The Strange Currents Flowing Through the Erotic Game
They say that looking at cute animals brings people a sense of happiness and stability. I’d heard somewhere that it’s even been proven by neuroscience…
In reality, most people feel a sense of comfort when they touch fluffy fur, big round eyes, or soft skin.
Unfortunately, there were no dogs or cats—those so-called cute animals—around me. So instead, I was holding someone who met similar conditions.
Fluffy hair. Big eyes. And soft skin.
The person who checked every single box was Ayoung.
“…H-Hajun.”
Ayoung seemed startled by the sudden skinship. Her eyes widened as she looked up at me.
I met her gaze and softly called her name.
“Ayoung.”
She tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“…Yeah?”
That adorable reaction made me smile. I stroked her hair and continued.
“They say people get healed when they see or touch something cute during tough times.”
Ayoung seemed to have heard this before too.
“Oh, I’ve heard that too…”
With my other hand, I gently caressed her waist.
“…E-eep.”
Ayoung’s face flushed bright red in an instant.
“That’s why I’m looking at you and touching you right now.”
Only then did Ayoung seem to realize what I was really getting at.
“Ah…”
Embarrassed by the words, she lowered her head deeply, but she didn’t push my hand away.
It was a clear difference from Lee Harin.
Unlike Harin, who would freak out and frantically swat my hand away at the slightest touch, Ayoung obediently allowed everything. That was probably why my hands always grew bolder whenever I was alone with her.
I slowly slipped my fingers under the hem of her white shirt—
“Hey, don’t you think that’s enough?”
A sharp voice came from behind me. I turned my head.
“…Hi.”
I greeted her casually.
“H-Harin!”
Ayoung hurriedly straightened her clothes and called out to her friend.
“Yeah, hey Ayoung… and you, get off my seat.”
The completely opposite reactions nearly brought tears to my eyes, but—
“Sure, sure~.”
Since I really was sitting in someone else’s spot, I moved without complaint.
Harin sat down, hung her bag on the desk, and looked at Ayoung.
“Ayoung, no matter how much he’s your boyfriend, if he starts wiggling his fingers around like that in public, you’ve gotta just chop it right off!”
Harin, Harin… what the hell are you even saying…?
I felt a little hurt. After all, I had saved her last night and walked her all the way home, yet she was acting like this. I grumbled under my breath.
“…That’s cold. Even though I helped you yesterday and walked you home.”
Harin flinched at my words, then immediately shouted back.
“N-no! I am grateful, but…”
She kept glancing nervously at Ayoung sitting beside her.
“It’s just that, Ayoung…”
“…Yeah.”
Ayoung, who had no idea what had happened last night, could only offer an awkward smile as she tried to follow our conversation.
“It’s not like that! I’ll explain everything!”
Harin hurriedly cleared up the misunderstanding, giving Ayoung a quick summary of what had happened in the alley.
After hearing the full story, Ayoung’s expression returned to its usual gentle warmth.
“…So that’s what happened.”
She slowly reached out and took Harin’s hand.
“…You must have been really scared.”
At those comforting words, Harin cried out dramatically.
“Ayoungieeee!”
She threw herself into Ayoung’s arms with fake sobs.
“It’s okay now…”
Ayoung naturally embraced her, gently patting her back.
Unlike yesterday, Harin accepted the touch this time, closing her eyes tightly.
…Isn’t this discrimination against people a bit too much?
When I tried to pat her, she had practically run away in terror.
As I narrowed my eyes at the unfairness, Ayoung caught my gaze and smiled, mouthing silently:
Good work.
That small comfort made the tip of my nose sting for no reason.
After staying in Ayoung’s arms for a while, Harin seemed to have gotten enough healing—much like I had earlier. She returned to her seat with a bright expression and glared at me.
“Lee Hajun, you said it that way on purpose, didn’t you?”
I pretended not to know and turned my head away.
“What did I do?”
“You could’ve just said you helped because it was dangerous… Why did you have to emphasize walking me all the way home?”
“Well, because…”
I didn’t add the real reason—because it was fun. That would only make things even more entertaining in a completely different way.
Fortunately, Ayoung cut into our conversation at just the right moment.
“…Harin, so who did that to you?”
Harin thought for a moment before answering.
“I don’t really know either.”
She genuinely didn’t know the culprit. And even though I knew exactly who it was, there was no way to prove it, so I kept my mouth shut.
Since both of us who had been there could only say we didn’t know, the incident was doomed to remain a mystery.
“…You should be careful for a while, Harin.”
Ayoung expressed her worry, and Harin froze for a second before letting out her usual cat-like laugh.
“Nya-ha-ha, I’m fine! I’ll just go straight home as fast as possible from now on.”
What a carefree way of thinking.
Of course, from Harin’s perspective, she still didn’t know the full truth, so it made sense. But I couldn’t just sit back and watch comfortably, so I jumped into the conversation.
“Why don’t you just walk with us from now on?”
Ayoung immediately nodded as if it was a great idea.
“Yeah, I’d like that!”
But Harin, who was sitting beside her, seemed lost in thought, staring blankly into space.
I watched her for a moment before calling her name.
“Lee Harin, you’ll walk with us, right?”
She snapped back to reality and stammered.
“W-well… that’s a bit…”
Was she the type who felt awkward receiving help like this?
Thinking she might feel burdened, I added casually,
“Our houses are close anyway. After I walk Ayoung home, I can just walk you too.”
For some reason, Harin’s ears turned slightly red at those words.
“N-no…”
“Why? You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that…”
I had no idea what she was thinking, but watching her hem and haw like that made me feel frustrated too.
“Then let’s just go together. Are you feeling burdened or something?”
“That’s not it either…”
“Then just come with us. If it really bothers you, later we can…”
Hmm, what should I say?
While I was thinking, Harin suddenly got worked up and started blurting out random things.
“W-what! What about later?!”
Her sudden outburst made me tilt my head.
“I was just going to buy you some snacks from the school store? Were you that surprised because you thought I’d buy you something expensive?”
I glared at her with genuine contempt. Harin waved her hands wildly and shouted.
“No, that’s not it!”
Ayoung, who had been watching us from the side, let out a small laugh.
“…It’s nice to see you two getting along so well.”
It was a peaceful daily life that had been a long time coming.
This is all because of that girl Kang Sara…
Harin thought to herself as she fiddled with her reddened ears, trying to calm them down.
After hearing all that nonsense on the phone yesterday—bringing a boy home, getting a boyfriend, inviting him inside to repay the favor—she couldn’t stop the strange delusions from popping up.
Even completely innocent comments like:
‘Why don’t you just walk with us from now on?’
‘Our houses are close anyway. After I walk Ayoung home, I can just walk you too.’
‘Then just come with us. If it really bothers you, later we can…’
They made all sorts of weird fantasies bloom in her head. Like Lee Hajun walking her to her door and chatting lightly… then gradually growing closer, adding a bit of skinship to their conversations… and eventually, feeling so grateful for him walking her home every day that she invited him inside to repay the favor!
‘Kyaaaaaaaah!! Lee Harin, have you lost your mind?!’
Once the delusions started, they refused to die down. And since Harin had always been especially imaginative and sensitive about this kind of thing, it was even harder to stop.
Thankfully, no one could see what was going on inside her head.
“…Then from now on, the three of us can walk together.”
Harin felt strangely guilty toward Ayoung and nodded.
“Yeah, thanks.”
Then that annoying Lee Hajun chimed in from the side.
“You’re not going to thank me?”
Harin yelled at the top of her lungs.
“Not even a little bit!!”
Of course, deep down, she felt an enormous amount of gratitude.