I stepped closer and set the ice cream down on the counter.
She was wearing a black top with some kind of faded writing across it—probably a heavy metal band I'd never heard of—paired with long black jean shorts that hugged her slim figure. Her frame was delicate, almost fragile, like something carved out of porcelain. There was an effortless coolness to her, the kind that can't be bought or faked.
She picked up the ice cream with her pale, long fingers, and I found myself staring at her black-painted nails. They were immaculate, not a single chip or smudge. She caught me looking too and raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, but said nothing.
I couldn't tell if her pale skin was because of makeup… or if she just didn't get much sun.
Or maybe she really is a vampire.
She rang up the ice cream.
"Five dollars."
I paid without saying much.
As she started packing it, I noticed a small navel piercing.
*…Hot.*
My thoughts drifted for a second, curiosity creeping in.
Then I stopped myself.
*I don't really need to imagine… I could just ask.*
In this world, it didn't seem like it would be a big deal—even if she refused.
"I was wondering… if I might have the pleasure of getting a glimpse of your… boobs?" I asked, trying to sound a bit more refined than I actually felt.
She blinked, clearly caught off guard, staring at me blankly for a second.
Then she tilted her head slightly. Looking at me like I was a weird dude. Seeing what I asked her for. She wasn't thinking too wrong.
"…You might not," she replied flatly.
I felt a small wave of disappointment, though I wasn't really surprised. I didn't bother hiding it.
"Yeah… figured," I muttered.
Picking up my ice cream, I turned to leave. But just before stepping away, I paused and glanced back at her.
"You can have some of my ice cream," I offered casually.
She raised an eyebrow at that.
For a moment, she just looked at me…
Then—
"Okay."
…What?
Fuck, that was easy.
A mix of disbelief and excitement surged through me, catching me completely off guard.
Then she began to lift her top. First came the slow reveal of her belly—pale, toned, and accentuated by a shiny navel piercing that caught the light. A thin line of muscle ran down the center of her stomach, giving her a lean, fit look without being too muscular. Her waist curved inward nicely before flaring out to her hips, hidden just below the waistband of her shorts.
As she pulled the fabric higher, I braced myself for the sight of a bra, but there was none. And then came the reveal.
My breath hitched. Time seemed to slow down.
She showed her perky B-cups, pale as the rest of her, with pink, pierced nipples that confirmed my imagination. The piercings were silver and gleamed with an almost hypnotic allure. Her breasts sat high and firm, with just a hint of a curve underneath that made them look impossibly perky. Not a single imperfection marked her skin—no freckles, no blemishes, just smooth, unbroken paleness that seemed to glow under the store lights.
My guess had been right all along. I stood there frozen, not daring to blink.
They were so mesmerizing that my hand instinctively started to grasp at empty air.
"You done?" she asked.
I wasn't.
Not even close.
But I knew this moment couldn't last forever.
Still… I didn't want to forget it.
An idea popped into my head.
"Yeah… but first, can I take a picture?" I asked.
She gave me a look—like she wasn't sure whether I was serious or just plain weird.
After a brief pause, with a hint of confusion still on her face, she shrugged.
"Yeah… sure."
Hearing her answer I quickly pulled my phone out, almost fumbling it in my haste, and brought up the camera.
I made sure to frame her properly.
The first picture was her full frame—head to thighs. I took a second one from head to torso, capturing her breast piercings all the way down to her navel. Then a close-up of her boobs. A close-up of her face. And a cropped shot from her face down to her chest.
I was surprised at my own ability. Taking this many different pictures in under twenty seconds. Maybe I had a future as a photographer.
"I'm done. Thank you," I said, sneaking one last glance at her chest.
I set the ice cream back on the counter. The checkout girl pulled her top down and produced a plastic spoon from seemingly nowhere. She picked up the tub and gave me a curious look. "You're a really weird one, aren't you? Why did you want to look at my boobs?"
I recalled the info Angie had shared with me and decided to use it. "Um... I'm one of those guys who's interested in sex."
Her eyes widened in surprise at my answer, then softened into realization. "You're a rare breed, huh? Well, good for you." She smiled warmly, then opened the tub and began eating.
With the spoon resting between her lips, she shot me a look that silently asked, *What are you waiting for?*
That's when I realized there'd been a misunderstanding. I had only meant to share *some* of my ice cream—not hand over the whole thing.
But considering the "trade," I couldn't really complain.
Letting out a small breath, I turned around and walked back to the freezer, grabbed another ice cream, and returned to the counter to pay for it again.
Once I was done, I nodded at her.
"Thanks for the… ice cream."
She smirked slightly.
"Same to you."
And with that, I finally left the store. Getting home, I turned on the TV and started looking for something to watch. Before I regressed, I didn't watch many shows, but maybe now was the time to watch a few.
As I sifted through the channels, I noticed something surprising—there weren't many romance-focused shows. Romance has become kind of a rare genre in this world. There also weren't any dating shows like Love Boat or stuff like that.
I guess if you took sex out of things, those kinds of shows probably wouldn't survive very long.
Soon, while scrolling through the catalog of TV series, I found one I had wanted to watch before I regressed. Even the synopsis was exactly the same as I remembered.
I opened the ice cream tub and dug my spoon in.
I lay down on the couch while the TV kept playing in the background.
The ice cream tub rested on my stomach as I lazily scooped another spoonful into my mouth.
The show was actually pretty decent.
Maybe it was because I had already lived through most of my life once, but slow moments like this felt weirdly relaxing now.
At some point, my eyes started getting heavier.
I kept watching for a little longer.
Then longer.
Then…
…
I probably fell asleep.
At least, that's what I thought at first. But something felt off.
The TV had been playing earlier. So why couldn't I hear anything anymore?
No voices.
No music.
No sound at all.
I slowly opened my eyes.
"…Hm?"
Everything around me was white.Just completely white.
No couch.
No TV.
No walls.
Nothing.
I blinked a few times while looking around.
"…Did the budget for reality run out or something?"
I stood up and looked around the endless white space. There wasn't really anything to see. Just white in every direction.
Then curiosity got the better of me. I crouched down and touched the ground. It felt solid. Kind of. It was hard to explain. My hand touched something, but at the same time it didn't really feel like a floor.
"…Okay, that's weird."
"Am I dreaming?"
I even pinched myself just to check.
"Ow."
Yep definitely felt pain.
So either this was an incredibly realistic dream, or my life had somehow gotten even stranger after regression.
Honestly… it wasn't even scary. Just confusing. I scratched the back of my head.
"HELLO is anyone here?" is shouted but no response from the endless whiteness.
I tried shouting a few times, but nothing happened. My voice echoed through the white space and then faded away. No response came back.
At one point, I even tried waving my arms around dramatically like some idiot trapped in a low-budget sci-fi movie.
Still nothing.
"…Cool. Glad to know insanity is treating me well."
After standing there for a while, I decided to walk around. Well, "forward" was probably the wrong word. I couldn't actually tell which direction was which in this place. Everything looked exactly the same.
There wasn't even a shadow beneath me.
That somehow bothered me more than the endless white space itself.
As I walked, I started counting my steps just to give myself something to focus on.
Twenty.
Fifty.
A hundred.
Nothing changed.
No landmarks.
No sounds.
No magical glowing portal waiting for me.
"Man… this place is really committed to the minimalist aesthetic."
As I kept walking, an idea suddenly came to mind.
I had regressed. No, not just regressed—I had transmigrated into another world entirely. Maybe this strange white space had something to do with that.
"You guessed it."
A voice suddenly sounded around me. As if it read my mind. It probably read my mind.
I immediately stopped walking.
The voice didn't seem to come from any direction in particular. It was just… there.