Weekend Plans
The next morning.
The moment first period ended, the classroom erupted into its usual clamor. Students still half-asleep slumped over their desks, while a few wandered out into the hallway to catch up with friends. Voices drifted from the window seats as someone checked the next period's assignment, and a cluster of kids had gathered at the back of the room to share snacks.
Kang Tae-jun stayed in his seat, scrolling through his phone. The screen displayed the dungeon rewards from the night before, along with Lunabel's combat log.
She'd jumped two whole levels in such a short time.
More than the numbers, though, it was the way she moved that had changed. At first, Chae-ah had just swung wildly until she dropped. By the back half of the dungeon, she'd been reading the boss's patterns on her own and dodging them.
Tae-jun muttered under his breath as he replayed the combat log.
"She really does pick things up fast."
Lee Hyun-woo, sitting across from him, lifted his head.
"Who?"
"Min Chae-ah."
A mischievous look crept across Hyun-woo's face.
"Wow. Just the name and you already know exactly who I mean."
"I taught her the game yesterday."
"Just the game?"
Tae-jun looked up from his phone.
"What else would I have taught her?"
"I was just asking. Why so defensive?"
"Because your face looks weird."
Hyun-woo propped his arms on the desk, fighting back a grin.
"So how was it?"
"At first her gear was a mess, and she just kept attacking until she died."
"And then?"
"The second Shopsop gave her a few pointers, her movement completely changed."
Tae-jun thought back to the fight. The way she'd started distinguishing attacks by watching the orc's shoulders. The way she'd studied Arc Saber's positioning and figured out her own role without being told.
"You tell her once and she just does it."
"That's Chae-ah for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Even with sports, she always looked like she was just messing around at first. Then she'd lock in the trick of it and suddenly she'd be good."
Hyun-woo nodded, remembering their middle school days.
"And she's insanely competitive. Once she starts something, she has to see it through."
"Yeah, I picked up on that."
Tae-jun set his phone down on the desk.
"She got hit by the boss once and then just kept going until she beat it without taking a single hit."
"You two would get along."
"How?"
"You're both stubborn about the dumbest things."
Tae-jun was about to argue when a bright voice rang out from the front door of the classroom.
"Hey."
Several students turned toward the door at once.
Min Chae-ah was standing at the front of the classroom. Just like yesterday, she didn't look the least bit awkward about walking into someone else's class. She'd been joking with a student in the hallway, and now she tossed casual greetings to every familiar face she spotted inside.
"Chae-ah, no athletic club practice today?"
"There's practice this afternoon."
"Did you bring that charger you borrowed last time?"
"It's in my bag. I'll give it back at lunch."
"So you're just gonna start showing up in our class every day now?"
Someone asked it teasingly, and Chae-ah glanced toward Tae-jun with a smile.
"I've got business here, so yeah."
A few pairs of eyes drifted naturally toward Tae-jun. He straightened up in his seat for no particular reason.
Chae-ah kept moving as she exchanged brief words with people, weaving through the students until she arrived at Tae-jun's desk.
"Hey."
"Oh. Hey."
Tae-jun's greeting came out a little awkward. Yesterday she'd shown up out of nowhere and caught him off guard, but today he'd figured she might come by. She'd said she wanted to talk more about the game.
Chae-ah stood beside his desk and pulled out her phone.
"Those pieces of gear I got as rewards yesterday."
"Yeah?"
"Can I use this one now?"
The screen showed a low-level one-handed sword. Its attack power was higher than her current weapon, but the attack speed was a bit slower. In exchange, it had an effect that boosted the damage of certain skills.
Tae-jun studied the screen carefully.
"This one's better for now."
"Yesterday you told me not to use anything with slow attack speed."
"Yeah, but this one has a skill effect. It matches the abilities you use a lot."
Chae-ah listened, then went back and reread the item's detailed effects. It was a far cry from yesterday, when she'd just picked whatever had the biggest numbers. Now she was looking for the specific things Tae-jun had mentioned and checking them herself.
"Ah, this part."
"Yeah. But don't throw in three basic attacks."
"Two basics, then a skill."
"You remembered."
"You've said the same thing like five times."
Chae-ah laughed and slipped her phone back into her pocket.
While the two of them fell easily into talking about the game, Seo Ha-yoon sat a short distance away with a book open in front of her. Her eyes were on the page, but it hadn't turned in a while.
She'd heard every word of the conversation from the moment Chae-ah walked into the classroom. The two of them talking about last night's session, Chae-ah showing off her gear, Tae-jun explaining everything in careful detail.
They'd only really talked for the first time yesterday. And yet they already looked so much more comfortable with each other.
Chae-ah had always been the type who could get close to anyone. She talked to people first without picking and choosing, and she had a way of making the other person feel completely at ease. Ha-yoon knew that. Even so, the sight of Chae-ah chatting so naturally with Tae-jun kept pulling at her attention.
A friend slid a workbook toward her.
"Ha-yoon, can you show me how to solve this?"
Ha-yoon turned her head a beat late.
"Sure. Which one?"
"This one."
Her friend pointed at a problem. Ha-yoon started reading it, but Chae-ah's voice from across the room kept breaking her concentration.
"Thanks again for yesterday. Seriously."
Chae-ah said it to Tae-jun. He answered like it was nothing.
"Shopsop taught you way more than I did."
"Yeah, but you're the one who taught me from the start."
Chae-ah said it honestly, the way someone would after seeing firsthand how much her character had changed.
"You swapped out my gear, made me respec my skills. You even lent me gold."
"You can pay that back after a couple of quests."
"I still hate quests."
"You can't dodge them forever."
"That's why I want to pay you back some other way."
Tae-jun looked at her, puzzled.
"Some other way?"
Chae-ah rolled her phone in her hand, as if organizing her thoughts. But there was no hesitation in it. She was the type who said things the moment she decided them, and she got straight to the point.
"Are you free this weekend?"
Tae-jun's expression shifted slightly.
"This weekend?"
Hyun-woo, who'd been listening in, casually lifted his head. Chae-ah didn't pay any attention to the reactions around her.
"There's a movie I want to see. Want to come with me?"
Tae-jun couldn't answer right away. Teaching someone a game and going to see a movie together felt like two very different things.
"A movie? Just like that?"
"I want to thank you."
"I just showed you a few things in a game. You don't need to take me to a movie for that."
"I want to see it anyway."
Chae-ah said it like it was no big deal, making sure he wouldn't feel pressured.
"I could go by myself, but it's more fun with someone."
Beside them, Hyun-woo's mouth slowly curled into a grin. Tae-jun spotted it and narrowed his eyes.
"What are you smiling about?"
"I didn't say anything."
"Your face is saying plenty."
Chae-ah watched the two of them and laughed lightly.
"It's not just a movie."
Tae-jun's eyes came back to her.
"There's more?"
"I'll buy you food too."
"Food too?"
"You're someone I'm grateful to."
She said it naturally. There didn't seem to be any special meaning behind the words. It was a thank-you for teaching her the game, and she'd found someone to watch a movie she already wanted to see.
But Tae-jun still couldn't answer easily. He'd barely ever gone to a movie alone with a girl. On top of that, Chae-ah was one of those people who knew half the school. If the two of them were seen together, someone was bound to notice.
As Tae-jun hesitated, Hyun-woo cut in under his breath.
"What's there to think about?"
"Stay out of it."
"She's showing you a movie and buying you food."
"That's exactly why it's more pressure."
Chae-ah tilted her head a little.
"Is it too much?"
"It's not that, it's just..."
Tae-jun's voice trailed off. Chae-ah didn't look anxious about being turned down. She just waited comfortably for him to finish thinking. And that attitude made it even harder to say no.
"Friends can go see movies together, right?"
She added,
"Just think of it as a thank-you for teaching me the game."
Tae-jun thought for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Okay."
Chae-ah's face lit up.
"You'll come?"
"Yeah. I don't have anything going on this weekend."
"Then let's figure out the time later."
She pulled out her phone immediately and started checking showtimes.
"How about this one?"
"What movie is it?"
"An action movie. Apparently it's got a bunch of fight scenes that look like a game."
"Then it should be pretty good."
"Right?"
The conversation was already flowing as if going to the movies together this weekend was a settled thing.
Across the classroom, Ha-yoon's pen stopped on the workbook.
She'd been in the middle of explaining the problem her friend had asked about. But from the moment Chae-ah brought up weekend plans, the solution refused to come into focus.
They were going to see a movie together. And then they were going to get food.
It was different from forming a party in-game. It was a plan to meet up outside of school, just the two of them, and spend a long stretch of time together.
Ha-yoon's gaze drifted slowly toward Tae-jun and Chae-ah. Tae-jun still looked a little flustered, but he was already looking at the movie info on Chae-ah's phone with her. Chae-ah was smiling the way she always did.
The softness that had been on Ha-yoon's face a moment ago slowly faded. The tip of the pen in her hand pressed hard into the paper.
Her friend asked carefully.
"Ha-yoon?"
Ha-yoon didn't answer right away.
"How do you do the next part?"
Only then did Ha-yoon look down at the workbook. But she couldn't immediately remember what she'd been explaining a moment ago.
"Give me a second."
The answer was shorter than usual. Her friend studied her face.
"Are you okay? You seem off."
"I'm fine."
Ha-yoon denied it immediately. Her voice was calm, but it had gone a fraction stiffer than usual. Her friend didn't press, and Ha-yoon tried to read the problem again.
But her eyes wouldn't stay put. They drifted back toward Tae-jun.
She'd heard all of it — Chae-ah bringing up the weekend movie, Tae-jun eventually saying yes. A thank-you for teaching her the game. A movie between friends. If you only listened to Chae-ah's words, there was nothing special about the plans at all.
And yet Ha-yoon's mood refused to settle.
The day before, she'd told herself it was fine as long as she joined the party too. Even if Chae-ah and Tae-jun played together, it was okay as long as she was there in the same place.
But this was different. Shopsop couldn't insert herself into a weekend movie plan. She couldn't just naturally take a third seat the way she could on a party list in-game.
Ha-yoon looked at Chae-ah, her expression gone still. It wasn't as if Chae-ah had done anything wrong. She knew that. But her heart didn't move according to logic.
What had been a simple, nagging awareness a moment ago was slowly growing sharper. Ha-yoon's fingertips tapped lightly on the desk. Once. Then once more. It was a small movement she wouldn't normally make.
In the distance, Tae-jun said something while looking at Chae-ah's phone. Chae-ah laughed. In that instant, Ha-yoon's gaze narrowed further.
Without realizing it, a single thought stood out clearly in her mind.
This weekend—could she really just let the two of them go like that?