Chapter 286 - Dream

# After Escaping the Dungeon Maker's Labyrinth

"Oppa. So, why were you holding hands?"

"...Haha."

I was being interrogated by Seo-eun.

...Actually, I had expected this. Everyone must have figured it out since Stardust's words had already been broadcast. The TV was probably running stories about the romance rumors between Stardust and me. To be honest, this was already the fourth or fifth time rumors about us had circulated, so I wasn't particularly moved by it. It just keeps happening.

Of course, my Ego-stream colleagues wouldn't believe such ridiculous slander...

"...Seo-eun, it was nothing. I just grabbed her hand briefly because it looked dangerous at one point."

...or so I thought. Seo-eun's eyes were already spinning with suspicion.

Even though she was all grown up, I was troubled by Seo-eun's recent obsession with me. Seo-eun, you're an adult now. You're twenty years old...

Anyway, Seo-eun's gaze looked dangerous, so I had no choice but to be selective with my words. It's true that I grabbed her hand because it seemed dangerous. I just held it for a bit... longer.

"Whatever. I'm going to hold your hand all day today too."

She clearly wasn't listening to me, and as a result, my hand was captured by Seo-eun. Firmly, with fingers interlocked.

So there I was, sitting on the sofa with Seo-eun on a cushion, our hands overlapping.

"..."

"...Seo-eun, are you satisfied now?"

"...Hmph, I'm going to keep doing this, so you'd better get used to it."

Seo-eun said with a slightly reddened face.

...But Seo-eun, how can you be embarrassed when you're the one who grabbed my hand?

This just makes me want to tease you.

"Eek?"

As I was wiggling my fingers to tickle Seo-eun...

"Oh my, Da-in, what game are you two playing?"

"...Ah, Su-bin."

Su-bin walked toward me with a gentle smile.

Great. Perfect timing. I should ask her to stop Seo-eun.

And just as I was about to say that...

"Can I join in too?"

"...What?"

Su-bin sat down next to me, grabbed my right hand, and said that.

...Not you too, Su-bin.

"You really do have big hands, Da-in."

"...Hahaha."

As I was inwardly breaking into a cold sweat at Su-bin's seemingly innocent yet pointed comment, the other members who saw us thought it was fun, and my hands were passed around to everyone.

Oh boy.

***

Later that night.

Having barely escaped from Seo-eun, who followed me all the way to my bedroom under the pretext that it was time to sleep, I sat at my desk with a sigh.

It had been an eventful day. It was hard to believe that getting lost in the labyrinth with Stardust had happened just this morning.

Out of habit, I turned on my laptop.

[Stardust's shocking statement... What happened between her and Egostic alone in the labyrinth that day?]

Seeing the news about Stardust and me all over the portal sites, I remembered my decision not to use the internet for a few days.

...Well. I should at least get a sense of the overall atmosphere.

So with some anxiety, I checked my fan cafe.

*

[Victory for Team Starmango lolololol All other ships just perish lololololol]

[Analysis) 101 definitive reasons why Egostic and Stardust are already dating]

[[Leaked] Egostic and Stardust in the labyrinth.avi]

["Your hands are big" <<< People claiming they held hands because of this? She probably just saw his hands lolololol]

[Serving facts) Looking at how Stardust glanced at the camera before speaking, she definitely said it on purpose lololol]

[Holy shit #Starmango is trending worldwide on international rankings lololol]

[Upvote if you're an Ego-stream member who thinks Stardust sucks at games lololol]

[Sure~ Ego-stream members live in the same house~ They've probably held hands 1223 times~]

[Egostic << The fact that he can set the entire country on fire with one hand-holding rumor shows he's just the GOAT lololol]

[Did Stardust and Egostic really just hold hands? We need to quickly investigate 'the last room']

[Dungeon Maker<<< Like if you think he should be released lololol]

*

...After seeing the dizzying content of posts receiving hundreds of likes per minute and dominating the popular posts list, I closed my laptop again.

What was I expecting? Even I thought it was inflammatory enough.

...So.

Why did Stardust do that anyway?

"...Are my hands big?"

I suddenly looked at my hand and muttered.

...They seem pretty average to me. Maybe she said that because of the natural physical difference between her female hands and my male hands. My hands were definitely bigger than Stardust's...

'...Why am I thinking about this?'

I shook my head to clear these useless thoughts.

Da-in, get a grip. Think rationally, rationally.

So after regaining my composure.

I decided to slowly review what happened today.

...No matter how I think about it, Stardust was acting strange today.

From suddenly grabbing my hand... to saying "I wouldn't mind doing it with you" in that room where we couldn't leave without kissing (if I heard correctly), to suddenly commenting on how big my hands were at the end.

'...What's really going on?'

I thought hard about it, but I couldn't figure out why. Especially since she had never acted this way toward anyone in the original story.

"......"

The most plausible guess was that she did it to throw me off balance.

I couldn't imagine why else she would do it. Surely... it couldn't be that. She's a hero, and I'm a villain.

Right. That must be it. Don't think strange thoughts and just go to sleep.

I turned off the light and lay down.

As I closed my eyes.

"..."

Today's events flashed through my mind without my control.

'...You said it was dangerous. You said we should walk together. This is the most reliable way.'

The image of Stardust firmly grasping my hand with her soft one.

'Ugh.....'

In the room where we couldn't leave without kissing, when I approached her, Stardust looking up at me with a reddened face and slightly teary eyes.

'...I, I wouldn't mind doing it with you.'

The image of her touching her lips as she said those words at the end.

"...This is driving me crazy."

As these images involuntarily flooded my mind,

I sighed, lying in bed with my arm covering my eyes.

...That can't be it. And I decided not to have romantic feelings anyway. She probably just wanted to throw me off balance without any particular thoughts. Get a grip, Da-in. You're not a middle schooler with a first crush, are you?

That night, as I was lost in all sorts of thoughts.

'.....'

I finally had a moment of self-awareness—what am I doing?—and only then was I able to fall asleep.

...Right. Come to think of it, Stardust is probably sleeping soundly without a care, while I'm here overthinking things.

She probably doesn't even care about any of this.

***

Meanwhile.

At that same time, Stardust was lying in bed, unable to sleep, extremely preoccupied with the day's events.

"...I must be crazy, I must be crazy..."

She muttered, lying in bed.

'...You, your hands are big?'

"Ughhh..."

Already at the peak of embarrassment from her own words, she was almost on the verge of tears from shame.

...To be fair, anyone would feel the same if their words were being endlessly repeated on TV and spreading as romance rumors.

'...Um, Stardust. Hmm... never mind.'

The look in the Director's eyes as he awkwardly scratched his head...

"Haaa... Why did I do that?"

She couldn't help but writhe in self-loathing.

...In fact, that wasn't the only thing she had to be embarrassed about.

From grabbing Egostic's hand and walking around with him, whatever she was thinking,

To the inexplicable sense of disappointment she felt in the last room...

"Haaa..."

While feeling extreme embarrassment about everything she had done today.

...She had to honestly admit one thing.

That she had secretly enjoyed being with him...

Holding his hand, feeling his warmth, conversing with him. Her heart had raced without her realizing it.

...Which meant that she, a hero, had felt this way while being with a villain.

"...No, that's not it."

As she thought about it, she decided to change her mindset.

This was part of Egostic's rehabilitation process. It was corrective action to reform Egostic, who was warm and kind inside but acted evil on the outside. It was the most heroic thing to do. Holding a villain's hand was the most heroic act. If she found herself in the same situation again, she would do it again.

And honestly.

Holding his hand felt good too...

"...Haaa."

As she thought about everything that had happened with Egostic today,

She unconsciously began to wonder what would have happened in that last room—where they couldn't leave without kis... kissing—if Egostic hadn't found a way to escape.

"...I must be crazy."

With a reddened face, she decided to stop such outrageous thoughts and finally fell asleep from exhaustion.

And that night.

'...Wait, Egostic. Mmph. Mmm.'

'...Yes, mmmm.'

'....'

"...! Haa, haa... haa."

Shin Ha-ru, who woke up from a strange dream, covered her reddened face with her hands and muttered in a small voice.

"...Ha-ru, are you really going crazy..."

It seemed that she had indeed gone crazy...