063. You Asleep...?
063. You Asleep...?
The next morning.
Bba-bba-bba─ bba-bbam! Good mo—
Tap.
I shut off the same noisy alarm as always.
I opened my eyes.
And after checking my phone in my half-awake state, I couldn't stop my eyes from going wide.
"......Wh-what is this?"
The chats had piled up.
If it'd been a group chat, I would've figured they were just talking among themselves. But what had piled up were private messages. And from every single party member, at that.
My pupils trembled like they were caught in an earthquake.
'Did something happen on the way back last night...?'
Had the cooking really been the problem?
Had they argued with each other, gotten emotional, and decided they couldn't party together anymore?
Or had my unilateral decision to reject the temporary party member yesterday—without taking the party's input—finally blown up into resentment?
If it wasn't that, then... was it because of the stupid crap I said at the end...?
All these assumptions tangled together, making my head a mess.
'Alright, stay calm.'
Gulp.
'I know what they're like. I know exactly how to lighten the mood when things go wrong. I know plenty.'
As I repeated that to myself, my mind settled a little.
'First, Shin Se-hee.'
Party-member management was basically left to Shin Se-hee.
In other words, if something had happened on the way back yesterday, Shin Se-hee would definitely have sorted it out and notified me.
'Shin Se-hee's chat has the most piled up.'
With nervous fingers, I opened Shin Se-hee's chat.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
〔 Tuesday, April 11 〕
【Blossom ✿】
─ Jin Yu-ha, you asleep? 〔11:58 PM〕
─ You are asleep.
─ Good night. 〔11:59 PM〕
〔 Wednesday, April 12 〕
【Blossom ✿】
─ J-Jin Yu-ha. 〔01:31 AM〕
─ JiJin Yu-ha.
─ I'm drrunk.
─ But you reelly meant it when you said you belived me, rright? I was honestly tiuched back then,
─ ......sigh, but what's the point. I know I never had a chance, and I know I really shouldn't even want it.
─ I didn't do anyhting weird to you, did I? Honestly I did want you, but I really didn't do anyhting? For reel. 〔01:33 AM〕
【Blossom ✿】
─ g 〔07:41 AM〕
─ g
─ g
─ g
─ g
─ g
─ g
─ g
─ g
─ g
─ g
─ g 〔07:42 AM〕
─ g
─ fck 〔07:43 AM〕
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"She was drinking last night?"
I frowned as I looked at Shin Se-hee's chat.
And I also had a separate SMS message from her.
[ (Emergency) Jin Yu-ha! There was a brief mix-up on the server I manage. It appears the messaging app was subjected to a malicious hacking attack. The content written there has absolutely nothing to do with party activities. If you read it, a virus could infiltrate your phone as well. I'm currently handling it, so please delete the app and reinstall it. You absolutely must not open the chat. ]
'Hmm, I already opened it, though.'
Either way, the fact that Shin Se-hee had been drinking meant something seriously infuriating had happened.
I hardened my expression as I looked at Shin Se-hee's chat again.
She'd typed it while drunk, so the text was a mess, but I could gather the gist.
To roughly summarize, she was doubting what I'd said when I told her I believed her,
and she was claiming innocence, insisting she hadn't done anything to me.
'......Did someone say something to Shin Se-hee?'
The first person who came to mind was Kang Do-hee.
She hadn't gotten along with Shin Se-hee ever since the initial basic training, after all.
Next, I opened Kang Do-hee's chat.
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〔 Tuesday, April 11 〕
【Fire Fist】
─ Yellow Dog. You asleep.
─ First, I'll send you some cooking recipes you can make alone in your room. 〔11:44 PM〕
【Fire Fist】
─ Seaweed soup with beef recipe.
─ First, you need to soak the seaweed, but pre-soaked seaweed is sold these days, so use that. Seaweed can look like a small amount, but it expands massively in soup, so for two servings, roughly 10g is plenty. It's best to season the meat. For 50g of beef, add salt and soy sauce.......
〔Read More〕
【Fire Fist】
─ If you measure the ingredients exactly according to the recipe I just sent and cook it, you will be able to make delicious food on your own even without anyone teaching you. Try it out like this and bring it to me. I'll taste it and evaluate it.
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Fortunately, what Kang Do-hee sent wasn't anything serious.
Just a few simple cooking recipes I could make at home.
The way she worded things instantly put me beneath her, and my chef's spirit squirmed in irritation, but regardless, she'd sent it because she was thinking of me.
Besides, I'd already lost to her in actual skill, so a little smug gloating was simply the victor's natural right.
'Tch. Anyway, so it's not Kang Do-hee... Then, could it be Gukbap?'
Shin Se-hee's natural enemy.
Lee Yu-ri.
She was completely helpless in front of Lee Yu-ri, so there was a good chance that even if Gukbap's words had gotten under her skin, she wouldn't have been able to say anything to her face.
'So she might've gone off later, felt upset, and drank alone.'
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〔 Tuesday, April 11 〕
【I'm Not Gukbap.】
─ Jin Yu-ha! You asleep...?
─ What are you doing right now?
─ I'm listening to music right now.
─ Hmm! Just between friends, isn't listening to music together totally a thing?
─ I have some music I like; do you want to listen together? It'd be fine if you check it and listen tomorrow morning too. Actually, my taste runs more toward songs that are good to listen to in the morning than at night! 〔10:54 PM〕
【I'm Not Gukbap.】
─ I'll send you the links, so make sure to give them a listen! I really like these kinds of songs.
─ "When You're Tired and Weary, Look at the Sky", "Eul-cha-cha!", "I Don't Have Any Problems", "Give Me Strength", "You, Who Are Not Alone", "From Pupa to Butterfly", "Fight Against the World", "We Can Do It!", "A Tough Woman" ....... (links) 〔Read More〕
〔10:56 PM〕
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I let out a short laugh as I looked at Gukbap's chat. The songs she'd recommended were all exactly the kind of songs she'd like.
I tapped one of them and played the music.
I'm a tough woman who doesn't bend before the world~
Mm. Looking at Gukbap's chat again, there really wasn't any sign of a falling-out yesterday.
And judging by the time she sent them, it looked like she went straight to her dorm right after.
'Then what the hell is it...?'
Now there was only one person's unread chat left.
Only Im Ga-eul remained.
"......In the first place, Shin Se-hee just met sunbae yesterday for the first time, right? And it's not like Im Ga-eul has the personality to get into red-faced fights with anyone."
I cocked my head, then bit my lip at a sudden thought.
'No way. Did she feel a sense of relative deprivation because we suddenly brought in a new person as a Support? Did she think it was because we don't see her as a real party member...?'
It was an extremely plausible theory.
Shin Se-hee had always been sensitive about things like that, after all.
And the chat preview for Im Ga-eul's messages lent more weight to that thought.
[ I'm sorry, hoobae. I really....... ]
Unlike the others, which had started with asking if I was asleep, Im Ga-eul's message began with an apology.
Judging from that first sentence, Im Ga-eul was definitely the one who'd had the conflict with Shin Se-hee.
Given her personality, if she thought she was the cause of the conflict, she might even say she'd voluntarily leave.
'......Shin Se-hee and Im Ga-eul's chemistry wasn't actually bad in the original.'
Feeling a sudden knot in my chest, I opened Im Ga-eul's chat.
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〔 Tuesday, April 11 〕
【Warm Autumn Weather】
─ I'm sorry, hoobae. I really don't know how to say this. And if this late-night message woke you up, I'm sorry about that too....... But if I don't say it now, I feel like I won't be able to later. 〔11:34 PM〕
【Warm Autumn Weather】
─ Let me start by saying thank you.
─ Yu-ha hoobae, I don't know what you think, but I honestly truly really feel so incredibly grateful to you.
─ For recognizing my skill and making it bloom. For reaching out your hand to a nobody like me. For protecting me when I was almost taken by a Demonized Human. I'm thankful for all of it.
─ ......I don't know how much help I'll be in the future, but I'll do my best as a party member!
─ Oh, and don't worry about the highest-grade Magic Stone, I'll repay it as soon as I can! 〔11:36 PM〕
〔 Wednesday, April 12 〕
【Warm Autumn Weather】
─ And....... I wasn't sure if I should say this, but I think it's better to say it.
─ What I said yesterday about you having a lot of mothers, that was a metaphor for successes and failures. I absolutely! Definitely! Did not mean it in any other way!
─ You don't have a lot of mothers, hoobae! In fact, you have very few!
─ No, none.
─ ....... 〔00:16 AM〕
【Warm Autumn Weather】
─ ......I'm sorry. I keep putting my foot in my mouth. I should've just not said anything at all. Good night. Hoobae. 〔02:52 AM〕
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'What the hell.'
I couldn't help but feel confusion as I looked at Im Ga-eul's chat.
'......It doesn't really seem like Im Ga-eul fought with Shin Se-hee either. What's going on, then? She didn't say anything about leaving the party, either.'
My head tilted on its own.
I had a class just with Shin Se-hee later anyway, after my Personal Combat Class with Kang Do-hee in the morning, so it looked like I'd have to ask her then.
'Anyway, this noona really brings up mother-insults like she breathes.'
I let out a short laugh.
And then I headed to the bathroom to wash up.