Morning Awakening and the Awkwardness of Real Spirit Union
The morning sun was just beginning to rise.
What woke me from my sleep wasn’t the sun or the phone alarm.
“Ooh… ooh… ooh… ♡”
“…Dizzy.”
It was the phone alarm after all.
The real problem was that the alarm I had set wasn’t the one going off—it was a new email notification.
Starting the day with my teammates’ free porn AVs made my head spin.
‘Still, they don’t seem to get tired of it.’
On the surface they might look tired, but the way they enjoyed it told me otherwise.
Nar’i, who’d gone on a date yesterday, had moved past getting crushed by a black-haired guy to actually spanking him.
Zeei’s case was even worse—she’d gone from normal JAVs to having a leash on and walking on all fours.
A-yeong’s…
“What the hell is this?”
Group orgy?
The background looked more like a bathroom than anything else.
I almost called to check, but I’d already done that once before.
They said they liked it, so what could a stranger do?
Besides, jerking off in the bathroom had been a regular thing for them.
The way the hairs on my arm stood up was oddly intimate.
No way I could just ignore that, no matter how much I tried. Even from a distance this was crossing a line.
“……Sigh.”
I didn’t know what to do.
A weirdly uncomfortable feeling settled in my chest.
Since there was nothing I could actually do about it right then, I decided to just let the feeling sit there—‘uncomfortable’ was enough.
The only other thing left in the video was Se-ah’s confession that she’d joined the Hero’s party.
[The Hero’s XX has defeated me…!!]
Legs spread wide in a cartoonish V-shape.
Between her thighs, thick liquid dripped steadily.
Both hands raised in double peace.
It was a declaration of defeat mixed with humiliation, regret, and bitter tears.
“…The guy learned something.”
The Hero had learned something.
Not just anything. The vibe was way too elite to come from ordinary people.
I clapped quietly and stood up.
It looked like the urgent stuff, so I figured it was the teammates’ AVs.
At least I was fully awake now, though my SAN clearly dropped.
“Guess I’ll eat breakfast…”
I headed to the kitchen, popped two slices of bread into the toaster.
From the fridge I took the jam that had gone cold, turned on the TV, and switched on the news.
I didn’t really love news, but as I got older it felt strangely comforting.
The anchors’ solemn voice, droning on like they were just killing time.
Honestly, news was just professional trolling. Once you started watching, time vanished.
Beep!
“Aw, it’s done.”
I took out the perfectly toasted bread.
I spread the cold jam on top, then sprinkled a light dusting of sugar three times.
I tore it in half, put one piece in my mouth—
Crisp!
“Mmm…”
The satisfying crunch of the lightly browned toast.
Oodok! Oodok!
“Umm…”
The sugar crystals crunched between my teeth, releasing that perfect balance of sweetness.
On top of that—
Chiiiing♪
“…Tastes great.”
The cold jam blended perfectly with the hot bread, highlighting the strawberry aroma and the contrast of flavors.
It was insanely delicious.
That lazy, charismatic, lazy-morning breakfast actually slapped.
The remaining toast was still in my hand when the news started.
[Today’s news. A mass pregnancy incident has occurred at a certain women’s university.]
“Oh…”
[Next news. A female student living in Gangnam, named XX, has been missing for two weeks.]
“Ooh…”
The world really was getting dangerous.
It was obvious these were just Awakening incidents.
Especially when a whole group got pregnant and no one remembered who they slept with—it screamed Awakener behavior.
“Living in this world is terrifying.”
I shook my head and finished the last bite of toast.
And yeah. Time to get moving.
“I don’t want to go to work…”
But I had no choice.
I washed up properly and headed to the training center.
***
“Good morning! Everyone!”
Hard morning with morning wood!
If you ask my name, don’t bother asking anything else!
The employee ID hanging around my neck was just decoration!
I put on my brightest, most energetic smile.
“………”
“……Tsk.”
I felt it.
A strangely tense distance.
At least three steps behind where I had been yesterday.
I let out a quiet, teary sigh inside.
Was I really supposed to keep this vibe going?
Just as I was seriously considering chaining Hyewon, Hong Yeonhwa stepped forward first.
“Morning, Coach Ada.”
“You’re dead, right?”
“Want me to take Ada off for you?”
“Slut, I’m out here.”
As the owner of the Flame Spirit, she handled the nonsense with cool detachment.
Who cared if I was watching porn? What mattered was that you were strong enough for me to chew you up.
Still, one person seemed willing to follow my lead today, so I figured I’d focus on Yeonhwa.
“Then let’s start with today’s schedule—wait! What’s up?!”
“……Huuu…”
Spirit Idol’s leader, Jeon Harin.
She summoned a high-voltage cat and flashed a bright smile.
“Good morning! Spirit Idol’s—Nature!”
Together with the leader’s cry.
Chik.
“Zzzzzzt—Nitro, Harin!”
Chik.
“Hot—Flame, Hong Yeonhwa!”
Squish.
“Ueeet… th-that’s… Sujin… ooooh…”
“Sujin! Yo, Nam Sujin!”
In the end Nam Sujin lost to anti-magic resistance.
She knelt right there, covering her face with both hands.
“Th-that’s so embarrassing… I can’t do this anymore…”
“What are you talking about, Sujin…”
“If you’re that scared, it’s not my fault you’re a pervert!”
“Uuuu… uuu… uuuuu…”
Squeezed Sujin.
Exactly what I had been thinking.
“Among you, only Sujin is normal.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“It’s embarrassing as hell for someone watching.”
“!!… I really prepared hard for this…”
“Yeah.”
She had prepared seriously.
So I turned to the leader, Harin.
“This opening. Was it Hyewon’s idea?”
“……Yes. The president said it would be great to try.”
“Go home tonight and watch a Free X-er.”
“Eh?”
“No. I’ll show you right now.”
“Eeeeh?”
She looked flustered.
I didn’t care about that. I just pulled out my phone and played the Free X-er transformation scene.
“Ah…”
“I see.”
Harin understood in one second.
I looked at the others wriggling and gave Sujin a thumbs-up, letting her know I understood her empathetic tears.
“Growing old and becoming a magical girl idol, and even making real live-action idol versions? Who wouldn’t feel embarrassed?”
“Coach Sunwoo…!”
“Later show Hyewon that video and ask her again. Ask her if she really wants to use it. If she says yes, they’ll probably all react!”
It would be embarrassing to debut as a magical girl in front of people.
Sujin nodded vigorously in agreement.
Harin just muttered, “Free X-er… Free Free…”
“……Well? Did it work?”
“You’re so easy to understand.”
Yeonhwa looked like she didn’t care at all.
After all, small problems were just firewood in front of a fire.
“But why did you suddenly switch to banmal? You were using jondaemal before.”
“……What? Mad?”
“No. It suits you.”
“……”
Yeah.
Having someone with this personality around was pretty fun.
Whether I meant it or not, the mood had loosened. I addressed the whole group.
“Listen up. Everything I’m about to say is important.”
“Coach, is that really Ada?”
“Shut up, you slut.”
If you weren’t actually going to take Ada, keep your mouth shut.
I stared at Yeonhwa with serious eyes.
“O-Oh…”
Yeonhwa quickly calmed her excitement.
The point of teaching anger control was right here.
I cleared my throat lightly and continued.
“Today we’re going to check how the spirits relate to you. Figure out what’s wrong and what you can’t do.”
Only by finding the root cause could we solve it.
‘Actually, I already know.’
From the first time I brushed past it, I’d known what the issue was.
Still, seeing it again would reduce error, and the best way to understand something is to make it your own.
You need to know why something is a problem to fix it. If you don’t even recognize it as a problem, your parents will just be golden children.
“Start with Yeonhwa.”
“Flash—step out ‘Flame’!”
Hwa-k.
Small sparks flew, and a tiny flame began to form in the air.
It slowly took shape and grew larger.
[Sizz…]
“Fire lizard. Classic.”
Flame, the flat, creeping fire lizard on the floor.
Yeonhwa grabbed the entire body with her hand.
“We practiced that. This time we’re finally succeeding.”
[Siz…!]
“Huh?”
What?
Why was the spirit so scared?
“Going… Spirit Union!”
“What?”
Suddenly?
The ultimate technique of a Spirit Summoner right here?
Suppressing my common sense, I watched their every movement to the end.
Hwaaaaaaar!
“Kyoooooooot!”
A pained moan escaped her.
Even the scorching flames rising from Yeonhwa’s whole body were terrifying just to look at…
“It’s so hot—hot—hot—hot—why is this damn lizard so hot!”
[Siiiiiiic!!]
In the middle of the blazing furnace, how hot could Yeonhwa possibly be?
I slowly nodded, understanding.
“Spirit Union? It’s just Yeonhwa as charcoal barbecue.”
Mmm.
As expected of a Flame Spirit Contractor.
I wonder how the attribute assessment always hits the mark.
‘At least the words matched.’
Yeonhwa kept pushing the spirit without mercy.
The spirit only complained that it hurt, but never refused.
Instead, its tail kept wagging slowly…
“……Ah.”
There.
She had surrendered.
Yeonhwa, whom I had expected to be the biggest problem, was actually the one who handled the spirit best among the three.
---
**END OF CHAPTER 8**