I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 117: Mihu imagination + Picking books!?

***

(MIHU, A DELUSIONAL GIRL)

From a completely different angle—

Reality had already been rewritten.

Mihu stood frozen a short distance away, hands slowly rising to clasp together near her chest, her entire body leaning forward like she had just unlocked a premium episode of her favorite drama.

Her eyes sparkled.

Actually sparkled.

(...⋋✿ ⁰ o ⁰ ✿⋌???)

Woah...

Her brain didn’t process what actually happened.

No. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

It upgraded it.

Enhanced it.

Added music.

Slow motion.

Wind effects.

"Oh me gosh..." Mihu whispered under her breath, her voice barely holding together as excitement swelled inside her like something ready to burst.

Her hands didn’t stay clasped for long.

Instead, they flew up— both of them, pressing tightly over her mouth as if she was physically trying to trap the scream threatening to escape.

Her fingers curled slightly against her lips, shoulders lifting with the effort as she leaned forward, eyes wide and glowing with barely contained emotion.

Her cheeks flushed.

Fast.

A soft pink spread across her face as the realization hit her harder with every passing second.

"This is... this is a romance..." she muffled behind her hands, her voice trembling, breath warm against her fingers as if even saying it out loud might make it more real.

Her whole body trembled just slightly, like she was experiencing secondhand feelings she absolutely did not sign up for— but was fully accepting anyway.

And somehow—

Covering her mouth didn’t help.

Because her eyes?

They were screaming.

Because in her vision of reality—

Let me say it again, what had just happened wasn’t simple. It wasn’t awkward. It wasn’t two people fumbling through tension and confusion.

It was intentional.

Aeloria hadn’t just grabbed Si Hon’s wrist.

She had pulled him in.

Closer— far closer than necessary.

The motion in Mihu’s mind slowed, stretched, refined into something almost too perfect.

Aeloria’s hand, firm and unwavering, lifting his wrist above him as if pinning him there— not out of force, but out of something far more deliberate. The kind of movement that belonged in scenes where words weren’t enough anymore.

Their distance collapsed.

Faces too close.

Dangerously close.

The space between them felt thin, fragile, like it might disappear entirely if either of them moved even a fraction more.

And the air—

It wasn’t just still.

It crackled.

Alive with something invisible, something building, something waiting to happen.

Then—

In Mihu’s imagination—

Aeloria leaned in.

Just slightly.

Not enough to touch.

Just enough to matter.

Her voice dropped, soft and low, barely more than a breath as it brushed past his ear, the words carrying weight far beyond what they should have meant—

"I’ll let you feel... what I felt earlier..."

Mihu’s entire body jolted.

Her hands snapped tighter together, her shoulders trembling as if she had just taken direct emotional damage.

"OH MY GOD—"The sound nearly escaped her. "Oh ma gad, oh my gawd, oh my goodod..."

Barely— barely— she managed to slam both hands over her mouth, trapping the scream before it could betray her completely.

Her eyes were wide, shining, practically vibrating with the intensity of what she believed she was witnessing.

"My boss..." she whispered behind her fingers, voice shaking with disbelief and absolute awe. "My boss has this side of her...?! She’s even blushing...?! This is insane... this is insane...!!"

She leaned forward even more, like she couldn’t afford to miss a single second, like this was a once in a lifetime event unfolding right in front of her.

And as Si Hon casually turned toward the shelves, using his free hand like nothing unusual was happening— while Aeloria still held onto his wrist, standing just a little too close, not letting go, not stepping back—

Mihu’s brain sealed it.

Confirmed.

(Shit... they’re my ship, now... I don’t care if I have a crush on that guy but I’m one hundred PERCENTO! SO IN!) Mihu thought.

***

(Si Hon)

Meanwhile—

Back in actual reality—

Aeloria stood there, still holding Si Hon’s wrist, her grip steady but no longer aggressive. A faint flush lingered across her face, subtle but present, clashing quietly with the small scowl she wore as she watched him.

And Si Hon?

Already turned toward the shelves.

Calm.

Focused.

Completely absorbed in scanning books like this was just another normal moment in his day.

No tension.

No awareness.

No idea.

That just a few steps behind him—

An entire romance novel had already begun.

And in Mihu’s mind—

They were already on Chapter three.

Si Hon didn’t say anything at first.

But something... felt off.

Not loud. Not obvious. Just a faint, crawling sense of discomfort sitting at the edge of his awareness, like a thought that refused to fully form. His brows knit slightly as he shifted, the feeling lingering just long enough to bother him. In short... he’s uncomfortable.

So he glanced back.

Aeloria was still there.

Still holding his left wrist.

Still... staring.

Not aggressively. Not even impatiently this time. Just watching him— quiet, steady, her gaze fixed in a way that didn’t quite match the situation anymore.

Si Hon blinked once.

Then turned back around.

(Woah... yeah, she’s definitely not the problem, so...? Who.) he thought, almost immediately dismissing it with a small mental shrug. (Phew...)

Which, ironically, solved nothing.

Because the feeling didn’t go away.

Still, instead of digging deeper, he did what he did best— ignored it completely.

His attention shifted forward, eyes scanning the shelves lined with books as his passive ability flickered quietly into place.

Titles sharpened. Ratings revealed themselves. The world of random guesswork collapsed into neat little stars and categories, turning the chaotic rows into something he could actually work with.

(Well... we’re in the Magic section...)

His gaze moved, slower now, more deliberate as he started filtering through options— not just for himself this time, but for her.

Behind him.

Still holding his wrist.

Still existing in that weird, unspoken space he refused to acknowledge.

(What kind of book would even suit her...?)

He reached out with his free hand, pulling one book from the shelf. The moment his fingers touched it, the sage guide responded instantly.

[A mischievous spellbook that looks powerful... is actually powerful but permanently makes the user irresistibly cute — ✧✧✧✧✧]

Si Hon stared.

"The hell?"