#135
My heart fluttered as I watched Shin Haejun gazing at me as if seeing something ecstatic, rubbing my cheek with his thumb.
‘Come to think of it…’
I recalled the moment when I heard them say they loved me.
Normally, I would have felt joy first at completing the quest. But this time, I didn’t even think about the quest. I just felt my heart pounding and thought I might cry.
I really do like both of them. The fact that I can’t choose between them proves it.
If anyone knew, they might think I’m crazy or say I’m too greedy, but this was my honest feeling.
Shin Haejun must be feeling similar to me right now, right? Thinking that, I unconsciously reached out to touch his face. As I brushed away the hair on his forehead, Shin Haejun grabbed my wrist and nuzzled his face into my palm.
“Aren’t you really sleepy? You should sleep.”
“I don’t know… You really like me, right? We’re… okay now, right?”
Shin Haejun asked in a cautious voice. Perhaps because we had dated once and broken up, he seemed to be anxious.
I nodded slightly. When I agreed, Shin Haejun smiled. Nevertheless, the look in his eyes as he gazed at me seemed complicated. It must be because he has to share my love with Hyun Dowoon.
Last night, I never responded when Hyun Dowoon and Shin Haejun asked me to choose who I liked more. It was because I truly couldn’t choose between the two of them. I was just childishly begging them to understand my choice, but they didn’t argue further, saying that “love is not a sin.”
‘It’s inevitable to have complicated feelings even after expressing our mutual affection…’
I stroked Shin Haejun’s cheek once more, then gently moved Hyun Dowoon’s arm and got up. Although my whole body creaked from the intense night, it almost felt like a badge of honor.
Shin Haejun was looking at me with a gentle face. Hyun Dowoon was still deeply asleep, as if making up for his usually short sleep, but the fact that his body was turned towards me hinted at his feelings.
I left the two lounging lazily on the bed and found a robe to put on. Then I took my phone from the table and went into the bathroom.
‘Oh my…’
From my neck to my loosened chest, everything was covered in marks. I hadn’t thought my skin was particularly delicate, but they had been so persistent in biting and sucking.
I didn’t feel any pain unless there were particularly red bite marks, but as I traced them with my fingertips, I felt like I could sense yesterday’s sensations again. Looking in the mirror, my face was so flushed it looked like a tomato.
Deliberately ignoring my reflection in the mirror, I sat on the edge of the bathtub and turned on my phone. As soon as I connected to the internet to check the news headlines, I saw a photo of the three of us smiling brightly on the main page.
‘Yesterday’s date… was really enjoyable.’
Although there was the incident where I collapsed, thinking about it a day later, even that felt like a kind of memory.
Looking at the media headlines, they were generally favorable. I had expected that some people would naturally find it strange that I was enjoying dates with two people simultaneously, but surprisingly, that wasn’t the case at all. The comments were mostly happy, saying that if I was in a romantic relationship, I wouldn’t leave Korea. Some even suggested we should get married to ensure I never leave.
‘Is it because we’re in a romance novel… Everyone’s so open-minded.’
It was surprising how incredibly open-minded they were. The mention of marriage briefly sent me into a daydream, but I soon snapped out of it and scrolled down the screen further.
‘Hm…?’
A photo caught my eye, showing the expressions of the two just before we entered the hotel. It was a picture of me smiling innocently, oblivious, and the two of them looking down at me. Perhaps due to the timing of the snapshot, their eyes seemed a bit dark. Was it because of the composition? For some reason, it felt like an unsettling photo. It was probably just a momentary trick of the camera.
‘Let’s collect the quest reward.’
I stopped checking the news articles and opened the game. As usual, the pets and Nine greeted me.
I immediately moved to the quest screen and saw the completed quest window.
: *Love Love Grand Operation*
Quest Rank: C
You have completed the quest. You will receive a reward!
Reward: Ability to take out one item from inventory
(※Only couple items allowed)
I can take out a couple item? But… we’re three people, aren’t we? Are there items that can be used by three people…?
‘Ah.’
Suddenly, something came to mind. Rings.
The accessory system in Limitless Nine was a bit unique. Accessories could be stacked. You could wear up to 10 rings and 3 necklaces. Perhaps assuming you’d wear them on all ten fingers, you could wear 10 rings, and in a strangely realistic touch, you could only wear one set of earrings.
‘I can just make two sets of rings, right?’
I suddenly became very curious about how the two would react when receiving the rings. Would they be happy? Would they shout with joy?
‘To take out two sets, I’ll need to negotiate with Nine first.’
I was determined to take them out somehow. I solemnly attempted to talk with Nine.
“Nine, about choosing a couple item…”
: It’s a reward to become more lovey-dovey!
“But we’re a couple of three, right? And there are no couple items for three in Limitless Nine.”
: Aaah!
Nine seemed to realize the error and made a shocked expression.
“But… it says ‘take out once’, not ‘take out one’. I have two hands, right? How about if I say I took them out simultaneously with both hands?”
: I’ll do that for you!
Nine agreed readily. I sighed with relief and entered the game’s crafting system.
‘Couple items…’
As I scrolled down the list of items I could make, being a master crafter, the list seemed endless. I could make all the items in Limitless Nine, and since it was an old game, there were an enormous number of items.
: I’m bored, Yeonsoo-nim… Nine will take a little break.
As I continued browsing the list, Nine spoke abruptly and then stopped responding. It seemed bored.
I hadn’t filtered for couple items and was looking through the general item list as well because I felt somewhat embarrassed thinking about making couple items directly, but I didn’t expect Nine to get bored.
Anyway, thinking that I was deciding alone made me feel a bit more at ease.
‘Rings… rings…’
As I scrolled down the list, ‘Pure White Ring’ caught my eye. Despite its name, it actually had a very light pink diamond set in its design. In-game weddings required rings, and this was quite a popular design.
‘The stat-boosting function isn’t really necessary…’
In terms of functionality, it was trash, befitting a commemorative accessory. It had an effect that raised basic stats and a unique function called ‘Record of Love’, but I didn’t know what this function did as I had never used it. From the description, it seemed to record and allow viewing of moments when your spouse mentioned you, but I didn’t know if this would work properly in the real world.
Anyway, the design was more important than the function. I wasn’t sure how the two would feel about the light pink gem, but I had my reasons for choosing this.
If I had to wear two rings, the female design of this ring was quite thin, so it wouldn’t look awkward to wear two. Since I couldn’t give just one person a ring on their left ring finger, I’d have to wear two stacked.
I crafted the equipment according to the forging system and took out the items, and instantly four rings fell into my hand. In reality, they sparkled much more.
‘I wonder if they’ll fit our fingers?’
For some reason, I thought they might magically stretch and shrink, but you never know. I tried putting a ring on my finger first.
The tiny ring, like a children’s toy, soon stretched to fit my finger joint. It was a relief that it worked as expected.
As I left the bathroom to give the rings to the two, I saw shadows cast on Shin Haejun’s face from the drawn curtains. For a moment, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“You took quite a while.”
“Ah… I dozed off a bit in there.”
I approached him, feeling a bit guilty, and Shin Haejun grinned. Fortunately, it seemed he didn’t mean anything by it.
As I crawled back under the covers, Hyun Dowoon hugged me tightly, as if finding a perfectly fitting piece. He didn’t seem to be awake, just naturally embracing me.
“Close your eyes for a moment.”
When I said this to Shin Haejun, he closed his eyes with a puzzled expression.
‘Why am I trembling over this…?’
I took his left hand and slipped the ring on. Then, insisting he shouldn’t open his eyes yet, I put the ring on Hyun Dowoon’s hand as well.
“Hmm…”
Even Hyun Dowoon, who had been sleeping soundly, reacted to the fiddling with his finger. Hyun Dowoon, who had been making low rumbling sounds, suddenly brought his hand up to his face and stopped moving.
Shin Haejun, who had opened his eyes along with him, also froze. Both of their gazes were fixed on the rings.
‘Why aren’t they reacting at all?’
At first, I thought they were just surprised, but even after quite some time had passed, both of them were just staring intently at the rings without any reaction. Even though I was sure they wouldn’t dislike them, I even started to wonder if I should have chosen a different design.
“If you don’t like the design…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
