Sluuurp… haah.
I took a deep breath in, then out.
A warmth wrapped around my entire body, soft and comforting.
That addictive sensation made me want to stay like this forever, but at the same time, a wave of self-loathing crashed over me. What the hell was I even doing?
I knew, logically, that this was insane. But I just couldn’t stop.
“So warm…”
Lately, Yu Siwoo had been secretly doing something behind my back.
I was aware of it, but I hadn’t confronted him about it.
No—I hadn’t even thought about confronting him.
Because I had my own secrets from him.
Things I never wanted anyone to find out.
“Huuu… okay.”
Taking advantage of the moment when Yu Siwoo wasn’t around, I pulled out the hidden item again and hugged it tight.
The flicker of unease I’d felt earlier vanished the second I wrapped my arms around it.
In its place came a sense of stability, of comfort.
I knew I had to stop. But I couldn’t.
I stared at the hidden clothes. Yu Siwoo didn’t seem to have noticed…
…Or had he?
I’d been watching him for a while now, but he gave no sign of suspicion.
Thankfully, even his intuition didn’t seem sharp enough to catch something like this.
If he *had* found out, I would’ve hanged myself with a rope right then and there.
What a relief.
These days, Yu Siwoo would sit at his desk for long stretches, fiddling with some small object.
I had no idea what it was, but since he never showed it to me, I couldn’t confirm.
“…Alright. That’s enough for today.”
At first, Yu Siwoo’s strange behavior had made me incredibly uneasy.
I’d even ordered a background check on him because of it.
But now? Now I just hoped he’d have some time to himself.
Because if he didn’t, I’d end up showing him this side of me.
Anyone else would look at me like I was crazy—Yu Siwoo wouldn’t be any different.
Especially since this *belonged* to him.
“…It’s getting weaker.”
As I tucked the shirt back into the drawer I’d hidden in a corner Yu Siwoo rarely checked, the thought struck me.
Its effectiveness seemed to be fading.
I’d thought it was perfect—even without Yu Siwoo, this alone gave me the warmth I craved. But now I’d run into an unexpected problem.
At first, just holding it for a moment had been enough to feel that cozy heat. Now, I had to cling to it for much longer.
There was only one possible cause.
And only one way to fix it.
“…Gulp.”
I scanned my surroundings. Yu Siwoo was still nowhere to be seen.
This was my chance.
While he was oblivious.
While he had no idea what was going on.
If I swapped this out now, he’d never notice.
I knew that if I did this, I’d have no excuses left.
The first time, I could’ve played it off as a mistake, a moment of panic…
But a second time? No excuse would hold up.
My heart pounded at the thought of getting caught, cold sweat trickling down my cheek.
My eyes darted around restlessly, lost in anxiety.
If I got caught...
If Yu Siwoo noticed something was off...
Those thoughts swirled in my head.
Even as my mind screamed that I shouldn’t, I moved.
One hand clutching Yu Siwoo’s shirt carelessly.
My eyes fixed on his room, my ears perked up.
I took a light breath... and then—
Quickly snatched a shirt from his laundry basket, then set down the one I’d been holding.
And then I ran.
I dashed out of the living room and hid in the laundry room.
"...Did he notice?"
I stole again. This time, entirely of my own will.
Now I couldn’t even make excuses.
Stealing clothes from the house of someone I was indebted to...
I felt guilty toward Yu Siwoo, but the moment I hugged the shirt in my arms, the warmth made me feel better.
If someone saw me, they’d probably think I was some pervert hugging another person’s clothes.
But I couldn’t help but justify it.
It wasn’t that I was a pervert... um...
I didn’t know why, but Yu Siwoo’s clothes were just so warm.
And, well...
Yu Siwoo must be going through a lot too, right?
If I kept sticking to him all the time, he’d probably get annoyed sometimes.
So I was just preparing for that. That was all.
I absolutely didn’t have any other intentions.
I glanced at the living room, confirmed no one was there, then hugged the shirt again.
The still-warm fabric filled me with satisfaction.
"...Is this right?"
[What, wasn’t this what you wanted? Things are progressing.]
"Well, yeah, but..."
The girl was flustered by the sight of the reader grinning as they clutched the protagonist’s shirt.
This wasn’t quite what she’d imagined.
The reader was rubbing their face against the shirt like they were high on something.
"Isn’t this... a little... creepy?"
This was strange.
How had it come to this?
The girl muttered to herself as she watched the reader.
She had given them a little push, but she never expected things to escalate like this.
A heroine rubbing her face against a guy’s shirt...?
"But... this might not be so bad either?"
[This bitch is really...]
"No, seriously. Think about it. Isn’t this kind of charming in its own way?"
The girl observed the reader and pondered.
It wasn’t exactly what she’d planned, but the distance between the protagonist and the reader had definitely shrunk. That much was clear.
If they were at the point of rubbing their face against his shirt, well... that said it all.
"The reader seems to have some resistance to romance."
If she’d known it would turn out like this, she should’ve brought a female soul instead.
She had considered it briefly, but then realized that if she had, the reader probably wouldn’t have shown this much interest.
In other words, this was an unavoidable side effect. That’s what the girl concluded.
But her goal was for the two of them to be inseparable.
The protagonist seemed interested in the reader, but the problem was the reverse.
The reader didn’t seem all that interested in the protagonist.
They only saw him as the main character.
Though that had improved a little lately...
But they still didn’t seem to view him romantically.
"I wish Amelia had tried a little harder."
[That crazy bitch?]
"Crazy bitch?! Don’t you dare talk about our Amelia like that!"
One of the best decisions I made in this world was setting Amelia up as a heroine.
Hmph. As if they even know.
I’ve seen Amelia secretly working so hard to bring Yu Siwoo and Arte together, time and time again.
Reader-nim probably never noticed, though.
"Hmph. You lot just sit back and watch."
If the mood had been like *that* a few days ago, Reader-nim would’ve refused.
But what about now?
A Reader-nim who, just days ago, would’ve never stolen someone else’s shirt and then clung to it?
"Huh. Huhuh… Hahahahahaha…."
[Seriously, why the hell is he flexing over the most useless shit…?]
"Shut up!"
"…Ugh."
Yu Siwoo glared at the thread Amelia had given him.
He was a little worried about Arte, but she’d been doing better lately, so she’d said it was fine if he wasn’t right there with her.
That was why he’d been trying to finish as quickly as possible.
…Even if it *was* a lie from Arte.
He knew she was lying, but Yu Siwoo decided to let it slide.
After all, he had his own secrets he was keeping from her.
Still, he *was* worried, so he’d been rushing—but then an unexpected problem arose.
"What do I do now…?"
He’d been sure he had enough thread.
But since this was his first time doing this kind of work, he’d made a lot of mistakes, and now he had a pile of threads that were too short to use.
Maybe intuition and manual dexterity were two different things.
He *had* improved a lot since his first attempt, but…
"I can’t exactly ask for more."
It was Grade 2 monster material—he couldn’t just buy it himself.
There was no guarantee they even had more in stock.
He’d been *so* close to finishing.
Then, when he’d felt Arte’s gaze subtly watching him—
he’d panicked and tried to hide it, and the thread had snapped.
It *was* monster thread, but maybe because he was a Transcendent too, it had broken more easily than he expected.
Why was it so weak?
Yu Siwoo glared at the thread, as if it were the thread’s fault and not his own mistake.
He’d been able to finish today, and now this.
He let out a small sigh.
"It’s not like I have any more thread…"
He’d thought a single color was a bit plain, so he’d been considering adding a little accent.
That was why he’d been thinking of using dye to change the color of that section of thread.
But before he could even test the dye, he’d been checking the length—and it had snapped.
"Ugh…"
Now what?
As Yu Siwoo sighed, a thought suddenly struck him.
…Wait, there *was* thread.
He suddenly looked up at the black thread still hanging in its place.
A thing he’d once thought about throwing away but had forgotten about.
It was practically *begging* for attention.
"It doesn’t *have* to be monster thread, I guess…?"
A spark of inspiration flickered in Yu Siwoo’s eyes.
Found it. A solution.