Strawberry Smoothie and the Limited Edition Game
The cool blast of air conditioning poured down in the franchise cafe. I carefully placed the Elden Souls Limited Edition package I'd been cradling in my arms on the seat next to the sofa, terrified it might get even the tiniest scratch.
"Sit tight. I'll go order. You like anything sweet?"
"Huh? Uh... whatever."
Kang Ha-ri had been fidgeting awkwardly and avoiding my gaze ever since we got here. Following a guy all the way to this chaotic Gukjeon just for a free drink? She played the cool, stylish type at school, but apparently had a massive hidden sweet tooth.
Well, at least she wasn't picky. But the moment I glanced up at the menu, the relaxed smile on my lips froze solid.
[Signature Strawberry Blossom Smoothie - 7,600 won]
[Real Grapefruit Ade - 7,300 won]
Crazy... Shaved ice and sugar water for 7,000 won? For that price, I could stuff myself silly at a convenience store...
As a guardian of cost-performance and a pro part-timer, this outrageous pricing was utterly unacceptable to my sensibilities. And I'd just dropped a hefty sum on the limited edition Elden Souls. Still, dragging her here after promising to treat her and then ordering the cheapest Americano would kill my pride and manners.
I handed over my card, tears of blood in my eyes.
"One iced Americano and one strawberry smoothie, please."
Normally, I'd just shut up and get the Americano, but... whatever. I'd scored the limited edition, so I could afford to be generous today.
A moment later, as I returned to the table with the vibrating pager...
"....."
Ha-ri was still blushing furiously, sitting ramrod straight and staring out the window.
Under normal circumstances, we'd chat or I'd grill her on whether she really came all this way just for a cafe drink, but a sticky coffee stain in the corner of the table was nagging at me.
"Jeez, couldn't they wipe the table?"
I fetched some water from the cafe's dispenser into a cup and started wiping it down with tissues. It was a habit ingrained from years in service jobs, a true K-part-timer instinct.
"No... we could just switch seats..."
"Why move when I can just clean it?"
I casually crumpled up the napkin and sat down. Next to me sat the precious Elden Souls Limited Edition package, safely enshrined, and on the table lay the vibrating pager.
"……."
Ha-ri, seated across from me, stared straight through my face with her mouth clamped shut.
Looking closer, her red jersey was all wrinkled from getting shoved around in the Gukjeon crowds. I'd plunged into that demon den for a purpose, but why had this girl—who didn't seem into games at all—followed me in?
"So, why'd you really follow me? You could've gotten a drink later."
At my question, Ha-ri's shoulders twitched. She slyly avoided my eyes, cleared her throat, and grumbled curtly.
"J-just... you charge ahead without looking. Aren't you scared of anything, kid? That hellhole all alone..."
"Am I a kid? And that scuffle's nothing compared to year-end rush at a grill house."
"What? Grill... what?"
"Never mind. Ever had to weave soup tureens between grills? Anyway, you had it rough too. You're all messed up from the shoving."
Ha-ri's eyes went wide at my offhand comment. And that's when I spotted something precariously clinging to the end of her hair.
It must've gotten tangled from some nearby store flyer or dust while we pushed through the crowd.
"Hey, hold still a sec."
"……Huh? W-what."
I half-stood, reached across the table. As my face drew near, Ha-ri froze like stone. Her pupils wandered the air, then went wild the moment my left hand touched her hair.
She gasped, sucked in a breath, and squeezed her eyes shut.
Swoosh—my fingers lightly brushed the hair behind her ear.
A familiar cool water scent mixed with her faint sweat hit my nose.
I peeled off the scrap of paper from her hair and sat back down.
"Had some trash stuck. So sloppy..."
I flicked off the paper bit from my fingertip.
Ha-ri cracked her eyes open, saw my hand, and her face flushed crimson all the way to her neck. Her lips twitched like she'd had some massive misunderstanding, then she clenched her fists and exploded.
"Hey!! You're such a guy, seriously...!"
Bzzzzt—!! Bzzzzt—!!
Before Ha-ri could finish, the pager on the table between us went berserk.
"Whoa, drinks are ready. I'll grab 'em."
I snatched the pager and stood without a second thought.
From behind, I heard Ha-ri clutching her flushed face, groaning, "Ugh, driving me insane..." But I was solely focused on recouping that smoothie price.
A moment later, as I returned with the two drinks...
"....."
Ha-ri was still rigid, boring holes into the window with her stare.
"Here, your smoothie."
I slid it over casually and sat. Ha-ri eyed the smoothie I'd handed her, then the napkin in my hand, before giving a small fake cough and popping the straw in her mouth.
"...You do that to some girl you don't know, and she'll totally misunderstand."
"Huh? What'd I even do?"
"Like, picking paper off my hair... wiping my hands..."
I took a long swig of my iced Americano, brushing off her words. Ah, bitter coffee after labor (aka launch-day rush) was pure life elixir.
But the caffeine was just a chaser. My eyes carefully shifted to the limited edition package enshrined in the table's center.
The glossy vinyl wrapping gleamed under the cafe lights. My chest already swelled with grandeur.
"Whoa, the figure quality on this is insane."
I murmured, stroking the package like it was enchanted. Ha-ri snorted in disbelief.
"You're unreal. Only you would come to a cafe and stare at a game box."
"It's not just a game box. It's a work of art. Didn't you buy one? Oh, right, you're into basketball, no interest."
Ha-ri nearly spat her smoothie, coughing. "Kuh, hack! Hey! You think I chased you for a game pack?!"
"Huh? Then it really was for the coffee?"
She glared with her flushed face, but I just tilted my head in genuine confusion.
I'd tearfully bought her an expensive smoothie, wiped the table clean. Perfect manners and Confucian hospitality, right?
"Ugh, frustrating! Figure it out yourself, you otaku!"
I jammed the strawberry smoothie straw into my mouth in a huff.
Han Do-hyun didn't even flinch at my irritated jab, still grinning vacantly as he fondled his precious Elden Souls box.
Sigh... totally lost in that game package. What the hell did I chase him all the way here for?
Slurp, sluuuurp. I gulped the cold smoothie, lost in thought.
Hmm... why had I chased him like a maniac? Coffee? I could've gotten that boldly at school tomorrow or the next day.
Why had I plunged into that sweaty otaku hellhole, even getting trash in my hair?
Right, he's so sloppy and defenseless. On the bus, poking into everyone's business, and in that madhouse, what if those beastly nerds roughed him up...? As a classmate and athletic club member, some protective instinct? Yeah, that.
I nodded inwardly at the plausible excuse. But my rational side immediately tackled it cold.
—Get real. He dodged the crowd way better than you. Who's protecting who?
"....."
Stung, I scowled ahead.
There was Do-hyun, lovingly inspecting the limited edition's vinyl wrap. Under the lights, his pale face contours, thin lips moist around the iced Americano straw. His sharp jawline, the subtle collarbone peeking from his shirt, his straight throat bobbing with each breath.
The vivid striated muscles from PE class overlaid his uniform in my mind.
Thump—
Damn it.
My heart slammed my ribs again. I slammed my gaze under the table. Heat rushed to my face.
No, no. Crazy, Ha-ri. Sweated too much in the crowd, heatstroke for sure.
I shook my head fiercely, rationalizing. Yeah, my type isn't some quirky game-fondler. Someone like me—basketball-loving, sweating buckets, dominating the court roughly but sweetly. Bonus if his abs and striations pop nicely under the uniform when shooting. Not clumsy advances, but slipping through crowds like water, leading with solid physique. Not pretentious steak-slicers, but devouring spicy pork stir-fry rice bowls messily, then meticulously wiping sauce off my hands with wet wipes afterward... A mature guy who can firmly take the lead.
Not some ultimate everyman scrubbing someone else's table syrup and debating value between a 7,000-won smoothie and pork rice!
...Crazy Ha-ri. Lost your mind?
That thought nearly crushed my smoothie cup. This wasn't an ideal type—it was just Han Do-hyun!
"Haaa...."
Utterly defeated by my own subconscious, I pressed my heated face with both hands and sighed deeply.
"Ah~ Any way to store this without opening? Dang, should've bought two. Hmm... YouTube it."
Why was I helplessly glued to that idiot face grinning unguardedly at me while searching his phone..
Slurp, sluuuuurp!
I sucked down the icy strawberry smoothie like I was trying to freeze my raging heart. A chilling wave hit my temples, but the heat blazing in my cheeks toward him wouldn't cool.
Totally broken. Ha-ri, you've gone nuts...
As I frantically slurped the smoothie ice to steady my nerves...
"Hey, Kang Ha-ri."
Do-hyun, peering at the box back, suddenly looked up and called me.
"Y-yeah? What."
Like a thief with guilty feet, my heart dropped as I gruffly replied.
He propped his chin on one hand, gazing at me sucking the straw. Not his earlier game-grin, but a detached yet softly relaxed look.
"Aren't you drinking that too fast?"
"I-I'll drink how I want! Why!"
At my snappish tone, he chuckled softly.
"Got it. Take it slow. Savor it—it's 7,000-won fancy stuff."
Then he leaned slightly over the table, meeting my eyes.
"Anyway... thanks."
"...For what."
"Just. For chasing me here. Honestly, breaking through this otaku madhouse alone could've been risky. Nothing happened, but you came thinking of me, so thanks."
"....!"
My heart plummeted with a thud.
To me, the top freshman athlete and invincible beast, that word from this pale, nonchalant guy's lips was destructive enough to blow my reason's fuse in one go.
But his flirting didn't stop there.
"I said I'd treat, but you basically dragged me here..."
Do-hyun flashed his signature friendly, gentlemanly smile and drove the wedge home.
"Next time, let's go wherever you want. I'll follow without a word."