Chapter 39: Drunken Confessions
When she suddenly closed the door and stared at me, I honestly thought I was about to get eaten alive.
Her gaze was that of a predator eyeing its prey. Even though I knew she wouldn’t actually harm me, my body froze instinctively.
That fear lingered until she buried her nose in my hand and began rubbing her head against it.
Realizing she was after the catnip and not me, I sighed in relief. But that relief didn’t last long once I noticed she wasn’t responding to her name at all.
The effect was… incredible.
Actually, scratch that—it was too much. For a moment, I wondered if something was seriously wrong with her.
“Hoyeon! Hoyeon! What’s wrong?! Are you okay?!”
My intention had been to cheer her up and earn her forgiveness—not to leave her in this state.
She ignored me completely, still nuzzling my hand, oblivious to her surroundings.
I couldn’t touch her carelessly, so all I could do was call her name and pray she’d snap out of it.
Eventually, she did respond, though her condition was worse than I expected.
Her eyes were glazed over, her cheeks flushed deep red, and her breathing was erratic. She wobbled as though she couldn’t stand on her own.
No matter how you looked at it, she wasn’t fine.
“…I’m fine. Just… feels good…”
Even her speech was slurred. This wasn’t what I had in mind when I got the catnip for her.
I’d only expected effects similar to alcohol, as described in the original story. I’d given it to her lightly, thinking it would just lift her spirits a little.
Instead, it felt like I’d handed her some sort of drug. I’d never seen drugs in real life, but this had to be close.
How was I supposed to handle this?
She’d recover naturally over time, but I had no idea whether this stuff was addictive.
And since I didn’t fully understand how catnip worked on feline beastfolk, there wasn’t much I could do right now.
…What’s done is done. If I couldn’t undo it, I could at least make the most of the situation.
“You feel good?” I asked cautiously.
“…Yeah.”
Her response came slower than usual. In this state, I could probably do anything, and she’d just giggle and go along with it.
But I had no intention of doing anything inappropriate.
In fact, I’d push her away if she tried anything. This wasn’t her genuine will—it was the influence of the catnip.
If it had been her choice, that’d be one thing, but this? This was on me, and I couldn’t take advantage of it.
“Then… can I take that to mean you like it?”
“Yeah… more…”
I decided to stick to getting verbal confirmation from her. Knowing her personality, she’d honor her word, even if she wasn’t in her right mind when she gave it.
“Then… Hoyeon.”
“Mm…?”
It was hard to believe this dazed girl, swaying in front of me, was the same person who held humanity’s future in her hands.
Regardless of appearances, she was crucial. The problem was, she seemed to be blocking the path to our goal instead of helping us reach it.
“That time during PE, why were you so angry?”
I had a pretty good idea, but I wanted to confirm. Guesswork wasn’t going to cut it.
Hoyeon blinked slowly, meeting my gaze, and then spoke sluggishly.
“…You… talked to another girl… If you date another girl… you’ll abandon me…”
So that was it. As I feared, her attachment was intense—maybe even obsessive. She seemed deeply afraid of losing her only friend.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Even if I date someone else, I’d never neglect you. I promise.”
If her fear was abandonment, I just had to assure her I’d stay.
“Don’t… lie.”
…What?
That wasn’t the reaction I expected. Startled, I looked down at her.
She’d stopped nuzzling my hand and was now staring directly at me.
Her eyes were still unfocused and dull, but somehow, I could feel her piercing gaze.
“You say that… but you’ll just look at other girls again…”
“That’s… why I hate it. I want you to only look… at me…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she collapsed onto the floor. But I already understood what she was trying to say.
She wanted me to look only at her.
…This was more serious than I’d thought. Both her attachment and her reaction to the catnip.
I knelt to check her condition, ready to carry her to the infirmary if needed, but she was just deeply asleep.
Relieved, I carefully lifted her onto the bed.
My original plan had been to take her around the academy after making amends, but that was clearly impossible now.
Even though there didn’t seem to be any immediate harm, I couldn’t leave in case something happened when she woke up.
For now, I needed to deal with the catnip.
This stuff wasn’t going anywhere near her again.
After tossing it out the window and washing my hands, I decided to wait by her bedside until she woke up.
With nothing else to do, I began idly exploring her room. A peculiar book on her desk caught my attention.
Unlike the others strewn about, this one had no title and a strange texture to its cover.
For a moment, I hesitated. If it was her diary, reading it would be a huge invasion of privacy.
But she showed no signs of waking, and her secrets might help guide us toward a happy ending. Guiltily, I opened it.
On the left side of each page was what I assumed to be her handwriting. On the right were unfamiliar symbols I couldn’t decipher.
I flipped through without much luck until I came to a blank page.
Just as I was about to close the book, words began appearing on the right side.
That alone was shocking, but what left me speechless was that I could read them.
—Hello there, child.
The words were in Hangul.
***
I woke with a pounding headache, like I’d just had a bad dream.
“Ugh…”
I vaguely remembered following Dogeon to a pet shop and then returning to the dorms…
But everything after that was a blur. I wasn’t even tired—why had I been asleep?
Looking around, I saw Dogeon sitting nearby, pale as a ghost.
…What was he doing in my room?
“You. Why are you here…?”
“Huh? Why am I here?”
Why was he answering my question with another question? He seemed genuinely confused.
“Did you forget what happened?” he asked.
I had no idea what he was talking about. I’d just woken up—what could I have forgotten?
Wait…
“…You didn’t do anything weird, did you?!”
Like touching me while I slept!
He was the protagonist of a harem story, after all. It wouldn’t be surprising—actually, it would be completely in character. First, I had to figure out what he’d done.
Realizing what I was implying, Dogeon frantically denied it.
“…I swear, I’d never do that. We’re friends. Why would I?”
“Right…?”
Yeah, we were friends. He wouldn’t do something like that. I must’ve just woken up on the wrong side of the bed.
With that settled, my next question was obvious.
“…Then how’d you get into my room?”
Dogon hesitated for a moment, making me anxious, but finally answered.
“The door… was open.”
The door was open?
I was about to accuse him of lying when I remembered something: I’d opened his locker and room door before.
Oh, right. There weren’t any locks here.
So, it wasn’t Dogeon’s fault—it was the academy’s for not providing proper locks despite the tuition they charged.
I’d almost blamed my only friend.
…Well, my only sometimes-dense friend.
Sure, he sometimes ogled other girls or acted overly friendly with strangers, but he was still my friend.
The clock said it was nearly lunchtime, so it seemed Dogeon had come to wake me up to eat, just as I’d done for him before.
With the thin walls, he’d probably heard me sleeping. I didn’t snore, but my sleep habits were far from quiet.
“Alright, let’s go get lunch.”
“Lunch…?”
“…Wasn’t that why you came?”
Why was he acting so weird? He looked like someone who’d just had the life drained out of them.
“Oh, right. Let’s go eat.”
Something was definitely off about him. I wanted to ask, but he’d already left the room.
Whatever. It probably wasn’t a big deal. I brushed off the odd feeling and followed him with a light step.
TL Note: Rate us on NOVEL UPDATES