3. Getting a Little Closer (1)
Tap-tap-tap.
I typed away at the keyboard, interrogating the search bar.
Fifty Shades of the Torre Tree.
Rated R. Trailer. PV. Reviews. Spoilers included.
Search results about the movie flooded in endlessly. It had been re-released, apparently, because there was a surprising amount of material out there.
Swoosh.
I turned my head. Nobody there. Today the apartment was all mine — Jiye had texted ahead to say she'd be late.
'In that case!'
To be absolutely clear, I was not about to do anything strange. I was just doing some preliminary research on what this movie was actually about.
Quickly, I flicked the mouse and clicked the most-viewed trailer I could find.
[……!!]
That startled me! What was with the audio! No, seriously, what kind of insane movie kicks off its trailer with a woman moaning?! Honestly, it's even more to my taste than I expected!
I hurriedly plugged in my headset. Back when I lived alone, I'd have played it right out loud through the speakers — but my patterns had changed quite a bit since Jiye and I started our half-living-together arrangement.
[Hold me…….]
The trailer was about two minutes long. Since it looked like I'd be able to enjoy myself for a bit, I took a sip of the coffee I'd prepared in advance.
"Ah, I spilled some."
I grabbed the roll of paper towels sitting nearby, set it on the desk, and wiped up the spill. Then, for good measure, a neat pass with a wet wipe.
And so, cleanup complete, I turned my eyes back to the screen—
Well, well. Would you look at that? A woman, tied up tight with rope, was absolutely on display for me.
Quietly, I propped an arm on the desk and touched my lips. This, this…
"The director's a genius."
"You like rope?"
?
A dignified voice bored straight through my headset. A woman's voice — one I'd been hearing constantly lately — sent a jolt shooting through my whole body.
I carefully turned my head. Jiye was looking at me, eyes sparkling.
Seriously, how is she the top-scoring admit if I can't sense her sneaking up on me at all?
"…It's a misunderstanding."
"Yeah, sure! It's fine…! We've been glued to each other so much lately, you probably needed some time to yourself, right? Go on, go on!"
I wanted to say, That's not it — but Jiye's gaze refused to budge from the paper towels and wet wipes sitting on my desk.
"Fighting…! Tell me if you get tired!"
"No, I mean—"
Why on earth did she come home so early? Hadn't she said she'd be late? …Oh. There was a second text after all.
"I'll be in the bedroom, so tell me when you're done!"
This is the trailer for the movie WE'RE going to watch!
Before I could get the words out, Jiye had already vanished toward the bedroom.
"Maybe I should… buy a rope…"
…she muttered, spouting something utterly bizarre.
"What was that? You should've told me we were watching the trailer~."
"I assumed you'd know at least something about the actors…"
"I only knew them a little, so one scene wasn't enough."
Fortunately, the misunderstanding cleared up quickly.
Jiye sprawled on the sofa, and I sat below her. She jabbed me in the ribs with her toes, over and over.
"And here I thought our Hyunwoo's inner sleaze had finally erupted."
"Where would you find a gentleman like me?"
"A perverted gentleman."
"I think your word choice is slightly off."
Jiye giggled, then straightened up and swung both her legs over my shoulders. One squeeze and I'd be out cold in a triangle choke, judging by the angle.
"Anyway, for someone like you, Hyunwoo, I have some disappointing news."
"What is it?"
"We'll have to watch a different movie. There's a problem."
Music to my ears, honestly — almost too good to be true. But I was curious about the reason.
"Why?"
"Aww, you were looking forward to it, weren't you. I'm sorry~"
…….
How am I supposed to respond to that.
"I'm joking. I just forgot they check IDs at the door."
"Oh right, that's a thing."
What I'd taken for a matter of grave and profound importance turned out to have a much simpler explanation. If a daughter of a prominent family was caught going to see an R-rated film, it would look… unbecoming, to say the least.
Anyway.
Once the plan changed, we'd have to pick a new movie and book tickets fast — otherwise we might end up with nothing but bad seats.
So I started to get up and grab my phone, when—
'What is this, a barrier?'
I couldn't shake off Jiye's legs. What kind of strength is this…?
"Hyunwoo."
"…Yeah?"
As I floundered, her voice drifted over from behind me this time. Something soft and warm touched the back of my head.
Jiye's long black hair slid down, brushing across my shoulder and cheek.
And the moment that lovely scent came flooding over me, Jiye's finger poked my cheek and gave it a little press.
"It's a shame we can't watch this one, but when it comes out on streaming later, let's watch it together. Promise."
The multiplex that housed the theater. I'd arrived fifteen minutes ahead of our meeting time, so with some time to kill, I wandered around the complex.
'So this is a thing now, huh.'
Was "Hunter Shop" the right word for it? A place that turned byproducts harvested inside Gates into merchandise and the like.
"'Goblin Ear Squishy'… seriously?"
Who in their right mind sells this as merchandise? I picked it up, and of course it turned out to be one of the store's recommended items.
The texture wasn't bad, honestly. No… to be perfectly honest, it was really nice.
Afraid I was about to fall down a rabbit hole over this weirdly pleasant sensation, I turned my head away.
"Do you like that one?"
And that's when it happened. A woman I'd never seen before struck up a conversation with me.
Beautiful. Celebrity-tier. Gorgeous.
She was the sort of person all those words fit easily — and yet, maybe because the person I lived half my life with was Jiye, she somehow just looked ordinary to me.
…Huh? Hold on a second!
Spending so much time around Jiye seems to have completely shattered my internal standard of beauty…? Could I be in actual, genuine danger here…?
"Shall I buy one for you?"
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, the woman kept closing in. Why is someone who'd be popular anywhere clinging to me of all people? What a bother.
"I don't believe you."
"It's not like that. You just… caught my eye, so I thought I'd say hi."
Not falling for it. She'd say that, then slyly lure me to some café and start pitching a cult.
"I'm sorry, all I can see is the Goblin Ear Squishy."
"I-I liked you, though. Can I get your number?"
For a second I honestly wondered if this was some hidden-camera prank show.
I swept my surroundings, checking for cameras, for anyone watching this spot a little too intently.
'There's nobody, though…?'
No way. Is this for real?
Sure, I'd had my number taken a few times before — but I'd never had a girl like this making a play for me?
For a moment I felt something like the smug superiority of a lion surveying the wild, but it cooled off just as fast.
Because the person I wanted by my side wasn't this woman.
"I'm sorry. I have a girlfriend."
"I don't mind if you have a girlfriend."
"I do."
Persistent one, isn't she. Before this got any more annoying, I decided to just leave.
But then—
Grab!
The woman's hand snatched my wrist just as I was about to slip past. Wait — what is with this grip strength…?
"I like you…. You…"
Liked me or not, it seemed I'd been marked by someone seriously unhinged.
"Sorry. My girlfriend's calling me."
Something like this was beyond a store clerk's pay grade, so I figured I should at least message Jiye — and the moment I lifted my phone—
"Pass."
"Huh?"
The woman gripping my wrist had, at some point, become Jiye.
"What… is this…?"
"A Mirage Ring, huh."
Every so often, when you took down a boss inside a Gate, something dropped that defied all common sense.
This was exactly that kind of case.
Its name: the Mirage Ring. An artifact ring that concealed your true appearance — and, I learned, it even let you designate specific people the effect wouldn't apply to.
"What do you think? Wild, right?"
"It really is, actually."
The Jiye in front of me kept morphing into all sorts of different people. So this was how she'd been coming to my place all this time.
With a cheat item like this in play, any paparazzo hoping for a scandal would be toyed with ruthlessly, that much was certain.
"By the way — girlfriend, was it? Oho, so you like me that much?"
"We agreed we'd call each other that if anything ever came up, remember…?"
"Did we~?"
Jiye's grin stretched from ear to ear as she mercilessly poked my ribs with her fingers.
Then, just like before, she glanced down at my hand and shifted her gaze to the concession stand.
"Oh, we should grab the caramel popcorn before the movie starts."
"Take my card."
"Can I order whatever I want?"
Such a trivial question. Jiye adopted the most imperious pose and expression she could manage, then traced the concession menu from one end to the other with her index finger.
"From here to there. Order all of it."
"Heh heh heh, Hyunwoo, you're the best."
The entire concession menu, combined, came to maybe 150,000 won. Meanwhile, how much had Jiye spent on me?
Over 5,000,000 won.
This didn't even cover the dirt under her toenail.
Nachos, caramel popcorn, buttered squid.
Arms loaded with snacks, we filed into the theater.
"Row G… Row G… here we go."
The horror movie had opened in late February, so the crowd was sparse — which meant we'd scored prime seats.
G6 and G7.
Sitting in what everyone agrees are the best seats in any theater, we immediately unpacked our haul.
"Now that I'm here, I'm kind of curious about the sofa-bed seats too."
"They have those?"
"Yeah, I hear you can lie down and watch."
Now that she mentions it, I am curious.
"Let's come check it out together sometime."
"My, my~ why is our Hyunwoo talking so sweetly today of all days~"
"I'm always sweet."
"Sure, sure. Here, have some."
After a pinch on the cheek, a mouthful of caramel popcorn melted over my tongue. Mm. Delicious.
"Cola too."
"Yes, yes."
Jiye stuck a straw in and held it to my lips — and right on cue, the theater lights began dimming one by one.
Darkness and silence settled over the room, and naturally our movements and voices shrank along with them.
"This'll be fun."
"I'm scawed…"
Truthfully, I'm not much of a horror guy. But for some strange reason, now and then I get the itch to watch one anyway.
However.
And, as always—
I come to regret that thought. I clenched my jaw so hard I wanted to scoop back the very thought I'd been holding just moments ago.
SLAM—!!
KEEEEAAAAGH!!
Damn it… this is way too scary.
It was terrifying even through narrowed eyes. Terrifying with my eyelids squeezed half shut.
It was just flat-out, bone-deep terrifying. Why did they have to make it this well? Wasn't this supposed to be a B-movie?!
Enough. If I kept watching like this, something in me was going to die, so I tore my eyes from the screen and looked at Jiye beside me instead.
And instantly, the creeping dread that had wrapped itself around me evaporated — a laugh almost bubbled up instead.
Unlike me, Jiye was absorbed in the horror movie, thoroughly enjoying herself.
She'd mentioned she'd almost never gotten to enjoy things like this, hadn't she? If so, this movie had already been a success just for the sight of her like this.
Conclusion: all I had to do was endure it, just me. And as I settled on that, Jiye's hand, resting on the armrest, caught my eye with particular insistence.
'Come to think of it, Jiye had been staring at my hand this whole time too, hadn't she.'
A small, pretty hand. For a while, I simply gazed at Jiye's slender, delicate fingers.
Then, little by little, I understood.
Why Jiye had been looking at my hand.
She'd probably wanted to close the distance a little more. Just like I, right now, wanted to close the distance with her.
A feeling that hesitated and yet refused to hesitate lingered in the palm of my hand.
What if she hated it? That sharp little spike kept jabbing into my arm.
But still.
It beat regretting it later — better to reach out here and now.
My warmth settled, gently, on top of Jiye's hand. Startled by the heat, Jiye turned her head toward me.
"H-Hyunwoo…?"
I hadn't known this, but the light from a theater screen is surprisingly bright. Bright enough that I could see, in real time, the blush spreading over Jiye's cheeks and ears.
…….
My heart was pounding.
It had been racing before, but looking at Jiye this close, it only kicked faster.
Praying that this deafening racket might, please, stay unheard, I leaned in close to her ear and whispered.
"I-It's a little scary, honestly. So… will you help me?"
Flimsy excuse for a grown man. And yet Jiye smiled softly.
"Then…"
Carefully, she moved her hand and laced her fingers through mine. As each of our fingers interlocked, Jiye's warmth drew closer still — and I swallowed hard.
"I think this works even better."
Warm breath and a lovely scent. And a warmth I felt I could fall headlong into.
"What about you? Is this okay…?"
"Yeah. I feel better now."
"That's a relief…"
And so, today—
I… no, we… had stepped a little closer to each other.