Chapter 152
Th-that's a bit...
Lee Seo-yeon's words carried such a subtle bombshell that Yoo Seol-ah took quite a while to stop coughing and finish her drink. "...Hoo..." But with her eyes still slightly unfocused, it was clear those words were looping in her head. There was a world of difference between "someday" and "in a few months," after all.
It still felt far off, but even I couldn't shake the strange sense of reality from that 58-month timeline. ...At this rate, if she just undid her magic, pregnancy was pretty much a done deal.
"...Eek."
As our eyes met by chance when I glanced over, she immediately looked away. She was probably thinking the exact same thing I was. I could guess as much.
Sensing the heated tension between us, Lee Seo-yeon pulled a bizarre expression—like she was smiling with her mouth but crying with her eyes. "...Well, I think it's best to have a baby sooner if possible."
And just like that, as we escaped the haunted house, Park Ha-rin reverted to her usual calm self. Times like this made me grateful for Ha-rin. At least Seol-ah seemed back to normal.
"Right?"
"Yeah. The best thing would be... if the age gap with the kid isn't too big, so we can be closer like friends."
"Oh, yeah, exactly."
That was a big reason why I wanted kids sooner, too. I considered myself close to my parents, and part of that had to be the mere 25-year age gap. Of course, treating your kid like a friend mattered more, but a smaller gap definitely made understanding each other easier. Seol-ah probably felt the same.
"Plus, it's nice that our parents still look so young even after we're adults."
"Don't your folks have a similar gap, Baek Sion?"
"Yeah. 25 years."
"Whoa, same as Seol-ah's."
Our parents and Seol-ah's were both ridiculously youthful, but even setting that aside, they'd only be mid-40s when we were in our twenties. Seeing your parents age hits you with a twinge of sadness, but a smaller gap softens that a bit.
"Hold on, so your parents would get grandkids before 50... Mmph."
Seol-ah's ears flushed bright red in an instant, and she clamped a hand over Lee Seo-yeon's mouth like lightning. You're gonna pop a vein, Seol-ah.
"I'm almost done."
"Me too. Shall we head out?"
"Yeah. I'll go pay. I have a coupon here anyway."
"I'll transfer you later."
"You don't have to..."
"No, I insist. Take it."
While Lee Seo-yeon, who'd been here before, got up to pay, we grabbed our phones and bags from the counter.
"Thank you! Come again!"
"Sure, we'll be back."
We gave the staff a casual wave and stepped outside. Seol-ah's "we'll come again" didn't sound like an empty promise.
"...Ah, that was fun. Next time, something a bit scarier?"
"If we ramp up the horror gradually, won't you get used to it, Ha-rin?"
"...No, there's still tons of non-scary ones left."
"True. But this place has crazy popular horror rooms. The scariest ones even use actors."
Next up was karaoke—the one Seol-ah had been dreading—and Ha-rin made a pouty face like it was already decided, but she glanced next door and snapped back to normal. With light steps, Seol-ah started walking out, only to freeze at my one comment.
"Where to for karaoke? Four of us, so Coin Karaoke might be cramped."
"There's probably some nearby. Let's go for a big one."
"......"
Excluding the ever-cheerful Lee Seo-yeon, someone had gone dead silent like a mouse, and smiles naturally crept onto our faces. Honestly, with a voice like hers, if she trained properly, it'd sound amazing. Though since she probably hadn't, my expectations were elsewhere for now.
"But Seol-ah, your voice is great. Isn't it kinda unique?"
"...I-I guess...? Not sure myself."
Lee Seo-yeon grinned at the stiff, frozen Seol-ah and poked her side. "Seol-ah, I suck at singing too. I'm just not tone-deaf or rhythm-deaf."
"...I played piano back then, so I'm not either..."
Seol-ah looked oddly lacking in confidence. Everyone sings at some point in life, so if you averaged it out, her skills were probably above average. It was just that good singers were a dime a dozen, too.
"Found one. Not far—about three minutes' walk?"
"Then first song's Seol-ah."
"...How about we swing by a cafe first...?"
We half-dragged the reluctant Seol-ah along, and soon a sleek black karaoke sign came into view. Places in busy districts really nailed the interior design. The music leaked out faintly, so the soundproofing seemed better than coin spots.
"Hello, table for four."
"Four? One moment... Room 14's free. Pay first?"
"Yes. Two hours, please."
"Got it. Right this way."
We paid quickly and opened the assigned door to tiered cushy seats.
"Ooh, shoes off? So squishy."
The floor was cushioned too, making it super comfy. Lee Seo-yeon plopped right down. She did this at home too—always using couches as backrests while sitting on the floor.
"Sucks that Korean karaoke doesn't sell food. In Japan, we had honey bread and stuff."
"You've been to Japan?"
"...Seol-ah, you've never been?"
Lee Seo-yeon sounded incredulous. Seol-ah nodded glumly. "...Nope. Wanna go."
"No way, I totally thought you had..."
"Hey, it's possible not to, right?"
Seol-ah flushed at Lee Seo-yeon's blatant assumption. I'd heard about it once before, but I got why. 'An otaku like her hasn't been to Japan?' Seol-ah had already read it in her eyes.
"...No, your Japanese is killer. JLPT N1, so I figured you'd been."
"I learned for work... and to read Japan-only books. But yeah, never actually gone."
With her Yuki-nyang SNS bios in Japanese, she had massive popularity there, so it made sense. She even typed Japanese fast—way better than me.
"Then let's go to Japan! Summer break?"
"...Sounds good. Definitely. Wanna hit the onsen."
With a Japan trip casually locked in, Seol-ah perked up, and Lee Seo-yeon beamed, thrusting the mic at her. Seol-ah's face darkened instantly.
She reluctantly took it, pondered a sec, then passed it to me like hot potato. "...You first."
I shot her a "take it back" look, but she avoided my eyes and grabbed a tambourine instead. I'd long known she got shy like this, so it wasn't a surprise. No point talking to her now, so I asked Ha-rin.
"What does she usually sing?"
"...J-Japa..."
Ha-rin had gone karaoke with Seol-ah before. She glanced at her and answered simply. Seol-ah tried to cut her off, but too late.
"Japanese songs. Anime OSTs and such."
"...Usually?"
"Yeah. Korean and pop too, but like 80% Japanese?"
I gazed at Seol-ah with pure admiration. For real. She could hold her own against Do-yoon hyung?
"...Damn, that's cool."
"Hey, why're you looking at me like that?! You're an otaku too...!"
"True, but..."
I prided myself as a solid otaku, but apparently lacked the devotion—never sang Japanese at karaoke. Even though mixing work had me knowing tons of them inside out. My loss for not owning it like Seol-ah.
"...I surrender. You're the boss."
"Boss of what...!"
The Seol-ah who usually gloated over beating me was gone; she ducked her head, face red. Any more teasing and she'd ditch the mic entirely, so I handed the remote to Lee Seo-yeon. She'd downplayed it, but she'd probably sing great. Voice acting prep meant solid vocals.
Once they got the vibe going, Seol-ah would loosen up. "I know most songs. Pick anything."
"Wanna duet?"
Some 10-year-old idol hit or upbeat group sing-along should hype her quick. As Lee Seo-yeon navigated, the screen paused on one.
"How's this?"
A super old, mega-famous duet dance track. But the lyrics were sticky-sweet love song vibes. 'Your strawberry lips sweetly stained.' Just a song, no biggie—but head-down Seol-ah piped up.
"Th-that's a bit..."
"...Hngh."
Duets were fine, but no love songs, huh. And like she'd planned it, Lee Seo-yeon burst out laughing before switching to search.
"...Hey, you did that on purpose!"
"What? Grab the mic if you've got complaints."
"......"
Lee Seo-yeon had activated her long-dormant bully mode on Seol-ah.