A Light Resonance
"Ah, right. Today’s a school day, isn’t it."
The moment I heard Hayeon’s voice, my mind snapped back to reality.
I hurriedly checked the date and time.
Thursday evening.
I’d definitely entered the sewers after Wednesday’s classes, but when I came to, the entire day had vanished.
After wandering around the sewers for ages and crashing hard at the cop uncle’s place, Thursday had just evaporated.
“Eunha? You listening? Are you feeling really sick or something?”
Hayeon’s voice from the receiver was thick with worry.
I swallowed dryly and cleared my throat in a panic.
“Ah, yeah! Hayeon. Sorry, I… uh, I must’ve overdone it with training. I’ve got a bad cold, so I slept the whole day away… haha.”
It wasn’t a total lie. My condition was wrecked from the sewer ordeal, after all.
“I knew it. I was so worried when you didn’t show up for mana arts practice. You at home right now? Can I come over?”
“Huh? Now? No need, really…”
“Nonsense! Being sick alone is miserable. I know from experience… Anyway, I’ll be right there, so send me your address!”
Swept up by Hayeon’s firm tone, I ended up sending her my home address.
…Not that I had zero ulterior motives or anything.
The news of Hayeon coming over had me springing out of bed like a coiled spring.
My room was a total disaster zone. Eunha’s once-pristine space had turned into a pigsty in under a week under my management.
And my appearance? Even worse. The cop’s wife had cleaned me up, but it felt like she’d just splashed some water on—my hair was frizzy and dry.
I bolted to the bathroom and cranked on the shower.
“Skin, toner, cream? Why are there so many of these? What’s the difference between BB and CC?”
I usually just slapped on some lotion, but the bottles on the vanity were baffling no matter how I looked at them.
Never thought I’d have to deal with this stuff…
I googled skincare routines on my smartphone and barely managed to get myself fresh and powdered.
Makeup… nah, skip it. No clue how anyway.
By the time I’d scrubbed thoroughly and wrestled with the moisturizers, 30 minutes had flown by.
Hayeon would be here any second.
I rushed to tidy the room and threw on a comfy T-shirt and short shorts.
Not long after, the doorbell rang.
“Eunha, it’s me.”
I opened the door to find Hayeon standing there with a worried look, holding a heavy bag.
“Oh my god, your face is so pale! You must’ve been really sick…”
Hayeon pressed her hand to my forehead as she stepped inside. The cool touch made my shoulders twitch involuntarily.
I greeted her, wondering if I’d overdone the cream and looked ghostly.
“No, it’s nothing. I’m fine now!”
“Fine my foot… Training’s great, but you gotta take care of your body. Did you eat?”
“Yeah, of course I ate.”
“What’d you eat?”
…Couldn’t exactly say I had a home-cooked meal at the cop uncle’s.
I remembered the instant ramen stacked in the cupboard—solo dweller’s soul food.
“Just boiled some ramen.”
“What? Ramen when you’re sick?! Good thing I came. Mind if I use the kitchen real quick?”
Hayeon lightly scolded me, then started pulling ingredients from the bag.
Store-bought porridge base and fresh veggies in plastic packs.
A few deft moves from her, and a proper meal was underway.
Bubble bubble.
The aroma of boiling veggies filled the room with the pot’s simmer.
Hayeon whipped up some vegetable porridge like it was nothing and set it in front of me.
Something… tickled in my chest.
It felt like the loneliness of being sick alone in my past life was melting away under Hayeon’s kindness.
Even if I wasn’t actually sick now, which pricked at my conscience a bit.
“Thanks, Hayeon. For real.”
“If you’re grateful, eat up and rest. You have to come to school tomorrow. Instructor Park Dusik was looking for you.”
Cough—why bring up that guy?
Hearing Park Dusik’s name killed my appetite instantly.
Hayeon didn’t know his dark side, so she was just passing on the message, but even picturing his sleazy face made me nauseous.
After barely finishing the meal, Hayeon forced me into bed.
Then she cautiously perched on the edge beside me.
“Eunha. If you’re okay… wanna try resonance?”
“…Huh? Resonance?”
I yanked the blanket up in surprise.
My mind flashed to the sticky ‘resonance’ I’d seen at the entrance ceremony.
Hayeon waved her hands in a fluster at my reaction.
“N-no, not like that! Just holding hands. I learned in alchemy class—if your mana flow’s messed up, contact with someone you trust stabilizes it.”
…Was that a thing?
I stared at her like it was news to me, and she started rambling about mana wavelengths and recovery efficiency, spouting technical terms.
Then she clamped her mouth shut, cheeks flushing, and extended her hand.
“That’s all it is… here.”
Come to think of it, during mana arts practice, we’d held hands and shared mana.
I hadn’t thought of it as resonance, but… like she said, it had felt pretty stable.
I hesitantly took her slender hand.
Her soft fingers intertwined with my palm.
“Close your eyes and breathe easy.”
Following her soft voice, I slowly shut my eyes.
With my vision blocked, my other senses sharpened. A pleasant scent lingered at my nose.
At the same time, Hayeon’s mana flowed through my palm—a warm heat spreading through my veins to my whole body.
The mana I’d burned in the sewers refilled bit by bit…
And the sticky remnants of the slime in my nerves felt purified.
“How’s it? Feel a bit better?”
“Yeah… it’s weird. My body actually feels lighter.”
We shared mana like that, hands clasped, for a good while.
The quiet room echoed only with our steady breaths.
A pleasant languor spread through me.
As my consciousness blurred, Hayeon’s grip slackened.
“…Hayeon?”
She rubbed her eyes, head nodding in drowsiness.
Then she grabbed my hand again and slowly crawled onto the bed.
“…!”
Hayeon climbed in and burrowed under my blanket.
I just gaped silently as she claimed half the pillow.
Wh-what the hell is she doing?!
My heart pounded like it’d explode in panic, but Hayeon just lay there, breathing evenly.
…Is she asleep?
Guess she was tired from coming over late to nurse me.
“Yeah, sure. She climbed into bed to sleep. Obviously.”
I hypnotized myself and shook off the stray thoughts.
But her even breathing beside me kept my heart racing.
Clutching my thumping chest, I gazed at her sleeping face.
Long lashes, flushed cheeks.
At first, just an original character—but now, a friend.
Not letting go of her hand, I lay down beside her and closed my eyes.
Sleep didn’t come easy.
Probably from oversleeping at the cop’s.
Definitely not because of Hayeon next to me.
…For real.
Due to Lily Tolerance influence, the boundary between friendship and affection blurs.
Target begins to feel slightly more aware of Baek Hayeon.
Early morning.
Should I sleep more, or get up…?
As I pondered that, a voice cut in.
“You awake?”
I jolted upright at the sound.
Hayeon was already dressed neatly in her uniform, looking down at me.
Oh, right. We slept together last night…
She’d come to nurse me and ended up crashing.
…But wearing her uniform?
Did she pack it intending to stay over from the start?
“Hurry and get ready. You’re going to school today, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Gotta go.”
Like a mom, Hayeon shoved my half-asleep self toward the bathroom.
I fumbled around but followed her lead and prepped for school.
“Body feeling okay? Then let’s go!”
For some reason, Hayeon seemed in high spirits as we headed to Seongwon Academy together.
The only downside: different majors meant separate morning classes.
Whispers followed me as I arrived at school.
From what I caught, they were trash-talking my absence yesterday.
“She was holed up in the library or something, right?” “No way! Skipped for all-nighters studying…? Unreal…”
…The gossip was something else.
It hit me again—this was an ero-game world.
Hayeon, the cop and his wife were normal, but this place was hopeless.
No urge to snap back, so I breezed past and focused on class.
Mid-lesson, someone opened the classroom door.
“…Instructor Park Dusik? We’re in the middle of class—what’s up?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, sensing the inevitable.
It was Park Dusik.