Cool Night, Sleepless Thoughts
The late-night walk event from the adult game had the perfect vibe for it: A cool night, sleep won't come~ As my thoughts deepen, I called out~. I was humming a song that fit the mood when a familiar silhouette appeared in the distance, walking slowly toward me.
"Ha, Hajun!"
It was A-yeong, no question about it. I watched her for a moment before giving a light wave.
"Yeah, hey."
She approached the playground bench where I sat, one hand covering her face as she asked,
"...So, what's going on?"
I didn't answer right away.
"Well..."
Instead, I patted the spot beside me.
"Why don't you sit first?"
A-yeong sat down obediently. Most playgrounds are designed with little kids in mind, so the bench wasn't very wide. That meant she was close enough for our skin to brush, close enough for me to catch the faint scent of her shampoo.
"Did you just get out of the shower?"
When I asked, A-yeong nodded silently, looking embarrassed.
"...No wonder you smell so nice."
Her adorable reaction made me reach out and gently touch the ends of her hair. A-yeong gave a small shiver.
"U-uh..."
Does hair have nerves too? I observed her reaction and kept the questions coming.
"But why are you hiding your face?"
"W-well..."
A-yeong hesitated before mumbling,
"I'm... not wearing any makeup."
It was the last answer I expected. A-yeong usually wore such light makeup that it barely looked like she had any on, so I'd assumed she didn't care much about that sort of thing. But seeing her shy about her bare face right in front of me sparked a sudden wave of curiosity.
"Really...?"
I stared intently at the hand covering her face. Feeling my gaze, A-yeong whipped her head to the opposite side.
"A-yeong, what's wrong~"
I playfully grabbed her wrist, refusing to let it go. She resisted harder than usual, clearly determined not to show her bare face this time.
"I swear it's fine. I think you're cute even without makeup, A-yeong."
Little by little, I coaxed her until she finally gave in.
"N-no. I really look bad..."
Even though her body was turned away, with both hands caught in mine she had no choice but to face me.
"...D-don't look."
She kept shaking her head in tiny protests.
"A-yeong, I really want to see... Can't I?"
When I pleaded with genuine longing, A-yeong—who had always been weak to that kind of persistence—finally stopped trying to hide.
"Ah... I-it's really not okay."
I ignored the half-hearted complaint and gently tilted her chin up until our eyes met.
What I saw made me breathe out in pure awe.
"Wow..."
I already knew she was pretty, but this... this was on another level. It had to be her completely bare face with zero makeup, yet her skin was flawless, pale as porcelain, and those big, clear eyes—how could a face like this actually exist in real life?
"...Is it weird?"
A-yeong misinterpreted my reaction as something negative and looked anxious, but I told her the truth.
"No. You're genuinely beautiful."
"...You're lying."
She blushed as she said it. But I wasn't just being polite—this was real. Honestly, I hadn't been able to say it out loud before, but her usual light makeup actually seemed to hide how pretty she was. Her bare face suited her pure, fresh image so much better.
The thought kept running through my mind as I stared at the face that flooded me with dopamine just by looking at it. A-yeong, receiving my gaze head-on, finally realized I meant every word. A small, happy smile touched her lips.
"...Th-thank you."
No, I should be the one thanking you.
Suddenly it hit me—this adult game world was completely ridiculous. To take a girl with a face like hers and use the single concept of "misfortune" to turn the entire world against her, stripping away her self-esteem until she couldn't even refuse simple requests... Of course, that same setup was what let me end up dating someone like her.
The realization put me in a good mood, so I started calling her name over and over for no reason.
"A-yeong."
"Y-yes?"
"A-yeong!"
"...Yes?"
"A-yeong~"
"...W-why are you doing that?"
She looked slightly flustered at my pointless repetition of her name, but I found even that adorable. I slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
"...I mean it. You're really beautiful."
"...N-no."
Held so she couldn't escape, A-yeong's face flushed bright red, like it might burst any second. Finding the sight irresistibly cute, I gave her a quick kiss on the lips before letting her go.
"Alright, that's enough teasing..."
Leaving the dazed A-yeong behind, I stood up from the bench.
"Shall we walk and talk for a bit?"
I held out my hand. Still absentmindedly touching her lips, she took it. This was the real beginning of our night walk.
The weather felt perfect for a stroll. It was spring—not quite summer, not quite winter—with that pleasant in-between temperature. Neither cold nor hot, it created the ideal conditions for walking in light clothes.
"A-yeong."
We walked slowly down the path, hands linked, as I spoke to the girl beside me.
"So, what do you think?"
"...Huh?"
"About the promise we made at the beginning."
"Ah..."
I recalled the promise we'd made when we first started dating and continued.
"You were wondering if having a boyfriend might ease the bullying a little, so I suggested we give it a try."
"...Yeah."
Only then did the memory seem to surface for her. She nodded.
"...What was it actually like for you?"
I wanted to hear the answer from her own lips. It hadn't been that long, but I believed A-yeong's story had changed in many ways because of me. In the original story, she should have been bullied by that group of nameless girls in the auditorium, and from that moment her fate would have spiraled in the worst direction. My intervention had altered everything.
Through all of it, one question had naturally formed in my mind: if I kept changing the adult game's story step by step like this, could I actually rewrite the future I remembered? And more than anyone else's, I wanted A-yeong's words to confirm it.
"Hmm..."
It wasn't an easy question. She thought for a long time before finally speaking.
"...Hajun."
"...Yeah."
She stared at my face for a moment, then gave a small smile.
"When I think about it... a lot has changed."
I listened quietly as she continued.
"What happened in the auditorium, what happened in the classroom on our first day... And remember when that cat jumped out at us in the alley?"
I remembered every moment she described.
"It always seemed to be like that..."
Her hand in mine trembled slightly, as if the memories were painful.
"It feels like there were always so many unfortunate things happening to me..."
These were memories I couldn't truly relate to, so I stayed silent.
"Should I say it started back in elementary school? That's when all those unhappy things began..."
It was the same unhappy past she'd mentioned before. But she didn't dwell on it for long.
"...But after I met you, Hajun, something felt different, didn't it?"
The paleness that had crept into her face from the painful memories faded, returning to its natural color.
"Originally I should have been unhappy in the auditorium, in the classroom, in that alley..."
Her eyes, now open again, met mine.
"But being with you..."
I didn't look away from that gaze. Those dark eyes held some mysterious emotion.
"...I've started becoming a little happier, bit by bit."
I couldn't find any words.
"So..."
The conclusion she reached after that heavy confession was exactly what I'd wanted most to hear.
"Yes, it seems like it's gotten a lot better... That's my answer."
"Ahaha, sorry... I talked for too long, didn't I?"
After finishing her long story, A-yeong watched me carefully, worried she might have said something strange. Instead of answering with words, I simply pulled her into my arms.
"I've told you before..."
"...Yeah."
"You're not strange at all."
She buried her face in my chest. As I listened to the faint sound of her quiet sobs, one thought filled my mind: seducing A-yeong first had definitely been the right choice.