Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 290

“Ugh…”

Early morning.

I feel an overwhelming fatigue pressing down on me as I roll out of bed.

Today, we have the 16th round match.

Naturally, our team won the 32nd round match.

I managed to secure two wins through the winning streak, while Ellie took the other one.

By the way, my body’s senses feel a bit dull.

It’s as if my hands and feet are moving separately.

I hadn’t slept a wink due to getting caught up in a discussion at the Deron gallery last night.

Ellie is probably in the same boat as me.

I saw her ID and IP constantly changing throughout our time in the Deron gallery, so my guess must be right.

“Hayun…”

“Yeah…”

“Are you okay? Can you play in the match?”

“No problem.”

No problem at all.

I nodded at Sohee’s words and rubbed my eyes.

Even if my senses were dulled a bit, the opponent is just some students who play the game decently.

There’s no way I’m going to lose to kids who haven’t even dried the blood from their heads.

“You look really tired. How about getting a bit of sleep?”

I check the time at Sohee’s suggestion.

There’s about an hour and a half left until the match starts.

It’s a bit sketchy to fall asleep now.

It would be better to hold on and get through the match, then sleep all day to recover my condition.

I shook my head and said, “I’m fine.”

“Hmm…”

Indeed, Sohee is the only one who thinks of me.

I smiled faintly and approached her, hugging her waist.

The warmth and softness I felt in her embrace swept over me, naturally lulling me into sleep.

But I couldn’t allow myself to sleep.

I quickly slipped out of Sohee’s arms and headed to the bathroom.

Standing on the footstand in front of the sink.

The cute girl in the large mirror wore a fatigued face with a faint smile.

“Hmm…”

She really is beautiful, no matter how many times I see her.

I pulled up my lips for a pretty smile.

“Heh…”

Is there anyone in the world more perfect than me?

Pretty, young, cute, and great at games.

Plus, she’s smart too.

The only flaw is that she’s a bit short, but I’m still in high school.

My growth period isn’t over yet, so there’s still a chance I could grow taller.

If someone could look into my thoughts, they might think I’m a bit too narcissistic, but it couldn’t be helped.

Right? No one can deny the facts I just listed.

I smiled with satisfaction and nodded.

After brushing my teeth and washing my face in the bathroom, I noticed Sohee lounging lazily.

Long legs. A bust that’s hard to ignore.

Half-closed eyes and a slightly curved mouth.

Sohee’s gaze was directed out the window.

With one hand moving towards her ear, it looked like she might be on a call.

Or is she listening to music?

“Sohee?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Sohee hurriedly lowered her hand as I called out.

What she held in her hand was a large smartphone.

“I’m all done washing up.”

“Really?”

Sohee nodded at my words and got up to head to the bathroom.

As I watched Sohee’s back disappear into the bathroom, I shifted my gaze.

The spot where Sohee had just been sitting caught my eye.

No, more precisely, it was the smartphone she had been holding.

The screen of the smartphone she left behind as she walked into the bathroom.

Since the screen hadn’t turned off yet, it wasn’t locked.

Now’s my chance.

I quickly ran over and hopped onto the sofa where Sohee had been sitting.

The lukewarm heat under me.

It seemed that the sofa absorbed her warmth from where she had been sitting.

Being here made me feel like I was wrapped in Sohee.

But right now, I had no time to enjoy that feeling.

I reached out and grabbed Sohee’s smartphone.

The screen flickering, dimming slowly.

I quickly touched the screen to bring it back to life.

“Sohee…?”

I cautiously called out to Sohee, hiding the smartphone behind my back.

No answer came.

I swallowed hard and looked down at the smartphone.

I had no interest in KakaoTalk or message call logs.

There was only one thing I was curious about.

What kind of pictures were saved in Sohee’s gallery?

I had always wondered that.

Sohee is far from an ordinary high school girl.

When going out somewhere or buying something, an ordinary high school girl would’ve taken tons of pictures.

But Sohee has never taken a single photo while with me.

She’d probably get mad if I found out, right?

But what can I do? I’m just too curious.

I extended my trembling fingers and entered the gallery on the smartphone.

At that moment, countless photos unfolded before me.

“Whoa…”

What’s this?

Did I see something wrong?

Every photo saved on the smartphone was pitch black, completely blotted out.

Just perfect darkness.

The screen was filled with black images that didn’t even hint at any shape.

Checking the information on the saved photos showed a size of 10KB.

Just a simple black image file.

I tilted my head in confusion.

What on earth does Sohee keep these photos for?

At that moment, I heard the sound of the bathroom doorknob turning faintly beyond my dulled senses.

That meant Sohee was coming out of the bathroom.

I quickly turned off the screen of the smartphone I held and placed it back where it was.

Then I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

“Hayun?”

I didn’t respond to Sohee’s call.

Time dragged on.

I heard the sound of Sohee’s footsteps coming out of the bathroom.

Each step bringing her closer to me.

Sohee stopped right in front of me and stared down at me for a long time.

Even though I couldn’t see, I could tell what she was doing through the feeling of her gaze.

How long had it been?

With a soft rustle, something touched my ear.

Long and slender, yet warm.

A finger. It was Sohee’s finger that had touched my ear.

I almost shrank back instinctively.

“Are you sleeping?”

Her voice flowed out with a small laugh.

Sohee chuckled gently, beginning to play with my ear.

Starting from my earlobe, she traced her fingers along the curve and delicately dove into my inner ear.

My whole body tensed up.

The gentle touch on my ear felt ticklish? No, it was something slightly different.

Something creeping up from deep within.

That uniquely tingling sensation forced my toes to curl.

It was hard to resist. If I let her continue touching my ear like this, something big might happen.

I pretended to wake up groggily, opening my eyes.

“So, Sohee…”

“Awake now?”

But Sohee’s hand didn’t stop.

In fact, it became even bolder as she tended to my ear.

Swoosh— swoosh—

The loud sound next to my ear started to make me feel hot.

I leaned back and covered my ear.

I hadn’t even done anything, yet I felt heat rising in my body.

It felt hot. Even with the window slightly open leading to the terrace, it was still warm.

“Sorry… Did I make you uncomfortable?”

Sohee asked while looking down at me.

Her beautifully curved gaze carried a certainty.

There’s no way I could feel bad.

It was as if her gaze thought that.

“Ah, no…”

Was that answer satisfactory to her?

Sohee straightened her back and shoved the smartphone she placed on the table into her pocket.

“Then shall we go have something to eat?”

I nodded and got up from my seat.

As my legs touched the ground, I stumbled.

It was a bit shaky, almost losing my balance.

Maybe it was due to fatigue? My body wasn’t responding properly.

“Ugh…”

I felt Sohee’s gaze pressing down on me from above.

I shook my head and boldly walked forward.

As the team’s leader, I couldn’t show any weakness.

Leaving the room, I headed straight to the next room.

I tiptoed and knocked twice.

Knock knock.

How much time had passed?

The door creaked open, and a head of white hair popped out.

“Is that you, Hayun?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Indeed, Ellie’s face bore a deep fatigue as well.

She, like me, was up late at the Deron gallery.

“Wait a moment… I need to wake Seongsin.”

With that, Ellie went inside and brought out the sleeping Seongsin.

Thus, we headed to the buffet for breakfast.

Ellie swayed and leaned against the wall frequently.

I sighed at the sight.

What’s she thinking, staying up all night while being so weak?

But it couldn’t be helped.

I approached Ellie and helped support her.

Right now, I was the only one who could help her.

As soon as we reached the buffet, Ellie buried her head on the table and fell asleep.

Even after finishing our meal and moving to the stadium, Ellie still couldn’t easily open her eyes.

Still, it seemed she was aware of how important the game was, as she tried to stay awake, but only for a moment.

Ellie sat in her chair and curled up just like before and fell asleep.

“Hmm…”

I pondered as I looked at her.

The second strongest player after me was in that state.

I could forcefully wake her up and shove her into the capsule, but doing that wouldn’t let her display her true skills.

It couldn’t be helped.

This match would have to end with just me, Sohee, and Seongsin.

“Let’s have Seongsin go out first this time.”

“Me? Me?”

“Yeah.”

“Ugh…”

Seongsin made a worried expression at my words.

But in the end, she got up and headed for the capsule.

Thus began the first match.

Seongsin did reasonably well, but the opponent’s skills were just better.

Two minutes into the match, Seongsin was defeated.

“Sorry…”

“It’s okay.”

Next up was Sohee.

Sohee got up naturally, heading for the capsule with a reliable smile.

I was sure Sohee could win.

I felt much more relaxed.

We weren’t aiming for first place in the tournament, but high ranks would still be nice, wouldn’t they?

Thus began the second match.

Sohee would win without a hitch.

That’s what I thought until the match started.

However.

Fifty seconds into the match, Sohee dropped the katana in her hand and fell over.

The opponent’s remaining health was at 85%.

The opponent that took down Sohee raised their sword toward the air.

A victory celebration.

And then a provocation aimed at us.

Total score.

0-2.

In that situation, the opposing team proposed a winning streak.

[Winning Streak Proposal]

The opposing team proposed a winning streak.

I checked the confident, arrogant smirk of the opponent through the screen.

An expression radiating confidence.

A gaze filled with arrogance, certain of victory.

I gladly accepted.

I wasn’t in perfect condition, but taking down a smug brat like that was possible.

I accepted the winning streak proposal.