Then I'm Coming Too!
A field trip — or a school picnic, as these group outings were also called.
Even in my previous life, back when I worked a company job, I'd gone on plenty of outings that were supposed to mean the same thing. Those, though, were just work by another name. You could never actually let loose.
Compared to then, today I could play however I wanted. I could barely even remember the last time I'd set foot in an amusement park. I'd pushed every last schedule to another day just for this.
Buzzing with excitement, I pulled on the clothes I'd laid out the night before, grabbed my bag, and made to head out of the dorm.
"I'm so jealous. I want to go with Jiwoo-chan too."
The voice sounded like it had only just crawled out of sleep. I glanced over. Tsuki was standing there, rubbing her heavy eyes.
Well. This kind of reaction from Tsuki wasn't anything new. She'd gotten up from my bed again today — even though she had a bed of her own.
A few days ago, Lee Yuwol had moved into the dorm that used to belong to just Tsuki and me. The original plan had been for Yuwol to share with me, but Tsuki had thrown a full tantrum about wanting to sleep beside me, and from that day on the two of us had been living in the same room.
Not that anything's really different from usual.
I'd fall asleep first thanks to my schedule, and Tsuki would slip under my blanket the moment I was out. Now that we were officially sharing a room, I'd figured she'd stop. She hadn't.
"You're up early."
"Mm. Jiwoo-chan's warm body heat disappeared from next to me, so I woke up."
Tsuki never changed. Every single day she crawled into my blanket and fought for her life trying to knead my chest. She'd be better off spending that energy on singing or dance practice.
"It's still six. Go back to sleep a little."
"Nngh... no. I want to watch Jiwoo-chan leave, then I'll sleep again."
Tsuki shook her head and plastered herself to my back.
"You're heavy."
"Nuh-uh~... Tsuki isn't heavy at all. What's heavy is Jiwoo-chan's chest. Look at this."
"Tsk... you're gonna get it."
"Hiiing..."
Trying to sneak a feel, huh. Tsuki pushed her lips out like an octopus.
"But why do you have so much stuff?"
"It's nothing special. A handkerchief just in case, water, a light packed lunch, a change of clothes. It might rain, so an umbrella and a raincoat too... that's just the basics for a field trip, right?"
I tipped the bag open and walked her through the contents.
"In Korea you need that much stuff for a picnic?"
Tsuki tilted her head.
Didn't you? These were all things you'd need in an emergency. Better to pack plenty than come up short. Amusement parks marked everything up like crazy compared to regular prices. Food you couldn't do much about — but paying park prices for an umbrella or a raincoat just felt like a waste. You could grab them online for around ten bucks. I'd checked. At the park, you were looking at least double.
"But... that's all part of the memories, so if you think about it that way... um... I don't know."
Tsuki, still a little short on financial sense, gave up thinking altogether and flopped spread-eagle on the bed.
This was a problem. She was going to start making money. If she kept thinking like that, she'd wake up one day older and completely broke.
"It's okay though! Jiwoo-chan's going to manage Tsuki's money for her!"
"Is that right?"
I shrugged. Who said I would?
"Jiwoo-chan... do you want Tsuki to be poor and live like a beggar?"
"I never said that... well, if you do end up looking like a beggar, I'll comfort you a lot."
"Eeeeh! Nooo! I'm going to live next to Jiwoo-chan forever! You have to manage my moneyyyy!"
Tsuki flared up and thrashed around on the bed like a little kid.
Then—
"Knock knock. Girls? Chatter's fine, but it's still early. Could you keep it down a little? And Jiwoo, aren't you running late?"
Woken by the noise, Lee Yuwol stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. I checked the time at her words.
6:20 a.m.
Not good. I needed to be in the car by 6:30 at the latest, and I still wasn't ready. Leave late and we'd hit traffic — we might not make opening.
"Well... no helping it. Tsuki, over here."
Yuwol grabbed Tsuki by the scruff of the neck and headed out of the apartment.
What was she planning? I didn't have time to stand around. I shoved the rest of my things into the bag, threw on the sponsored outfit, and left.
A familiar black van was waiting at the front entrance.
"Good morning, unnie."
"Welcome~ Jiwoo."
"Huh... why is Yuwol unnie here...?"
The door opened, and instead of Kang Ho-yeon like I'd expected, Lee Yuwol was smiling and waving. In the seat behind her, Tsuki beamed at me with a sunny expression.
"Jiwoo-chan! Get in! We're late. We have to hit the salon first and then get to the amusement park!"
"Tsuki's... coming too?"
"Yep! Wherever Jiwoo-chan goes, Tsuki goes too!"
This idea hadn't come from Tsuki. So who? Two likely suspects: Lee Yuwol and Kang Ho-yeon.
Ho-yeon was the type who hated stirring up unnecessary trouble. If it was necessary — if it was for the company or the team — that was one thing. Otherwise she shut it down without mercy.
Which left only one person. Lee Yuwol. Even as a JO Entertainment newbie, she had years of broadcasting under her belt and a silver tongue. She could have talked Ho-yeon into it.
So this time, I decided not to say a word. Though starting tomorrow, Tsuki would be joining hell training with me.
"Uuuugh... Jiwoo-chan? I just got the chills..."
Tsuki shuddered all over, as if she'd sensed the hell waiting in her future.
"It's fine. Play as much as you want today."
"Really? Hehe, yay! A heart-pounding date with Jiwoo-chan!"
Whatever had her in such a good mood, Tsuki hummed and grinned from ear to ear. It made me smile too.
The engine turned over and we pulled out.
We raced down the roads and arrived at the salon, where you could see a whole crowd of celebrities in their bare faces. Bare faces, sure — but every last one of them had skin so milky and clear it looked like they'd slathered it in honey.
"Whoa... that's amazing... do they even need makeup?"
Tsuki stared at the celebrities with wonder in her eyes. Regardless, I waited my turn and greeted the senior celebrities.
When was it going to be my turn? If this ran too long, we'd be late for entry. There was a ride I absolutely had to go on today. I needed to sprint there first thing and get on.
Finally. My turn.
After waiting about ten minutes, I sat down.
"Hmm, hm-hmm♪"
Tsuki's humming drifted past my ear. Was it really that fun? She'd been humming in the car too. But this was a song I'd never heard. I'd listened to a ton of tracks for vocal practice, and I still couldn't place the melody.
"Tsuki? What song is that?"
"Ah! This! This is, um... hehe..."
Tsuki smiled and looked at me. What kind of song made her smile like that? I was still wondering when—
"Isn't that a song Tsuki wrote?"
Lee Yuwol, sitting to my left, dropped the answer.
What? A song she wrote herself? I'd tried a few times and failed every single time. But the melody Tsuki had just been humming was actually really good. Good enough that I'd started bobbing along without realizing it.
"Is that true?"
"Hiiing... Tsuki wanted to say it..."
Tsuki mumbled in a tiny voice. I could relate to her this time. Waiting for the day you get to say it yourself, only to have someone steal your thunder — nothing deflates you quite like that.
"Tsuki was... going to tell Jiwoo-chan first..."
This wouldn't do. Tsuki's spirits were sinking fast.
"Then finish it and play it for me. The song you just made isn't done yet, right?"
Tsuki's humming had been looping the same section over and over. Which meant it was unfinished.
"Ah! Okay! Tsuki will work super hard and tell Jiwoo-chan first!"
"Yeah. I'll be looking forward to it."
"Mm!"
Then—
"Hehe..."
The artist doing my hair had her mouth corners lifted, trying to hold in a laugh.
"Ah, sorry. You two are just too cute."
The artist apologized for laughing. I wasn't offended at all. Even I thought what we'd just done looked pretty cute. Yuwol on my left had a hand over her mouth, but you could still see her smile peeking through her fingers.
"No need to apologize. But what happens in here stays a secret."
"Of course. Confidentiality is a given when you do celebrity salon work."
"No. What I meant was the part about Tsuki having an unfinished song. Everything else you can talk about."
We hadn't cursed anyone out in the salon. We hadn't caused a scene. If a rumor spread that we'd just been being cute, I figured people who didn't know us might find us a little more approachable.
"But Jiwoo-chan! Ronde World? What are you gonna do there?"
"There's something I want to ride."
"Something you want to ride?"
"Yeah. There's a roller coaster called Underwater Atlantis. I want to go on that."
"Whoa... there's gonna be a lot of people, though?"
Obviously. The baseline was a four-hour wait. In May, when this many schools piled in, you were looking at six hours minimum. Which was exactly why we needed to sprint over and get in line as fast as possible.
"Then let's run! Tsuki is confident in running!"
"I'm counting on you, Tsuki."
"Mm!"
Tsuki nodded vigorously — and then.
"Hehe... sorry, but you won't need to."
"Unnie?"
Yuwol tapped at her phone and held it out to us.
The Ronde World app was open, and sitting on the home screen was a ticket labeled Super Pass.
"If you use this, you can go straight in without waiting."
I nodded as Yuwol explained the Super Pass.
"I didn't even know this existed... but isn't there a limit on how many times you can enter?"
"There is. Five times. But there's three of us, so even if we all ride together once, we'll still have two left."
"Ah...."
At the news that it deducted per person, I let out a sigh. If it had been five rides per attraction, we could have ridden five times. A little disappointing.
Meanwhile, the artist gave my shoulder a light pat to signal she was done. I scanned the reflection in the mirror to check the finished hair and makeup.
"Whoa..."
It was a different look from when I prepped for drama shoots, and different again from when I got ready for game streams. Three different sets of hands, three different versions of me.
"You're so pretty."
"Not at all. The canvas is just so good that it comes out nice no matter what you do. Still, thank you."
"Jiwoo-chan! Picture! Let's take a picture!"
"Sure."
Tsuki linked arms and pulled out her phone.
"Then I'll join too."
Tsuki on the right. Yuwol on the left. With both arms claimed, we took the photo.