Chapter 13
After we took a picture together and I looked at it, I couldn't help cringing with embarrassment.
‘W-What's so great about doing that…!’
The photo had captured me with my face bright red and the very corners of my lips slightly raised.
I didn't like how close we were, nearly shoulder to shoulder, and with that expression on my face, there was no way I wouldn't be dying of embarrassment.
“…Idiot.”
“Hm?”
“Idiot, idiot, you're such an idiot!”
-Whack.
“Ow—”
But since I didn't have a blanket or anything to take my anger out on right then, I could only hit Han Seojin once.
…D-Did I hit him too hard?
“A-Are you okay?!”
I'd only given him a light tap, but seeing him clutch his side and collapse, trembling, made me feel like something was wrong.
D-Did I hit him somewhere bad?
With the atmosphere suddenly turning serious, I immediately started checking Han Seojin's condition, not caring about anything else.
“…Ta-da! I'm actually fine!”
“……”
When I leaned closer, that idiot announced it as if to startle me, and I froze.
I was a little startled, but I was also incredibly angry.
-Whack!
“Aagh—!”
“Y-You really…!”
I gave him a hard smack on the head.
This time, I put my whole heart into it.
Han Seojin had completely stopped moving, nothing like his acting just now, but I didn't care and headed straight home.
I was really, really worried…!
That idiot was definitely a hopeless fool with no sense and no brains.
“S-Sob….”
Suddenly, tears burst out of me—so abruptly that I stopped walking, sank right down, and cried.
I was the only one who was serious….
I'd overcome my embarrassment and linked arms with him. Even if he sometimes gave me nothing on White Day, I always made him treats by hand and gave him a letter for Pepero Day or Valentine's Day.
Seeing that idiot do something like that without realizing any of it made it hard to hold back my tears, even though it was such a small thing.
Ugh… My stomach hurts, too, so why did I come to graduation for no reason? I should've just stayed home like Mom said.
“Are you okay…?”
“…Do I look okay, idiot…? Seriously.”
I heard Han Seojin's voice behind me—when had he come up?—and answered in a tearful voice.
I'd tried to sound normal and pretend I was fine, but after crying so much, my voice was already hoarse.
Nothing's going right.
“Hic?!”
I was regretting coming here when something behind me startled me into making a weird sound.
W-Why is that idiot suddenly hugging me here…!
“L-Let go…!”
As if that weren't enough, he lifted me right up.
I kicked my legs around, telling him to put me down already, but since we were already different heights, there was no way my feet could reach the ground.
“I'm sorry. Give me a break just this once, okay?”
“…What did you do wrong?”
“Um, I made you worry for no reason?”
It was embarrassing enough that that idiot had caught me crying, but imagining him holding me up like this and apologizing from behind me made me even more embarrassed.
Everyone's attention was focused on us. With his face turned toward me, Han Seojin couldn't feel their eyes on him, but from my higher vantage point, I could feel everyone staring. It was really, really embarrassing….
“O-Okay, I get it, so put me down already…!”
“You mean it?!”
In the end, I surrendered and just asked him to put me down.
As he finally set me down, I thought I ought to drink more milk from now on. Then I started to turn toward him—
“…?”
I immediately turned back around and tried my absolute best not to look at him.
Come to think of it, I'd just been crying like crazy…!
I-I must look ugly. I can't let him see my face like this, no matter what.
“What's wrong?”
“D-Doesn't matter, idiot. Let's go home like this today!”
“??”
The struggle between Han Seojin, who tried to see my face as if he didn't understand, and me, who twisted around every which way to keep him from seeing my tear-stained face—
“I finally saw it…!”
“D-Don't look…!”
Ended with me losing because of my lack of stamina.
No, that idiot had to turn all the way around, while I only had to turn my body—so why did I lose?
A little frustration at losing like this welled up, but I still didn't want him to see my completely ruined face, so I covered it as best I could.
“Why are you covering it?”
“I-I look ugly… Why would you want to see my face after I've been crying…!”
“Huh? I wondered what you meant.”
There's no way you could look ugly.
As he told me to take my hands away from my face, he added that—but my mind had already completely stopped.
‘W-W-W-W-W-’
How could he say something so embarrassing with such confidence—?!
“Ah, uh, ah…”
I couldn't think straight at all, and slowly lowered my hands, stiffly. Seeing that, Han Seojin smiled brightly and—
“See? You look totally beautiful!”
he said.
-!?!!
And just like that, I was completely done for.
==========
“…A movie?”
“Yeah, a movie! Let's go see a movie, Siyeon!”
I'd finally calmed down. My face was still red, but not as red as before. Then I saw him suggesting we go to a movie.
Anyway, a movie….
“There's a new movie out. Want to go see it with me—”
“No.”
I turned him down immediately.
No matter how I thought about it, movie theaters were just too crowded.
Plus, the sound was incredibly loud, and even a small impact sound in a movie startled me, so I preferred to watch movies quietly at home.
Besides, at home I could lie down while watching, and eat whatever I wanted.
And in a dating sim world, a movie theater is the perfect place for a heroine to get involved with someone.
It had been years since I was possessed, but even though the idea of getting involved with a guy bothered me less than it had right after I arrived, I still didn't like it.
‘…Come to think of it, did I just turn him down too harshly?’
So I rejected the movie theater, but seeing Han Seojin looking completely dejected, I started to regret it a little.
…D-Did I turn him down too harshly?
While I was wondering if I should buy him something tasty, Han Seojin grabbed my arm tightly and—
“Come with me! It's super popular, and we can't watch it at home yet!”
“Y-You can go by yourself, can't you?! A-And let go of my hand, you idiot…!”
“Movies are better when you watch them together!”
He whined and nagged at me to go with him, like a little kid throwing a tantrum.
Seriously, he's still young, but I thought he'd grown up at least a little…!
I sighed at the sight of that idiot acting like a complete little kid, enough to make me regret thinking he'd seemed so reliable when I was crying earlier.
…Besides, unlike me, you have lots of close friends.
“Why don't you go with someone else? You have plenty of friends anyway.”
“Because I want to go with you!”
“W-What?!”
Seriously, that stupid idiot…!
Seeing him say such incredibly embarrassing things without a second thought made me want to hide because I was even more embarrassed than he was.
…If other people heard that, they'd think you liked me, idiot.
“Huh? Come with me—”
“A-All right, so let go already…!”
“Nice!”
In the end, I decided to go to the movie theater with him.
I was planning to relax at home, so what was this…?
==========
[Kyeeeaaah—!]
[Aaaaaah!! Somebody help me!!]
…This is the popular movie?
The title had seemed ominous enough, and now, watching the trailer playing in front of the theater, I desperately wanted to run away right then.
The woman being attacked by some monster was starting to look like me, and she was just about to get eaten by it—
‘E-Eek…!’
Even now, I grabbed Han Seojin's arm and tugged him back the way we'd come, subtly hinting that we should hurry home, but unfortunately, Han Seojin didn't understand what I meant at all.
Instead, he watched the trailer with sparkling eyes, while I could only despair at the thought that I'd be going in there soon.
‘I should've known when this idiot said he liked horror movies…!’
Unlike me, he absolutely loved horror movies, so I should've known there was no guarantee he'd pick anything other than a horror movie when he said he wanted to see one together.
“Don't worry. The kids who've already seen it said it wasn't that scary.”
“I-It's not scary to you guys…!”
But for me, it's the perfect movie to give me nightmares?!
Just seeing the trailer right now is enough to make me want to cry again. Is this really okay…?
“Besides, I got the tickets cheap with the couples' discount!”
“…Don't tell me you wanted to see it with me because of the discount?”
“Huh? Yeah! Guys can't call themselves a couple.”
“……”
And on top of that, the reason I had to watch this movie wasn't anything special, but just ‘so I could get the couples' discount’…!
-Thump.
“Ow….”
“Y-You really…! I almost got the wrong idea!”
I didn't know how many times I'd hit him today, but this time I kicked his leg, venting my frustration at being tricked.
At the same time, since I was genuinely going to cry from fear if Han Seojin wasn't beside me during the movie, I clung tightly to his arm with both hands, as if to make sure he stayed right next to me.
“Then, shall we go in?”
“…F-Fine, whatever, idiot.”
Han Seojin chuckled as he looked at me, then went into the theater, and I followed after him, stiffly, as if being dragged along.
…I just hope it isn't as scary as those kids said.