RG 166

After staring silently at Cha Sahyeon for a long while, I said, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Huh?”

At my cold words, laced with a bitter smile, Cha Sahyeon blinked blankly. “Was I saying anything funny?”

Feeling tired, I rubbed my forehead. “Don’t put on unnecessary pretenses. If you want something, just say it. It’s easier for me that way.”

“I really don’t, though…” The brat kept being stubborn to the end. I narrowed my eyes and leaned against the wall. Cha Sahyeon, catching my sharp gaze, hesitated before cautiously speaking, “I don’t want anything… but I do have one question.”

Of course. I smirked and tilted my head as if to say, go ahead. After opening and closing his mouth several times, Cha Sahyeon finally asked with difficulty, “Slut…”

“What?”

“Slut… is it true?”

What the hell is he talking about all of a sudden?

While I stood there dumbfounded, Cha Sahyeon started spilling words like a dam had burst, “I know the ‘fuck buddy’ isn’t true because I was always by your side. You said it wasn’t, too. And I believe you. But, but… you never said anything about being a slut. And the person who said it—he was so sure of himself when he called you a slut, like…”

“Wait, wait.”

This time, I genuinely felt a headache coming on. I knew well enough that inside, he was twenty-two years old, but seeing him in the body of a grade-schooler tossing out words like “slut” or “fuck buddy” was enough to make my temples throb.

‘No, wait. Can I even really say he’s twenty-two?’

He also has memories from living as the Great Calamity. I don’t know how much memory that amounts to, but still. Anyway, I wasn’t going to listen to this kid talk about “sluts” in that child’s body anymore.

“Why the hell are you even curious about that?”

Cha Sahyeon averted his gaze with a sulky expression. Looked like he was hurt that I answered his question with another question after he’d worked up the courage to ask.

“Do you even know what those words mean?”

Well, well. Now he was glaring at me.

“Of course I do. I’m not an idiot.”

So, at least he had the bare minimum of knowledge.

‘Does he maybe even have experience?’

Unlikely.

No woman would have the guts to sleep with a walking time bomb like the Great Calamity. Same for men.

“It’s just Hyeon Dowun exaggerating. That bastard is a bit old-fashioned, stuck in his room staring at a computer all day. I’m not slut-level.”

When I gave that reasonable excuse, Cha Sahyeon looked at me again. His green eyes sparkled beneath his long lashes. “Really?”

“Really.”

At my firm answer, Cha Sahyeon nodded his round head as if satisfied. Maybe that settled it. Good thing the kid was naïve. I was quietly relieved at how easily it ended when—

“You’ve only done it with women, right? How many?”

“…”

“Hmm? How many in total?”

The eagerness in his voice poked right at my conscience. I stared up at the ceiling, seriously debating.

How many should I say? What’s a reasonable number?

I quickly tried recalling the experiences of people around me, but unfortunately, the only ones that came to mind were maniacs like Kwon Seoyul, who’s obsessed with sex, or Kang Hae-il, who treats it like a good workout. Or people like Hyeon Dowun, who’ve never done it at all.

‘Ha, this is driving me crazy.’

The longer I hesitated, the more suspicious I’d look. Balancing somewhere between “manwhore” and “virgin,” I finally managed to answer, “About… 20?”

“…”

Cha Sahyeon’s face froze like cold water had been poured over it. I noticed his shoulders trembling and quickly blurted out, “Ah, I miscounted! Fifteen!”

“…”

Even after cutting five off, Cha Sahyeon’s icy expression didn’t change. At this point, I was offended. Seriously? Fifteen makes me a slut? Fifteen’s a perfectly normal number for a regular person, isn’t it? The way Cha Sahyeon was looking at me was downright disrespectful—like how I looked at Kwon Seoyul when he was being a hedonistic mess. Wow, this is unfair.

“Looks like you don’t know, but fifteen isn’t enough to be called a slut, okay? Adults date, and that kind of number just happens. And as long as it’s consensual and you use protection, the number doesn’t—”

“Enough.” Cha Sahyeon cut me off mid-sentence, raising his eyebrows. “You asked what I wanted, right?”

“…Hey, you said you didn’t before.”

“I do now.”

“Wow, that’s petty.”

Ignoring my grumbling, Cha Sahyeon continued, “From now on, don’t do it.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “From now on, no sex with anyone. That’s my condition. Doesn’t matter if it’s a woman or a man—just no.”

This bastard’s trying to turn a perfectly healthy man into a eunuch.

“You’re telling me to stay celibate for life? Do you think that’s even realistic?”

“What’s the problem? Just don’t do it.” Cha Sahyeon crossed his legs and lifted his chin. The pose was full of arrogance, but since it was coming from a kid’s body, it only looked laughable. “After you’ve done it with twenty people, isn’t it about time to stop? There are plenty of people who live well while staying celibate.”

“It wasn’t twenty, it was fifteen… Ugh. Fine, fine.”

If we kept going like this, we’d just argue forever. Tired of it, I let out a short sigh and accepted the deal.

Honestly, I had neither the desire nor the reason to agree to such a ridiculous demand. But if saying “fine” was enough to get Cha Sahyeon’s cooperation and put an end to this conversation, then it wasn’t such a bad trade.

Besides, I wasn’t exactly in a position to be fooling around with anyone right now. I had even quit smoking because of Cha Sahyeon, so there was no way I had the time to leave him alone and go off having sex.

Even before my regression, I’d stopped after joining the Circle Guild, so I was already used to this kind of situation.

‘If I really get the urge, I can just sneak away, do it, and lie about it later.’

I thought about it casually and shrugged my shoulders. “I won’t do it. I’m too busy for that sort of thing anyway.”

“Are you serious? Really?”

“If you don’t want to believe me, drop it. Your condition was only that I stay celibate. Whether you believe me or not is your choice. It’s not something I can prove.”

Cha Sahyeon blinked, clearly mulling it over, but in the end, he couldn’t refute me and just nodded. “Make sure you keep your promise, brother.”

Still, maybe because I’d accepted his demand without much fuss, Cha Sahyeon seemed in a better mood. I, on the other hand, felt a little worn out.

“Haa…”

I was 26 years old. Even if I counted the time after my regression, I was only 27, and yet, because of this calamity, I was about to live my prime years in celibacy.

***

As I’d guessed, Hyeon Dowun checked the phone for a day and returned it the next morning. Along with it came the confirmation that it was clean—no tracking app, no chip implanted.

I slipped the activated phone into my inventory and pulled back the curtains. Outside, the sky was painted red with sunset.

Night would fall soon. Considering the travel distance, it would be tight to arrive before the match began, so my plan was to head out as soon as darkness fell.

I’d already warned Kwon Seoyul and Hyeon Dowun that I was going to bed early because I was tired, and that if they woke me up, I’d kill them. So unless they wanted to get their hair pulled out, they wouldn’t come into my room. Cha Sahyeon would stay behind and make sure there were signs of activity.

“I’ll attach a shadow for you, so take it with you.”

Cha Sahyeon sent over a black bird to me, ready to turn into my cover. The black bird fluttered its wings and slipped under my feet.

“We’re going to fight, so what am I supposed to do with this?”

I knew very well from the snowy mountains how his shadow would protect me. It could take enemy attacks in my place and even teleport Cha Sahyeon to my location—an absolutely broken skill. But for me, about to face Kwon Taehyeok in a ranked match at the arena, it was a useless one.

“It’s dangerous. What if someone attacks you before you get to the arena?”

“The moment you send me to the next building, I’ll transform into an S-class, so it won’t matter.”

“If you refuse the shadow, I won’t help you.”

“You little—” My blood pressure spiked for a moment at Cha Sahyeon’s pouting words, but I barely swallowed my irritation and mustered all the patience I had. “Are you kidding me? We already wrapped up our deal yesterday. Are you going to keep being stubborn about weird stuff?”

“This is about your safety.”

“And if the shadow jumps out in the middle of the match, who’s going to handle it then?”

“Hmm.” Cha Sahyeon frowned and sighed, as if there was no helping it. “I’m not trying to be a burden to you… Alright. As long as it doesn’t interfere with the match, right?”

From inside my shadow, Cha Sahyeon took the bird back out and whispered softly. The bird let out a squeak, as if to say it understood. “I’ve ordered it not to show itself until you call for it. If things get dangerous, call its name. Then the shadow will appear.”

“Hmm.”

That wasn’t bad. No, to be honest, it was great. It was like having a reliable bodyguard I could summon at will.

“I just have to say your name? Like, Cha Sahyeon?”

“No. Not my name…” Cha Sahyeon suddenly blushed. After fidgeting shyly for a moment, he answered, embarrassed, “Kid.” The answer came out quietly, carrying a subtle warmth. “Say ‘Kid’.”