Chapter 8
“Vanilla Mousse and Dad Is an Alien, please.”
I took the ice cream the employee handed me and gave it to her.
I got Vanilla Mousse, while Shin A-young got Dad Is an Alien.
“You really are buying it for me.”
Shin A-young looked flustered.
“...You were the one who asked me to.”
“That was obviously a joke. A joke.”
“......”
I don't know about that.
Was she not serious until halfway through?
Still, whatever.
“Let's call it even since you paid for my PC Bang time.”
“I'll enjoy it.”
Shin A-young scooped up a large bite of ice cream and popped it into her mouth.
I could see the muscles in her face relaxing.
“Ice cream tastes even better after carrying a game.”
Huh?
“What are you talking about? I was the one who carried.”
“Didn't you see me wipe out the opponents earlier?”
“Didn't I set that whole game up for you?”
As we bickered our way down the street, we soon reached the main road.
“......”
The atmosphere grew slightly awkward.
Hmm.
Maybe we should split up here.
Just as I was cautiously gauging the situation.
“Shin A-young?”
I heard someone call her name.
“It really is you? Wow, fancy meeting you here.”
A tall man was standing there. Judging by his uniform, he was a student from our school.
Judging by the blue name tag, he was a third-year.
“......Senior?”
Shin A-young's eyes widened. They seemed to know each other.
— “Why did I have to run into him here?”
Seeing her mini-me rub her face, it was clear they weren't all that close.
If anything, she seemed uncomfortable around him.
“Oh, what do you mean, ‘Senior’? You can call me whatever you like. Oppa or anything.”
The man she'd called Senior approached us with a friendly smile.
“Oh, I couldn't possibly~”
Shin A-young covered her mouth as she laughed and waved her hand.
Perhaps it was a way of hiding her expression.
— “Oppa, my ass.”
She was already grimacing inwardly, after all.
“A friend?”
After carrying on a conversation for quite some time, his gaze finally shifted toward me.
“He's a friend from my class.”
“Hello. My name is Lee Seung-ho.”
I gave a slight bow after Shin A-young introduced me.
“Oh, right. I'm A-young's senior from the club, Jung Jae-hoon.”
Jung Jae-hoon extended his hand with a gentle smile. I took it and shook it lightly.
“If you have any questions about school life, feel free to ask anytime. If you're A-young's friend, you're my junior too.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
I gave him an appropriate answer.
At a glance, he seemed like a very nice senior.
— “What's with this guy? Is he maybe seeing A-young?”
Jung Jae-hoon's mini-me looked me up and down, shooting me a wary gaze.
He'd been like this for a while now. The reason was obviously Shin A-young standing beside me.
Then Jung Jae-hoon's mini-me gently shook his head.
— “......No, maybe not.”
Why was he making assumptions all by himself?
It could be the case.
“......”
This was why getting close to people was so difficult.
Since I could see what people were thinking, I couldn't feel entirely at ease around anyone.
“Did you two come here to hang out?”
Jung Jae-hoon's gaze turned back to Shin A-young. I'd been out of his interest for quite some time.
“No, but seriously, fancy meeting you here. It's far from your house.”
— “Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
...Snrk.
I almost snorted before I could stop myself.
Jung Jae-hoon kept smiling happily, completely unaware.
“I was hanging out with my friends and was on my way to get some food. You haven't eaten yet, right? Since we've run into each other, why don't we eat together?”
Jung Jae-hoon pointed behind him. I could see that some other people were actually waiting there.
“Ah, well...”
“If you don't have money, I'll treat you today.”
Jung Jae-hoon didn't seem to have any intention of backing down easily.
—“Maybe I should butt in and cause some trouble. I don't know if he's her friend, but he looks like a loser. If I knock him down a peg, he'll probably leave on his own.”
“......”
Look at this guy. He was crossing the line.
Whether he liked Shin A-young or not was none of my business, but insulting someone who was minding his own business wasn't right.
Of course, he was only thinking it to himself.
But I had no choice but to hear it.
— “Haa... I picked the wrong guy to run into. How do I get out of this?”
Shin A-young seemed troubled too.
Since things had turned out this way, I figured it wouldn't hurt to help her a little.
“Excuse me.”
When I cut in, both of them turned their attention toward me at the same time.
What excuse should I make to refuse?
Swearing in his face would be a little much, so it would be better to come up with a reasonable excuse.
“Sorry, but I still have some assignments left. We agreed to do them together at her house, so I don't think we have time right now.”
Naturally, it was a lie.
I'd finished my assignments yesterday, so I didn't have any left. And I had no intention of going to her house, either.
“...Oh, really?”
— “Who does this asshole think he's fooling?”
Jung Jae-hoon didn't look like he completely believed me, either.
“Sounds like you have a lot of homework?”
He turned his gaze toward Shin A-young as he spoke. He was asking her whether what I'd said was true.
The baton had now been passed to her.
“Yes. You know how they've been piling it on since the new semester?”
Still, Shin A-young wasn't the kind of person to let this opportunity pass her by.
“Sorry, Senior. It's a rather urgent assignment.”
Without even blinking, she boldly fabricated an assignment that didn't exist.
“No, you don't have to apologize. We can eat together next time when we have time.”
By this point, Jung Jae-hoon couldn't push any further.
“Then, we'll be going now.”
“Sure~ See you tomorrow.”
Shin A-young and I turned around and hurried away.
Once Jung Jae-hoon's figure was no longer visible.
Shin A-young tugged repeatedly on my sleeve.
“...How did you know?”
She whispered while looking around. Jung Jae-hoon still seemed to be bothering her.
“Know what?”
“No, I mean turning down Senior's invitation. I don't think I made it obvious that I didn't want to go, so how did you know?”
That was because.
I could read thoughts.
Naturally, I couldn't answer that.
So I gave her the answer I always did, casually tossing out my usual excuse.
“I'm pretty quick on the uptake. It was obvious at a glance.”
***
“I'm home.”
Shin A-young muttered to herself as she entered the house.
Yes, it was a monologue. There was no one home, after all.
It was nothing unusual. Her parents were always busy.
“......”
When she opened the door and stepped inside, the darkened house greeted Shin A-young.
Perhaps because she'd just come from the deafening noise of the games, the contrast with the silence felt even sharper.
Living room, kitchen, bedroom.
She turned on the lights one by one and switched on the TV to break the silence.
“Phew.”
Only now did it finally feel like a lived-in home.
“...What should I eat?”
After that, Shin A-young ordered food through a delivery app.
The process continued naturally, just as it had countless times before.
It would take a while for the food to arrive. She should wash up in the meantime.
Shin A-young threw off her school uniform and stepped into the shower stall.
“......”
Her face was reflected in the mirror above the sink.
Slightly sharper eyes. It was her natural expression, with the act switched off.
“Was it that obvious...?”
Shin A-young pressed her fingertips firmly against the muscles in her face.
She had definitely thought she was hiding it properly.
But he'd seen right through her immediately.
“......”
Should I try again?
As always, Shin A-young began the everyday performance she showed to everyone.
Her expression changed in an instant.
A bright smile. The performance of a sweet, youthful girl who was kind to everyone.
Then she reenacted what had just happened.
......She pictured the face of that pushy club senior.
“Fuck.”
A harsh curse burst out of her mouth.
Her face, however, remained unchanged.
“...Hmm. It doesn't show.”
There wasn't the slightest movement.
She maintained the same bright smile. It was, quite literally, perfect acting.
At this level, even her actor father would be impressed, wouldn't he?
But then. How on earth.
‘...How did he figure it out?’
Lee Seung-ho had seen through that performance of hers.
It seemed like he was more than merely perceptive.
‘I don't know.’
Thinking about it any further didn't seem likely to produce an answer.
"Phew......”
After taking a shower, Shin A-young applied some lotion and sat on the sofa, flipping through the TV channels.
These days, she mostly watched NewTube.
A RUL video appeared on the main screen through the algorithm. Since she'd been playing RUL so often lately, highlight reels from pro gamers kept appearing.
As she watched it.
“...I really want to play RUL.”
The urge suddenly raised its head.
Not solo, but RUL with someone else.
The duo she'd just played with Lee Seung-ho had truly awakened her to the fun of multiplayer games.
‘Come to think of it, was that my first time playing a game with someone else?’
Shin A-young personally preferred playing solo.
Besides, Jinuri and Lee Sol didn't like games, so she'd never played with them separately, either.
“......”
The first time they had matched up.
The moment they shared the thrill of victory.
The events from earlier passed through her mind like a series of pictures.
“...It was fun, though.”
It had definitely felt more exciting than playing alone.
‘Should I text the girls and ask them to play?’
It would be slow on a laptop, but.
She could still play, at least.
Shin A-young sprawled out on the sofa and lifted her phone.
[Shin A-young, Jinuri, Lee Sol]
It was the group Insta message window for the three of them.
— Shin A-young : Anyone free right now?
It didn't take long for a reply to arrive.
— Jinuri : Why?
— Shin A-young : Want to play RUL together? I'll teach you.
— Jinuri : Can't right now—I'm at a study café.
“Ah... So she's studying.”
She couldn't bother Jinuri any further after that.
— Shin A-young : How about you, Sol?
— Lee Sol : (A sticker of a hamster lying down and falling asleep)
That was all.
In other words, she meant she couldn't be bothered.
“...Yeah, I wasn't expecting much.”
That left only one person on her mind.
“Should I send it to him?”
Lee Seung-ho. The guy who had seen her home and then gone straight back.
He had probably arrived home by now.
She hadn't properly thanked him for helping earlier. She could ask if he wanted to play while she was at it.
“......”
Since she didn't know Lee Seung-ho's Insta ID, she opened CocoaTalk instead.
She'd have to ask him later.
Tap. Tap-tap.
Shin A-young lightly tapped the keyboard.
> What are you doing?
“......No, this is kind of weird.”
Shin A-young erased everything she'd written in one sweep.
...What should she send?
For some reason, it wasn't easy to text first.
‘Come to think of it, I've never been the one to send a message first.’
She realized it when she thought about it.
There had been plenty of times when male friends had contacted her first, but she'd never once made the first move herself.
“......”
Maybe that's why.
It felt awkward for no reason.
“Ah, fuck it. I don't know.”
They were just friends, weren't they? She could just send something casual.
Besides, was there any need to worry about every little thing?
— Shin A-young : Are you free right now?
Shin A-young sent the message quickly, then closed her phone.
He'd reply soon enough.
......Two hours later.
“......What the hell is this guy??”
Beside the message, the 1 indicating it was unread had vanished.
Shin A-young experienced being left on read for the first time in her life.