Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Does Playing House with Friends Make Life Worth Living?
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Finally, we arrived in front of the coffee shop.
I vomited the moment Han Ye-seo released her grip on the back of my neck.
Since I hadn't eaten anything that morning, only translucent stomach acid came up.
Han Ye-seo, who had watched it all, spoke up.
"...What was that? You didn't eat breakfast?"
"D-Do you think that's important right now? It's because I ate so little."
She really wasn't normal.
No normal person observes someone else's vomit like that.
"Did I go too hard?"
"Just how high are your strength and stamina?"
"Both are at least B rank."
She was a monster.
Considering my own agility was only C+...
It really hit home just how big the gap was between me and Class A's third place.
Ja-an opened his mouth.
"So... where is this place?"
"A cafe I know!"
It had a shabby exterior.
More like one of those old-school tea houses the adults used to frequent than a modern cafe.
Phone numbers plastered haphazardly on the windows, the cafe logo, and a tacky red signboard to boot.
Honestly, it was unexpected.
I'd figured Han Ye-seo would pick somewhere trendier, more modern.
Her image was kind of cool and aloof...
"Let's go in!"
Han Ye-seo grabbed my hand and Ja-an's, dragging us inside.
The interior was exactly as I'd imagined.
A few leather sofas, wooden tables, bookshelves crammed against the walls.
It was straight out of the old Seoul tea houses I knew.
The reason I knew so much about tea houses was because my father had an affair with one of the women who worked there.
He'd come home dead drunk every day, bragging to my mom about how much better the woman at the tea house was than her.
And from there, the fights would start.
I learned all about tea house signboard colors, wallpaper shades, tacky designs, leather sofas, wooden tables, and bookshelves plastered to the walls—things I never wanted to know.
An old man appeared from behind the tea house counter.
His grayish-white hair bore the marks of time.
Maybe because of the sunlight streaming through the window, it even sparkled a little.
The old man spoke.
"Hm... you brought some friends."
"Yeah! They're all nice!"
"What'll it be?"
"The usual for me! Wait for the others to decide—they've never been to a place like this."
"We have all the trendy drinks you young folks like these days. 'A place like this'..."
I whispered to Han Ye-seo.
"...Who is he?"
"Someone who looked after me back when I was a support on the front lines."
"Ah."
Seemed like some backstory that didn't make it into the original game.
Ja-an glanced around the shop with a nostalgic look in his eyes.
The protagonist had also served as support on the front lines, so maybe there was a connection.
The original story started when he returned from the front and enrolled in the academy, so I had no idea what happened before that.
Han Ye-seo asked.
"So, have you all decided?"
Ja-an and I exchanged glances.
Looks like neither of us had chosen yet.
'Actually, I do have my usual.'
The symbol of a real man.
Black coffee.
"One iced Americano, please."
"Oh... more grown-up taste than I expected!"
"Is it? What about you?"
"The usual tea house coffee for me!"
Han Ye-seo's gaze shifted from me to Ja-an.
She was curious what he'd order.
"Green tea, please."
"You're ordering green tea at a tea house? Not even something like hwayangcha."
"Caffeine gives me headaches. And I hate egg yolks."
"Yeah, some people just don't tolerate it well."
"Yeah."
Han Ye-seo nodded as if she got it.
The old man smiled kindly in response and busied himself with the machines.
Soon, a faint aroma filled the entire tea house.
How many minutes passed?
A small silver tray appeared before me, holding a glass of coffee with ice floating in it.
"Thank you."
The smell was great.
Back when I was a guy, I'd always order the cheapest swill at the coffee shop near my place...
'Having money really does change your quality of life.'
I took a sip right away.
"Ugh...!"
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"B-Bitter..."
I'd handled iced Americanos just fine as a guy, but now it was unbearably bitter.
I couldn't admit it.
I forced down another sip.
Gulp.
I barely swallowed.
The bitter taste still lingered on my tongue.
"Still so b-bitter..."
"What? You've never had it before?"
"No, I definitely used to drink it fine..."
"Ivy, you have such a kid's palate."
Ugh.
No arguing with that.
Han Ye-seo slid her coffee toward me.
"Wanna try mine?"
A pale color, more sugar than coffee.
My pride stung, but I was curious.
I lifted the cup and took a sip.
"...It's good!"
"Hehe... right? This is the golden ratio of tea house coffee!"
Han Ye-seo shrugged proudly, beaming.
Next to us, Ja-an calmly sipped his tea, gazing out at the street.
Peaceful everyday life.
Was I allowed to have something this peaceful?
Sitting there with Han Ye-seo and Ja-an, drinking coffee and chatting, I felt true joy for the first time in ages.
Daily life was more fulfilling than I'd thought.
We talked together.
We drank coffee together.
We parted and met again together.
I'd been someone with no friends, no family, nothing. But now, every moment felt like a precious memory I didn't want to lose.
Thud.
The sound of the door closing echoed.
I'd returned to my dorm room after a brief outing.
A gift box lay on the floor.
[Congratulations on becoming a Heart Soul Academy student.]
[Please check the enclosed letter for the entrance ceremony time and location.]
There was a letter too.
I crumpled the letter and gift box haphazardly and shoved them into the trash can.
My mood soured.
A voice came from behind.
"Did you have fun?"
"...Ah, fuck."
It was my father's voice.
Status Ailment: Drug (Worsened)
[Hallucinations / Nightmares / Mental Aberrations / Other side effects may occur.]
So this was the hallucination.
Or maybe it was just insanity.
My head throbbed.
A headache.
Someone was stabbing my brain with an awl.
I staggered and gripped the desk.
I turned my head.
In the corner of the room where nothing should be, there he stood amid clumps of mold.
The stench of booze, the revolting reek of alcohol—it was a hallucination, I knew that, but the smell was too vivid.
"I asked if you had fun."
My father laughed as he approached.
One step, another.
With each step forward, shards of glass crunched under his feet.
Auditory hallucination.
I wanted to gouge out my eardrums.
"...Shut up."
"Playing house with your little friends makes life worth living, huh? Sipping coffee, gossiping, laughing—quite the spectacle."
His hand seized my chin.
Chills ran down my spine.
"Don't delude yourself. This isn't reality. You know that, right? That box and letter you just tossed in the trash? That's why you're in a foul mood. Every time you see 'Heart Soul Academy,' it reminds you."
I could see my reflection in his eyes.
I was trembling in fear.
"...No."
"Hiding among dolls, wearing someone else's skin, pretending to be human—did that make you forget about me for a bit?"
My father shoved my shoulder.
I toppled backward.
"Ivy Lane? A dropout who ran from reality—doesn't that disgust you? A grown man parasitizing a girl's body, playing pretend friends!"
"Shut up."
"What do you think those kids would say if they knew who you really are? 'Hi, nice to meet you, let's be friends'? Hilarious. They'd be repulsed. They'd despise you. Even that hotshot protagonist would slit your throat if he knew!"
Hah.
My breath came in gasps.
My father squatted down to meet my eyes.
His alcohol-laced breath hit my face.
Disgusting.
"Wanna be a hero?"
"......"
"You think Han Ye-seo survived because you regressed? Was regression even your power? Ever consider that none of this would've happened if Ivy Lane—not you—had been there?"
I knew.
Ivy Lane had regressed countless times, creating a world free of drug issues and other cadets' deaths.
I was the foreign contaminant, the impurity.
Things that wouldn't have happened with Ivy Lane here kept occurring.
The story was unfolding into something completely different from what I knew.
I knew.
And yet, I hadn't looked away.
I covered my ears.
I screamed.
"Shut up! I said shut up!"
My father laughed right in front of me.
Cackling hysterically.
The laughter swirled in my head, rattling my brain.
I crawled across the floor toward the corner.
My body shook.
I wasn't normal.
Knock knock.
The knocking came again.
The door opened, and in stumbles my drunken father. So I don't open it. I hide under the bed and listen to my parents fight.
If he spots me, a bottle flies my way. Then green glass shards scatter across the floor, and I...
A voice called out.
"Forgot something! You in there?"
It was Ja-an's voice.