Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Unread Messages
---
“Vanilla Mousse, Dad Is an Alien are ready.”
The staff handed over the ice cream, and I passed it to her.
I had Vanilla Mousse. Shin Ayoung had Dad Is an Alien.
“You actually bought it for me.”
Shin Ayoung reacted in a daze.
“…You were asking me to buy it earlier, though.”
“That was obviously a joke. A joke.”
“……”
Well…
For something she called a joke, it didn’t really seem like one at the time.
But whatever.
“Consider it even since you gave me time at the PC bang.”
“Thanks for the treat.”
Shin Ayoung scooped a big bite of ice cream and put it in her mouth.
Her facial muscles visibly relaxed.
“Ice cream really hits different when you’ve carried a game.”
Huh?
“What are you talking about? I was the one who carried.”
“Did you not see me wiping the enemy team earlier?”
“I basically set the whole game up, didn’t I?”
We bickered lightly as we walked, eventually reaching the main street.
“……”
The air turned slightly awkward.
Hmm.
Maybe it’s about time we split ways.
Just as I was glancing around, gauging the situation—
“Shin Ayoung?”
Someone called her name.
“Wow, it really is you. Oh, what a coincidence meeting here.”
A tall male stood there. Judging by his uniform, he was from our school.
The blue badge meant he was a third-year.
“…Senior?”
Shin Ayoung’s eyes widened. They seemed to know each other.
— “…Why am I running into him here.”
Seeing her mini version of herself rub its face, it didn’t look like they were close.
If anything, she seemed uncomfortable.
“Hey, no need to call me senior. Just call me casually. Oppa or whatever works.”
The guy, who was called senior, approached with a friendly smile.
“Ah, how can I do that~”
Shin Ayoung laughed, covering her mouth and waving her hand.
Maybe that was just a way to hide her expression.
— “Oppa my ass.”
Inside, her expression was already twisted.
“Who’s this next to you? A friend?”
His gaze, which had been focused on conversation, finally shifted toward me.
“A classmate.”
“Hello, I’m Lee Seungho.”
I slightly bowed at Shin Ayoung’s introduction.
“Oh, got it. I’m Jeong Jaehun, Ayoung’s club senior.”
Jeong Jaehun smiled warmly and extended his hand. I shook it lightly in return.
“If you ever have questions about school life, feel free to ask. If you’re Ayoung’s friend, you’re basically my junior
too.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
I responded appropriately.
On the surface, he seemed like a very good senior.
— “Who’s this guy? Is he flirting with Ayoung?”
Jeong Jaehun’s mini version scanned me up and down with a wary gaze.
It had been like that since earlier. The cause was obvious—Shin Ayoung standing right next to me.
Then his mini self shook its head slightly.
— “…Maybe not.”
Hey, why are you deciding that on your own?
It could be.
“….”
This is why interacting with people is difficult.
Since I can see their inner thoughts, it’s hard to be completely at ease with anyone.
“Were you two out hanging out?”
Jeong Jaehun’s attention returned to Shin Ayoung. I had already been pushed out of his focus.
“Seriously, what are the odds meeting you here? Your house is pretty far from here.”
— “Damn it.”
“Yeah, I know.”
…Pfft.
I almost laughed out loud.
Jeong Jaehun, unaware, kept smiling.
“I was hanging out with some friends and was on my way to eat. You haven’t eaten yet, right? Since we ran into each
other, let’s go eat together.”
He pointed behind him. Other people were clearly waiting.
“Ah, well…”
“If it’s about money, I’ll treat today.”
He didn’t seem like he planned to back down.
— “Maybe I should interfere a bit and ruin this. I don’t know if they’re really friends, but he looks like a nobody. If
I crush his confidence a bit, he’ll back off on his own.”
“….”
Hey, that’s crossing the line.
I didn’t care if he liked Shin Ayoung or not, but insulting someone who’s just standing there was not okay.
Of course, that was just his inner thoughts.
Unfortunately, I could hear them.
— “Ha… I ran into the wrong person. How do I get out of this?”
Seems like Shin Ayoung was also in a difficult spot.
Since things had come to this, helping a bit wouldn’t hurt.
“Excuse me.”
As I stepped in, both of them turned their attention to me.
What should I say to refuse?
Saying something blunt to his face felt awkward, so it was better to come up with a plausible excuse.
“I still have an assignment left. We were planning to do it together at her place, so I don’t think I have time right
now.”
Of course, that was a lie.
I had already finished my assignments yesterday. And I had no intention of going to her place.
“…Oh, really?”
— “This guy trying to fool someone?”
Jeong Jaehun didn’t look fully convinced.
“You’ve got a lot of assignments?”
He turned to Shin Ayoung, asking her if it was true.
The baton passed to her.
“Yes. They’ve been giving a lot since the new semester started.”
But Shin Ayoung wasn’t the type to miss an opportunity.
“Sorry, senior. It’s kind of urgent.”
Without even blinking, she fabricated a nonexistent assignment.
“It’s fine, no need to apologize. We can eat next time.”
At that point, Jeong Jaehun couldn’t push further.
“Then we’ll get going.”
“Yeah~ See you tomorrow.”
We turned and quickly walked away.
Once Jeong Jaehun’s figure was no longer visible,
Shin Ayoung tugged on my sleeve.
“…How did you know?”
She whispered while looking around, still cautious of him.
“What?”
“No, I mean how you refused his invitation. I didn’t think I showed that I disliked it.”
That’s because—
I could read her thoughts.
Naturally, I couldn’t say that.
So I gave my usual response.
“I’m pretty perceptive. It was obvious just by looking.”
---
“I’m home.”
Shin Ayoung spoke to herself as she entered her house.
Yes, she spoke to herself.
There was no one home.
It was familiar. Her parents were always busy.
“……”
As she opened the door and stepped inside, the dark house greeted her.
Coming from the noise of the PC bang, the silence felt even more pronounced.
Living room, kitchen, room.
She turned on the lights one by one and switched on the TV to break the silence.
“Phew.”
Now it finally felt like a livable home.
“…What should I eat?”
After that, she ordered food through a delivery app.
As usual, things flowed naturally.
It would take some time for the delivery to arrive. She decided to shower in the meantime.
She took off her school uniform and stepped into the shower.
“……”
Her reflection appeared in the bathroom mirror.
Slightly sharper eyes. Her natural expression, no longer acting.
“Did it really show that much…?”
She pressed her facial muscles with her fingertips.
She had thought she was hiding it properly.
But he had seen through it instantly.
“……”
Maybe try again?
As always, she switched into her everyday “performance” that she showed others.
Her expression changed instantly.
A soft smile. The gentle, friendly persona she showed everyone.
Then she replayed the earlier situation in her mind.
…Imagining the face of that clingy club senior.
“Damn it.”
A rough curse slipped out.
But her face remained unchanged.
“…Hmm. Not noticeable.”
Not even the slightest movement.
Her bright smile stayed perfectly intact. A flawless performance.
At this level, even her actor father would be impressed.
But then…
‘…How did he see through it?’
Lee Seungho had seen through her act.
It wasn’t just that he was perceptive.
‘I don’t get it.’
Thinking further didn’t seem to lead anywhere.
“Haah…”
After finishing her shower, Shin Ayoung applied lotion and sat on the sofa, flipping through TV channels.
Recently, she had been watching NewTube.
A RUL video appeared on the main screen via algorithm recommendations. Since she had been playing RUL often lately, pro
player highlight videos kept popping up.
Watching it stirred something inside her.
“…I feel like playing RUL.”
The urge suddenly surfaced.
Not alone—playing together.
The duo she had just played with Lee Seungho had awakened the fun of multiplayer.
‘Come to think of it, wasn’t that the first time I played games with someone else?’
She had always preferred solo play.
Also, Jinuri and Lee Sol didn’t like games, so she had never played together with them.
“……”
Matching synergy for the first time.
The thrill of sharing victory.
Memories from earlier replayed in her mind like a film.
“…That was fun.”
It was definitely more exciting than playing alone.
‘Should I message the others to play?’
It might be a bit laggy on a laptop, but still possible.
She lay down on the sofa and picked up her phone.
[Shin Ayoung, Jinuri, Lee Sol]
A group chat with the three of them.
— Shin Ayoung: Is anyone free right now?
It didn’t take long for replies.
— Jinuri: Why?
— Shin Ayoung: Wanna play RUL together? I’ll teach you.
— Jinuri: I can’t right now, studying.
“Ah… she’s studying.”
That meant she couldn’t be disturbed.
— Shin Ayoung: Sol, what about you?
— Lee Sol: (emoji of a lying hamster falling asleep)
That was it.
In other words, she didn’t want to.
“…Yeah, I expected that.”
That left only one person.
“Should I message him?”
Lee Seungho. The guy who had dropped her off at home earlier.
He should’ve arrived by now.
She hadn’t properly thanked him earlier either. Might as well ask him to play together.
Without knowing his KakaoTalk ID, she opened Cocoatalk instead.
She’d ask him later.
Tap. Tap.
She typed lightly.
> What are you doing?
“…No, this feels weird.”
She erased it completely.
…What should she even send?
Starting a conversation first wasn’t easy.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never been the one to message first.’
Now that she thought about it, that was true.
She had received messages from male friends plenty of times, but she had never initiated one herself.
“……”
So that’s why.
It felt awkward.
“Ah, screw it.”
They were just friends anyway. She should just send something casually.
Did she really need to overthink it?
— Shin Ayoung: Are you free right now?
She quickly sent the message and put her phone down.
He’d reply soon enough.
……Two hours later.
“…Wait, what is this guy??”
Next to the message, the “1” indicating an unread message disappeared.
For the first time in her life, Shin Ayoung experienced being left on read.