No Need to Panic About Getting Trapped in a Cabinet
There was no need to panic about getting trapped in a cabinet inside an erotic game. If this was that kind of game, developments like this were among the most common clichés.
The important thing wasn't whether I'd stared at Lee Harin after she'd stripped off her sweat-soaked top, revealing her cute underwear and smooth skin. No, the first order of business was figuring out who had made the mistake.
That's why, after a brief silence, I stopped Lee Harin just as she was about to let out a belated scream.
"Kyaa...?"
"Stop!"
For now... fact check!
With that thought, I poked my head out just far enough to check the sign on the changing room.
Thump. Thump. Jjak-jjara-jjak-jjak.
It felt like I could hear the familiar background music from a gambling show, and cold sweat broke out over nothing at all.
So, jackpot or bust?
With that thought in mind, I looked up at the letters!
MALE CHANGING ROOM
Surprisingly, I had seen correctly.
I let out a sigh of relief and spoke to Lee Harin.
"You don't have to worry anymore. This is definitely the male changing room."
"What the hell do you mean, don't worry!"
Lee Harin's face flushed bright red as she frantically began pulling her clothes back on.
Whether it was because her clothes were soaked in sweat or because her flustered hands kept slipping, she clutched at the poor garments, grunting and struggling in a desperate battle.
I stole a quick glance at the sight, only to flinch at the presence approaching from behind us.
Murmur, murmur. Whisper, whisper.
An unidentified group was heading straight for the male changing room.
...A strange sense of unease settled over me.
In a normal situation, I would have gone out first and asked them to wait because a female student who had mistaken the changing room was inside. But this oddly familiar scenario stopped me from making that choice.
Where had I seen this before? I was certain I'd experienced this situation in advance...
Separate from my worries, the footsteps drew steadily closer to the male changing room.
And then the voices reached us.
"Hey, that first-year who just joined the soccer club..."
"The one who played midfielder this time?"
"No. Why would I care about a guy?"
"Ah. That female manager?"
The moment I heard that conversation, I finally understood why the situation felt so familiar.
Instead of opening the door and stepping out, I rushed over to Lee Harin and grabbed her wrist.
"Uh... uh?!"
Lee Harin stared at me with a panicked expression, but there was no time to waste.
In just a little while, the soccer club group outside would undoubtedly swarm this changing room!
"...There are other people outside right now."
I whispered quietly to Lee Harin. Her face turned deathly pale the instant she heard me.
"......!!"
With even her faint resistance gone, she obediently followed as I led her along.
Tracing the faint memories in my head, I began searching for a large steel cabinet big enough for two people.
It was definitely... definitely around here in the game.
Just like in that dark alleyway, finding an object that matched the dot-style graphics I'd only seen on a monitor was far more difficult in reality than expected.
So.
Thud, thud, thud.
The footsteps were getting dangerously close to the changing room, yet I still hadn't located the large steel cabinet.
What now?
Maybe it was the urgency of the situation, but my vision felt like it was narrowing.
If Lee Harin beside me hadn't luckily spotted the large steel cabinet in that corner, we would have cheerfully walked right into a bad ending together.
"Th... there!"
Right before the changing room door opened, Lee Harin pointed to a sizable cabinet tucked in the corner.
Realizing it was the one I'd been searching for, I hurriedly yanked the door open.
Rattle.
At the exact same moment, the changing room door creaked open.
"Uh...?"
My heart hammered wildly at the fear we might have been spotted, but—
"Wasn't there someone who came in first?"
"Stop talking nonsense and just change your clothes. I already feel disgusting enough as it is."
Fortunately, their conversation matched exactly what I'd heard in the game when hiding in the cabinet within the time limit.
"Whew..."
I let out a ragged breath and sprawled inside the cabinet, doing my best to stay out of sight.
"......"
And naturally, Lee Harin ended up on top of me.
There simply hadn't been time to consider a comfortable position in the rush.
The result was us pressed uncomfortably close, sharing body heat.
"J-just a little..."
Lee Harin seemed to be trying to shift her body, searching for a less embarrassing posture in the tight space, but—
Squeeze.
"...Stay still."
I gripped her waist.
Lee Harin flinched and glared at me, but this time I wasn't joking around.
"...Please."
I spoke with a serious expression.
If my memory served me right, this was...
What Happened to the Girl Who Mistook the Changing Room - Never Get Caught!
As the title suggested, it was the unfortunate event that occurred the moment a female student who had entered the wrong changing room for some reason failed to hide in time and was discovered by the incoming soccer club members.
Knowing that bad ending, I wanted to avoid such an outcome at all costs.
Besides.
"It's a serious problem lately... Every new manager who joins looks ugly as hell."
"...Here we go again."
I hated getting involved with guys who held such vulgar conversations.
"Sigh, fuck. I miss Mijin."
"You crazy bastard. Mijin only left because you blackmailed her with that weird video you filmed."
"What are you talking about? We were in love~."
"If that's love, why do criminals even exist in this world?"
Even though we hadn't done anything that could be held against us, these were the kind of people who would harass Lee Harin simply for the crime of emerging from the male changing room.
"...Did you hear that?"
It seemed Lee Harin had also caught the obscene conversation outside the cabinet and realized exactly what kind of humans they were.
Nod.
She gave a tiny, silent nod, then pressed herself firmly against my body to ensure not even the smallest sound could escape.
"...That's why!"
"...This is seriously fucked up."
How much time would need to pass before they finally left the changing room?
Unlike the game where the timer was clearly set, I had no status window or similar ability, so I had no way of knowing how much time remained.
That's why we stayed pressed tightly together—our bodies already hot from exercise—waiting endlessly in the sealed space.
And during that time, I suffered beneath her from the uncomfortable press of various sports equipment against my backside.
Because of it, I had no choice but to periodically lift my hips slightly.
Lift. Lift.
Each time, Lee Harin—who had quietly buried her head against my chest—would lift her eyes and glare down at me.
But there was nothing I could do about it.
"...Sorry. It really hurts."
When I put it that way, Lee Harin couldn't argue further.
She simply kept her head buried against my chest.
"...Can you lift your waist a little?"
In time with when I raised my hips, Lee Harin would slightly lift her own waist, allowing me some relief from the discomfort.
Lift. Lift.
The cabinet trapped even the air, leaving it filled only with hot breaths.
Inside were a man and woman, sweating and periodically shifting their bodies up and down.
Ding-dong-deng-dong~!
The bell signaling the start of the next class rang out.
"Hey, hurry up!"
"Ha, they said they'd really kill me if I'm late again..."
The strangely diligent delinquents rushed out of the changing room in a panic, afraid of being late.
Their footsteps gradually faded into the distance and soon disappeared completely.
"...Shall we head out now?"
I carefully grabbed the cabinet handle, preparing to open the door.
But at that moment—
Grab.
This time it was Lee Harin who seized my wrist.
Startled by the action, I looked up at her.
With her hair cascading down and obscuring her expression, Lee Harin quietly asked me.
"...Hey, Lee Hajun."
I thought she was angry.
No matter how urgent the situation had been, I'd been pressed against Lee Harin—who hated physical contact more than anything—for quite a while.
I expected at least a little grumbling.
So I immediately prepared an excuse: it couldn't be helped, and getting caught would have led to something far worse.
But the words that followed were completely different from what I'd anticipated.
"...Wish."
Lee Harin spat out the single short word and stared directly at me.
When I made a blank face, not understanding, she spoke again, sounding frustrated.
"I'm telling you to state your wish... since the loser has to grant it."
The wish I'd originally thought of wasn't anything grand.
Asking for too much over a best-of-three table tennis match could ruin our relationship—I'd believed that much was obvious.
But I couldn't read what the Lee Harin before me right now actually wanted.
Why bring up the wish now, of all times, while we were alone together inside this steel cabinet?
In a space where absolutely no one could interrupt us.
"Well..."
I was going to say it confidently.
Just that we should join a club together.
Ayoung might feel lonely going alone, and joining separate clubs would make the timing for walking home together awkward.
That's what I was going to say, but...
Facing Lee Harin as she looked at me with a flushed face and slightly unfocused eyes, I couldn't bring myself to voice such a modest wish.
The moment those words left my lips, it felt like an immeasurably tall, endless wall would rise between us.
That's why I hesitated... and slowly opened my mouth.