Chapter 25: Luka-tan is Mine!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25: Luka-tan is Mine!
Should I say something? Should I not?
A small red dot remained on her pale skin.
I held back, thinking she'd eventually wipe it off herself as she ate, but it seemed that was just wishful thinking on my part.
After waiting for about three minutes with no sign of Doah wiping her mouth, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
“Doah.”
If something's bothering you, you're the one who has to fix it, right?
If Doah was fine with it and I was the only one bothered, then all I had to do was wipe it for her.
Yeah. It's not like I'm doing anything wrong.
“Yes?”
“Hold on a sec.”
Grabbing a tissue, I wiped Doah's mouth myself.
Ah! So refreshing! Fucking refreshing!
I felt a thrilling sense of pleasure, as if a weight had been lifted.
“Sorry. It's just been bothering me for a while.”
I apologized just in case she was offended, but her expression...
Why... Why is she glaring at me like that?
Doah stared at me, her cherry-like lips pursed.
“...Are you mad?”
She was scowling so hard, I felt like I'd made some unforgivable mistake.
But that didn't seem to be the case, as Doah just shook her head instead of answering.
Phew... What a relief...
Doah picked up her glass, gulped down some water, and let out a deep sigh.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“From now on, if there's something on my face, please just tell me.”
My relief was short-lived. So she was upset that I wiped it for her.
“Sorry, sorry. You were offended, weren't you? I should have just told you.”
“No, it's not that I'm offended. It's just that...”
Doah pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger as if she had a headache.
“Just... tell me next time.”
“Okay.”
Feeling like I'd just been scolded, I decided to just focus on eating and stabbed a piece of sundae with my fork.
“Oppa.”
Perhaps she was already full, as Doah scraped at the tteokbokki bowl, which now had nothing but sauce left.
“Do you like games?”
“Of course.”
I'd played everything from the popular games people play at PC bangs to the bishoujo dating sims that otakus die for.
I even spend a good amount of money on gacha games.
“What do you play the most?”
“Me... hmm...”
I had to first consider what "playing the most" even meant.
A game I sit down and play for long sessions?
Or a gacha game I log into frequently just to collect rewards?
I only pondered my answer for a moment.
I figured there was no need to confess my tastes in such detail.
“I play a lot of Legends of League.”
That one answer was enough.
A popular choice is usually a safe bet.
And I did actually play it a lot with my friends at PC bangs back in high school.
“What lane do you play?”
“I play ADC or top.”
“Then do you want to duo bot with me sometime?”
At Doah's suggestion, I felt my heart pound.
Me... playing bot duo with Luka-tan...?
I'd applied to play with her on stream so many times, even sending donos, but I was never once chosen.
I, who was never picked by the ladder game or the roulette wheel, was getting a chance just like this...!
The chance came so easily it was almost anticlimactic; I was completely dumbfounded.
“...You don't want to?”
I was so overcome with emotion that I was thanking the Lord internally, but to Doah, it must have looked like I didn't want to.
“No, no! Let's do it! Of course we can play! I'll carry you!”
“What's your tier, Oppa?”
“I used to be Gold.”
“So you're not Gold now?”
I couldn't bring myself to tell her I'd intentionally lost games just so I could play with her, a Bronze player.
It was a real task to lose subtly enough to not get banned.
“I'm Silver right now, but my skills are Gold-level or higher.”
“Oh. So you're kind of like me, then?”
A question mark appeared in my head.
“You? Like me?”
Hey. Luka. That's not right.
How can you put yourself on the same level as me?
Of course, being Gold isn't some high and mighty rank, but saying she was on the same level as me was a huge insult.
“Why? You've never even seen me play, Oppa.”
No. I have. I've seen you play a shit ton.
You suck.
You can't even Flash over a wall, what are you trying to argue?
“I may not look it, but I'm an all-rounder.”
-Pfft.
In the end, I failed to hold back my laughter.
I mean, what could I do? It was just too funny.
How can you try to hide the sun with your palm, Luka-tan?
The thousands of members of the Pink Army all know you suck.
No matter how much I pretended not to know her identity, I was reaching my limit.
“...Why are you laughing?”
Doah pouted, looking offended.
“No, no. I wasn't laughing.”
“You were too. What do you mean you weren't?”
Isn't it a bit much to say something funny and then tell me not to laugh?
“But you are Bronze, right?”
When I stabbed her with the facts, her pupils quaked as if she'd taken a critical hit.
“...But how do you know that, Oppa?”
“You told me during our first group project meeting with Junseok.”
“Oh. Right.”
It seemed she'd forgotten she'd even said it.
As we were finishing up our food, I got up from my seat.
“Excuse me, we'd like the check, please.”
“Oppa, if you give me your bank account number, I'll...”
“No, no. Let's just call this even for the drinks earlier.”
Considering coffee costs around 5,000 won these days, it was pretty much the same as splitting the bill for the meal.
“...Are you sure?”
“It's only about 1,000 won more anyway, so let's just call it a lesson fee.”
When we came outside with full stomachs, the sun had already set.
“The days are getting shorter.”
“They are.”
We were at the bottom of the slope leading up to our homes.
Doah stopped in front of an unattended ice cream shop.
“Oppa, want to get some ice cream?”
“Are you buying?”
“Ah, of course.”
Feeling bad that I'd paid for the meal, Doah readily agreed.
“Hmm...”
Unattended ice cream shops were great, but this was the problem.
There were just too many options.
It was nice that they were cheaper than convenience stores, but for someone like me who has trouble making decisions, too many options were poison.
And it seemed I wasn't the only one.
Doah, standing next to me, was just scanning the freezers with her eyes, showing no sign of opening one.
“Not picking one?”
“What about you?”
“I'm thinking.”
“I'm thinking too.”
Having binge-watched Luka's TMI video several times, I knew Doah's taste in ice cream very well.
“How about that milk-flavored one?”
At my subtle suggestion, Doah reached out as if to open the freezer door, but then...
“Haa... I do like it, but... hmm...”
Her outstretched hand failed to reach its destination and was returned.
“I'll just have this one.”
I grabbed a melon-flavored ice cream bar and stood in front of the checkout.
“Oppa, why'd you pick so fast? I haven't chosen yet.”
As if she was going to eat anything other than the milk or cherry flavor.
[For ice cream bars, I like the milk flavor the best, and sometimes cherry? I think.]
[Why? I just like it, what do you mean why, you punk.]
There was even a short clip of it, so I had practically memorized the lines.
“What are you trying to decide between?”
“The one you mentioned earlier and the cherry flavor.”
“Then let's settle it cleanly with rock-paper-scissors. If I win, milk. If you win, cherry.”
“Okay.”
Doah clasped her hands and stretched.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
A man always goes with rock.
I confidently threw out a fist.
“Yes!”
Doah, who played paper, looked pleased.
Is it really something to be so happy about when you're just choosing between two of your favorite flavors?
“What was it if I won?”
She doesn't even remember the terms.
“Cherry flavor.”
Hearing my answer, Doah took out the cherry-flavored ice cream and paid for both of ours at once.
“Soon it'll be too cold to eat ice cream.”
“True.”
Being in October meant midterms would be starting soon.
The thought of taking exams when I felt like I hadn't accomplished anything made me suddenly depressed.
We walked up the alley and soon arrived in front of our building.
“Today was fun,” Doah said with a bright smile.
“Me too.”
An arcade trip with Luka.
It was a special experience that no amount of donos could buy.
“Want to go again sometime when you have time?”
“I'd love to, if you invite me.”
“Okay, then.”
Doah awkwardly raised her right hand.
“I'll get going now? See you at school?”
“Ah. Yeah. See you. And... let's do a good job on our group project. Let me know if you run into any trouble or have any problems.”
It was obvious she wouldn't have any, but I said it just to be polite.
“Oh, right, right. Oppa.”
Doah, who was about to push the door open and go inside, called out to me.
“What's your Legends of League ID?”
“It's...”
Ah. Wait a minute. I think I'm fucked.
When I didn't answer, Doah tilted her head.
“I was going to add you as a friend since we decided to play together.”
A cold chill ran down my spine.
But I couldn't just meekly tell Doah my ID.
Because my ID was...
[Luka-tan is mine].