Excited for Her First Flight, Spring (2)
Until the moment they boarded the plane, Jin Gyeo-wool had looked like the most drained person on the entire team.
Yet somehow, once they arrived on-site, it was Choi Do-yun whose expression looked the worst.
Not only had he gotten zero sleep, but holding himself rigid with tension until Gyeo-wool finally lifted her head had left his neck and shoulders screaming. He couldn't forget what she'd said when she woke up at meal service.
Ah. Sorry.
He'd been fretting that things might get awkward. Awkward, his ass.
After that brief apology, Jin Gyeo-wool's expression brightened considerably. She gazed out at the clouds beyond the window and enjoyed her in-flight meal like nothing had happened.
Honestly, not a single girlish bone in her body. Normally when something like that happened, you were supposed to blush and go, "I'm so sorry!" right?
Or not. But the beautiful girl Choi Do-yun pictured in his imagination was usually that kind of creature.
Thinking to himself that without the Heart Sutra he would have gone into cardiac arrest, Choi Do-yun dragged his carrier along behind the other players and rolled his bunched-up shoulders in slow circles to work out the knots.
A short walk brought them to immigration. The players lined up at the foreign nationals counter.
With Jin Gyeo-wool standing up front alongside Coach Chae Hojin and some distance opening between them, Gong Je-hyeon turned to Choi Do-yun with a worried look.
"You okay?"
"Not okay…"
"Yeah, your shoulders look like they're killing you."
Having watched Coach Chae Hojin entrust Gyeo-wool's care to Choi Do-yun earlier, Gong Je-hyeon made a suggestion.
"If you're tired, want to take turns with me? Leave Yu Min-jae next to Gyeo-wool and he's a hundred percent going to create more blanket-kick material."
Choi Do-yun agreed wholeheartedly. He himself was just a virgin who'd gotten hit by the heart-attack bomber that was Jin Gyeo-wool—that was all. After that he'd managed to stay pretty rational, hadn't he?
But leave Yu Min-jae alone with Gyeo-wool and he'd definitely cook up another similar misunderstanding. The guy's excessive seriousness was always the problem.
"Anyway, if you can't handle it alone, just ask. Gyeo-wool likes me so much, right?"
If you dressed up hair-pulling as affection, then yeah, that counted as liking him. And since no matter how hard she yanked, not a single hair came out and it just kept growing nicely, you could say it was good for grabbing.
"In that sense, how about giving me the seat next to her on the way back?"
"…We're deciding that with rock-paper-scissors?"
"From where I'm standing, it's a hundred percent you, Choi Do-yun."
How could he declare that so confidently? Choi Do-yun asked with a puzzled look.
"Why would it be like that?"
"Just take it as fact. This is the prophecy of Gong (Zero) Je-hyeon-nim, who is absolutely zero percent."
"Ah. Well, zero percent is kind of a hundred percent if you look at it that way."
"Hey! I was going easy on you, man. You think I'm some kind of unlucky icon?"
Yeah, yeah, sure you are. Choi Do-yun brushed off Gong Je-hyeon's indignation with some banter.
Still, he definitely needed someone's help.
Back in the practice room it hadn't mattered—no one had needed to worry about Gyeo-wool's safety there. But this was a foreign country far from Korea.
Coach Chae Hojin, who should have been prioritizing her care, was somehow in low spirits, so it was time for the players to step up.
"What about Jeong-wook hyung?"
"That hyung finds Gyeo-wool hard to deal with, so putting them alone together is a bit much."
"Really? He seemed fine hanging out casually."
"People can be fine in a crowd, but it feels different one-on-one."
In the end, that left only Choi Do-yun and Gong Je-hyeon.
Choi Do-yun cracked his unyielding shoulders and neck this way and that and asked Gong Je-hyeon for a favor.
"Then during free time later, hyung, look after noona a bit."
"You mean after dinner, right?"
"Yeah."
The tournament schedule ran from November 9th to the 11th.
Getting over the jet lag and adapting to the local environment came first, so the Korean national team schedule had set aside the evening of the 6th—their arrival day—as free time.
On the 7th and 8th they had scrims with Hyeonseong Academy followed by a sudden influx of more scrims, so giving body and mind a full day to unwind was fine.
"Leave it to me. As long as Gyeo-wool has my hair, she won't cause any accidents, right?"
That damn hair. Watching Gong Je-hyeon proudly pitch his hair as his strong point, Choi Do-yun couldn't help a snort of laughter.
November in Taiwan was quite warm, unlike Korea. Being a southern island nation, the thick clothes they'd worn boarding the plane in Incheon were completely unnecessary.
"Whoa. The lodging's really spacious."
"Seems smaller than I expected, for this?"
"For seven people, yeah, it's definitely a bit tight."
The Korean national team had seven members total. A female staffer from the esports association had come along as interpreter and manager.
Chae Hojin had already done a full lap of the room and was excited like a kid.
"Man. I've been to every overseas tournament there is…"
Watching him, Jin Gyeo-wool tossed out a line.
"Coach, kids—if you all keep going like this, you'll keep going overseas from now on."
It sounded incredibly nonchalant at first listen. But interpreting Gyeo-wool's intent, it was also a rather terrifying statement.
Just what was she assuming when she said they'd keep going? Coach Chae Hojin's imagination started running wild on its own.
Gyeo-wool isn't thinking of helping me get a job too, is she…?
Nah. She was still a kid, no matter what.
What power did she have to stick him into a pro team coaching position?
Even if Jin Gyeo-wool was a golden ticket, that was going too far. Chae Hojin dismissed the useless thought.
This wasn't the time to get swept up in idle thoughts. Since Gyeo-wool had spoken to him, he casually asked her.
"Gyeo-wool, by the way—are you okay sleeping in the same room as the other kids?"
Five of the seven were guys. And the female staffer dispatched by the esports association had booked a private room separately.
Maybe because it was an amateur tournament, the organizers hadn't been considerate enough to book multiple rooms.
"I don't mind. Ah—will the kids be uncomfortable?"
But she reacted like it was nothing. She even worried about the other players as a bonus.
"If the kids really say they're uncomfortable, I'll ask for understanding and get a separate room. Not sure if there are any available. Or maybe in the interpreter staffer's room who came with us—"
Listening to the torrent of words pouring from Jin Gyeo-wool, Chae Hojin's mind went blank.
Why bother telling her to use a different room? She didn't even see the players as guys, and she wasn't seducing them or disrupting practice either.
This practice monster had nothing but winning the title on her mind right now.
"Ah, never mind! Never mind!"
Putting Jin Gyeo-wool in a different room here and now might actually be discriminating against her.
Right. What did male or female matter? They were fellow players, practically family by now.
The players had been living together for over half a year already. Nothing had happened in all that time, so what could happen now?
Chae Hojin smiled gently and calmed Gyeo-wool down.
"Don't bother moving rooms or anything. Just stay however's comfortable for you, Gyeo-wool. Got it?"
Apparently satisfied with the offer she'd received, Jin Gyeo-wool gave a small smile.
After having the dinner provided by the organizers at the hotel buffet, Jin Gyeo-wool headed out into the streets of Kaohsiung, Taiwan without saying a word to anyone about coming along.
The warm air was quite welcome. Korea was already in early winter mode with cold winds whipping around, so the cool evening air here felt warm by comparison.
The street Hon Gyeo-wool had told her about—where she'd bought the incense candle—turned out to be surprisingly close to the lodging. Coincidence or not, they couldn't have gotten luckier.
Nothing was more dangerous than wandering around on public transit or taxis in a foreign country where you didn't speak the language.
"Aargh! When did you sneak off alone, Noonim!"
"…? Why'd you follow me?"
"Well. Coach said not to let you wander alone… It's not like I had any other ideas."
Jin Gyeo-wool wasn't glad to see Gong Je-hyeon trailing after her. She was about to tell him with a dissatisfied look that he didn't need to follow—but Gong Je-hyeon's scheme was a step faster.
"Right. I bought this at the airport earlier. Want to try some?"
"…? What's this."
It was a snack bag covered in unfamiliar writing. Gong Je-hyeon tore open the bag, pulled out something like a flat castella cake, and pressed it into Jin Gyeo-wool's hand, explaining it was called pineapple cake.
"Noonim, this is your first time abroad and you didn't even pick out tourist spots or souvenirs to buy?"
"That's not what's important."
Gong Je-hyeon went ugh and recoiled. This damn practice monster, he thought.
But contrary to his expectations, what Jin Gyeo-wool was most urgent about was the incense candle.
Practice? At this stage it wasn't important. Jin Gyeo-wool had already reached a level where practice wasn't needed at the amateur tier.
Having confirmed that objectively herself, what more practice did she need?
She'd naturally participate in the scrims tomorrow and the day after, but the time had come when she could ease up a bit on solo queue practice.
Status:INACTIVE
Current Memory Erosion Rate:Jin Gyeo-wool — 49.02%
The memory erosion rate of Soul Synchronization that she'd last checked before departure was already at 49%.
Once it hit around 50%, she had an ominous feeling something would happen. So during the tournament she was gradually reducing her practice volume to keep it from going over 50%.
Putting the soft flat bread Gong Je-hyeon had given her in her mouth and chewing, she tasted the sticky-sweet pineapple jam inside.
The rather unique flavor made Jin Gyeo-wool let out a short, pleased hum.
"This is good."
"Right?"
Whether it was the sugar or not, Jin Gyeo-wool's frayed nerves dulled a notch.
Having anticipated this reaction from the start, Gong Je-hyeon rode the mood and casually asked.
"I bought another box of these. Want me to give you one?"
"I'm good. I can buy it with my own money."
"You… lucky little rich kid."
"Whatever."
Her mood had softened somewhat, but not wanting her incense candle trip interrupted today, Jin Gyeo-wool laid down a firm warning.
"I don't care if you follow or not, but don't bother me no matter what I do. Got it?"
Success. Gong Je-hyeon, who'd been ready to pull out his secret weapon—nougat cookies—if the pineapple cake didn't work, grinned and answered.
"Ah, of course. I always listen well to Noonim's words, don't I?"
Apparently finding that ridiculous, Jin Gyeo-wool retorted bluntly.
"There's a limit to the bullshit, seriously."
Walking the night streets of Taiwan for the first time in her life. Aside from the writing on the signs being completely unreadable, the atmosphere was surprisingly similar to a Korean alley market.
Colorful glittering signs. Countless stalls lined up along both sides of a wide two-lane road.
The smell of all kinds of meat and seafood grilling filled the street. Occasionally there were weird-looking foods that made you frown, but most of it looked delicious.
Before he knew it, Gong Je-hyeon had a blood sausage in hand and was munching away.
"Whoa. This is really good. Noonim, you sure you don't want any?"
"Aren't you full? How long has it been since we ate and you're already snacking?"
"Hey, they keep pushing me to try one—how am I supposed to just walk past? How do you resist food? And I exchanged a ton of cash since Noonim gave me allowance money too."
Calling the salary she'd paid him "allowance." Jin Gyeo-wool muttered incredulously.
"As always, must be nice having such a carefree mind."
"Hey. Just because I'm always grinning and goofing around doesn't mean you should think I'm carefree."
"…. Why. Got some situation you can't talk about?"
"Well~ I mean. Can't say I don't? But I don't wanna tell Noonim."
"If you're not gonna talk about it, don't bring it up. Don't you know the thing Koreans hate most is starting to talk and then stopping?"
Bickering as they wove through the night market alley, before they knew it they were deep into the market.
Jin Gyeo-wool walked on and on calmly, checking the memo where she'd recorded Hon Gyeo-wool's words.
Then at the edge of her vision appeared a rundown shop that looked like their destination.
The entrance was an old iron sliding door, and the interior glimpsed inside had old wooden furnishings that gave a gloomy feel.
The kind of shop where you'd expect an elderly owner to pop out and ask, "Looking for something?"
Jin Gyeo-wool looked around the wooden shelves filling the shop and began searching for an incense candle like the one Hon Gyeo-wool had bought.
Just as she went deep into the shop and was rummaging through the incense candles, Gong Je-hyeon's piercing scream suddenly rang out from the entrance.
"Aaaagh, fuck!"
"What—what is it!"
Startled, she whipped her head around and saw an old woman who seemed to have been standing in the blind spot to the left of the entrance the whole time.
An extremely gentle-looking old woman who, with a mole right in the center of her forehead, looked just like a bodhisattva from a folk tale. The clothes she wore were thin fabric layered many times over, giving the illusion she was dressed in lotus blossoms.
Nearly had a heart attack. Jin Gyeo-wool let out a sigh of relief and slowly walked toward the owner.
Whether Gong Je-hyeon was cowering on the ground in terror or not—that wasn't important.
Quickly approaching the old woman, Jin Gyeo-wool opened her gallery to show her the incense candle photo and said,
"Uh…. Can I buy this candle?"
The old woman glanced at the incense candle photo with a thoughtful expression, then gave a completely unexpected answer.
"Speak Korean, you brats. What're you yammering about? Ain't you Korean people? And you—ain't you that girl who came before. Already done forgot, huh."
While the flustered Jin Gyeo-wool hesitated, Gong Je-hyeon muttered,
"Why Korean…?"