Night Watch in the Erotic Game (1)
I decided to look on the bright side.
Of course, the camera not having a recording function was an unexpected variable, but still.
"...What should we do?"
As the three of us fretted over it,
"...W-well, then how about we all sleep over at Ha-rin's place tonight?"
A-yeong carefully floated the suggestion.
"That sounds perfect!"
Lee Ha-rin, who had been spending a lot of time alone at home lately, accepted it at once with a bright nyahahang of laughter.
"Since it's come to this, let's make it a real pajama party! We can buy something tasty and eat while we hang out!"
She even piled on, steering the conversation clean away from our original purpose. I was about to cut the topic short at a reasonable point when—
"...Yeah."
I saw A-yeong smiling shyly like that and the words died in my throat.
"...I've never done a pajama party like this before."
"......"
"......"
The room fell solemn for a moment.
"...A pajama party sounds good."
Remembering A-yeong's past, I switched gears at once and threw my full support behind the idea.
"Th-that's right! A-yeong, I'll show you exactly what a real pajama party is!"
Ha-rin burned with determination and declared she would teach us the true meaning of a pajama party.
...What even was a "true" pajama party, though?
The question flickered through my mind, but I forced the curiosity down and lifted the camera in my hands.
"All right, one last check."
I raised the lens and aimed it first at A-yeong.
"...A-ah?"
Startled by the camera's gaze, she covered her face with one hand. I smiled and gave her instructions.
"A-yeong, say your name, age, and affiliation."
She looked at me, still flustered, but I repeated it.
"A-yeong. Name, age, and affiliation, please."
"...Okay."
She still wore a face that said she had no idea what I was after, yet because I had asked, she began speaking quietly.
"...M-my name is Jo A-yeong. I'm twenty. Currently enrolled at Future Talent Academy."
"Good."
The camera was an old model, so no sound came from the connected laptop, but I was satisfied simply recreating the composition I had only ever imagined before. I swung the camera to the right.
"Your turn, Lee Ha-rin."
Ha-rin, who had been staring blankly at us from the side, flinched and asked,
"What are you even doing...?"
I answered shortly.
"Just checking the camera. Cooperate."
"No... do you really need to film me too?"
She muttered under her breath, but since she wasn't exactly an expert on cameras, she obediently did as she was told.
"Could you sit on the sofa first?"
"...Okay."
Looking a little embarrassed, Ha-rin sat demurely on the sofa. Pleased with the framing, I asked the same questions.
"Lee Ha-rin. Name, age, and affiliation, please?"
She hesitated a beat, then answered slowly.
"My name is Lee Ha-rin... twenty years old, attending Future Talent Academy."
"Cut! Okay!"
I gestured and turned to A-yeong.
"How is it? Coming through clearly?"
A-yeong, watching the laptop, gave a small nod.
"...Yeah."
That finished every check. The camera was working properly, and the feed was displaying cleanly on the laptop screen.
All that remained was to step out into the hallway, put the camera inside a box, and tuck it into an inconspicuous corner.
"Before that, one last thing..."
Just one more. Staring at every single moment with my own eyes would be exhausting.
"...Ha-rin, could you appear on camera one more time for a second?"
I had already installed a motion-detection program on the laptop, so I called her back. When Ha-rin, eyes narrowed, stepped into frame—
Beep-beep!
A warning chime rang from the laptop.
"...Wh-what was that?!"
Ha-rin's eyes went round like a startled cat's, while A-yeong beside her looked impressed.
"Even so, staring at a screen all night would be rough, right? That's why I installed the motion detector."
"Ahh, so it sounds an alarm when something moving appears?"
Ha-rin asked as if she understood. I nodded.
Now every preparation was truly complete.
"Time for a battle of patience."
At those words the two of them swallowed hard.
The surveillance mission had begun.
6:00 p.m.
"Camera install complete... how does it look?"
I asked, and Ha-rin, watching the screen, shouted,
"It's clear!"
Relieved, I came back inside and checked the laptop myself.
On the screen the corridor outside Ha-rin's apartment lay quiet and empty.
"Looks good."
I stretched with a long uuugh.
"...Ha-jun, good work."
A-yeong came up beside me and offered the praise.
"I didn't really do much..."
I scratched the back of my head. From the side Ha-rin snorted and teased me.
"True enough."
I almost snapped at her for a second, but—
"Just kidding~"
She quickly followed up and latched onto A-yeong instead. Unable to get angry in front of A-yeong, I sighed and asked,
"So what now? If we're having a sleepover we need clothes and toiletries, right?"
Ha-rin poked her head out and suggested,
"How about we stop by home and do some grocery shopping?"
A-yeong nodded in my place.
"...Yeah, that sounds good."
If A-yeong was happy, I was happy. We decided on that and headed outside.
Our real purpose was watching the corridor, but... well, a little preparation never hurt.
"Whoa, I've always wanted to try making this!"
"...Yeah, that sounds fun."
I simply watched the two of them shopping with bright excitement.
Special notes.
※ Really want to give Lee Ha-rin a solid noogie.
8:00 p.m.
With the sun going down, the corridor on the laptop screen had taken on an eerie cast.
I kept a careful eye on that feed while draining a glass of water.
"Huh? A-yeong, this recipe doesn't use sugar?"
"Ah... yeah."
The two of them were cheerfully chatting while making a late dinner in the kitchen. Every so often Ha-rin's voice made me flash back to the egg fried rice disaster from last time and worry a little, but—
"Ta-da!"
Fortunately A-yeong, whose cooking skills were excellent, had stuck close by, so the finished dishes looked surprisingly decent.
"Looks delicious. Great cooking."
I swallowed and offered the compliment.
"Heh-heh~ See? I told you I'm good at cooking!"
I turned toward the preening Ha-rin and said,
"Not you. A-yeong."
A vein popped on Ha-rin's forehead.
"Ahaha..."
Caught between us, A-yeong could only manage an awkward smile and force a laugh.
"Hey! Don't eat any!"
"Don't wanna."
We bickered like that yet still checked the laptop on the table every few moments. So far nothing unusual had appeared.
"...Thanks for the meal."
"...Thanks for the meal."
"...Thanks for the meal."
The food was so good that dinner finished faster than expected. The two of them shooed me into the living room, finished cleaning up in a flash, and disappeared into the bathroom together saying they would wash first.
Of course—
"...Hey. Peek and you die."
Just like last time, Ha-rin tossed that cute warning my way and glared, but I honestly wondered whether the warning even meant anything anymore.
A-yeong went without saying, and I'd already seen everything there was to see of Ha-rin too.
Amused by the thought, I set the laptop on the living-room table alone. The motionless screen soon bored me, so I turned on the TV and flipped channels until I landed on a baseball game featuring the team I usually rooted for. I settled in to watch.
"Whoa, A-yeong... look at this!"
"Kyaaaa! ...Ha-rin, stop that."
Voices occasionally drifted out from the bathroom, but I pretended not to hear and kept my eyes on the game.
A few minutes passed.
Beep-beep—
Suddenly the laptop on the table chimed a warning. I jumped and spun toward the screen.
What I saw was... a man who looked like the middle-aged neighbor punching in the door-lock code and stepping inside.
I let out a breath of relief and was about to look back at the TV when—
[......]
The hallway light flicked on again. I tilted my head slightly.
...What?
Had someone else come?
But no one appeared on the screen.
Special notes.
※ Corridor light turned on a second time with no one there. According to Ha-rin, the sensor sometimes reacts too sensitively.
10:00 p.m.
"...Haa."
When I finally finished my own shower and stepped out,
"This is kind of scary."
"...Yeah."
I found the two of them already changed into pajamas, sitting on the sofa and staring at the laptop screen. I walked over slowly and sat on the edge.
"...All done washing?"
A-yeong asked with a soft little smile. Finding the expression adorable, I gently pulled her toward me. Fresh from the shower, a wonderfully sweet scent filled my nose.
"You smell nice."
"...R-really?"
We were finally slipping into a romantic atmosphere for the first time in a while when—
"Not in my house, you two!"
Face flaming red, Ha-rin reclaimed A-yeong at once.
"Grrr!"
Anyone could see she was on full guard against me. I snorted a laugh, finished drying my wet hair with a towel, and asked,
"So who's sleeping first?"
Obviously there was no need for all three of us to stay awake just to watch a laptop. I proposed taking two-hour shifts so we could catch as much sleep as possible.
"Um..."
"Ah..."
Yet the expressions that greeted the plan looked strangely off.
"Alone?"
I nodded right away.
"...Yeah?"
Their faces darkened even further at the answer. I tilted my head, wondering why, until A-yeong mustered the courage to speak first.
"Being alone... wouldn't it be a little scary?"
That made me pause and think. I was used to standing night watches like this, so it didn't bother me, but for the two of them—already unnerved by the eerie feed—staring at the screen alone in the middle of the night seemed to weigh heavily.
After some consideration I revised the plan.
"Then one person sleeps while the other two keep watch."
Only then did A-yeong and Ha-rin's faces brighten. We settled the order with a round of rock-paper-scissors.