School Closure # 1
School Closure # 1
A gasp of admiration slipped right out.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, there was a small hallway. Left for the bathroom, right for the toilet.
And straight ahead—
"Whoa."
A huge room opened up.
First off, there was one absolutely enormous bed inside. Also one absolutely enormous TV. The fridge, the wardrobe, the chest of drawers—every single thing in there was oversized.
I never knew hotel rooms like this existed. What on earth do rich people even do in a place like this?
It was just overwhelmingly amazing.
"Hey! Si-hoo! What are you doing out there! Hurry up and come in!"
Was the sheer size of this hotel room too much for him? Si-hoo had been lingering outside. After a moment, he finally came inside.
"It's bigger than I expected...?"
"Heheh, right? Leona must've pulled some strings. Wow, how is this room so nice?"
I seriously couldn't stop being impressed. Anyway, now that we were in, it was time to wash up. I immediately peeled off my coat and put it aside somewhere reasonable.
"Si-hoo, I think we ought to wash up a bit, what with all that monster blood splattered on us. Should I shower first?"
"F-First...? Uh, yeah. Would you do that?"
"Sure."
Enjoying the hotel room could wait. Let's wash up first. Leaving Si-hoo behind, I headed for the bathroom. In front of the bathroom, I stripped off my clothes and went inside.
"Ooh, the bathroom's nice too."
The bathroom was also incredibly well-appointed. There was even a bathtub, but now wasn't really the time for that. I turned on the hot water right away.
—Shhhhhhh.
I've been waiting for this moment.
There's something I have to do while I wash up.
"Status window."
I muttered softly, bringing up the status window.
--------------------
[Status Window — Kim-Geun-cheol]
[Rank: F]
「Strength: 14」
「Skill: 15」
「Stamina: 12」
「Durability: 10」
「Mana: 11」
[Remaining Coin: 10,692]
--------------------
There was my status window.
"Ha, look at all this money."
I'd started with a bit over five thousand, but I'd cleared every main quest and then gone absolutely ham with the hunting on top of that, so I'd earned a ton. Just looking at my wallet made me smile. I'm a genuine nouveau riche now.
Hunting efficiency didn't seem that great, though. Unless I was going to grind out a full massacre session, it felt a bit lackluster.
Still, with this much I could raise three whole stats... Which should I invest in? Last time, I'd wanted to see my build before deciding on a growth direction. But after fighting monsters this time, I'd really felt how short on mana I was.
My Strength and Skill were progressing fine on their own, so I'd dump it all into Mana. Durability would be necessary if I wanted to be a Tanker, but the idea of a hero fighting while taking hits is just nonsense to begin with. The way I see it, heroes are all about evasion tanking.
Instructor Kawar is teaching me Shield Magic and all, but even that's sustained by mana in the end. Don't think you can just raise Durability and soak hits. You dodge. And even if you get grazed, you minimize the damage with a shield.
"Purchase Mana stat."
[Mana has increased by 3.]
Nine thousand coin vanished in an instant, bringing my Mana stat to 14. Truly, this was the kind of growth that brought tears to your eyes. I didn't feel it in the moment, but after sleeping tonight, I'd know for sure. I can't wait for tomorrow. How much longer can I sustain my sword aura now?
But then.
[Weapon Enchantment Lv. 2]
"What?!"
My Weapon Enchantment leveled up while I was fighting!
"That's insane, what a steal...!"
A skill-up without even noticing...!
Truly terrifying!
My talent!
"Hehehe!"
I felt great. Grinning like an idiot, I finished my shower. Ah, but I didn't have any clothes to change into. As I stood there pondering, I opened the towel cabinet and found a robe inside.
"Why is my luck so good today?"
There were even underclothes in here.
A robe is definitely the standard move in a hotel.
After drying myself completely with a towel, I spotted a wrapped pair of disposable underwear next to me. Damn, a fancy hotel like this really has everything? I tore open the packaging, put on the underwear, and threw on the robe. A perfect hotel ensemble. I feel like my agility stat went up.
—Click.
I headed back into the room just like that.
"Hey, Si-hoo. I'm all done showering. You go wash up now."
"Geun-cheol? What's with the robe?"
"They had them in there. There's even disposable underwear. Anyway, I'm gonna rest a bit, so go on and wash up."
"Ah, got it."
As I sat down, Si-hoo, who was looking oddly awkward, moved toward the bathroom with a somewhat uncomfortable gait.
"Maybe he's a bit tired?"
Well, he did fight hard, so it makes sense he'd be tired.
* * *
—Ba-dump, ba-dump.
Her heart was pounding as if it would burst. Would the sound give her away? Lee Si-hoo agonized over whether the sound would give her away as she barely managed to slip into the bathroom.
—Click.
And she'd done it while still fully clothed.
If she took her clothes off outside and Geun-cheol suddenly came out, it would be a disaster. Therefore, she had to remove her clothes inside the bathroom.
"Haaah...!"
The bathroom was thick with steam. Geun-cheol had been showering in here just moments ago.
That fact seemed to make her body heat up even more.
"What do I do...!"
Lee Si-hoo tore at her hair as she said it.
Her back grew hot and slick with cold sweat.
She was in deep trouble.
Seriously deep trouble. How had she ended up in a situation like this? Alone with Geun-cheol in the same hotel room? Was she insane? Had she genuinely lost her mind? Was she going to get caught?
"Ugh!"
She had no idea what to do.
There was nothing but confusion and agony.
Why had it come to this?
When Geun-cheol said he was going to Leona's place, she'd been so startled that she'd reacted without thinking. She still didn't know why she'd reacted. Even so, the thought of Geun-cheol going off alone with Leona had stirred some inexplicable emotion inside her, and as a result of losing her head for a moment, she'd been dragged all the way here.
But the same room?!
In the same hotel room as Geun-cheol?!
How could the situation get this tangled?!
On top of that, she'd been rushed here so suddenly she hadn't even packed any clothes...!
"Aaack!"
Lee Si-hoo tore at her hair, utterly distraught. Her vision seemed to spin, and a floating, unmoored anxiety wrapped around her chest. Whatever happened, she had to hide the fact that she was a woman.
That pressure crushed down on her heart.
"Huuuh...!"
Lee Si-hoo somehow forced her chaotic mind to settle as she took off her clothes. It was already done. She had to push through somehow.
—Rustle.
Relief washed over her as she undressed. The compression bandage really was unbearably uncomfortable.
—Jiggle.
As the bandage came loose, that truly cumbersome chest of hers was revealed. From now on, she had to hide this cumbersome thing and get through... And that would be difficult.
'What should I do?'
Should she say they should leave after just one night here?
But if she did, wouldn't Geun-cheol think she was trying to keep her distance? And wouldn't Leona be hurt, thinking her kindness wasn't being accepted?
The overlapping acts of goodwill had turned into a catastrophe. She didn't want to hurt anyone, and she didn't want to cause any misunderstandings. She couldn't figure out why she was in this situation, but—
'It's already happened.'
What mattered was not getting caught. As long as she didn't get caught, there was no need to make Geun-cheol think strange thoughts, and she could properly accept the kindness of the generous Leona, too.
As Lee Si-hoo, who played the part of an ordinary guy, she didn't want to act awkwardly for no reason.
Besides, if she was exposed over something like this, she'd never be able to hide her gender again. Like it or not, she had to conceal her gender for life. Gaining some experience from an incident like this wasn't the worst thing.
—Shhhhhhh.
Lee Si-hoo furiously brainwashed herself as she turned on the water.
"Haaah."
When the warm water touched her heated body, it felt strange. Lee Si-hoo shifted the faucet toward the cold side, thinking—
—Shhhhhhh.
The appropriately cooled water felt nice. As her body cooled down, her thoughts seemed to straighten out.
No matter what, she would hide it. No—she had to.
"My chest!"
This bursting chest—she could hide it, just like she always had!
Fortunately, under her school uniform, all she wore was a white T-shirt, the bandage, and boxer briefs. She'd never worn feminine underwear, so there was no risk of being exposed by that.
Still, even with her chest wrapped in bandages, it did protrude a bit... The uniform had been able to smooth out that much curve, but with only a white T-shirt on, it would be a little harder.
Honestly, though, she had a feeling she could fool Geun-cheol.
'Seriously so cumbersome...!'
—Squeeze!
Lee Si-hoo grabbed one of her breasts, thinking what a nuisance it was.
But.
"..."
Geun-cheol had said this figure was very attractive. As she remembered that, heat seemed to radiate from her body all over again.
'This is driving me crazy!'
Her head was spinning. Why on earth was she so conscious of Geun-cheol? He was just a close friend. A really close friend. Something like her first best friend.
A friend.
Geun-cheol would never, not in the slightest, think of her as a girl. So why was she the only one thinking things like this and worrying? Wasn't this strange?
Even as that thought crossed her mind.
"Geun-cheol, seriously!"
And yet. Maybe—
Being acknowledged as a woman...
maybe that was just a little bit pleasing.
"..."
Yeah.
So even someone like me did have some feminine appeal. About nothing else, but as far as her figure went, it seemed she had enough charm that even Geun-cheol had admitted it was the best.
"Heh, hehehe."
A laugh slipped out when she thought about it. Her confidence welled up. The situation was the absolute worst, but that one thing was unbelievably joyful. So joyful she couldn't hold it in.
To think a figure saddled with such cumbersome breasts could be effective. Honestly, she'd nearly had a heart attack when she thought the slime had blown her cover, and she'd been deeply ashamed that Geun-cheol had seen her naked body.
But Geun-cheol had no idea at all that the body was hers.
And in that state, he'd honestly praised her figure. A completely honest assessment. It was embarrassing, but she was happy. So Geun-cheol was into that kind of thing.
"Well, I guess this cumbersome thing does come in handy sometimes. Heh."
However.
Alongside the joy, a faint melancholy settled in. Because no matter how much she possessed this feminine body, the thought came that she was ultimately fated to live as a man.
"..."
What an utterly absurd family she had.
If she were to just get caught... Lee Si-hoo's thoughts reached that point, and she shook her head. It was an unavoidable fate. She could never break free of the fetters placed upon her by her family.
—Rustle.
Having finished her shower, Lee Si-hoo took out a towel and meticulously dried her body, then wrapped the compression bandage around her chest. After donning the disposable underwear and a white T-shirt, she threw the robe on over them.
Just like Geun-cheol.
'This should keep me from getting caught.'
Thank goodness for the robe.
—Click.
The moment she stepped out of the bathroom, thinking that, and into the room—
"Oh, Si-hoo, you're out? Hey, hey. Quick, come look at this."
"Mm? What is it?"
"There are adult channels on the TV...!"
"Whaaaaaat?!"
Why was that kind of thing just sitting there on such a huge screen?!