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When I first heard Yoonseo asking if I could massage her legs, I couldn’t believe my ears.

Of course, I thought I must have misheard. I’d always said I was okay with anything if I said it myself, but I never expected such a request would come my way.

Honestly, considering the way Yoonseo had been until now, I thought the most she’d ask for would be to whip up some sort of terrible dish or something like that… Is this what they mean by letting your guard down?

Anyway, the unexpectedness of it left me a bit speechless.

It was true that I fell silent in response to Yoonseo’s excessively cautious request because, deep down, I felt like if I opened my mouth, a strange voice would somehow bubble out.

I was silent for that reason, but did Yoonseo take my silence as a rejection?

Her smile instantly drooped.

“…No?”

Well, there was nothing to be done about that.

No matter how I thought about it, it felt off.

What if we had been little kids and I received this request back then?

I would’ve thought, “Oh, look at her trying to grow up…” and massaged her legs without a second thought.

But now, we both had grown up significantly.

And I had even resolved to stop pretending I didn’t understand Yoonseo’s feelings, so the more I thought about it, the more it felt wrong.

So I was about to open my mouth to decline, but before the words could even escape my lips, Yoonseo spoke first.

“…But you did for Baeksulhwa unni.”

Wait, when did that happen…?

Of course, it was an undeniable fact.

But that was solely because I worried that the senior was training so hard she might injure herself. Honestly, isn’t that a whole different situation?

And besides, the times I gave her a massage could probably be counted on one hand!

At first, I was just doing it without much thought, but as it turned into two, three times, it became something I couldn’t ignore—so it just became natural.

Anyway, I tried to use that as an excuse to refuse.

To put it bluntly, I shouldn’t have done that.

“I also ran really hard today, you know…”

And that’s the very moment Yoonseo was ready to retort to my not-so-great excuse.

As soon as I realized that, it hit me hard.

There was nowhere left to run.

So what could I do?

There was no hiding, and the more I tried to back down, the more we’d just hurt each other’s feelings, so it was better to just surrender.

“…Alright. So, you just want me to massage your legs, right?”

However, there was one thing I absolutely couldn’t compromise on.

“Only!”

“Only?”

“You need to change your clothes!”

“Clothes? Why all of a sudden?”

The reason was because the memory of my past life was still clear in my mind, and I was worried I’d feel like garbage… but saying that outright would make no sense to her, so I just made an excuse.

“Seriously… who gets a massage in a skirt?”

“Is that so…?”

“Not just ‘is that so’! Yes, it is.”

“But if I have to change, I don’t have any clothes to change into…”

Oh, right.

She was hiding at our house, thinking her uncle would scold her.

In that moment, the realization hit me, and I figured I could use that as a reason.

“Alright? Then, I guess there’s no choice.”

So I threw that out there, but—

“Hm… then should I borrow Dogun’s clothes for a change?”

I don’t know if it was because she was trying to save me or had some kind of awakening, but she wasn’t backing down today.

In the old days, she would’ve pouted and couldn’t argue back, but when did she grow so bold?

While I was feeling all nostalgic about the fleeting nature of time, Yoonseo, groaning, got up from the bed and headed straight for my wardrobe.

“Wait, hey! I never said I’d lend you anything!”

“Why? Can’t I? You used to lend them out all the time.”

“No, that’s…”

That was ages ago.

The words rose to my throat, but I couldn’t say them.

It just felt too much like drawing a line, and besides, Yoonseo wasn’t lying.

Sure, that used to be the case.

It had to be because back then, Yoonseo couldn’t control her power at all compared to what she was capable of, so her getting drenched while training was basically a daily occurrence.

Maybe that’s why the first few times she had brought her own clothes.

But as time went on, she must have found it too annoying, and ultimately she just started showing up empty-handed.

And I couldn’t just leave a drenched girl to suffer, so I ended up lending her some of my clothes while we waited for hers to dry… but who knew that choice would come back to bite me like a boomerang?

Thanks to that, while my head was feeling hot with embarrassment, Yoonseo was already rummaging through my wardrobe.

“Hmm…”

But wait, didn’t she say her legs hurt?

Seeing her standing around like that, it didn’t look nearly as painful…

“So are you going to just sit there?”

“…Uh, yeah?”

“If that’s what you want, go ahead.”

While saying that, Yoonseo wore a strangely alluring smile as she dug out a T-shirt and some shorts from my wardrobe.

Then, she moved to grab her skirt, and I turned around and bolted out of the room.

As I rushed outside, I thought,

‘So this is how it’s gonna go…?’

I had no idea what triggered it.

I couldn’t guess at all, but seeing her, who used to blush and want to hide at the slightest thing, suddenly acting so boldly showed she must have made up her mind… so I thought I should be prepared too.

If she’s got the guts to face me like that, then it’s only right I’d respond in kind.

So, remembering that, I decided I wouldn’t just give a half-hearted massage; I’d make it a serious one.

Let’s see which of us would end up the redder one first!

And to make that happen, I needed a few items.

‘But first…’

It felt like it would be better to deal with this first.

Glancing at the contents of the bag I had inadvertently brought with me, I headed for Bora’s room on the first floor.

 

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