Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Blind Date (2)
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The entrance to the cafe, where a faint floral scent wafted through the air. Neatly arranged flower beds lined up in front of the shop.
Hum~
Star, dressed in a fresh yellow dress, glanced down at the hem that slightly exposed her thighs and stomped her feet.
'He won't think I'm too desperate, will he?'
She was of marriageable age, but still fairly old.
But wouldn't it be okay if she was pretty?
Stuffing the foreign car keyholder firmly into her handbag, Star gazed at her fully dolled-up reflection in the glass wall.
'Perfect.'
Vibrant stars floated in both her pupils.
A natural blonde that no dye job could replicate.
No dark circles from gaming until dawn, and she'd completely shed her gamer trash image.
'At this rate, we might go straight from first meeting to the wedding hall?'
"Puhuhu."
Her blind date was a younger guy from El Academy. A promising prospect, knowledgeable in all things— the ultimate groom candidate.
She'd caught a plane at dawn and fixed her makeup in a nearby restroom, but she didn't mind at all.
-Vrrr!
At that moment, a car driving down the road pulled up in front of the cafe.
Clunk— the door opened. The man stepping out of the black sedan removed his mask and set it down on the driver's seat.
"......Huh?"
The man slicked his hair back once, glanced slyly at Star, and flashed a bright smile as if delighted to see her.
"Hello."
A refreshingly brilliant smile.
Star's eyes widened as she pointed at the man with her mouth agape.
"...Se-young's boyfriend?"
Then the passenger door opened, and Se-young got out, brushing her slightly wet hair to the side.
-Gulp.
Her throat bobbed.
The sight of sweat trickling down her collarbone somehow looked erotic.
"Wa-wait just a sec."
Star flashed Si-heon a smile before grabbing Se-young by the collar and dragging her into a nearby alley.
"You bitch, you brought your boyfriend to mess with me? I was so touched......"
A massive sense of betrayal.
"Lee Se-young, you bastard. You brought your boyfriend just to humiliate me! Hing."
"Boyfriend, my ass. He asked me to introduce him to a girl, so I hooked him up with you. What's your problem?"
Se-young swatted at Star's wrist gripping her collar, visibly annoyed.
She rubbed her mouth with her wrist and plucked a single hair from nearby.
"Not your boyfriend?"
Star asked Se-young in a voice full of hope.
"You didn't hing eotheung with him?"
"You think I did?"
They'd just done it.
"No sex?"
"Why would I do it with him?"
"Then can I take his virginity?"
Se-young had already taken it.
In fact, even if Se-young hadn't, the World Tree of Healing would have gobbled it up.
"Do whatever."
Lee Se-young, who had lived a bloody life amid deception and scheming, laid down a thick iron plate over her face and kept rubbing her mouth with her wrist.
Unable to withstand the sticky male scent wafting from deep in her throat, Se-young rubbed her thighs together.
Ah, I want to get back in the car quick.
"Se, Se-youngie!"
Unaware or perhaps fully aware of Se-young's inner thoughts, Star hugged her tightly and shouted in overwhelming excitement. Se-young smiled blandly in response.
"That good, huh?"
"So good! Woo-hyoo!"
Se-young's smile never left her face. It was the smile of a devil.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Star I knew was... what can I say? The kind of person with such a distinct personality that she'd bulldoze her own path no matter what anyone said.
Her willful nature had gotten on my nerves a few times, but she wasn't a bad person.
If I had to evaluate her, she was a capable woman who was good at her job and full of energy.
-Slurp.
The aroma of peppermint tea filled my nostrils.
But.
'Is this really the same person I knew?'
I couldn't help but doubt it.
Cautiously lifting my head from the teacup, I saw Star sitting with her hands and legs politely pressed together, her eyes wide and sparkling.
"You must like peppermint tea~"
-Shy, shy.
Her head tilted at a 45-degree angle. She was clearly conscious of how she appeared to others.
Star stared piercingly at my face and beamed innocently. The frills of her chick-like dress swayed gently with her body.
'This is......'
Overwhelming and awkward.
I'd planned to approach her like a friend, but the atmosphere had turned into a full-on blind date.
With Se-young gone, it was up to me to handle this.
Honestly, how much dating experience did a guy like me even have?
A few group blind dates at most.
And even those were piggybacking on an eloquent friend who did all the talking.
"Sudden formal speech?"
I tried steering things back to the vibe I wanted.
She spoke in a tone subtly hoping for casual talk, so Star poked her cheek with her finger and mumbled cutely.
"Our age difference isn't that big... Ah, was I too desperate?"
Star asked carefully, seeming to mind my opinion, twirling a strand of her bright yellow hair around her finger.
"Seems weird, right?" she said with a bitter smile.
Seeing her like this, it was clear our attitudes toward this blind date were completely different.
She was appealing herself so eagerly with that grin— how could I not notice?
This woman was throwing her body and soul into the blind date.
I didn't know what kind of life she'd led, but it must have been full of lonely days.
I stared right through her. Under my burdensome gaze, Star's eyes trembled fiercely.
Because she was approaching it with such sincerity, I could see it.
I saw the hesitation hidden within her aggressive pursuit.
After careful deliberation, my conclusion was.
'She doesn't have much experience either?'
A pair of blind date newbies.
Thinking that way actually put my mind at ease.
I gave her a wry smile and gazed steadily at Star.
"Do you remember when we first met? When I got raped—"
"Th-that, uh, yeah?"
The word "rape" made her visibly flustered. A flicker of guilt appeared in her eyes.
"......Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for. Let's forget about that."
I shrugged once.
"How about we talk ideal types?"
"...Ideal type?"
Star's previously sullen eyes lit up with interest again. Her nostrils flared, and her face filled with smiles.
Star pointed at me with her finger.
"You!"
Such a bold declaration.
"No, how do you just say your ideal type like that...?"
There needed to be some back-and-forth. Ending the conversation like that left me with nothing to say.
But Star showed no intention of changing her stance and kept jabbing her index finger at me.
"You're my ideal type."
"What's so good about me?"
"Everything."
She left me speechless again.
...
"Um... Noona."
"Huh, noona? Hehe."
"Be honest. First time meeting a guy, right?"
Star flinched and looked up at the sky, pressing her two index fingers together as she mumbled.
"Ah, no? Back in academy days, I hooked up with tons of guys..."
"It's obvious."
"......Pathetic bitch strikes again."
Still, her honesty was kinda cute.
At this point, it wasn't about handling things anymore— I just wanted to look after her a little.
So she could meet a good guy later...
"Sigh."
Seeing Star shrink her shoulders at my sigh, I quietly began the conversation.
"When people ask about ideal types, answers like 'someone with a good personality' come up a lot, right?"
"......Yeah."
"Talk turns to personality, and naturally, what kind they like comes up. That's how the conversation flows."
"Right."
"But if you just point at the guy across from you and say you like him, what do you think the blind date guy would think?"
Star pondered visibly, then mumbled sullenly as if realizing something.
"That I look like a desperate auntie...?"
"Try to shake off that 'desperate' label. You're pretty enough. And your age isn't that old."
"Pretty?!"
Like that was all she needed to hear.
I tapped the forehead of her beaming smile, and she toppled backward happily.
"And treat it more normally. Like a friend."
"D-do we need to go that far?"
"You sound so awkward right now. You were so chatty at first— why this now?"
"Really...? Okay. Whatever Si-heon says."
Star continued in a tone slightly improved from before, though still a bit awkward.
"Any hobbies?"
"Hobbies... I used to do all sorts back then. Lots of gaming, watching streams."
"Games!?"
Whoosh.
Star suddenly shot up from her seat in the cafe.
"Why the sudden jump?"
"I have a dream."
Star's eyes sparkled brightly.
"Going to a PC bang with a guy!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A PC bang on the first blind date...
I figured going all the way there would kill the mood, so we rented a multi-room with computers for a bit instead.
"This food okay?"
"Of course!"
Star beamed brightly at my question while pressing the computer power button.
Sitting down and logging into the game, she looked the most natural and excited I'd seen her yet.
'A true hardcore gamer, huh.'
Well, I'm a top-tier gamer myself—second place would piss me off—so I liked it. I'd once gamed all day long.
I set down chicken, beer, and a soju bottle at our spots and hopped into a game casually.
"But you're eating chicken? When do we—"
"While playing!"
"Ah..."
As I laid out the food, I casually floated the idea to her.
"Wanna do a few 1v1s to warm up? Loser takes a penalty."
We'd ended up here somehow at her request, but I was here for the quest. Even in broad daylight, I needed to get some alcohol in her.
"1v1? Nah... let's just play together."
Star subtly signaled refusal. Smiling, I muttered the magic word.
"Scared?"
"......What?"
A spark flared in Star's bright yellow eyes for an instant.
"Our Si-heon really knows how to scratch a gamer's itch, huh?"
Star set her hands down on the keyboard.
"Lay out the penalty."
"Talent show. Can't do it? Penalty drink."
"Call."
Star pulled out a large beer glass and soju from the plastic bag, filling it to the brim with soju.
She added a single drop of beer. A death penalty shot complete.
"Isn't that too harsh for the first round?"
"Scared?"
As I asked in shock, Star smirked, lifting the corner of her mouth, and donned a headset from who-knows-where.
Well, well.
She was once Diamond rank— afraid she'd lose a single game?
I took a deep breath and placed my hands on the keyboard and mouse.
[Game Start]
We dove into the game right away.
It was an FPS set in a future with superpowers, so effects flew across the screen.
-Bang.
A test shot.
The shooting feel was just like Overwatch from my previous world.
I knew nothing about the graphics or character performance, but my skills weren't inferior to my past life's.
-Shrrrr.
Star's character, zip-lining beside a soldier-type character, unleashed a barrage from her machine gun.
Movements perfectly capturing the character's personality.
I took a few hits on purpose, squinting at the map and opponent.
Angle spotted.
-Bang.
"Eek?!"
As her character vanished, Star—fully immersed—jerked her body.
'Definitely the potential 20 effect.'
I'd felt it before, but she got bonuses in gaming and everything else.
If you molded the word "omnipotent" into a person, it'd be me.
With that arrogant thought, I looked at Star.
"...What."
Star trembled in fear.
"I even won tournaments..."
"Guess that makes me gold medal now?"
She'd seemed pretty confident in her skills. Her trembling fingers glanced at the soju beside her, and her face stiffened.
"Th-that... Si-heon?"
"Yeah."
"I'm super weak with alcohol...? Can we cut it down a bit?"
She clearly hadn't expected to lose.
Any mercy I'd felt evaporated in annoyance.
"No. Drink up or do the talent show."
"What for the talent show?"
I glanced at the center of the multi-room.
"Dance once right there?"
"......We'll add one more round later."
Figuring drinking would ruin her perfect condition for the next game, Star steeled herself and stood up.
Soon, her song echoed through the center of the multi-room, her face flushed red.
"Byul-ie is dancing..."
I had no idea how the blind date had turned into this...
Star's voice rose to a peak from the shame.
Surprisingly, the song was pretty fun.