Chapter 23
If I'd had my way, I'd have sprinted home that very second and changed.
But the doors were about to open, so I could neither go nor stay. I just waited, and before long I spotted Hyeonwoo in the distance, craning his neck as he looked for me.
“Ah! Hyeonwoo. Over here, over here!”
I threw my hand up and called his name, glad to see a familiar face, and Hyeonwoo must have spotted me too, because he came over and spoke.
“Hey…. I mean, hi, but…. Why the dress…?”
“...It's Haru's fault. Don't ask.”
Of course, the very first thing he did after laying eyes on me was point out what I was wearing.
Yoo Haru…. You'd better brace yourself the next time I see you….
“Ah, hello. You're Shin Chaeyeon, right?”
“Yes, that's me. And you're Mr. Hyeonwoo? I'll be in your care today.”
Once he was done with me, Hyeonwoo shook Ms. Chaeyeon's hand and introduced himself.
Introducing one friend to another, huh…. It made me feel like a social butterfly, which felt pretty good, heh heh….
“Um…. How should I put this—you really do look just like a squirrel.”
“Ah…. Well, I hear that a lot, actually.”
Behold, mutant humor.
Hyeonwoo stared blankly at Ms. Chaeyeon's ears and tail, and she, apparently used to that look, just twitched her ears and didn't seem to mind.
...This guy sees a mutant right next to him all the time. What's so fascinating?
“Well, it looks like it's about time for them to let us in, so shall we head inside?”
Just as she said, when I looked toward the entrance, the people in line were filing in one after another.
“If we don't hurry, all the good food might disappear.”
“Th-that's a matter of life and death! Hyeonwoo, let's go, quick!”
“Uh, uh….”
Struck by the shocking news that the food might vanish, I grabbed Hyeonwoo's arm and bolted for the entrance.
======
The moment we stepped inside, my first impression of the venue was that it was, in every sense, incredible.
An enormous party hall, with a mountain of food and desserts laid out buffet-style.
And the seating wasn't plain tables and chairs, but high-end furniture draped in soft fabric.
Off in the distance there was even a bar, stocked full of liquors whose names I didn't know.
It looked like one of those upper-class parties from a drama, and Hyeonwoo and I could only stare in awe.
“So this is the power of money….”
No matter how I looked at it, calling this a “gathering” was a stretch. The word “party” suited it far better.
“All right, let's head to our seats first. Ours should be somewhere over there.”
Following her lead, we walked a short way and found seats set aside for us, with my name and hers written on them.
“We had assigned seats?”
Startled that there were assigned seats I'd never requested, I turned and asked her.
I was pretty sure the invitation hadn't said a single word about assigned seating….
“Ah…. Um…. How do I put it, I've got a bit of a thing going on, haha….”
For some reason, Ms. Chaeyeon avoided my eyes, like she was trying to hide something.
That's awfully suspicious….
“Don't sweat the small stuff! We found our seats, so now let's just do whatever we want. I'm heading off first!”
I had a mountain of questions, but she bolted for the buffet like she was fleeing, so I never got the chance.
It really is suspicious…. But I'm too hungry for my brain to work….
“...Whatever. Let's eat!”
“Sure, sure.”
Having decided I no longer cared, I went off with Hyeonwoo to attack the buffet.
======
The buffet had made my mouth water from across the room, and up close, countless foreign dishes I couldn't name gave off an aroma that practically begged to be eaten.
Ngh…. The fact that I can't eat all of this is going to haunt me for the rest of my life….
Faced with a lineup so staggering that one of each would fill me up halfway through, I began carefully scanning it all.
Tastiest first, one dish at a time onto my plate, skipping anything that looked too hot, then one or two of the stranger things….
“...Seolhwa, isn't that a bit much?”
“...Gah! When did I pile up this much…?”
Somewhere in the middle I must have lost my reason, because I was already holding two plates loaded to the brim.
Th-this is the power of appetite…?
“Eat a sensible amount. Don't leave food behind like you did with the pasta.”
“Such a worrier. Even I don't make the same mistake twice!”
“It's because it's you that I'm worried.”
“What was that?!”
Apparently Hyeonwoo saw me as a walking disaster who made trouble for a living.
I mean, sure, I've caused a little…. A little trouble! But I haven't broken any laws yet, so that's a safe!
And so, bickering the whole way, we made it back to our seats—
“Mmph?”
Ms. Chaeyeon was there.
Except her cheeks were puffed out to an absolutely enormous size.
Adorable.
“Mmmm!”
Judging by the fork and spoon in her hands and the already empty plate, she seemed to be storing food in her cheeks the way a squirrel would.
“Mmgh…. O-oh, hi? You got your food, I see, haha….”
And then, apparently embarrassed to be seen like that, she swallowed it down fast and tried to pretend it had never happened.
“I-I'm all done eating, so I'd better go get my next plate!”
When that didn't seem like it was going to work, she executed a tactical retreat from the table instead.
Heh heh…. So she has a cute side to her after all….
“Now that I think about it, you looked exactly like that when you ate pasta that time.”
“W-why am I suddenly part of this conversation?!”
“No, seeing her just reminded me of it. Take a look at the picture. Pretty similar, right?”
Hyeonwoo zoomed in on the photo Haru had taken that day and held it out to me.
...Just as he'd said, it did look vaguely similar.
More importantly, why is that picture saved on your phone?
“Urgh…. Yoo Haru…. Seriously….”
“Well, it's cute, so what's the harm?”
“I told you to stop calling me cute! Do you really want to say that to a guy?!”
“A guy… were you?”
“Urgh…! Seriously! I never should have come with you!”
His tone was unmistakably that of a man enjoying himself at my expense, and inwardly I could only sigh at having picked the wrong person to bring.
“I'm just going to eat….”
Realizing that talking further would only cost me, I ignored him entirely, sat down, picked up my fork, and started eating.
======
“Haah…. That was delicious….”
Several dozen minutes later.
Having cleared every last dish I'd brought back, I sat in my seat with a blissful smile, thoroughly satisfied.
Heh heh heh…. What a wonderful gathering…. To think I could eat this much delicious food….
“Haah…. So they showed up after all…. Those two….”
Just then a voice reached me, and when I glanced over, Ms. Chaeyeon—back at some point—was staring at her phone, her expression curdling into unease.
“What's wrong, Ms. Chaeyeon?”
“It's nothing…. Well, it's not something that concerns you two….”
She was clearly acting as though something had happened, brooding over it.
She must have been in a bad mood, because her face was dark and her ears and tail both drooped.
What on earth did she see to make her act like that…?
“I've got someone I need to go meet for a bit. If you two want to head out first, feel free.”
But before I could ask anything, she said that, rose, and trudged off into the crowd.
“Ms. Chaeyeon….”
And I couldn't take my eyes off her retreating figure.
Because as she walked away, her face was filled with nothing but gloom—
“Attention, please. We will now be serving limited-edition ice cream for dessert. Anyone who would like some, please come to the cocktail bar.”
“...Limited-edition ice cream?”
Just then those words drifted over from across the hall, and my attention shifted instantly.
Limited-edition ice cream…. Just how delicious does something have to be to get called limited edition…?
“Hyeonwoo! There's limited-edition ice cream! Let's hurry up and go!”
“Huh? W-wait, let me just finish watching this—”
“There's no time for that! Come on!”
I grabbed the arm of Hyeonwoo, who'd been watching YouTube beside me, and hauled him toward the ice cream.
“Come on, let's go, let's go!”
“Hey, wai—! You ate a whole parfait and you're eating more?! How is your digestion this fast!”
Hyeonwoo was appalled at the Snow Woman's absurd digestive speed, yet he failed to resist Seolhwa's feeble strength and was dragged off all the same.
======
“Hmm…. They called it limited edition so I got my hopes up, but it's pretty ordinary…”
I muttered under my breath as I tasted the limited-edition ice cream on the way back to our seats.
“Ice cream's ice cream wherever you go... More to the point, you ate all that and there's still room?”
“Hmm? It goes down just fine. What's the problem?”
“...Never mind.”
And so, ice cream in hand, we chatted our way back to our seats, only to find—
Two girls I didn't recognize were tormenting Ms. Chaeyeon.
“Chaeyeon unnie! Do the thing, the thing! Where you go ‘Squirrel Thunder—!' and make lightning crackle!”
“Electricity…. So excited….”
“Ha… haha…. Girls…. Could I please rest for just a little…?”
Getting closer, I saw two similar-looking girls, a bit taller than me and presumably cat mutants, playing with Ms. Chaeyeon.
Both of them had the same black hair, but
the one who seemed a little more energetic had long, straight hair and red eyes,
while the one who seemed a little more timid had a neat bob and blue eyes similar to mine.
“Who are those kids? Ms. Chaeyeon's cousins?”
“No idea, but they look close.”
I was scraping the bottom of my ice cream, watching the kids play with her, when my eyes met those of the slowly wilting Ms. Chaeyeon.
“Ah…. Seolhwa…. You came at the perfect time….”
She spoke wearily, with the face of someone who'd aged ten years in a single hour.
The electricity that once charged a phone in no time had dropped to the output of static cling, and her stamina looked drained.
What in the world happened to put her in this state…?
“Girls, this is the one I told you about…. The Snow Woman…. Nun Seolhwa.”
“Snow Woman?”
“...The ice princess…!”
The moment she pointed at me with a trembling hand and introduced me, the light in both cats' eyes changed.
“Hey! You're a mutant too, right, unnie? You are, right?”
“Skin…. So cold…. Like ice….”
“W-wait a second…! Who even are you two—t-that tickles, don't touch me!”
The two closed in on me in an instant, eyes sparkling with interest.
I panicked and tried everything I could think of to escape, but the cat sisters were far stronger than I'd expected.
“Ngh…. If it's come to this…!”
I turned and shot a pleading look at Hyeonwoo, who was standing behind me—
“Wow, lucky you. Surrounded by two girls. That's a harem, that's a harem right there.”
Hyeonwoo just watched at his leisure, coffee in one hand.
You traitor!
======
“You two…. You can't go bombarding someone you've just met with that many questions.”
“Sorry, sorry, unnie. I got excited without realizing it.”
“I'm sorry….”
A few minutes later, thanks to Ms. Chaeyeon recovering a sliver of stamina, I escaped the cats' barrage of questions.
“Um…. Ms. Chaeyeon, who are these kids….”
“Ah…. Right…. I should introduce them, shouldn't I….”
Ms. Chaeyeon began—
“Um…. How should I put this…. These two are my nieces—”
“I'm An Yeri! Nice to meet you, Snow Woman unnie!”
“...I'm An Yuri…. It's a pleasure to meet you….”
The two cats swished their tails as they stepped up in front of me and introduced themselves in turn.
“U-unnie….”
In the middle of it all, being called unnie landed on me like a critical hit.
To think I'd live long enough to be called unnie….
Ah…. I really can't get used to this…. Being a woman….
“More importantly, if they're calling me unnie... how old are these two?”
“They're twins, both first-years in high school. Though from the way they act, you'd think they were first-years in middle school.”
When Ms. Chaeyeon threw her own nieces under the bus with a wry smile, the red-eyed cat thrashed in protest, only to be subdued in no time by her electricity.
“They were raised in such a well-off family that they're a bit sheltered, I suppose.”
“A well-off family?”
“Ah…. Um…. I suppose I should tell you this part too….”
She seemed to find it hard to say, scratching the back of her head before forcing the words out.
“Their grandfather…. Well, our family's grandfather…. He's the sponsor of this gathering.”
“...Huh?”