With Areum During Exam Period (5)
Areum came out of the bathroom.
"Kkangcheol-ah~ I'm all washed up. Go on in."
"Uh, yeah."
I closed Camta and got up from the bed. Bback-sa's exposé post had already been taken down.
"Kyaa! Nothing beats a beer after a shower!"
Areum, wrapped in just a towel, said as she downed a can of beer.
Watching her, I caught myself shaking my head for some reason.
It felt more and more like we were becoming siblings.
Instead of my heart pounding with excitement, what I felt was familiarity and comfort. Even though I'd only known Areum for two months, that's how it was.
Suddenly, our eyes met.
But in an instant, Areum's expression crumpled. She furrowed her pretty eyebrows and marched right up to me.
"What's with that look? It's seriously pissing me off for some reason!"
"Huh? What look?"
"Ugh! You were looking at me with this totally pitying expression!"
"Nah, you're imagining things. Maybe it's the beer, don't you think?"
"...Tch. It was definitely a really irritating look."
"Stop talking nonsense and order food. I'm gonna wash up."
"Hmm. Fine. What do you want to eat?"
"I'm good. I'll just have some chicken breast."
"Really? Don't regret it later, okay?"
I waved my hand dismissively and went into the bathroom. Whether it was because of the tteokbokki yesterday or not sleeping properly, I wasn't in the mood to eat anything.
I decided I'd just wash up quickly, tear into some chicken breast, and crash.
Swaaaaa.
When the lukewarm water hit my body, a pleasant drowsiness washed over me. It made me feel like I could fall asleep right then. Maybe I should just skip the chicken breast too.
Come to think of it, I haven't been sticking to my diet lately.
I ate beef at a club dinner.
Yesterday, I ate tteokbokki.
Besides that, my appetite had often gotten the better of me and I'd sneaked an extra bowl of rice here and there. Thanks to that, I did lose weight, but the pace had clearly slowed compared to when it was dropping fast.
I was around 95kg when I was doing the group project with Soyeon noona.
After that, when I went to the gym and did my InBody, I'd actually gained 1kg and was back to 96kg.
Two weeks later, I was down to 93kg.
Now I had a body I could confidently say had escaped the label 'fat.' Wouldn't 'stocky' suit me better than 'fat' at this point?
But why the hell won't the fat on my face go away?
According to Seora noona, compared to my actual body fat percentage, I carried more fat on my face. And I swelled up easily, too.
Of course, even now, compared to before, I looked like a completely different person. Just seeing my jawline, once completely buried, gradually reemerging told me that much.
Losing weight definitely made checking myself out in the mirror enjoyable.
"Hmm. I'm not ugly at this point, am I? I think I'm at least average."
As I was patting myself on the back like that, a post I'd seen on a community site suddenly came to mind.
Isn't this the line every guy in the country says?
They say men look in the mirror and go, 'I'm at least average,' and women do the opposite.
Thinking that, I suddenly got humble. Average, my ass. Looking at my body, there was still plenty of flab. A six-pack was out of the question.
If I lose more weight, my self-esteem will go up too, right?
I'd better work hard on my diet.
But that resolve started to waver the moment I stepped out.
I looked at the food laid out on the table and swallowed hard.
"...You ordered Chinese?"
"Yep. This place is legit. Gan-jjajang really is the best kind of jjajang."
Hururururuk!
Areum launched a noodle-slurping offensive. For such a tiny body, she ate with incredible relish.
Chinese food was nothing but dishes that were absolutely terrible for a diet.
The mains themselves were noodles, and the sides were all fried. Most of it was greasy and sent your blood sugar spiking. To the point where even on cheat days, they tell you to avoid Chinese food.
In other words, it was fucking delicious.
Why were delicious things so damn high in calories?
Kkulkkek.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the jajangmyeon, then I squeezed them shut and headed for the fridge.
"Hey, Areum, you know what?"
"Hululup. Hm?"
"These days they even sell chicken thighs marketed as diet food. Even the seasoned ones are under 200 calories."
"Num num num. Good for you. Enjoy~"
"......."
I heated up the chicken thighs in the microwave.
But my eyes still wouldn't leave the jajangmyeon. Look at that jajang sauce, giving off that greasy, sweet-and-savory aroma. Since I knew exactly how it tasted, my salivary glands were about to explode even without putting it in my mouth.
Anyway, why did she leave the noodles unmixed like that? And why did she set aside some of the jajang sauce?
"Areum, why aren't you eating that?"
"I can't eat it all at once, so I'm saving it for later tonight."
"B-but the noodles are gonna get all soggy."
"Can't be helped. But if I don't eat the kkanpung shrimp now, they'll get soggy too."
That's true. I'd better eat them before they get soggy.
But letting the noodles get soggy isn't something you should do either.
"Ppup."
Areum burst out laughing. Apparently, my conflicted state looked pretty hilarious to her.
"Just eat. You've already lost a ton of weight, so whatever. I'll keep it a secret from Seora unnie."
"...Promise."
I picked up my chopsticks.
After exams, I'll just work out harder. Whatever.
Hururururuk!
Ah, this is the taste.
That day, my weight went back up to 94kg.
*
After eating and brushing my teeth.
Areum and I lay side by side on the bed.
"Ugh, I ate, and now I'm sleepy."
"Because we couldn't sleep properly yesterday."
"Let's study after we nap and wake up."
"Let's. I absolutely can't do it right now either."
The aftermath of pulling an all-nighter hit hard. I was so damn tired I couldn't study or do anything.
Wasn't this just a pointless trade-off?
Anyway, I felt like the exam went well, so I guess it didn't matter.
"Ugh. Why is the pillow so uncomfortable today?"
"Want to use my arm as a pillow?"
"Then your arm will fall asleep."
"I'll just gently slide it out once you're asleep."
"Alright, I'll take you up on that."
I offered Areum one of my arms.
Areum rested her head on my arm, tossed and turned a few times to get comfortable, then smiled contentedly.
"I wish I could just detach this arm and take it with me. It's the perfect sleeping pill."
"Before, you said you wanted to detach something else."
"Ehehe. Well, of course, more than the arm, this is the real thing."
Areum wriggled her hand under the blanket. Her small hand grabbed my dick over my boxers. I was the type who slept in just boxers and a tank top.
"Don't fondle it too much. It'll get all sticky and I won't be able to sleep."
If I leaked even a little pre-cum, I'd have to change my boxers. Since I had a lot of stamina, I also produced a lot of pre-cum.
"I'll just hold it in my hand. Holding this helps me fall asleep."
"...Feels like something's reversed here, though?"
It was true that putting a hand on the core area helped you fall asleep. It gave you tremendous psychological comfort. But shouldn't it be me who falls asleep better?
Areum answered.
"You can touch my chest, too. It helps you fall asleep."
"Ohhh..."
I instantly understood.
Fondling breasts made me feel calm in both mind and body.......
"Don't touch the nipples. That wakes me up."
"Yess'm."
I placed my hand on Areum's chest, and Areum kept her hand on my dick as we tried to fall asleep.
The one who fell asleep first was Areum.
Pyu.......
A soft little breathing sound escaped.
I gazed at Areum with half-closed eyes.
"...She's ridiculously pretty."
Even with a completely bare face, not a trace of makeup, her skin was smooth and flawless. Her nose bridge wasn't high but not low either—just right—and its rounded shape gave her such a cute look.
Seeing her sleeping so peacefully made this whole situation feel like a dream. Instead of the familiarity and comfort from earlier, I felt like my heart was racing more now. And to think I was just cracking sex jokes with a girl like this earlier, huh?
"I feel grateful all over again......."
I was thankful that she treated me so comfortably. Actually, more than excitement, this familiarity and comfort were exactly what I had wanted.
The reason I was particularly blunt with Areum was because it was comfortable. Since she treated me casually first, I responded more naturally than I did with other friends.
On the other hand, I also thought I should treat her better from now on. What did Areum say earlier? Don't lose what's precious by getting too used to it, right?
"So precious......."
My voice was thick with sleep. Drowsiness was slowly washing over me.
I placed a light kiss on sleeping Areum's cheek, then closed my eyes. I had to fall asleep fast and wake up to study.......
*
"So precious......."
Pi Ah-reum, who had her eyes closed, nearly jolted awake at the voice she suddenly heard.
What a surprise.
He'd suddenly muttered that I was pretty and that he was grateful, then kissed my cheek. She'd been on the verge of falling asleep and almost opened her eyes wide in shock.
Why's he suddenly acting like this?
She lifted her heavy eyelids and looked at Kang Cheol-jin. His breathing was steady, as if he'd already fallen asleep.
He lost a lot of weight.
The jawline that had been buried under fat was faintly visible. The true handsomeness of his face, which must have always been there, was gradually revealing itself.
Pi Ah-reum looked at Kang Cheol-jin with sleepy eyes, then turned sideways and burrowed into his embrace.
"Mmm... If you get too handsome, it's going to be a problem......."
Lately, the way girls looked at him had been changing. The handsome looks that only those in the know had recognized were now becoming visible on the outside. The more weight he lost, the more glances like that would multiply.
"He's mine......."
Pi Ah-reum hugged Kang Cheol-jin tightly, as if determined not to let him be taken away.
Where else could you find a sex friend like this? Big build, big cock, and he can keep his mouth shut.
Even his stamina was incredible.
She knew that no matter how pretty she was, it wasn't easy to find such a convenient guy.
Though the downside was that he had no intention of dating.
Pyu.......
The two who had fallen asleep woke up in the deep, pre-dawn hours.