Violence or a Reward

Pretty good odds, right?

When it came to Constellations famous for ripping mountains out of the ground, there was basically no one bigger than Xiang Yu.

Before I knew it, Han Nami and I had finished showering and were sitting in the hot bath, talking. The water at least kept our bodies out of sight, and with both our heads tipped back I wasn't looking at anyone naked.

"Still, if you guess wrong you can end up causing an incident, so be careful."

Apparently there were cases where people got chummy with the wrong Constellation on a misunderstanding and ended up driving them further away.

"Not that I have any room to talk, considering I don't even know my own Constellations' nicknames."

"What are the nicknames?"

Curiosity got the better of me before I could stop it.

"One of them is called 'Hands Come in Twos.' I mean, of course people have two hands—how am I supposed to figure it out from that…"

"Isn't that Samson?"

"What?"

Nami echoed me, startled by my mutter.

"No, it just popped into my head. Samson has two hands too, right…?"

I'd said it without thinking, but her reaction was intense.

"Yeah… now that you mention it…"

She looked like she'd sunk deep into her own thoughts. Best to just stay quiet at times like this.

Man, this place is nice.

I'd only meant to rinse off quick and leave, but somehow I'd ended up in the hot bath—and I had zero regrets. Whether they were using premium spring water or what, the water was silky, the temperature was perfect, and every bit of tension in my body was melting away.

If it were up to me, I'd come here all the time.

It wasn't that far from home, and the facilities were spotless. I'd always liked going to bathhouses anyway, so if I ever had the time…

"That's it!"

"Kyaaaaaaah!!!"

Holy shit—!

Park Sohee shot upright and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me.

"I think Samson is right! How did you know, Sohee?!"

"Wait—hold on! Your chest! Your chest—!"

Those things kept smacking me in the face! Put those weapons of mass destruction away and then talk!

"Ah! I'm so sorry. I got too excited."

"Hah… hah…"

Freed at last from the violence of those violent breasts.

…Was that violence, or a reward?

Either way, for someone who'd never even had a girlfriend, it was a serious shock.

"Anyway, thank you so much for the help!"

"Okay, okay, I get it—just sit down first!"

Every time she stood up, those… things were on full display!

Nope. If I stayed in here any longer I was going to die. Nosebleed, anemia, death. Guaranteed.

"Ah, I got way too worked up. Hehe."

Not exactly something you laugh off—but I let it slide. For me it wasn't laugh-it-off material, but for a normal woman it probably would have been.

"So you really think it's Samson?"

"Yes! He's always saying churches make him nostalgic, and he's told me before that long hair is essential if you want to get stronger!"

And somehow she still hadn't figured it out until now.

I looked at her with that exact thought written on my face, and she flushed red.

"…There are just so many Constellations. Samson never even crossed my mind."

Fair enough. Even among the ones whose names were already public, there were plenty I'd never heard of.

"Anyway, I will definitely pay this favor back."

"It's fine. Just keep what happened in the interrogation room earlier a secret."

"Of course! I already told my junior to keep it quiet too!"

Good. That was a relief.

"Other than that—is there anything else you need?"

Anything I needed? Not really.

Asking for money felt weird too. The orc subjugation payout alone had dropped two months of a regular salary into my account in one go. Being a downtown incident, the compensation had been pretty juicy.

Honestly, there was only one thing I needed right now.

"I'm looking to move."

"Huh? Move?"

"Yeah. The soundproofing in my place is terrible."

"Ah…"

She must have remembered my childbirth-level screaming, because the smile vanished the second I said soundproofing.

"Soundproofing is important. Yes. Very important."

"R-right?"

"When you're with your boyfriend, it gets a little awkward if things are too loud, you know?"

"What?"

Boyfriend?

Out of nowhere?

What did having a boyfriend have to do with soundproofing…

Ah.

"I, uh, don't have a boyfriend."

"Whaaaat?"

"Sit! Just sit down first!"

What was so shocking she had to stand up again?

"Thank you so much for your help!"

"I think I got more help from you, honestly."

A lot had happened.

First, Nami and I exchanged contact info. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My phone number was the same as in my previous life. Aside from the house, the gender, and the name, pretty much everything was identical.

Oh—right. Age had changed too.

She also offered to help with the housing situation. That was honestly why I'd shared my number in the first place. There was an officetel a lot of Association staff lived in, with some kind of government subsidy. She'd explained the details, but given where we were at the time, I hadn't exactly been absorbing every word.

I'd picked up some other intel too.

A Constellation's true name wasn't just useful for raising favorability—it could be used as a weapon in its own right.

She said a lot of Constellations hate having their true names revealed.

In exchange for keeping a true name secret, you could receive Coins on a regular basis.

That's literally a subscription model.

The shop even sold a subscription feature. I could put it to work with that.

And one more thing.

Han Nami had zero dating experience.

Honestly, looking the way she did, the claim was a little hard to believe—but when she hit me with, "And you're the one saying that, Sohee?" I had nothing. Fair enough. My current appearance was peak beautiful-girl material.

Anyway, I opened my locker to dry my hair and change. Nami had already headed out for work without even drying hers.

Underwear first. The bra felt a little snug around the chest, but it was manageable. Anything bigger wouldn't have looked as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good anyway.

Then I started pulling on the rest of the clothes.

…Is this even how you're supposed to wear this?

I'd just pointed at a random mannequin at the mall and bought whatever it was wearing, and the outfit was a little weird.

Starting with this bracelet.

Way too big for a bracelet. I'd tried it on my ankle too, but it was so loose it just slid right off.

No way.

Was this a choker?

On a hunch I looped it around my neck—and it fit perfectly.

"Haa…"

I should've just asked for the clothes that were actually on the mannequin.

I tried the top next.

What kind of shirt comes with this many belts?

I'd thought it was a plain white tee, but it had corset-style straps built in.

How do you even wash this?

The belts weren't detachable—they were sewn right into the fabric. Whatever. I was only wearing it this once, so I just put it on.

Bottoms next—a skirt.

I should've bought pants too.

The only pants I had at home were sweatpants, so I'd need to grab a pair eventually.

Then again, the skirt isn't bad on its own.

It was breezy, for one. No fabric riding up between my legs. I was starting to understand why women liked skirts.

I checked myself over in the mirror.

The belts on the top made my chest stand out a little more, but without them the fit wouldn't have looked half as good.

Gonna need shoes too.

My old pair was filthy. Even hand-washing probably wouldn't get the stains out, so I'd have to buy new ones.

And with that, I headed home.

Naturally, I could feel eyes on me from every direction.

Well, yeah. I am stupidly pretty.

The first time I'd looked in a mirror, I'd half-wondered if I was a foreigner. Koreans didn't have blue eyes. Same with the hair—I'd dyed in some pink as a secret two-tone, but the base was pure white.

So of course I'd assumed foreigner. Finding out I had Korean nationality had been a surprise.

Were my parents foreigners?

The family register listed me as an orphan, so I hadn't been able to track down who my parents were—but they were probably foreign.

I was walking along with those thoughts when—

"E-excuse me!"

Some guy called out and stopped me.

"Sorry, but I really like your look. Do you maybe have an Insta—"

"I'm sorry."

Fuck that.

Woman or not, I had zero interest in swapping contacts with some random dude.

I turned him down politely and kept walking home.

"It was love at first sight! Please go out with me!"

"…"

For fuck's sake.

I rejected him politely again. Hearing "just give me one chance" left me a little dazed, but he left when I put it nicely.

Not even a minute later—

"Hey, miss! Want a ride?"

This time a guy in a foreign luxury car rolled down his window and yelled.

"…no."

"Sorry? Can't hear you!"

"…said no."

"Huh?"

"I said I don't want a fucking ride, you asshole—!"

Once or twice was whatever, but why did they keep coming at me?

This was genuinely pissing me off.

In the end I sprinted the rest of the way home at full speed.

Turns out nobody tries to ask for your number when you're booking it. A few guys looked like they were about to try, but once I hit top speed they couldn't keep up. Never underestimate a hunter's power again.

I got home, changed into something comfortable, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and booted up the computer with my toes. Typed in the familiar password and opened a browser.

Then I went to Hunternet.

It was a community exclusive to licensed hunters, so I hadn't been able to get in yesterday—but with a hunter license now, I was in.

I registered an account and started browsing posts.

"Ah."

No way.

Please no.

I moved the mouse and clicked the top post.

I closed Hunternet.

"Fuck."

This sucked.