SOFTIE 53

“I already did it earlier.”

Yeonwoo refused, subtly avoiding eye contact. While his body’s physical reaction was becoming less intense as he grew accustomed to it, strong cravings still visited him occasionally. Softy watched Yeonwoo silently, pondered for a moment, and then hopped away somewhere. Softy plopped himself down right in front of Min Haeyoon.

[Hey.]

“Huh?”

Yeonwoo felt a sense of unease at that sight. Softy had previously mentioned wanting to ask Min Haeyoon about Guiding. Before Yeonwoo could stop him, Softy’s words burst out, making Yeonwoo’s body stagger.

[How do you do mucosal Guiding or sexual Guiding? Show me.]

It wasn’t just Yeonwoo; the entire room was thrown into an uproar by Softy’s question. Kang Hana dropped the fashion magazine she was looking at, Shin Yoosung tore his eyes away from the game he was concentrating on, and Choi Minjae spilled the coffee he was drinking.

“…W-what?”

Min Haeyoon asked back, thinking she had misheard. Yeonwoo hid his reddening face and pulled Softy into his arms, but Softy wasn’t speaking with vocal cords. Once again, the message was delivered through telepathy to everyone in the room.

[You don’t know how to do mucosal Guiding or sexual Guiding?]

A chilly silence descended upon the room. Yeonwoo slowly covered his face with one hand.

“Hic!”

Park Gunwoo started hiccuping from sheer shock. Following Park Gunwoo, Kang Hana burst into a roar of laughter.

“Puhahahaha!”

Clutching her stomach and laughing as if she might flip over, she even fell off the sofa. Choi Minjae tried to stop her from laughing, but she didn’t seem to hear him as she pointed a finger at Softy and spoke.

“What a precocious little fellow. Well, he might not know. The words are difficult. As a magical beast, he might not know words like ‘mucosal’ and ‘sexual.’ No, wait—do they not even teach the things everyone does during class? There must be guys who do it, after all.”

“They are Guides who haven’t officially become Guides yet.”

“They might still know. First off, isn’t the reason they awakened as a Guide because they provided Guiding to an Esper? There might be a Guide with a partner, just like this guy.”

[So do you know?]

When they continued an incomprehensible conversation without answering his question, Softy asked once more. At that, Kang Hana gave a sly grin and said:

“It’s kissing and sex. You’re using such elegant words that the student can’t understand. There are even students who are weak with Chinese characters.”

Softy didn’t know those two words exactly either, but something came to mind. Humans performed acts called kissing and sex.

Huh? Didn’t I do something similar with Yeonwoo…?

“Seeing how the levels plummeted last time, I thought you’d already done it.”

“Would he even be able to? It’s impossible with that body.”

Shin Yoosung spoke as he cleared the game over screen. His eyes turned toward the round Softy.

[Can I do it if I become human?]

Softy had been practicing becoming human steadily in the meantime. Quietly, during the hours Yeonwoo was asleep.

“Of course you can, and then some.”

Another reason to become human had been added. Softy burned with determination as he looked at Yeonwoo.

Yeonwoo could no longer lift his face at the conversation flowing so casually. His ears felt like they were on fire. Was this the feeling one gets when a young child asks their mom and dad where babies come from? It was even more embarrassing because the words were directed at him.

“In the first place, can he even transform into a human?”

Min Haeyoon pointed out the fundamental problem.

Actually, I can become human. It was only for a moment, though.

The thought of Softy clinging to him even more after hearing that made Yeonwoo’s mind go distant. Choi Minjae patted Yeonwoo’s hunched back.

“…It’s a good thing. It means he’s sincere about Guiding. It’s not particularly something to be ashamed of. Everyone probably has experience at least once, right? They just don’t talk about it. For the record, I have. Oh, of course not with Haeyoon. Haeyoon… has a high rank, so there’s no need for that.”

“I don’t think that’s something to say so proudly…?”

Yes, he knew. What would be the reason every Guiding room was equipped with a large bedroom? They were all Guiding rooms designed with that in mind. There were even people who frequently used them. Because to receive high-level Guiding, sex was the most direct way.

But Yeonwoo had never done such a thing. Since he was someone who couldn’t receive Guiding, he rarely visited a Guiding room.

Softy hopped around excitedly, eyes sparkling toward Kang Hana like a child eager to learn new information. Yeonwoo wiped his face several times before staring at Softy with a hollow laugh.

It was all bound to be revealed eventually. He had just hoped it would be a little… later.

[I just have to work hard. There’s nothing that can’t be done with effort. Transformation is my specialty.]

His current appearance was also the result of effort for Yeonwoo’s sake. When Softy declared this proudly, Kang Hana’s eyes crinkled, finding it amusing. She placed a hand on Softy’s head, saying he was commendable. For the first time, Softy permitted her touch.

“Oh, you’ve got the determination. I’ll give you a hand. Pick one and try transforming.”

Kang Hana picked up the fashion magazine she had been looking at and showed it to Softy. At the tip of Kang Hana’s finger, beautiful women stood posing.

“Noona, how can you show him that? Are you planning to make a doppelgänger? You have to think of the other person too.”

Min Haeyoon tried to stop her while glancing at Yeonwoo’s reaction, but she didn’t stop.

“It’s not even confirmed that he can do it.”

In truth, Kang Hana was just playing along because the situation was funny; she didn’t actually think Softy could turn into a real human.

“Or we can just take the good parts. In my opinion, this side seems better. Since she’s pretty in my eyes, she’ll be pretty in that guy’s eyes too, right?”

“Kang Hana, stop.”

Yeonwoo warned in a low voice, but Kang Hana didn’t care.

“Ah, she’s not the one? Well, you and I might have different tastes. So, what is your type? It looks like this little guy will change into whatever your type is.”

In the end, Yeonwoo threw a cushion from the sofa at Kang Hana’s face, but it grazed past her. Softy, who had been blankly watching the fashion magazine, shook his head.

[I don’t like this.]

“…Eh? Why? Is she not pretty? Is the aesthetic standard a bit different?”

Kang Hana retrieved the fashion magazine, feeling puzzled. No matter how she looked at it, she was pretty. It was a magazine she had carefully selected to read.

[They’re thin. I can’t touch Yeonwoo much. I like being big-bodied.]

“…Wh-what?”

The reason Softy decided to turn into a human was to perform Guiding so that Yeonwoo wouldn’t be scared. He heard that for contact Guiding, the more contact there is, the better.

“No, I mean, there’s no real need for that… Anyway, once you have sex, it all…! Mmph!”

Yeonwoo used his ability to block Kang Hana’s mouth. Yeonwoo let out a deep sigh and carefully tried to dissuade Softy.

“Softy, you don’t have to do that.”

[Why? It’s good if I turn into a human.]

“It’s okay even if you don’t change. Back then…”

Yeonwoo recalled Softy, whose form had collapsed while trying to turn into a human. He hadn’t mentioned the human transformation, but according to Lee Taeho, it was clear that he was a special case even among slimes. It would be troublesome if any problems occurred while he was trying to turn human.

“I like you regardless of your appearance. That’s why I liked you back then, too.”

[Me too, I liked it too!]

A Guide is the only breath that allows an Esper to breathe. Regardless of appearance or actions, everything is bound to be lovely.

Softy felt good at Yeonwoo’s words. But as expected, the thought that he must turn into a human was strong. It seemed the reason for stopping the human transformation was because he had failed at it before.

If I had known this would happen, I should have practiced turning into a human as well as becoming smaller while waiting for Yeonwoo.

Because I look small and weak, Yeonwoo is acting like he has to protect me. I needed to return to a reliable appearance.

But since I hate it when Yeonwoo runs away in fear, I have to become human!

It’s a shame I won’t be treated as “cute” by Yeonwoo, but since humans cherish each other, he will cherish me even more. Since he hugged me and said he liked me even when I was big, he’ll probably find me cute even if I become bigger than Yeonwoo in human form, right?

Last time too, when I turned human, he wasn’t scared. Therefore, this time, I couldn’t follow Yeonwoo’s wishes.

“So, you don’t necessarily have to become human…”

[No. I want to be human. Yeonwoo, what kind of person do you like?]