Chapter 178: A Realization
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 178: A Realization
Just then, Rika suddenly turned her head.
"Huh? Didn't I just hear Ryu-chan's voice?"
I instantly ducked down, hiding from her line of sight.
What is this? Why do I feel so guilty when I haven't even done anything wrong?
"You must be hearing things. If Yoo-Sung were nearby, there's no way we wouldn't have noticed."
"True, Ryu-chan is super tall, after all."
Thankfully, Karen's unintentional assistance quickly dispelled Rika's suspicion, and the two of them turned back to face forward.
My partner, the girl in the mask standing next to me, asked.
"Oppa, what's wrong?"
"Ah, my stomach suddenly hurts."
"If that's the case, you can go to the restroom. We'll save your spot."
I subtly glanced at the others in our group.
Ryuji and Satoru looked bewildered by my sudden action.
They have no idea, 100%.
Satoru, who's never been in a relationship, is one thing, but Ryuji would be in a seriously awkward position if Yaguchi found out.
"I'll be right back then."
With that, I slipped out of the line and headed for a nearby public restroom.
After checking to make sure no one was watching from outside, I stood in front of the sink and sent a text.
Me: 「This is an emergency.」
Ryuji: 「What are you talking about all of a sudden?」
Me: 「The girls from our class are in the line up ahead.」
The chat room froze for a moment.
Ryuji: 「For real…?」
Satoru: 「W-wait a minute! You guys aren't thinking of bailing now, are you?! You can't just disappear when the mood is this good!」
It was a truly desperate cry.
I chewed on my fingernails, deep in thought.
Friendship, or self-preservation?
Having already betrayed them once during summer vacation, the thought weighed even more heavily on my mind.
For one, Satoru and I had sworn an Oath of the Peach Garden over yogurt at Ryuji's place. It was a shared goal between Ryuji and me to find a girlfriend for Satoru, who had been growing noticeably lonely lately.
I was also tired of hearing him whine about being the only single one, so I had hoped to take care of it for good this time.
If he actually got a girlfriend, his complaints would surely decrease.
After a moment of conflict, I made my decision.
Me: 「Let's proceed as planned for now. The girls haven't figured out who we are yet. It was a coincidence our paths crossed this time, so we can just make sure to avoid them from now on.」
Ryuji: 「You sure about that?」
Me: 「Even if we get caught, we'll just have to take the heat. Besides, didn't we swear last night at the inn that we'd definitely get Satoru a girlfriend this fall?」
Satoru: 「Yoo-Sung-ah…」
After a brief silence, a message from Ryuji popped up.
Ryuji: 「Alright. Let's do it. It's not a problem if we don't get caught in the first place, right?」
Thankfully, it seemed Ryuji's dwindling motivation had been rekindled.
Satoru: 「Thanks, you guys! I'll definitely treat you both when this is all over!」
Feeling Satoru's gratitude even through the text, I let out a small chuckle and pushed myself off the wall I was leaning against.
The emergency meeting was over. It was time to return to the battlefield.
*
"Whoa! It's huge!"
After a long wait, we finally entered the Ninja Mansion.
As expected of the most popular attraction in the Movie Village, the mansion was filled with all sorts of things to do.
From a ninja costume rental shop to shuriken throwing, learning hand seals, and an infiltration experience, it was packed with activities that people of all ages would enjoy.
"Nin-nin!"
"Wow! You look like a real one! Oppa!"
"Awesome!"
"Really?"
Getting into the spirit, Satoru rented a ninja costume. When he mimicked the staff's hand gestures and pretended to be a ninja, the high school girls with us squealed in delight.
Honestly, I thought it was a bit over the top, but if he was happy, did it really matter?
Even as I thought that, I couldn't stop scanning our surroundings like a meerkat.
There was no telling when or where the girls might pop up.
Just then, Kobayashi, who was walking ahead, pointed at something.
"How about we try that next?"
"Try what?"
"Shuriken throwing."
Following her finger, I saw a large, dojo-like area.
It looked like you stood at a counter set up on one side and threw the provided shuriken at targets.
It's just like a traditional Korean archery range.
I was about to look away when I heard it.
"Ah! Sasha's shuriken hit the bullseye again!"
"Huhu, a little something like this is nothing for me."
"Amazing! Karen got a perfect score too!"
"…All the remaining shuriken. I'll take them."
"Heh! You're on!"
I could see a group of girls in the middle of the shuriken-throwing experience.
I frantically signaled to Ryuji and Satoru with my hands and facial expressions.
Catching my signal, the two of them finally noticed the girls throwing shuriken and spun around in alarm.
Ryuji spoke to Kobayashi, his voice trembling.
"Th-that place looks crowded, so how about we try the infiltration experience first?"
"Ehh? But I want to throw shuriken~"
"It's better to start with the less crowded attractions to save time."
"…Is that so?"
"It is. So let's hurry."
And with that, we made a sharp turn and headed for the infiltration experience zone next to the dojo.
*
The Ninja Mansion's infiltration experience zone could be enjoyed in three main ways.
There was a photo zone where you could pose as a ninja infiltrating the mansion, a section where you could crawl on your stomach through a space made to look like the inside of an eave, and a place where you could learn how to walk without making a sound.
It was truly an experience faithful to the ninja concept.
"Oppa! Can you take my picture?"
Kobayashi stood holding a piece of paper with the same pattern as the wall behind her, peeking her head out from behind it.
Ryuji gave a wry smile, took her phone, and snapped a picture for her.
"Me too, please."
My partner, the girl in the mask, asked as well, and I gladly took her picture.
Click!
When I went to hand her phone back, the masked girl stared at me for a moment before speaking.
"Want to take one together?"
"Uh… sure."
There was no particular reason to refuse at this point, so I nodded readily. The girl then stopped a passerby and asked them to take a photo for us.
"Okay! I'm taking it!"
The masked girl then boldly wrapped her arm tightly around mine.
I froze for a second at the soft sensation.
"Smile big."
"R-right."
Hearing her quiet whisper, I managed an awkward smile as she stretched out her other arm and made a V-sign.
Click!
"Thank you."
After the picture was taken, the girl took her phone back and stepped away as if nothing had happened.
To be honest, I was a little flustered.
Are kids these days really so casual about this kind of physical contact?
I was dazedly rubbing the arm where I'd felt that soft touch just a moment ago.
"Whoa! There's an experience over here too!"
"It doesn't look very fun. Let's go do something else."
"Aww, but we came all this way. We should at least see what's here."
I heard familiar voices nearby.
It's Rika!
I immediately looked around.
Thankfully, Ryuji and Satoru were busy with the crawling-through-the-eaves experience.
That meant only I had to hide.
"This way, quickly."
"????"
When I suddenly spoke and pulled her arm, the masked girl gave me a dazed look, but I had no time to worry about that.
I ducked into an empty space between two fake, plank-board walls.
Luckily, there was just enough room for two people to squeeze in.
In that time, the girls from my class entered the photo experience zone.
"Wow! It's a photo zone!"
"We still have a lot of places to see, so let's just take a few quick pictures and move on."
"Sounds good."
It seemed we made it just in the nick of time.
As I leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of relief, the masked girl, who was pressed up against me in the cramped space, asked.
"…Were you hiding from those people before, too?"
It seemed she had already figured out why I had hidden so hastily.
"Yeah. They're my classmates."
I readily admitted my guilt and explained the whole situation with Satoru.
But contrary to my expectations, the masked girl didn't seem particularly surprised.
"I kind of figured from the start. You don't seem like the type to go around hitting on people."
…It feels kind of embarrassing to be spilling all this to a girl I just met today.
"But why are you hiding, Oppa? It's not like hitting on people is a bad thing."
"Well… you're right."
If only most of the girls in that group didn't like me as more than a friend.
Some might hear that and think I'm bragging, but from my perspective, it was an incredibly difficult situation.
The moment I chose one of them as my girlfriend, the rest would automatically get their hearts broken.
I didn't want that to happen.
Having read more romantic comedies than anyone, I knew the reality that awaited the heroines who weren't chosen.
But just then.
Thump!
The masked girl lightly tapped her fist over my heart and said.
"Oppa, I know this is weird to say since we just met, but don't worry so much about romance."
If you're afraid of hurting the other person from the very beginning, you'll never be able to start anything at all.
"……."
I felt as if I'd been hit hard over the head with a hammer.
I had never once thought about it from that perspective.
"Or so I say. I've never actually dated anyone myself, though."
Saying that, the masked girl scratched the back of her head, perhaps to hide her embarrassment, and peeked outside.
"Those people are gone. We should probably head out now."
With that, she scurried out from between the walls as if escaping.
I stared blankly at the back of the girl who had given me a small but profound realization, then let out a faint smile and followed her.
"I guess hitting on people really isn't all that bad."
For this, at least, I think I have to thank Satoru.