Awkward Atmosphere in the Erotic Game
I realized I'd made a mistake.
No matter how many worries had raced through my head, there were still things you simply shouldn't say out loud.
Thinking there had to be a better solution, I tried belatedly to take the words back.
But Lee Ha-rin, who had been staring at me blankly in momentary panic, just mumbled for a bit before answering.
"Ah… no."
At first I thought she was refusing, and I was about to hurriedly spit out an excuse.
Then—
Nod—
Seeing Lee Ha-rin, her face flushed red, give a small nod, I couldn't help but be flustered myself.
Wait… she's seriously coming over to my place?
Haha. Mountains are mountains.
Waters are waters.
There was no need for strange thoughts.
The reason Lee Ha-rin had come to our house today was simply this: to put it accurately, because of the mysterious uninvited guest who had shown up last night, she felt anxious and just wanted to spend one night somewhere safe.
So… if I had to make a rough analogy, it was like this.
When all sorts of disasters and calamities strike, don't people leave houses at risk of collapse and sleep at a nearby shelter, or a hotel or motel prepared in the area?
What I had proposed to Lee Ha-rin wasn't all that different, I thought.
"…It's just because it's dangerous."
Lee Ha-rin agreed from beside me.
"R-right! And… Sara's not answering her phone."
"…And A-yeong's not picking up either."
We put on a performance of forced nonchalance like a perfect duo, spitting out every excuse we could think of. But deep down, both of us knew to some degree.
This was a full-blown disaster.
"…It can't be helped."
"…Yeah."
Even as we said that, the wary looks we kept exchanging were palpable enough to feel on the skin. So I hurriedly stood up from the sofa to break the tense atmosphere, thinking I would at least pour a cool glass of barley tea for my guest.
But the moment I sprang up from my seat—
Lee Ha-rin flinched in surprise, and I couldn't help but snicker.
"Hey, why are you so tense?"
Then Lee Ha-rin smiled back and said,
"Then why are you walking so stiffly?"
Hearing that, I realized my gait was off somehow. Like when my right leg stepped forward, my right arm went with it. When my left leg went, so did my left arm?
Flustered, I hurriedly corrected my walk and changed the subject.
"…Want some barley tea?"
Fortunately, Lee Ha-rin just laughed shortly and didn't point out the gait any further.
"Pfft… Sure."
I poured the barley tea from the fridge into two glass cups and set them on the table. Rather than just sitting and waiting, Lee Ha-rin walked over first, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"Thanks for the tea."
It felt a little better than before. When we had been sitting side by side on the sofa, I thought I would die of awkwardness. But sitting across like this…
No, this felt weird in its own way.
I had never noticed it at the familiar academy. But Lee Ha-rin, wearing nothing but her basic uniform of white shirt and black skirt, somehow looked insanely pretty. I had thought the same when I first saw her. But I had gotten so used to that outfit that I figured I had adapted by now. Yet with the place changed—and that place being my house—the feeling hit differently.
Her usual flowing hair, her cute cat-like looks, and finally the pure white line of her neck left exposed by her hair tied up…
I stared blankly for a moment before her voice snapped me out of it.
"What? Did I spill something?"
"…Just watching you drink so well."
Lee Ha-rin shook her head as if that was lame.
"Then pour me another glass."
I made a straight face at that.
"Pour it yourself."
"…Stingy."
Saying that, Lee Ha-rin drank a little more of the barley tea on the table. I watched her, then slowly opened my mouth.
"About that uninvited guest for now."
Lee Ha-rin trembled slightly at the words.
"It could really just be a delivery guy who made a mistake, but better to be sure, right?"
"…Yeah."
"So I'm planning to borrow a camera tomorrow."
I thought of the counseling club that was surprisingly the most helpful in situations like this, and made a plan to borrow a camera.
"Then install it in front of the house and just watch for a few days."
If it had really been a delivery guy who mixed up the address, he wouldn't show up again. If there was some other intent, he would eventually start loitering in front of the house again. Either way, it seemed like an excellent solution.
"…What do you think?"
I roughly explained the plan and asked for her opinion. Lee Ha-rin thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Good. Sounds like a decent method."
Fortunately she seemed to have recovered her spirits and was showing some motivation in that direction.
"So it's settled then?"
I said that to her and pinned down the concrete tasks for tomorrow. After talking for a long while and deciding everything, I leaned back and closed my eyes briefly from the fatigue.
"…Whew."
Then Lee Ha-rin asked me in a worried tone.
"Why are you so tired lately… Did you not sleep?"
I could only smile at that. I had been getting a bit less sleep recently. But I couldn't tell her the reason, so I had to brush it off with an awkward smile.
"Just stayed up gaming."
"Ugh… You're all grown up, what's with the games."
Lee Ha-rin looked at me with slightly pitying eyes, then stood from the chair. She walked slowly toward the fridge and asked,
"…Can I open the fridge?"
I nodded readily.
"Go ahead."
Click—
As soon as the words left my mouth, Lee Ha-rin opened the fridge door and looked around for something. I couldn't fight the heavy eyelids and closed my eyes for a moment.
"…Cleaner than I expected."
What was she doing?
Rattle-thud-tap
With my vision limited and only the sounds to go by, I couldn't quite imagine what Lee Ha-rin was trying to do. So I had no choice but to blink my eyes open again.
"…What are you doing."
At my voice, Lee Ha-rin startled like a thief cat caught stealing fish with an "eek—". When I slowly turned around… she was holding a knife?
"Hey, hey!"
Startled, I stopped her at once. Lee Ha-rin, faced with my overreaction, looked puzzled for a moment, then looked down at the knife in her hand and was just as surprised as me.
"No, it's not that…"
Then she gently set the knife down on the sink.
"We haven't had dinner yet…"
Bashfully fidgeting her fingers, she said,
"So I was just gonna try making something! Why?!"
I responded calmly.
"…Are you good at cooking?"
"……"
No answer. I immediately took out my phone to open the delivery app—
"…Hey."
Seeing Lee Ha-rin pick up the knife again, I quietly put my hand down.
…A-yeong, I miss you.
Surprisingly, Lee Ha-rin wasn't bad at cooking.
"…It's good."
This absolutely was not because I was scared of the Lee Ha-rin who had been holding a knife earlier. Um… yeah. It just tasted good.
"…That's a relief."
Saying that, Lee Ha-rin brought over a plate of egg fried rice, sat across from me, and started eating slowly.
"Mm… Yeah. It's good."
An extremely ambiguous reaction. Watching her while quietly eating, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Hey, don't laugh… Heheh."
Seemed she found the taste of her own egg fried rice funny too. Lee Ha-rin had her head down, shoulders shaking.
…No, if you're going to laugh yourself, why threaten me with a knife in the first place.
Well, it wasn't inedible, so I forced down the rest of the egg fried rice. And I acquired a new fact: that egg fried rice could have such a strong sweet taste.
"Thanks for the meal."
"Thanks for the meal."
After that peculiar dinner ended, we simply cleaned the table and then went back to sit on the sofa.
"Actually those two are giants…"
"Hey, no spoilers!"
Bickering like that while watching TV together, time flew by before we knew it.
"……"
"……"
The clock on the wall pointed to 11 PM. To go to the academy tomorrow, we both instinctively felt it was time to wash up and get ready for bed. So while carefully gauging each other's reactions, I spoke first.
"…Want to wash first?"
Lee Ha-rin nodded with an awkward expression. I stood up with her, moved together to the bathroom with the shower, and slowly began explaining.
"The ones on the shelf here are, in order, shampoo, body wash, and foam cleanser."
Lee Ha-rin nodded as if she understood. With nothing more to explain, I slowly closed the door and tossed out a line.
"Hey, don't worry. I won't even go near the bathroom while you're washing."
Only then did her expression ease a bit.
"…If you really peek, you're dead."
I snickered at the cute threat and slowly returned to the sofa, turning up the TV volume.
This level of consideration was the right thing. And there was nothing much to worry about. It was just thinking abstractly of undressing and washing. In reality, with the door closed while she washed, the chance of anything happening was extremely low.
At least, that's what I thought.