Night Watch in the Erotic Game (3)

It had started as a lighthearted little roleplay.

It wasn't as if I'd actually sworn to put A-yeong through a real military experience and teach her what hazing felt like. I'd only meant to wake us up a bit and cut things off once we were both enjoying ourselves.

"Attention."

"...Attention?"

Watching A-yeong echo me with that faintly embarrassed look on her face... the wicked impulses I kept buried deep inside seemed to come bubbling up all at once.

"...Mm."

A-yeong held the posture exactly as I'd shown her—feet pressed neatly together, both fists carefully lined up against her thighs. I looked her up and down with a thoroughly lecherous smile.

She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn't even been trying to push her chest out, yet the sheer size of it left the unbuttoned pajamas unable to stay closed. Even with her feet together, the contrast of her widening hips against those thick thighs carved out a distinctly feminine triangular gap of empty space.

"Wow..."

The involuntary murmur of admiration made A-yeong flinch with a tiny "eep" as she carefully tried to cover herself with both hands.

I gave a quiet little laugh and whispered,

"...Who said you could move?"

"Ah..."

She immediately straightened back into the proper stance, fists returning to her sides. An indescribable thrill ran through me at the sight.

To think I could torment a beauty who was flawless from face to figure like this, simply because I was her boyfriend...

"At ease."

"...A-at ease!"

With clumsy motions she spread her legs slightly, hands shifting from her thighs to clasp behind her back and leaving her body completely exposed. I walked slowly toward her and stopped right in front of her face.

"Private Jo A-yeong."

"Yeah... wait, no—Private Jo A-yeong?"

I leaned in toward the nape of her neck as she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠answered and drew in a long, deep breath.

"...H-Ha-jun!"

A-yeong jerked back in shock, trying to pull away.

"Oh? Why are you moving?"

"...Ah, ah."

Those two words alone brought her right back into position, trembling faintly.

Ah, I'm not usually this much of a pervert.

Why is it that the second I look at A-yeong I just want to tease her and breathe her in?

It was a slightly different scent from Lee Ha-rin's—something almost bewitching. The more I inhaled it, the more my head seemed to grow hazy.

"...This really won't do."

Even though I was enjoying myself, I deliberately found something to nitpick about.

"Not only did you doodle all over the sacred duty roster, you disobeyed a superior's order?"

"...I-I'm sorry."

A-yeong's eyes darted around helplessly. I stared at her for a long moment before speaking.

"...What kind of punishment should I give you?"

She flinched hard at that and squeezed her eyes shut in fear. Watching her, I lightly bonked her on the head with a soft thump.

"This is my punishment."

No matter how much fun I was having, I couldn't keep tormenting A-yeong when she hadn't actually done anything wrong... Staying true to the original purpose, I cut the game off at a decent point and pulled her into a hug.

"Well? Wake up a little?"

She stared at me blankly for a second, then buried her face against my chest and mumbled,

"...I don't knooow."

I smiled at that rare little sulk of hers and toppled us both onto the sofa.

...Meanwhile, the laptop screen I'd been checking the whole time still showed nothing.

"Haha... Sorry."

I offered a quiet apology.

"...Ha-jun, I hate you."

I laughed and asked,

"...Really?"

She thought about it for a second, then shook her head.

"...No."

"Heh..."

I stroked her hair while staring at the laptop screen alone.

How much more time had passed?

It felt like we'd been fooling around for quite a while, yet when I checked the cat-shaped clock hanging in the living room—

Two in the morning.

Two whole hours still left.

...If I'd known time would crawl this slowly, I would've just put Lee Ha-rin on two shifts in a row and had either myself or A-yeong go sleep in the middle.

Ha-rin was the one who'd lost at rock-paper-scissors.

...And yet the loser seemed to be the one getting all the easy work.

Feeling a little petty, I glanced toward the room where Ha-rin was sleeping—only for A-yeong, who had somehow ended up using my lap as a pillow, to look up at me and ask,

"...Ha-jun."

I flinched ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and quickly shook my head.

"Nothing... Just checking the clock."

She narrowed her eyes and stared at me for a moment, then smiled.

"Ahaha... Ha-jun, I'm not mad."

I relaxed and gently stroked her forehead.

"Really?"

"...Yeah."

I studied her face carefully. At the very least, she didn't look like she was forcing the smile.

"...A-yeong."

So after a brief hesitation, I spoke up.

"About yesterday..."

She listened quietly as I continued.

"No matter how urgent the situation was... bringing Ha-rin into the house without your permission was my fault. I know that."

I wanted to clear the air at least once. Even if Ha-rin had explained everything properly and they'd ended the conversation on good terms, it still felt wrong for me—her actual boyfriend—to just gloss over it. We'd promised to talk things through without hiding anything from each other on matters like this, so I apologized first.

"You had every right to be upset."

Remembering the expression on A-yeong's face during the day, I gave a bitter smile.

"I'm sorry."

She immediately shook her head, but I kept stroking her hair and whispered slowly,

"No... I still really wanted to apologize."

"And I promise."

Meeting her eyes, I said quietly,

"No matter what happens... I'll love you."

I ducked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my head at my own embarrassing words. A-yeong simply looked at me for a moment, then carefully rested her hand against my cheek.

"...Ha-jun."

"Yeah."

"...I'm really happy."

With that confession, my head slowly dipped lower. She pulled my face in and gave me a soft kiss.

Chup—

Along with the sound came a tiny voice.

"And I love you."

I met her eyes at that trembling confession. Then A-yeong scrambled up from my lap and sat right beside me.

"...♥"

She was wearing that rare expression—like someone had flipped her switch. Half of me was thrilled; the other half was flustered.

"A-A-yeong?"

I tried to hold her back as she pressed closer and spoke quickly.

"W-we're here to keep watch on the hallway first of all... and this is Ha-rin's house... and she's sleeping in that room right there, you know?"

I pointed out the three problems, trying to talk sense into her, but—

"...It's fine."

A-yeong calmly countered every one.

"I can still watch the camera while we do it... Ha-rin owes me... and she'll be asleep anyway."

Then she murmured softly,

"Well... even if she isn't, I don't really care."

My mind went blank.

"...Ha-jun♥"

I never expected something like this to happen in someone else's house...

"A-yeong... mmph."

"No, Ha-jun... you have to be quiet."

A-yeong's shadow slowly began to swallow me whole.

"...N-no."

Those were my final words.

Four a.m. to seven a.m.

"Haa..."

A-yeong came out of the bathroom looking refreshed, sipping water, while I just sat blankly on the sofa staring at the laptop screen.

"...Ha-jun."

I jumped at her voice and looked up.

"W-what?"

She gave me a faintly regretful look.

"...It's time to switch with Ha-rin."

Had that much time already passed? I checked the clock in surprise. Sure enough, it pointed to four in the morning.

We were supposed to wake the next shift ten minutes early...

Apparently I'd been so absorbed in what we were doing that I'd completely forgotten.

I started to get up with that thought, but A-yeong stopped me.

"...I'll wake her."

"Ah, okay."

She walked toward Ha-rin's room, then paused and looked back at me.

"...Ha-jun."

"Yeah?"

"...Can you promise me just one thing?"

I nodded immediately.

"Of course."

A-yeong beamed at my lack of hesitation, then spoke calmly.

"...About Ha-rin."

"...Yeah."

"...Treat her carefully, just like you treat me."

For a second I tensed, wondering if it was a trap. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be her intention.

"...I got help from you, so I hope Ha-rin gets help too."

"A-yeong..."

"So... if a dangerous moment comes like this time, don't hesitate because of me, okay?"

She smiled and left one last request.

"...Make sure you help Ha-rin."

I answered with a serious face.

"I will."

Satisfied, A-yeong smiled and went into the bedroom.

Creeeak—

Listening to the door close, I slowly updated the special notes.

There wasn't much to write, so I just filled it in somehow.

Aside from that, nothing particularly special had happened.

...Really.

Even though A-yeong and I had a good time, one of us had kept watching the laptop screen the whole while. Thanks to that, I'd had to wipe the screen clean more than a few times.

While I was thinking those useless thoughts, I saw Ha-rin coming out through the open doorway, stifling a tiny yawn.

"Hwaaam..."

She must have slept deeply in the meantime. Watching her stumble toward me still half-asleep—

"...Something happen?"

"Nah."

Ha-rin plopped down hard onto the sofa, the rebound sending her tipping sideways into me.

"Ow..."

I really did feel like giving her that knuckle rap right then, but—

...Treat her carefully, just like you treat me.

A-yeong's request to cherish Ha-rin echoed in my mind, and I barely managed to hold my fist back.

"Ha-rin... if you're sleepy, go splash some water on your face, okay?"

I spoke as gently as if handling a baby. Ha-rin looked at me and gave a little snort of laughter.

"Hey, what are you, a kindergarten teacher?"

...Should I just hit her after all?