Chapter 40: Counseling (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 40: Counseling (1)
“Phew...”
After closing the door, Shin A-young lowered her head. Her eyes were trembling uncontrollably.
She’d done it.
She’d finally gone and done it.
Thump, thump. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Her forehead was slick with sweat.
Was this guilt toward Lee Sol, or the sheer thrill of her own rebellious streak?
...Perhaps it was both.
“Deep breaths... In, and out...”
Shin A-young gently stroked her chest.
Calm down. Now isn’t the time for this. She had gone through all the trouble of acting out just to get him here.
“What do you want to do?”
Shin A-young opened the locker under the desk inside the counseling office. She scanned the boxes piled high inside and began placing them on the table one by one.
“Looking at all this, there’s actually quite a lot we can do.”
“Is there anything for just the two of us?” Lee Seung-ho asked, rubbing his ear.
“...Wouldn’t it be more fun with more people?”
He started to push himself up from his chair—or rather, he tried to.
The movement was cut short. Shin A-young grabbed his shoulder.
“...Ah.”
A short gasp escaped her lips. It was an impulsive move. She seemed startled by her own behavior, her eyes wavering.
“...Everyone’s probably busy studying,” she offered as an excuse. Besides, “It’s a private counseling session, after all.”
Shin A-young pressed down firmly on his shoulder. She wanted him to focus on the counseling right now.
“...”
Lee Seung-ho didn’t argue. He silently scanned the area around Shin A-young.
“Fine.”
He soon relaxed and sat back down.
“...But are you going to be okay with this?”
“With what...?”
At his question, Shin A-young’s fingers fidgeted. She focused all her attention on what he was about to say.
“I mean, this is counseling.” Lee Seung-ho continued as he began tidying the board games on the desk, moving them to the side one by one. “If it’s something serious, the teacher would be better at it. And for the counseling itself, Senior Min-ji or the Club President would find it easier.”
As Lee Seung-ho prattled on, Shin A-young’s shoulders relaxed.
And here I was wondering what he’d say.
It was nothing major.
“I requested you because we’re the same age.” Shin A-young nodded to herself.
Yes, that was it. Sometimes, there were things that were hard to talk about with the Club President or the Vice Club President. And among the members of the counseling club who were the same age, there were only three: Lee Seung-ho, Ji Nuri, and Lee Sol.
No matter how she thought about it...
“...The other two are a bit...”
Lee Sol was busy enough with her studies as it was. And Ji Nuri didn’t exactly have the temperament for counseling. If anything, instead of counseling, he’d probably just try to eliminate the source of the problem.
“Hmm...”
Lee Seung-ho remained silent as if he understood what she meant.
“...”
Besides, if he was worried the game wouldn’t be fun with just the two of them...
“There are actually a lot of board games for two players. There are card games, block games...”
Shin A-young started pulling out various boxes. She had looked into this beforehand, anticipating this very situation.
“Ah, here it is.” She picked up a box that had been leaning against the wall. “Which of these two? One is a block game, and this one is a card game.”
Shin A-young chattered as she held the boxes up.
“Hmm... I guess the one on the right?”
“Okay, then let’s go with this.”
Shin A-young placed the board game he chose on the desk and neatly tucked the rest of the boxes back inside.
“...Wait, did we always have a game like this?” Lee Seung-ho looked down at it with a puzzled expression.
“This is a new one.”
“...What? How do you know that?”
“Because I’m the one who recommended it to Senior Min-ji.”
Min-ji had been debating whether to buy new games, so A-young had suggested it. It looked like it would be fun.
Rattle—
Shin A-young poured the pieces out of the box. It was a game that looked like a cross between Go and Tetris. The goal was to occupy more territory than the opponent by the end of the game. The rules were easy to learn, and the blocks were colorful and pretty.
“Want to make a bet?” Shin A-young asked with a faint smile.
“What kind of bet?”
“Ice cream.”
“Sure, why not.”
Click. Click. Click.
The blocks were placed one by one with a clean, rhythmic sound. While they played, Lee Seung-ho toyed with a block and asked, “...I didn’t know you liked board games.”
“Huh? Why do you think that?”
“Don’t you like the PC café more?”
Shin A-young pursed her lips at Lee Seung-ho’s remark. “No? I like board games too.”
“...”
Lee Seung-ho didn’t reply. He just stared at her with his half-moon eyes.
“...What? What is it?” Shin A-young’s voice rose as if she’d been caught. Even so, she didn’t like the PC café that much.
“...Board games vs. LoL.”
“What?”
“One, two, three—?”
When he started counting rapidly, she blurted out the truth.
“...LoL.”
“...”
Lee Seung-ho nodded as if he’d expected that. Click. He placed a block down.
“No, I mean, I like board games too,” Shin A-young tried to make an excuse, but he didn’t seem to be listening anymore. Click. He simply placed another block.
Then, he asked casually, “Do you usually play board games?”
“Usually... you mean, at home?”
“Yeah.”
“Not really. I don’t have anyone to play with. I only started playing recently since coming to the counseling office.”
She hadn’t thought much of it at first. But as she played, she found it had its own kind of charm. It was a different kind of fun from online games.
Click.
Shin A-young placed her block. That was the last one.
“Ah.”
A short exclamation escaped Lee Seung-ho. The game was over. Counting the blocks, Shin A-young had occupied more territory.
“What’s this? Why are you so bad at this? You’re not going easy on me just because this is counseling, are you?” Shin A-young narrowed her eyes and giggled.
“...Sigh.”
Lee Seung-ho took a deep breath. He sat as still as a statue for a moment. Then, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his tightly closed lips slowly parted.
...When it comes to counseling, the ‘Mini-Me’ is definitely a helpful ability. In fact, you could say I’m specialized for it. That’s true from the moment I can read thoughts. Since I can know things the other person hasn’t even said, it’s a huge help for casual counseling.
However, if the client is in a bad state... the heavier the content of the counseling... that advantage disappears.
...Just look at this.
— “...but... probably...”
Shin A-young’s Mini-Me was speaking in a fragmented, flickering voice. It had been like this for a while now. I could hardly hear her thoughts properly. The noise was smaller than before, but it hadn’t disappeared completely.
“...”
This meant that Shin A-young’s stress wasn’t being relieved at all. She seemed to be trying to resolve it with board games in her own way, but...
...I don’t think it’s working.
It wasn’t working. It would probably be the same even if she went to play games at a PC café. It might be a slight help, but it seemed insufficient to bring about a significant change.
Besides, that method... if it’s LoL... even more so. If she wasn’t careful, she might end up even more stressed.
Just as a rubber band gradually loses its elasticity the more you stretch it, her psychological burden had reached that point. It felt like too much to solve with just a simple game.
“Sigh.” I stroked my chin.
“...Should we play a different game?” Shin A-young started tidying up the board game we were just playing. Her attitude seemed as if she were walking on eggshells around me.
— “...wasn’t... fun...”
The Mini-Me wore a dejected expression. It trudged over to rummage through other board games.
“...”
I’d been watching, and this really wasn’t going to work.
Tap, tap—
I lightly tapped the desk and stood up.
“Let’s go outside.”
“...Huh?”
A question mark practically appeared over Shin A-young’s head. She asked in a flustered tone, “Was it not fun? Then instead of this—”
“No, it’s not that...” My voice trailed off. How should I put this...? “...Anyway, you came here for counseling. I don’t think it’ll work well in here, so let’s go out.”
“Ah.” Shin A-young’s eyes widened. “Right. Yeah.” She nodded awkwardly.
— “...right. Counseling...”
The Mini-Me cleared its throat and shifted its gaze. It looked around. It seemed she had actually forgotten.
Shin A-young asked hesitantly, “But is it okay for us to do that? Just going outside...”
“If I tell the Club President we’re doing outdoor counseling, it’ll be fine.”
Counseling doesn’t always have to take place in a secluded room. You don’t necessarily have to be sitting down, either. Though not very often, there are counseling sessions held outdoors.
“I don’t think we can focus in here.”
Board games didn’t seem like they would relieve her stress. And more importantly...
— “...!”
The mental noise bleeding in from outside the counseling office hammered against my eardrums. The one I could hear outside was probably... Lee Sol.
Inside was Shin A-young. The noise coming from both sides was enough to drive me insane.
Let’s deal with Shin A-young first.
“...Let’s go out and get some fresh air. Is that okay?”
I pressed my forehead firmly as I stood up and pushed my chair under the desk. Getting out of here seemed like the first priority.
“...”
At those words, Shin A-young nodded and stood up.
“Okay, let’s do that.”