Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Friday #5
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Did you know there's a party room in the restaurant inside the amusement park?
I didn't.
It's probably a feature of this world. Who knows if it even existed in my previous life.
The party room we followed Seong Yurin to was already fully set up for Lee Soyun's birthday celebration.
It almost seemed like Seong Yurin had prepared everything by herself.
Truth be told, I hadn't expected us to come here, but we'd met up a few times separately to discuss how to decorate the party room.
...Well, I didn't get too involved. It felt like Lee Sea and Seong Yurin handled almost everything.
In any case, after all that effort, the party room's interior was gorgeously decorated.
It was themed around fairy tales, which Lee Soyun loves.
She's still young enough for something like this.
"Ooh."
Every time someone entered the room, they let out gasps of admiration and clapped their hands.
Finally, Lee Sea led Lee Soyun—who had her eyes covered—to the center.
At Seong Yurin's signal, we lifted the cake.
As everyone gathered around me, Lee Sea removed her hand from Lee Soyun's eyes.
"Ta-da!"
"Happy birthday!"
Lee Soyun blinked a few times, dazzled by the light, then opened her eyes wide and beamed at us with pure joy.
"Hee hee..."
We lit the candles on the cake and turned off the room's lights.
And, embarrassingly, we sang her another birthday song at our age...
Lee Soyun puffed out the flames.
Just before the candles went out, her cheeks flushed bright red—it was adorable.
"Thank you, everyone! Thanks for being my friends so far, and please keep being my friends from now on. Let's stay close forever!"
Woo!
Everyone cheered in response to Lee Soyun's words.
With the simple birthday cheers wrapped up, dinner began.
"Whoa, look at the juiciness of this chicken."
"It's sooo good."
I wasn't sure if this was food from the amusement park restaurant or something Seong Yurin had specially prepared, but it all tasted amazing.
"Here, I deboned some tender meat for you."
"Thanks."
For the birthday girl, I carefully pulled out the moist inner part of the chicken breast.
It wasn't fried chicken; it was perfectly cooked with precise temperature control, so even the breast was incredibly tender and easy to eat.
"Hey, no fair~ Do mine too!"
Hong Yeonseo, who had been... drinking her pizza? approached.
No, seriously, she was chugging it like a beverage.
"Here."
After serving Lee Soyun, I gave her the remaining breast from the other side, and Hong Yeonseo grinned in satisfaction.
She's so straightforward—I love that about her.
The other kids saw that and came rushing over, turning me into a chicken disassembly expert.
Hey, let me eat some too, guys...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As we patted our full bellies and relaxed, Lee Sea clapped to get everyone's attention.
"Alright, now it's time for Soyun's birthday presents."
At her words, everyone—including me—started rummaging through their bags.
I picked up my neatly placed bag from the corner of the party room and checked inside.
"Oh..."
Crap.
I'd forgotten in all the excitement.
My face stiffened as I looked inside, and Lee Soyun— who must have been watching—tilted her head curiously.
"What's wrong?"
"Uh... I'll explain when it's my turn."
While the others gave their gifts, I inspected the contents of my bag.
The small gift box containing the clothes I'd prepared as a present was crumpled, and the frame on top of it was cracked.
The reason? That incident from this morning, no doubt.
In the heat of the moment, I hadn't paid attention to the bag as I threw myself backward, and it ended up crushed under me and Lee Soyun.
What to do now? As I pondered, everyone finished handing over their presents to Lee Soyun, and it was my turn.
Seeing her face full of eager anticipation made me feel guilty, even though it wasn't my fault.
What could I do? It had already happened.
No point hesitating now. I grabbed my bag and walked over to Lee Soyun.
"Happy birthday. About the gift I prepared today, though..."
"Yeah!"
I set the bag down and pulled out the box.
The pitifully crumpled box sat in my hand.
"Sorry, it's a bit squished."
"Ah......"
Lee Soyun stared blankly at the box in my hand.
"Hey, what kind of gift is that?"
"Uh... there was a bit of an accident."
Yoon Jiu's scolding came from behind.
I didn't feel like making a long excuse, so I just stood there awkwardly, waiting for Lee Soyun's reaction.
"Wait, hold on. Jiu, it's fine."
Lee Soyun shook her head and took hold of both my hand and the gift box.
"I know why it ended up like this. I just froze for a second because it reminded me of this morning and got a little emotional."
She gave me a bright smile as she said that, easing the worry I'd been harboring inside.
I handed her the gift box, then pulled out the frame.
"And this... well, I'll replace the frame later. But I drew it thinking of you the whole time."
The caricature of a cute Lee Soyun in the picture had a sulky expression.
For some reason, it suited her.
Lee Soyun stared at her own character for a moment before taking the frame and hugging it tight.
"Yeah. No, I like it like this."
She pulled the frame from her chest and traced the crack with her finger, continuing.
"Every time I look at this, it'll remind me of Ijin's cool moments today. I like it just like this."
"......Really?"
I gave all the gifts to Lee Soyun and explained to the others why they were damaged.
They already knew about what happened that morning anyway.
Once that conversation wrapped up and I saw Lee Soyun's satisfied expression, Yoon Jiu spoke up again.
"What, if that's all it was, you should've said so sooner."
Yoon Jia smacked Yoon Jiu on the back as he said that.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me!"
"Just shut up and behave."
Those siblings always get along so well.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "It's already dark out."
"Yeah."
After the birthday party ended and we left the party room, the world was already shrouded in dusk.
The crowds around us felt a bit thinner too.
Probably because so many visitors were there with kids.
Thanks to that, I could finally breathe a little easier.
"Stomachs full—should we head back?"
The moment I said that, everyone glared at me.
"Wh-what? Why?"
"We've still got the two most important things left. Where do you think you're going?"
Lee Sea stepped forward to scold me, and I was puzzled.
The two most important things? What could they be?
Seong Yurin came over to give me a hint as question marks practically floated above my head.
"The sun's set at the amusement park. Doesn't that ring any bells?"
"Hmm..."
"Look over there."
Hong Yeonseo pointed somewhere when she saw I still didn't get it.
I finally realized as I looked in that direction.
"Ah, the Ferris wheel?"
Hong Yeonseo's finger pointed at the park's signature giant Ferris wheel.
True, the night view at an amusement park is always pretty.
Convinced, I headed toward the Ferris wheel with everyone.
"By the way, what's the other one?"
"The parade, obviously!"
Lee Soyun said, her eyes sparkling.
Right, the parade. She's always loved these fairy-tale things since way back.
The Ferris wheel and the parade—those are the must-dos that come to mind for a night at the amusement park.
Honestly, I'd hardly ever stayed at one until night, so it hadn't occurred to me.
We walked along, listening to Lee Soyun excitedly explain all sorts of details about the upcoming parade, and soon arrived at the Ferris wheel.
Like the other rides, it was impressively massive, greeting us with its grandeur.
I was thinking the cabins must be spacious enough for all seven of us when...
"Sea, ride with me."
"Huh?"
Yoon Jiu sidled up next to Lee Sea and said that.
As our eyes turned to them, Yoon Jiu looked puzzled.
"What? We can just take the next one. It's better to spread out anyway."
Hong Yeonseo started to say something in response, but Lee Sea stopped her.
"...Sure. I actually had something to talk to you about. Perfect timing. Though it'd be a bit awkward just the two of us. Oh! Um... Jia, wanna ride together?"
"Eek! But I wanna ride with Oppa!"
Yoon Jia protested a bit, but after Lee Sea whispered something in her ear, she meekly stood by Lee Sea's side.
"Hmm......"
Yoon Jiu eyed Yoon Jia with clear disappointment.
He must've wanted to ride alone with Lee Sea.
"Alright, we'll go first then. See you later."
Things moved quickly, and soon Yoon Jiu, Yoon Jia, and Lee Sea disappeared into the Ferris wheel cabin.
What's going on with them?
Puzzled, I turned to ask the others.
But excluding me, the three of them were huddled together, whispering.
"What're you guys doing?"
Hong Yeonseo and Lee Soyun rushed over at my words, sandwiching me on both sides and dragging me toward the Ferris wheel.
"...Ah! No, haha. It's nothing."
"Yeah! Shall we go too?"
"Uh, yeah."
While waiting for the next cabin, I couldn't move under the silent pressure from the two chattering beside me.
They seemed to know something among themselves but had no intention of telling me.