Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Day One
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This is the third day of my second life.
About forty-seven hours since I woke up as Lee Chang-woo.
So much had happened in less than two days.
The original Lee Chang-woo must have had a much more dynamic life than this, right?
Jung Hye-na, on my back, was wearing white shorts.
They weren't hot pants, but because of the way she was positioned, the shorts had ridden up, revealing a good portion of her thighs.
The feel of her thighs against my forearms was soft and pleasant.
Maybe I should have just ordered takeout and spent the day caressing Hye-na's body at home.
It was noon.
Being a residential alley, there weren't many people around.
Thanks to that, Jung Hye-na, riding on my back, had less reason to feel embarrassed.
As for me, I've tasted the bitterest dregs of life.
This moment felt less embarrassing and more sweet and tingly.
I found a barbecue restaurant.
Even though it was daytime, about a third of the tables were full, which suggested it was a quality place.
"Want to get some meat?"
"Sounds good. You can put me down now."
"Alright. Be careful."
I set her down gently, but the moment her feet touched the ground, she swayed and nearly fell.
I quickly grabbed her by the waist to support her.
Thanks to the +500% strength buff, she felt as light as cotton candy.
"Thank you, Oppa."
"It’s my fault you can barely walk, so I should be the one apologizing. Go on in first. I’m just going to grab some gum and I’ll be right in."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The moment the woman entered, the chatter at the men's tables came to an abrupt halt.
Mouths agape, the men's gazes were involuntarily fixed on her face.
‘Is she a celebrity?’
‘She doesn't seem like the type to live in a quiet part of Gangnam like this.’
‘Wow, I didn't know a person could be that beautiful.’
Whether through surgery or natural beauty, it’s easy to spot beautiful women in Gangnam.
You even occasionally pass celebrities on the street.
But the woman who had just walked in was on a completely different level.
Her visuals were so overwhelming that if someone told you she was a top-tier celebrity, you'd just nod and say, 'Ah, that makes sense.'
They say that when someone is too beautiful, they feel unreal, and that was exactly the case with this woman.
‘If only I could date a woman like that just once.’
‘Did she come alone?’
The woman looked around before taking a seat by the window.
Her profile, as she rested her chin on her hand and gazed outside, was like a page from a fashion magazine.
Her sleek legs were revealed by her white shorts.
Her thin waist, visible beneath her crop top, was slender without a trace of fat.
As one of the men started to get up, his friend quickly stopped him.
"Hey, don't do it."
"Shut up. I'm going to go ask for her number. Fortune favors the bold, you know."
"Don't. I'm saying this for your own good. There's no way a girl like that doesn't have a boyf—"
Just then, the door opened, and silence fell once more.
The men stopped their bickering and stared blankly at the newly arrived customer.
An even more overwhelming presence than when the beautiful woman had entered swept through the room.
Patrons at other tables also gaped, watching the impossibly handsome man who had just walked in, completely mesmerized.
The tables with only women were already holding their breath, their gazes stolen.
If the beautiful woman made them think, ‘How can a person be that pretty?’
Then the handsome man brought a sense of despair: ‘A person like that actually exists? Stop lying to me, world!’
If the beautiful woman had turned the patrons into panting wolves...
...the handsome man reduced them to dried squid in a fish market.
"Ah, Oppa. Over here."
"What should we get?"
They looked so affectionate; anyone could see they were a couple.
More than feeling insanely jealous, there was a sense of unreality, as if they were filming a drama.
One of the men started looking around, craning his neck as if searching for something.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for a camera. Isn't this some kind of hidden camera show? Like, to see how the squids react when you release a koi into their tank."
"You're crazy."
The men resumed their meal and conversation, but their words lacked any spirit.
Their souls had long since been sucked over to the handsome couple's table.
What they were talking about, the expressions on their faces, how affectionately they exchanged glances.
The customers, the waitresses, the owner, even the kitchen staff—everyone's attention was fixed on the table by the window.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "I saw that you took care of me with your hands and mouth for over six hours yesterday."
"Eek, what if someone hears you?"
"Ah, sorry."
I had tried to say it quietly, but since she was embarrassed, I figured I should just use my phone.
[Me] And we went at it for another four hours
[Me] I think we had sex for over 10 hours lol
[Jung Hye-na] ...ㅠㅠ lol☆♡♡♡
[Jung Hye-na] Um... how many times did you...?
[Me] In your mouth? Or down there?
[Jung Hye-na] ㅠㅠㅠ lol T_T
[Jung Hye-na] ♡... Both...♡♡
[Me] 32 in your mouth, 19 down below
[Jung Hye-na] Wow, that's insane!!!!!! Were you counting them all?
[Jung Hye-na] But is that even possible??? I heard that even 10 times a day is a lot for a guy!
Hye-na, that's not it...
If a guy did it ten times a day, he'd probably die before he got there.
[Me] I've just always had a lot of... volume and stamina
[Me] And it's also been a while
[Jung Hye-na] ♡♡♡
The meat sizzled on the grill.
I picked up the tongs and scissors and started cutting the meat.
During my five years of illness, I wasn't just cooped up in a hospital.
Except for the last few months of hospitalization, I lived an active social life.
My meat-grilling skills were still intact.
"Huh, Oppa? You usually can't grill meat."
"I was just pretending I couldn't. I was too lazy to hold the tongs."
"You don't need to do that, Oppa."
That was true.
For someone like Lee Chang-woo, women would have paid their own money to learn how to grill meat for him.
He wouldn't have needed to lie about not being able to.
"So you have today off?"
"Yes. Then I go back to work tomorrow."
"They called someone in who took a half-day, made them work all night, and then only gave them one day off?"
"One of our employees got hurt, so it couldn't be helped. It's probably going to be intense for a while."
"You said it's a YouTuber's studio, right? With four million subscribers."
"Yes."
"What kind of content does he make?"
"He's an IT YouTuber. He introduces new electronics and technologies. A quarter of his subscribers are international, so the growth potential is good too."
"An IT YouTuber? So it's a guy, then?"
"Yes, a guy."
"How old?"
"The Representative is 33, I think? Around that age."
Coincidentally, the same age as I was in my past life.
I didn't know any IT YouTubers my age.
It was just the fact that her boss was a man of marriageable age that bothered me.
"Is he married?"
"He's single."
"Girlfriend?"
"He doesn't have one."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I heard?"
Something felt off. Really off.
Jung Hye-na is the most beautiful woman in all of South Korea. If that's how I see her, then that's what she is.
She's tall, has a great body, and is kind. And young.
Any normal man would be bound to fall for her.
A successful IT YouTuber with four million subscribers must make good money and have a stable future.
At 33, he's at the prime age to be thinking about marriage, so he's more than capable of coveting my Hye-na.
Is this just my inexperience making me paranoid?
"I'm about to say something a little foolish."
"Yes?"
"Does he, you know, hit on you or anything? The studio representative, I mean."
"No. Nothing like that at all. He's such a gentleman."
"Hey, I'm a guy, so I know. With a woman like you, even if they pretend not to be, guys are always watching for an opportunity. So don't ever let your guard down. Got it?"
"My boss really isn't like that. And hearing you say that... it doesn't sound very convincing."
"Why not?"
"You were never interested in me, Oppa."
"Hey, that was because you were a minor, and I was worried something might happen... it must have been."
Right, Chang-woo? That's it, right?
"But you had a lot of high school girls chasing you, Oppa."
"Chang-woo... I mean, I did?"
"Yes."
Lee Chang-woo, you son of a...
This won't do. I need to change the subject.
"Anyway, just be careful."
"You really don't have to worry."
"Just be careful. If I tell you to be careful, then be careful."
"Okay, I'll be careful. But please don't worry."
"Be careful at company dinners and stuff, too. Are you a good drinker?"
"I can drink well. I have a high tolerance."
"That's a relief. Still, don't ever get wasted at a drinking party with anyone but me."
"Okay."
I deliberately didn't drink alcohol.
Not because it was daytime, but because I wanted to eat quickly and go home to have sex.
Since I've learned to steal, albeit late, I should diligently hop fences.
Except I'll be hopping on Jung Hye-na, not a fence.
"That laptop's storage is protected by AES-256 encryption, so even if someone steals the disk, they can't decrypt the data. So don't worry at all. Not even the CIA can crack it."
"Wow, Oppa, where did you learn that?"
"I did a lot of searching at the cafe yesterday."
Jung Hye-na thought I was a tech illiterate, so I gave a plausible excuse.
From now on, I'd have to show that I was diligently studying various things.
Oh, wait a minute?
I just noticed.
[Lust for Me: S] [Favorability toward Me: SS] Lust went from A to S.
Favorability went from S to SS?
[S-Rank Lust indicates a desire for sex so intense it interferes with daily life.] [This is a level rarely seen in others.] It explained Lust but not Favorability.
In any case, comparing it to Lust, did this mean her favorability was high beyond the point of interfering with daily life?
We finished the meat and stood up.
"The lady paid earlier."
"What? No, I was going to treat you. Why did you pay?"
"You went through so much, Oppa. Of course, I should be the one to pay."
"No, you were the one who went through a lot, not me."
"That's not true. It's right for me to pay. I wanted to."
I was so grateful, and she was so lovely I could die.
I have to treat her well from now on.
"Hye-na. Your studio, how much time is left on the lease?"
"There are two months left, but I can extend it."
"Where are you living now?"
"I live in a 1.5-room officetel on a semi-charter lease."
"Can I stay there for a while? It seems like a waste of time for you to go back and forth..."
"I'd love that!"
Knowing exactly how she'll react might seem like it would reduce the tension and fun.
But that's not the case for me.
Seeing Hye-na say 'yes' just as I expect is incredibly fun, and my dopamine is surging.
"Then I won't renew the lease on my studio, I'll just clear it out. It's not like I have much stuff anyway, just a suitcase and a laptop. Let's move it right now."
"Are you really going to live with me?"
"Yep. Today is day one of living together."