Conquering the Fourth Basement Level (Part 2)

] * * * Period Mantis. A giant mantis over a hundred meters tall spread its forelegs with terrifying force. No way. Not my opponent. I had completely lost my fighting spirit. Yet… no one else was around. No bees, no Devil-Bees, no firefly-wasps, no stag-beetles, no queen-bees… “It’s possible! Come on, Your Majesty! Ssangpal-a! Yejin! Sara-unnie!” No one answered. Had they all died? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ Then I had to run. But my legs wouldn’t move. Even if I wanted to escape, I couldn’t. Aaaaaah! Why like this? Then my phone rang. What? Phones don’t ring in the tower! And yet… it was ringing. I pulled out my phone. “…Ah, hello?” “It’s me. Did I wake you?” A dream. Just a dream. Right. I caught a Period Mantis days ago. “…Fine. Tell me.” “You free tonight?” “Why?” “We’re getting all the old classmates together. It’s been so long.” “For what?” “Drinking. Girls are graduating soon anyway.” “Yeah, right. You go have fun.” “Aish, why not?” “Just… I feel ashamed hanging around without going back to school.” “What the hell. You’re not the only one. Everyone does. Come on, get out. Don’t stay home like a hikikomori. And Yujin’s coming too this time.” I answered calmly. “…What about that rich hunter boyfriend you told me about? Ever since he showed up, you stopped hanging with the group, right?” “Kk. Yeah, that boyfriend cheated. So they broke up.” “Really?” I listened to the end and understood the plan. Yoo Jumin. My university classmate. Yoo Jumin was legendary on campus. Couple breaker. Soul cleaner. Host maker. XX University’s Lorelei. A thousand nicknames. Because every guy who got close to her ended up following her like a lost puppy for years. Even the older grad students shook their heads. Once plastic surgery became normal and girls’ faces were homogenized, they said they’d never seen such one-sided obsession before. It was weird. Yoo Jumin wasn’t even the classic beautiful type. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ Double eyelids missing. Ordinary nose. Thin lips. Around 160 cm. But her skin was dazzlingly white and her eyes huge and clear. Like a character who jumped out of a Mitsuru Adachi comic. Small but high-resolution beauty. Neat bob haircut, floating figure. What made men lose their minds was her vibe, her sexiness, her look. Not too smart to be intimidating, not dumb enough to be taken lightly. Not too fast, not painfully slow. Always smiling brightly, nodding, listening carefully. Even among the girls, she had the best relationships. Jealous ones existed, but not many. So among the hundreds of guys who trailed after her, not a single one saw her as just a one-night stand or casual dating partner. “I’ll marry that girl no matter what!” At nineteen and twenty, when every guy was fantasizing about a lifelong marriage with her, the destructive power was obvious. Tsk tsk. All those dumbasses. But the problem was… Shit. I was one of them. One of my lesser-known dark histories. “What should I do?” “Where and what time?” “Six. Outside the convenience store across from the school gate. Don’t miss it, okay?” Click. The call ended. Well, the fourth basement was cleared. Before heading to the fifth floor, I should meet the old friends and hear how they’ve been. * * * When I reached the school gate the clock read 5 p.m. I had arrived an hour early. Today traffic lights were cooperating. I wandered inside the campus slowly, killing time, planning to take in the scenery. Then a voice called out. “Hwang Geumpa!” I turned. A girl stood bathed in sunlight on the spring-scented campus. No makeup, yet her face glowed. She was Yoo Jumin. “Jumin-ah?” “Early, huh?” “Traffic luck was good.” “Haha. I couldn’t sleep at all because I knew we’d meet. Then I realized I’d already left an hour early without noticing.” “Really?” “Sorry. I couldn’t reply to your letters.” I had never shown her how I felt before the army. Hundreds of guys circled her; mine would be invisible. But in the army I finally summoned the courage and sent her a handwritten letter. Even then phones could reach outside, but I used the old-fashioned letter. Not a confession, just a normal message to a close friend. At first she answered every month. Then I heard she had a boyfriend. Surprising. I thought she’d stay single forever. Even if she dated, I figured it’d be an environmentalist, artist, or independent journalist. “Jumin’s boyfriend’s job? Hunter. Rich guy’s son. She hooked him, obviously.” “She was acting innocent, wasn’t she? Money won in the end.” …She had started dating a rich hunter. And after that, no more letters. Writing them felt embarrassing. So I sent a couple more, then gave up on monthly letters. “It’s okay. I heard. You must have been busy dating.” “You knew? I wrote replies at first, but when he appeared it felt weird.” “Haha. Yeah, I figured. Well… you never know.” “Really?” The long-lost Yoo Jumin looked a little sad. Not the kind of sadness that passes in a fever, but the quiet kind that settles over time. Of course. Her boyfriend cheated and they broke up. At that moment she forced a bright smile. “What about you? Got a girlfriend?” I instantly thought of Han Yejin and Jang Sara. But I swore I wasn’t dating either of them. Yoo Jumin stared at me. “Since your answer is silent, there must be someone you’re holding back.” I shrugged it off. We walked the campus aimlessly, talking. The breeze felt just right that afternoon. Then she started talking strangely. “Actually… now that I think back, during our freshman year… there was a girl in our class who was crazy about you.” “Kuk! J-just kidding.” “It’s true. But that girl was so shy she never confessed.” “Who was it?” “Guess. Twenty questions.” “Um… Park Eun-byeol?” “Wrong!” “Um… Ki Juhye?” “Wrong! Hey, don’t just guess—follow the clues!” “Okay. Um… is she pretty?” “Um… just average?” “Then it’s not you.” “Why?” “You… are a complete tomboy.” “What! Really? You think I’m a tomboy?” “Yeah. No double eyelids and still a tomboy.” Her face hardened. She suddenly quickened her pace and started walking away. I caught up. “Hey, it’s a joke!” “I know. Haha. I was pretending to be mad. Keep guessing.” “Um… is she in our group?” “Yeah.” “Um… is she coming today?” “Yeah.” “Then one of Kang Yena or Lim Se-ri?” “…No.” “What? Not Eun-byeol, not Juhye… who else is there?” “Think hard. Her face… isn’t average. She might be prettier.” “Then you?” “……” “You were crazy about me?” “……” “Come on, you’re lying.” “……” “Don’t joke around.” Yoo Jumin was staring at some distant point. I said it lightly. “Seriously. You used that kind of manipulation to fool hundreds of guys. This is fun?” For the first time I saw that expression on her. Her face crumpled, brows furrowed, pure anger. She ran off without saying goodbye. What the hell was that? * * * Bar. Yoo Jumin sat laughing brightly with the kids. I pretended not to know her and hung out with the others. We ignored each other. Every time our eyes met she turned away coldly. After a few rounds the mood was warm. Suddenly Yoo Jumin slammed the table. “Sorry. My boyfriend is picking me up. I’ll head out first.” “……” “……” “……” Vroom~ Through the bar’s glass wall a Ferrari Superfast roared up. The girls shrugged. The boys looked stunned. “She said she broke up with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her boyfriend?” Everyone had the same face. But no one could ask outright. Then she answered clearly. “You’re all dying of curiosity. I know you heard the rumors. No need to pretend. Yeah… it’s true.” She poured herself a shot of soju and continued. “My boyfriend is a hunter. Rich guy’s son. And he got caught in a group center scandal. But… I forgave him. Want to know why?” Everyone listened in silence. “I have to marry this man. I absolutely have to.” The tiny tremble in her voice was clear to everyone. A guy friend spoke up. “Tell your boyfriend to come in and drink with us.” Yoo Jumin looked surprised, then shook her head. “What? If I invite my boyfriend to a friend gathering how would it look?” The guy friend replied, “I want to invite my girlfriend too, but if it’s not my girlfriend I can’t bring her. Damn.” Yoo Jumin suddenly looked at me and said, “Geumpa said he has a girlfriend? Tell your boyfriend to come in too.” The kids muttered. “Hwang Geumpa has a girlfriend? No way.” Yoo Jumin answered, “He does. He told me earlier. Call him quickly.” Chaos erupted. “Hey! You have a girlfriend?” “No way!” “Hwang Geumpa has a girlfriend! This is huge!” The kids started chanting. “Hwang! Geum! Pa! Girlfriend! Call! La!” “Hwang! Geum! Pa! Girlfriend! Call! La!” A guy shouted, “Forget that—let everyone with a boyfriend or girlfriend call in! How about it?” Drunk guys loved the drama. The group was curious about who our old friends were dating. Everyone voted yes. Now I was the one who had to decide. I had to call someone anyway… My phone showed only Han Yejin and Jang Sara. Who should I ask to be my girlfriend?