Dance Challenge (2)
“So, are we uploading it right now?”
“Ugh, no way. We can’t post it like this.”
Even after dozens of attempts and finally nailing the challenge, Baek Dohee insisted we couldn’t upload the video yet.
“Why? Is there something wrong with the footage?”
“It’s not exactly a problem, but…”
Instead of explaining, Dohee pulled up the video we’d just shot and compared it side-by-side with other popular challenge videos.
“Ah.”
When I watched them separately I hadn’t noticed, but now the difference was obvious. Our video looked strangely flat and dull compared to the others.
“It’s because the lighting is too weak,” she said.
Apparently, most people filmed these challenge videos during the day with good natural light or indoors with proper lighting rigs. Shooting under nothing but streetlamps and moonlight was bound to make the colors look off.
“The clothes don’t match the vibe either.”
“The clothes?”
“Everyone coordinates their outfits to fit the concept of the video.”
The two of us were currently wearing wrinkled shirts and plain pants. Definitely not the cute aesthetic the challenge called for.
“Still… the dancing itself turned out almost perfect, so…”
Dohee gave a small nod and continued in a quiet voice.
“How about we prepare properly and reshoot tomorrow morning?”
“T-tomorrow?”
I’d assumed we’d finish everything today… The thought of having to do this all over again tomorrow already made my head spin.
“If it’s too much trouble for you, then…”
“No, not at all! I love it!”
I shook my head vigorously.
“Why would I feel burdened when I’m doing it with you?”
“I’m so touched…”
Dohee trailed off, then suddenly gave me an awkward look.
“Um… is it okay if I keep calling you Uncle?”
“What do you… Oh.”
I immediately understood why she was asking.
“You’re right…”
Looking at me now, calling me “Uncle” really didn’t fit. I was the very picture of a young woman.
“Call me whatever’s comfortable for you. I’m fine with anything.”
I had lived as a woman for over a decade in that other world. I still thought of myself as a man deep down, but… a title didn’t really matter.
“Then instead of Uncle, maybe Aunt…”
Dohee shook her head.
“No, that doesn’t feel right either. Your face is way too young to be called Aunt…”
She thought for a moment, then continued.
“Can I just call you Big Sister?”
“Isn’t… isn’t that a bit much?”
“Why?”
Dohee looked genuinely confused.
“You look too young to be my aunt. No one would see us as aunt and niece. If we were sisters, though, that might work.”
“That’s true, but… the age gap is still…”
Adding up my time on Earth and in the other world, I was now in my early forties. Being called “Big Sister” by Dohee, who wasn’t even twenty yet, felt incredibly guilty.
‘But…’
If she really wanted to call me that… maybe there was no need to stop her.
“Yes, Big Sister!”
Dohee beamed at me with a bright smile. Our family tree was probably a complete mess now… but I decided it didn’t matter.
“Shall we head back?”
We packed up before my sister could start worrying and headed home.
“Hmm?”
When we got home, my sister was nowhere to be seen.
“Did she step out for a bit?”
I checked the temporary phone she’d given me and found a single text message. It said she’d suddenly been called to join a gate raid and would be gone for a while. She’d probably be back tomorrow morning.
“She left for a raid this late at night?”
I glanced at Dohee to see her reaction. But contrary to my worries, she didn’t seem surprised at all by the sudden news of her mother’s absence.
“…Does this happen often?”
“It’s not that common for her to leave so suddenly. Maybe three or four times a month? Staying out overnight is a different story, though.”
“She stays out overnight too?”
“Gate raids can take several days, you know.”
As one of Korea’s top Hunters, my sister spent most of her month inside gates rather than at home. Overnight trips were the norm, and sometimes she wouldn’t return for an entire week.
“So… you’ve been staying home alone like this all the time?”
“Pretty much.”
“Aren’t you lonely?”
“I’m used to it now, so I’m fine. And besides…”
Dohee smiled sweetly.
“From now on, Big Sister will be here with me all the time, right?”
“Huh? Me?”
I blinked blankly.
“Don’t tell me… you were really planning to leave and sleep somewhere else?”
“Wasn’t that what we agreed on?”
I had promised Dohee I wouldn’t stay in the house with her. I’d even been planning to move out soon because of it…
“T-that was just something I said back then! I didn’t know you were like this, Big Sister…”
Just a few hours ago she had locked her door and insisted she absolutely hated the idea, but now her attitude had completely flipped. She looked up at me with big, pitiful eyes like a drenched puppy and begged me not to leave.
“You… you won’t go, right?”
“If you want me to stay, I’d be happy to, but…”
“You promised!”
At my answer, Dohee broke into a radiant smile and threw herself into my arms.
“U-um… D-Dohee?”
Wondering if she had forgotten I used to be a man, I carefully spoke up again.
“You remember I was originally a man, right?”
“I know. So what?”
She looked at me like she genuinely didn’t see the problem.
“Doesn’t it feel weird? I might look young, but you’re hugging a forty-year-old uncle right now.”
“Come on. Where in the world is there an uncle this pretty?”
Dohee rubbed her face against my chest.
“You said you lived as a woman for over twenty years over there. So you’re basically a woman now, aren’t you?”
“Well… I guess that’s true, but…”
“Besides, every proper villainess has at least one dark past she can’t tell anyone about. Right?”
That’s when I remembered.
That Dohee was an absolute hardcore fan of villainesses.
“In that spirit, tonight…”
Her eyes sparkled as she asked.
“Can you tell me some stories from that other world?”
“From the other world?”
“You said so many people liked you over there. Who was the most handsome?”
“……”
It looked like she wasn’t going to let me sleep until I answered.
“First…”
Once I started, the story would probably go on for a while.
“How about we take a shower first and talk after?”
We decided to get ready for bed and chat comfortably afterward.
“Okay! I’ll wash up quick!”
Dohee’s eyes were practically glowing at the thought of hearing real-life villainess stories instead of just novels. She practically skipped into the bathroom.
Soon after, the sound of running water echoed from inside.
While she was washing up, I leaned back on the sofa and slowly recalled the faces of the people I’d been involved with in that other world.
“…Why isn’t a single one of them normal?”
The first face that came to mind was the Tower Master.
“Hehe.”
Evelyn looked down at the adorable puppy licking her feet.
“Do you like my feet that much?”
The puppy swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly.
“To think that someone of the Tower Master’s caliber is groveling at the feet of a mere noble lady’s daughter…”
Evelyn withdrew her foot and leaned forward.
“I wonder what people would say if they saw this sight. It would be quite entertaining, wouldn’t it?”
She reached out and roughly grabbed the man’s chin.
“I-I don’t care about any of that…”
Lucas swallowed thickly.
The Tower Master. The continent’s only 9-Circle Mage. It was said that a 9-Circle Mage could single-handedly bring an entire nation to ruin. Even the Emperor, who held absolute power, could not treat him lightly.
And yet here he was… crawling on the floor like a dog just to receive the love of a marquis’s daughter. Obsessively worshipping her feet.
“So…”
A voice as sweet and seductive as honey-soaked fruit tickled Lucas’s ear.
“Didn’t I tell you clearly?”
Evelyn took another step closer, pulled him into her arms, and whispered into his ear.
“That in the end, you would have no choice but to fall in love with me.”
“……”
Evelyn gave a faint, wicked smile and met his eyes. She pressed lightly on his dry lips with her index finger.
“Do you want to kiss me?”
Lucas nodded hesitantly.
“If you let me kiss you…”
Evelyn liked obedient puppies who listened well.
“What can you give me in return?”
She liked puppies who would do anything for her.
“Anything…”
Lucas’s pupils trembled violently. People often compared the realm of a grand mage to a still, clear lake—perfectly calm and undisturbed.
But right now, violent ripples were spreading across Lucas’s heart. Massive waves crashed and foamed. He felt like he would go insane with the urge to steal her lips, her heart, her body right this instant.
“S-so please…”
But he couldn’t do that. If he did, she would surely leave him. She would never whisper words of love to him again, never embrace him, never kiss him.
Because Evelyn did not love him as much as he loved her. To her, he was someone who could be replaced at any time.
That was why… Lucas clung to her. So he wouldn’t be abandoned. He promised to give her anything she wanted.
If only he could steal those soft, delicate lips.
“Anything… you say?”
She smiled faintly.
“There is only one thing I want.”
“What… mmph!”
Evelyn kissed Lucas. Her small, delicate lips claimed his rough, desolate ones. Even as his eyes widened in shock at her sudden action, he obediently surrendered his body to her. Feeling her breath circulating stickily through him, he desperately prayed that this euphoric moment would last forever.
“Give me this…”
While Lucas was lost in fantasy, Evelyn pressed a finger gently against his heart and spoke.
“Give me this.”
Lucas stared blankly at her lips, now separated from his own. Having become her passionate captive, he no longer had any choices left.
“H-haa… do as you wish.”
Lucas answered by pressing his lips to hers once more.
“You promised.”
That day, the Tower Master’s heart became the villainess’s possession.
‘This… this is completely insane…!’
For now, let’s skip the Tower Master.