My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 28

Joohoon’s eyes, fixed on hers, were crystal clear.

 

How could he tell such an outright lie without even blinking?

 

“Though… you were beautiful before, too.”

 

Joohoon smiled, the corners of his eyes gently curving.

 

Ah… this is exactly why saving my childhood friend is so worth it.

 

The Constellations, however, all responded with varying degrees of skepticism.

 

[Some of the Constellations tilt their heads at Kim Joohoon’s remark.]

[The Constellation, ‘SSS-Rank F2P Player,’ carefully examines your face.]

 

“Joohoon, could you give me your hand?”

 

Ignoring the Constellations’ reactions, Yoohee reached out to him.

 

A minute of their visitation time had already slipped away.

 

Joohoon hesitated, but eventually placed his hand against the opening beneath the glass partition.

 

“Though… my hand might get a little sweaty. I don’t mean for it to… but whenever I’m touching you, I get nervous.”

 

He murmured shyly.

 

But if anyone should have been saying that,

 

it was Yoohee.

 

Even now, her mouth had gone completely dry from nerves.

 

“It’s okay. Just relax.”

 

Suppressing her own trembling, Yoohee gently took Joohoon’s hand.

 

She felt the roughness of his palm as she threaded her fingers between his.

 

His hand was so much larger than hers that she couldn’t wrap it completely,

but she held tightly onto its warmth.

 

Slowly, she began to sense Joohoon’s mana.

 

As Yoohee carefully pushed her own waves into that current, she felt his hand twitch.

 

“Yoohee.”

 

His voice carried surprise.

 

Apparently, he’d thought she only wanted to hold his hand.

 

“Just stay still for a moment.”

 

She deliberately tightened her grip.

 

“This time… it’ll really be different.”

 

It really was different.

 

Unlike before, she could now sense his mana, like paint slowly soaking into a blank white canvas.

 

‘So that’s why I failed the first time.’

 

Joohoon’s mana wasn’t uniform.

 

Each fragment had a slightly different shape, like the scattered pieces of a puzzle.

 

No wonder her standardized waves had never fit together with it.

 

Focusing with everything she had, Yoohee carefully began adjusting her waves to match the shape of his mana.

 

‘Ngh…’

 

Its structure was incredibly intricate, making it difficult to synchronize her waves.

 

To make matters worse, her body was already exhausted, and little by little, her head began to spin.

 

‘Just a little more.’

 

The dizziness gradually gave way to burning heat inside her head.

 

Haa…

 

A shaky breath escaped her lips.

 

Even so, she refused to give up, forcing herself to stay focused until the very end.

 

Finally, like fitting the last piece into a puzzle, her waves completely merged into Joohoon’s body.

 

Relief washed over her— only for her body to suddenly sway sideways.

 

‘Ah.’

 

It was already too late to catch her.

 

Just as she began to collapse, she heard Joohoon’s desperate voice calling her name.

 

Clatter.

 

The chair Yoohee had been sitting on toppled over.

 

As her consciousness faded, blurry words appeared one last time before her eyes.

 

[Impossible Guiding—Skill Level—]

[Invincible Compatibility Lv.1 → Lv.—]

[—Constellations have entered—]

[Current Connected Constellations: —]

 

…Did it work?

 

Without knowing the answer, darkness swallowed her whole.

 

***

 

Something soft embraced her.

 

The comforting scent of blankets dried beneath warm sunlight.

 

A cozy, familiar atmosphere.

 

When she forced open her heavy eyelids, an ordinary ceiling came into view.

 

A simple bed and modest furniture— the kind found in a dormitory room.

 

It didn’t seem to be a hospital or the infirmary.

 

“So you’re awake.”

 

As she sat up, a familiar face appeared beside the bed.

 

The room was dark, but the soft glow of a nearby lamp illuminated Joohoon’s face.

 

‘Joohoon…’

 

Perhaps he’d taken a shower.

 

His ash-gray hair lay neatly in place, and his eyes looked calm and steady.

 

There were no chains.

 

No handcuffs.

 

Nothing restraining him anymore.

 

…Joohoon’s been released?

 

“Yes. Thanks to you, I was released.”

 

As though he’d read her thoughts, Joohoon answered before she could even ask.

 

Only then did Yoohee’s memories slowly return.

 

She had attempted to Guide Joohoon in the visitation room… and then blacked out.

 

“So… this isn’t a dream, right? It’s real… isn’t it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Seeing Joohoon smile softly, it finally began to feel real.

 

The young man before her was no longer a prisoner wrapped in chains.

 

He was simply an ordinary student of the Academy once more.

 

Her eyes stung with tears, but she held them back and smiled instead.

 

“I’m so glad.”

 

Meeting Yoohee’s smiling face, Joohoon lowered his gaze and gently clasped her hand.

 

“You worked so hard…all for my sake. Thank you… and I’m so, so sorry.”

 

Yoohee’s hand remained cradled in Joohoon’s, as if it were a delicate piece of clay he couldn’t stop kneading.

 

The tips of Joohoon’s ears, peeking through his hair, had turned bright red.

 

“…Maybe… it’s okay for me to start hoping.”

 

He murmured so quietly it was almost inaudible.

 

More importantly— his ears were so red they were becoming genuinely concerning.

 

“Joohoon, are you feeling sick?”

 

At this rate, it seemed like Joohoon—not she—was the one who should be lying in bed.

 

Just as Yoohee asked worriedly, status windows suddenly began popping up one after another.

 

[The affection level of male lead candidate ‘Kim Joohoon’ has increased.]

[Kim Joohoon (Affection: ???% → ???%)]

[The increase in male lead candidate ‘Kim Joohoon’s’ affection is excessively high.]

[!System Error: The R-29 Channel will temporarily undergo maintenance. We ask for the Constellations’ understanding!]

 

As the status window rapidly displayed notifications in obvious panic, the Constellations immediately began complaining.

 

[Most Constellations do not wish for the scenario to be interrupted.]

[The Constellation, ‘Dark Archmage,’ threatens the system to just shut—]

 

Click.

 

The connection was cut off before the Dark Archmage’s complaint could even finish.

 

‘What is…’

 

Yoohee felt the fingers holding her hand tighten.

 

Joohoon’s breathing grew heavier as he raised one hand to cover his face.

 

“Ah… This shouldn’t be happening already.”

 

“Joohoon?”

 

At her call, Joohoon lowered the hand covering his mouth and looked straight at her.

 

His gaze… was openly seductive.

 

For a split second, the intensity of those eyes stole her breath.

 

Just from that look alone, she knew the system hadn’t been exaggerating.

 

His affection really had skyrocketed beyond normal.

 

Sweat gathered in her palm.

 

They had known each other for nearly ten years, yet she had never— not even once— seen Joohoon look at her like this.

 

Creak.

 

Supporting himself with his free hand against the bed, Joohoon leaned closer.

 

Still holding Yoohee’s hand tightly, he never once looked away from her.

 

“J-Joohoon…?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

The moment she called his name, the corners of his lips curved upward in obvious delight.

 

The faint flush around his eyes made him look almost feverish.

 

“W-Wait… something feels strange.”

 

“Yoohee… do you dislike this?”

 

Joohoon whispered as he leaned even closer.

 

She wasn’t even sure what this referred to, but they were close enough that one careless movement would make their breaths touch.

 

It was impossible to ask.

 

“F-First… maybe we should put some distance between us…”

 

“We used to sleep in the same bed.”

 

“Well… that’s…”

 

That had been ten years ago.

 

Back then, Joohoon had been as harmless as a block of soft tofu.

 

Sharing a bed with him had never felt dangerous in the slightest.

 

If anything, being beside him had always made her feel safe.

 

But now…

 

“I-I don’t think we should.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Joohoon immediately echoed her answer, thoughtfully rolling the words around.

 

“Should I wait a little longer?”

 

His expression didn’t look like someone who had any intention of waiting.

 

And yet, he genuinely seemed to be asking.

 

Should I tell him to wait…?

 

Or not…?

 

Whichever answer she chose, it somehow sounded wrong.

 

Yoohee could only wet her dry lips, unable to respond.

 

Then— the status window suddenly reappeared.

 

[To restore the system, male lead candidate ‘Kim Joohoon’s’ affection increase will be temporarily halted.]

[Male lead candidate ‘Kim Joohoon’s’ affection has been restored to its previous state.]

 

The instant the message appeared, the obvious intensity in Joohoon’s gaze disappeared.

 

He slowly closed his eyes before opening them again.

 

The passionate look from moments ago had clearly softened.

 

The grip around her hand loosened as well.

 

Joohoon blinked several times where he stood, then suddenly got to his feet and began pacing around the bed, as though trying to clear his head.

 

“…Whoa. I almost completely lost my reason there.”

 

While Yoohee remained frozen in bewilderment, the status window continued flickering before her eyes.

 

[—-Clank Clank Clank—-System Restoration in Progress—-]

 

The only thing displayed was a little construction emoji alongside the repair message.

 

What in the world is going on…?

 

After some time, the construction notice finally disappeared, and the status window returned.

 

[System restoration complete! The R-29 Channel has been reopened. We once again apologize to all Constellations.]

 

Ding! Ding!

 

The reconnect notification sounded, and the Constellations immediately burst into complaints.

 

[The Constellation, ‘SSS-Rank F2P Player,’ demands compensation for being disconnected.]

[The majority of the Constellations sign the petition proposed by ‘SSS-Rank F2P Player.’]

[The Constellation, ‘Spicy Churu,’ asks how far things got between you two.]

 

How far?

 

We didn’t get anywhere.

 

“…Nowhere.”