Chapter 26 - Yoo Seo-rin (1)
[ Yoo Seo-rin (1) ]
=== Yoo Seo-rin (1) ===
During a quick break from training with Yoo Ra-eun, I pulled out my phone.
I planned to stop by the family home this evening, just like yesterday.
I opened my messaging app and sent a quick text.
[Yoo Seo-rin, Yoo Ra-eun, Yoo Ga-on]
- Me: Noona
- Me: Looks like I'm heading back with Ra-eun again today.
- Me: Let's all have dinner together.
A moment later.
A brief reply popped up.
- Yoo Seo-rin: Yeah
It was just a single character.
"...Same as usual."
Shrugging it off, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and got back to training.
Evening.
We stood outside the front door of the family home.
Yoo Ra-eun was clinging to my arm.
"Should we order delivery?"
"...Hmm, should we?"
There were some basic side dishes at home we could have scraped by on, but since it was always the same old stuff, Ra-eun had suggested ordering out.
Nodding in agreement,
I opened the door and stepped inside.
And then.
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
We both froze in our tracks.
On the dining table,
a feast fit for a king was laid out.
Galbi-jjim.
Beef bulgogi.
A colorful array of side dishes surrounded the two main courses.
There were even two different types of soup and stew.
"...What is all this?"
Yoo Ra-eun's eyes went wide.
"Did Eonni make all this?"
Just then.
Yoo Seo-rin emerged from the kitchen.
...wearing her usual blank, indifferent expression.
"...You're here?"
"...Uh, yeah."
"..."
Yoo Ra-eun pointed at the table.
"Eonni...? Is today a special occasion or something?"
"...Just because."
Yoo Seo-rin replied curtly.
"Let's eat."
Without another word, she sat down and picked up her utensils.
"..."
"..."
Ra-eun and I exchanged a look before quietly taking our seats.
Dinner went surprisingly smoothly.
The talkative Ra-eun drove most of the conversation, while Seo-rin and I only chimed in occasionally.
I felt a bit self-conscious because Seo-rin and I kept locking eyes unusually often, but fortunately, the meal ended without incident.
As we finished, I stood up and said,
"I'll do the dishes today."
My conscience wouldn't let me just sit back after eating such an incredible meal.
I walked over to the sink and started stacking the dishes.
The sound of running water echoed in the kitchen.
Just then.
I heard footsteps behind me.
...?
Looking over my shoulder,
it was Yoo Seo-rin.
"Noona?"
"..."
She looked as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself to.
She just stood beside me, wearing an unreadable expression.
"...What's up?"
...Did she somehow find out that I touched her stomach yesterday?
As panic flared inside me, Seo-rin briefly averted her eyes.
And then,
hesitating slightly—
very slightly,
she leaned her head toward me.
"...?"
I blinked.
"What are you doing?"
I asked, completely baffled by her behavior, but she didn't answer.
"Noona?"
...Does she want me to pat her head?
Flustered, I asked her again,
and only then did Seo-rin look up.
"...Ah."
As if snapping out of a trance, her dazed eyes focused again—
"It's nothing."
Her face instantly reverted to its usual blank mask. She gave a curt reply, turned on her heel, and retreated to her room.
The soft click of her door closing echoed in the quiet kitchen.
I stood by the sink, staring blankly at the empty space she'd just left.
'What was that just now?'
Ra-eun walked into the kitchen and asked,
"Oppa, what's wrong? What did Eonni say?"
"...No, it's nothing."
I shook my head and went back to the dishes.
But I couldn't stop playing her bizarre behavior over and over in my head.
"...Could it really be..."
No way.
Shaking the thought from my head, I focused on finishing up.
After finishing the dishes, hanging out in Ra-eun's room for a bit, and finally winding down in my own room, midnight arrived in the blink of an eye.
Ding!
[A new quest has been issued.]
[Quest]
- Hug 'Yoo Seo-rin' for 10 minutes.
Reward: 'Snail Husband' magic power increase, slight increase in all of 'Yoo Seo-rin's stats
Upon Failure: Removal of temporal lobe
...A hug.
Obviously, it was something normal siblings would never do.
Especially not sneaking in to do it while she was asleep.
Still, telling myself it was less intense than a stomach massage, I made my way to Seo-rin's bedroom door.
Letting out a quiet sigh, I activated Intangibility—a process that was fast becoming routine.
Hum—
With a familiar floating sensation, my body passed through the door.
The room was pitch black. Just like the past two nights, the only light came from the faint moonlight filtering through the curtains, dimly illuminating the bed.
Seo-rin lay there quietly, buried beneath her blanket as usual.
I carefully crept up to the side of the bed.
'She won't wake up, right?'
I peeled back the edge of the blanket.
Seo-rin was lying there in thin pajamas.
...Remembering how I'd touched her bare stomach yesterday made her look strangely erotic.
I carefully lay down beside her.
The mattress dipped slightly under my weight, and Seo-rin stirred.
"......"
Holding my breath, I nervously and slowly reached out.
I carefully slid my arm around her waist.
The moment my hand made contact with her waist through the thin fabric of her pajamas—
Rustle—
"...!!!"
Seo-rin suddenly rolled over to face me. My heart nearly leaped out of my chest.
"......"
Fortunately, she seemed to have just rolled over in her sleep, as she didn't move any further.
I froze with my arm suspended in the air for a full minute before I finally relaxed enough to lower it.
Rustle—
...I hadn't anticipated us ending up face-to-face.
Gently tightening my right arm around her back, I pulled her slightly closer.
Softly—
As I pulled her in, her head nestled against my chest.
The sensation of her breasts pressing flat against my chest was incredibly vivid.
It was supposed to be a simple hug, but my heart was hammering against my ribs.
It beat so loudly I was terrified she would wake up from the sound of it.
Her body heat radiated directly into me. The faint scent of her shampoo and her warm, sweet fragrance drifted past my nose.
10 minutes.
Just ten minutes. I only had to hold her like this for ten minutes.
Holding my breath, I started counting down the seconds.
1 minute... 2 minutes...
I noticed her breathing grow slightly irregular.
'Is she... awake?'
But her eyes remained tightly shut.
Figuring my presence was just making it hard for her to breathe comfortably, I tried to ignore it and let the time pass.
3 minutes, 4 minutes.
My arm tightened around her waist.
I felt her back tremble slightly.
5 minutes...
Her hand twitched slightly against the blanket.
But she didn't make a sound.
6 minutes... 7 minutes...
Her breathing was growing faster now.
I held her even more gently.
8 minutes...
She leaned imperceptibly closer to me.
9 minutes...
Just one minute left.
I slowly stroked her back.
Seo-rin's body shuddered, a tiny spasm running through her.
10 minutes.
Ding!
[Quest cleared. Rewards are being distributed.]
The moment the notification appeared, I slowly let go.
I pulled the blanket back over her and quietly slipped out of bed.
"......"
As I slipped out of her room, a single thought gripped me.
Yoo Seo-rin was definitely awake.
"...Good morning."
"...Yeah, you too."
Morning dawned.
Morning came, bringing with it an incredibly awkward greeting when I ran into Seo-rin in the living room.
The sensation of holding her last night still lingered on my skin.
Yet, we both acted as if nothing had happened.
I quietly helped her prep a simple breakfast, then went to wake up Ra-eun, who had overslept as usual—
It felt just like any other morning from back when we all lived together.
After eating breakfast and seeing them both off to work, I headed out as well.
"Haa..."
I let out a long sigh into the crisp morning air.
Maybe.
Just maybe.
Could Noona actually like me too?
The thought that she might be just like Ra-eun—keeping her feelings hidden until I made a move—lingered in my mind all day.
Ding!
[A new quest has been issued.]
[Quest]
- Hug 'Yoo Seo-rin' naked for 10 minutes
Reward: Greatly increase 'Snail Husband' magic power, greatly increase all of 'Yoo Seo-rin's stats
Upon Failure: Permanent erection for life
"F... fuck...?"
Hugging... naked?
If the wording was "with" her, and not just "her"...
Knowing how literal the system was, it meant we both had to be completely naked.
"..."
To make matters worse, the penalty was a brand-new nightmare, not the usual organ removal.
Permanent erection for life.
I wasn't sure if it was directly life-threatening like the others, but...
...it was still a penalty I absolutely could not afford to suffer.
Sure, erections are a vital part of life, but having one permanently? That would be pure, unadulterated torture.
What kind of insane difficulty spike was this, anyway?
Cursing the status window in my head, I found myself standing outside Seo-rin's bedroom door once more.
"Haa... What do I do?"
I hesitated, unable to bring myself to go in.
Knowing she'd been awake and pretending to sleep last night only made my anxiety worse.
How the hell was I supposed to strip her naked and hug her?
Even if Noona really did like me, would she ever tolerate something like that?
...No.
Should I just come clean, explain everything, and beg her on my knees to help me out just this once?
Yeah, that would be infinitely better.
After agonizing outside her door for ten minutes, I finally made up my mind.
I'd start by explaining my ability and the penalty.
'Intangibility.'
Hum—
But.
But the moment I phased through the door—
at that very moment,
I froze on the spot.
Soft breathing—*
Instead of being tucked under her blanket in her usual thin pajamas,
the soft curves of her breasts, her smooth stomach, and the elegant lines of her thighs lay completely exposed in the moonlight.
"......"
Yoo Seo-rin was already waiting for me, pretending to sleep—completely naked.