The Dragon and the Invitation
Thinking about it, half of my sophomore year of high school was already gone.
What had I even done?
Ah. Flirting with Ha-yan? That I'll give myself credit for. But that was the bare minimum.
"Hueh... it's so hot... How are we supposed to survive if it's already like this?"
"Splashing around is fine, but maybe pull your skirt down a little? I can see everything."
"Tch. It's just you and me here anyway, Siu."
"That's exactly why."
"Oho~?"
A sly little tug.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!!!"
After finals, the school day ended early, and the sun beating down from the sky seemed determined to drive us straight home. With exams over, evening self-study was out of the question—the second the last bell rang, Ha-yan had marched over to my place still in her uniform, stuck her feet in the pool, and started kicking up water with her legs.
I had no idea what was going through her head, but at my words she flashed a weird little smile and started hiking her school skirt even higher—it was already riding dangerously close to her thighs.
In front of other people she was the picture of demure restraint, but the moment it was just the two of us, she had a habit of flooring the accelerator.
Cheek kisses, pouty little tantrums, constant skinship—and now she was poking at my instincts, too.
I desperately tried to hide my flushed face as I grabbed her hands in a hurry.
Ha-yan just grinned up at me and said,
"We already know everything there is to know about each other, and you'd be careful, right? Besides, when you hold me, you've already touched me all over. That doesn't mean I'd ever show this side of myself in front of anyone else, though."
"What do you mean I've touched you! What do you mean I'd be careful!! Are you trying to get your mom to beat me to death?!"
"Hmm? My mom said she was curious whether we'd end up having a baby or n—"
"STOOOOOP!!!"
Finals must have unlocked her limiters. Or maybe the early heat had gone to her head. Hearing her suddenly spit out things she never said was driving me out of my mind.
But a moment later Ha-yan was grinning like an idiot and saying,
"Hehe. That reaction of yours is so fun, Siu."
Then she pulled my face into her chest and wrapped both arms around me tight.
So that whole setup had just been bait for this exact situation.
I grumbled at her,
"If you just wanted a hug, say you wanted a hug. Don't spring it on people and freak them out."
"Why? You liked it too. Your eyes went straight to my thighs."
"I'm biologically male, you know. Probably?"
"Tch. What do you mean 'probably'? It's a hundred percent."
She let me go for a second, smoothed her hiked-up skirt back into place, then winked and added,
"But I meant it, okay? We've already seen everything there is to see of each other, haven't we?"
"I am still not prepared to get beaten senseless by your mother and father..."
Yep. Ha-yan was definitely her mother's daughter. Once we were adults, I was a dead man.
"Hehe. But it's already this hot. Hanging around your house alone is getting boring... Ah!"
"...Ah?"
I did not like the sound of that. A chill skimmed right across my heart at that single syllable from Ha-yan.
The brief round of flirting passed.
First-semester finals had vanished in a blink, and what came next was summer break. For Ha-yan and me, that meant the shift from ordinary high-school time into wizards' time.
But that hour wasn't upon us just yet.
Call it a short breather.
"A whole week? Just the two of you? An overseas trip?"
"Mm-hmm. Just me and Siu. Hehe."
"Jeez. Your mom is something else. How can she send her daughter off overseas alone with a guy?"
"Are you picking a fight with me right now?"
I bristled a little at Do Ji-yeon's jab, but she didn't so much as blink.
"Well, it's true, isn't it? Even if you're officially boyfriend and girlfriend in your parents' eyes, shipping two high schoolers overseas by themselves is another story. Last year's trip, your mom went too, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she did."
Back then Ha-yan's mother had duties at the gathering, so it had been unavoidable. If not for that, it would have been just Ha-yan and me even then.
"Still, I'm jealous. Some of us are about to enter cram school and work ourselves to the bone for the college entrance exam."
Choi Hoon, sitting beside us, sucked down lemonade and muttered in a sour voice.
I clicked my tongue at him.
"Who was it that goofed off like a dog while Ha-yan and I were killing ourselves studying for finals?"
"Okay, fine for Ha-yan—but you? Really? Trying to scam me or something?"
At Choi Hoon's counterattack I casually looked the other way.
The day of the summer closing ceremony, we were at a café near school, trading notes on what each of us planned to do over break. That was when I mentioned that Ha-yan and I were heading to Japan together—though of course her magic evaluation exam was part of the package.
As the summer-break talk continued, Do Ji-yeon let out a long sigh.
"Aahhh. Still can't help being jealous. I guess it's because he's not just some boyfriend—you've been childhood friends for over ten years. That's why the parents said yes."
"R-right? Ehehe."
Ha-yan couldn't exactly mention the other side of the trip, so she just laughed awkwardly at Ji-yeon's words.
"Still! We can have fun today, right?"
And Do Ji-yeon clearly had no intention of letting the two of us go quietly.
I struck first.
"Hold on. Not malatang and tanghulu again. Just listen to me for a second this time."
"Huh? You? All of a sudden?"
I usually just went along with whatever Ji-yeon or Ha-yan suggested, so the fact that I was volunteering an idea made both Ji-yeon and Choi Hoon stare at me in genuine surprise. Ha-yan, though, was looking at me with eyes full of expectation.
I sighed once under that sparkling gaze, then filled them in on the plan Ha-yan and I had already worked out for the day.
"Looks like you've added a bunch of stuff since last time."
"Hey. It's been years since you came over, okay? I've picked up a few appliances in the meantime."
"Fair. Back then this place barely looked lived-in. What's the point of having money if you're just hoarding it to make tanghulu later?"
"Even your metaphors..."
Do Ji-yeon tossed out her review of the house and then disappeared inside with Ha-yan in a cheerful flutter. Beside me, Choi Hoon casually pulled a bottle of premium Evian from my fridge, drained it, and said,
"I knew you had money, but... you bastard. And you still shake me down for PC café fees?"
"Watch your mouth. When did I ever shake you down? You just suck at games that badly."
"Oh? You said it. You went there. Right now—one-on-one in the Rift, let's go!!"
Then Do Ji-yeon suddenly reappeared, delivered a solid chop to the back of Choi Hoon's neck, and turned to Ha-yan and me.
"Shut it, Choi Hoon. You come all the way here and it's games? Like getting into Cha Siu's house is easy or something, you weirdo. Hey, Cha Siu. Okay if I use this TV?"
"Huh? The TV? Yeah, sure. Remote should be right there."
"We've got every streaming service signed up, so if there's something you want to watch, just buy it! Want me to bring out snacks?"
Ha-yan said it like she lived here and vanished into the kitchen in a flash. Do Ji-yeon fixed me with a complicated look.
"Ha-yan comes over a lot, huh? She knows this place like her own house."
"Well. Like you said before—parent-approved, right?"
Ji-yeon glared at my brazen answer, then flung herself onto the massive sofa and settled into a thoroughly comfortable sprawl.
Come to think of it, back in middle school Do Ji-yeon had dropped by our place pretty often. She was the only friend who knew even a sliver of the secret between Ha-yan and me, so Ha-yan leaned on her quite a bit.
Choi Hoon, though—we'd only become friends in middle school—was here for the first time. And this guy had apparently ignored every single hint Ha-yan and I had ever dropped.
What hints?
"Holy crap. Isn't this that rollable TV they only advertised to VVIPs? I heard these run tens of millions of won."
"What have you been doing while Ha-yan and I talk? I keep telling you I'm loaded. I've bought you a ton of stuff at school, haven't I?"
"Yeah, but even with money, I didn't think it'd be rotting this hard. Don't rich people usually go to international schools or private academies? Why are you two at a public school?"
"What kind of nonsense is that? Why would I bother?"
I left the rest unsaid: Why would I go to a school full of nothing but rich snobs?
Choi Hoon's whole concept of wealthy people was wildly warped.
After the Evian he moved on to premium orange juice and started touring the house in earnest. I trailed after him with an expression of pure disbelief.
Wondering if I'd misjudged him all this time, I lightly used a mental spell to peek inside Choi Hoon's head—
Holy crap. Jackpot. My friend's this rich?... I should make him buy me chicken more often. Why did I keep asking for convenience-store food? Past me. You should just die.
"...Yeah. Choi Hoon is still Choi Hoon."
That much chicken? I'd buy him a lifetime supply.
It had looked a little scheming, but Ha-yan's plan wasn't anything complicated. Since we'd already casually let Do Ji-yeon and Choi Hoon know I had money, she just wanted to invite them over openly and hang out for a bit. The weather was getting too hot for outdoor plans, and even if I found it mildly annoying, she figured it would be a pretty fun stretch of time for her.
And that prediction hit dead-on.
"Whoa. Isn't this that multi-axis racing rig that costs tens of millions? You had this too?"
"If you're going to do something, you do it with proper gear."
"You cheap bastard. No wonder I can't even compete when you've been practicing on equipment like this!!"
"I don't practice KartRider on this..."
"Ha-yan? What's this?"
"Oh, this? If you press it like this..."
Ziiiiing~~
"Whoa! Ohhh! This whole thing is a closet? This entire huge space? It's not some secret room or something?"
"Hehe. If you see any clothes you like, take a few. I don't wear most of them that often anyway, and I've got way too many."
"You won't regret saying that? Yesss~~!!"
Spending the first day of summer break like this, having a pretty good time...
Yeah. This wasn't a bad way to start either.
"Hey, hey. Cha Siu. Isn't that a Patek... whatever-it's-called watch?"
"Yeah, it is."
"You've got so many—just one for me..."
"You want me to hit you?"
Choi Hoon was just a completely thoughtless friend.
Which was exactly why I hung out with him.
