Chapter 28
Hyeonwoo hadn't seen Seolhwa since the amusement park.
The reason was simple.
It was too awkward to see her right now.
Because the scene he'd seen on the Ferris wheel was still tormenting his thoughts.
He decided it would be better to meet her again only after he'd at least sorted out his thoughts.
So, for a while, he rested at home without really contacting her—
Ding-dong—
While lying on the sofa and reading a book, he suddenly heard the doorbell ring.
“Who could it be at this hour…?”
Since he hadn't ordered any packages or delivery food, someone ringing the bell meant a visitor had arrived.
Hyeonwoo closed the book he was reading, gently set it beside him, and approached the intercom.
However, the intercom only showed the view outside the door, and the person who had rung the bell was nowhere to be seen.
Then either the visitor was extremely short or had deliberately hidden themselves.
“Haru's playing another prank….”
Since it was clearly Haru's doing in most cases like this, Hyeonwoo approached the front door and opened it without suspecting a thing—and
Standing in front of him was Seolhwa, the person he currently felt most awkward around.
For some reason, she was carrying a suitcase too.
"What the…?"
"Aha-ha-ha…. Um…. Can I come in for a bit?"
======
"You broke the air conditioner while catching a bug…. You're an idiot, aren't you?"
"...I can't argue with that this time."
I told Hyeonwoo everything that had happened the day before.
That mosquitoes had already started appearing.
That a cockroach had shown up in my house.
...And that I'd frozen my entire home while trying to catch it.
“So what happened to your place? Are you just going to hang out here until the air conditioner is fixed?”
“Um…. You could say so, but you could also say no….”
“What does that mean?”
What Hyeonwoo had said wasn't wrong.
I did need somewhere to stay temporarily until the air conditioner was fixed.
The only wrong part was the duration.
“Could I stay at your place for a while…?”
“...What?”
Right after the air conditioner broke, I immediately tried to have it serviced.
The problem was that the air conditioner in my studio apartment was a very old model that had already been installed before I signed the lease, so they said there were no replacement parts.
“What about getting a new air conditioner?”
“That would cost a lot…. And since it's peak air-conditioning season, they said installation would take over a month….”
The news had already declared that a heat wave would hit this summer, so all the decent air conditioners were out of stock, and even the ones that were available would take a long time to install.
If I stayed home out of stubbornness, I'd almost certainly be found in the condition of an ice cream that had melted by the time the air conditioner was installed or repaired.
“So I came to the conclusion that, as shameless as it is, I have no choice but to stay at someone else's house for a while….”
“I…. understand, but does it have to be our place?”
As he spoke, Hyeonwoo asked with an awkward expression.
“Haru lives with her parents, and Juhyeok lives in a dorm. So I don't really have anyone else to ask besides you….”
“I suppose that's true, but….”
“And your house is big, so I thought your place would be the best….”
Hyeonwoo's house was one he'd shared with his older sister, who was currently away on a trip, so unlike my one-room apartment, it was a proper house with two rooms.
So I came here thinking that it should probably be okay for him to take in just one person…. Right...?
Hyeonwoo also seemed to find living together awkward, as he rubbed his head and agonized over it….
...Is there really any need to agonize over it that much?
Could it be that he disliked me…?
"...What about your parents' house? It's not that far from here."
"The thing is…. I haven't told them yet…."
"Haven't told them what?"
"About the mutation, actually…."
Naturally, at first I'd thought I should go to my parents' house.
The problem was that, when I thought about it, I realized I still hadn't told my parents that I'd become like this.
"Still? It's been a month and a half already."
"Um…. It's just that, timing-wise, one thing after another…."
"Then why not go home and tell them while you have the chance?"
"No…. It's just that…. How should I put it? I guess I don't quite have the courage…."
"Courage…? Can't you just tell them?"
"Of course I can't! You guys only found out because you happened to catch me, but do you know how much courage it takes to tell someone the truth?!"
In fact, I'd tried to contact my parents several times by then.
But every time I was about to call them, I couldn't predict what they would think or how they would take it, so I always put it off until later.
I was pretty sure they'd accept it well….
But the possibility, however slim, kept tormenting me….
And I became even more reluctant to tell them because I had no idea how my older brother would tease me if he found out.
Honestly, most of me simply didn't want to tell my older brother.
Damn older brother….
"Anyway…."
Hyeonwoo scratched his head as though this was giving him a headache, thought it over carefully, then spoke with an awkward expression.
"Given the situation, I guess it can't be helped…. Stay in my sister's room for now. But tell your parents soon. They'll be worried."
"Okay. I'll tell them… Soon…."
Fortunately, I got permission to stay at Hyeonwoo's house until the air conditioner was fixed.
But contacting my parents soon…. Ugh…. I don't want to….
"Garim noona's room is in there, right?"
"Yeah, and there's an air conditioner in that room too, so use it as much as you want. My sister pays the bills anyway."
There was an air conditioner in the room too…?
What was this place, heaven?
“Look at her eyes lighting up the moment she hears about the air conditioner….”
Already worn down by the heat that had continued ever since the breakdown, hearing that there was an air conditioner in the room was like finding an oasis in the desert.
Wanting to feel the cool breeze right away, I immediately picked up the suitcase I'd brought and headed straight to the room.
“Oh, right.”
As I was about to enter through the door, I suddenly remembered something I hadn't said yet, so I stuck my head through the gap between the door and its frame and called out to Hyeonwoo.
“Huh? Is there a problem?”
“No, it's not that….”
It seemed like something we didn't really need to say between us.
Still, I felt it would be polite to say it.
I smiled brightly, filled with the happiness I felt, and spoke.
“Thank you.”
After saying that, I closed the door and went inside.
======
“I guess this is enough unpacking….”
After entering Hyeonwoo's sister's room, I took my belongings out of the suitcase and put them away.
The clothes I'd wear while living here….
Comics and novels….
And my game console, games, and more games….
...Six-tenths of it is games.
“It's not like I'm living here forever. I'm only staying at a friend's house for a little while, so this should be fine.”
Having rationalized it to myself, I took out the games I'd brought.
Then I'll lie down on the bed and continue yesterday's save—
“Hmm, rather than that….”
I put down the game I'd been playing yesterday and instead picked up cartridges for multiplayer games, like party games and fighting games.
Since I was at Hyeonwoo's house, playing together would be more fun than playing alone, right?
Hyeonwoo didn't look like he had anything to do either, so he'd be happy to have me play with him.
Thinking that, I grabbed the games and walked out the door.
“Hyeonwoo, want to play ga—W-wait, are you dead?!”
I found Hyeonwoo collapsed on the sofa.
Eek…?! What happened while I was unpacking…?
“Don't kill me off….”
“Oh, you're alive.”
When I playfully poked him with my finger to see whether he was dead or alive, Hyeonwoo sprang back to life.
Thank goodness—he's alive.
“Why are you lying like that? Is something wrong?”
“No…. I'm just a little troubled….”
“Troubled?”
“Forget it…. So why were you looking for me?”
“Oh, well….”
I showed Hyeonwoo the game console I'd brought and said,
“Want to play a game together?”
======
While Hyeonwoo was connecting the Switch to the TV, I spoke.
“Hyeonwoo, want to make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“Yeah, it isn't fun if we just play normally. How about something simple, like betting ice cream?”
“Ice cream…. Sure.”
Hyeonwoo accepted the bet without the slightest suspicion.
Heh, got him.
Today's game was Dragon Ball FighterZ.
I'd played it until I was sick of it, but Hyeonwoo had never played it before.
Hehehe…. I'm grateful that he's letting me stay here, but the world of competition is merciless.
Today, I was going to win some free ice cream from Hyeonwoo with this game!
======
I was definitely ahead in the beginning.
Unlike me, who had often played this game even before my mutation, Hyeonwoo kept making mistakes like a beginner.
In contrast, I had the skill that came from playing it many times, so I kept taking victories from Hyeonwoo, but….
The more we fought, the more Hyeonwoo grew accustomed to the game, and the gap in our skill levels gradually narrowed.
Before I knew it, the fierce battle had begun to tilt more and more in my disfavor, until finally—
[Perfect KO-!!]
“Easy.”
“Grrr…. This is so frustrating…!”
In the end, I suffered a complete defeat at Hyeonwoo's hands.
Damn it…! I thought I was going to get free ice cream today…!
No matter how much experience I had, it seemed to mean nothing in the face of physical build and talent.
It didn't help that my fingers were so small that I kept missing the controls….
Waaah…. Being small is sad….
Frustrated, I downed an entire cup of the juice Hyeonwoo had brought earlier.
It's sweet, so it's calming me down….
“Seolhwa, aren't you drinking too much this late at night?”
“Huh? Am I?”
After Hyeonwoo pointed it out, I counted the number of juice bottles rolling around beside us.
One bottle, two bottles, three bottles….
...That is a little much.
“It'll be fine. What could go wrong?”
“You never know. It is pretty late….”
Hyeonwoo said that while looking at the clock, and I looked at it too.
They say you lose track of time when you're having fun, and somehow it was already 11:49 p.m.
It's a little late, but…. Is that a problem?
“Just in case, don't draw a map on my sister's bed.”
“I'm not a child!”
======
Since it was time to sleep, we decided I had lost the match and went to bed.
Maybe because it was late at night, or maybe because I'd had a rough morning, I began to drift gently to sleep as soon as I lay down.
Before long, I had fallen into a deep sleep and dived into the land of dreams.
It would've been nice if I could keep sleeping like that….
But some kind of signal forcibly woke me up.
“...I need to use the bathroom.”