Shopping

Haah, haaaaa...

Slap!

While panting and lying face down, I spanked Liliana's plump, soft butt.

"You worked too hard, I'm starving. What should we order?"

"J-just a second... rest..."

Liliana was wearing clothes, yet her bare skin was completely exposed, and it looked incredibly good.

"From now on, wear that when we have sex. It looks great."

"Pervert... ugh."

I poked her side.

Every poke made her "ugh ugh" sound, which was strangely entertaining.

"So I should have shown it to Master first."

"Huu..."

Liliana still couldn't get up because the afterglow of her climax hadn't faded, so I opened the delivery app on her smart watch.

"What else do you want to order?"

While choosing today's menu, Liliana snatched my smart watch and spoke up.

"Huh? Then we should order something. There's nothing to eat at home."

"Sometimes I want healthy food too."

"... What?"

"I'm craving mom's cooking!"

"No, how long has it been since I cried eating chicken? Are you out of your mind?"

"I don't know! Cook rice for me too!"

Liliana shook her head vigorously and clung to me.

"Idiot. Hey. If you're cooking, you do it, not me."

"You do it! I earn money. I have sex. What exactly are you doing for the family?"

Liliana glared at me with wide eyes.

"Eh...?"

"You don't do any housework. I do the laundry. I sometimes run the vacuum. I earn the money! We have sex together, but what are you even doing?!"

"... Is that so?"

No rebuttal came to mind.

Actually, maybe I was the delinquent instead of Liliana?

I try hard too, but what am I doing for the family... wait, is "family" even the right word?

No, and why suddenly talk about home cooking.

'Ah... she wanted to go out.'

Yeah, staying cooped up at home every day must be driving her crazy.

Still, I couldn't forgive her for teasing me.

"Sorry... I'll go buy groceries and cook for you."

I bowed my head with an apologetic expression and put on my clothes.

"I'll go with you. It'll be lonely if you go alone."

She flashed a sly smile, as if her plan had gone exactly as intended. But that was impossible.

"No. In reflection, I'll go alone. Send me what you want via message."

"Eh, eh? It's fine..."

"I'll go shopping. Send me what you want via message~."

I threw on an outer layer and headed to the entrance, starting to put on my shoes.

"... Yeah! Go!"

Liliana crossed her arms and glared at me. She was clearly aware that I was doing this on purpose.

Too obvious of a smile?

No point taking her along anyway. She'd just nag about what to buy and make shopping pointless.

"Next time, let's go together. Wait for me today."

"Okay..."

Seeing her look disappointed made my heart soften a little.

I really should get an apartment outside the dorm too.

Especially with Liliana around, and to meet the other girls, being outside would be much easier than the dorm.

Now that Liliana's stream was stably established, there was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠need to draw attention to myself.

I opened the dorm door to head out for shopping.

"...?"

The moment I stepped out, a strange chill swept over my body.

'Was my whole body tense a moment ago? What was that?'

Was there still a cold snap?

Anyway, I had to cook a home meal as Liliana wished.

After all, the only home cooking I could manage was kimchi jjigae.

Time to make kimchi jjigae.

"Should we go to the mart?"

I headed to the large discount mart with the rare feeling of shopping after a long time.

Honestly, it had been ages since I stepped foot in a big mart, whether in my old world or this one.

Especially here, with three million won in monthly maintenance fees, it was easier to just order delivery for food and necessities.

Because there were so many students, this mart actually saw more general customers than students.

I came here specifically wanting to pull a cart and feel like I was shopping, not just for show.

"Kimchi jjigae recipe... kimchi and bone broth..."

I checked the kimchi jjigae recipe on my smart watch and picked up the ingredients one by one.

The feeling reminded me of my first month living alone, which felt oddly nostalgic.

The first month I had worked really hard... though eventually I got lazy and just ate delivery food.

"Eh?"

A sub quest suddenly appeared?

I quickly scanned the surroundings for Nam Da-eun.

Soon, I spotted her pushing a cart into the checkout lane.

Her perfectly sculpted figure and long black hair cascading down to her waist were striking.

Her eyes, usually sharp and superior, were now soft with a faint smile. She was clearly heading to see her sister.

Naturally, I pulled my cart behind hers.

Her cart was filled with snacks and daily necessities.

Expensive chocolates or boxed snacks for her sister, and the cheapest shampoo for herself.

Even the body wash or foam cleanser was missing; she only had plain soap.

She picked the cheapest toilet paper on sale.

"13,200 won. Thank you."

"Wait a moment. I'll pay cash."

Nam Da-eun lived on the bare minimum allowance after the guild took most of her maintenance fee.

From her crumpled pink wallet, she pulled out ten crumpled 10,000 won notes and some 100 won coins, which made my heart ache.

"One, two, three..."

"Customer, you're short on money..."

But somehow, she was exactly 100 won short.

"Ah, sorry..."

Nam Da-eun hesitated, then decided to remove her own shampoo instead of the sister's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠snack.

She must have bought the sister's snack too much and messed up the total.

Her face turned bright red, clearly embarrassed that she was short even 13,200 won.

Time to step in.

"Nam Da-eun."

"Eh...!?"

She jumped in shock when she heard my voice from behind.

"Still haven't found your lost card? Boss, please calculate this."

I held out my smart watch for payment.

"Yes. Understood."

"No... th-thank you."

Seeing me step in to help, Nam Da-eun accepted my kindness.

She grabbed her shopping bag and waited quietly until I finished, then spoke to me.

"I'll pay you back next time."

Carrying two heavy shopping bags and bowing her head like that, it really was the Nam Da-eun I knew.

"You like snacks a lot, huh. Removing the shampoo instead of the snack."

"... It's for my sister. Haven't seen her in a while."

"Really? Then buy more. I'll buy it for you."

"No need. It's a nuisance."

"Even if it's just for seeing each other after a long time, you should buy more. Your sister will love it."

Nam Da-eun hesitated at the mention of her sister liking it, then sighed.

"It's fine. Really, thank you. Actually, this month's spending has been a lot, so the money ran out. I'll pay you back next month."

"No need to pay. We're the same kind. Just cooperate more next time. It's for you too, so please."

"... Sorry. But I have to be number one."

Nam Da-eun's expression hardened slightly.

She was probably thinking about her hospitalized sister.

"Why? What's the point of being number one?"

"To me, being number one is very important. Really sorry. I'll pay for today's incident later."

"It's fine. We're the same kind. See you next time."

I left her standing there and walked out of the mart.

"I poked at it a bit, but it didn't stick."

It was a little disappointing, but successfully engaging with someone who kept her heart closed was a success.

I had also planted a good impression.

Opening her heart a little bit like this.

Next time, she'd probably work harder on group projects. I had bought snacks after all.

When I returned to the dorm, Liliana was waiting for me with a big smile.

"You're back?! You bought exactly as I messaged?"

"Chicken and pizza are home cooking? Today I'm showing you the real thing of home cooking."

"Uhm... okay."

I left her lying on the bed with a timid expression and started boiling the kimchi jjigae.

Cooking after a long time felt a bit awkward.

Still, the bubbling smell of kimchi jjigae spread through the dorm, and Liliana slowly crawled closer.

"What is this? It doesn't look like tteokbokki."

"Ah, this is kimchi jjigae."

"What are you saying?"

I served her the kimchi jjigae I had personally cooked.

Warm rice with kimchi jjigae was real home cooking.

"Wah! Spicy! What is this!"

"Spicy? What's spicy. It's refreshing."

"It's hot and spicy, but what's refreshing! Are you crazy?"

This succubus was making a fuss even though I cooked home meal for her.

"This is K-home cooking, bro. If it's too spicy, eat it with egg fry."

"Uhm... it looks delicious. Or maybe not."

Actually, a succubus eating kimchi jjigae looked weird.

I stared blankly at her, then noticed the window was open.

"Liliana, I told you to always close the window. What if someone peeks in?"

"Huh? I didn't open it."

"I closed it when I left. Who else would it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be?"

"Is that so? Maybe..."

Liliana frowned, trying to recall something, which made me worried.

Was dementia already setting in? Well, she's not that young.

"Your expression doesn't look right. Not thinking weird thoughts, are you?"

"No. Just eat the kimchi jjigae."

"It's fine. We're the same kind. See you next time."

With those words, I waved and left the mart.

"Haah..."

Nam Da-eun sighed while looking at the snacks in the bags she was holding.

'Jealous of such a kind person. I'm trash....'

Thanks to Hoyeon, I bought more snacks for my sister with the saved money and returned to the dorm.

After showering and changing into comfortable clothes, Nam Da-eun lay on the bed.

'She probably wants to be number one too... rumors of her being a promising talent spread.'

I opened Everyday and searched for Hoyeon's name. Countless posts appeared.

Most praised him, but some baseless criticisms existed.

'Why are people so selfish...'

What did Hoyeon do to the troll that he had to endure such backlash?

'He doesn't have an easy life either.'

"Ugh..."

With my head in a mess, I sent a message to my sleeping sister.

- Me: [photo] Unnie will buy a lot of snacks! See you on the weekend!

I hoped Dahui would smile at least a little more seeing this.

Tomorrow was the day of the 1v1 duel.

So far, I had easily maintained first place in practical without using full power.

'Can I do it again?'

I wanted to reduce the Buyer Guild and Mr. Min-gyu's profits just a little by holding my sister.

That's why Nam Da-eun was at the perfect level to maintain first place, but Hoyeon seemed clearly stronger.

'We'll meet in the 1v1 duel... if possible, in the finals.'

That way I could at least make it to runner-up.

Nam Da-eun closed her eyes, worrying about tomorrow.