Chapter 61

“……”

Pado hugged the slime a little tighter.

Thankfully, unlike a dog or a cat, a slime didn’t cry out no matter how tightly it was squeezed. If slimes had been more expressive, people would have been pointing fingers at him for animal abuse.

Morae, who had been chatting with her friends, happened to look up and saw him. She didn’t seem sulky, but she didn’t greet him either. She simply turned her head away.

That tiny, insignificant act of ignoring him made his heart sink.

Without showing it, Pado picked up his food and sat at an empty table. He drank more than half of the hot soup, but it couldn’t warm the chill that had settled in his chest.

Morae laughed cheerfully with her friends while nibbling on dessert. They were too far away for him to hear what they were talking about.

That only made him more anxious.

It felt like he was stranded alone on an island.

He didn’t even understand why he felt this way. Morae was simply having breakfast with the friends she’d known long before him.

She hadn’t come to get him—but she’d never promised she would.

Granted, they were the same people who had fought him…

…but that fight had been largely his fault too.

From Morae’s perspective, this was perfectly reasonable. Completely natural.

And yet his heart refused to settle.

He couldn’t stop thinking,

She came to get me yesterday…

Pado hurried through breakfast.

The meal, prepared by a highly skilled cook, tasted like nothing.

He could hear himself chewing, yet he couldn’t even tell whether the food was going through his mouth or his nose.

Morae finished first and left the cafeteria.

She never once acknowledged him before walking out.

The moment she disappeared through the cafeteria doors, Pado froze with food still in his mouth.

The chill in his chest only grew heavier, and his jaw refused to move.

“……”

Had last night upset her that much?

Until now, she’d only ever climbed into his bed when she wanted him to hold her…

…and last night, they hadn’t even had sex.

He’d only held her tightly in his sleep.

His feelings of sadness and resentment seesawed against each other, each insisting it was the stronger emotion.

The slime resting on his lap bubbled as if it were about to burst.

He couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.

His stomach ached, but he couldn’t keep food in his mouth forever.

Forcing himself, Pado swallowed.

The poorly chewed food scraped painfully down his throat.

He coughed softly.

Someone set a glass of water on the table.

It was Morae.

“Drink.”

She had already come back and was sitting across from him.

Though surprised, Pado quietly accepted the glass and drank.

The cool water flowed down his throat, and somehow the weight pressing on his chest eased.

It probably wasn’t because of the water.

Resting her chin on one hand, Morae silently watched him eat.

Feeling as though he were sitting on a bed of nails, Pado stole glances at her.

She didn’t seem angry.

At the very least, she’d come back and sat across from him.

That alone meant things hadn’t ended in the worst possible way.

Trying to calm himself, he absentmindedly stroked the slime.

After watching him in silence for a while, Morae crooked a finger.

“I’m confiscating the slime.”

“Huh?”

“You’re kneading it nonstop like someone with emotional instability. The slime’s confiscated until tonight. I’ll wash it up nicely, so come get it after nine.”

Without even asking permission, Morae took the slime out of his hands.

Holding the slime Pado treasured, she stuck out her tongue.

“If you act however you want again like you did yesterday, I’m going to be mad. Your precious slime is my hostage until nine.”

“……”

“You’ll come, right?”

Pulling her chin back slightly, Morae hugged the slime.

Pado lowered his head in what was almost a nod.

His face burned too much for words to come out.

The moment he felt relieved simply because Morae had spoken to him despite losing the slime he treasured…

The moment her words about coming at nine made improper thoughts race through his mind…

…he realized he’d already been led around by the nose.

And it was painfully obvious that Morae knew exactly what had happened inside his head.

His face burned even hotter.

…Eun Morae had pretended to ignore him, then came back the moment she noticed he’d become dejected.

She acted as though nothing had happened, but there was probably a faint smile hidden beneath that calm expression.

Whether it had all been calculated or sincere…

Pado had revealed every card in his hand.

He felt completely outplayed.

“I’ll be waiting.”

But more frustrating than anything else…

…was the fact that he already knew he’d be standing outside Morae’s room at nine o’clock.

I’m screwed.

That was the conclusion Pado reached after thinking it over carefully.

Completely screwed.

Eun Morae had realized that she was the reason he was wavering.

Letting someone as shrewd as Morae discover that was practically the same as exposing one of his vital weaknesses.

Morae wasn’t the type to treat someone she liked with special consideration.

She was the type to make full use of someone who liked her, squeezing every last bit of value out of them until nothing but bones remained.

And now…

…his feelings had been laid completely bare before someone like that.

She was skilled enough socially that she wouldn’t exploit someone until they bore a grudge…

…but that didn’t make the situation any more pleasant.

The very thought of Morae teasing him with, “You like me, don’t you?” made him uncomfortable.

There was no way he could welcome a situation where his feelings had been read and used against him.

The worst part was that she’d caught him at his most vulnerable.

Getting aroused? Getting worked up?

He could always make excuses for that.

He could simply insist that any man reacted that way around a beautiful woman.

But there was no explaining away how deeply he’d been shaken by something as trivial as Morae’s behavior.

If it had been anyone else, he either wouldn’t have noticed at all—or he would’ve just cursed them out.

Instead, his chest had actually ached.

There was no excuse for that.

It felt as though he’d stripped completely naked and exposed his most vulnerable spot.

There really had been a moment like that before, yet this felt even worse, twisting him up inside.

At this point, there was only one way to get himself out of this predicament.

When he went to Morae’s room, he would act like a man driven crazy by lust.

If he did that, then the anxiety he’d shown that morning might be mistaken for frustration over not being able to sleep with Morae.

Whether that was actually any better was debatable, but Pado chose to believe it was.

Having lost his beloved slime, his judgment was gradually going off the rails.

At 9 p.m., Pado boldly opened the door to Morae’s room.

Earlier that afternoon, he’d worried there might be other people inside waiting for him.

But the moment he grabbed the doorknob, he stopped caring.

If Morae had hidden people in the room to make fun of him, then he’d just mock her back to his heart’s content.

At the very least, he’d get to see her face turn red as she protested.

The moment he stepped inside, Morae beamed.

It was the smile of someone who’d guessed the right answer.

As if she were saying,

You came. I won, didn’t I?

“You didn’t even knock. Just barging into my room like that.”

Even so, the first thing out of her mouth was as prickly as ever.

Ignoring her complaint, Pado walked toward the bed.

Morae sat neatly on top of it, hugging the cleaning slime he’d spent countless hours kneading.

This time, she was wearing an even thinner, softer silk pajama set than before.

The room had been tidied up, with all the stuffed animals and clutter put away.

A cool, pleasant scent filled the air.

The familiar smell of shampoo drifted from Morae’s hair as well.

Pado quietly committed that scent to memory.

It might come in handy someday.

“Give it back.”

Getting straight to the point, he held out his hand.

Morae immediately hid the slime behind her.

“No. Cleaning slimes aren’t meant to be used like that. Hugging it… kneading it while you sleep… it’s gross.”

“It’s not gross. It’s brand new. I barely even used it for cleaning.”

“That’s not what I meant by gross. What’s creepy is how you fiddle with it because you can’t control your urges. Right? Since you can’t touch people, you keep… fidgeting with the slime instead.”

Morae stretched the slime until it was two or three times its width before letting it snap back into shape.

The elastic slime squirmed in her hands, making strange little noises.

“So what?”

“I’m giving you advice as a fellow teammate. People have been complaining that you carry that slime around like it’s your lover.”

“Who’s saying that?”

“Eun Morae.”

The unexpected answer hit Pado squarely.

He frowned and slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.

…Or maybe that hadn’t even been a curveball.

Maybe it’d been a fastball right down the middle.

Either way, he’d taken the hit cleanly.

Trying not to let his raw emotions show, he forced his expression into place, only making it twist more awkwardly.

“Do you know how pitiful you look? Walking around with a slime that’s not even a pet… and even kissing it.”

Morae lifted the slime in her arms and gave it a quick peck.

Smack.

A soft kissing sound echoed as her lips met the squishy slime.

Pado’s eyebrows shot upward.

His heart didn’t exactly drop—

—but it definitely skipped.

That’s not fair.

She kissed the slime so easily…

Yet she’d hesitated forever before giving him even one kiss.

For the first time, he found himself jealous of the slime he’d always thought was adorable.

Without waiting another second, Pado reached for it.

“Stop bullying my slime.”

“You’ve bullied it way more than I have. I’m not giving it back until you promise you’ll stop. Isn’t that right, little guy? Pado’s been so mean to you.”

“If I can’t even carry around a slime, then what am I supposed to do? It’s not like I can touch just anyone. Unless…”

His words, which had been flowing naturally through the argument, suddenly stopped.

Realizing he’d nearly slipped up, Pado swallowed.

In his wavering gaze, he saw Morae watching expectantly, waiting for what he’d say next.

That’s when it hit him.

She’d been leading him the whole time.

No wonder her criticism hadn’t been all that sharp.

No wonder she’d lured him into coming to her room.

No wonder she’d changed into such thin pajamas.

Well, well…

Confidence returning, Pado planted one foot on the bed.

“Or… are you going to take care of it for me?”

Letting go of the slime, he leaned forward.

His free hand lifted Morae gently by the chin.

As expected, her face immediately trembled, a blush spreading across it.

“You tell me not to fool around with women, and not to fool around with my slime either. Then you should be the one to solve the problem.”

The hand holding her chin slowly slid downward.

His fingertips traced along her neck, gliding over her collarbone until they reached her chest.

Pado hooked a finger beneath the collar of her silk pajamas and tugged it down slightly.

The soft upper curve of her chest peeked into view.

Even then…

…she didn’t slap his hand away.

Taking advantage of that, Pado climbed onto the bed and slowly cornered her against the wall.

“Come to think of it… you were the one who said I’d come looking for you whenever I wanted relief. And yet all this time, I’ve only been doting on the slime. Guess I was the fool.”