Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Friends
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"Ugh... I'm dying."
I'd jumped into the fray for no good reason, only to get dragged around by Na-young and the girls, bouncing like crazy on the trampolines. Exhausted, with my body on the verge of collapse, I slumped onto the bench in the rest area at the edge of the trampoline zone.
The moment I sat down, all the air rushed out of me, leaving my body limp and heavy.
Unexpected exercise like that hit me with fatigue harder than I'd expected. The silver lining was that, while my body ached, the sleepiness had mostly worn off.
Or... was that actually a good thing?
Glancing at the four beautiful girls still leaping around wildly, screaming without a hint of tiredness, I looked around the place.
Surprisingly, this massive indoor space wasn't just trampolines. It had all sorts of other attractions too.
Like a billiards hall that made no sense, darts, archery, a shooting range, and even arcade machines you'd expect at a game center. It had everything.
I had no idea what they were thinking, cramming all this stuff inside.
Arcade games made sense, but billiards? Archery and shooting? What the hell?
Pushing those questions aside for now, my throat was parched, so I headed to the vending machine and grabbed five blue sports drinks.
One for me, and the rest for the four girls who would soon come stumbling over, drenched in sweat.
"Shooting, huh..."
My body was too beat to bounce around with the girls anymore. But I remembered how, before regressing—in the army, which you could call the future—I'd been called a sniper, unmatched in marksmanship by anyone.
So, out of all the attractions, the shooting range caught my eye.
"Shall I give it a shot?"
It was a gas-powered gun setup where hitting the targets turned off their lights.
30 shots per round. 6,000 won a pop. 200 won per BB pellet. Even with a gas gun, that was steep.
200 won every time you pulled the trigger? No wonder it bled you dry.
It brazenly flaunted its high price tag.
That's why the shooting range and the even pricier archery had no players.
But with money to burn, my feet were already heading that way.
The busy areas had part-timers, but this dead zone of a shooting range and archery court was manned by a bored middle-aged guy who looked like the owner. I approached him.
"Wanna give it a try?"
His eyes gleamed like he was spotting a sucker.
"Yeah. 6,000 won, right? Here."
I'd come prepared with cash for exactly this.
I handed over a crisp King Sejong bill, and he quickly made change while setting up the range for me to fire away.
"Ji-hoon, you know how to shoot?"
Na-young had snuck up without me noticing, sweating buckets as she peered over from the side.
She fanned herself by flapping her uniform shirt and making a hand fan with her other hand to cool off.
"Ooh, Wallet Boy. First time shooting? Or have you done it somewhere before?"
Chae-yeon, fresh off the trampolines, leaned her chin on the safety fence she'd yelled at us not to cross, chugging a sports drink while asking me.
"I know how, but I haven't actually shot before."
Not a lie.
Before regressing—that future army stint—I'd fired enough to make me sick of it. But since regressing, up to now? Not a single shot.
Ah... thinking about the army, I realize I have to go again...
My mood soured instantly.
They say dodge it if you can, but with enough money, maybe I could? Still, being a total draft dodger felt off, so public service... or maybe full-time reserve duty.
Shaking off worries about that distant future, I ignored the owner explaining the rules and took my position.
"Hold on, the explanation isn't finished yet..."
Bang!
"Hm?"
The shot veered off in the wrong direction.
Happens when someone's tampered with the barrel or the sights are off.
But no reason for sabotage here.
No prizes on the line, so misaligned sights it was. Or wear and tear, or just shitty construction from the start.
Even so, it wasn't enough to throw off my aim.
'It kicked a bit to the right diagonal...'
I adjusted the barrel slightly down and to the left of the target.
Bang!
"Ooh! Wallet Boy! You've got enlightenment!"
Hit this time.
"Ji-hoon, you're so cool!"
Na-young blushed again, smitten.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each shot snuffed out one or two of the target lights.
"29 points...!"
Clip empty, the owner gaped in disbelief.
"A draft-free kid scoring 29? Unbelievable!"
He couldn't top that himself, and I'd done it first try with a faulty gun.
"Whoa! You're amazing!"
Na-young, smitten over and over, threw herself into my arms.
"This is fun... way more than trampolines."
"Na-young, wanna give it a try?"
"Me...? It's scary..."
"It's fine. I'll be right here, so don't worry."
"Mm... Okay, I'll do it!"
She hesitated, then nodded eagerly, figuring it'd be fun.
"One more round."
"Y-yeah."
The owner took another King Sejong bill and made change.
"Alright, Na-young. Grip it with both hands, keep your dominant eye open, close the other."
"Like this...?"
"Yeah, perfect. Then tilt the barrel a bit down-left diagonal and fire. Easy, right?"
"Yeah!"
Bang!
"Eek!"
She startled herself with her own shot.
Naturally, it went wide.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
27 shots left. Na-young kept firing.
She missed every single one and slunk down from the platform, crestfallen.
"Hing... I aimed so well, but nothing hit..."
"Yeah, too bad."
"I thought I'd hit at least one..."
Down in the dumps, Na-young naturally snuggled into my arms, rubbing her cheeks against my chest to cheer herself up.
"Wallet Boy! Me too! I wanna try!"
Chae-yeon, who'd been watching, shouted with sparkling eyes.
"You wanna?"
"Yes!"
"Sigh... Not exactly begging, are you?"
"B-begging?"
I hesitated—the usual easy mark holding back—and Chae-yeon panicked a bit.
Then she smirked mischievously.
"Then how about I become Wallet Boy's real girlfriend?"
What the hell was this kid on about?
"See? Ji-hoon wants Chae-yeon...!"
Na-young jumped to the wrong conclusion.
W-well, sure, I'd regressed, made bank, and Chae-yeon was already cute with a bright future. I wouldn't say no.
But she was basically Na-young's first real friend.
More importantly, I hadn't fully made Na-young mine yet—no room to eye other girls.
But Chae-yeon's teasing kept fueling Na-young's misunderstanding.
"No, Na-young. It's not like that."
I shook my head frantically.
"Eut...! D-did he just reject me...? Wallet Boy? Sob."
"Shut it, you!"
"Hehe!"
I shoved the culprit Chae-yeon aside and explained to Na-young.
"J-Ji-hoon is so kind and handsome...!"
The rest felt off? My conscience pricked.
"Chae-yeon is Ji-hoon's friend, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad...?"
Things were going sideways.
Na-young seemed to mull it over, then looked up at me.
"Yeah! Ji-hoon, if you want it, I'm okay with it."
"R-really?"
"Of course!"
Her thinking was a bit twisted, but the outcome seemed good... so maybe fine?
"Huh? What do you mean? If Wallet Boy's okay, then Na-young is too?"
"Well, Chae-yeon could be Ji-hoon's girlfr—mmph?!"
"Nothing! You wanted to shoot, right? Let's do it!"
I clamped Na-young's mouth shut and changed the subject.
Chae-yeon eyed me suspiciously but soon lost interest and hopped up to the platform.
"Here's the gun. Stretch your arms out straight. It's gas-powered, so don't hold it close to your face or the gas could blind you..."
"Ooh! This is a gun! Wallet Boy, teach me how to shoot!"
Chae-yeon ignored the chattering owner and called to me.
Just like with Na-young, I started teaching her.
"Perfectly memorized! Behold this sister's marksmanship, Wallet!"
Her speech suddenly went archaic as she stretched both arms, aiming at the targets.
She slowly squeezed the trigger.
Bang!
"...!"
I was shocked.
No way she'd hit on the first shot.
But oddly, not just me—even the shooter Chae-yeon was stunned.
"Wh-what...? Why'd it hit? I wasn't even aiming there?"
Turned out she'd missed her intended target, hitting a different one instead.
Still, Chae-yeon played it cool.
"Ha, hahaha! Wallet Boy, see that? How was it? Nailed it first try! Maybe I've got a talent for shooting?!"
Buoyed, she fired again, cocky about hitting the next one too.
The result?
"Ugh...! Why won't it hit!"
Nothing after the first.
"Ji-hoon, can I try too?"
Mi-jin asked next.
"Sure. Go wild, all of you. Sucker Wallet only knows how to spend money."
"Thanks."
Mi-jin fired too.
Surprisingly good—8 points.
Most fun of the day so far, she excitedly dragged Eun-bi up and made her shoot.
Eun-bi missed every one, disastrously.
Not bummed about the misses—she was scared just holding the gun. She sighed in relief the second she stepped down.
Adorably.