Chapter 21
Chapter 21
"......."
"......."
"......Y-you were waiting for me?"
After a long, awkward silence, I finally asked. Shin So-hee just shrugged.
"Not really."
No, she had definitely been waiting.
Her school was in the completely opposite direction. Coming this way on her way home made zero sense. Unless she'd just been wandering around aimlessly and we'd run into each other by sheer coincidence, the only explanation was that she'd been waiting here on purpose.
"Uh, no, I mean."
And mostly, despite saying 'not really,' Shin So-hee's face was seriously annoyed. That one slightly raised eyebrow and crooked look she was giving me practically screamed that she had something to say. Actually, if I had to be precise, it looked less like she had something to say and more like she had something she wanted to hear.
"If you'd contacted me first, you wouldn't have had to wait."
When I said that, nervously tapping my fingertips together, Shin So-hee finally let out a little laugh. It was a genuine, natural laugh, nothing like the stone-faced expression from a moment ago, and I relaxed for a second—
"Ah~ contact?"
She shrugged her shoulders once more.
"Yeah, I guess I didn't think of that. I distinctly remember myself saying 'next time's on me' yesterday and you smiling and answering 'I'll look forward to it,' but for some reason, I don't seem to recall ever getting your contact info."
Oh.
"I checked my phone just in case I'd gotten it and forgotten, but your name doesn't seem to be in there either."
Shin So-hee waved her phone in front of my eyes.
......She was right. I'd never given her my number.
I'd never even thought about it. Not because I was ignoring Shin So-hee or didn't like her. It was simply that I didn't usually carry my smartphone around, so it never crossed my mind. Normally it lived in the pocket of Yang Hye-in's maid uniform, and even at school, it just stayed in there.
The Chairwoman was pathologically obsessed with isolating Ye Sa-ra from the world. Naturally, that meant she tried to prevent me from having any means of contacting anyone when I went out.
Though apparently, she hadn't imagined I'd go so far as to hop a wall and run away.
Well, Ye Sa-ra had been groomed into that state since early childhood, so it wasn't strange for her to have let her guard down.
If Yang Hye-in had reported my eccentric behavior to the Chairwoman yesterday, I might already have a surveillance detail tailing me...... but I couldn't spot one right now, so there was nothing to plan around.
"Ah, ha, well......"
I opened my mouth, scrambling to come up with some excuse for Shin So-hee, who clearly had a full tank of irritation from waiting out in the chilly street—
Thud. Yu Ha-neul landed stylishly beside me. She'd dropped into a pose straight out of a PE class long jump, and even frozen in that awkward invisible-motorcycle stance, she'd apparently detected the weirdly cold vibe between me and Shin So-hee, because her eyes darted back and forth between us.
"Is something wrong?"
Yu Ha-neul asked this with an attitude suggesting she'd fully expected us to run into Shin So-hee.
"......Haa, never mind."
Shin So-hee scratched her head with a heavy sigh.
"It wasn't a big deal, so don't worry about it."
"Yeah......?"
Yu Ha-neul's expression clearly said she didn't quite believe it, but she didn't try to pry any further.
Thud.
Lee Su-a jumped down last. The way she landed just as cleanly as Yu Ha-neul, holding her form, looked almost elegant.
"Hello?"
Lee Su-a greeted her calmly, unfazed by the sight of Shin So-hee standing right in front of her.
"Uh, yeah......"
......Shin So-hee, who was probably the most normal person here, accepted the greeting with an expression that now seemed to say she couldn't care less either way.
*
In the end, we just wound up following Shin So-hee.
She'd come all this way in person because she didn't have my contact info and wanted to settle things quickly, so we had no reason to refuse. All I could do anyway was wander around outside. I didn't even have my wallet on me at the moment. Which meant that wherever they went to hang out, I had no money to chip in.
......A pretty gloomy situation for the young lady of the #1 family in the Republic of Korea's business world, but Ye Sa-ra's circumstances were completely abnormal.
Thankfully, Shin So-hee's insistence on repaying yesterday's meal meant I didn't have to spend money this time.
Truthfully, I did feel a little bad about getting treated. To me, the meal I'd hosted yesterday had never registered as spending my own money. Even if that mansion really was mine and the household funds came from my own accounts, the thoroughly working-class person I'd originally been just couldn't feel money moving unless I'd personally swiped the card.
And considering my estimated assets, spending that much really was hard to feel 'for real' anyway.
Still, if I refused Shin So-hee by saying something like that, she'd be seriously offended.
To be fair, Shin So-hee's family was at least solidly middle class, not poor by any stretch. For starters, living in an area with land prices high enough to support Hwayeong High School already put her family at least above the poverty line. The house layout shown in the CGs hadn't looked cramped either. But Ye Sa-ra's backstory settings were so extreme they'd classify most of the kids at Hwayeong High School as 'commoners,' regardless of Shin So-hee's actual family situation.
......So for now, I'd just shut up and let her do what she wanted.
The place Shin So-hee led us to was a nearby downtown district. There was a major train station with subway transfers, and the station sphere was naturally packed with businesses. If you looked carefully, there were even a few extremely pricey fine-dining places.
Was she trying to push herself a little to treat us to something expensive?
I was mulling that over as I followed behind when Shin So-hee, walking at the front, stopped in her tracks.
"Alright, here we are."
When I followed her pointing hand and turned my head, what greeted us was—
A thoroughly ordinary hamburger franchise.
Not the yellow double-arch sign of the place with the most locations worldwide. It was that chicken-burger chain famous for its value-for-money since forever. Its reputation's faded a bit these days, but depending on the branch, it's still considered solidly decent on the value front. That homegrown franchise where you'll oddly find at least one location even outside an army base that lacks an M-brand or an L-brand.
"Uh......"
When I made a slightly dumbfounded face, Shin So-hee flashed a triumphant smile.
"How about it, you've never eaten this in your life, right?"
Ah, now I got it.
The classic cliché in romance comics, dramas, or movies: when a commoner-chaebol couple first starts dating, the commoner shows the chaebol some food, the chaebol scoffs, then reluctantly takes one bite and ends up eating it like an addict.
Honestly, this was a bias some people held outside of fiction too.
But it was literally just a 'bias.' According to the findings of some sociology study, wealthy people often enjoy everything from the everyday pastimes of ordinary folks to the actual luxuries of the truly rich. The idea that rich people don't cook instant noodles or order fried chicken is nonsense. The frequency might differ, of course.
For Ye Sa-ra, though, the story might be different. She really had been confined to her mansion and eaten only what was given to her as she grew up.
The only problem was that I wasn't Ye Sa-ra.
I'd lived in a semi-basement during childhood, and before I came here, I'd been living in a decades-old villa without an elevator—the dictionary definition of a dirt-spooner. There was no way I'd never tried this value-packed brand. Not just this brand, either. I'd experienced almost every kind of entertainment and food that working-class people encounter from childhood. Obviously, because I was a commoner!
By asset standards, I probably had less than Shin So-hee.
I glanced at the faces of the other two who'd followed behind Shin So-hee.
Thankfully, Lee Su-a was tilting her head as if she'd never been anywhere like this in her life. Right, even with the Korean setting, this world had somewhat different norms from the Korea I'd lived in. A 'rich young lady cliché' would definitely exist here. Plus, Lee Su-a was a character you'd pursue from Yu Ha-neul's perspective as a commoner scholarship student. I'd never played the game myself, but surely some commoner-chaebol couple cliché event was baked in as a matter of course.
Yu Ha-neul, though; she was the problem.
Being the sharp and empathetic person she was, she seemed to have accurately grasped why Shin So-hee was wearing such a self-assured expression. The issue was that she, too, was a kid from an ordinary family. She'd gotten in on a scholarship, so her tuition worries were reduced, but unlike the other Hwayeong High School kids, she had obviously experienced just about every bit of ordinary working-class culture.
Shin So-hee naturally seemed to assume Yu Ha-neul, who wore the same uniform as the rest of us, was also some rich family's young lady.
Yu Ha-neul's pupils quivered faintly. Her expression screamed she had no idea how to act from here.
"......."
I hesitated for a second. Should I just be honest and admit I'd had this before? I did live in a wealthy house, so maybe I could let it slide by saying I'd gotten curious and had it delivered once.
......But Shin So-hee's face looked way too confident for me to say that.
She'd probably put real thought into her choice.
Plus, Shin So-hee had clearly come here imagining some event where a rich girl marvels at working-class food.
If I said I'd already tried it, she'd be massively disappointed.
"......No."
I went with a little white lie like that.
And the moment I saw Shin So-hee grin at my reaction, I thought:
Ah, I should've just not lied.
*
"Ah, no, what I mean is......."
I said, subtly avoiding Shin So-hee's eyes as she stared fixedly at me.
"I mean, it's delicious! It's delicious, this! Wow~ I've never tasted anything like it~."
But the more I talked, the more crestfallen Shin So-hee's expression became.
I shouldn't have lied after all!
No, I mean, it was good. Of course it was! Chicken thigh patty with sauce, lettuce, pickles, and onion; there's no universe where that doesn't taste good!
But what was I supposed to do when I'd already tasted it before?! A flavor I already knew; there was no way I could marvel like it was my first time!
Shin So-hee, who'd been watching me break out in a cold sweat for a while,
"Haa......."
let out a sigh, her expression like her appetite had just crumbled.
"Well, I suppose when it comes to chicken, you might've had it at fancy restaurants. Was picking a meat type a mistake after all...?"
She started analyzing the cause to herself.
Uh, no, I didn't think that was it. Sure, chicken had come out, but I'd never eaten it in burger form. Usually it was some dish off a pricey Western restaurant menu.
I tried to take another bite to salvage things somehow, but Shin So-hee shot up from her seat and snatched the chicken burger out of my hand.
Was she saying if I was going to eat it so unenthusiastically, I shouldn't eat it at all...?
I stared at her in alarm, but Shin So-hee put the burger down with a thump and declared,
"You can't eat that much. If you finish this whole thing, you won't be able to touch the next menu item."
The next menu item......?
"Today, we're going to keep going until you eat something that actually satisfies you."
But I was satisfied! I told you I was satisfied!
I just hadn't marveled!
Of course, having already lied, I couldn't exactly say that now.
I looked toward Lee Su-a and Yu Ha-neul.
Lee Su-a, true to her rich young lady archetype, was taking bites of her hamburger with sparkling eyes—
But Yu Ha-neul, who'd heard Shin So-hee's declaration, was just staring down at her half-eaten hamburger, pupils still trembling.
.......
At this rate, it looked like getting home early today was going to be tough.......