Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Episode 4 I Ate Lunch Together with the Hidden Character of the Yuri Game.
Having accepted In Yuna’s invitation, I sat on the bench beside hers, deliberately leaving a bit of distance between us. While opening the lunchbox I had packed from home, I suddenly felt a gaze on me and turned my head.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“…….”
In Yuna was staring at me so intensely it felt like she could bore holes through my body.
I said that, but was my presence really making her uncomfortable after all?
“Why are you sitting so far away?”
“Huh?”
The question that came from In Yuna after a slight pause made my own shoulders flinch instead.
No, what exactly was the intention behind that question? Why would she ask something like that?
“Wouldn’t you feel uncomfortable if I sat too close?”
“You were being considerate?”
“Yeah.”
“……It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
Once again, my bewilderment escaped my mouth before I could stop it.
“Actually, the way you’re being overly considerate is what feels uncomfortable. Just relax.”
“Hah? Alright then.”
Wow, she’s brave.
My build and height were definitely bigger than average for someone my age.
Both my father and mother were tall, and even thinking about my maternal grandfather whom we visited every New Year, everyone in my family on both sides was naturally large and broad-built.
Since I came from that kind of family, I naturally had a physique much larger than my peers, so if I got too close to someone, they often shrank back even when I had no intention of intimidating them.
“Are you really sure?”
“There’s no problem.”
“……Then.”
Lifting myself slightly, I carefully moved closer toward the center of the bench. Even so, the gaze fixed on me still didn’t disappear, and somehow it felt like there was a faint trace of dissatisfaction in In Yuna’s eyes.
“Why?”
“No, getting right beside you immediately is a bit much, isn’t it!?”
“……What a shame.”
What exactly is supposed to be a shame!?
‘No, this is weird.’
We only met yesterday, so why was she being this proactive? Wasn’t she getting too friendly with me?
‘Could it be one of those cases? Someone who looks cold and doesn’t talk much, but is secretly puppy-like.’
Maybe because of her atmosphere and cold beauty she seemed difficult to approach, but once you actually got talking with her, she was the type to quickly close the distance between people. Since she was a capture target from a yuri game, that was entirely possible.
‘No, what am I even thinking? This is reality!’
Even if the setting of this world came from a yuri game, everyone here was still a real individual with their own free will. If I started thinking of the entire world as just a game, then even my own existence here would become nothing more than a piece of data.
“Sandwiches?”
“Ah, you’ve been staring this whole time.”
Inside my lunchbox were sandwiches filled with lettuce, ham, cheese, eggs, and my mother’s special dressing, balancing both taste and nutrition perfectly. They’d been cut neatly into four pieces, and I was already looking forward to eating them.
They would definitely taste great together with the apple juice I bought from the convenience store……
But the gaze fixed on me since earlier kept pulling at my attention.
“…….”
Why is she staring so much!?
‘Ah, maybe.’
I slid one piece toward her.
“Want a bite?”
“?”
“Weren’t you staring because you wanted some?”
“…….”
I thought maybe she’d been watching because she wanted to eat the sandwiches, so I offered one, but was I wrong?
For a moment, In Yuna simply stared blankly at the sandwich I held out. Her eyes were cold and transparent like mirrors, making it impossible to read even the slightest hint of emotion.
Those glass-like eyes that made it impossible to know what she was thinking remained fixed on the sandwich for quite some time.
And then—
“Thank you for the food.”
She quietly accepted it, slowly bringing the sandwich to her lips before taking a bite and chewing quietly.
“It’s delicious.”
“That’s good to hear. As the person who made it, hearing that makes me feel proud.”
“! Taeyang made these?”
“Ah, I guess I don’t really look like the type. People usually get surprised when I tell them I made them.”
I was aware of it.
I knew very well that reactions like that were natural when a large, muscular, rough-looking guy like me said he cooked.
“Taeyang is good at cooking. I’m jealous.”
“There’s no need to be jealous. Didn’t you make your lunch too?”
“I didn’t make it. My mom did……”
“Mom, huh.”
So she called her that.
Hearing such a youthful and familiar tone come from someone with such a cold appearance naturally made me imagine the relationship between mother and daughter.
The image that came to mind was a sleepy-looking In Yuna swaying around while her unseen mother carefully prepared everything for her one by one before handing her a lunchbox.
“Still, it’s not like I’m bad at cooking.”
“I didn’t ask anything.”
“You’re lying. You looked like you were thinking that.”
Apparently, In Yuna misunderstood my silence as me assuming she couldn’t cook. A faintly fierce aura appeared on her expressionless face.
Women didn’t need to be good at cooking by default, yet seeing her react so strongly made me think she had some kind of pride as a woman—
“No, I’m not bad at it.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“It’s completely different. You definitely thought I couldn’t cook. I’m absolutely not bad at cooking. My mom’s just so good that I can’t take over the kitchen. I’m better than most people.”
“Ah, yeah. I see.”
So you could actually talk this much.
“Try this.”
The thing In Yuna picked up with her chopsticks was a beautifully golden rolled omelet. She placed it gently on top of my lunchbox.
“Oh, this is?”
In Yuna stared at me so blatantly as if telling me to hurry and eat it that for a moment my brain stopped working from confusion.
But after only a brief pause, I smiled brightly.
“Did you make this omelet yourself, In Yuna?”
“Yeah. Omelets are the one thing I passed at.”
“Heeh. Now I’m excited. Thanks for the food.”
I picked up the omelet and immediately put it in my mouth.
The soft texture spread across my tongue along with a subtly sweet and salty flavor. The balance of sugar and salt was exquisite, and it had been cooked perfectly without burning thanks to excellent heat control. The flavor bloomed inside my mouth like golden dandelions.
If I could’ve spoken freely at that moment, I definitely would’ve let out an impressed sigh. Completely forgetting embarrassment, I savored the fantastic taste of the omelet In Yuna had given me.
“That was really delicious.”
“…….”
“Alright, I admit it. You’re definitely not bad at cooking, In Yuna. You’re really good.”
“…….”
Though she still looked expressionless after receiving praise head-on, there was a subtle change in her face.
The lips that had been firmly closed in a straight line seemed to lift ever so slightly, and satisfaction flickered through those transparent eyes whose depths were impossible to read.
“But was it really okay for me to eat that?”
“It’s fine. It’s repayment.”
“Repayment? Ah, for the sandwich?”
“It was delicious.”
“Hearing you say that makes me happy too.”
Somehow, I ended up exchanging food with the hidden character of the yuri game. That thought briefly crossed my mind.
“AAAAAAAH!”
“Eh?”
“…….”
A shrill scream suddenly shattered the peaceful and strangely relaxed atmosphere.
Both mine and In Yuna’s gazes simultaneously turned toward the bushes where the sound had come from.
‘W-Who’s that?’
The silhouette felt both unfamiliar and strangely familiar at the same time. I tried recalling the girl staring at us as though her entire world had collapsed, but it was like my memories were covered in fog.
Who exactly was she, and why was she looking at us with that expression?
The girl in the school uniform had trembling pupils and a face gone pale as though she’d been betrayed by someone she trusted.
Since her face was unfamiliar, she probably wasn’t a second- or third-year student.
Which meant she was likely one of the new freshmen this year.
While I struggled to remember who she was, surprisingly it was In Yuna who reacted first.
“Yesterday.”
“Huh? Do you know her?”
In Yuna shook her head and pointed at the girl still staring blankly at us.
“She’s the one who almost crashed into me on the stairs yesterday.”
“Ahh!”
So she was the girl who almost collided with In Yuna yesterday.
Now that I thought about it, I vaguely remembered.
The fog clouding my memories cleared slightly as the disconnected pieces finally linked together.
“Come to think of it, didn’t we run into each other this morning too?”
Maybe because my unconscious muttering reached her ears, the girl’s small shoulders jerked violently.
Judging by that reaction, the girl who screamed and ran away from me earlier this morning really was her after all.
Why had she run away back then? Would I get an answer if I asked her now why she screamed and fled?
Just as I was thinking that, I suddenly felt someone tug at my sleeve, making me reflexively turn my head.
“This morning? What do you mean?”
“Huh?”
No, why was she suddenly latching onto that?
I was bewildered at why she was glaring at me so sharply.
But when In Yuna’s transparent eyes sharpened like blades, I somehow found myself unable to speak freely.
What was with this pressure? Where was this intensity even coming from!?
“This morning? What do you mean? Where did you meet her?”
“Well…… while jogging this morning, we happened to run into each other.”
“Morning jogging? You do that every day?”
“Almost every day.”
“……Anything else?”
“Huh?”
“Besides that, did anything happen?”
“No, not really.”
This felt exactly like a husband being interrogated by his wife over suspected cheating.
No, what the hell was I even thinking?
While inwardly ridiculing my own ridiculous imagination, I suddenly realized the girl by the bushes was already gone.
In the end, I never got to ask why she screamed after seeing me.
This morning and just now already made twice today.
If that junior was also reacting like that because she heard weird rumors about me……
“It’s okay.”
“Huh?”
A comforting voice suddenly came from beside me.
The eyes that had been glaring sharply at me moments ago had softened, now filled with warm gentleness.
“Cheer up.”
“Thanks.”
Maybe I really was a man after all, because having a beauty like In Yuna worry about me so sincerely instantly improved my mood.
The gloom weighing on me vanished completely, leaving me feeling as though I were basking beneath bright and refreshing sunlight.
No, this made no sense!
Why, why, why, why, why!?
Without even realizing where I was running, I sprinted frantically past countless confused stares until I finally reached an empty classroom and managed to stop.
“H-How did this happen……? What the hell is going on!?”
My legs trembled violently. Barely forcing myself to stay standing, I recalled the unbelievable sight I had just witnessed—the “nightmare” that was too absurd to accept as reality—and nearly screamed again.
“Why is In Yuna eating lunch together with Geum Taeyang!?”
Something like that, something like that—
“That scene never existed in the game!?”