I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 178

Chapter 178

Honeymoon

***

Soft.

Newlywed.

A term used to describe a couple who has just married. During this period, the couple is referred to as newlyweds.

Travel.

The act of going to a different place or foreign country for business or leisure.

What happens when you combine the two?

It means traveling during the newlywed period. In other words, Noah and I are married, which means we are newlyweds… which means we are a couple… which means this is our honeymoon house… which means Noah is my wife…

Lian’s mind was filled with countless mini-Lians, all frozen in place, their faces dumbfounded as they unleashed a torrent of nonsensical thoughts. As a result, Lian stiffened like a robot overloaded with commands and couldn’t move a muscle.

The flood of incoherent thoughts eventually boiled down to a single conclusion.

Grip.

Lian, who had been awkwardly holding Noah’s hand, suddenly tightened his grip. For some reason, his expression turned serious, and in a stiff voice, he said,

“I’ll take responsibility.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll take responsibility and make you happy.”

Ta-da-dan… Ta-da-dan…

Somewhere, bells rang, and the kind of music you’d hear in a wedding hall echoed in the air. Noah stared blankly at Lian, then lowered her head, mumbling something under her breath. Lian strained to hear, but Noah only lowered her head further, making it impossible to catch what she said.

However, judging by the tips of her ears and fingers turning red, she didn’t seem upset.

About five seconds passed.

Boom!

Lian’s face turned beet red, as if it had exploded, when he finally realized that what he had just said was essentially a confession. Steam seemed to rise from his head like a well-cooked rice cooker.

“Wha… what?! L-Lian?!”

Lian, who had been swaying, suddenly collapsed forward.

Clatter!

As the table shook, plates and knives clattered to the floor. Lian lost consciousness.

***

“Hup.”

With a light exhale, Lian’s eyes snapped open.

‘Where am I…?’

The surroundings were dark, making it hard to see clearly. Judging by the soft sheets under his palm and the comfortable sensation against his back, it seemed someone had moved him to a bed after he fainted.

‘Something smells really nice.’

Sniffing the faint floral scent in the air, Lian suddenly snapped back to his senses.

‘Wait, this isn’t the time for that!’

He lightly slapped his own cheeks, trying to regain his focus.

‘Since I’ve been dragged into Noah’s mental world, she might be suffering from symptoms similar to Iris’s.’

Though it was a bit of a leap, it wasn’t entirely baseless. After all, Noah, who was usually so diligent, had stayed in bed even after the sun had risen, which was strange. And the dream she’d been having… it was absurd… or maybe not so absurd?

‘And when I tried to wake her, that was odd too. Normally, she’d be sensitive to even the smallest sound and wake up right away, but she didn’t respond even when I called out loudly. That’s strange.’

With a serious expression, Lian carefully pieced his thoughts together and arrived at a conclusion.

‘Maybe… it’s a situation similar to Iris.’

Lian recalled the image of Iris, radiating dark energy through the crystal ball, and thought,

‘First, I need to stay sharp and start moving.’

Resolving himself, he began feeling his way through the darkness, trying to leave what he assumed was the bed.

Squish.

His hand, which had been groping the sheets, suddenly grabbed something warm and soft.

One second passed, and Lian thought the sensation felt oddly familiar.

Two seconds passed, and he started to wonder why it felt so familiar.

Three seconds passed—

“Gasp?!”

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Lian’s entire body bristled. Time seemed to stretch out, and his body jerked back, leaving a trail of afterimages as he scrambled away.

Thud! Crash!

“Ouch!”

He desperately crawled backward like a bug, only to tumble off the bed and hit the floor. Rubbing the back of his head, he sat up, and a long piece of fabric brushed against his face. Light seeped through the fabric, revealing it to be a curtain.

Whoosh!

Without a second thought, Lian yanked the curtains open. Bright sunlight flooded the room.

“…Huh? It’s already morning?”

Noah’s drowsy voice echoed from the bed. She sat up, her face groggy, wearing nothing but a white shirt like a nightgown. Lian, who had been pressed against the wall like a cornered mouse, stood up abruptly and stared at her.

Their eyes met, and Noah smiled sweetly.

“Good morning.”

“Ah, uh… er…”

Faced with this overwhelming sight, Lian malfunctioned, unable to respond properly. The rational, composed Lian who had vowed to handle the situation logically was nowhere to be found.

His trembling eyes couldn’t tear themselves away from her exposed shoulders and pale thighs.

‘I’m doomed.’

At that moment, warning alarms blared in his head, and his body once again left a trail of afterimages as he bolted from the room.

Thud! Bang!

His body, rolling and tumbling in a panic, instinctively found its way to the bathroom.

Crash! Slam!

“Pfft… In a hurry to use the bathroom again?”

Noah chuckled softly. It seemed Lian’s reaction wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to her, as she simply let out a ticklish laugh without much surprise.

It took Lian quite some time to finally emerge from the bathroom.

***

The rational side of Lian spoke up.

“If we keep going like this, something bad might happen to Noah! We need to think more seriously about this!”

Some of the mini-Lians from the instinctual side crossed over to the rational side, agreeing.

“That’s true… As much as physical and emotional happiness is important, nothing is more important than Noah’s well-being.”

“Hah! When will we ever get another chance like this?! When will we be happy?! Besides, where’s the proof that this dream is the same as Iris’s? It could just be a personal… a personal desire reflected in the dream!”

“That argument makes sense too.”

Some of the mini-Lians from the rational side crossed over to the instinctual side. As you can see, a fierce battle between the rational and instinctual sides of Lian’s mind was taking place.

Of course, the rational side had the upper hand. Though it was just a hunch, it wasn’t entirely without basis, and even the flimsiest evidence was enough to prioritize Noah’s safety over his own desires. Honestly, the fact that such a heated debate was even happening was absurd.

So why were the rational and instinctual sides now evenly matched?

“It’s a bit chilly. Is it because it’s still spring?”

Noah, who had intertwined her fingers with Lian’s and was now hugging his arm, murmured in a soft voice.

“Y-Yeah… I guess so…”

Lian, who had zero experience with relationships and zero experience with women, was more nervous than he had ever been, even more so than when he had to give a presentation in front of the entire school. Especially now, with a beautiful woman like Noah clinging to him and staring at him with affectionate eyes.

Every time Noah closed the distance and initiated intimate skinship, most of the rational mini-Lians would rush over to the instinctual side. Then, the rational Lians would struggle to convince the instinctual ones, leading to the current balance of power.

‘How do you breathe again? Is this how you’re supposed to walk?’

With most of the mini-Lians busy arguing, Lian couldn’t even focus on basic functions like breathing or walking. He felt like a melted ice cream in the summer or a cat purring under the gentle strokes of a pretty girl.

In other words, he was so happy it felt like he could die.

The sight of the straight tree branches swaying gently with fresh green leaves, the warm sunlight pouring through them, the touch of their sweaty palms pressed together, and the mixed scent of their bodies, unfamiliar yet comforting—all of it felt like a scene from a fairy tale.

If he ever got married in the future, this was the kind of life he would dream of.

‘Wait… Is this Noah’s dream? Or is it mine?’

The thought crossed his mind, as the dream was so sweet, it felt like it could be his own.

Slap!

As he was about to get lost in the dream, Lian raised his free hand and slapped his own cheek hard.

‘What the—what was that just now?’

Lian looked down at his hand in shock, his expression as startled as Noah’s, who was staring at him like a frightened rabbit. The slap had not been intentional.

‘It just… felt like I had to do it—oh no!’

Lian bit his tongue lightly, his face turning a faint shade of red.

‘Did I just develop some “protagonist-like” ability?!’

Lian, lost in his ridiculous thoughts, failed to notice the crucial detail.

Grip.

Noah’s face was growing colder and harder by the second, her expression becoming terrifyingly icy.

End of Chapter