21. My Buff is a Drug
21. My Buff is a Drug
"Hup."
Having accomplished his objective, there was no need to remain in Hee-yeon's inner world any longer.
Hye-yong released the buff and came to his senses on the bed in his own room.
He immediately contacted Bwitgwitgak.
[ Choi Hye-yong : I wiped out that Virus residue thing! ]
[ Choi Hye-yong : Is the power of recognition gathering properly again? ]
Bwitgwitgak : ( emoji of a blonde female character smiling and giving a thumbs-up with both hands )
[ Bwitgwitgak : You're the best, Creator! ]
[ Bwitgwitgak : I didn't think you'd eliminate it in one go! ]
Bwitgwitgak : ( emoji of a blonde female character happily popping a party popper )
[ Bwitgwitgak : Everything is back in its place. Phew! I can finally breathe easy now! ]
"Hoo."
The tension drained out of him completely.
He felt like his body was melting slowly into the bed.
'Still, I pulled it off.'
He thrust a fist toward the ceiling, praising himself.
It had been infuriating and painful, but shattering the Virus's ability and landing a genuine, heartfelt punch on its exposed main body was more electrifying than anything he'd ever experienced in his life.
Surely, in Na Hee-yeon's eyes too, he must have looked pretty damn cool...
Hye-yong's thoughts screeched to a halt.
Then, about five seconds later, a topic surfaced.
'Wait. What did I say to her again?'
He'd forgotten for a moment, but the memory came rushing right back.
—Because you've got big tits and you look fucking hot!!!!!
'Right. I did say that.'
Should he say his head had gotten a little heated back then?
Or should he say his mouth just blurted out exactly what his dick was thinking?
It was sincere, but regardless, it hadn't been his intention.
'Ah, shit. I wanted to look a bit cool next time we met, but I totally screwed it up.'
He didn't think she'd outright condemn him or hate him for a bit of sexual harassment.
For one thing, Na Hee-yeon would know that Hye-yong had saved her from some utterly bizarre and monstrous entity.
But still, having told a girl he liked her because she had big tits and looked hot, it seemed unlikely he'd left a favorable impression.
'I should've at least said she had a big chest and was cute. Tits? Really? Tits.'
A crass word chosen so naturally!
It made him wonder if desires from the deepest part of his heart were simply beyond his control.
'To be honest, they are big. I don't know women's bra sizes, but they looked like they were at least an E-cup.'
Even when she was disheveled and wrecked, he'd felt she was quite cute and charming; once she properly tidied herself up, she'd be much prettier.
Especially that slightly soft, fleshy look she had while wearing only her underwear...
'...It's almost time to go work out. I'd better drain one out so I don't make a mistake around Choi Ah-young.'
Anyway, the problem with being in a prime-age body was that the moment you turned around, these thoughts popped into your head.
For a long while, Na Hee-yeon stared blankly at the spot where the insect had vanished.
Then she stroked her left arm with her right hand.
Even though she'd been so badly wounded and bled so much, there wasn't a trace of injury left anywhere.
As if everything she'd experienced had been nothing but a dream.
"Um..."
She tried to speak to the boy who had been beside her.
But the boy who had helped her was nowhere to be seen.
Just as she was wondering how this could be,
Hee-yeon realized that she had just woken up from sleep.
'A dream?'
No, that couldn't be.
The physical traces had vanished, but the memories were seared intensely into Hee-yeon's mind.
'It felt like he appeared out of nowhere. Who could he have been...'
Even when Seo Ha-yoon had brought her the porridge, Hye-yong hadn't entered Hee-yeon's room.
To Hee-yeon, Hye-yong was truly someone she had absolutely zero information on—a complete stranger.
'Ah. Maybe not zero information.'
—To me, you're a ranged dealer I want in my party badly enough to go through all this trouble.
That man had said he wanted her in his party as a ranged dealer.
Seo Ha-yoon had said something similar.
That the party desperately needed a ranged dealer and asked if she could possibly do it.
'He's in the same party as Ha-yoon, right?'
Would she be able to meet him again?
If she accepted Ha-yoon's offer, would that person be in the same party?
'I don't have much confidence... but if they need me that much, I'd like that.'
If they needed her, she'd do anything.
As she thought that and shifted her gaze, the bowl of porridge Seo Ha-yoon had left behind came into view.
Perhaps because her mind had been pushed to its very limit and she'd only just found relief, a sudden hunger surged through her.
What Seo Ha-yoon had bought for her was vegetable porridge.
"...It's delicious."
Even though it had gone completely cold, hunger is the best sauce, and it hit the spot perfectly.
—Ah, urk... Hee-yeon, st-op...
Along with feelings of gratitude, the image of Ha-yoon's face, twisted in pain as Hee-yeon strangled her, surfaced in her mind, leaving her with complicated guilt.
'I did something unforgivable. I definitely... have to apologize properly.'
Even if she hadn't been in her right mind, she knew it was 100% her own fault.
Because she suspected the reason she'd been swayed by such a strange thing in the first place was due to her own weak heart.
"Ah."
Suddenly, it struck her how dazzlingly bright the room was.
The warm sunlight shining through the window.
It felt like for a very long time, she hadn't known whether it was morning or night.
'Has being touched by sunlight always felt this good?'
The fact that she could greet this morning felt like an immense blessing...
She ended up staring out the window for a long while.
Knock, knock, knock!
Someone knocked on Seo Ha-yoon's door.
"Who is it?"
Seo Ha-yoon asked who it was as she yanked the door open.
Standing before her was Na Hee-yeon, looking as if she'd recovered her spirits.
"Hee-yeon...!"
"...Oh no, there are still marks on your neck. I'm so sorry. It hurt a lot, didn't it? I'm sorry, Ha-yoon. I'm really sorry... I must have been completely out of my mind."
As Hee-yeon carefully touched her own neck, looking ready to burst into tears at any moment, Ha-yoon gently pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you for coming to apologize. Are you feeling better now?"
"I got all better thanks to the porridge you left for me, Ha-yoon. It was really delicious..."
"That's a relief. A real relief. I was so worried something terrible might happen to you."
In that instant, Hee-yeon felt utterly pathetic.
She clearly had a friend who was foolishly kind and gentle like this.
A friend who, even after suffering such a thing, was purely worried about her and approached her again.
Someone who would worry about her more than anyone if things went wrong.
How could she ever have thought of herself as a worthless person when she had a friend like this?
—Because you've got big tits and you look fucking hot!!!!!!
Besides, it seemed she held considerable value to someone in another way entirely.
"Hey, Ha-yoon. You said your party has an open spot for a ranged dealer, right?"
"Huh? Yeah! Hee-yeon, don't tell me..."
"If it's okay with you, even just me... could I join the party?"
"Of course! You're welcome anytime!"
"And..."
Hee-yeon was about to describe Hye-yong's appearance and ask if there was a boy like that in the party, but she soon stopped herself.
Whether it was the insect whose words became blades stabbing into her, or the man whose words became medicine that healed her,
even in this era of miracles and mysteries, where Awakened appeared and beat down monsters with new powers, they were both such surreal beings that she almost mistook it all for a dream.
If that man had come to help her, she wanted to believe that their connection would surely reach her again.
"I decided not to drop out. I'm going to try my best again."
"Really? Really? That's great, Hee-yeon! Let's cheer up and do this together, just like old times!"
Seeing Ha-yoon so overjoyed just because she'd said she was joining the party, Hee-yeon smiled.
"Let me formally introduce her again! This is my friend, Na Hee-yeon. She's an E-rank archer. She's agreed to join our party."
"Nice to meet you."
A completely different sight from yesterday.
Seeing Na Hee-yeon perfectly recovered in just a single day, Choi Ah-young simply felt dumbfounded.
"Uh... yeah. Nice to meet you. I'm Choi Ah-young."
"Hm, an archer! With this, the fighting power of our Secret Society has grown even further."
Watching Chae Hwa-ra seriously say strange things while lowering her voice, Na Hee-yeon laughed happily.
"You're Hwa-ra. I'd only heard about you; it's my first time meeting you. You're as lively as they said."
Choi Ah-young looked at Na Hee-yeon and thought.
Just as Seo Ha-yoon had said, she was a calm and good-natured person.
She had absolutely no clue what had happened to make her that way, or what had happened to bring her back to normal.
'It's not like I can ask her directly.'
Truthfully, it did bother her.
She said she'd returned to normal now, but there was no telling when she might act strangely again.
For Ah-young, who didn't know Hee-yeon well, it was an understandable reaction in a way.
Choi Ah-young simply hoped there would be no trouble within the party.
"Huh? Hee-yeon, are you looking for something?"
Seeing Hee-yeon habitually glancing around whenever she wasn't talking, Ha-yoon asked with curiosity.
"Huh? It's nothing. Are all the party members gathered here?"
"One more still has to come. There's a boy named Choi Hye-yong. He's a Blessing Mage."
Choi Hye-yong...
Could that be him?
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear—the moment the name was mentioned, a male student walked over toward where the party was gathered.
"It's not like I'm late, but you guys always gather this early, so it makes me look late. Anyway, hi, everyone."
The man approaching and greeting them awkwardly.
It was definitely him.
Whether it was a dream or reality, he was the man who had come into her room and defeated the terrible entity that had been tormenting her so viciously.
"Hye-yong!"
Seo Ha-yoon immediately introduced Hee-yeon to Hye-yong.
"This is my friend, Hee-yeon. She's an archer, E-rank."
Hye-yong and Hee-yeon's eyes met.
'Hoo boy, this moment has indeed arrived.'
Although that incident had happened yesterday, officially, they were supposed to be meeting for the first time.
Hye-yong greeted Hee-yeon as if he didn't know her at all.
"Nice to meet you. It's our first time meeting, right? I'm Choi Hye-yong. A Blessing Mage. Please take care of me."
At his words, Na Hee-yeon looked slightly shocked.
"...First time? Do you... not recognize me?"
What could he do?
Officially, they were strangers who had never seen each other's faces.
He'd already told the other party members he didn't know her.
Ah! Turns out she was a friend I knew all along!
Wouldn't that be a bit weird to say now?
If they asked what had happened between them, it'd be a hassle to gloss over it.
Maybe later, if they met privately...
Thinking that, Hye-yong decided to play dumb a little longer.
"Have we seen each other's faces before?"
"I... guess not. I look forward to working with you."
He'd have to explain things to her later, maybe through messenger.
For now, Hye-yong decided to just let it slide.
"Today, let's take some time to get to know each other by introducing ourselves. Shall we go to a cafe?"
At Ah-young's suggestion, all the party members headed to the cafe.
The meeting ended after they'd explained each other's stats and skills and roughly gauged the party's combat strength.
They decided to start raids the next day.
Judging that even E-rank wouldn't be difficult with their current strength, it seemed they planned to challenge the E-rank Otherworld next time as well.
Now, eat, shoot guns...
Come back, eat, work out...
Though the breaks in between were generous, his daily schedule felt somewhat packed.
'It's not bad, but it feels like there's a lack of freedom, you know.'
Of course, compared to his days of mandatory night study sessions, this was incredibly freeing.
'Now that I've added her as a friend, I should send Na Hee-yeon a message as soon as I get back.'
Hye-yong headed back, thinking that very thought.
And there was someone tailing Hye-yong.
Without being detected, very carefully.
Yet without losing sight of him, she followed and observed Hye-yong.
The stalker, who had watched until the very moment Hye-yong opened his door and stepped inside, walked over as naturally as if she'd never stalked anyone in her life, and knocked on Hye-yong's door.
Knock, knock, knock!
'Who is it?'
Living in this facility, there were no solicitors; the only people visiting were fellow students, instructors, or the people distributing snacks from the facility, so his guard naturally slackened.
Without even asking who it was, Hye-yong immediately yanked the door open.
"...Hi."
The person standing at the door was none other than Na Hee-yeon.
Having the very person he was about to message appear right in front of him felt somewhat baffling.
"Uh, Na Hee-yeon? How did you know which room was mine?"
At his somewhat interrogative tone, Hee-yeon averted her gaze.
"We were headed in the same direction..."
"You're really bad at lying, you know that? You should've said Ha-yoon told you, back then."
"...Actually, Ha-yoon did tell me."
She took that suggestion and ran with it right in front of his eyes.
"More importantly... do you really not know me?"
"Of course."
He'd been about to answer, "Of course I know you, how could I not?" but a sudden mischievous impulse struck him.
She'd even tailed him and come looking for his room.
In such a perfect situation to tease her, not wanting to pull a prank while looking at that anxious face of hers would've been an insult to the god of mischief—if such a thing existed.
"I don't know you. We're meeting for the first time today, aren't we?"
Na Hee-yeon paused for a moment after hearing that answer.
"That's impossible. I... I know you...!"
She grabbed both of Hye-yong's shoulders and said that.
Then she slowly surged forward, using her strength to push him inside.
For an instant, Hye-yong was flustered.
'Huh? What's this? I can't resist?'
The opponent was a slender girl.
He'd naturally assumed that as a guy, he could resist if he wanted to.
This was proof that Hye-yong still hadn't properly adapted to this other world.
Na Hee-yeon was an archer!
Obviously, her strength stat was far higher than Hye-yong's.
"We saw each other yesterday. You saved me. Can you really not remember...?"
"Ah, okay! Wait. Stop pushing."
Thunk!
His foot inevitably caught on a slope, and his body tilted.
"Whoa?"
Thud!
He fell flat on his backside first, then was toppled over by the weight pressing down on him.
"Agh."
After letting out a yelp, he saw something large coming down toward his face to smother him.
Pomf.
A soft, full-surface sensation across his entire face.
And Na Hee-yeon's squishily pressing...
'Boobs...!?'