Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Lee Sea's Birthday #4
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I handed the gift box to Lee Sea first.
"Ahem. I picked something that I thought would suit you really well. It might be a bit too simple... Ah, I chose it with Lee Soyun, so it should match your taste."
In that instant, Lee Sea whipped her head toward Lee Soyun.
Lee Soyun looked at me with a flustered expression, shaking her head vigorously. As if to say, why'd you have to mention that...
What's her deal? I thought keeping quiet about meeting up with her last time was because it was before the birthday?
After that somewhat tense eye contact between Lee Sea and Lee Soyun ended, Lee Sea took my gift, opened it, and pulled out the pin.
"This... Jin, will you put it on for me?"
Lee Sea, wearing a shy smile, brushed her hair back behind her ear with one hand and held out the pin I'd bought with the other as she stepped closer to me.
Looking down at her hand, a cute star-shaped pin gleamed there.
Nervously swallowing hard for no reason, I took the pin from her.
Then, with awkward movements, I carefully touched her hair and pinned it in place.
"I-Is it okay? Is this right?"
"Yeah! It's so pretty!"
Lee Sea beamed as she checked herself in the mirror the maid had brought over.
Just as she said, her bright smile looked radiant from the side.
But suddenly, as she was looking in the mirror, Lee Sea started moving toward me for some reason.
What's this? No way, is she gonna hug me like the other girls did earlier?
Panicking, I pulled out my secret weapon before she could get too close.
Lee Sea froze when she saw what I was holding.
"I felt like just the one pin was too half-hearted..."
In my hand was a small picture frame.
With a drawing of Lee Sea inside.
I'd gone through quite a bit of trouble to draw this.
Her face was so familiar I could picture it with my eyes closed... but for some reason, capturing her smiling face was tough, so I'd erased and redrawn it over and over.
Lee Sea, who had been stiff, slowly reached out and took the frame from me.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared intently at the drawing of herself inside.
"Sniff, sob... Th-thank you..."
I couldn't bring myself to dodge when she suddenly rushed in and hugged me.
To think my gift moved her this much—the effort I'd put in felt rewarded, and I couldn't help but feel proud.
It was my first time giving a drawing as a gift. I should've done this sooner, I thought.
"Why are you crying on a happy day like this?"
There must be better words to comfort a crying girl.
But all that came to mind from this lifelong singleton's brain was something lame like that.
All I could do was awkwardly pat her head.
Lee Sea wouldn't stop crying.
She sobbed in my arms for a full minute before covering her eyes—saying they were swollen—and running off.
After an awkward moment of eye contact with Yoon Jiu and the others, Lee Sea finally returned.
She must have fixed her makeup in the meantime, because she looked fresh-faced as she gazed at me.
"Thank you so, so, so much, Jin! Seriously, I'll treasure it forever. Until the day I die!"
Th-that's all it took?
Even I felt a little overwhelmed by her enthusiasm—like if she had a tail, it'd be wagging furiously right now.
But seeing her so happy made all the hard work worth it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After that whole ordeal, we enjoyed a fun party.
Of course, even though we'd prepared plenty of food, the maids had to rush and make more thanks to Hong Yeonseo's monstrous appetite.
We finished the party in the dining room, took a short break, then gathered back in the drawing room.
"Ugh... My stomach's gonna explode."
"Yours really looked like it might."
"What! Are you calling me a pig right now?"
"N-No, I didn't say it like that..."
Yoon Jiu got pummeled for poking at Hong Yeonseo's nose hair while she lay there rubbing her belly.
Honestly, I almost said it myself if he hadn't spoken up first.
Thanks, Jiu.
"What should we do now? It's too early to go to bed."
"Oh, for that..."
Seong Yurin stood up, went to a drawer in the corner of the room, and pulled something out.
"Monopoly, huh."
What she'd brought was a board game.
"Hmm... This is the only thing we have for a group to play."
"I'll just watch you guys."
I sat a bit away from the table and said so.
As you know, Monopoly is for four players.
We've got six, so two have to sit out.
"Then I'll watch too."
Seong Yurin placed the Monopoly board on the table and sat down next to me.
"Whoa, this isn't your average Monopoly."
Yoon Jiu picked up a piece and marveled at it.
Looking closely, the pieces marking the players' colors were embedded with iridescent gems that gave off a luxurious vibe.
They didn't look like rhinestones—they seemed like real jewels.
As expected of this house; even the Monopoly set was high-end designer stuff.
The dice looked sleek too, like those super dice from some online game...
And so the game of Monopoly began.
Early on, Lee Soyun rolled doubles twice and surged ahead, snapping up expensive properties.
Meanwhile, Hong Yeonseo got stuck on the uninhabited island right from the first lap and was pouting.
"C-Can't we say I swam out of an island like this?"
"Does that even make sense...?"
Though, with Hong Yeonseo, maybe she could...
As the game progressed and everyone had gone around three times, trouble hit.
"Anything but 10, please! ...Argh!"
Speak of the devil—Yoon Jiu rolled a 10 and landed right on Lee Soyun's maxed-out landmark in Seoul.
Tough break, Jiu.
Yoon Jiu retired in one shot, bankrupt at dead last. Lee Soyun, now loaded, took control of the board.
"Ugh, this is all your fault, Jiu. Soyun's got way too much money now."
"Like I chose to land there..."
Lee Sea scolded Yoon Jiu.
After Yoon Jiu's dramatic exit, it was Hong Yeonseo's turn again.
"Ooh! Golden card~ Wonder what it'll be."
Hong Yeonseo landed on the golden card space.
Seong Yurin, holding the golden card deck, drew one for her.
...Not actually gold-plated, right?
I tried to ignore the suspiciously shiny card and turned back to the board.
"Building swap! Soyun's Seoul is mine now~"
Hong Yeonseo swapped the building swap card for Yoon Jiu's "grave"—Seoul—for a cheap hotel plot.
"N-No way..."
And then, the second victim arrived on top of it.
"Ugh... That was my land."
Lee Soyun, who landed there on her very next turn.
She went broke in an instant and had to sell most of her properties, putting her in a tough spot with no real comeback.
Now it was down to Lee Sea versus Hong Yeonseo, one-on-one.
Gulp.
One roll could decide the winner.
The die flew from Lee Sea's hand, arcing through the air before landing in the center of the Monopoly board.
It almost felt like slow motion.
"Kyaa!"
......
You know how in Monopoly, whoever dominates Seoul usually wins?
And so, three tombstones rose over Hong Yeonseo's Seoul.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ We'd had quite a blast hanging out for a good long while before finally dispersing to our rooms around ten.
Sitting so long left my neck stiff.
After a shower in the guest room's small bathroom, I changed into the robe the maid had prepared and lay down on the bed. Pure bliss.
By the way, do the staff at this mansion ever go home?
Sending my heartfelt condolences to the butler and maids with no work-life balance, I closed my eyes.
The next morning, I woke to my alarm feeling refreshed.
"Insane. If I ever make real money, I'm buying a bed first thing."
After all that running around yesterday, just sleeping in this bed had restored all my fatigue.
It was like one of those recovery machines from Poké○mon Center.
After praising the bed to high heaven, I got dressed again.
They'd even taken my clothes when I showered last night and brought them back clean this morning.
If I get rich, after the bed... maybe hire a maid for the house...
Ahem. Yeah, no chance.
Putting on clothes that smelled not of my usual scent but of Seong Yurin's house felt weirdly off.
Am I sounding like a perv with these thoughts...?
As I meticulously folded the bedding and tidied the room, someone knocked on the door.
"Coming."
I opened it to find the four girls staring at me.
"Where's Yoon Jiu?"
"About to head out."
I smoothed out the bedding with a pat, grabbed my bag last, and followed the kids out.
We stopped at Yoon Jiu's door and knocked.
"No way he's still asleep?"
It was almost nine, but no sign of him waking up.
"What do we do?"
"Hmm... Should we go eat breakfast first?"
Lee Soyun and Lee Sea pondered.
A brief silence fell before Seong Yurin spoke.
"Let's head to the dining room. I'll have the staff wake Yoon Jiu."
In the end, he didn't show up until we'd finished breakfast. Only when it was time to leave did he come rushing out, scratching his head.
"Ugh, sorry. The bed was so comfy I just passed out."
"...Yeah, can't argue with that."
I nodded at his excuse.
"Today's breakfast was amazing too. What a shame you missed it~"
Hong Yeonseo giggled at Yoon Jiu.
"You ate my share too, didn't you?"
"Wh-What?!"
Hong Yeonseo bristled at Yoon Jiu's retort.
And so the two started bickering again.
Yeah, yeah. Kids bond by fighting.
As we reached the mansion garden, Seong Yurin came out to see us off.
Her mom had left after the party for work and wasn't home, and Seong Arin was still asleep after staying up late.
"Everyone, take care... See you tomorrow."
Seong Yurin watched us go with real regret in her eyes.
"Why so down? You inviting us to move in or what?"
"Wh-What? I never said anything like that!"
......Even though she never said we could stay.
We all chuckled and waved goodbye.
Thanks to Seong Yurin's kindness, a driver took us home in one of their cars.
Not a limo this time, but still spacious and comfy enough for all five of us.
I got off first at my place, said bye to everyone, and headed inside.
The house felt chilly after just one day away, so I filled it with some human warmth.
Even in broad daylight, the quiet without any real noise left me in a daze for a moment.
"Ah. Back to school tomorrow, huh."
The cold juice from the fridge coursed through me, snapping my foggy mind awake and reminding me I'd returned to everyday life.