Chapter 100
"Son, what's the occasion? You're all done up."
I was struggling to dry my neatly cut hair with a hairdryer and apply wax, but it wasn't working out well.
I tried following a MeTube video, but my hair looked nothing like the person in the video. My mom seemed to find it funny.
"Looks like a magpie could build a nest in there."
"It's not easy."
"Are you meeting a girlfriend? Why are you getting so dressed up?"
Mom knew me too well.
She immediately noticed that a girl was involved when she saw me dressing up, when usually I only aimed to look neat.
I was already anxious, nervous, and curious about the upcoming date. I thought about asking mom what girls liked, but decided against it.
"You don't need to know, Mom."
"Wow, that hurts. After raising you so well, you're tossing me aside because you got a girlfriend? Come on, tell me! Who is it? Is it Juhee? Or is it this demure-looking girl here?"
Mom showed me a photo from her phone gallery of Yang Juhee, Yoo Dahee, and Bong Ji-yeon in swimsuits, stretching their legs and making V signs. I don't know when she downloaded it.
I was very embarrassed and got annoyed.
"It's not them!"
"Not these girls? Then who? Tell Mom. I was quite popular until high school too, you know? I could even plan out your date course!"
A date course planned by Mom.
It's true that I had a lot of concerns, but having Mom plan the course seemed... not right. What am I, a mama's boy?
Soon, Mom said with a serious face.
"Actually, you don't need to think about it too hard. And this is important - you don't need to treat girls too well either. If you really like each other, just holding hands and walking around the neighborhood can be thrilling at your age."
Is she saying we should go on dates just walking around the neighborhood holding hands? Even so, that doesn't seem quite right.
"What do you know, Mom! Kids these days are different!"
"Hey, you think I didn't have high school days? I had you when I was your age!"
That was true.
Is this Mom's personal experience? It seems Mom used to go on dates with Dad, holding hands around the neighborhood.
Of course, they probably didn't just hold hands. Ugh.
These weren't things I wanted to think about.
Pop!
I felt flustered, so I washed my hair again and rushed out of the house. I had plans for the afternoon anyway.
Buzz buzz buzz-
It was summer vacation with cicadas crying loudly.
I went to the meeting place first and waited for my friends. It was a playground cum park near my house.
It was lunchtime with the sun dizzyingly high. Bored of just waiting, I manipulated the status window.
[Name. Yang Juhee Lv.4
Traits. 《Tool Expert》 《Strong Legs》
Disposition. Brave
Quirk. None
Possessions. Eternal Box Cutter, Zippo Lighter, Princess Magic Wand
An unstable and secretive delinquent girl. Her personality is bold, she enjoys adventures, and is proactive. This girl will generally be a reliable companion on dark and sinister journeys.]
[《Tool Expert》. Can enter the corridor with up to 3 tools. Tool durability increases by 2 times. Becomes better at handling acquired items.]
[《Strong Legs》. Leg strength is enhanced, allowing running 1.5 times faster for 20 seconds.]
Yang Juhee had become level 4 due to the experiences of the past few days. Maybe due to the effect of reaching level 4, her original trait 《Fast Legs》 had become 《Strong Legs》.
It was an effect that allowed running 1.5 times faster for 20 seconds.
If Yang Juhee set her mind to it, becoming an Olympic athlete wouldn't be a problem.
[Name. Jung-seok Lv.4
Traits. 《Computer》 《Fast Reading》
Disposition. Romantic
Quirk. None
Possessions. Multipurpose Room Key
A young master who has lived without hardship. He seeks stability and protects order. But on the other hand, he dreams of adventure and has a side that wants to challenge himself with hardships.]
[《Computer》. Superior trait to 《Calculator》. Thinking speed increases 3 times. Becomes better at finding hints for puzzles and secrets. This trait is locked when the subject falls into great fear.]
[《Fast Reading》. Can read text 1.5 times faster.]
Jung-seok's trait evolved as he reached level 4.
It was a trait that made his thinking speed 3 times faster, which clearly meant he got smarter.
"They're both level 4. I'm level 4, too. But my traits haven't changed."
By the way, Jung Sojin, who I kept sending into the corridor, also reached level 4.
[Name. Jung Sojin Lv.4
Trait. 《Mind's Eye》
Disposition. Cunning
Quirk. None
Possession. Class President's Glasses
A popular and lively girl as the class president of Class D. Her ability to respond in crisis situations is low, but her versatility might make up for it. She's difficult to handle as her outside and inside are different.]
[《Mind's Eye》. Superior trait to 《Attentiveness》. Increases the probability of discovering strange phenomena and taboos. Can see hidden strange phenomena. Easily sees through lies.]
《Mind's Eye》.
A very powerful-looking trait had appeared. Easily seeing through lies. Dealing with Jung Sojin would become even trickier.
Anyway. I looked at my name in the training ground.
[Ha Young-won - Training List!]
[Achieve Level 3 4/3 Lv - Achieved!]
[Achieve 5 Level 5 Players 0/5]
[Reward. 《???》]
[《???》. ???]
I had to raise 5 players to level 5.
Then I could receive 《???》 as a reward, which, judging from Yang Juhee and Jung-seok's cases, would clearly be unlocking a new trait. Whatever it is, it must be good. Given the difficult achievement conditions, its performance must be amazing.
"Me, Jung-seok, Yang Juhee, Jung Sojin. That's four at level 4. Ms. Hong Mi-ri was also level 4. I haven't checked Dahee, but the probability that she's also level 4 is..."
"Boo!"
Someone made a loud noise behind my back. I was so surprised that I jumped about 5 meters into the air from the bench I was sitting on.
"Holy crap!"
It felt like my heart was ascending to heaven.
When I turned my head, Yoo Dahee was leaning her head towards me with her hands hidden behind her back, giggling mischievously.
"What were you saying about my level? I heard you muttering my name."
"Um... it's nothing."
I decided to calm my startled heart first. Soon, Yang Juhee appeared in the distance too.
Today was the first meeting of the Ha Young-won Pirate Crew since the vacation started.
It was a somewhat meaningful day.
"Dahee, where's Jung-seok? I thought he'd come with you guys?"
"Seok's father got re-elected as mayor, right? He says he can't come today because of a family event."
Jung-seok's father was recently re-elected as mayor in the local elections.
Considering the connection between Jung-seok's father and the Cheon family... actually, it would've been strange if he hadn't won. So there really are families that have 'family events'.
Although he didn't show it usually, Jung-seok was also a rich kid.
"What about Bong Ji-yeon?"
"She's busy flirting with some oppa these days. Flirting at such an important time. That crazy girl."
Yang Juhee openly badmouthed Bong Ji-yeon.
She must have been really annoyed by Bong Ji-yeon flirting with some guy when we're in a situation where we need to conquer the Nightmare Corridor, uncover various secrets, and defeat Heroes.
However, Yoo Dahee seemed to think differently from Yang Juhee.
"I think it's fine. Babies were born even during wars, you know. Love is always the most important thing for people in any situation. Thomas Mann also said that love is stronger than death."
Love is stronger than death-
I don't know who Thomas Mann is, but it sounded like something the literary girl Yoo Dahee would say, and it sounded plausible. Yang Juhee snorted.
"They'll break up soon anyway. Bong Ji-yeon has never dated anyone for more than two months. They all break up quickly. She gets disappointed quickly. This guy lacks this, that guy lacks that, she finds faults quickly."
Anyway, Jung-seok and Bong Ji-yeon were absent from this pirate crew meeting.
It looks like we'll have to hold the meeting with just me, Yang Juhee, and Yoo Dahee.
***
The summer cafe was cool.
We each ordered a drink and sat on sofas that were so plush they were almost uncomfortable. I brought the drinks on a tray as the representative and distributed them to the kids.
"Wait, let's take a picture before we drink!"
Yoo Dahee stopped me as I was about to sip my drink. Yoo Dahee seemed to have gotten into taking pictures and posting them on Instagram lately.
It was a simple hobby befitting an ordinary girl in many ways.
"Ah shit, how annoying. Why take pictures?"
Of course, Yang Juhee hated such things. Yang Juhee didn't use Instagram much.
"Anyway, as soon as the entry cooldown is over, the four of us will enter the corridor. We'll go in fully armed with lots of items and push all the way to the second floor."
Me, Jung-seok, Yang Juhee, Yoo Dahee. In other words, an elite squad.
Jung-seok and Yang Juhee were irreplaceable in their respective roles, and in Yoo Dahee's case, she had the highest potential I was expecting.
We've got powerful ghosts and lots of points, so my goal is to thoroughly explore the second floor this summer vacation.
During random matching, we had no items and the party composition was a series of bad luck, so we got wiped out, but if we prepare properly and set out, we might get good results.
"Actually, I was planning to draw items today."
I was going to use the accumulated 788 points to draw items. The items drawn from the status window were all interesting things and had a high probability of helping with corridor conquests.
But with Jung-seok and Bong Ji-yeon absent, I thought we might have to postpone using the points for a bit.
Yoo Dahee asked.
"So what happened with the date you planned for tomorrow afternoon? I heard from Juhee! You got confessed to by idol Kwon Sua, right?"
Yoo Dahee also seemed excited about my date news. Actually, part of the reason I called my friends today was to consult about the date.
"...We agreed to meet tomorrow, but what should I talk about and how?"
Thinking about going on a date alone with a girl, honestly, nervousness was constricting my heart.
What should I talk about when I'm alone with a girl? What should we eat? What should we do? Soon, Yang Juhee said a bit grumpily.
"Hey, what's the big deal? Just act like you usually do when you're with us. Even if she's an idol, she's still human who eats, poops, and sleeps. Do you think she's some fairy who lives on dew?"
Idols are human too-
It was a somewhat impressive statement, but it made me more confused.
What do I usually do?
As I was reflecting on my behavior, Yang Juhee added a few words.
"And there's no need to do anything grand like a date. We're just first-year high school students, so just walking around the neighborhood and eating cup ramen and kimbap at a convenience store is a date."
Unexpected. Yang Juhee's concept of a date was similar to what Mom had said.
Mom always said Yang Juhee reminded her of herself when she was young, and I thought maybe that wasn't just empty talk.
Clap-
Yoo Dahee clapped her hands.
"Then, since we're gathered today, how about we check your plans for tomorrow's meeting in advance? I'll grade it! From a fellow woman's perspective!"
"Oh."
Yoo Dahee, a fellow woman, offering to grade my date plan. It seemed like a pretty good idea.
"Then let's all go to the zoo."
There was a zoo in this Gaeryong Metropolitan City. I saw in a MeTube video that Kwon Sua said she likes animals. She likes all kinds of animals.
She even has a Shiba Inu, right?
But Yang Juhee hated zoos.
"Going to the zoo in this hot weather? Hey, if you're going to do that, just go to an air-conditioned PC room. Playing games and eating ramen in a PC room is much better."
What, take an idol to a PC room for a first date? I wasn't sure if that was right, but Yoo Dahee also chimed in.
"She'll definitely dress up really pretty. With makeup and heels. Maybe in spring or fall, but sweating at the zoo seems a bit... The animals will all be sprawled out from the heat too."
Sweltering heat averaging 34 degrees Celsius. I had only focused on her liking animals and hadn't thought about the weather, makeup, or heel attire at all.
It was because I knew nothing about women's hearts due to my three years at an all-boys school.
"I think a PC room would be better too. Her makeup won't smear or come off because of sweat."
Even Yoo Dahee was nodding. I felt glad that I asked Yoo Dahee and Yang Juhee about dating.
"Then what should we do for lunch? There's a pasta place near the zoo, I was thinking of going there."
"Hey, who eats pasta for lunch? Since you're going to a PC room, just eat ramen."
Yang Juhee was openly annoyed.
Was my menu selection that bad? Yoo Dahee nodded too.
"I heard ramen at PC rooms is really delicious. Girls don't really have many chances to go to PC rooms and order ramen. If it were me, I'd probably like it because it's a novel experience."
"Really? I thought all girls liked eating pasta."
"Hey. Let's say you two hit it off and start dating. Can you feed her pasta every day? Go to places like the zoo or aquarium on every date? You can't, right?"
Yang Juhee sighed deeply.
"So just having an ordinary student-like date is enough. She obviously knows you're not rich or a celebrity, so do you think she's expecting anything special? Huh? If she doesn't like a student suggesting a student-like date, then she's the bad one."
It made sense.
Women really do understand women's hearts better.
Then, a problem arose.
"What should I do with the zoo tickets? I already bought two in advance."
"Then let's go to the zoo today! It's my first time going to the zoo with friends!"
Yoo Dahee clapped like a seal.
,
Then she cleared her throat.
"We can prove how bad the zoo is by going ourselves."