Ding-dong.

A loud, ear-piercing sound echoed through the house.

She’s here.

Siwoo was in the middle of taking everything out and organizing because no matter how much he cleaned, it just didn’t feel satisfactory.

He hurriedly shoved the cleaning tools in his hands and the items he was holding into a corner and headed to the front door.

“Hello!”

“Hey, you’re early.”

“Am I?”

Siwoo tensed up at the sight of Arte’s beaming smile.

It was the first time he had a girl over at his place.

If only he hadn’t absentmindedly agreed, Arte wouldn’t have had a reason to come inside.

“I felt it when I took a peek last time, but your house is really nice!”

“You… No, well. I guess. It’s not bad.”

He suppressed the words that threatened to spill out.

‘You’re always looking, aren’t you? Didn’t you come in today after monitoring the area?’

What kind of reaction would she have if he said that?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t imagine a good response.

That’s why Siwoo couldn’t tell Arte he had noticed her surveillance.

It was probably a secret he’d have to keep for life.

“By the way, your house is quite clean? Don’t tell me you have mysophobia or something?”

“No, nothing like that. Just, you know…”

He couldn’t say he had turned the house upside down after hearing Arte was coming over, so he chose to gloss over it.

Fortunately, Arte seemed uninterested and was busy looking around the room.

“Oh, are there any places I shouldn’t go?”

“It’s a house where I live alone, so. Just be careful with my closet. There’s nothing special.”

“… There’s no way that’s true?”

“What is?”

The closet is a bit iffy because of underwear and such, but it wasn’t because of that.

He had no idea what kind of fantasy she harbored about a male academy student’s solo living space.

He didn’t have a maid like Arte, nor was he a part of a secret organization.

He was just an ordinary student.

“No, that’s… Then the computer…?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Hmm… Strange…”

Siwoo heard Arte muttering softly.

Her comment piqued his curiosity.

Why on earth does she find it strange?

Unable to contain his curiosity, Siwoo ended up asking Arte.

“Strange? What is?”

“…Oh, it’s nothing. Just, since you said it’s fine to look at everything except the closet.”

What’s the problem with that?

Siwoo decided not to press her, who was stalling and delaying her answer, and wait patiently.

After a bit of time passed, Arte, unable to bear Siwoo’s gaze any longer, responded to him.

“Well… I thought there might be things you wouldn’t want to show others.”

“…?”

“It, it’s okay if you don’t know! Would it be alright if I use the bathroom for a moment?!”

“Oh, sure. It’s over there.”

Watching Arte hurriedly take refuge in the bathroom, he thought to himself.

‘What’s the issue here?’

“…Author-nim. Is Siwoo a eunuch?”

“?!”

What?!

At the absurd question, Siwoo unconsciously turned his head towards the bathroom.

He wondered why she suddenly went to the bathroom, but it was because she wanted to talk to this person called “Author.”

But why on earth would she ask about that of all things?

‘…Why is she asking if I’m…if I have that or not?’

“If Siwoo is normal, it would only be natural for him to have an item or two he can’t show to a female friend.”

“…”

Ah.

Siwoo finally realized why Arte had asked such a question.

She was trying to be considerate.

She was being thoughtful to avoid a situation where she might inadvertently see something in the house and feel embarrassed.

The thoughtfulness warmed his heart for a moment.

But Siwoo was soon captivated by her voice coming through again.

“Yes, yes. He’s probably not a eunuch… Right, that’s impossible.”

Why is she asking such questions in the first place?

What reason could there possibly be to ask about his sexual functionality to someone presumed to be her informant?

The Amelia and Dorothy in his head whispered to him.

[It’s because she loves you~]

[She’s wondering if you’ll be able to have children after getting married~]

Kwang!

“Is something wrong?!”

“So, sorry! My hand slipped for a second.”

“Oh, okay.”

Is it because he’s been listening to Amelia’s love stories too closely for too long?

He felt like he was starting to resemble Amelia’s way of thinking.

Nonsense.

He didn’t know why Arte was visiting his house, but she came in with a purpose.

He didn’t know why she suddenly asked about his… ability, but there must be another reason.

‘Get out of my head, Amelia!’

“Phew… Should I say this is fortunate or unfortunate?”

He could hear Arte mumbling.

Even though he didn’t want to hear any more of Arte’s words, they kept reaching his ears.

Is it because there’s usually little noise since he lives alone?

It felt like the voice of the first female friend to enter his house was drilling into his ears.

With his ability enhancing his senses, he had no choice but to hear Arte’s voice even if he didn’t want to.

“I wanted to find out what his taste is.”

“?!”

‘Why my taste?!’

The Amelia in his head chattered noisily.

What on earth is going on?

Siwoo was confused.

***

“Oh, sorry I took long.”

“It, it’s nothing.”

…Why is he acting like that?

I tilted my head at Siwoo’s strange reaction.

Did something happen? I heard a loud noise earlier too.

Leaving the creaking Siwoo behind, I moved my feet and let out a small sigh.

Since I came to the protagonist’s house, I wanted to secretly open the stash that every man should have.

I was going to pretend to be considerate, secretly discover the location, then sneakily discover it and tell the heroines.

But I failed because the protagonist didn’t understand the meaning.

That’s why I momentarily thought he was a eunuch. I was startled.

What if the protagonist who’s supposed to end up with the heroine is one?

Thankfully, the Author said that’s not the case, so there are no problems.

[I’m a bit curious too. What kind of taste does he have?]

Why on earth is the Author’s knowledge about the protagonist full of holes?

How come you know he’s not a eunuch but don’t know his taste?

…Putting that aside, there’s one thing I want.

For him to have normal tastes.

If his tastes are a bit icky, it’ll be hard for the heroines to match him.

“…Hm? What’s this?”

“That, why is that… Did I forget to put it away…?”

Entering Siwoo’s bedroom, an object rolling on the floor caught my eye.

It was a black ball of thread wound into a circular shape.

“Oh, it’s soft.”

“Is, is it?”

“Yes. Hmm, this texture. It feels familiar somehow.”

It felt even more intriguing because the sensation was similar to the leotard I was wearing.

As I was feeling the soft texture with my fingertips, I noticed Siwoo breaking out in a cold sweat.

…Aha.

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh? What, what are you…?”

“I was being insensitive.”

I handed the ball of thread to Siwoo.

To Siwoo, who was looking at me with questioning eyes, I said with a smile,

“I didn’t mean to tease you.”

“Huh?”

Siwoo had a more feminine hobby than I thought.

Knitting.

That’s a rare hobby.

He must have been awfully embarrassed about getting caught by me.

Seeing him sweating like this.

“I don’t mind it.”

Whether Siwoo knits or plays games.

I won’t care about anything.

Except for things like him fooling around with some extras.

[Hmm… I feel like I’ve seen this color somewhere…?]

I could hear the Author talking nonsense.

Black is everywhere.

I wanted to criticize her but couldn’t since the protagonist was before me. I gave him a small smile.

This should be fine, right?

I had no intention of nitpicking someone’s hobby.

Well, he can enjoy knitting a bit.

At this rate, Siwoo would feel awkward, so should I change the subject?

“It’s a bit early, but shall we start getting ready?”

“Huh?”

“Hey, why are you acting like that? Why do you think I came here?”

“That, that’s…”

Siwoo was just stammering and didn’t seem inclined to do it.

Hmm, how frustrating. I feel bad for taking his time, so I want to finish quickly.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and take it off.”

“What?!”

“If you don’t take it off, I’ll strip you myself.”

“Eek?! Ah, Arte! Stop! Please!”

***

“…What do you think this says?”

“I will stand in the sky.”

“Then what’s this sound?”

“…A toad croaking?”

“Then this? Try eating it.”

“Ugh, what, what the heck is this?!”

“I tried mixing mint, tabasco, cheese, and caramel. Can you feel the spice?”

“I can, but that makes it even worse!”

“Hmm, I see… What about this smell?”

“Vanilla?”

Siwoo blankly stared at Arte, who was moving nonstop.

When she told him to take off his clothes, he was startled, wondering what on earth she was talking about.

But the reason was completely different from what he had thought.

“What exactly is intuition?”

“…Who knows? Isn’t it just intuition?”

“I get that it’s the sixth sense…”

Arte said this was the reason she came.

What exactly is his ability? She said she wanted to know.

He thought it was just intuition, but Arte said that wasn’t it.

She said it doesn’t explain why his other senses are so keen if it’s just intuition.

So, she wanted to experiment with it.

She said she told me to remove his clothes to test his sense of touch.

“…But Arte. Was it really necessary to take off clothes?”

“Did I tell you to strip naked? You just need to take off your top.”

“Ugh…”

Blindfolds and earplugs from who knows where, a bizarre object to stick in the nose, and a candy to hold in the mouth.

Finally, some kind of liquid smeared all over the back.

Constantly changing items, Arte was testing me on something.

“Ack, stay still for a bit, will you?”

“No, that’s… Um…”

“This part should have numbed sensations, so why are you flinching with…?”

‘Your chest is touching… Your chest!’

Siwoo bent his waist as much as possible and subtly moved his body to block Arte’s vision.

_______________________

Author’s Notes

Alright, I’m coming out.

I like TS.

Thank you.