CH 1.05

I was lying in bed until late afternoon with the sun already setting outside the window. Maybe it’s because I had been stuck in that narrow, dirty place, that I’m feeling so tired right now. In fact, I could have slept  for a full 48 hours, but I wanted to take a bath.

I thought the bath products here would be bad, but somehow, the natural products found within this world inside a book, were surprisingly pretty decent.

I happily washed myself in the sweet, sour, lemon and strawberry scent, to the point that I wanted to bathe again.

Should I wash up or not?

After much agony, I walked slowly toward the bathroom only after darkness fell. However, I was too lazy to lift my hand, so I laid myself down in the bathtub; it wasn’t me who would be moving anyway.

“Come out, come on. “

As I waved the paper while shouting insincerely, the scribbles I made last night popped out. These were the bubble fairies I drew last night.

“Can you wash me?”

The fairies with soft bubbles on their heads wore small sponges on their hands. Shaking their wings, some started to wash my head while others rubbed my shoulders. 

It felt so good that I couldn’t help myself from moaning.

“Ohhhh…”

As I curled my toes in comfort, I decided to reflect upon everything that happened today.

‘Making money in this world and in reality are not much different.’

Well, this was written by a real person, so it made sense. There is that unique position of a person becoming the leader of an industry, but I don’t want to try that.

‘Launching a luxury clothing brand…’

This was honestly what I wanted to do. Though, since I can’t make clothes, naturally  I would need a designer.

The only person I could think of that would fit the bill was an extra from the original.

‘I think it’ll work, but let’s just think some more about it.’

After crossing off those two ideas, the only thing left was the entertainment industry. But the business of selling alcohol or owning a bar was not appealing at all.

Is there anything more ‘wholesome’ to make a profit off of in the entertainment industry other than that? 

Dictionary definition of entertainment: having fun.

Ah, no one  dislikes having fun.

Excited for some reason, I pushed back a few strands of hair that had fallen down on my white breasts, helping the fairies wash me well. As I, the caster, was in a good mood, the fairies moved as if they were in a good mood too.

I closed my eyes and pondered only about exciting thoughts while enjoying the sensation of the water’s warmth.

‘To be honest, isn’t my adaptability in the top 0.1*?’

*(The top 0.1 percent distinction means you are in the top number of people.)

Even though everything in my life changed all of a sudden, I didn’t shed a single tear.

“Goodbye germs! Goodbye semi-underground apartment!*”

*(a residential space that is half on the ground and half under the ground.)

I tried to forget that I might not be able to go back home or that I might not be able to meet my family again forever.

I am now living in such a luxurious place that I couldn’t even dream of in the first place. A five-star hotel, which I’ve never been to, would probably look like this.

I can’t believe I’m enjoying such a place without paying any money. My mind and body felt so ecstatic. I don’t want to go back to a life where I’m still paying back student loans, even though it had already been a while since I graduated.

‘To be honest, if we compare this to real life, wouldn’t 98 out of 100 people choose this route?’

Besides, I can earn a lot of money too.

‘I want to run my own business.’

Looking at the children from well-off families, their fathers were often businessmen.

What business, what kind of business.

They used to joke around about things that were difficult to name, and I couldn’t join such conversations.

Because, I didn’t know what they were talking about.

My father was a firefighter, which of course I was very proud of, but compared to leading an honourable life, our life had always been poor.

Perhaps that’s why I dreamt of becoming a businesswoman. I didn’t have money for that, but I still dreamt.

At this time…

“Shay. Is everything okay inside?”

I heard Lacius’s voice outside the door.

I opened my eyes wide and checked the watch I brought next to me. I thought it had only been about 10 minutes, but it’s already been an hour. Lacius may have become worried that’s why he came to visit me.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute.”

I raised myself up after checking whether I had a fever or not after touching my forehead. The bubble fairies washed all the foam off my head, so I thought I just needed to rinse my body one more time.

But a problem occurred just then.

Click.

The sound of the door I had locked unlocking pierced my ears.

Bubble fairies’ prank.

The door opened wide. In front of it, of course, stood Lacius who had yet to leave.

“Aha— haha. “

At the moment Lacius and I made eye contact, I laughed super awkwardly.

In a hot bathroom filled with steam, a completely naked woman stood without a robe while a man was outside the door.

It’s a perfect scene for someone to misunderstand. I may have taken my clothes off on my own, but this doesn’t mean anything else. 

How should I fix this?

Should I stride out and close the door? Just  saying, ‘Ah, this was the fairies’ doing…’ would only sound like a lame excuse. Usually, when faced with such a situation, the man was the one who says sorry, but here, I think I should be  the one kneeling*.

*( 석고대죄를/ Kneeling- a sinner who has committed a crime condemns the sin and lays down on his face and waits for punishment.)

“Oh, I’m sorry for showing you such a scene!”

A scene… scene… scene…

My apology echoed and came back.

“I didn’t see anything.”

After a thousand years of silence, I decided to open my mouth again, but Lacius beat me to it.

“Keep washing. I’m sorry I came.”

“Huh?”

He’s being quite broad-minded. If I were him, I would surely beat myself to death once I came out of the bathroom, labelling myself as a pervert and a stalker.

However, in this situation, I am the person who would be beaten, so I decided to just close my mouth nicely.

Lacius’s neck and ears had already turned red, as if he had been steamed all the way to the top of his head.

“You guys really…” 

After Lacius disappeared in large strides, I jerked my head and stared into the bathroom.

Amazingly, no one was there. The effects of the magic almost ran out, and since it almost ended, everyone turned into blurred lines.

‘Wow… I’m dying to beat them up.’

I didn’t know that playing around, while drawing would lead to such an embarrassing result.

After swearing to draw seriously and respectfully like a scholar in the future, I quickly rinsed the remaining bubbles off my body.

‘Ahhhh, how would I be able to look at Lacius’ face now!!!’

A red alarm rang in my head. This was certainly a situation that anyone would misunderstand!

‘Oh, no.  My splendid future…’

Here I thought I’d finally found a way to live well and eat well!