Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Lee Sea's Birthday #1
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"Is there a place like this in our neighborhood?"
"To be precise, it's not exactly in our neighborhood."
The house belonging to Seong Yurin spread out before our eyes was a mansion straight out of a movie or drama, complete with its own garden.
The garden even had a pond, and with spring in full bloom, flowers of every color made it look even more stunning.
This was my first time seeing a house with a proper garden.
I wondered how they'd handle someone climbing over to break in,
but it was surrounded by tall walls and thorny hedges, with CCTV cameras covering every angle.
While everyone was distracted admiring the garden, the limousine that had brought us quietly slipped away.
As Seong Yurin led the way to the mansion's front gate, the closed doors parted automatically from within.
"Ah, hello?"
Correction. They hadn't opened on their own—a butler in a crisp suit had opened them for us.
The butler bowed politely in response to our greetings and ushered us inside the mansion.
"Please brush the dirt off your shoes here before entering."
No way. In Korea, someone actually has a butler?
……Oh, right. This is a romcom world.
That made it easier to accept.
I wondered if there were maids somewhere around too.
We carefully brushed off even more dirt inside the impeccably clean mansion.
"Welcome. Miss Yurin and her friends."
Seong Yurin nodded familiarly at the butler's warm welcome and led us further inside.
Unlike the mansion's old-fashioned exterior, the interior had a modern design.
It felt a bit unbalanced with the outside, but on second thought, practicality-wise, this seemed better.
We arrived at what looked like a reception room.
Following Seong Yurin's guidance, we settled onto the sofas arranged for comfort, and the butler soon followed with refreshments.
Seong Yurin elegantly sipped the high-end black tea from the fancy teaware the butler had brought and spoke up.
"Want to hang out at home until dinner? Or head into the city to play?"
"It'd be great if your house had a spot to watch movies."
Yoon Jiu unexpectedly came up with a good idea.
"We have a theater room for that."
"Oh! Really?"
I did some quick mental math and opened my mouth.
"Then how about we chat a bit, watch a movie, and do the party for dinner? No need to go back and forth to the city—it'd just be tiring."
Everyone nodded in agreement with my suggestion.
"Got it. I'll have it prepared."
Seong Yurin quietly beckoned the butler, who had been waiting like a shadow in the back, whispered something to him, and he bowed before stepping out.
"Whoa... she really feels like a young miss now."
"This is totally young miss territory..."
Hong Yeonseo and Lee Soyun whispered to each other.
We enjoyed the refreshments the butler had brought while chatting.
Unlike the snacks stocked in the limousine, these were handmade cookies and premium tea.
The cookies were delicious, but... honestly, my taste leaned more toward chocolate milk or hot chocolate than fancy tea.
Sorry, butler. I'm just not refined enough.
"Oh, right. Didn't you say your mom was home?"
Lee Sea suddenly remembered and asked Seong Yurin.
"Yeah. Mom's busy right now, so she said she'll just stop by briefly for dinner and head out again."
"Got it. We'll greet her then."
Seong Yurin's mom seemed swamped with work even at home.
Once their conversation wrapped up, I quickly called out to Seong Yurin.
"Hey, Seong Yurin."
"Huh? W-what?"
She seemed startled by the sudden call, stumbling over her words.
"...Where's the bathroom around here?"
"Ah! I'll show you."
"No... that's a bit much. As long as it's not too complicated, I can find it myself. Just tell me."
"Okay. Go out the room and head back the way we came. The door closest to the lobby is the bathroom."
"Got it. Excuse me for a sec."
I left the reception room alone and headed to the bathroom.
Walking the wide hallway by myself felt oddly eerie.
......No maids? Maybe they have the weekend off?
I easily found the bathroom following Seong Yurin's directions.
It was funny seeing a door marked with a bathroom sign inside the house, like in a public facility.
Makes sense, though. Guests might have trouble finding it otherwise.
The bathroom was spotless and smelled nice.
Seong Yurin's family bathroom is cleaner and nicer than ours...
I finished up, lost in silly thoughts, and stepped out.
"Huh?"
"Oh."
As I exited, I locked eyes with a woman I'd never seen before.
Blonde hair and blue eyes just like Seong Yurin, with an incredible figure... Could she be Seong Yurin's mom?
She looked almost exactly like her, but unlike Yurin with her usual stiff expression, this woman had a smiling face that made her seem like a different person.
But... she looks way too young to be the mom.
Ah, right. Romcom world.
"Ah, um. Hello. Are you Seong Yurin's mom? I'm her friend, Seo Ijin."
"Pfft. Hey."
"Y-yes?"
"Do I look that old?"
"Huh? Oh, no. I thought you were Seong Yurin's older sister at first."
"I am her older sister, though?"
......
Oh no.
What a blunder.
"Sorry... I hadn't heard Seong Yurin mention any sisters. She said only her mom was home, so I misspoke."
"Hehe. It's fine. With Yurin's personality, I figured she wouldn't talk about family much."
As she said that, Seong Yurin's sister scanned me up and down.
"Oh ho... not bad."
"...Excuse me?"
When I called out at her intense gaze, she made an 'oops' face and spoke.
"I'm her three-years-older sister. Name's Seong Arin."
"Ah. Nice to meet you."
I was pondering how to wrap up this chat and head back when
Seong Arin waved at me first.
"Right, one of Yurin's friends has a birthday today. Hehe, I won't hold you up. Could you tell her her sister's here?"
"Ah, sure. Got it."
"No need to be so formal. Try calling me Arin sis~"
"Uh......"
That's a bit much for a first meeting.
"Kukuku. Get along well with Yurin~ She doesn't have many friends. Puhahat!"
With that, Seong Arin headed upstairs.
...Her personality's totally different from Seong Yurin's.
If I had to compare, maybe like Hong Yeonseo? Playful and girly.
I wasn't sure if she was close with her sister or just teasing her, but after the encounter with Seong Arin, I made my way back to the reception room.
.........By the way, Seong Yurin really only has us as friends, huh.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "What!? My sister's here!?"
Back in the reception room, when I told Seong Yurin about Seong Arin, she jumped up.
"Whoa, why'd she come today of all days? Ugh. Guys, I'll go see my sister real quick. Hang tight."
Seong Yurin hurriedly left the reception room.
"Yurin has an older sister, huh."
"Yeah. She never really talks about anything except school stuff."
Even the girls who'd probably talked to her more than I had were learning this for the first time.
"Jina."
Lee Soyun poked my arm.
"Yeah?"
"...Yurin's sister is pretty, right?"
"....... Uh, y-yeah. I guess?"
"......"
Lee Soyun's glare made my voice tremble involuntarily.
What was with that intimidating vibe?
"What'd her sister say?"
"Just to get along well with Seong Yurin? And to call her sis or something......"
Lee Soyun puffed out her cheeks at my words, crunched on a snack, and muttered something under her breath. I couldn't quite catch it.
"This is... something to discuss with Sea......"
The others seemed to have endless conversation topics, keeping the tea party going nonstop.
Yoon Jiu's easy banter with the girls was a little enviable at times like this.
I passed the time in the corner, half-listening and chiming in occasionally while playing a mobile game.
Then Seong Yurin returned to the reception room.
She looked utterly deflated, like all the energy had been sucked out of her.
"Hoo. Sorry, did I make you wait?"
Lee Sea shook her head at Seong Yurin's apology.
"No. Everything good?"
"Yeah. Sis was overseas for work, but she came back earlier than planned. So it just happened to line up today."
"What a coincidence."
"That....... Did it disappoint you that I never mentioned my sister before?"
Lee Sea hurriedly comforted the downcast Seong Yurin.
"Huh? No way! I'm sure you had your reasons. We don't mind. Right, guys?"
We all nodded in agreement with Lee Sea's reassurance.
"I don't talk about my family much either. Don't worry about it."
Feeling like I should say something too, I casually picked up a cookie and ate it nonchalantly to comfort Seong Yurin as if it were no big deal.
Sometimes, acting like it's truly insignificant matters more than making a fuss.
You pick up that knack after years as a total loner.
Sure enough, Seong Yurin—fellow loner material—seemed a bit relieved by my words.
"Yeah, thanks for saying that."
With her expression softening,
I spoke up again.
"Now that Seong Yurin's back, how about we go watch that movie?"
We'd spent quite a while in the reception room already, so everyone agreed with the suggestion.
"Let's decide what to watch first on the way."
"Hey hey! How about a horror movie?"
......Hong Yeonseo was shaking like a leaf at that escape room cafe last time, but she's suggesting this now?
"I'm in~"
Yoon Jiu grinned and cast his vote.
That guy can't even keep his eyes open when things get scary, but he loves horror stuff anyway.
Like people who can't handle spice but eat it anyway.
With things turning out like this, the others couldn't exactly say no.
"I'm fine with anything. You guys pick."
I wasn't the type to jump at jump scares anyway, so horror movies were fine by me.
Lee Sea was hit or miss—strong against horror most times, but sometimes vulnerable.
I was a little worried about Lee Soyun and Seong Yurin.
They'll probably just close their eyes.
With two yes votes, one pass, the remaining three got dragged along with 'ehhs.'
"Which horror movie we watching?"
"How about this one? I saw a preview on NewTube, looked super fun. Been wanting to check it out."
Hong Yeonseo's pick was a modern ghost horror flick.
...Hey, this is rated 19+, kids.
......But there's a guardian at home, so maybe it's okay?
Later, Seong Yurin said it was fine since the butler was there.