R1 Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 

Why did the body pillow have “Rank #1” printed on it? No, seriously, why was this even given to me in the first place?

This is driving me crazy.

It was one of the random interior rewards I got for cleaning hard on my first day in the subspace, just to get a bed.

I had shoved it in a corner next to the sofa because the printed face was burdensome,

And I had forgotten about it because things were hectic?

How did Baek Hwan find that? Haha?

I could hear the sound of my hardly earned trust plummeting.

“It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”

I answered calmly. Surely, I could resolve this with words.

“What’s the misunderstanding?”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“That it was a premeditated crime? Or that you were Shin Yeoul’s stalker?!”

“Ah, both!”

In Baek Hwan’s grip, Shin Yeoul’s face on the pillow looked like it was about to tear as he fired words rapidly.

I snatched the body pillow and shouted.

“This is just a reward, nothing more!”

“A reward? What kind of perverted nonsense is that?”

Thud. I hit my forehead once again.

Not that kind of reward.

✦✦✦

Fortunately, everything the system gave out counted as items.

Whether something was an item or not could be determined by the appraisal skill.

“There really are items like this?”

“I guess merchandise of famous people becomes items.”

“But why? Why would the system give something like that?”

“…I don’t know that either.”

Although 99% of skills were locked due to the debuff, appraisal skill remained among the 1% that Baek Hwan could use.

When he said he could only use a couple of non-attack types, it was truly fortunate.

Otherwise, I would have had to endure that piercing gaze continuously.

“Never thought I’d see Shin Yeoul winking in my life.”

Baek Hwan turned the body pillow around in disbelief.

It certainly wasn’t an expression fitting for Shin Yeoul-ssi.

Unlike the lemon candy-like freshness of the body pillow, the real Shin Yeoul had the fatigue of an office worker plastered all over his face.

“Stop looking at that and try this instead.”

I brought over a small table and placed snacks on it.

While Baek Hwan had been amusing himself with the body pillow, I had prepared tea and dried purple fruit seeds.

The combination of the bitter tea and the nutty seeds was bound to be perfect.

Perhaps feeling a bit guilty for snapping at me earlier, Baek Hwan silently brought the cup of tea to his lips without further complaint.

I watched him expectantly, eager for his reaction.

 

[Subspace Tea

▸ Tea brewed with subspace river water. Overflowing with energy! Excellent for healing wounds!]

 

It was tea brewed using the subspace river water I had kept in my inventory.

With the subspace water taste effect, it would instantly heal Baek Hwan’s ankle that he had injured while being chased by Koko earlier. Plus, it tasted amazing.

He would probably be surprised.

As expected, Baek Hwan’s eyes widened after taking a small sip of the tea.

Pleased with the tea, he gulped down the hot drink.

His eyes grew even larger, perhaps due to the tea’s effect.

“How is it? Amazing, right?”

I asked, anticipating the effect.

Pffft—! And then water sprayed all over my face.

I closed my eyes. Water trickled down my cheeks.

Cough! Cough! Baek Hwan’s rough coughing sound could be heard.

…This wasn’t quite the intense reaction I was hoping for.

 

[“Don’t drink it! Save it for your skin!”

▸ 97% tea water: Your skin becomes moisturized!

▸ 3% Baek Hwan’s saliva: Your mood worsens!]

 

What a ridiculous effect at a time like this.

“Huk.”

Peeking through one eye at the system window, I noticed a flustered Baek Hwan bringing Shin Yeoul’s face—or rather, the body pillow—to my face.

Squish.

He pressed it right there. Shin Yeoul’s uncomfortable eyes touched my face.

No, Baek Hwan. This is a bit…

When he removed the body pillow, Shin Yeoul’s face was stained with tea.

“Oh no.”

An even more flustered Baek Hwan looked at me.

This person…

He’s quite clumsy underneath it all.

✦✦✦

Earlier, when Seojin had offered snacks to Baek Hwan—

He stared quietly at the cup of tea in his hand.

After adjusting to the subspace and the omelet rice, his previously sharp nerves had subconsciously softened.

Was it because the atmosphere in the subspace felt different since he had become a guest here?

All the tension had melted away, leaving him strangely… at ease.

Even now, the faint, bittersweet aroma of tea leaves tickled his nose, calming him further.

Of course, it was still a bizarre space and she was an even stranger woman. No matter how much of an accident it was, she had dragged them into this mess.

But after feeding them a full meal, it didn’t seem likely she’d poison them or hand over something dangerous.

So… it definitely wasn’t because the omelet rice tasted good that his suspicions had eased.

It was just that his mouth felt dry after eating so much omelet rice. That’s all.

Having reached his conclusion, Baek Hwan carefully took a sip of tea.

He planned to taste just a little and see if there were any adverse effects on his body.

And then Baek Hwan’s eyes widened.

It’s…. delicious?

Was tea always this good? Just a few scraps of tea leaves in water, and it tastes like this?

It was impossible not to be surprised.

Ever since becoming an S-rank, any drink felt like plain water to Baek Hwan—completely unremarkable.

But this was different.

It wasn’t sweet, and if anything, it should have been bitter. Yet it was strangely delicious.

The refreshing cleanness that washed through his mouth, combined with a fresh, nutty aroma that spread afterward, was superb.

Without realizing it, Baek Hwan gulped down the tea in one go.

He didn’t even notice how hot it was.

Half of him wanted to gulp it down to revel in its happiness, while the other half wanted to keep it in his mouth a little longer to savor it.

Sadly, he could do neither.

 

[Appraisal (S-Rank) | Subspace Tea

▸ Heals all wounds in your body!

▸ S-Rank Bonus Effect: Additional buffs applied! (10 minutes)

<Buff> Healing power increases by 500%!

<Buff> Stamina does not deplete.]

 

Pffft—!

As soon as a sudden system message appeared, Baek Hwan had no choice but to spit out the tea he had in his mouth.

“Cough, cough!”

He violently coughed as the remaining tea got caught in his throat, covering his mouth with his hand. But his wide eyes remained locked on the system window.

This is ridiculous.

Healing power increased by five times? What? Stamina doesn’t deplete?

All that from just one sip?

This was basically the elixir of all healing potions—or maybe even beyond that.

And yet, she just gave it to him like it was nothing?

Was she out of her mind? Or did she not know what this tea was capable of?

Who is this woman?

After the system window disappeared, Baek Hwan’s gaze belatedly shifted to Seojin, who was sitting across from him.

Her face was dripping wet. Wait.

Now that he thought about it, the water was from his mouth when he spat out the tea.

“Uh.”

Panicking, Baek Hwan sucked in a sharp breath.

In his flustered state, he grabbed the nearest object and pressed it against Seojin’s face.

It was long and cylindrical, making it easy to wipe her face from a bit of a distance.

“Huh.”

But it turned out to be the body pillow.

Now stained with tea, the face of Shin Yeoul stared back at him, looking even more ridiculous.

To make matters worse, it wasn’t even his own property…

Completely bewildered, Baek Hwan looked at Seojin, blinking rapidly.

He was losing his mind.

“Uh… s-sorry.”

He jumped to his feet, hurriedly pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to help wipe her face when—

 

[System reboot complete!

▸ Congratulations! It was completed 51 minutes early!]

 

Only a few minutes had passed, but the reboot finished way earlier than expected.

 

[Detailed Explanation: ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧]

 

The explanation even came with an unnecessarily cheerful emoji, as if the system were in a good mood.

 

[Debuff reduced by 5%!

Remaining debuff: 95%.]

 

More shocking news followed.

The debuff hadn’t completely disappeared.

 

[<Quest> “Welcome~ Is This Your First Time in Subspace?”

: Enjoy the subspace to your heart’s content!

▸ Reward: Debuff reduction.]

 

And then something even worse: a quest notification that essentially confirmed their captivity in the subspace for an extended period.

 

[You have received a Reward for Encouragement!]

 

Lastly, the cherry on top—a sudden reward notification.

 

[“Congratulations~ Rank-Up!”

: The cabin’s rank has been upgraded. E-rank → D-rank.]

 

[The expansion will begin immediately!]

 

BOOM!

There wasn’t even time to process everything.

One system notification after another had barely registered before the house literally exploded. Smoke billowed everywhere.

“W-What the hell?!”

“…..”

While Baek Hwan gawked in disbelief, Seojin simply stared at the scene with an air of resignation.

System, you crazy thing.

She was too tired to react anymore. Sure, an expanded house would be nice, but still….

As the smoke began to clear, a much larger living room emerged.

It was now two or three times its previous size, and more doors had appeared.

However, amidst the fading smoke, a figure came into view.

Standing alone in the middle of the living room was none other than Shin Yeoul, who had been enjoying a rare, refreshing shower.

The explosion had somehow extended the living room into what used to be the bathroom.

Eyes closed and hair dripping wet, Shin Yeoul had been in the middle of rinsing when the water suddenly stopped. He opened his eyes belatedly, confused.

The three of them locked eyes.

“…..”

“…..”

“…..”

WHAM!

A body pillow flew through the air and smacked Seojin square in the face.

Seojin silently buried her stinging face into the pillow.

She felt like sweat was dripping from her eyes for some reason.

🌱

I’ve picked up a new novel! If you like [Rank #1 Heals in My Space], you might also like this one!

The EX-Rank Hot Spring Owner Is on Strike
Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

🌱

Thank you for reading! ♡