Spring Rain Fell
I overslept a bit today.
It was because I had stayed up later than usual watching a few episodes of an anime Noona recommended last night, alongside doing a little research into scenarios women were supposed to fantasize about.
Chirp, chirp.
I started my day to the sound of twittering birds. It really was a quiet neighborhood.
Pushing myself up from the new bed Ajumma had ordered for me, I opened the wardrobe. After a moment's contemplation, I decided to leave the room just as I was, wearing the pajamas Noona had bought me. Up until yesterday, I had made it a strict rule to change clothes the instant I woke up, but starting today, I decided to spend my time around the house in sleepwear.
I had read about it on an online forum. They said clothing that subtly teased the contours of your body with every movement was an absolute turn-on—something made of a flowing, airy fabric, or perhaps cut a little snug. Better yet if it combined both.
I'll have to buy some more clothes.
To buy clothes, I needed to earn money. Money was vital whether in my past life or this one. I intended to leave the allowance Ajumma gave me untouched for as long as possible, since there would undoubtedly be times I'd need a lump sum once university started. For now, I had the card she gave me for living expenses, so I was fine for the foreseeable future. Just having food, clothing, and shelter covered was already an immense help. I would manage everything else on my own, which was a promise I had already made to her. She had offered to help more, but I turned her down. Even the help I had received so far caused me enough psychological strain.
At least the house is warm.
There was no problem lounging around in thin pajamas. In my previous life, the place I lived had been bitterly cold, but this house was well-insulated and the heating was always running full blast. It was warm enough that Yeo-eun Noona could wander around buck naked without feeling chilled.
Noona told me to wake her when it's time for lunch, so...
I began the morning stretches I used to do with the Monk at the temple every day. Many of the movements resembled yoga, and even after moving into this house, I had compulsively kept up the routine every single morning. After finishing the health stretches taught by the Monk, I took a shower and ate breakfast. Once the laundry and cleaning were taken care of, I searched for part-time job openings.
Time flew already.
It felt like I had only just finished breakfast, yet the clock had already moved forward. Rising from the sofa, I began preparing lunch. Housework involved far more tasks than one would expect; if one was ambitious enough, there was easily enough to consume the entire day.
"Noona. Noona."
Having spent a busy morning, I went to wake her.
There was no answer.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Noona! Time to wake up."
After calling out a few more times from outside the door, I stepped inside. Following another talk with her, I had secured conditional permission to enter her room. This happened to be one of those conditions—waking her up. As long as I refrained from entering from the evening onward when she started streaming, it was fine.
"Noona, wake up. It's past noon."
"Mmmgh... five more minutes..."
Today, as usual, the blanket lay discarded on the floor. At least she was wearing panties.
I really need to clean this room too.
When my furniture arrived, all the spare things she used to keep around were shifted into her room. But they had merely moved the furniture in without organizing a single thing. It was cluttered to the point where she might as well be cohabiting with dust. A messy, chaotic room. Seeing long strands of hair tumbling across the floor made my skin crawl with an urge that was nearly impossible to suppress.
"Mmm... Ah, whyyy..."
"You need to get up. Five minutes have passed."
Having sat perched on the edge of the bed for exactly five minutes, I nudged her awake again.
"Seriously, just five more minutes..."
Another five minutes. She should have just asked for ten from the start.
I stared blankly at Yeo-eun Noona's sleeping face. Come to think of it, my obsessive-compulsive symptoms seemed to have eased considerably. Today, I had slightly disrupted my strict sleep schedule and was lounging around in pajamas, yet I wasn't experiencing severe distress. In the past, the surging impulse would have made it almost unbearable to endure.
Was this also thanks to Yeo-eun Noona's influence?
No... maybe not Yeo-eun Noona, but Leehyun Noona?
Thinking it over, it seemed more likely due to Leehyun Noona. Watching her squirm beneath my feet had dissipated a fair amount of that pent-up urge, after all.
"Noona, five minutes are up."
"Aaagh, liar..."
"It's true."
"Last time, for real. Just five... no, ten minutes."
"Are you kidding me?"
Irritation flared up. Yeo-eun Noona truly had a knack for provoking my emotions.
"Ahhn... what's with you all of a sudden?"
"I said wake up."
"Hnnngh! Stop touching me. I'm sensitive in the morning..."
"It's lunch."
Annoyed by her insolence, I seized her ample breasts. Perhaps because my hands were small, the plush flesh overflowed my palms. Soft, yielding flesh spilled out between my fingers and past the edges of my grip. I kept kneading both of her breasts until she was fully awake.
"Hnngh...! I'm up! I'm getting up, okay?!"
"Are you eating first?"
"Yeah... Just let me use the bathroom, then I'll head down."
The moment Yeo-eun Noona opened her eyes, she checked her phone. Did she really like that device so much?
"Do you have that many people contacting you?"
"No... not necessarily."
"Important messages, then?"
"Nope."
Rolling from her stomach onto her side, her breasts pressed together, creating a deep cleavage. Why was she squinting so intently at the screen when she couldn't even keep her eyes open properly?
"Then why do you look at your phone so intently?"
I asked to see if there was another reason. It was an inquiry into the trivial details of her life, meant to help me understand her better.
"What, so someone who doesn't get messages isn't even allowed to look at their phone?"
"Are you angry? Why?"
"Because you're interrogating me about every little thing..."
Yeo-eun Noona's voice flared in pitch before tapering off. It seemed she had momentarily lost her temper.
"I only asked because I wanted to know more about you, Noona."
"Huh? What?"
"Sorry. I won't pry so much."
Peering over the top of her phone, she stared at me with wide, rounded eyes. Only now did the sleep seem to clear from her face. Since she would finish up in the bathroom and come down shortly, I figured I should head downstairs and heat up the stew.
Some people liked being asked about themselves, while others disliked it. It depended on the person and the situation. I had assumed Yeo-eun Noona enjoyed talking about herself. Perhaps bothering someone who had just woken up was my blunder.
A mistake on my part. I should be a little more careful next time.
Gauging another person's disposition was the fundamental basis of human relationships—especially when it came to leaving a favorable impression on someone important. When you grasped someone's inclinations accurately, many things became much simpler. And Noona was an important person to me. She was destined to play a major role in helping me learn and experience emotions. Having lived with her for a few days, I had gained a firm grasp of that reality.
"Hm? Do you need something?"
"Ah, no. Mmm... this is delicious."
My eyes met hers across the dining table. I had already noticed her casting sidelong glances at me throughout the meal.
What is it? Is she walking on eggshells around me?
Why would she be treading carefully? Wondering about the reason, I stared intently at her until I noticed a single grain of rice stuck to her cheek.
"Noona, hold on a second."
"Yeah?"
Rising from my seat, I reached across the table. I bent deep at the waist so that the loose collar of my pajama top sagged forward.
Can she see a little?
They said women loved catching glimpses of a man's bare skin like this, no matter what part of the body it was. While individual preferences might differ, sneaking a peek at intimate areas normally hidden from view seemed to be universally appreciated.
"Right here. There was a grain of rice stuck to you."
Success.
Yeo-eun Noona fumbled with where to look, her gaze boring straight into my chest. Her cheeks flushed bright red.
"Y-yeah. Thanks."
I brought the grain of rice I had plucked away with my fingers up to my mouth. Reminding myself it wasn't dirty, I popped it onto my tongue. In the past, this too was something my compulsive cleanliness would never have allowed.
If I had wanted to ramp up the sex appeal even further, I could have poked out my tongue to take it. But the relationship between us wasn't at that stage yet. Going overboard could easily backfire. I had to calibrate it so it seemed like natural, incidental flirtatiousness stumbled upon in daily life.
Whether my intent had landed properly was hard to tell, considering Noona stared fixedly at my lips before dropping her head down low. I couldn't see her expression anymore.
"I'd like to clean your room this afternoon. Do you have time?"
"Huh? Out of nowhere?"
As our meal drew to a close, I brought up the topic of cleaning. Having eaten in silence until then, Noona widened her eyes and looked at me.
"Because it's very messy."
"I'll clean my own room. Don't worry about it."
"If you aren't busy, I'd prefer to do it today."
Somehow, I had a feeling she was only paying lip service and would never actually do it.
"Wait, why clean my room all of a sudden?"
"Cleaning is supposed to be done before things get dirty. It's not out of nowhere—it's already long overdue."
"Why would anyone clean before it gets dirty...? No, whatever, you can't! Don't even think about coming in."
"There was a lot of dust. It's bad for your health."
Yeo-eun Noona desperately resisted the idea. Why was she so adamantly against it?
"Noo-naaa. Let's clean it. Please?"
I mimicked a man I had seen on a streaming site yesterday. Widening my eyes slightly and dragging out the end of my words, I leaned my upper body toward her.
"No, I mean... Haaah... Fine. Okay."
"Oh, yeah!"
"Seriously, who gets that thrilled over cleaning?"
It worked. Yeo-eun Noona was blushing again. Unless she had chronic facial flushing, it meant she was responsive even to small acts of charm from me. Since she grumbled constantly every day, I had assumed she only found me bothersome.
"You're done eating, right?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"I'll clear the table."
Having achieved my objective, I stood up to do the dishes.
At that, Noona suddenly screeched at me.
"Are you a psychopath or what?! Who clears the table the very second they finish eating? Just sit down for a minute!"
Her words froze me in my tracks.
Did I make another mistake?
I thought I had been doing a good job concealing my emotional deficiencies. Ajumma had assured me she hadn't mentioned anything about my emotional issues to Noona, either.
"What do you mean by that?"
I feigned innocence for now. I wasn't a psychopath, but because my condition presented similar symptoms, ordinary people found it hard to tell the difference. Regardless, I couldn't let her suspect that there was something wrong with my emotions.
"Come on, think about it. Who on earth washes the dishes right after eating?"
"Then when do you do them?"
"Before eating."
"How can you do the dishes before eating? There are no used dishes yet."
"Haaah... Forget it. You're just weird."
Was there a different culture around dishwashing in this world?
Just when I thought most everyday things were identical to my past life, an unexpected ambush had blindsided me.