Chapter 177
"Wanna join our club?"
"...Hmm..."
With Yuna unnie out of the room for the moment, I normally wouldn't touch my phone during a meeting with anyone. But right now, I couldn't bring myself to meet Baek Sion's eyes, so I fiddled pointlessly with the one I'd pulled from my bag.
...But why did it feel like a gaze kept prickling the back of my neck? Do people really have eyes in the back of their heads or something? He was definitely out of my line of sight, but... I could feel the fine hairs on my nape standing on end, so I had no choice but to set my phone down on the desk and whip my head around.
A sharp thunk echoed the instant I did.
My hand slipped a little, slamming the phone harder onto the desk than intended. Great, now I look totally flustered... My first plan to play it cool had gone up in smoke.
"...Why are you staring like that..."
Baek Sion's gaze held so many layers of meaning that I felt like a mouse standing before a cat. It wasn't like I hadn't fantasized about him in naughty ways more than once or twice. And sure, we'd even gotten married, so it wasn't wrong by any means—but I still felt guilty about it somehow.
If he started prying one by one, I'd lose my mind...
"'Cause your hair looks good?"
"Wha...? Nngh!"
But Baek Sion just answered my question straight-up. I'd braced for him to tease me mercilessly, but this totally unexpected reply set my heart pounding.
No way, is this teasing too? I'd definitely gone with a tennis skirt and ponytail thinking it screamed "ponytail," but hitting me with this out of nowhere? It had to be a calculated move...
I wanted to snap that he was just messing with me, but my mouth muscles went slack—I couldn't even frown. ...Getting this happy over one little compliment? I'm in bad shape.
I turned my head away again before our eyes could meet. I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. No matter what he says next, I can't look at him right now...
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If it wasn't urgent or something she absolutely had to check, Yoo Seol-ah never touched her phone during meetings. So for her to suddenly pull it out of her bag now? It didn't make sense unless she was trying to hide her fluster. And when she set it down, her hand shook so much she nearly dropped it.
Cowering like that, she had an overwhelming talent for stirring up sadistic urges. The desire to torment her was sprouting wildly in my mind, but when she glanced back at me with her head tilted, I let it go.
...A ponytail was dangerously attractive.
"...Why are you staring like that..."
I'd kinda noticed it last time with her side ponytail, but it was impossible not to get captivated by the pure white nape revealed when she tied her hair up. Looking up at me at that angle brought her high nose bridge, pale pink lips, and that nape all into view at once—a sight I could stare at for minutes on end.
She usually wore her straight hair down to her waist, so I rarely got to see her nape. Now I got why people called it such a killer charm point.
I'd planned to tease her a bit at first, but her otherworldly beauty threw off my timing, so I decided to just be honest.
"'Cause your hair looks good?"
She'd prepped this style the second she heard "date," after all. I knew from watching my mom that styling hair took forever.
It was a sincere compliment laced with gratitude, but Yoo Seol-ah's lips started twitching.
"Nngh..."
She seemed about to say something, but it never came out. Now she whipped her head away outright, refusing to even glance my way. With her hands covering her face, she looked totally broken...
That just makes me wanna tease her more. She denied it verbally, but she definitely craved some forceful play. I'd seen plenty of her hardcore kinks in those browser histories last time.
Not that I hated that stuff. I wasn't great at stopping when she asked me to pause, either.
But going too hard meant I had to psych myself up, or I might cringe too much saying the lines. For her "master" play fantasies, I'd probably need alcohol to spit out that dialogue...
And the biggest reason? I worried she might get hurt even a little. That's why I hadn't tried it yet. Lately, she'd been so cute that forcing the mood felt impossible anyway.
But seeing her like this, cheeks flushed all the way to her nape, made it hard for me to hold back. I reached out and brushed the exposed part of her cheek.
"Eek!?"
"Your hair..."
I'd only tucked away a stray strand, but she yelped like I'd shocked her, then jumped up without even listening. And right on cue—as if scripted—the specially treated door swung open and Yuna noona walked in, tray in hand with drinks and cake.
She paused, eyeing us both, then gave a weird look.
"...Kids, the soundproofing's fine and all, but we're still out in public..."
"That's not—"
She must've heard Seol-ah's voice too. I denied it quick, but it was obvious I wasn't serious, so she wouldn't worry. She was the joking type anyway.
"Unnie! Baek Sion was just—!"
But Yoo Seol-ah, already on her feet, latched straight onto Yuna noona. Turning me into the pervert to dodge the spotlight, huh? She showered affection on girls without hesitation, and sure enough, Yuna noona just indulged her.
You could never push back when she clung like that, voice raised. But playing me like this? She'd regret it later.
"Alright, come here."
Yuna noona chuckled and scooted over. It was a wide sofa, so Seol-ah plopped right beside her—but she still wouldn't meet my eyes, gaze fixed downward.
"You two are both glowing so much brighter now. Seol-ah's even cuter."
"...R-Really?"
"Yeah. Looks good."
Having only seen us from our Astasia days, no one's judgment could be more spot-on. Things had mellowed out back there anyway.
"Same university and all... I'm jealous. This is straight-up a romcom youth story."
Yuna noona turned us into anime protagonists on the spot. Not that it didn't fit—we'd lived way more spectacular lives than any average show.
"So what do you do outside classes?"
"We make games in our club. Oh, and those two others are there too."
"Cain and Alice? Everyone's together, huh."
"...You knew?"
Seol-ah didn't seem too surprised this time. We might not know she was from there, but she had ways to figure out the opposite.
"Yeah. I always check your star, and it's totally different from the others. Figured if you're here, those two would be too."
Yuna noona smiled warmly, then pouted enviously all of a sudden.
"Man, that sounds fun. College life isn't easy, sure, but chatting with friends in a club... What game's it?"
"Oh, I'll show you. We've been busy with this lately."
Seol-ah grabbed her phone from the desk. Yuna noona's eyes sparkled at first, but she gradually fell silent.
"...You made this in your club? You're in your twenties, right?"
"Yeah. Started at the beginning of the semester."
"Collecting games is my hobby too... But working means you just end up with money and nothing else..."
It might've sounded boastful, but a flash of weary office worker crossed her eyes.
"That's why I haunt game communities... Writing all sorts of posts and stuff."
"Oh yeah? What's your username, unnie?"
In this era where likes spawn across SNS and communities, nicknames end up fixed to one ID.
But Yuna noona hesitated for a beat.
"...M-My username's not important, but anyway, I'm not a total noob. This isn't something you whip up in months, though...?"
Nope. The game's framework was already solid—that was far from normal.
"...Oh, that hero guy's our club president, Kim Do-yoon. But he's not exactly a regular person..."
Seol-ah's art wasn't fully integrated yet, so Do-yoon hyung's contributions were 99% of it right now.
Short explanation, but Yuna noona got it instantly.
"...A hero? Yeah, figured he wouldn't be normal."
Not normal? Do-yoon hyung might be sad to hear that. Or... maybe he'd like it?
"...Sigh, sounds so fun... I wanna be a youth manga protagonist too... Don't need the romance, just the youth..."
Here in Korea, Yuna noona sometimes dropped her maturity entirely, unlike back there. Staring at her, Seol-ah tossed out a casual line.
"Unnie, wanna join our club? You're an alum anyway. We're short on hands, and you know tons of people we don't. Not officially or anything..."
"...For real?"
"Yeah. Most of our character designs are borrowed from those folks. Come to think of it, you're exactly who we need. If you're cool with it, I mean."
"I-I'm cool! I've got time. The cafe runs fine without me... Especially since the part-timers beg me not to touch the food..."
...She had some serious gap moe too. Huge difference between her mature side and this.
"I'll text them. They'll love it. Even dropping by occasionally would help a ton."
"Right, here's my number!"
With that, Yuna noona unlocked her phone. And the instant the screen lit up, a familiar community app filled it.
...Why'd it open straight to the community? And I caught the username in the top left.
'LulucaSquishyChewyArmpits.'
Hmm. Luluca was that trending open-world RPG character, right?
"Want me to call?"
She tapped over to contacts at lightspeed, but I didn't miss the anxiety in her eyes.
...Better not dig. The username alone hinted at the kinda posts she left around.
Still, this could fill our manpower gap nicely.