Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: In the Palm of My Hand
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"You know that thing, right? That thing."
Gulp. I swallowed hard without thinking. No way?
"There's a game we can play together."
Oh, she's talking about a game.
Wonder what she was gonna say.
"...Ah, 'Battle Ark'?"
"No, 'sex'!"
"Fuck."
My brain flatlined for a second.
'What kind of crazy bitch is this.'
Seeing my shocked expression, Han Sea burst out laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
"Pfft, kyahaha! Fucking hilarious! Your face, shit."
She was rolling around on the bed cracking up like an idiot, leaving me utterly speechless.
"Cut it out, you psycho. You got a rag stuffed in your mouth or something...?"
"Why? Let's do it!"
"Do what? Get lost, you're disgusting, fuck off."
"Hey, come on, what's the harm? Let's fuck! Kyahaha!"
Not even a wild animal would laugh like this... what a spectacle.
"Wow, this crazy bitch. Listen to that tacky laugh."
Sea wiped the tears from her eyes and got serious.
"Fucking funny, shit, hey! You shut up and finish assembling and install the game.
My fingers are itching like hell. Tonight you're toast. I'll grind you into the dirt."
"You're not my noona. Even if we sling insults at each other nonstop, I'm still a year older, you know?"
"Aigoo, yes yes, Oppa. Op-pa! Happy now?"
"Ah, seriously, that lunatic..."
I shook my head and picked up the graphics card again.
Her personality hadn't changed one bit since the day we met.
We met in a game.
No faces, no real names—just polite chit-chat in the chat window.
But our cursing chemistry was perfect, so we decided to meet up IRL.
And out pops a first-year high school girl in uniform.
The kind so stunningly pretty that passersby did double-takes.
I was a second-year back then, freaked out, and awkwardly mumbled, "Uh... hi?"
Han Sea sized me up and down, then blurted,
"Hey, let's hit a PC bang. Fuck."
At the PC bang, she didn't even know how to order instant ramen.
Turns out she was a chaebol third-gen who had never peeled open a cup noodle lid in her life.
Why she'd come out like that—who knows, some "commoner experience" bullshit? Whatever.
There was distance at first, but once we grabbed the mouse and started trash-talking, we were soulmates again.
I'd always dreamed of going pro gamer.
Ended up compromising with reality, grinding studies to squeak into a top university.
Sea joined the same school a year later as my underclassman.
"All plugged in."
Flashback over.
I pressed the power button with trembling hands.
'Man, my heart's racing.'
A new world was about to open. Show me the power of the 6090 Ti.
Vrrr—
The fans spun up strong... then plop. Dead as a doornail.
Monitor pitch black.
"...Ha, figures it wouldn't work."
Tried the button again. Nothing.
Deep down I knew my PSU couldn't handle it—wishful thinking made me the idiot.
Giggling erupted from the bed.
"That needs a 1600W recommended PSU. Yours is what, 600W tops? It'd blow the second it powered on."
"Hey! Why the hell tell me now! Then this is just a brick!"
"Noona didn't know? That's why I came prepared."
"Top-tier titanium-rated 1600W PSU—hasn't even hit shelves yet. Z990 Prototype Motherboard. Even an engineering sample i9-16900K... All in my car trunk."
Whoa, scary.
She rattles off hardware specs like breathing.
Moments like this, she's the spitting image of an IT conglomerate princess.
"But fuck, why tell me now?"
"'Cause it's fun?"
"..."
"Want 'em?"
She caught my eyes wavering and curled her lips into a smirk.
"Then bark."
"What?"
"Bark loud. 'Woof.'"
My eyebrow twitched. Tempting as it was, some lines can't be crossed.
"You think I'm a dog? Don't push it."
Sea fished the car keys from her pocket and spun them on her finger.
"Overcooling case too? Oh, and a three-row liquid cooler radiator. Dead silent."
"..."
"Not barking? Owner's offering gifts?"
I clenched my fist tight.
Pride or full options?
But human dignity...
Wait, dogs are man's best friend, right? What's wrong with friends barking?
'You lunatic, shut up with the nonsense.'
Huh? It was already dog-talk in my head anyway.
Doesn't that mean I'm basically barking already?
As reason crumbled in the chaos,
unbidden, a sound slipped from my lips against my will.
"...Woof!"
Sea's eyes curved into crescents.
She sauntered over and cupped my cheeks with both hands.
"Aww, good puppyyy. Our Dojin's such a good boy, yes he is~"
She squished my cheeks mercilessly.
The warmth from her palms seeped into my face, straight to my brain.
"Wha. Stohhp."
Should've been pissed, but her touch was weirdly gentle.
I could've pulled away easily, but somehow... couldn't.
Up close, a faint citrus scent from her wrist tickled my nose.
Smooth, smooth.
Her hands slid upward slowly.
Slender fingers combed my messy bangs,
then delved into my scalp.
A languid sensation washed over me; my shoulders slumped without thinking.
Just as I started feeling good...
"Good boy Dojin. Wanna open wide?"
I parted my lips unwittingly.
Cold metal touched my lower lip.
Sea shoved the key fob into my mouth and whispered,
"There, hold it."
"Mmph?!"
"Go fetch from the trunk. Good puppy."
Two hours later.
My cramped studio was a warzone of computer parts boxes.
Dripping sweat from assembling the supercomputer Sea gave me, I collapsed into the chair.
Cable management perfect. The case glowed with ethereal lights.
Glanced at the clock—nearly midnight.
"Hey."
I called out to Sea, on the verge of passing out on my bed.
"Game or whatever, go home already."
She barely cracked her eyes open and wriggled.
"Mmm... Gonna crash here."
"Crash what? Go home."
"It's our first day 'dating'?"
"Kidding again. Dating my ass—it's fake."
"Ah, right. Yeah."
Sea chuckled and sat up.
I watched her smooth out her wrinkled clothes from behind as I grabbed my jacket.
"Fine, I'm going."
"I'll walk you."
"......?"
Her hand froze on the front door; she shot me a puzzled look.
"No telling who's watching. Gotta go to the parking lot together."
"...Thorough, huh."
Sea gave a curt reply and led the way.
The predawn air was chilly.
We walked to the quiet neighborhood lot in total silence.
The trash-talking energy from earlier? Vanished.
We reached the silver Porsche.
Sea paused before opening the driver's door.
Head bowed, she mumbled softly,
"Hey."
"What."
"Me too... it was my first."
I furrowed my brow at the out-of-nowhere comment.
"What."
"Kiss."
This girl.
Laughing her guts out earlier.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked away.
Streetlight glow lit her earlobe bright red.
"...I know."
"......"
Sea said nothing more.
Slam.
The harsh door shut, shattering the silence.
Sharp engine roar as the Porsche peeled out of the lot.
The door lock beep echoed through the spacious foyer.
Gangnam high-rise apartment overlooking Seoul's nightscape.
Crossed the cold marble floor to the bedroom.
I flopped face-first onto the bed.
The fluffy goose-down duvet enveloped me, but my heartbeat wouldn't settle.
"Ha... you're insane, Han Sea."
I muttered blankly at the ceiling.
My fingertips tingled.
"Really went and did it. Thought my heart was gonna explode..."
We kissed.
In the classroom, no less. And I initiated.
In front of Dojin, I growled like I wanted to devour him,
but truth be told, my legs were shaking so bad I nearly couldn't walk straight.
I buried my face in the pillow and kicked my feet wildly.
Dojin's lips were still vivid on mine.
Soft, hot... and that stiffened, panicked reaction.
I snatched my phone from beside the pillow.
Opened the secret album, and pics of Dojin I'd sneakily collected came flooding out.
Candid from MT, sleeping in the library,
side profile with his mouth agape focused on gaming.
I giggled at his dopey face in the shots.
"What an idiot. You really buy that shit?"
Engagement?
As if.
Arranged marriage set by the families? Clean-freak chaebol third-gen?
All bullshit I made up.
Dummy thinks it's some drama plot.
Toss him a 6090 Ti graphics card and he swallows the whole tale hook, line, and sinker.
So dumb it's adorable.
"...Sigh."
Standing before the mirror to change.
Cute puppy-patterned pajamas.
Out in public, draped in luxury brands—but this is comfiest at home.
I stared hard at my reflection.
A memory surfaced.
Stumbled on the game Battle Ark by chance.
High school first year.
Family drama at peak, depression piling on.
The only time I could laugh? Gaming with that guy.
Months of guy-pretense cackling in chat.
When offline meetup came up, I agonized hard.
Curious, sure. But if he knew I was a girl... disappointment?
Rifled through my closet, ended up in uniform.
Afraid I'd be the one bummed if he ignored my effort to doll up.
Spotted Dojin from afar at the meet spot.
Our eyes met—those pure, innocent pupils—and my heart went haywire.
Like my childhood pup.
First time crushing on a stranger hit sudden and embarrassing.
Words blurted out first:
"Hey, PC bang. Fuck."
Same as our game trash-talk.
That dumbfounded look.
That's when it started.
Poking his flustered reactions was fun, kept going,
and now we're beyond the point of no return.
"Still, he's too much."
I tugged my PJ top taut in the full-length mirror,
traced the silhouette.
Petite face, upturned cat eyes.
Full bust, cinched waist, flared hips.
Not a single flaw.
And he expects me to hold back?
"Acts like he isn't looking, but sneaks peeks at everything."
Back in the car, in the studio too.
Stealing glances at my thighs, my chest.
Panics and whips his eyes away like he'd die if caught—so cute, and he has no clue.
I winked at my mirror self and smirked.
"Whatever's on your mind, it's obvious."
But anyway,
you're in the palm of my hand.
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