The day after we were assigned the group project.

Sohui visited Chae-yeon's house to help with cleaning.

Ding dong~

"Chae-yeon, can you open the door?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

Click—

As soon as the door opened, a wave of heat hit Chae-yeon. Standing in front of her, with sweat on her forehead, was Sohui, holding various food ingredients in her hands.

"I brought these to cook something for you after we finish cleaning."

"Thanks. It must be hot; come on in."

Chae-yeon took the shopping bag from Sohui. While Chae-yeon put the food ingredients into the fridge, Sohui fanned her face and commented after looking around the house.

"It definitely looks like it needs some cleaning."

"Yeah. I haven't tidied up in a while."

Disposable instant porridge bowls piled on the dining table. Medicine packets scattered on the floor. Sohui thought that the cleanliness hadn't changed since Chae-yeon's messy days.

"You still dared to think of inviting people over like this..."

"I just really wanted to invite Si-hyun to my place. If it's cleaning, I can just pull an all-nighter, right?"

Sohui silently watched Chae-yeon's sincere smile. She wondered how one person could love another so blindly. While pondering this, she picked up a transparent plastic wrap from the floor.

'I hope she stops taking medicine soon...'

Since becoming friends with Si-hyun, Chae-yeon had gained some weight and her complexion had improved compared to her reclusive days. However, even so, she still looked quite worn out compared to before.

Sohui crumpled the plastic wrap and took it to the trash bag.

When she was about to throw it away, she noticed layers of similar plastic wraps piled up in the trash can.

"What is this?"

Sohui assumed that Chae-yeon hadn't taken all this medicine at once and had discarded them in bulk instead. Still, the thought of Chae-yeon consuming medicine proportional to the amount of wraps caused worry to creep into her heart.

Chae-yeon approached Sohui.

"I put all the ingredients in the fridge. What are you planning to cook later?"

"Kimchi Stew..."

"Really? I have some fermented kimchi at home, so that's great. I'm already looking forward to how delicious it will be."

Chae-yeon hurried into the bathroom with a multipurpose bleach, saying they should finish cleaning quickly. Having missed the chance to speak, Sohui could only quietly stare at the trash bag.

She opened the windows for ventilation, allowing fresh air to enter despite the coolness from the air conditioner escaping.

Whirr~

Sohui vacuumed underneath the sofa and bed, from the floors of each room to the expansive living room, cleaning every corner of the house.

As she dusted the accumulated dirt into a designated trash bag, she looked around.

"It finally feels like someone lives here."

Thanks to drawing the curtains and ventilating the place, the atmosphere in the house changed. With bright light pouring in, the previously lingering gloomy vibe seemed to have vanished.

"I've cleaned the windows, the air conditioner filter was already clean, organized the items, and vacuumed..."

Everything that needed to be done was completed.

"Chae-yeon, I'm done over here. Do you need help with the bathroom cleaning?"

"No, I'm almost done too. Just take a break on the sofa."

Hearing Chae-yeon's voice from beyond the bathroom door, Sohui nodded and headed towards the kitchen.

Chae-yeon wanted to have the meal ready as soon as she finished cleaning, so she started cooking in advance.

"Since she's been eating only porridge, she's losing weight."

Sohui, determined to feed her properly this time, tied on an apron. She then took out the ingredients she had bought and a single container of kimchi from the fridge.

Sizzle~

She poured fresh water into a pot and added pork. After letting it boil thoroughly, she added the sliced kimchi.

Next, she added minced garlic, green onions, and chili powder, then tasted the stew.

"Maybe it doesn't match the kimchi... It's quite bland."

Normally, she would adjust the seasoning with soy sauce, fish sauce, or salted shrimp, but she didn't have those ingredients at the moment. In search of something useful, she grabbed the salt shaker near the stove.

But then,

"Is this salt or sugar?"

There were coarse grains characteristic of salt, but there were also finer, sugar-like particles. To figure it out, Sohui tasted a little of the powder.

"It tastes salty, so it must be salt, but there's a bitter taste here and there..."

Puzzled, Sohui hurriedly added some salt. Just as the stew was finished, Chae-yeon came over.

"The spicy aroma reached all the way to the bathroom. How delicious must it be?"

Chae-yeon set rice in the bowls and laid out the utensils on the table. In the middle rested the bright red kimchi stew. Seeing this, Chae-yeon said with a bright smile,

"Thanks for helping out in many ways today. I'll enjoy the meal."

"This is nothing... I'll come by often to cook for you, so don't just eat porridge. Make sure to eat other things too, okay?"

"Okay."

At Chae-yeon's quick agreement, Sohui nodded with satisfaction.

As soon as they both tasted the stew, they couldn't help but express their delight.

"Wow... I made it, but it's so delicious."

"Right? The seasoning is just perfect, I can't stop eating it."

With the kimchi stew proving to be irresistibly good, they both finished two bowls of rice right there.

Satisfied and patting their stomachs, they took a short break before starting the dishes.

"........"

As Sohui was washing the dishes, an overwhelming drowsiness suddenly hit her.

'Why am I feeling this way all of a sudden... Is it just post-meal drowsiness?'

Frowning, Sohui shook her head to fight off sleep, but her eyelids kept getting heavier.

'I’ve never felt this sleepy before...'

Sohui looked over at Chae-yeon, who was also doing the dishes. But due to having developed a slight resistance to sleeping pills, the effects didn't hit her as quickly as they did Sohui.

Feeling she might just fall asleep while doing the dishes, Sohui hurried to finish washing up. And once everything was done...

Her mental strength at its limit, Sohui fell sound asleep on the sofa.

Meanwhile.

Ye-rin went to Si-hyun's place, planning to go together to Chae-yeon's house.

After enjoying a hearty meal of his homemade cooking, she showered and started looking for a movie to watch.

“There really aren’t many good movies to watch these days…”

With a light sigh, Ye-rin put down the remote control. As she listened quietly, she could hear the water running from Si-hyun’s shower.

‘Should I just barge in there since I’ve already seen everything?’

Ye-rin shook her head, dismissing her mischievous thought. Setting the mood is important when it comes to intimacy. The atmosphere needs to naturally turn romantic for it to have the desired effect.

‘If I rush in now, it’ll just end as a brief interruption.’

Since she planned to stay over, Ye-rin wanted to make it a memorable night. With that in mind, she moved on to another plan.

Tok. Todok.

After searching on her phone, a list of 19+ rated movies appeared. Ye-rin selected a popular romance film and used the remote to play it on the screen.

Not long after, Si-hyun came over, drying his hair with a towel.

“What are you watching?”

“A typical romance movie.”

“That’s unusual... Aren’t you into those intense dramas anymore?”

“I’ve watched all of them, there’s nothing left to see. That genres all dried up now.”

Si-hyun chuckled and dropped the towel he had used onto the floor. Ye-rin watched it closely, picking up the damp towel and squeezing it in her hands repeatedly.

Pretending to wipe her nose, she secretly enjoyed his scent.

‘Even after starting to date Si-hyun, I haven’t managed to fix this habit…’

Feeling a bit guilty, Ye-rin looked at Si-hyun, who was fully engrossed in the movie even though he started watching midway.

Ye-rin watched him with satisfaction, waiting for the right moment to come.

The movie was rated 19+. It was evident that a scene chosen by netizens as memorable would appear soon.

"Ah..."

As Ye-rin had planned, Si-hyun let out a brief sigh as a steamy scene played out in the film. Flustered, he scratched his head and glanced at Ye-rin, who seized the opportunity.

"Si-hyun..."

She started by calling his name. Noticing Si-hyun's pupils trembling, Ye-rin pointed at the TV screen and said,

"Why don't we try that too?"

At his girlfriend's plea, Si-hyun swallowed nervously. The more he looked at her, the prettier she seemed, and it became increasingly difficult to resist her allure as time passed.

"...I'll go to the convenience store and buy condoms."

Si-hyun kissed Ye-rin on the forehead and got up to leave. However, Ye-rin grabbed the hem of his pants as he was about to exit.

"No, it's my safe day today, so we can do it without."

"Didn’t you say the same last time too?"

"There's a big difference in the dates between then and now. It was a safe day then too, and it's a safe day today."

"Something seems off..."

Si-hyun gave Ye-rin a questioning look. She countered with her earnest, sparkling eyes.

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course, I do..."

Ye-rin nodded eagerly.

"Then go ahead. You said it feels better doing it naturally, Si-hyun."

"But..."

Without giving him a chance to argue, Ye-rin nibbled on Si-hyun's earlobe.

As she gently nibbled, she breathed sweetly, fully swaying his reason.