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Episode 38: The Magic Spell and an Ominous Premonition
I froze in front of the sink, as if time had stopped.
I stared blankly at the face reflected in the mirror.
What I saw before me was definitely my face.
But at the same time, it was a face I didn't know at all.
The sound of water pouring down didn't stop, and a strange tension filled the bathroom.
Over the silence, my heart pounded like a drumbeat in my ears.
The face in the mirror was distorted, as if paint had been smeared, and the skin tone was off.
But no matter how I looked at it, it was Yaruo's face.
Just to check, I looked down at my body.
But contrary to my hopes, there was no sign of the brute's robust physique.
My body was as scrawny and weak as the face in the mirror.
It was the same shabby body I always saw when I possessed him.
I blinked several times and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, but nothing changed.
[Why are you just standing there?]
Just as I hesitated and reached toward the mirror, Child's voice suddenly interrupted.
"Hey, Child."
[Ah, I get it. You only got that body less than a week ago. Of course you'd want to see it again and again.]
"That's not it…"
Wait a second.
Could it be he can't see this?
"Child, how do I look to you?"
[…You're not making me a conquest target too, are you? That's kind of scary.]
Is he pretending not to know, or does he really not know?
"Stop joking and take a look. My face is weird."
I slowly turned my head and pointed at the mirror.
My fingertip trembled slightly, against my will.
"That's definitely Yaruo…"
But when I looked back at the mirror, the distorted image was completely gone.
Only my familiar, tired face stared back at me with blank eyes.
[…What are you talking about? You look just like usual.]
I looked down at my body again. The scrawny frame from a moment ago was now back to its muscular build.
[What's up with you today?]
I clenched and unclenched my fists several times, taking slow breaths.
Then I calmly explained to Child what I had just seen.
Child was silent for a while, then spoke cautiously.
[It's hard to say for sure. But it's probably an aftereffect.]
"But you said aftereffects decrease as immersion goes up, right?"
[Even so, you're only at 30%. And this possession was much longer than your first one, right? It's not strange to have aftereffects.]
"I guess so…"
For now, the aftereffect theory seemed most plausible.
But the uneasy feeling in my chest wouldn't go away.
[Usually, a bit of rest will help. But if it happens again, let me know right away.]
"Okay."
For now, all I could do was wait and see.
[Don't take it too seriously. A brief hallucination is a pretty mild aftereffect.]
"Is that supposed to be comforting?"
Not even the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings would say that.
Child's awkward attempt at comfort made me chuckle.
I lowered my head and splashed cold water on my face several times.
The cold sensation on my skin helped wash away some of the clutter in my mind.
Yeah.
Just like Child said, it was probably just an aftereffect.
No need to overreact.
I tried to convince myself of that.
But even after washing up, while showering, I wiped the fog from the mirror several times to check my face.
As if that strange image might appear again at any moment.
After a lackluster shower, I stepped out of the bathroom and was greeted by the savory smell of butter.
Drying my face and hair with a towel, I headed to the kitchen, where Rizeta was busy cooking.
She was so focused she didn't notice me approach until I was right behind her.
"Omelet again today?"
When I spoke, Rizeta turned her head without a hint of surprise and shook it.
She was concentrating so hard that sweat beaded on her forehead.
"It's similar, but today it's omurice. I thought this would be more filling."
Peeking over her shoulder, I saw a frying pan and a wok side by side on the stove.
An omelet was cooking in the frying pan, and fried rice was sizzling in the wok.
Both looked pretty appetizing, much better than I'd feared.
"When did you cook the rice?"
"I prepared it right after you started your possession. It wasn't as hard as I thought."
True, if you just wash the rice and add water, the rice cooker does the rest.
The rice cooker that had been gathering dust in the corner was finally getting some use.
"It'll be ready soon. Please finish getting ready for work."
As soon as she finished speaking, Rizeta turned back to her cooking.
She was so careful with each seasoning it was like watching a cooking competition.
Maybe I could look forward to this one.
After finishing my preparations in my room, I returned to the kitchen just as Rizeta was setting the finished dish on the table.
"Whoa."
Adjusting my clothes and sitting at the table, I couldn't help but exclaim at the sight.
Golden, perfectly cooked egg wrapped around fried rice.
On top, a heart shape drawn carefully with ketchup.
The rich aroma of butter and stir-fry made my mouth water.
Just by appearance, it was on a different level from her last failed attempt.
Having slept for 10 hours straight, I was starving, and I immediately picked up my spoon to eat.
"Hyunseong-nim, wait a moment."
Standing by the table, Rizeta reached out to stop me.
Wondering what was up, I looked up to see her take a short breath and bring her hands together in a heart shape in front of her chest.
…No way?
Is she really going to do that?
That Rizeta?
"…Oishiku nare. Moe moe kyun."
"…"
Her movements were a bit awkward, and her voice was expressionless.
Rather than being shocking, the scene was so awkward it was hard not to laugh.
Frozen in place, drawing a heart in the air, Rizeta stared at me with a blank face, then straightened up as usual.
"I saw on the internet that maids use this magic spell to make food taste better, so I tried it."
I could easily imagine where she'd picked that up.
She must have watched YouTube or something while I was gone.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have interrupted your meal with something silly."
Looking a bit downcast, Rizeta sat quietly across from me.
She looked so cute that I couldn't help but smile.
"No, not at all. I'm sure your spell made the omurice taste even better."
"I hope so."
"We'll know once we eat. Please, have some too."
"Thank you."
I took the first bite, and she followed.
The soft egg melted in my mouth, and the sweet and tangy ketchup added a nice touch.
The fried rice was savory with butter, and the mix of vegetables, ham, and onion was satisfying.
"…It's delicious."
Maybe because the food in the other world was so bland, this familiar, rich flavor hit even harder.
My hunger made my spoon move nonstop.
"I'm glad it suits your taste."
"It's really good. You've improved a lot, Rizeta."
"It seems practicing over the weekend helped. Hearing you say so puts me at ease."
She hadn't had much time to practice, but she'd come this far.
Maybe she just learns quickly.
But her expression still looked a bit dissatisfied.
She moved her spoon a little slower.
"Don't you like it, Rizeta?"
"No, it's not bad. But by my standards, it still feels lacking."
Hmm.
So she didn't reach the result she had in mind.
Of course, it might not match the high-end food made by a top chef.
"It's already good enough. I'm sure next time will be even better."
At my words, she finally smiled faintly.
"Yes. Next time, I'll serve you something even better."
She's been smiling more often lately, like when we went shopping on Saturday.
I don't mind, since I like seeing it.
"And I'll try to put more sincerity into the spell next time."
That part's probably not necessary.
But I can't tell someone not to try if they want to.
"I'll look forward to it."
"Yes. I'll definitely meet your expectations."
She's still so earnest about everything.
Well,
If I ever get to see Rizeta do a cheerful "moe moe kyun" with real energy, that wouldn't be so bad.
Imagining that scene, I took another bite of fried rice.
Once the mood had settled, I took out my phone and opened the gallery I hadn't checked yet.
All the photos I'd taken while possessing were still there.
I'd worked hard to take them, so I would've been upset if they'd disappeared.
"Did you have fun over there?"
As I was flipping through the photos, reminiscing, Rizeta asked.
"I did."
I nodded and set my phone down on the table.
"If I'd had more time, I would've stayed longer."
Half a joke, half the truth.
Over there, unlike in reality, I didn't have to worry about a complicated future.
"Even though it's just a virtual world, with virtual people, you don't seem to mind, Hyunseong-nim."
Her words sounded meaningful.
I was at a loss for words for a moment.
It's true that world isn't real.
But after interacting deeply with them, I know they're not just NPCs.
And-
"Real or fake, what does it matter? To me, it's real. That's enough."
At my offhand comment, Rizeta stopped eating and looked at me intently.
Huh.
Did I say something wrong?
"Rizeta?"
"…It's nothing. Please forget what I just said."
She lowered her gaze and quietly focused on her meal.
It bothered me a bit, but I didn't ask further.
I finished eating, mulling over her words.
After a leisurely post-meal break, I headed to the entrance to go to work.
Just like last week, Rizeta followed me, handing me my bag as I put on my shoes.
I could do it myself, but she seemed to have accepted it as her routine since that day.
By the way-
"You want to use the computer?"
"Yes."
I repeated her question as I slung my bag over my shoulder, and she quietly nodded.
"You have your phone, so why the computer…?"
"There's something I want to look up for myself."
"Research?"
What could she be researching?
Her answer was so vague, I couldn't guess.
"If you're uncomfortable with me using it, you can say no."
"Hm."
Honestly, I wasn't uncomfortable.
She already knew about my most sensitive eroge folders.
As long as she didn't touch work documents, there was no problem.
"Alright. There's no password, so use it as you like."
"Thank you."
"But tell me what you looked up after I get home, okay?"
Leaving that last request, I quietly opened the door.
As I was about to step over the threshold-
"Hyunseong-nim."
Her voice brushed my ear, and a gentle hand pulled my arm.
Then, without a word, she pressed her lips to my cheek and pulled away.
"Have a good day."
Her cool yet kind voice lingered warmly in my ear.
[Don't get distracted and come home early today, unlike last time.]
Before the warmth faded, Child's voice butted in, ruining the mood.
He really is a master at killing the atmosphere.
The weekend had passed in a flash.
Heading to work right after was hell.
On the other hand, my fingers were itching to use the Hypnosis App as soon as possible.
My first target: Team Leader Kang Jooyoung.
After all the times she used me for stress relief, it's time she paid me back with her body.
By the way, Mina still hasn't contacted me at all.
I figured I'd ask her directly at work, so after getting off the elevator, I headed to the office.
But even from the hallway, something felt off.
"Hey, is that the guy?"
"Yeah, that's him."
Everywhere I went-where I was usually invisible-people stared and whispered.
"Who told you?"
"I don't know, I heard it from someone else."
"If it's true, isn't that a crime?"
And not in a good way.
When I looked toward the source of the whispers, the employees quickly averted their eyes and pretended nothing was happening.
Creepy.
With a sense of foreboding, I headed to my desk and immediately sensed something was wrong.
The junior who always arrived before me was absent.
Not just absent-there was no sign she'd come in at all.
"…"
A chill ran down my spine.
These kinds of bad premonitions are rarely wrong.
Calm down.
Maybe she's just late today.
I decided to contact her later, but first I needed to figure out what was up with all these stares…
"Ah, Assistant Manager Lee."
A voice from down the hall interrupted my thoughts.
It was Kim Hanseok, the youngest in the Japan team and Mina's peer.
"What's up?"
"Team Leader Kang was looking for you earlier. She said to go straight to meeting room 5 when you arrive."
I reflexively checked Kang Jooyoung's desk.
It was empty too.
"She asked for just me?"
"Yes… Oh, no, she called Deputy Son too. He already went to the meeting room."
"Deputy Son too?"
He'd just gotten back from a field trip to Osaka last week.
Right, today was his return.
But to be called to a meeting room first thing after arriving at work…
My head was already a mess, and this was just making it worse.
But I couldn't just not go.
"Thanks."
I gave Hanseok a brief nod and walked past him toward the meeting room.
As I passed, I deliberately ignored the wary look he gave me.
My steps toward the meeting room felt as heavy as if I were dragging chains.
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