Chapter 23: Fine, Do It Yourself!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 23: Fine, Do It Yourself!
Was there some kind of dress code for our meeting?
The outfit Doah was wearing when she opened the door was the exact same look as mine.
“...Huh?”
Maybe because we became self-conscious the moment our eyes met, we both let out an exclamation instead of a greeting.
“Oh... hi?”
The order was a bit backward, but I greeted her first.
“Hello.”
Doah, as if finally coming to her senses, bowed her head slightly.
...This is awkward.
I thought we’d gotten closer since we met for the assignment, so why was this so awkward?
Perhaps it was even more so because this meeting wasn't forced on us.
“So.”
It felt weird to just keep standing blankly in front of her house, so I spoke up.
“Yes.”
“Is the arcade far from here?”
“Oh! No, it's less than a 15-minute walk.”
“Really? This way?”
As I turned roughly toward the bus stop, Doah followed behind me.
A quiet weekend afternoon.
How would people see a man and a woman walking down an alley side-by-side, both wearing gray hoodies and jeans?
It was obvious.
Especially since we were near a university, the answer was practically set in stone.
“Um... Oppa...”
Perhaps feeling awkward walking without any conversation, Doah was the one to speak up this time.
“Yeah.”
“Have you played any other rhythm games?”
“I played some on my phone when I was younger, I think?”
“Which ones?”
“There was this one where notes came down from the top and you'd tap them like piano keys.”
Looking back, it’s already been about ten years since I played that.
“Sonic Beat?”
“Oh, yeah. You played it too?”
Doah answered immediately after hearing my description.
“Ah, I played it for a really long time. I even spent real money to unlock songs and stuff.”
“Really? I never spent money on it; I wanted to save my allowance.”
“It’s just that a lot of the songs popular with the pros were paid content.”
Doah strode forward confidently with her arms crossed.
Seeing the real-life version of Luka-tan, who gets all puffed up with pride whenever she talks about a game she's good at, was even cuter.
Maybe because she's so short, she probably felt like she was walking fast, but her pace was no different from my normal stride.
“The game we're playing today has a different feel from Sonic Beat, though.”
“Is it harder?”
“Depends on the person. The basic principle is a bit different...”
Doah walked beside me, diligently explaining the basics of the game.
Most of it was stuff I'd already heard in the videos I watched to prepare yesterday.
I pretended it was my first time hearing it and listened intently to her explanation.
Before we knew it, we'd arrived at the arcade and went inside.
“Wow, it's really been ages since I've been to an arcade.”
Standing in front of a fighting game I used to play a lot with a friend, I was lost in old memories for a moment.
“Oppa, do you like that one?”
As I idly grabbed the joystick and wiggled it a couple of times, Doah asked me.
“Ah, I used to bet drinks on this with my friends all the time.”
“...Are you good?”
“Nah. It's a bit embarrassing to say, but I lost every time, so I was basically the drink mule.”
Haa... Back then, I kept challenging him again and again, thinking I could win if I just tried one more time.
A bittersweet smile appeared on my face at the happy yet bitter memory.
Thinking back now, it was a pretty foolish decision.
Because the bastard I was playing against was a total pro.
“Then let's play that later, too. I'm terrible at it.”
“Wanna bet?”
At the word ‘bet,’ one of Doah's eyebrows shot up.
“Oppa, I may not specialize in fighting games, but I have some experience from playing here and there.”
She thinks I'm a total noob just because I said I was.
My friend was the pro, that doesn't mean I suck.
“Hey, if you're going to count that, think about how much experience I have buying drinks for my friends.”
“Well then, thanks in advance for the drink~”
...Luka-tan.
You might not know this, but with the money I've donated to you, I could've bought a whole case of drinks.
I really didn't want to get shaken down for money in the real world, too.
“First, let's go get some change.”
Standing in front of the change machine, Doah inserted a bill, and a stream of coins poured out.
“Here.”
Doah placed exactly half of them in my hand.
“...Are we playing this much?”
There were ten 500-won coins.
“Ah, the rounds end faster than you'd think, and if we play other games besides the rhythm one, those end even quicker.”
Having never spent more than 3,000 won at an arcade, I nodded reluctantly.
“The rhythm games are in the basement.”
As I followed Doah downstairs, all sorts of music filled the air.
I could see people who were obviously pros.
Whoa... how are they even doing that?
I let out a dry laugh at the sight of their fingers moving so fast they were practically invisible.
The saying ‘the world is wide and full of pros’ really is true.
“Oppa. Over here.”
While I was watching, mesmerized, Doah, who was already standing in front of a machine, waved at me.
“First, press this to start.”
When the tutorial screen appeared, I did as she said, pressing each button firmly.
“How is it? You get the concept, right?”
“It's just 'press it when you see it,' right?”
“Think of it less as 'seeing it' and more as 'matching the beat'.”
“Got it.”
After inserting a 500-won coin and entering the song selection screen, I found it hard to control my expression.
“Why aren't you picking one?”
“Ah... just wondering what would be fun.”
The truth was the opposite.
There were too many songs I knew.
I figured there would be some anime-related songs since the machine was made by a Japanese company, but I never expected this many.
For an otaku like me, it was shocking that there wasn't a single song I didn't recognize on an entire page.
“I'll try this one.”
I picked a song I knew, thinking it would be better than one I didn't.
As the music started, notes began to appear on the screen.
“Oh... you're better than you were at the experience center.”
I wanted to reply, but it seemed multitasking was impossible in a rhythm game.
I was too busy pressing the buttons right in front of me.
Ooh... here comes the climax.
The beat got faster and faster.
“Boku no koe ga~”
I couldn't resist, so I started humming the song under my breath.
The opening animation played out in my head.
Right at this scene, the heroine makes her gorgeous entrance, and then all the other characters rush in.
When the minute-long game somehow came to an end, I looked at Doah with a proud expression.
It was only a level 3 song, but my score was an A.
I knew there were S, SS, and even SSS ranks, but an A was good enough for a beginner.
It was an alphabet I rarely saw on my own report card.
“You did well.”
Doah gave me a reluctant smile in response to my reaction.
“Hey, why? This is pretty good, isn't it?”
“No, I said you did well.”
“But your face says otherwise.”
Doah flinched and quickly turned her head away.
“But Oppa, did you know this song?”
“Why?”
“Because it seemed like you were singing along in the middle.”
Ah, fuck. Ah, Han Taemin, you idiot.
Singing because ‘I couldn't resist’—I really was a moron.
What the hell was I thinking, singing that out loud?
After working so hard to cosplay as a normal person, I desperately wanted to get out of this situation.
“Ah, this? A friend who sat next to me used to play it all the time.”
“...This song?”
“He was into this kind of stuff.”
“Aha.”
Doah nodded as if to say that made sense.
“It is a really famous song, after all. It's the opening for a super famous anime.”
I know. I know that. I even have the merch at home.
“Let's try a slightly higher level for the next one.”
The song she picked this time was level 5.
The notes definitely came out faster than on level 3, so I missed a lot.
“This isn't easy.”
I didn't have the technique, so I just mashed the buttons with brute force, and my fingers started to hurt.
“The song we just played has this pattern, right?”
Standing in front of the machine, Doah spread out her hands, which were much smaller than mine.
“If you make this shape, you can press them easily.”
Doah explained it like a seasoned instructor giving a demonstration, but watching her, a question popped into my head.
“But can't you just press them like this with your pinky and index finger?”
“No, you can't do that.”
“Why not?”
“The distance is too far. Obviously.”
Doah said it as if it were a universal truth.
“That's because you can't reach.”
I grinned as I replicated the pattern Doah showed me using only three fingers.
“See? It works.”
When I actually succeeded, Doah's pupils started to tremble.
“...How is that possible?”
“It's because your fingers are too short.”
Just like how having long fingers is an advantage for instruments like the piano or guitar, it seemed rhythm games had a similar aspect.
“Wow... I followed you here because you said you were a pro, but I'm losing faith...”
I felt a mischievous urge.
My roots are, after all, that of a malicious Pink Army member.
Isn't it a natural desire to tease Luka when you see her looking flustered?
As I patted the shoulder of a dumbfounded-looking Doah, she ducked her head.
“...yourself.”
“What?”
She said it so quietly I couldn't hear her properly.
“Ah, then fine, do it yourself!”
Her slightly flushed face told me I had wounded her pride.