The Bathhouse Brawl and a Designer’s Secret

“Oh, blissfully floating about feels so wonderful!”

My eyes were mere slits, and my mouth hung slightly agape, giving me the appearance of a blissful fool.

A soft white mist enveloped my cheeks, radiating a comforting warmth.

The delicate floral scent wafting from the water pleasantly chased away the weariness clinging to my body.

I wondered if my chestnut hair, spread out freely around me, was enjoying this moment as much as I was.

Floating in the bathtub in an utterly unrestrained, star-shaped sprawl, I might as well have been in paradise.

Truly, a bath was my second greatest pleasure, surpassed only by cooking!

“Ugh, why can’t I float in the water like you?”

Beside me, Leidi, sprawled on a floating mat, poked my cheek with a finger, her tone thick with envy.

I wondered what kind of expression she was making; it had to be amusing.

“It’s a gift!” I grinned, though naturally, it was anything but the truth.

“I don’t believe it! When you were a boy, you couldn’t do it either! It must be those two lumps of fat!”

With narrowed eyes, Leidi reached out both hands towards the two white coconuts bobbing above the water in front of me, giving them a forceful squeeze.

“Hey! You! Splutter! Gurgle, gurgle!”

Startled by Leidi’s audacious move, I immediately opened my eyes and thrashed wildly.

My balance on the water was instantly shattered, and I sank beneath the surface.

‘How utterly despicable! I had been enjoying myself so thoroughly!’

‘And the bathwater still tasted awful!’

Exploding from the water, my head emerged, my hair plastered around me in a terrifying style reminiscent of Sadako from *The Ring*.

I extended my claw-like hand towards Leidi.

“You’re coming down with me!”

“Agh! No!” Clutching desperately to the floating mat, Leidi shrieked like a maiden, her eyes squeezed shut.

“No you ghost!” ‘It was futile! I would overturn the floating mat along with her!’

‘She was a sinner now, a sinner who had disrupted my peaceful bath and relaxation!’

“Splash!” With a single angry heave from me, Leidi was sent flying, landing backside-up in the bathtub.

“Phew!” Rising from the water, Leidi advanced towards me like a vengeful water ghost.

“You’re so petty! What’s wrong with me being a little jealous? How can someone so petty have such big breasts?!”

‘What was that? Leidi, had you lost your mind?’

“You’re the petty one! It’s precisely because you’re so petty that your chest is as flat as an endless highway!”

‘It seemed I wasn’t exactly calm either, but I didn’t care!’

My hair disheveled, and Leidi’s equally wild, we pressed our foreheads tightly together in the bathtub, our hands clawing and intertwining, each trying to overpower the other.

We were like two wildcats, fallen into the water together, fighting tooth and nail, neither willing to yield!

“That’s too much! It’s not like I have nothing! At least call them small hills!” A fuming Leidi forcefully headbutted me.

“Small hills? More like tiny steamed buns!” I retorted with an equally displeased headbutt.

‘Although this exchange was utterly pointless, I would not back down!’

“Where did the maternal and radiant Protagonist from this afternoon go?!”

“Don’t talk as if I’m your mother!”

‘Why did this conversation feel so familiar? No matter!’

“Honestly, letting me pinch them wouldn’t make you lose a piece of flesh! My brain was practically exploding with frustration this afternoon!”

“Exploding? *I* was exploding! My clothes were all shredded! I was completely naked in front of Senior Ruka and Brother Mingdao!”

‘While everything I said was true, our conversation felt like it had inexplicably flown off to another galaxy.’

“Who told you to run so fast? You broke the sound barrier, for crying out loud! How could your clothes *not* be damaged?!” Leidi forcefully pressed her body against mine, seemingly intending to win by sheer weight!

“Who was I running so fast for, huh?!” I pushed back with equal vigor, ignoring my flattened chest; victory would surely be mine!

“Ah?!” —A sudden, awkward expression froze on my face.

“Eh?!” —A sudden, astonished expression froze on Leidi’s face.

“Kersplash!”

A sudden slip of my foot caused me to lose balance, and I tumbled into the water with Leidi in a sprawling embrace, sending a colossal geyser of water erupting like a fountain.

“Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! This taste is still terrible!” Leidi surfaced, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

“Ptooey! Ptooey! Now you know how I felt earlier! You brought this on yourself!” Despite the lingering, unpleasant taste of bathwater in my mouth, I couldn’t resist a triumphant retort.

“You’re still arguing! Our topic flew off to who knows where!”

“Then don’t yell back at me!”

‘It seemed this bizarre, elementary-school-level squabble was finally coming to an end.’

****

“Hey, hey… why are we in a sauna? We just finished bathing; it’s already hot enough!”

Pulling my towel tighter, I made to leave the room, which was just beginning to fill with white steam.

“Do you honestly think that with today’s amount of exercise, if you don’t treat your body right, you’ll be able to stand tomorrow? Your muscles will be so sore you won’t be able to bear it!” Leidi insisted, pulling me back onto the long, towel-covered wooden bench.

“Really?” I sat down with a helpless expression, my backside feeling quite hot.

‘I supposed I should endure it; after all, Leidi was genuinely looking out for me.’

‘Besides, I had school tomorrow, and it would be a problem if I couldn’t move.’

Leidi playfully nudged my arm with her elbow.

“Don’t be so reluctant. I’m not lying to you. Besides, saunas are good for your skin; just accept it.”

“Speaking of which, why does ‘The Chrysalis’ have a sauna room?”

We were, in fact, in a room near the bathhouse, and although I’d never been in it before, I certainly hadn’t expected it to be a sauna.

“Didn’t I say it’s good for beauty? And it’s good for the body too, so I had someone build this room. I come here from time to time. Right now, I’m just bringing you along to improve your blood circulation.” Leidi took my right arm and began to rub it.

‘Was she giving me a massage?’

‘So, this room had been here all along.’

“Leidi, are there any other special facilities or rooms in ‘The Chrysalis’ that I don’t know about? I’m quite curious.” I tilted my head, glancing at Leidi, sensing there might be more.

“There’s a dedicated clothing studio for me in the basement. I’ll take you to see it sometime.” Leidi smiled triumphantly at me.

“Huh? You have a clothing studio? Do you actually make clothes?” ‘As a rich young lady, aside from not being very good at cooking, you already possess an excessive number of skills!’

“Yes, the underwear you’re wearing today and that nightgown from last night were made by my own hands! Impressive, right?” Leidi chuckled, speeding up her massage on my hand, her fingers dancing joyfully as if playing a piano.

“So, that erotic nightgown was your creation…” ‘Setting aside the “impeccable” taste in the design of that nightgown, I couldn’t help but feel that Leidi was truly extraordinary… in every sense of the word.’

“There’s a big difference between ‘sexy’ and ‘erotic’; as a designer, that hurts my feelings…” Leidi’s face instantly drooped, clearly quite wounded.

“Ah, ah, I apologize.” I offered Leidi a wry smile, deciding it was best to sincerely apologize here; Leidi’s tailoring skills were indeed commendable, and at least, I found the underwear very comfortable.

“If you don’t apologize, you won’t be sleeping tonight…”

“Wow… I almost stepped on a landmine there.”

…

And so, we lost track of time, chatting away in the sauna.

Though…

It was quite embarrassing when we both later fainted from dehydration and had to be dragged out of the sauna by the maids.