You Can't Stop a Stage-8 Tension Doggo (2)
I was in a ridiculously good mood.
Eating something delicious, and eating it deliciously, had bumped me up half a stage. Snapping photo after photo had bumped me up another half.
Tteok-nim was completely different from Pyeong-nim.
Whenever I tried to take pictures with Pyeong-nim he got all shy and squirmed and said no way, but Tteok-nim never backed down. Not once.
I took so many genuinely pretty shots.
Arms flung wide in a full banzai pose, cool Power-Rangers stances, even finger-hearts for me.
"Eheheh. Perfect. Give me that one."
"You like this one?"
"Yes! I really like it."
The absolute best picture, though, was the so-called face-smack shot… jamming your face right up against the camera.
It's funny. Like… eheheh. Super funny. And therefore good.
"This one? I like this one better… look."
"Hmm… that one's nice too. But this one's funny, you know?"
The photo Tteok-nim showed me was just our two faces. No comedy. Comedy is what makes it fun.
"Ahh, alright. I'll send them all to you later."
"Yess!! After you send them we have to ride every single ride. No time. Beep-boop-beep-boop, no time. Wait, no—send the pictures later."
"It'll only take a second."
"Nope. Later. We have to get in line right now. First we ride the roller coaster ten times… think about it!!"
"Ten times? Think about what?"
"The roller coaster!!"
"Uh… I'm too scared for that…"
"Ehh!! You're scared?"
I was completely thrown. Tteok-nim was scared of roller coasters? That possibility had never once entered my head.
I was sure she'd love them. So why?
"You're not scared?"
"No… why… why would I be?"
"I just said I'm scared."
"What… how… this can't be… sugar-sugar… rune…"
I was in shock. The Tteok-nim in my head was someone who adored rides… ugh… positive thoughts.
I had to think positive right now. If my mental state crumbled here, it was over.
Hold on. I have to win.
"I have to win."
I pressed my index finger to my temple like I was powering up.
"What are you doing? Right here?"
"Quiet. I'm… concentrating."
"Why? Why are you doing that here?"
"Almost done concentrating."
If you keep talking, concentration takes longer. Please don't interrupt, Tteok-nim. I need to gather strength. I have to give my brain a powerful jolt so it will think properly.
The side effects are rough so I almost never use this method… but if not now, when?
"Wheeeeeee… concentrating…"
"We should go ride something."
"Seventy percent."
"…?"
"Ninety-nine percent… one hundred percent. Ding."
I had figured it out. I just had to accept it. It had only been my own delusion.
People are different. If I accept that… then I can be accepted too.
So how do I show acceptance? Hmm… ah!!
"Just stand in line with me. Then I'll ride it alone."
"Are you sure you're okay with that?"
"Yes. I've decided to accept it."
"Accept what?"
"That people are different."
"Where? Where exactly? Where did you feel that difference? Tell me too."
"Eheheh. Secret."
I couldn't tell her. Why? Just because!!
It wasn't because she wouldn't ride the roller coaster with me… no, that wasn't it. I simply didn't want to say. Eheheh.
"Tell meee~ Come on, tell me."
Suddenly Tteok-nim's voice slid in, all soft and coaxing with aegyo.
As expected, her girl-power was sky-high. Dangerously high. Unmanageably high.
"Tell meee. Hurry. Please tell me~"
"Hmm… well…"
"Oh, come on, tell me~"
"I realized it when I heard you say you can't ride roller coasters."
I told her the truth.
With my current growth level, I still couldn't block Tteok-nim's girl-power.
"Tsk… you're missing way too many subjects and verbs. I don't get it."
"Hmm…"
"Hurry and tell me. Hurry. I'm curious."
Motteok-nim kept shaking my arm, blasting girl-power nonstop. The girl-power was so strong it made me dizzy, like it was stabbing my nose.
If she rubbed that big chest against a guy… she'd squeeze every luxury brand bag out of him.
Luxury bags? She'd take his liver and gallbladder too. Tteok-nim was basically a nine-tailed fox. A gumiho.
"Tteok-nim, do you like luxury brands?"
"Luxury brands? Well, if I can get them, sure."
"How much? How far would you go to get them? Would you do that to a boyfriend too?"
"Pfft. What are you even saying? I asked you to explain and now you're talking nonsense."
I couldn't admit it was because her big chest kept brushing against my arm.
So… I just smiled brightly.
"Smile."
"What do you mean 'smile'? You're a master of changing the subject. Just tell me already. Should I start whining too?"
"Hmm… fine, this is annoying. I'll tell you."
She was really being a pest. Was this girl-power? Truly exhausting. Better to just spit it out and move on.
"It's… kind of long. Please focus."
"Okay. Focusing. Ears perked."
"Uh… eheheh."
Ears perked was way too cute. Copy. Copy… good things must be copied immediately.
Not just copy—create. Let's go for it. I can do this.
My creativity is top-tier… the problem is that it all turns into useless delusions.
"Hmm… ah!! Mouth flapping open and shut…!! How's that?"
"Oh!! That one was good just now. That was good."
"Eheheh. Creativity Captain. I'm Captain Seona."
"Good, good."
"Then I'll explain. I thought Tteok-nim would love roller coasters. I thought that was your personality. But… when I heard you say you're scared of them, I fell into shock. Because it was different from what I thought."
"Mmm…"
Motteok-nim nodded along, matching my energy.
That made me want to talk even harder.
"So I thought about it. How do I absorb this shock… how do I protect my mental state? The answer was positive thinking. Always switching over to positive thoughts. That's what I came up with."
"Oh… uh…"
"And what that thinking led to was!! Accepting the other person. Telling them they're beautiful just as they are."
"Ah… I see…"
"Do you understand?"
"Yes… yes. I understand! Completely… yep."
Motteok-nim wore the exact same expression my parents used to make.
Whenever I got like this they always said, "Seona, let's think about this slowly."
But high-girl-power Tteok-nim understood me!!
"Thank you!! Eheheh."
So my words only make sense to people with high girl-power.
Eheheh. I see. I learned something new today.
Motteok couldn't breathe. She still couldn't shake the feeling that she was playing with a little niece.
This was already the fifth time. They were riding the exact same ride for the fifth time.
Motteok greeted Seona as she came out and let out a small sigh.
"Was it fun?"
"I'm going again!!"
"Something else… that's already five times."
"Ugh… I have to hit ten… is that not allowed?"
"Tsk… how about something different?"
Motteok asked carefully. She had the distinct feeling that if she handled this wrong they really would ride it ten times.
She watched Seona with anxious eyes.
Seona was wearing a blank expression.
"Are you okay?"
"Hmm… alright. What should we ride then?"
"There's lots of fun stuff here."
"Please guide me."
Motteok let out a short sigh of relief.
On the other hand, the mental image of watching Seona ride the roller coaster until closing time sent a chill down her spine.
"Then I'll take you somewhere good. You'll have fun."
Motteok led the way, choosing every word carefully so she wouldn't poke Seona's mood the wrong way.
"Excellent. I shall trust your eye."
Motteok had to fight hard not to laugh at Seona's sudden middle-aged-man voice impression.
"Euhk… yes. You'll definitely have fun."
"Excellent. Shall we go, young lady?"
"Khuhk. What even is that tone?"
"I achieved enlightenment after riding the roller coaster just now. Humans need humility."
After five roller-coaster rides, Seona had become a Buddha who had realized the truth.
Before the roller coaster, humans are powerless… she had fretted over that.
"Hahaha. This next one is good. You'll have a great time. It suits you perfectly."
"I shall look forward to it. Ohohoho."
The place Motteok led her to was the bumper-car corner. Perfect for blowing off steam.
However, Seona was a complete first-timer who had never ridden one before.
"These are fun."
"It's a traffic-accident game. I'm an unlicensed safe driver, though… is that okay?"
"You'll love it once you try. Seriously fun. Let's go wild and fight it out."
"I want to be a model driver…"
"Trust me, it's fun once you try."
Seona was already scared of a ride she had never experienced.
While waiting in line she watched other people and flinched every time the bumper cars slammed into each other.
"These… we can't just drive safely?"
"You'll know once you try. This is exactly the kind of thing Seona-nim would like."
"Ugh… I don't think so."
Seona kept eyeing the bumper cars with deep suspicion. She had zero confidence she could have fun on these.
"If the cars hit each other, I might even cry a little."
"Ahahaha. It's not that bad. Stress just melts away."
"Hmm… yeah… there's definitely going to be an accident. I don't have insurance. Is that okay?"
"It's fine. Let's go in."
"Ugh… for sure."
Motteok pushed Seona's back and herded her into the corner. Seona poured every ounce of strength into her legs, but it was useless.
"It's okay."
"Ugh… I'm going to get hurt. Definitely."
"No you're not. We ride them because they're safe."
"Cars are safe too… and accidents still happen."
"Come on, just try it."
"Keh… kehkehkeh…. Laughter is coming out."
"See? Fun, right?"
"No. That was an evil villain laugh."
Seona was dragged along like a puppy being hauled home in the middle of a walk.
Once seated in a bumper car, she even fastened the safety mat… and waited for the ride to start.
"Hoo… okay… yeah. It'll be safe. They must have insurance. Definitely. So it's safe. Right."
Beep-beep-beep.
The bumper cars began to move—slowly at first, then faster and faster.
At the beginning Seona squeezed her eyes shut in terror every time she got hit, but by the end she was flinging the steering wheel around like she was driving Formula 1.
"Ahahaha!! I'm hitting everything!! Everybody move!!"