#19. Doing It as a Pastime
#19. Doing It as a Pastime
<Ha Suyeon>
"It's a Pastime thing."
Ina made a face like she absolutely couldn't believe Suyeon's words.
"You're happy when I do exactly what Mom taught me, right?"
"Yeah, he was super satisfied."
Hearing Ina's words, her pulse, which had been faster than usual, returned to normal.
Of course. Whose daughter is she? Any guy would be satisfied.
Even the weirdest guy couldn't help but be satisfied.
"I'll teach you how to remove grease stains when cleaning, too."
"...Mom. Isn't this just a big spring cleaning?"
"......"
"Yep, I'll do it."
It's all for her daughter.
"Mom. I'm pregnant— is it okay to do all this?"
"When I was pregnant with Hana, I was worried about Dad being tired, so even in that freezing winter, I packed a lunch and walked an hour to bring it to him."
"Yep."
Ina's attempt to wriggle out was blocked by the legend of her living mother.
While teaching Ina bit by bit, she also met with Inmok from time to time.
"Yep, I've only dated once in my life."
"I heard from Ina. That you cheated—is that true?"
"Yes? Yep."
She wouldn't go to Escape Rooms anymore.
Instead, they met like this, and she listened to Inmok's stories.
What his school days were like, his relationships with girls, his vision for the future.
"Um... but doing it like this doesn't feel like we're getting close. It feels like a job interview."
She flinched at his words.
"If we're not close, it's hard for me to open up about stuff inside me..."
Seeing him cowed somehow, she felt anxious.
What if he took out the stress she gave him on her daughter Ina?
"Y-Yeah."
But she had no idea how to get close.
"I heard you like exhibitions. Want to go to one?"
She nodded at his words. To get close, she had to go along with it for now.
It wasn't an Escape Room, so it was fine.
Kwulleong-!
"Kyak!"
But it wasn't a regular exhibition—it was an Experiential Exhibition.
Not a normal floor, but one filled with wobbly water balls.
"Hold my hand!"
Inmok reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Hm-hm."
Wearing heels had been a mistake.
As they passed that, mirrors were lined up in a row.
Colorful lights pouring from above, mirror walls, and countless paths.
Isn't this... basically the same as an Escape Room?
"Oh, there's a photo spot over there. Shall we take one? It'd be a shame to come all this way and not."
Y-Yeah. For getting close.
So they took a photo.
"Aw~, smile a bit."
At Inmok's words, she awkwardly pulled up the corners of her mouth as much as she could.
Chulkak-!
It's an exhibition, definitely an exhibition!
So why did she come out sweating so much her legs felt weak?
The next meeting was the same.
"Cafes are nice, but to get close, we should... play together first, right? Once we're close, it'll be easier to talk about deep stuff."
It sounded reasonable at first glance, so she nodded again.
Human greed knows no bounds and repeats mistakes.
"Kyaaah!"
Again! Again! Another heart-pounding experience.
A VR Game Center where you free-fall if you lose your balance.
Her heart felt like it was dropping.
The consolation was that every time they came to places like this, Inmok pretended to be calm but was even more startled or tripped than her.
He wanted to show strength enough to protect her daughter, but up close, he had a clumsy side.
That human side made her feel an unexpected closeness.
"Huuuup!"
At the next meeting, she almost burst into tears.
Since they'd tried VR last time, this time real thing?
At Lotte Tower, harnessed up, walking the exterior at that height.
Even with the harness and safety personnel, the fierce wind made it feel like she'd fall any second.
Barely making it through, Inmok—who'd passed first—raised both arms in genuine joy.
Jjaak-!
Unknowingly, she raised her arms too for a high-five.
"Hm-hm."
It was infuriating how he always brought these thrill rides.
"......"
Before she knew it, her photo album's recent pics were piled with smiling shots of her and Inmok.
There were videos of her stupidly almost falling, frozen in shock— and of course, his too.
And around then, Inmok said,
"We seem pretty close now..."
"Y-Yeah."
Well, she couldn't deny it.
Lately, the anxiety when seeing Inmok had definitely faded a lot.
"They say this is tasty. Let's go eat it."
Now she even knew his tastes somewhat.
Thanks to that, it helped a ton when teaching her daughter as a Pastime.
"Daughter, Inmok doesn't like super sweet stuff. Cut the sugar."
"...You've been dating your senior lately, huh."
She glared with triangular eyes, all sassy.
"It's not dating—I'm just checking if he's a weirdo."
"Pfft, I know~. So, is he a weirdo?"
Her daughter's question came around mid-February.
She shook her head.
"Nah, the kid's nice."
In Chungcheong-do, that'd be fighting words worth staking family honor on, but in Seoul, it was real praise.
"Ina."
"Yeah?"
"Since you do housework so well, Inmok likes that, right?"
"Yeah! A ton!"
She'd taught her everything on housework—how could he not be satisfied?
If he complained about this, it'd be right to break it off.
"Um... now that we're close, I have something to say, but..."
Then Inmok cautiously broached it.
Suyeon, now fairly close herself, waited quietly.
"Nah. Haha. Just kidding."
That face shadowed somewhere deep was serious, so Suyeon caught that the "kidding" was a lie.
"Just say it. Hiding it won't solve anything."
Adult advice.
Still, Inmok shook his head.
"It's fine. Hahaha!"
Forcing a laugh.
Seemed he wouldn't tell. So she asked her daughter.
"Huh? Nothing happened."
"Really? You didn't do anything wrong?"
"Really nothing~. And senior tells me everything. If he's disappointed, he says so straight up."
Then what was that expression she saw at the cafe during the day?
§
<Character Card pt.1>
<House pt.1> - <Room+1 pt.1> - <Yard+1 pt.1> - <Fence+1 pt.1(Locked)>
<Fashion Shop pt.1> - <Sports Shop pt.1(Locked)> - <Lingerie Shop pt.1(Locked)> - <Dress Shop pt.1(Locked)> - <Accessory Shop pt.1(Locked)>
<Furniture Mall pt.1(Locked)> - <Household Goods Mall pt.1(Locked)> - <Hobby Goods Mall pt.1(Locked)> - <Cosmetics Mall pt.1(Locked)>
<Customizing Face pt.1(Locked)> - <Customizing Upper Body pt.1(Locked)> - <Customizing Lower Body pt.1(Locked)>
Finished the 2-star change, so I got one point.
My hand didn't hesitate and immediately pressed the button hard.
<Fence+1 pt.1>
A wooden one, the classic lattice pattern from cartoons.
Dragging the floating fence to the Yard, it went Urrur- and applied.
The Fashion Shop that'd been stuck to the Yard without distinction detached.
Since I'd unlocked all House techs, I could position buildings wherever I wanted anytime.
Sseureuk-
Clicked the Fashion Shop and slowly dragged it.
Location: right in front of the Currency Tower.
"About this close, they'll notice."
Smart characters would see the building stuck right in front of the Tower and catch on.
To use the shop, you gotta go into the Tower—got it.
$%#$
@#$% %%@#$
Lee Ina and #Ha Suyeon look at it, chatting about something.
Quite some time had passed, so #Ha Suyeon was calmly analyzing the situation too.
Distance to the Tower: about an hour's walk.
It was such a tall Tower, and with no terrain blocking the way, it was visible from afar.
Fences lined the path now—no more worries about dropping into darkness.
"Wow, already February 15th."
While spectating the two characters like in Enjoy, I checked the date—it was mid-February already.
Time flies.
Before school resumes, I can probably raise Suyeon to 5-star.
I'd laid the groundwork per the guide, and Suyeon was still dead serious about teaching Ina.
Seemed like there wasn't much left to teach, but surprisingly there was a lot.
So, to enter 3-star, I clicked #Ha Suyeon in her profile and started writing a #Hashtag #Story.
<#Story>
You want your pride-and-joy daughter's Dating to be happy.
For that reason, you get anxious when her Boyfriend is disappointed in her.
You decided to fill in those disappointing parts yourself.
When her Boyfriend is satisfied, the anxiety vanishes, and you feel a Sense of Fulfillment.
<#Ha Suyeon★★★>
<#Worry> - <#Pastime> - <#Pride>
With this, 3-star complete.
1-star and 2-star weren't time-wasters for nothing.
It was all for this core of #Hashtag training: 3-star.
"How do they even think of stuff like this?"
Same with the Contract Series, the distance series is brutally savage.
Hashtag emotions can't be toned down.
Sense of Fulfillment? The character feels the maximum they've ever felt in life.
Anxiety on the flip side?
The absolute maximum anxiety they've ever felt in life.
So every time I'm disappointed, Suyeon feels the strongest anxiety she's ever had—picked fresh.
And it doesn't get familiar or numb over time.
Always maximum.
Same for Ina, but now 'Sense of Fulfillment' applied to Suyeon too.
Course Registration was coming up soon and it'd be busy, but plenty of time to 5-star Suyeon.
Tuk, Degurur
The dice roll today too.
Mini-game? With #Lee Ina character upgraded in #Excellent Dexterity, it's a breeze.
3-star's doable anyway, but with this support stacked, the game itself is super easy.
<1,2>
With #Excellent Dexterity, low dice rolls dropped sharply in probability.
Kya, this is why gacha matters.
<1,5>
<2,1>
<3,1>
<#Pride(100%)>
§
"Haa."
I sighed. Like a trigger, Suyeon's shoulders twitched.
"Tasty, right? This is a place Ina likes."
Even now, she met Ina often. With the pregnancy and meeting the parents done, she couldn't block Ina from our house.
Still needed care, so not full cohabitation yet.
Her parents opposed it too—Ina and I were too young, needed adult supervision.
"Shall we go then?"
"Wait."
She gave me a look like 'sit down.' And I sat.
"Last time and today, sighing when we meet—how do you think that makes the other person feel?"
Suyeon's quiet scolding was definitely that of an adult.
She'd naturally switched from polite speech to casual now. I prefer this too.
No wonder— in her eyes, I must look like a total kid.
"So tell me once. Got a problem? I thought we'd gotten close."
Anxiety gone, replaced by Psychological Intimacy.
2-star and 3-star had no issues caused by me. Just Suyeon's feelings about her daughter.
Of course, the result hinged on my emotions, but that was resolving the cause—not me as the cause.
So the Suyeon without anxiety looked at me with an adult's embracing gaze.
"Can I really tell you?"
"Of course."
I turned my avoiding eyes to Suyeon.
Suyeon pulled her chair closer with her long straight black hair swishing, facing me.
In contrast to her black hair, she wore a light ivory coat.
Her gaze looking at me held a gentle smile, like she was here to counsel and solve my problems.
"Now you can tell me, right? Think of me as Mom and talk comfortably."
Sitting face-to-face so close with that warm smile—fuck, it's thrilling.
Is this the adult vibe?
When she felt anxious toward me, I thought Ssup, wrong route?
Now anxiety gone, she envelops me with that refined married woman's graceful gentle smile and voice from our first meeting.
"Huuu."
Of course, #Hashtag makes her flinch at my sighs, but that just makes me happier.
"Then I'll trust and tell you."
"Yeah. We're already family."
Yep, exactly.
Pretending to steel myself, I put on a firm face and opened my mouth.