Chapter 13
***
“······.”
Seeing him up close, I was even more certain.
His name was definitely...
Right, Jung Jae-hoon, was it? He was a senior in the drama club Shin A-young belonged to.
“······.”
Our eyes briefly met.
I naturally looked away.
I didn't particularly want to pretend we knew each other.
— “···Who was he again? I feel like I've seen him somewhere.”
From his thoughts, it seemed Jung Jae-hoon hadn't remembered me either.
“Hey, what are you doing? People are waiting behind you. Hurry up and charge your time first.”
Jung Jae-hoon's friend urged him from behind.
“Ah, sorry.”
Jung Jae-hoon glanced over this way.
He soon looked away.
I moved with slightly quicker steps.
When I reached our seats,
Lee Sol was watching a Yuming lecture on NewTube, while Shin A-young was debating whether to buy a new skin.
I sat down and spoke in a voice that wasn't too loud.
“That guy was here.”
“···Huh? Who?”
“That senior from your club we saw last time.”
At that, Shin A-young's hand stopped.
“···Seriously?”
“Yeah, he just came in. He's charging his PC-bang time at the counter right now.”
Her bottom lifted slightly from the chair.
She peeked her face over the partition, then quickly pulled back.
“···He really is.”
After seeing him, Shin A-young's expression became noticeably worse.
Does she hate him that much?
— “Ah, shit··· What do I do···? If he notices I'm here, this is definitely going to become a hassle.”
Well··· yeah, I suppose it would.
He'd obviously try to join us as soon as he saw us.
He seemed more than capable of that, judging from last time.
Shin A-young glanced this way, then looked away again.
— “···But I can't exactly tell the others to leave··· I guess I'll just have to go in first. Sigh··· I finally got to play a few games with them···”
She reached that conclusion all by herself.
···Sigh.
What an idiot.
Maybe she was so used to holding things in that she didn't realize bottling it all up like that was worse for her mental health.
···I couldn't just let that go.
I shut down my computer and picked up the bag I'd left on the floor.
If we were leaving, it would be better for all of us to go together.
“Grab your stuff, Lee Sol. We're leaving.”
“···Huh? We're not playing one more?”
“We don't have time. I'll tell you once we're outside.”
Shin A-young's eyes widened.
She seemed unable to follow what was happening.
“······.”
I subtly checked the hallway.
Jung Jae-hoon was still charging his PC-bang time near the entrance.
It would be awkward to pass by there right now.
The same went for Shin A-young.
The hat and mask were only meant to conceal her appearance, after all···
Anyone even slightly observant would surely realize who she was.
“Do you have something to throw on over that?”
She shook her head from side to side.
Guess not.
“Wait a second.”
I rummaged through my bag.
I'd brought it along because the weather had been chilly that morning··· Ah, here it is.
I held out a beige hoodie to Shin A-young.
“Put this on over what you're wearing for now.”
“O-Okay···”
Shin A-young put on the hoodie over her hat and mask.
When she pulled the hat down low, the shadows made her face impossible to see properly.
The oversized hoodie also hid her figure to some extent.
“Okay. No one can tell with this. Even if you were a celebrity, I wouldn't recognize you.”
I checked the hallway once more.
Jung Jae-hoon and his friends were nowhere to be seen. They must have gone to find seats.
“···Let's go now.”
I led the two of them quickly toward the entrance.
“There aren't enough seats here for all of us. Are there any over there?”
Jung Jae-hoon walked out into the hallway.
“Yeah, it looks like there are plenty over here.”
Unfortunately, it seemed they had been in the middle of settling into their seats.
Turning back now would look even stranger.
We'd just have to push through naturally.
“······.”
If I simply walked past Jung Jae-hoon without stopping—
“···Hold on.”
Jung Jae-hoon looked this way and spoke.
I tried to pretend I hadn't noticed him, but he lightly grabbed my shoulder.
“You're that guy from last time, right? The one who said you were doing an assignment with A-young.”
“······.”
So he did remember me.
Still, everything was fine for now. He didn't know that the person behind me was Shin A-young.
I played along with him appropriately.
“Ah··· Are you the drama club senior from back then?”
“That's right. You remembered.”
Jung Jae-hoon smiled nonchalantly while subtly looking past me.
“Are they your friends?”
“They're my classmates.”
“Hmm···”
— “Lee Sol? She's more capable than she looks.”
Jung Jae-hoon recognized Lee Sol immediately.
Well, she wasn't exactly someone whose appearance was easy to hide.
The important thing was whether Shin A-young could avoid being found out.
— “Hmm? Could that girl be···”
Did he notice?
— “···Should I probe a little?”
Jung Jae-hoon naturally edged closer.
“···The weather's nice. Aren't you uncomfortable wearing so many layers?”
He lowered his head slightly and tried to look inside the hood.
Swish—
Before he could, I subtly moved in front of Shin A-young.
“······.”
Jung Jae-hoon's smile visibly stiffened.
He was remarkably honest about his feelings.
They showed even without me reading his thoughts.
I calmly said to him,
“She's a little shy around strangers.”
“······.”
He took a small step back and put on an awkward expression.
“Sorry. I came on a little strong, huh? We just met.”
I didn't bother denying it.
As if admitting that was exactly right, I simply held his gaze in silence.
“······.”
“······.”
“Hey! Aren't you coming?! If you don't, we're starting without you!”
Just then, a voice calling Jung Jae-hoon came from inside the PC bang.
It was perfect timing.
“Your friends are calling. Is it okay if you don't go?”
“···No, I should go.”
Jung Jae-hoon soon turned around.
“Have fun with your friends. I'll get going.”
He had his suspicions, but he had no conclusive evidence.
He had no choice but to back off.
-Jingle~
When we opened the glass door and stepped outside, a cool breeze greeted us.
We had successfully escaped the PC bang.
***
“······Sigh.”
Shin A-young kicked off her shoes and entered the house.
Her mood was absolutely miserable.
If only Jung Jae-hoon hadn't suddenly shown up, we would have played several more games by now.
There hadn't been any seats at the other PC bang, so the three of us had naturally split up afterward.
···Should I take a shower?
“Ah.”
When Shin A-young entered the bathroom, she let out a cry at the sight of her reflection in the mirror.
She was still wearing the huge beige hoodie.
She'd forgotten to return it to him.
“Why am I like this···.”
She hadn't had her head on straight at all today.
“Phew···.”
···I'll take it off first.
The slightly fuzzy sleeves brushed against her fingertips.
She hadn't realized it because he didn't look particularly big-built from the outside.
···He wears bigger clothes than I expected. Does he wear them oversized on purpose?
Sniff sniff.
She wondered if her sweat smell had soaked into it and gave it a sniff.
She could faintly sense his natural scent.
But it was almost an entirely different smell.
It was different from the scent that usually lingered at home. A clean, deep soap scent.
It made her realize that he was a guy, too.
Was that why he was so gutsy?
“···I guess I should wash it before returning it.”
She muttered to herself for no reason.
···Thinking back, what she'd just done was kind of embarrassing.
“Hmm···”
Tap tap.
— Shin A-young: I forgot to return your hoodie.
— Shin A-young: I'll bring it to school tomorrow!
Shin A-young sent Lee Seung-ho an Instagram DM.
It would be better to let him know, after all.
Whoosh—
She tucked her phone between the towels and turned on the shower.
He'd have replied by the time she finished.
.
.
.
Shin A-young sat on the living room floor, glancing at her phone screen while watching TV.
“······.”
The number 1 sat boldly beside the message.
···For some reason, he still hadn't read it.
Did he fall asleep?
“······.”
···No, that couldn't be it.
Look out the window. Unlike last time, the sun was high in the sky now, wasn't it?
If it wasn't that, then—
Even the thought that she might have become a bother began to surface.
“Sigh.”
Shin A-young tossed her phone onto the sofa.
Keeping it beside her only made her unnecessarily conscious of it.
“······.”
···But wouldn't that be understandable?
She really could be a bother.
She'd gotten his help several times, while she hadn't really done anything for him.
The most she'd done was pay the PC-bang fee or buy him an iced tea.
···On top of that, she'd even let him treat her because she'd won a bet.
And today, because of her, he hadn't even been able to enjoy himself properly at the PC bang.
Thinking about it again,
“···I really am a lousy friend.”
Shin A-young's expression turned slightly sorrowful.
Even she had to admit it.
She'd always been frustrated by her inability to speak up confidently about anything.
A friend who always needed to be looked after.
I wouldn't like that either.
Ding—!
Her phone notification sounded.
“······.”
···It's obviously just a game advertisement.
“···Sniff.”
Deliberately lowering her expectations, she sat down on the sofa.
She lightly tapped the phone screen.
— Lee Seung-ho: OK
— Lee Seung-ho: No rush.
Shin A-young's eyes widened slightly.
A reply had arrived.
— Lee Seung-ho: Ah.
Then another message followed.
— Lee Seung-ho: Are you free right now?
— Lee Seung-ho: If you have time, wanna duo in RUL?
— Lee Seung-ho: Lee Sol says she's going to sleep, so she won't be joining.
Tap. Tap.
— Shin A-young: I'm logging in right now.
No way could she pass this up.
Having forgotten her gloom from moments ago, Shin A-young immediately went to look for her laptop.