Next-Door Neighbor (1)
It feels exactly like a dream right now. Thud!Thud! I have no idea how many minutes I've been trapping this ball. Ball trapping was never that hard before, but the sensation from the tip of my foot right now is on another level entirely. I felt the same thing during shooting practice earlier. My body doesn't feel like my own body. And yet, it does feel like mine. …It's too hard to put into words.
Thud!Thud! Left foot, right foot, then knee and chest. Without letting the ball touch the ground even once, I kept the trapping going. It was so much fun I didn't want to stop.
And then, at some point…
“……!”
The instinct hit me perfectly, and whoosh! I floated the ball up and smashed it dead-center into the empty net with the instep of my right foot. Clang! The cannonball shot shook the net like it was going to rip it apart. It sucked straight into the corner of the goal. I could confidently say even a world-class keeper couldn't stop this more than 90% of the time. Not just the trajectory—the speed on this shot was straight-up cheat-level.
“Haha… hahahaha!”
Laughter burst out of me on its own. It wasn't just the kicking power that had improved. Tap-tap! Whenever I pictured a skill in my head, my feet moved automatically, pulling it off effortlessly. Even high-difficulty moves like the flip-flap came easy. And this feeling of the ball sticking to my foot like it would never drop—that was a sensation I'd never experienced before.
Squish! I pinched my cheek hard again. Hard enough to bruise, but I didn't wake up. This was reality. The winter wind biting at my cheeks with its freezing chill—it was all too vividly real.
“Hahahahaha!”
I laughed triumphantly. If anyone saw me like this, they'd think I was half-crazy for sure. Out here in an empty lot at dawn, kicking a ball around alone, then suddenly cracking up like puhaha—who wouldn't think that was weird?
But I couldn't help it. The deal with that goblin from my dream had actually come true in reality. It was thrilling and absurd all at once.
“Well, this thing's bigger, but it doesn't feel inconvenient at all.”
My newly reborn cock was proudly heavy in my pants. I could feel its presence when I walked, but when I planted my foot perfectly on the soccer ball, it strangely didn't bother me. Probably because I was so focused on soccer.
“I wanna play a real game…”
Through this practice, I could feel that all the goblin's miraculous skills had been transplanted into me, but my thirst wasn't fully quenched yet. The only way to satisfy it was to get thrown into a real match and dominate the pitch.
But with the season basically over, there were no pro-level games to jump into. I could test it out in some casual morning soccer, but that wouldn't really scratch the itch.
“They're gonna regret releasing me so fucking hard, those bastards.”
This soccer skill could vanish any second. My dick could shrink back to its pathetic old size too. But I didn't care. I didn't earn this through effort anyway. As long as I could enjoy it for a little while, that was enough. I couldn't just waste this golden opportunity that might disappear anytime.
“Alright… now what?”
Gurgle! My stomach clock finally rang. I pulled out my phone to check the time—over three hours had passed. It was insane that I'd been so locked in I hadn't noticed.
“Guess I'll head home.”
On the way back, my steps felt endlessly light. Like I was floating on clouds.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“What should I eat…”
I rubbed my belly, pondering. There wasn't much edible stuff at home. The fridge was full of bottled water, and the freezer had frozen fruit and chicken breast.
“Gotta start on a proper diet, huh.”
I'd inherited the goblin's soccer skills, but to bring 100% of them to life on the pitch, I'd need to manage my body meticulously.
“I miss Mom's home cooking…”
Come to think of it, I hadn't called her. I pulled my phone from my pocket. I needed to call, but my hand hesitated over the screen. It wasn't fully proven yet, but if that goblin's skills really worked in this reality, my life from here on out would be a bed of roses. Still, spitting out “I got released” to Mom wasn't easy.
“Sigh…”
I turned the corner, and my one-room building came into view. In the end, I shoved the phone back in my pocket. Yeah, I'll call from home.
“Food first.”
I was picking up the pace when—
“Huh?”
My eyes met those of a woman coming out of the supermarket. She started to raise her hand in greeting, then suddenly dropped her gaze and turned away. I knew exactly why, so I chuckled and walked up to her first.
“Hey, noona.”
She was my next-door neighbor. We weren't close or anything. Just knew she lived next door, graduated from the same university, and was prepping for the civil service exam.
“Ah… uh-huh.”
She barely looked at me before rushing through the greeting.
“You can say hi now, noona. That's heavy, right? Want me to carry it? Heading home?”
She finally looked at me.
“Thanks for the offer, but… it makes me uncomfortable. What if I run into your girlfriend again…”
“We broke up.”
“…What?”
Her eyes went wide.
“No, why? She was so pretty… cute too…”
“Temper like a bitch. She flipped out just because we said hi.”
That was why she avoided me. About two months ago, on my way home, we'd bumped into each other. We exchanged light greetings and a bit of chit-chat. She smiled warmly even at my dumb comment about gas bills going up with the cold. And Jeong Ha-yoon saw it. No point explaining. She misunderstood big-time and unleashed a torrent of abuse on noona—telling her not to flirt with me and shit. Nice as she seemed, noona kept apologizing and bolted home. I should've been the one sorry… but back then, I was so into Ha-yoon I took her side every time.
…Thinking about it pisses me off all over again, fuck.
“D-Dumped? Or did you get dumped?”
Noona asked slyly, then frantically shook her head.
“Ah… if it's a tough question, you don't have to answer.”
I flashed a small smile and took one of the bags from her hands.
“I got dumped.”
“D-Dumped? Why the hell?”
She stared at me like it was unbelievable. Clearly dying to know why.
“Long story… want the short version?”
Right as I said that—
Grrrrumble!
My stomach roared like thunder.
“Ah…”
I awkwardly rubbed it, and noona, who'd been staring, asked softly.
“Haven't eaten?”
“Yeah. Been kicking a ball since morning.”
I showed her my crossbody bag with the soccer ball and cleats. She nodded slowly.
“I was about to make some food too… want some side dishes? Thinking of boiling kimchi jjigae…”
“For real?”
“Yeah. My hands are big, so I always make too much. It goes to waste. Take some if you want.”
“Awesome! I'd love that.”
Thinking of hot rice, kimchi stew, and sides instead of bland chicken breast and frozen fruit smoothies made strength surge through me out of nowhere.
“Oh, noona.”
“Hm?”
“Wait here a sec. No microwave rice at home—gonna grab some.”
I grinned and started setting the bags down, but she suddenly offered.
“…Wanna just eat together?”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Here I was, in a strange woman's place. Not my first time in a solo woman's one-room, but first time it wasn't a girlfriend's.
Well… calling noona a total stranger was a stretch. Still, the mood wasn't heading anywhere steamy. I'd come purely for a free meal, and she was makeup-free, plain-faced in baggy pajamas with messy hair.
What was it? Felt like dropping by my actual sister's for food.
“Fried eggs? Or scrambled? I make good rolled omelets too.”
“Nah, no need to go all out. Fried eggs are fine.”
“Okay, got it.”
Come to think of it, a real sister wouldn't be this nice. I stared at noona cracking eggs into the pan on the floor. Things I'd never noticed before caught my eye. Despite the loose clothes, her big tits held their presence. And for someone glued to books at home, her hips were surprisingly perky…
Slap! I smacked my cheek lightly. What was I, a dog in heat? Ogling this angelic noona like a perv. Pathetic.
“Hey, can you put these bowls on the table?”
“Oh, sure!”
I jumped up and took them. Steam rose invitingly from heaps of fried eggs.
“You made so much!”
“Not eating alone… like I said, big hands…”
The table loaded up generously. Main was pork kimchi jjigae, plus mountains of fried eggs, stir-fried potato shreds, seasoned water dropwort, spinach namul, soybean sprout salad, pickled onions and peppers.
“Whoa, delicious! You cook great, noona.”
I devoured it like a man possessed.
“I only did the stew, eggs, and potatoes. Rest is from Mom.”
“Stew's amazing too! You inherited her skills, huh?”
“Kimchi's from her too.”
“That's skill. Good ingredients are nothing without cooking talent.”
Noona smiled shyly. Over the meal, I spilled about Jeong Ha-yoon.
“…And that's how it went.”
Of course, I skipped the real reason. Couldn't tell noona “dumped for small dick.” So my excuse was…
“That's too much. Cheating?”
Ahem. Yeah, that.
“Still… hung up on her?”
Noona asked carefully. Honestly… yeah, a bit. I really liked her. That's why it hurt so much.
“Kinda. Pretty stupid, right.”
“……”
“But clinging now wouldn't be stupid—it'd be pathetic.”
She chuckled at that.
“True. It'll take time, but shake it off. World’s full of good girls. You'll find better.”
She grabbed some dishes and stood, adding softly.
“…You're handsome, after all.”
I poked fun at her giggling self-consciousness. I cleared the rest to the sink and stopped her from putting on gloves.
“I'll do it.”
“No, it's fine.”
“Come on. Least I can do after the meal.”
“You're a guest. It's okay. Makes me feel better doing it.”
“Alright… then I'll buy ice cream. Deal?”
She nodded with a grin. Nothing to do, and standing around watching her wash felt lame, so I headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
“Gonna use the bathroom, noona.”
“Sure.”
Right as I turned the knob—
“W-Wait a sec!”
Noona rushed over and grabbed it. But.
“N-Noona?”
The door was already wide open. And inside, one thing seized my gaze…
“Whoa… it's huge…”
A massive dildo.