My mind was hazy.
I couldn’t think of anything.
That was how completely I had focused my senses on Yeon Haneul.
It felt good. It simply felt good.
‘My body is hot.’
The sensation of our tongues twisting together heated my entire body.
It felt as if something might explode.
No—it might have already exploded.
As though responding to Yeon Haneul, who was pulling me firmly toward her by the neck, I pressed my body tightly against hers.
I slipped the hand that had been braced against the bedsheet beneath her back.
She arched her waist, making room for my hand to enter.
‘So soft.’
I wrapped my arms around Yeon Haneul’s waist.
At some point, she had tightly locked both legs around my waist.
As if telling me not to run away.
‘But I can’t breathe… How am I supposed to breathe like this?’
I realized the problem then.
After keeping our lips pressed together for so long, I had forgotten to breathe.
Even breathing through my nose had its limits.
Coming to my senses, I soothed Yeon Haneul, who was endlessly exploring my tongue with little nasal sounds.
Only then did the arms she had wrapped around my neck slowly loosen.
“Haa….”
“….”
When our overlapping lips parted, our saliva stretched between us like a thread, dangling in the air.
Yeon Haneul began to gasp for the breath she had been holding and wiped the saliva from her face with a finger.
Then she looked up at me with a dazed gaze that seemed to hold a hint of regret.
It was an intensely stimulating sight.
“Gyeonu, hey…?”
Whether from failing to breathe properly or from excitement, Yeon Haneul’s face was flushed.
My face was probably no different.
Feeling my ears burning red, my gaze fell upon the lips I had just been kissing.
Those red lips called my name.
Almost as if they were tempting me.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
As Yeon Haneul caught her breath, she silently mouthed something.
To me, it looked like she was asking:
‘Are we not going to do more?’
‘Ah, whatever.’
Once I had experienced it, there was no escaping.
The thread of reason that had barely held together snapped once more.
I buried my face against her.
She responded to me as well.
We kissed even more passionately than before.
‘How can she… do this?’
She filled me with so much excitement that it felt as if my reason was about to fly away entirely.
She was far too lethal.
Yeon Haneul’s very existence was.
A cry of admiration burst from within me.
“Haneul, are you in there?”
It was then that a voice reached me through my drifting consciousness.
I came sharply to my senses.
“Haneul? Are you not inside? That’s strange…. You texted me earlier saying you were at the dormitory….”
There was no mistaking it.
It was Go Eunbi’s voice.
It seemed she had come to Haneul’s room for some reason.
‘Please, just go away….’
I couldn’t help but tense up.
We had been in the middle of enjoying ourselves, and there was no way I could let Go Eunbi see Yeon Haneul and me like this.
I desperately wanted her to leave.
So I stopped what I had been doing and tried to quiet our presence, but….
“Haneul, be quiet….”
“Gyeonu.”
“…!”
Unlike me, Yeon Haneul had not come to her senses at all and immediately craved more of me.
She tightened her limbs as though she could not bear to let me go.
Her legs, which had been draped beneath my hips, rose upward.
Before I could even resist, I was forced to silence her.
With my mouth.
“Haneul, wait a moment….”
“It feels so good, Gyeonu. So good. Just a little more….”
Yeon Haneul was completely out of her mind.
I was flustered, even though I liked it.
Meanwhile, at the door—
“Oh? The door’s open? What? You were inside after all. Haneul, I’m coming in!”
Come to think of it….
Yeon Haneul had set the door’s lock to manual mode so she could welcome me.
She had forgotten to change it back, so the door had not locked automatically.
This was bad.
“Hm? Aren’t these Gyeonu’s shoes? What? Gyeonu was here too? Don’t tell me… you two weren’t doing something naughty together, were you?”
“….”
“Come on, this isn’t some comic. No way! If that were the case, you would have locked the door. Ah, I know this cliché! You hear lewd noises from inside and try to peek, only to discover that they were just innocently playing a game! That cliché!”
Go Eunbi seemed to have entered.
Sensing the crisis, I hurriedly tried to bring Yeon Haneul back to her senses.
I pulled my lips away from hers and lightly tapped her rabbit ears.
“Haneul, snap out of it.”
“Ah… just a little more….”
“Eunbi’s here, Haneul.”
“…Eunbi? Huh? Why is Eunbi…. Wh-what do we do….”
Thankfully.
Yeon Haneul woke up.
Her red eyes opened wide, and she could not hide her dismay.
At that moment, I sensed Go Eunbi’s presence.
We quickly sat up and perched on the edge of the bed.
Soon, Go Eunbi appeared.
“I’m sure my guess is right. You two were having fun playing a game—!”
“….”
“…What? Did something happen between you two? Why is the atmosphere so… so lewd? Your faces are red, too…. Haneul, what are you wearing? Wow… a bunny girl….”
Plop.
Go Eunbi dropped her smartphone.
She stood there blankly without even thinking of picking it up.
“Oh, um… well… I guess I’m interrupting. Sorry.”
“….”
“I thought it would play out like a cliché from a comic. Innocent and comedic…. But this is real life. I guess I’ve read too many comics. I can’t even tell comics and reality apart…. No, wait, is this one of those cliché subversions? Ah, this isn’t the time for that….”
“….”
“Should I just go back? That would probably be best, right? Yeah…. You two can continue having a good time….”
Me, Yeon Haneul, and Go Eunbi.
None of us could lift our heads.
* * *
Fortunately, Yeon Haneul and I somehow managed to smooth things over.
Go Eunbi looked suspicious, but she agreed to keep what had happened that day to herself.
―Phew….
That day, Yeon Haneul and I thanked Go Eunbi.
At the same time, we breathed sighs of relief.
As for what happened afterward….
―Th-then, Gyeonu. See you tomorrow.
―Yeah, see you tomorrow. Sleep well.
The atmosphere that had been flowing between Yeon Haneul and me gradually fizzled out.
And since we did not want Go Eunbi to gain any more leverage over us,
we parted ways then and there.
After that, we spent our days as usual, as though nothing had happened.
―Did you sleep well? You look… pretty today, too….
―Yeah…. Th-thank you….
―….
That was a lie.
From that day onward, Yeon Haneul and I treated each other awkwardly.
It was different when our friends were around, but whenever we were alone, we were too embarrassed to even meet each other’s eyes.
―It felt good that time….
―Me too….
Both of us—I imagine Yeon Haneul as well as me—
were confused about how to bring up and sort out that day when we had been swept away by our emotions.
As a result, we became shy around each other.
Just like now.
“Did you two have a fight?”
“….”
At the workshop under the protection of the Regulus Clan’s Academy City branch,
Shin Seora abruptly asked the question as she greeted Yeon Haneul, Kang Hanbyeol, and me.
“No? Why would we fight? Right, Haneul…?”
“Yes, that’s right…. We didn’t fight…. We’re always like this, unni.”
“No, you’re not. There’s no way…. Even if you didn’t fight, something seems to have happened between you two….”
“….”
Shin Seora stroked her chin suspiciously as she stared at Yeon Haneul and me.
We did our best to avert our eyes.
She gave a quiet chuckle.
“I don’t know who did what, but I hope you make up soon. Come on. We need to go look at the artifact.”
“How is Gyeonu’s? Did it turn out well?”
“Of course it did! I made it, didn’t I?”
Shin Seora turned away without pressing the matter any further.
Kang Hanbyeol followed behind her.
Left behind, Yeon Haneul and I glanced at each other.
“Shall we go, too?”
“Yeah.”
I maintained my composure as best I could.
Matching my pace to Yeon Haneul’s, I went to Shin Seora’s workshop.
Though the furnace fire had been extinguished, the workshop was still filled with scorching heat.
Once inside, Shin Seora led us to a desk off to one side.
“This is the artifact you commissioned, Gyeonu. Open it.”
The desk was neatly arranged with various items.
Shin Seora handed me the box that had been placed in the center.
I opened it.
‘It’s finally finished.’
Inside the box was a single glove decorated with a yellow jewel.
It was the artifact I had commissioned from Shin Seora several months ago, made from the Doll Ghost’s soulstone.
I quickly opened a message in the air to check its performance.
[Goblin Silver Thread]
◆ Equipment Category
―Glove (Glove)
◆ Detailed Description
―A glove made by the New Maestra, Shin Seora, who devoted her entire being to crafting it from the Doll Ghost’s soulstone.
―By consuming mana within the body, its form can be changed according to one’s wishes, so long as it remains within the definition of a ‘glove.’
―Creates spiderwebs by consuming mana.
―The soulstone’s will resides within it. However, it has been put to sleep by Shin Seora’s measures.
◆ Detailed Effects
―Health +1, Strength +1, Durability +2, Agility +2, Magic Power +2, Luck +1
―Skill 「Spider Web」
The Goblin Silver Thread increased every stat by at least one.
As expected of an artifact made from Lee Gahyeon’s soulstone.
I could not help but let out an exclamation of admiration.
When I put the glove on my hand, the yellow jewel set into the back of my hand flashed brightly for an instant.
It almost seemed to be expressing its goodwill, acknowledging me as its master.
‘…I understand.’
Information about the glove was actually flowing vaguely into my mind.
At that moment, Shin Seora spoke.
“Unlike other artifacts, gloves are inconvenient to wear at all times. You have to take them off when washing your hands, and your hands get sweaty inside during summer or in hot weather, right? So from the moment you first commissioned a glove, Gyeonu, I spent a lot of time wondering how to solve that problem.”
“And?”
“As it happens, I was able to solve it using the principle behind spiderwebs. See the yellow jewel on the back of your hand? That’s the soulstone at the core of the glove. Pour mana into it and imagine taking off the glove.”
“Ah….”
“What do you think? Amazing, right?”
Following Shin Seora’s instructions, I poured mana into the yellow jewel.
I imagined my bare hand.
The black glove covering my hand then transformed into particles and disappeared, leaving only the area around the yellow jewel behind.
When I took Yeon Haneul’s hand with that hand, I could feel its softness.
I found it nothing short of fascinating.
“Think of it as inactive mode. In that state, you can’t draw out the glove’s power in full.”
“If I want to return the glove to its original form, I just do the opposite of what I did before? Ah, like this.”
“That’s right. Just do that.”
“Then I won’t have to take off the glove whenever I want to hold Haneul’s hand. Nice.”
“Seriously… Why would you say something like that…. You’re embarrassing me….”
Outside of battle, I would have to keep it in inactive mode.
That way, I could fully feel Yeon Haneul’s touch.
Shin Seora soon continued.
“The glove has a principle built into it that transforms mana into spiderwebs. It’s a magic with limitless applications, so research it in various ways from now on. Oh, and for reference, I named that principle Spider Web.”
“I think I have a rough idea of how to use it. The information just came to me.”
“Really? That’s good. It seems the glove is willingly acknowledging you as its master. Weapons made from soulstones tend to test their masters harshly, since they possess a sense of self, so this is a good thing. And while we’re on the subject, I should tell you this. I intentionally sealed the sense of self within the glove.”
“Is there a particular reason?”
“The Doll Ghost’s sense of self was too dangerous. It seemed capable of affecting not only you, but the people around you as well. So I took matters into my own hands, but… what do you want to do? If you wish, I can undo the seal.”
“Hmm… No. Just imagining the Doll Ghost chattering away at me makes my head hurt, so I’ll leave it as it is. But there’s no problem with its performance, right?”
“You don’t need to worry about its performance. It has nothing to do with the soulstone’s sense of self.”
“I agree. I don’t think that person would be of any benefit to you. If you happen to hear a voice, ignore it. Got it?”
The sense of self within the glove was based on Lee Gahyeon, the Doll Ghost, but it was not her herself.
She had vanished after leaving behind the soulstone; she no longer existed in this world.
Even so, it was impossible not to feel somewhat uneasy.
Since Yeon Haneul was also strongly recommending it, I decided to keep the seal in place unless there was a compelling reason not to.
In any case—
“So, what do you think? Do you like it?”
“Of course I do. I love it. Thanks, noona. I’ll put it to good use.”
Having obtained a weapon that would enhance my mobility, I lifted the corners of my mouth.
A few days later, the second semester came to an end.
My friends and I began our winter vacation.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Middle Boss