A Serendipitous Meeting and a Cozy Movie
“…Did you drink alcohol yesterday?”
“Ah.”
“…….”
It was completely natural that we had run into each other.
In the recent months, I had been keeping a closer eye on Batori and Baek Eun-hwa, which naturally meant I had spent less time worrying about Saran. On this weekend, we had decided to meet for a proper get-together.
And that was exactly how it happened—Saran and I running into each other. The moment we met, that was the first thing Saran said.
With her usual bright smile, she greeted me and then looked straight at me and said it.
For a second, I felt it again: that this was the snake beastfolk awakening. Not just the temperature sensitivity—she could detect that I had been drinking alcohol yesterday, of all things.
It was genuinely shocking.
I had come out of Team Leader’s house this morning, showered, changed clothes at home, and still… how could she smell it?
“How did you know?”
“Smell of alcohol, slightly.”
“Wow…”
Even that she could sense.
She really was amazing.
Her ability to detect temperature had been incredible before, but now that she had such a strong sense of smell? Impossible not to be stunned.
Probably because my own powers were completely different from hers.
Hypnosis was nothing like a beastfolk transformation ability at all.
If I had to compare it, it would be closer to Baek Eun-hwa’s yoreok and illusion magic.
Of course, she could only use it when the conditions were right—no extra energy needed.
“Speaking of which, you almost never drink, right?”
“Ah, yesterday was a bit of a workplace thing. I had a drink with my boss after work. Nothing like a proper drinking party, though…”
“…I see.”
“Nothing much. I didn’t drink much, but my boss drank a lot.”
“I see.”
Still, I was quite surprised.
Of course we had bumped into each other because there was work to do.
Nothing too big, really.
“Today I just… wanted to watch a movie.”
“A movie?”
“Yeah, a movie. There’s one I’ve been really interested in, but I didn’t want to go alone.”
“Ah, I see.”
That made sense.
Lately I had been spending quite a bit of time with Saran, so going to the movies together wasn’t weird at all.
If anything, it felt perfectly normal.
Where else could you have a public, everyday kind of fun?
I thought there was no greater joy in everyday life than something as ordinary as watching a movie.
Fish karaoke and singing rooms were completely different kinds of culture, right?
It would be fun, and seeing Saran slowly improving in these areas made me happy too.
“Then what kind of movie are you planning to watch? I’ve been really busy lately and haven’t been keeping up with the new releases.”
“It’s just an ordinary domestic film. I wanted to see it sometime.”
“Ah, I see.”
Earlier Saran had mentioned that when she had free time at home she would watch movies and dramas through OTT services.
So this was probably just an extension of that.
The fact that she had suggested going to the theater herself was even better.
“Get in the car. I’ll take you.”
“Of course, thank you as always.”
“Don’t mention it.”
It made me genuinely happy to see the heroes I was responsible for improving so steadily.
Batori and Saran hadn’t had a single trouble and were simply getting better and better.
Baek Eun-hwa had had a tiny argument, but she was improving too.
Honestly, it was wonderful.
Lately I could work with a sense of achievement instead of exhaustion from meeting them every day.
Of course there was physical strain even when all I did was write reports and meet heroes.
That was just life.
No job was without some physical toll… but lately I barely felt it at all.
Maybe because of the fulfillment or the joy.
“Alright, let’s go in.”
“Popcorn?”
“Are you eating it?”
“Of course! I came to the theater and didn’t bring any? That’s like half a lifetime of loss, right?”
“…Got it.”
Even though Saran had said something strange earlier.
Anyway, we walked into the theater.
Saran had already bought the tickets, and since we didn’t need drinks or snacks, we sat straight away.
Our seats were quite far back in the theater—side-by-side couple seats.
Probably because Saran wasn’t very outgoing.
“Pfft, it’s been ages since I went to the movies. This is the first time this year.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, even more so at a theater. I always feel like I’ve seen movies with Saran. Even the last time we watched one at home.”
“Hmm… that makes sense.”
It was a somewhat unusual choice from a movie-watching perspective.
But sitting on the side actually had an advantage—you could talk to the person next to you.
And with today’s huge screens, it wasn’t a problem anyway.
“Same movie as last time, the one you mentioned?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh ho…”
I already knew Saran’s taste well—both last time and today.
She preferred artistic films.
Not the flashy ones like explosions and battles, but quiet ones with real emotion—films that were hard to put into words.
She was that kind of person.
I had actually seen one of those good commercial films and understood why she didn’t like them.
“So, how do you watch these movies? Just let the story flow and think along with the plot, or should you watch based on the protagonist’s journey?”
“Hmm…”
In the end, my job was to help Saran live a normal social life.
I had to make sure she didn’t dislike talking to people.
And the best way to do that was to show interest in her hobbies.
Nothing worked better than making someone feel special and cared for.
I thought the same about myself—if someone showed interest in me, I would treat them even more kindly.
“These kinds of films need to focus on the foreshadowing. Little things that seem insignificant can have huge impacts, and the big things can sometimes be tiny—just the genre.”
“Oh…”
“First, don’t just stare at the screen. Look around. And another thing—remember the dialogue well. Pay attention to the protagonist’s preferences and the random lines from supporting characters, and remember them one by one so you can interpret them later.”
“I see…”
As I listened to Saran, I nodded quietly.
Did my reaction please her?
Saran gave me a surprisingly bright smile.
Of course I wanted to keep asking questions, but her usual bluntness was gone and it was interesting.
The movie had started, though.
So we fell silent.
The film itself was… tough.
It had a strong documentary-like feel, but honestly I didn’t quite get it.
I guess I just preferred simple things over anything artistic.
Even people could be happy with something simple and pretty rather than something with a grand reason.
Well, I wasn’t that type.
“It was a tough movie for me too. I don’t watch movies often, so… um… I honestly didn’t understand the theme at all.”
“It happens.”
“But I’m glad I watched it with Saran. It was fun. Did you enjoy it?”
“…Yeah, I did.”
“Haha, that’s all that matters.”
But the important thing was that Saran had wanted to watch it.
That was why we had come together.
I chatted with Saran about the movie without any reluctance.
“…Sorry for dragging you to something so boring.”
“Pfft, it’s fine. It was difficult, but it was actually a pretty fun experience for me too. I hadn’t seen a real movie in a while, so it was really enjoyable.”
“…I see.”
“I’m having fun just watching movies with Saran.”
“……”
No matter what, spending time with Saran like this was pretty fun.
From my perspective, just being with the heroes I was responsible for was the only kind of normal time I had.
So of course it was enjoyable.
If anything, I was curious to see whether the heroes I was responsible for were enjoying their time together as much as I was.
“Saran, did you enjoy spending time with me like this?”
I asked, wanting to know how she felt about the time we had spent together.
It was a simple question, and since I had already told her I enjoyed it, the answer should have been easy.
You can’t spit in the face of a laughing person, right?
I was just fishing for a reaction.
“……Yeah, it was fun.”
“Pfft.”
And Saran’s answer was perfect.
Saran’s cheeks had flushed a little.
Probably because she had come from the air-conditioned theater into the warm outside air.
After all, snakes are creatures whose body temperature changes wildly.
I guess that was it.