Utopia Chatter, and Then...
“Mmm...”
I had fallen asleep in a bed that somehow didn’t feel like mine. A tickle at my earlobe pulled my eyes open.
“...Where am I?”
For a moment, still half-asleep, I couldn’t place it—then yesterday’s memories slowly filtered back in.
After the stream ended, I’d gone over feedback with Thomas unnie and then headed to Gachi’s place. Officially I’d gone to complain, but before I knew it the atmosphere had turned sweet, and we’d talked and talked until, naturally...
“And now I’m here.”
I sat up, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. He must have carried me to the bed when I dozed off.
...Looking back on it, I’d done something insane.
It was my first relationship, and being in the early stages of dating had me giddy. Even so... falling asleep without realizing it at my boyfriend’s place, when I’d only meant to drop by for a bit?
And lying on the floor beside the bed was someone even more insane than me.
“How does he not lay a single finger on me in a situation like this...”
I was grateful for that restraint, and it put me at ease—but it also felt frustrating, even a little hurt. Haa... Was I just not attractive to him?
“Tsk... You could at least touch me a little.”
I scooted to the edge of the bed, stretched out an arm, and gave Gachi’s cheek a light poke. Softer than I’d expected. I’d always assumed guys had rougher skin...
Poke. Poke... Pooooke.
A mischievous streak took over before I knew it, and I kept prodding his face with my finger. I was having fun all by myself when I checked the time just in case—only 7:10.
Plenty of time. Maybe I could play a little longer...
Heh. I wonder when he’ll wake up.
“Hm?”
That was when my phone buzzed. I checked it—messages had come through in the Utopia group chat.
She must have been worried after the way things ended. Come to think of it, I still hadn’t told them that the whole “getting dumped” thing was a misunderstanding, and that Gachi and I had decided to date.
Tita, who’d just appeared, also fired off a question mark at my reply. Fair enough—someone who’d said she got dumped suddenly announcing she was dating him would sound weird.
The read count dropped from three to one the moment I sent it, but no replies came yet. Then, into the silence that had swallowed the group chat—
A silent uproar erupted. Their reactions were even better than I’d hoped, and I was starting to enjoy myself, deliberately dragging things out—until the complaints came roaring back.
In the end I answered both of their questions, and the two of them reacted like they found the whole thing surprisingly interesting.
It was a little embarrassing, though. When I’d told Eve, it had felt more natural somehow.
Honestly I wanted to brag right away. But if I showed him too fast, there’d be no fun left afterward.
Tita and Bibi couldn’t hold out any longer and started spamming impatient emoticons.
Hehehe. Well then—shall I deliver for my waiting audience~
I sent a four-cut photo booth strip of Gachi and me into the group chat. No replies yet—they were definitely zooming in to study his face up close.
Ahem... So that’s how it looked. Well, I had fallen for him first.
But Bibi had gone quiet all of a sudden. Still staring at the photo? The thought had barely crossed my mind when a message from her popped up.
Oh, right. Same age as Bibi. Was that weird somehow? He did look a bit mature for his age, sure—but not old-looking or anything.
What!?
“What!?”
I actually said it out loud...
Urgh. I have a perfectly normal amount, thank you! Why do Korean people even talk about E-cups and D-cups like that anyway!?
Grrrr... I couldn’t even deny it—we’d actually measured...
I was grinding my teeth over that when the remaining member of Utopia finally chimed in.
Eve must have woken up from all the chat notifications. We told her to catch up on today’s messages, and she said okay and started reading.
I sent it with a forced-smile emoticon. Tita fired back a clueless face, and Eve responded with an ear-pulling one.
Right? She really hadn’t said anything in a while. She hadn’t actually developed a crush, had she?
Unbelievable. Eve was definitely getting punished later.
I sent a crying emoticon, and Eve sent a comforting one back. I immediately kicked it away with another emoticon.
Seriously... But Bibi was hanging on harder than I’d expected. She hadn’t actually fallen for him at first sight from the photo... right?
Apparently Eve was the only one besides me who caught the meaning of Gachi’s name. Most people would think of it the way Tita did.
That was true. When Bibi joined later, we’d recommended a ton of anime to get closer to her, but she hadn’t gotten that deep into it.
Ah... I did feel a little bad about that.
Messages kept pouring into our group chat after that, and it only went quiet once Tita said she really had to sleep and dropped out. I’d lost track of time chatting and checked the clock just in case—thankfully, it was only eight. Yeah, still not late.
But still...
What was up with Bibi? She wasn’t the type to joke around like that. Had she really taken an interest in Gachi?
How long was I supposed to keep pretending to sleep?
The truth was, after I’d put Wasol unnie to bed, I hadn’t been able to sleep at all. I’d forced myself to try, but I’d ended up waking a little past six.
The reason was probably the person lying in the bed in my place.
After waking up, I’d just kept looking at unnie sleeping so peacefully. Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d ever studied her face this closely.
Her face was smaller than I’d thought, and her skin was so nice... She was beautiful.
Unable to tear my eyes away, I found myself kissing her while she slept. One hand brushed her soft cheek, and then my fingers naturally found her earlobe.
And in that moment, the only thought in my head was—
What is this? Why does it feel so good!?
I practically shouted Eureka! in my head like Socrates and started gently tapping her earlobe with my finger. Then I got bolder... and ended up rolling it between two fingers entirely.
“Mmm...”
At that point, of course, Wasol unnie made a little sound like she might wake up—so I scrambled back down onto the blanket I’d spread on the floor. I couldn’t see with my eyes closed, but I heard her getting up from the bed.
But why did I have to pretend to be asleep? Honestly, we were dating, so this much should have been fine, right? That’s what I thought—but the idea of getting caught having played around like that was just a little too embarrassing...
So I kept pretending. And then something poked my cheek. Unnie, probably. I could hear her murmuring quietly as she prodded me.
“How does he not lay a single finger on me in a situation like this...”
“Tsk... You could at least touch me a little.”
After that, the poking stopped. I cracked one eye open and looked at her.
She was fiddling with her phone, chatting with someone—smiling, then looking startled.
“What!?”
That made me jump... I almost made a sound. What was that about?
I was curious, but as someone pretending to sleep, I had no way to satisfy it. Eventually I snuck a glance at the clock on the wall, confirmed it was eight, and was about to get up for real when—
“Gachi.”
Unnie suddenly called my name. For a second I thought she’d figured out I was awake, but that didn’t seem to be it.
“You’re mine. I’m never giving you to anyone.”
She said it while stroking my cheek. My eyes were closed again so I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear the sincerity in her voice.
“Should I just shave your head? Then nobody would be interested.”
Please don’t. I’ve done that before and getting it back to normal is a nightmare...
“No. I’ll just stay by your side. If I keep making it clear you’re mine, they’ll back off on their own.”
Relieved she’d come up with a better plan, I quietly let out a breath—only for her next words to freeze my entire body.
“So... you give me proof that I’m yours too... I wish you’d touch me more. You don’t lay a single finger on me... Well, I was grateful for that too, but.”
...Sorry, unnie.
This probably isn’t what you meant.
But the truth is, I touched you quite a bit.
I couldn’t help it.
Someone like Wasol is fatally, impossibly charming.
So honestly, right this second... no. That... later. Yeah. Properly, a little later.
I will.