Silver Hair Beyond the Door
The silver-haired woman climbed slowly up from the storage room.
One shoulder of her white dress had slipped down, and under the fluorescent lights her skin glowed with an almost unnatural whiteness.
Something pointed seemed to be attached to her ears—like ornaments, or perhaps not.
Siwoo and Sera both froze at the same moment.
On the counter, their fluids still glistened, uncleaned. Siwoo’s pants weren’t even properly pulled up.
Sera hastily buttoned her blouse and looked the silver-haired woman up and down.
“……What the hell is that girl? Cosplay? At a convenience store at this hour?”
Siwoo’s face burned as he hurriedly fixed his pants.
His heart was still hammering.
The situation from moments ago colliding with this sudden strange woman left his mind blank.
The silver-haired woman—Liria—looked back and forth between the two of them, eyes wide.
Her face flushed crimson in an instant.
“Wh-where is this……? I just…… a door I’d never seen before suddenly appeared in the wall of my neighborhood, and out of curiosity I opened it and stepped through. The moment it opened, this place was on the other side……”
Siwoo swallowed hard and stammered.
“A door in the wall……? Ma’am—no, customer. This is just a convenience store. What are you doing right now?”
Liria clutched the hem of her dress, looking flustered.
“A convenience store……? I’ve never seen a place like this. The strange lights, the cold air, and…… what the two of you were just doing……”
Her voice trailed off as she glanced at the traces still left on the counter and at Siwoo and Sera’s disheveled state.
Her ears turned even redder.
Sera saw that and let out a short laugh.
Still not fully come down from the high, she nudged Siwoo’s side with her elbow.
“Manager, that girl’s a total weirdo. Pointy ears and claiming a door just appeared in a wall. I’m heading out.”
Sera leaned in close to Siwoo’s ear and whispered low.
“Next time…… let’s do it again. I really liked yours, Manager. Next time longer, harder.”
She brushed her hand lightly over the front of his pants with a meaningful smile.
Then, clothes still only half-straightened, she pushed open the glass door and stepped outside.
The hem of her mini skirt fluttered in the night wind.
When the door closed, the convenience store fell suddenly quiet.
Only Siwoo and Liria remained.
Liria still flushed, carefully studying him.
“Um…… who was that woman just now? And you—are you really the owner of this strange shop?”
Siwoo dragged a hand down his face and let out a long breath.
Embarrassment and residual heat tangled together, leaving his head a mess.
“……First, customer. That door—I’m going to close it again.”
He went back into the storage room and reached for the open door, then stopped.
It wouldn’t close.
No matter how hard he pulled the handle, it stayed slightly ajar, as if held open from the other side.
Liria approached cautiously.
“That door…… can you see it too? I just came through it. To my eyes it’s clearly a door, but……”
Siwoo looked at her.
Her ears were definitely not human ears.
They were pointed.
He swallowed and opened the door a little wider.
Beyond it, a night sky with two moons hung clear and sharp.
The scent of grass and flowers washed over him again.
Standing with Liria in front of the doorway, Siwoo muttered,
“……Is this really another world?”
Liria gave a small nod.
“I…… don’t really know either. But this door definitely appeared suddenly in the wall of my neighborhood. Shall we…… check together?”
Siwoo hesitated a moment, then slowly stepped over the threshold.
Liria followed right behind him.
They heard the soft sound of the door closing at their backs.
The instant Siwoo crossed the threshold, the feel of stone under his feet made him flinch.
Still wearing his convenience-store uniform, he was standing in a completely different world.
Two moons lit the dark sky. Cold night wind carried the smell of grass and the sweet scent of flowers straight into his nose.
When Liria came out right behind him and turned, the door they had just passed through still stood open in the middle of a stone wall.
A door that had appeared out of nowhere.
Siwoo reached out unconsciously and touched the frame. Solid wood met his fingers.
Liria spoke.
“There was never a door in this wall. It just appeared today, so I opened it. I never dreamed it would connect to your shop.”
Her silver hair glimmered faintly in the moonlight; her pointed ears twitched.
Still carrying the heat of what had just happened with Sera, Siwoo felt the slight discomfort in his pants as he looked around.
Low stone houses, wooden signs, distant voices murmuring—everything made the reality of this world sink in.
Liria stepped closer and carefully opened her mouth.
“And…… what you and that purple-haired woman were doing just now—I’ve never seen anything like it. In our world men and women join their bodies too, but almost never so openly in front of others. Is that common in your world?”
Siwoo felt his face heat again and hesitated over the answer.
“That was…… just, it happened suddenly. We don’t normally do that just anywhere.”
Liria tilted her head slightly and looked over his uniform and pants.
Her gaze lingered for a moment on the front of his pants before she hastily looked away, ears flushing.
“Your body…… still seems to carry her scent. And something looks like it’s still…… firm.”
Siwoo reflexively covered himself with one hand and took a step back.
“Hey, isn’t that a little too direct?”
Liria lowered her head apologetically, yet the curiosity in her eyes didn’t fade.
“I’m sorry. I just…… want to know why this door connected to your shop, and what kind of person you are. Shall we move somewhere safer first? Suspicious people wander around here once night falls.”
While Siwoo hesitated, Liria lightly took his wrist.
Her hand was softer and cooler than he expected. Moonlight slipped between the folds of her white dress, softly revealing her collarbones and the upper curve of her chest.
Siwoo’s breath caught for a second at the touch; then he finally nodded.
“Alright…… let’s go somewhere. I don’t know when or how the door might change again.”
Liria led the way along the stone path, and Siwoo followed through the otherworld night still dressed in his convenience-store uniform.
Under the two moons, every time her silver hair and white dress swayed, his eyes naturally settled on the line of her waist and hips. The fierce sensations he had shared with Sera only moments earlier still lingered in every corner of his body, forcing him to swallow again and again.
Liria suddenly stopped and looked back.
“Um…… could you tell me your name? I’m Liria. I live at the edge of the forest near here.”
When Siwoo answered shortly, “Han Siwoo,” Liria smiled softly.
That smile made his chest give a strange little jump.
She started walking again and added,
“Siwoo-ssi, if that shop beyond the door has any sweet cold water or food wrapped in strange paper…… could you share a little later? I’ll pay with gold coins.”
Siwoo felt the heavy weight of the gold coins already in his pocket and started to nod, then paused. Suddenly he thought of the rent on the real-world convenience store, the inventory, and the hot breath of Sera whispering “let’s do it again next time” as she left.
Could this door become his private secret?
And what kind of things would happen from now on with this silver-haired woman, and with the purple-haired woman in reality?
Siwoo’s footsteps followed Liria’s white dress along the stone path of the other world.
Then he suddenly looked back.
The door they had come through still stood open in the middle of the stone wall.
They had said that if you locked it from the convenience-store side it would become invisible from this side……
Right now it was open, so it was fully visible.
Siwoo muttered low under his breath.
That door…… if I lock it from the shop side later, does it disappear from view here? Did it only become visible in this place because I opened it?
The two of them looked toward the door for a moment longer, then started walking again along the stone path.
Siwoo and Liria walked a little farther.
Shadows cast by the two moons layered over the road, and the night wind lightly scattered Liria’s silver hair.
Every time the hem of her white dress swayed, the slender line of her waist and hips was revealed in the moonlight, and Siwoo tried hard to look elsewhere.
The intense sensations he had shared with Sera on the counter only a short while ago still sat deep in his body.
When Liria turned onto a small side path, a modest stone house soon appeared at the edge of the forest.
It was low and compact, warm light leaking from the windows.
“This is my house. Let’s go inside and talk.”
Liria opened the door and guided him in.
The interior was cozier than expected.
Wooden furniture, chairs covered in soft cloth, a fireplace crackling with flames.
When Siwoo stood awkwardly, Liria offered him a chair.
“Please sit. I’ll bring water.”
She poured water into a simple wooden cup and handed it over; Siwoo took it.
The cool water slid down his throat.
Liria sat across from him and carefully began.
“Siwoo-ssi. That door…… is it really only connected to your shop?”
Siwoo nodded.
“I found it for the first time today. It suddenly appeared behind the shelves in the storage room. Until I opened it, it was just a wall.”
Liria let out a small sigh.
“On our side it appeared suddenly today too. A door showing up in a stone wall I always walk past…… so I opened it out of curiosity. And it connected to your shop.”
She paused and looked at his uniform.
“That outfit, and what happened with the purple-haired woman just now…… is all of that everyday life in your world?”
Siwoo felt his face heat again and scratched the back of his head.
“Not everyday. That woman is…… just a customer, and it suddenly went that way. I’m not normally the type to do that so casually.”
Liria tilted her head.
Moonlight came through the window and softly lit her white skin and collarbones.
One shoulder strap of her dress had slipped a little, revealing the soft curve beneath.
Siwoo’s gaze drifted there unconsciously before he hastily looked away.
Liria seemed to notice; her ears flushed faintly, but she didn’t pull back.
“In Siwoo-ssi’s world…… do men and women join their bodies so easily? In our world it’s something done with quite a bit of care.”
Siwoo swallowed and answered.
“Not easily. It’s just…… that woman was always the type to seduce openly. There are a lot of people like that near Gangnam.”
Liria quietly studied him.
Curiosity, a little wariness, and a subtle interest mixed in her eyes.
“Then…… are there really many strange things in the shop beyond that door? Sweet cold water, food wrapped in strange paper, things like that.”
Siwoo nodded.
“It’s a convenience store, so yeah. Drinks, triangle kimbap, snacks, ramen…… lots of that stuff. If you pay with gold coins, I can sell you as much as you want.”
Liria’s eyes lit up a little.
She took a few small gold coins from her clothes and set them on the table.
“With these…… could I buy some later? And if possible, I’d like to visit your shop through that door sometimes.”
Siwoo picked up a gold coin.
It was heavy and cold.
Thoughts of how he might exchange these gold coins in the real world, whether he could keep from falling behind on rent, chased one another through his mind.
At the same time, the collarbones revealed beneath Liria’s white dress and the faint rise and fall of her chest with each breath caught his eye.
Because of the heat Sera had left still lingering between his legs, Siwoo had to shift his posture a little.
Liria didn’t miss the movement; her gaze dropped.
A brief silence fell.
She spoke softly.
“Siwoo-ssi…… is what happened with that woman still left in your body?”
Siwoo swallowed dryly instead of answering.
Even after asking the question, Liria didn’t look away.
Instead she slowly leaned her upper body forward and studied his face from close range.
Silver hair spilled across the table; the sweet floral scent grew thicker.
“I…… saw something like that for the first time. So I’m even more curious. What a man’s body from your world…… feels like.”
Siwoo’s heart gave one hard thump.
Liria’s eyes looked a little moist, her lips slightly parted.
The fireplace flames filled the house and painted both their faces red.
Just then, from far outside the house came the sound of a dog barking and people’s footsteps.
Liria quickly straightened and checked the window.
“Usually no one passes by at this hour……”
Her expression tightened slightly.
Siwoo also rose from his seat and looked toward the door.
Beyond the stone path, shadows carrying torches were slowly approaching in their direction.