Chapter 75
We're a married couple, so we're of one mind and one body. "But isn't Baek Seol-gi kinda pretty in its own way? Calling her 'Seol-gi~' has a nice ring to it."
"...Stop pushing Baek Seol-gi. You're making me wanna get convinced for no reason."
It started as a joke, but Lee Seo-yeon seemed to really take a liking to the name Baek Seol-gi and kept promoting it. She was coming on so confidently that Yoo Seol-ah was gradually getting swayed. Even I was starting to think it sounded pretty good the more I heard it—which was kinda scary.
Lee Seo-yeon just has that confident way of speaking that makes it weirdly convincing... I'd always thought Yoo Seol-ah was a beautiful name anyway, so I figured Seol would suit her just as well. Especially since it matched so perfectly with the surname Baek.
"They say overseas, people even name their kids after close friends. What about Baek Seo-yeon?"
"That's a hard no."
Yoo Seol-ah, who had been mildly tempted by Baek Seol-gi, shot this one down like a knife. Lee Seo-yeon looked a bit flustered, like she hadn't expected such a firm rejection.
"Why not?"
"...Just no."
She trailed off vaguely, like there was something hard to say. Lee Seo-yeon paused for a beat, then suddenly changed her expression, pouting her lips. With a voice that sounded on the verge of tears, she fully committed to the sad act.
"...Am I not a close friend?"
"No, that's not—!"
It was obviously acting, but it was so convincing that you couldn't help falling for it even knowing it was fake. She could've gone pro as an actress instead of a voice actor. Her face has that performer vibe anyway.
Yoo Seol-ah knew it was an act too, but she hesitated a bit before spilling the reason.
"...Later, if the kid says 'Seo-yeon-ah, I love you' or something, it'd feel weird."
"Why? I could say it right now. I love our Seol-ah."
"Aaaah! ...Don't say that."
Yoo Seol-ah freaked out, then let out a small sigh and pointed at me.
"Not me—it's weird when he says it..."
"Ah."
Lee Seo-yeon and I both went slack-jawed at the same time, totally convinced. Yeah, that would feel kinda strange. From my position too.
Lee Seo-yeon nodded and smoothly changed the subject.
"But you seem like you'd say 'I love you' to the baby a ton, huh? From the way you're thinking about it."
"...Of course. Everyone says showing affection to kids is super important."
Yoo Seol-ah answered matter-of-factly. I'd noticed it before, but whenever baby talk came up, she suddenly exuded this mature aura. Maybe because becoming a parent isn't something to take lightly.
Of course, Lee Seo-yeon latched onto a different point.
"When did you even look that up...?"
"I didn't look it up—I've known that forever! ...Stop ganging up on me for real."
"But if you're bringing it up out of nowhere like that, then recently too..."
"Ah, Baek Sion, why are you doing this too?!"
I knew physical affection and verbal love were important for kids, but knowing it and bringing it up first are two different things.
"And you with Doyun oppa too..."
Just as Yoo Seol-ah geared up for a counterattack, the club room door opened and Doyun hyung walked in. Old sayings are spot on—his timing was perfect.
Doyun hyung glanced around at the three of us and asked curiously,
"What were you guys talking about?"
"...Nothing, just this and that."
Lee Seo-yeon pulled off a vague brush-off that somehow suited Yoo Seol-ah perfectly. Realizing the situation, Seol-ah and I just shut up and watched.
...Progress here is glacial.
Her face even looked a little flushed—subtle, but there. Not beet-red like Yoo Seol-ah's, but yeah, love changes people, huh?
Lee Seo-yeon only started having real feelings for Doyun hyung pretty recently, it seems. We don't know the exact details of what went down between them. They must've talked a lot personally after returning to Earth.
From the outside, it's obvious, but the person involved doesn't see it—so it must be frustrating for her. Still, unless she wants us to clue her in, the best friend move is just to watch and support.
"So, wanna go check out some furniture or something?"
"Yeah. Department store should have everything."
"I brought my car. Let's take that."
"You have a car too, hyung?"
"My parents said they'd buy me one if I got a scholarship here, so I studied my ass off back then."
Even with Korea University's cheap tuition, saving four years' worth would cost more than a cheap car—so it was a smart investment from their side.
The parking lot wasn't far, so we chatted as we walked and got there quick.
"I'll pull the car around—wait here."
"See you."
The moment Doyun hyung stepped away again, Yoo Seol-ah's lips curled into a wicked grin.
We'll watch over her, sure—but we never said anything about not teasing.
"What was that voice just now? 'See youuu~' What even was that, Lee Seo-yeon?"
"...I didn't do that...! It was totally normal."
What the hell was I witnessing? Had the world changed, or had Lee Seo-yeon turned into a punching bag? It was a bizarre sight.
Normally she'd brush off provocations like that with ease, but her voice trembling like this? Love really is scary.
"You going for gap moe these days? Last call too, and lately when you're with oppa, you're all quiet."
"......"
I'd noticed a bit myself, but seeing her not fire back right away made me think she'd been dialing it up on purpose lately.
Maybe from always taking hits, Yoo Seol-ah was like a fish in water now.
"...I thought you'd snag him right away, but you're total girly mode, huh? Lee Seo-yeon."
"......Baek Sion, do something about her quick."
Judging she couldn't win a 1v1 with rampaging Yoo Seol-ah, she dragged me in from the sidelines where I'd been enjoying the show.
But taking her side wasn't easy either—and honestly, seeing the usually cool one flustered was just too fun.
Sorry, Seo-yeon, but I gave my simple take.
"We're a married couple, so we're of one mind and one body. Can't do anything about Yoo Seol-ah."
"......"
I'd basically said I had no intention of stopping it, so she bit her lip a little. But someone else went quiet too.
"......"
Yoo Seol-ah had just gotten a rare chance to tease Lee Seo-yeon and gone a bit overboard in excitement—but she hadn't forgotten her own embarrassment.
No matter how much she'd heard it before, that strong "couple" declaration was enough to snap her right back to default mode.
Even I felt my hands and feet stiffen a bit while saying it.
With both of them clamming up, and me not being the type to lead convos anyway, we just waited quietly for Doyun hyung.
At least we'd stopped Yoo Seol-ah's rampage... success? This pink atmosphere is tough to endure.
"Hyung, you actually waited?"
"Yeah? I got here right away."
A car pulled up moments later, and only clueless Doyun hyung looked mildly puzzled.
He seemed super comfortable behind the wheel, though, so we headed to the department store without worry.
"So, what kinda game we making?"
"Tons of genres out there, but anyone here played much?"
Doyun hyung, the game expert, countered Yoo Seol-ah's question.
I'd played a lot of RPGs as a kid, and more recently collection mobile games—until quitting completely in my senior year of high school.
From the sounds of it, none of us were hardcore gamers. In Korea, subculture stuff like visual novels is rare, and online games eat too much time to juggle with other hobbies.
"Single-player's way shorter dev time than online. Online's doable but adds a ton more to think about."
"What about story?"
"If anyone has ideas, we can go with 'em—but for an RPG, we don't need a separate writer."
"Right."
I'd thought of that the second game talk started, but Yoo Seol-ah hadn't clicked yet.
She clapped her hands cutely.
"Oh, yeah..."
"Obviously we'd need heavy adaptation, but monster designs and stuff? No worries there."
Just rip straight from Astasia's beasts and demons. Portrait rights, copyrights— if any demons complain after crossing dimensions to Earth, we tweak and apologize. That's fair effort.
Most demons I knew are wiped out anyway, so no issue.
"Anyone got any dev experience? Doesn't matter what—Java or whatever."
"Java? I've heard of it... where? JavaScript maybe?"
Doyun hyung kindly explained Yoo Seol-ah's innocent question.
"Seol-ah's a precious asset for art, so no need to touch dev."
"...Why? Did I say something weird?"
"I'm fine with it, but say that to other comp-sci kids and they'll lose it."
"It's like ham versus hamster. Total difference."
I'd enjoyed coding as a kid and toyed with dev interests, so I jumped in.
Looking at Doyun hyung in the rearview, his face lit up like he'd heard gospel.
He said he was fine, but Yoo Seol-ah's words had gotten to him after all.
...True-blue comp-sci major, that Doyun hyung.