Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Peaceful Boarding Life
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Summer is a season plagued by all sorts of weather flaws.
The humidity is unbearable, and the heat is downright horrific. It's exactly the kind of sweltering, steam-cooker weather that phrase fits perfectly.
In the midst of it all, Seol was lying limp on the sofa, completely drained.
"Seol-ah."
"Uuuung...."
"Seol-ya~"
"Uuuuung...."
"Hyeon Seol~"
"Uuuuuung...."
Seol was taking a nap in this scorching heat, dressed lightly and hugging Teddy Bear tight.
She looked utterly adorable and cute, but at the same time, way too defenseless.
With a guy around and all, what was I supposed to do?
I considered waking her up and taking her to her room, but decided to just leave her be.
It did bother me, though.
Right now, Seol was wearing a plain white T-shirt with nothing printed on it and short silk shorts.
Even for me, that outfit was impossible to ignore.
Because of it, I averted my eyes and headed over to Auntie.
Auntie was in her room, doing something.
Watching quietly, it seemed like she was tackling something pretty tricky.
Maybe she sensed me, because she turned around.
"Haneul, what's up?"
"Ah... no, just had something to ask."
"What do you want to know?"
I got straight to the point with Auntie, who tilted her head slightly toward me.
"Can I help with anything?"
"Help?"
"Yeah."
"...Haneul, you've only been here two days, and you're already offering to pitch in like this. Auntie feels burdened~"
She put it politely, but the meaning was clear.
'Just sit tight.'
She was right, really.
It'd be a disaster if she asked me to do something and I ended up hurt.
With no choice, I nodded, bowed slightly, and headed back to the living room.
-Snore... snore...
Back in the living room, Seol was sleeping soundly, snoring softly.
I'd never thought snoring was cute before, but how was Seol's snoring this adorable?
Since it had come to this, I figured I'd use her snoring as ASMR and get some studying done. I had way too much free time otherwise.
I went to my room, grabbed my workbook, notebook, pen, and mechanical pencil, then came back out to the living room.
I set my books on the folding table in the corner and sat down to study.
Scribble, scribble.
Snore, snore.
The sound of my mechanical pencil scratching away blended perfectly with Seol's soft snores, creating the ultimate ASMR.
A perfect one, ideal for focusing on studies.
Lost in that background noise, I finished studying and realized I'd completed my daily quota.
It was 3 p.m.—I'd only studied for about an hour.
"Ughhhhhh....!"
As I stretched and looked up,
my eyes met Seol's, who was staring right at me.
A slightly awkward moment. I barely managed to say something.
"...Sleep well?"
"Yeah... What were you doing, Haneul?"
"Me? Studying."
"While I was sleeping...?"
"...Sorry."
Feeling a bit guilty, I apologized, and Seol shook her head slightly. It meant no need to be sorry.
"...Done studying?"
"All done."
"Then... ughhhhh....!"
Seol started stretching. Funny enough, Teddy Bear stayed obediently by her side the whole time. I was grateful she cherished that bear so much.
"I wanna study toooo...."
I wanted to nod and say I'd help her study.
But there was a problem.
Not a huge one—just something minor, but incredibly distracting.
Her thin clothes had shifted during her stretch, exposing a bit of her shoulder. And through that gap,
I could see the strap of her underwear.
What should I say? How should I tell her?
After thinking it over, I made a simple, reasonable decision.
I stood up and went right over to Seol.
"...Haneul?"
The moment she called me tensely, I acted fast.
I reached for her upper body, fixed her clothes back into place.
The bit of her bra strap poking out on her shoulder vanished inside in an instant. Satisfied, I stood back up.
Then I grabbed my workbook, notebook, and pens, headed briefly to my room, and came back out.
When I returned to the living room, Seol was...
"Ughhhhhhh...."
...burying her face in the teddy bear, squirming in embarrassment.
I knew she had these clumsy moments compared to her usual maturity, but even accounting for that, this was endearingly ditzy.
A bit stimulating, sure, but still cute enough to get a pass.
*
Maybe thanks to that little commotion, the now fully awake Seol pulled out a book.
But it wasn't her study book—it was a novel.
"Gonna read?"
Perhaps still embarrassed, Seol just nodded faintly.
Her actions were so cute it made me want to burst out laughing.
I sat next to her and stared openly.
Seol really was cute. Like the very embodiment of cuteness.
Smaller than her peers, with round eyes, a perky nose, small cherry lips, and neat bobbed hair. Everything combined into perfect adorableness.
And her personality? Super gentle, calm, kind—and cute on top of that.
Even her occasional clumsiness was charming.
Watching this cuteness never gets old, no matter how much time passes.
Like gazing at a slightly cute pet, maybe?
As I kept observing her, Seol must've felt my gaze because she suddenly turned to me.
"...Haneul, what're you doing?"
"...Admiring Hyeon Seol?"
"Why?"
"'Cause it's fun."
I'm not bold enough to straight-up call a girl cute to her face.
It's an objective fact that Seol is cute, but saying it to her face is a whole different story.
So I went with "fun," and Seol, apparently unhappy with that, shot me a little glare.
At a loss for words, I tried changing the subject.
"Want me to get you some water?"
"No, soda."
"You'll gain weight? Hmm... nah, you could use some."
Seol was super skinny. She'd put on a little since starting to eat properly, but still too thin.
Before, she was underweight; now, barely normal, hovering near underweight?
"...You like me chubby, Haneul?"
Chubby? If I had to pick, I prefer healthy and normal over chubby.
"Not a fan of chubby, but too skinny's no good either."
"...Weird. Guys all like skinny girls."
Nah, it's all personal taste.
Preferences vary wildly.
Sure, more guys probably prefer skinny over chubby. Me included.
But Seol was skinner than that. I could probably scoop her up right now, no problem.
I got her a glass of soda with ice and brought it over.
Seol stared at it for a second, then chugged it down.
Even that was insanely cute. Holding the cup with both hands? Adorable.
I didn't want to miss this chance to bask in cute Seol, but then Auntie called us.
"Seol-ah~ Haneul~ Come here a sec?"
"Yes, Mom...!"
Seol set her soda on the living room table and ran over to Auntie.
I followed behind her.
Auntie immediately asked our opinion.
"Seol-ah, Haneul. Want chicken for dinner tonight?"
"Chicken...! Yes please!"
"Me too."
"Great, pick what you want. I'll order right away."
"Okaay...!"
"Got it."
"Oh, and you two~"
Auntie called us again and got to the point.
"You got plans tomorrow?"
"Plans?"
We glanced at each other, then shook our heads.
Auntie smiled faintly and handed us something.
Two movie tickets.
"How about you two catch a movie tomorrow? Auntie'll cover all the other costs too."
I was about to decline—movie was fine, but extras felt like too much.
But Seol didn't.
Her eyes sparkled as she nodded eagerly.
Couldn't say no to that. If Seol wanted it.