The Second Heroine, Go Juyeon
What kind of lunch menu would be appropriate for a guy and a girl to share?
I pondered over it.
First, eliminate all the overly expensive places.
If I treated her to an expensive meal just for lending me a hoodie, it would definitely feel burdensome for both me and Jo Ayoung.
And greasy or spicy food was out of the question...
Messy foods you have to eat with your hands were a no-go, and anything with polarizing spices or ingredients was also off the table.
Eliminating all those minor options left me with a simple conclusion: a place that served clean, universally liked food that was affordable and light...
Looking at each condition individually, it didn't seem that hard. But trying to find a single place that checked every single box made choosing a lunch spot surprisingly difficult.
Because of that, we had already walked halfway down the nearby restaurant street without finding a suitable place.
Seriously, what should I do?
Should I just offer to buy lunch right now and head into a place with a decent atmosphere?
Just as those thoughts were cluttering my mind...
"Um..."
Jo Ayoung, standing beside me, timidly pointed toward a shop.
"How about over there?"
I turned my head, following her slender finger.
"Oh, works for me."
Baduk's Snack Bar... The name "Baduk" probably referred to a pet dog or something, right?
Surely it didn't mean... No, never mind.
"Then let's go! I actually know that place, it's really good."
When I nodded, Jo Ayoung took the lead and walked toward the snack bar, and I followed closely behind her.
Chime—
A cheerful bell rang as we opened the door.
"How many?"
A young woman standing by the register, who looked a couple of years older than us, greeted us reflexively.
"Unni!"
Jo Ayoung cried out warmly upon seeing her.
"Oh? Ayoung!"
The woman, who had been wearing the typical lifeless expression of a retail worker, instantly brightened, rushed out, and hugged Jo Ayoung.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? Hmm?"
She patted Ayoung's bottom affectionately, babying her.
Watching this from behind, I felt a bit strange.
It was just a harmless display of affection, but since Jo Ayoung's rear was so incredibly plump, every gentle pat sent a visible ripple through it...
"And who is the person behind you?"
Snapping out of it, I quickly prepared to answer her question.
"Um... I'm with her."
At that, the woman with deep dark-purple hair gasped in surprise and scanned me from head to toe.
"Ayoung's friend?"
"Uh... yeah."
I hesitated, unsure how to define our relationship.
"Yes, Unni, he's my friend," Jo Ayoung answered for me, giving her a quick wink.
The woman's expression turned slightly awkward, but she welcomed me nonetheless.
"Oh... I see. Go ahead and take a seat."
She guided us to a corner of the empty dining area, bringing over cold water and a menu.
"Take your time choosing~"
She was a beauty with a mature charm quite different from Jo Ayoung's.
I made brief eye contact with her and expressed my gratitude.
"...Thank you."
Once the whirlwind of our first meeting finally settled, Jo Ayoung offered a soft apology.
"Sorry, I should have warned you beforehand..."
Accepting her apology, I made a light joke.
"Seriously. If I'd known such a beautiful older sister was here, I would've checked the mirror before coming."
Hearing my half-compliment, half-joke, Jo Ayoung tilted her head.
"...Thanks?"
Finding her reaction adorable, I chuckled softly and pointed at the menu.
"Anyway, let's decide what to order first."
After all, the dining area was completely empty, and it would be awkward if we just sat here chatting without ordering anything.
Jo Ayoung agreed and immediately chose her dish.
"I'll have the cheese rabokki."
She seemed familiar with it, as if she ordered it every time.
I flipped through the menu a few times, and taking her advice—"The cheese dishes here are really good"—I decided on the cheese pork cutlet.
"Excuse me... We'd like one cheese rabokki and one cheese pork cutlet, please."
When I called out, the woman, who had been tapping away on her phone in the distance, walked over with a bright smile.
"I'll make it quick."
She checked off the cheese rabokki and cheese pork cutlet on her notepad and took the menu away.
Soon, only the two of us were left in the dining area.
Although a slightly awkward silence lingered, just like back at the bicycle rack, this time we had plenty of things to talk about, so I spoke up first.
"You must come here a lot."
Pointing to some graffiti on the wall, Jo Ayoung replied, "Yeah. I actually wrote some of the graffiti here a long time ago."
Following her finger, I saw a cute, bubbly scribble that read:
It was graffiti that screamed Jo Ayoung. As I stared at it in fascination, Jo Ayoung, who had been watching me closely, handed me a marker from somewhere.
"Um... your name is Hajun, right?"
I nodded to confirm the name she had seen when we exchanged numbers.
"Hajun, if you want to write something, go ahead. Everyone who comes here usually leaves a mark."
As she spoke, she grabbed another pen herself and began adding a new scribble.
Watching her, I popped the cap off my marker and wrote down the first random phrase that popped into my head:
"Pfft, what is that?"
Jo Ayoung burst into giggles, finding my graffiti hilarious.
Yeah, she looked much better when she was smiling.
We spent our time doodling on the wall like that until our food arrived.
"Kids, cheese rabokki and cheese pork cutlet, right?"
The older sister, serving the freshly cooked food from the kitchen, naturally placed the cheese rabokki in front of Jo Ayoung and the cheese pork cutlet in front of me, even though we hadn't told her who ordered what.
"Thank you."
"Thanks, Unni."
We each offered our thanks. After receiving our greetings, she stared at us intently for a moment before speaking up hesitantly.
"Um, student..."
Since her form of address was so formal, I told her she could just call me by my name.
"Oh, really?"
At my reply, she smiled brightly once more and made a gentle request.
"Hajun, if you don't mind, could I join you guys for lunch?"
"Huh?"
As I hesitated, caught off guard by her sudden request, she pulled out another dish from the cart she had wheeled over and whined playfully.
"Eating alone is so lonely... *sniff sniff*."
Honestly, eating with someone I had just met was a bit uncomfortable.
However, flatly refusing felt awkward with Jo Ayoung sitting right there, and frankly, the older sister's natural playfulness was quite charming.
Weighing the circumstances, I nodded.
"Sure, I don't mind."
Jo Ayoung, who had been fidgeting anxiously beside her, finally relaxed when I added with a playful grin, "I'm totally fine with it."
"Oh, thank you!"
Flashing a captivating smile, she naturally slid into the seat next to Jo Ayoung.
"Unni!"
Jo Ayoung protested, and a brief, playful scuffle ensued.
"But I'm so lonely eating by myself..."
When the older sister whined again, the kind-hearted Jo Ayoung let out a sigh and gave in.
And so, a three-way meeting naturally began.
I felt like I was going to get indigestion from the awkward atmosphere, but I kept stuffing the pork cutlet into my mouth anyway.
Watching me closely from across the table, she finally spoke.
"Ah, right. My name is Go Juyeon."
"...I see."
Hearing her name, I realized I had made the right choice in letting her join us.
After all, this older sister, Go Juyeon, was also... one of the heroines of the erotic game I had fallen into.
"So, there's something I'm curious about."
Go Juyeon, whose sharp, alluring eyes were a stark contrast to Jo Ayoung's, asked me, "How did you and Ayoung meet?"
It sounded exactly like a mother-in-law interrogating a prospective son-in-law.
Her tone was incredibly sweet, but the look in her eyes was anything but gentle.
Jo Ayoung must have sensed the tension too, because she quickly stepped in to cover for me.
"We just... we've been friends since a while ago, and we ran into each other by chance."
"Hmm."
Go Juyeon tilted her head at the answer, then looked at me for confirmation.
"...That's right."
I felt a bit guilty about lying, but I figured Jo Ayoung had her reasons for making up that story.
Besides, knowing how fiercely protective Go Juyeon was of Jo Ayoung, telling her we had only met a few hours ago and were already eating lunch together would not go down well.
"I see."
Go Juyeon nodded, seemingly accepting the explanation.
Then came the next question.
"So, when did you two first meet?"
...Ah. It wasn't over?
Panicking at the follow-up question, I noticed Jo Ayoung was struggling to come up with an answer this time.
So, I took the lead.
Let's see... what would be a safe timeline based on the game's lore?
"It was back in our third year of middle school."
I thought it was the perfect answer.
According to the game's lore, Go Juyeon and Jo Ayoung didn't meet until high school.
If I said we met in middle school, she wouldn't have any way to dig deeper.
"...Really?"
As expected, she couldn't probe any further. She tilted her head and accepted my answer.
Beside her, Jo Ayoung let out a quiet sigh of relief and twirled some cheese rabokki around her fork before popping it into her mouth.
"Then..."
But as she opened her mouth to ask yet another question, both of us spoke up at the exact same time.
"Unni!"
"Noona..."
Seriously, this was getting to be a bit much.