Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Episode 19 I Made a Date Promise with the Hidden Character of the Yuri Game.
Inside the gymnasium filled with the squeaking sounds of sneakers scraping the floor, everyone busily moved around.
While dribbling the bouncing basketball, I slipped past the two defenders blocking my way and passed the ball to the idiot who’d been flashing around in the corner of my vision for a while now.
“Nice! And now for my amazing miracle shot!”
“Quit screwing around!”
“Idiot! My miracle shot!?”
That fool.
Even when I hand him a perfect opportunity, he still can’t score.
‘Well, still.’
“Geum Taeyang got the rebound!”
“Stop him! I don’t care if you foul him, just take him down!?”
“You’re not getting through here!”
Why are these guys trying so desperately hard?
‘I’ll just break through then.’
I slipped cleanly between the two players trying to block me like they were about to crash into me.
As I passed them, their voices rang out behind my back.
“He disappeared!? Right in front of us like an illusion!!”
“Don’t tell me that was Devil ○at Ghost! The legendary runner’s ultimate technique!?”
“Not yet! I’m still here!”
The final fortress blocking my path after I broke through the first two.
A center nearly two meters tall waited beneath the hoop to stop me.
Facing a genuinely skilled center radiating completely different pressure from the other two I’d already passed, even my eyes sharpened slightly.
“For the honor of the basketball team starters, I won’t let you pass!”
“Lord Ma!”
“Stop him, Ma Taepung!!!”
“Aaaah! He vanished right in front of me!?”
“Ma Taepung got broken through!?”
“And you call yourself a basketball starter!?”
“……Actually, I was only a starter last year.”
Hearing that sorrowful voice filled with the sadness of an aging veteran past his prime, I stopped myself from going for a normal shot and instead stomped the floor hard before jumping.
“N-No way! That’s!?”
“A one-handed dunk!?”
Kwaang!
The ball slammed through the hoop with a satisfying sound, shaking the rim violently.
“Light as a feather.”
“Geum Taeyang!”
After landing from the one-handed dunk, Baek Daeji charged toward me at full speed.
I thought he was trying to celebrate with me, but—
“You bastard! Why are you the only one standing out!?”
“Why are you grabbing my collar?”
“Because you’re too flashy! Look! All the girls are staring at you! You’re the one getting all the attention, not me!”
“That’s because you keep whiffing.”
“Don’t hit me with facts!”
Then stop picking fights if facts alone are enough to sink you, idiot.
“Aaaaah! I hate Geum Taeyang!”
“I hate that bastard getting cheers from girls!”
“My pride… as a former basketball starter…….”
“Aaaaah! Geum Taeyang!!!”
Hey, last guy.
You’re on the same team as me.
Seriously, why are all these idiots so dramatic about everything?
At that moment, a loud jump echoed in my ears, making my head naturally turn toward it.
A breathtaking pair of legs cutting through the air.
Perfectly stretched calf muscles and firm thighs instantly filled my vision.
The motion of her arching her back deeply before swinging down with full force burned into my eyes like slow motion, while her narrow waistline drew involuntary admiration.
As her fluttering gym clothes lifted slightly, pale white skin and a glimpse of her stomach and navel flashed into view.
My gaze instinctively locked there, and I unconsciously swallowed.
Pak!
A sharp cracking sound rang out as the spike slammed perfectly into the opponent’s court.
The ball that scored bounced out beyond the net while In Yuna landed lightly and brushed back her ponytail.
“Wow, In Yuna’s amazing. She’s seriously athletic too. She never gave off that kind of impression.”
At some point, Baek Daeji had wandered beside me and let out an honest exclamation of admiration.
I nodded too.
‘She really didn’t seem athletic at all.’
She always quietly sat in class.
Even around the three girls she’d become close with, she somehow felt both present and distant at the same time.
And when alone, she only read books, leaving a strong impression of a quiet literary girl.
That single spike completely shattered the image I’d built of her until now.
“A mysterious transfer student who arrived in second year. An overwhelmingly beautiful face and stunning figure. On top of that, she’s good at studying and athletics too—a perfect superhuman skilled in both brains and brawn! This is basically……!”
“Why are you looking at me?”
“Ghk!”
I could practically guess what he was thinking.
This bastard was definitely comparing me and In Yuna in his head.
Not to brag, but I’m decent at both studying and sports too.
So naturally, comparisons happened.
Still, from my perspective, In Yuna felt far more polished than me.
‘Everything about her was so clean.’
The process leading into her jump and the curve of her spike swing were so beautiful they practically stole my eyes.
If she’d joined the volleyball team, she would’ve attracted insane attention.
“Seriously, this is a feast for the eyes.”
“That’s exactly why you’ll never get a girlfriend.”
“You’re saying that now!? Stop hitting me with facts!”
Be grateful nobody’s reported you for openly staring at girls in gym uniforms like that.
‘Still, I kind of get it.’
Gym uniforms outlined body lines even more clearly than school uniforms, and combined with the heat from exercise, her porcelain-like skin glistening with sweat naturally drew the eyes.
‘Ah, this isn’t good.’
I shook my head hard to clear away the way my eyes kept drifting toward In Yuna’s skin.
It’s not like I was starving for women.
Seriously, these dirty thoughts kept creeping into my head.
“If we keep watching here any longer, we’re gonna get accused of harassment.”
“Don’t drag me away! Let me watch a little longer!?”
Might as well drag this carnivorous predator obsessed with harassment away too.
For some reason, imagining him staring at sweaty In Yuna really pissed me off.
Lunch break.
At this point, having lunch with In Yuna around three times a week had practically become routine.
At first it was once or twice weekly, but had the frequency gradually increased?
Even today, Baek Daeji looked at me suspiciously.
Naturally, he’d become suspicious since I kept disappearing alone during lunch lately.
But something about his gaze felt like a detective in a mystery manga cornering a suspect.
Honestly, imagining him discovering this scene right now gave me chills.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“……If your health is bad, tell me anytime.”
“Thanks for worrying, but please put away the medicine bottle.”
Every time she pulled out that bottle of painkillers she carried “just in case,” I genuinely got startled.
The moment I looked even slightly off, she immediately tried taking it out.
“Really?”
“I’m perfectly healthy, so stop worrying. More importantly, try this. Today it’s yakisoba bread with yakisoba filling.”
Today’s lunch was Geum Taeyang-style yakisoba bread—Japanese fried noodles adjusted in my own way and stuffed into coupe bread.
At this point, not only eating lunch together but exchanging side dishes and tasting each other’s food had become completely natural between us.
Constantly having someone else aware of your cooking could feel burdensome.
But for me, that pressure worked in exactly the right way.
Knowing someone would always eat the food I made made me conscious of the other person.
What used to be a simple routine just to fill my stomach and pass time now gave me genuine effort and satisfaction.
“This is my first time trying yakisoba bread.”
“Even if it’s called yakisoba bread, it’s pretty different from the ones sold in Japan. I adjusted it my own way. The bread ratio’s slightly different too.”
“Really?”
“You could call it yakisoba bread better suited to Korean tastes.”
“Then I’ll give you this too.”
The side dish she placed into my lunchbox with her chopsticks was the same rolled omelet as always.
But unlike before, the omelet wasn’t the only thing this time.
“Chicken karaage?”
“I tried making it today. Mom finally approved it too.”
“That’s great.”
From what I’d heard, In Yuna’s mother had incredibly strict standards regarding cooking.
Almost everything inside In Yuna’s lunchbox was prepared by her mother personally.
The only thing In Yuna herself usually made was rolled omelet.
Not because she couldn’t cook anything else, but because according to her mother’s standards, everything except the omelet failed.
And the only thing In Yuna ever shared with me until now had also been rolled omelet.
She always worried I’d get tired of eating only omelets, but honestly, there were enough variations that I never got bored.
Instead, I admired her cooking skill for creating such different flavors from the same dish.
But today, a new menu item had appeared.
“I wanted you to try it. So I worked hard.”
“……Thank you.”
When she expressed her feelings this honestly, I genuinely didn’t know how to respond except with thanks.
If I said anything more, I felt like I’d just start rambling stupidly.
Her direct confession completely disarmed me instantly.
Embarrassed and unable to meet her eyes, I turned my head away.
Just how red were my ears right now?
‘Damn it, this is way too destructive. Her face stays completely expressionless so it’s impossible to read her emotions, but then she attacks so directly and honestly like this—what am I supposed to do!?’
At this rate, if I didn’t seriously get my act together, it genuinely felt like I’d be conquered in no time.
“Ah, right, In Yuna. About Jackie.”
“? Did something happen to Jackie?”
Jackie, the stray cat we’d accidentally encountered together last time.
He had no owner, and the name Jackie only came from that junior, but—
For convenience, we’d both started calling him Jackie too.
“I found someone willing to adopt Jackie.”
“What?”
“If he stays a stray, he won’t live very long.”
City life looked easier than the wild, but it was still harsh for cats.
Especially for a kitten without parents.
I wasn’t dense enough not to notice that In Yuna had secretly been worrying about that the whole time too.
“I see…… that’s a relief.”
The emotions in her eyes held both bitterness and relief.
Relief that the tiny kitten would be safe.
Bitterness realizing she wouldn’t be able to see him anymore.
“Want to go visit him sometime?”
“Eh?”
The words came out almost instinctively before I even fully realized what I was saying.
“If you want, we can go see him.”
Once spoken, words couldn’t be taken back.
So instead of stopping myself, I just kept explaining naturally.
“The aunt who adopted Jackie is actually my aunt. She lives just one subway ride away. And she said anyone who wants to see Jackie is welcome anytime. If I go with you, there won’t be any problem.”
“……Would that really be okay?”
She probably meant whether it was alright even though she wasn’t family or a relative.
But honestly, there was nothing to worry about.
“My aunt likes cute and pretty people.”
“Huh?”
“In Yuna’s pretty and cute, so I’m sure she’ll like you.”
“!”
For a second, it genuinely looked like pink steam exploded from In Yuna’s face with a poof.
That was how violently her emotions shook.
Her pupils trembled chaotically, yet somehow her face remained expressionless, which honestly felt impressive at this point.
Eventually, all the stiffened girl could manage was a voice so tiny it sounded like she was crawling.
“Y-You playboy……”
“I don’t say this stuff to just anyone.”
“Hiiit!”
In Yuna abruptly shot up from the bench and immediately turned around before fleeing.
Watching her retreating figure like a defeated general running from battle, I could only laugh bitterly at myself.
‘That wasn’t my intention.’
What happened to my plan to keep a proper distance?
At this point, I was basically flirting with her for real.
“When I’m with In Yuna, I keep letting my guard down without realizing it.”
This really wasn’t like me.
I repeated that thought silently to myself.
Ding.
“KakaoTalk? Who’s—……hah.”
The moment I saw the message, laughter burst out naturally.
<This weekend… if it’s okay, can I visit your aunt’s house too? (Desperate Auntie emoticon)>
“H-Hahaha!”
Seriously.
At this point, even if I wanted to push her away, how could I possibly do it now!?