfeeding forever."
"S-sorry...!"
Normally, he'd freak out at my teasing line, but he just hung his head without a peep. Must've been seriously flustered.
"Really sorry, I had no idea—"
"Forget it, focus on the movie. This is the big one."
No fun teasing when he gets all serious like that. I tilted his bowed head back toward the screen. Perfect timing—the scene he'd been craving was up.
"This the one you wanted?"
"...?"
Two magical girls emerging from misty fog. The subtle red glow filtering through tinted Do Ha-min's face the same shade.
Post-battle, the two magical girls alone in the hot springs, toasting to the future. Wrapped in nothing but towels, healing wounds and splashing in the steam—perfect as a simple finale or fan service payoff. Fulfilling desires TV couldn't touch. Yeah, this is worth real money.
"Nngh... Harina-chan's ultra-cute."
Great as closure, even better service for diehards who'd stuck it out.
"Kyaa, Marina-chan's boob morph was fire too, right?"
"...?"
"Huh? What? Wasn't this what you wanted? Marina-chan and Harina-chan frolicking in the hot springs at the end of volume 10."
"N-no! That wasn't the goal!"
"Oh, Marina-chan size not cutting it anymore? Fair, after using the real deal as a pillow..."
"S-stop...!"
"Hey! Quiet down! Did you rent out the theater?"
Hmm. Looks like Do Ha-min and I ranked the "famous scenes" differently.
......
"Ahh, that was fun."
The movie ended, and we stepped out. Pretty satisfying flick. Who knew cultural outings like this existed in a webtoon world?
"How about you? Oh, wait—probably blacked out except the end? Heh heh."
"S-sorry, for passing out first earlier..."
Now fully awake, Do Ha-min apologized for yelling in the theater.
"Passing out first and then screaming like that... Really sorry."
"Told ya. Now I can't even talk movie without spoiling you. And telling anyone else? 'What's that, weeaboo?'"
"Ugh..."
"Sigh, whatever."
I patted his back, straightening his hunched form.
-Tap
"Gotta watch it together again sometime."
"...Huh? Again?"
"Starving. Let's grab food."
I dragged Do Ha-min down toward the restaurant street.