"So bright... "
I thought I’d closed the curtains...
The blinding sunlight piercing through my eyelids made me frown.
Is it already morning...?
I was so exhausted I wanted to sleep more, but once I was awake, my mind refused to drift back.
No matter how much I tossed and turned, I only got more uncomfortable.
I tried for a while, but it was useless.
This is annoying.
If it was just the light, I could’ve pulled the blanket over my head and slept, but...
The problem was that there wasn’t just one thing keeping me awake.
"Ugh, water..."
My throat was parched, and when I tried to call out, my voice came out hoarse and cracked.
It felt like I’d spent five hours singing at a karaoke bar the night before.
Was this what a sore throat felt like?
The burning sensation forced me to sit up, but as I pressed my hand against the bed, the sticky sheets sent a wave of disgust through me.
"Haa..."
I’d thought my body felt a little cold.
Turns out it was because the sheets were soaked through with sweat and... other fluids.
I wanted to put on clothes, but in this state, that was impossible.
I ran a hand over my stomach—just as I suspected.
My entire body was coated in a sticky, unknown substance.
I need to wash up first.
I turned my head to look at Yu Siwoo, who was fast asleep.
...His innocent sleeping face made me a little indignant.
After how rough he’d been.
Memories from last night flooded back, and my face burned red.
I never imagined I’d make those kinds of noises.
I guess you really can’t predict how people will act.
As I stared at Yu Siwoo, a scene from a novel or movie popped into my head—the kind where, after the deed is done, the first one to wake up gives their lover a kiss.
I didn’t want to wake him, so I lightly pressed my lips to his forehead before getting out of bed.
"Hnggghhh—?!"
And then I regretted it.
There was a time I’d tried dieting and gone to the gym for a while.
...But this pain was on a whole other level.
"H- my back..."
It felt like my spine was about to snap.
Or maybe it was folded in half?
Who cares. All I knew was that it hurt like hell.
At least it woke me up completely.
My legs trembled like a newborn fawn’s, and every time I lifted my arms to my chest, agony shot through me.
I didn’t want to move. I just wanted to crawl back into bed and cling to Yu Siwoo.
...But I needed water.
I couldn’t wait for him to wake up.
In the end, I had no choice but to force myself up, clutching my legs as I moved.
Like a worm inching forward. Bit by bit.
I glared at the water bottle sitting in the middle of the living room.
Why the hell was it all the way over there?
Grumbling the whole way, I somehow dragged myself to the center of the room and grabbed it.
"Gulp, gulp..."
I chugged the water to quench my burning thirst.
By the time the bottle was nearly empty, I finally looked around—and froze.
"Whoa... What in the world...?"
The inside of Siwoo’s room was completely covered in bodily fluids.
But it seemed his room wasn’t the only place like that.
The living room was the same—dried liquids, still-wet fluids, and my threads all tangled together in a mess.
Everything was coated in sticky bodily fluids.
Siwoo’s scent lingered in every corner, so I could roughly guess the cause.
Did we… do it here too…?
I couldn’t remember clearly.
"Just how many times did we…? Cleaning this up is going to be a nightmare…"
"Yeah…"
"Hyaaaaaack?! …Nngh—!"
"W-Wait, are you okay?!"
"Ah, it huuurts…"
Startled by the sudden voice behind me, I instinctively whipped my head around—only to regret it immediately.
Overwhelmed by the severe muscle pain, I collapsed to the floor, groaning as I struggled to endure the agony.
Once the pain subsided somewhat,
I saw Siwoo, at a loss, repeatedly asking if I was alright.
"S-Sorry… I didn’t think you’d be that surprised…"
"…Hold me."
"Huh?"
"I’ll forgive you, so hold me."
When had he even woken up?
When I kissed him?
Or when he was drinking water? Or when he was walking over to get a drink?
None of that mattered.
I didn’t care that Siwoo and I were in a state that would’ve been embarrassing for anyone else to see.
"Hurry. You’re in better shape than me, right?"
"Uh, y-yeah…"
Siwoo’s body was just as sticky, but I didn’t care about that either.
What did something like that matter when I was in the arms of the person I loved?
As I nestled against Siwoo’s firm body, feeling blissful, I ordered him like a child.
"Okay, charge to the bathroom! Let’s take a bath first!"
"Got it."
"I can barely move right now thanks to *someone’s* doing, so you’d better wash me properly?"
"…"
Oh.
I’d misspoken.
I realized that the moment I saw the burning look in Siwoo’s eyes.
But I was already in his arms.
I didn’t have the stamina to run, and the muscle pain made it impossible to move.
…Not that I really wanted to.
In the end, the fact that we’d ended up doing it again in the shower was…
Well, it was so obvious that it didn’t even need to be said.
"Uweeeeek… I’m dying…"
"You okay?"
"The culprit shouldn’t be asking that."
"Sorry…"
"No, you don’t need to apologize…"
In the end, it took an incredibly long time to wash off all the sticky fluids clinging to our bodies.
Needless to say, I suffered through muscle pain the entire time.
"How are we supposed to clean all *that* up…? Ugh…"
Honestly, I didn’t remember everything that had happened between Siwoo and me.
There were times I’d passed out from pleasure, and times we’d mindlessly devoured each other without a single thought.
Because of that, we’d left traces of our activities all over the house without a second thought about the aftermath.
Taking a look around, the entire place was a disaster.
Just as Siwoo and I were both at a loss over what to do,
my phone, which had been on the living room desk, suddenly lit up.
"Ah, it’s a call."
"I’ll get it."
Siwoo, who still felt guilty about my muscle pain, hurriedly grabbed my phone and brought it to me.
Well, it’s not exactly wrong.
But it’s not like I can say it’s not your fault when it really is your fault…
Caught in that awkward, hard-to-explain feeling, I eventually gave up trying to say anything.
Oh well. Maybe it’s for the best.
Since I could barely move, maybe it was a good thing after all.
"…Hello?"
-F-Finally! You picked up! Where the hell are you right now?!
"…Yes?"
-Are you okay?! If you can’t talk, groan once for yes, twice for no! You *are* okay, right?!
"???"
The sudden voice on the other end made Yu Siwoo and I exchange glances.
…What’s going on?
"…What’s this about?"
-W-What? You didn’t get kidnapped or something, did you?
"Huh?"
-…Guess you’re fine. I thought you’d been kidnapped or worse…
Amelia let out a deep sigh of relief, then abruptly exploded in anger.
-Then why didn’t you answer?! What the hell have you been doing this whole time?!
"Huh? …Phone?"
-Yes! Do you have any idea how many times I’ve tried to reach you?!
…She tried to contact me?
When?
Shocked by Amelia’s outburst, I checked my call log. There, plain as day, were repeated calls from her—spaced just hours apart.
"T-This… what is…"
-Three days! Three days without a single answer! I was *this* close to calling the police!
"Wha… three days?"
Just as Amelia said, my phone’s clock showed that three full days had passed since our date.
…So we’ve been at it nonstop for three days?
That’s insane.
No wonder even my superhuman body ached all over…
"Oh, right, about your reader."
"Don’t—don’t remind me… I miss them… Aah, reader-nim… I miss you so much…"
"Ugh, here she goes again."
The Transcendents sighed.
After getting kicked out of that interesting place, the guy had spent a long time crying. But once he snapped out of it, he’d started making fun proposals, so we’d joined in.
Still, every time the topic of that world came up, he’d get all depressed. It was pathetic.
"No, I’m serious, I’m curious."
"About what…"
"That woman—she doesn’t get periods, right? Can she even have kids?"
"Huh? …Oh, that?"
"Human women all have periods, don’t they? I heard you need that to have babies…"
"I blocked it on purpose."
"…Really?"
"Yep."
The pitiful Transcendent, exiled by his own world’s rules, answered with a proud grin.
He’d blocked it deliberately.
"I mean, the reader’s soul was originally a human man’s. If they had to deal with that, it’d just be annoying. Plus, it’d get in the way of watching the protagonist."
"…So she can’t get pregnant? But you were always going on about ‘I’ll connect you two’ like a broken record."
"No way."
Beaming with pride, the girl puffed out her chest.
"The second sperm hits the uterus, it’s a 100% pregnancy guarantee! After that, she’ll probably start getting periods or whatever!"
"Oh…"
"Aah, by now, reader-nim must be having a *wonderful* time with the protagonist… Aah, I wish I could see it… But I didn’t want to spoil it for myself…"