The World Is Still a Warm Place! (2)
A girl in menhera fashion and a person in a bear costume walked side by side through the park. Naturally, they drew stares from everyone around.
Contrary to my worries, Yuli didn't seem to care much about the onlookers. No, she didn't care and just kept asking questions.
"Really, you're FridayAngel?"
"How many times are you gonna ask?"
"Ah! Sorry!!"
She apologized frantically when I replied, sounding fed up with the repetition. To keep her from shrinking back or getting scared again, I responded with an upbeat laugh in a lively tone.
"Hahaha! Don't worry. Why would I lie to you, YuriMental?"
"R-Really...?"
After that, Yuli didn't say much.
"Whoa! It's a bear! Mommy, look at that!"
"Hello~"
I waved at the occasional kids who called out, gradually heading toward a less crowded area.
"Shall we sit for a bit?"
"Huh? Oh, sure!"
Yuli was pretty tense. Well, it was a sudden meeting, after all.
After sitting side by side on the bench, a bright, youthful girl's voice broke the ice first, putting on a cheerful front.
"Wow~ I was hoping you'd come if I asked, YuriMental, and I'm glad I mustered up the courage!"
I laughed with excitement in my tone.
"Huh? You knew I'd come...?"
"You even asked what time I'd be there."
At that, Yuli bowed her head deeply in embarrassment. Her face was flushed red. Was she really this shy over something so small?
"Um..."
Finally, Yuli spoke cautiously.
"So... did you dress like this on purpose because of me?"
I gave the backstory I'd prepared in advance.
"Actually, I have social anxiety!"
Yuli's face said, How do you say you have social anxiety in such a cheerful tone?
"Social anxiety? But you greeted those kids earlier, and you seemed excited to see me... Oh, sorry if I got that wrong."
"I was a little excited. It's been so long since I went out."
I turned my gaze straight ahead. Then, a serious girl's voice came from my mouth—or rather, the voice modulator's speaker.
"But without this, I can't meet people."
I tapped the bear costume head with my hand as I spoke. It was stuffy inside the costume, getting hot. I worried a bit about sweat ruining the voice modulator strapped to my neck. Good thing I pulled off this operation before summer really hit.
The real reason I wore this head wasn't just to hide my identity from Yuli.
It was the perfect excuse to start the operation without showing my face—social anxiety—and a storytelling device to convince her. Meeting in person like this, after building up the courage online, would make my long-winded tale hit harder than just chatting on SNS.
It might even build more trust through shared empathy felt face-to-face.
From now on, I was a high school girl overcoming social anxiety.
"I'm still in treatment for it. Oh, and whatever you do, don't try to see my face!"
"Got it!"
I'd preemptively blocked any attempts to uncover my identity. Yuli nodded firmly, like she'd made a vow.
"I might seem outgoing, but it's just that I'm used to acting bright."
"How did it... Oh, never mind!"
Yuli started to speak but clamped her mouth shut, realizing it was the wrong thing to say.
"Haha! It's fine! I don't even want to hide it anymore."
I shouldn't laugh too loud. The bigger the sound, the more the mechanical tone mixed in, making it unnatural.
"I just met the wrong people. No one at school or home I could rely on, and I got bullied too."
"……"
Yuli bit her lip, looking emotional, her eyes moist as she stared at me.
"I... get how you feel."
Did that get her empathy? Yuli nodded and suddenly grabbed my hand.
"I went through something similar."
"I see."
It was obvious. I'd made up the story tying into Yuli's backstory.
But I didn't expect such a strong reaction. I felt like a jerk for lying. Well, it was all to convince her.
Rationalizing it like that, I gave an awkward smile. The gap between the bright, girlish laugh and the sad story made it even more pitiful.
"I'm training to get over it now. Getting psychological counseling too."
I paused for a beat, then spoke carefully.
"Actually, commenting on your posts was part of my healing. Oh, your writing really is great, of course."
"Thank you. I'm happy we got close because of it."
Thankfully, Yuli took it warmly. Maybe feeling a bond of camaraderie, she looked happy even after hearing why I'd approached her.
"Your chats cheering me up whenever I was down really helped."
A warm atmosphere flowed. Like a gentle spring breeze in the soft afternoon, our first meeting conversation went smoothly.
Time to broach the main topic?
"Um, that's actually why I wanted to say something."
"Huh?"
"I thought it'd be better to meet in person for it."
Suddenly, the calm vibe vanished—Yuli's eyes shook with anxiety.
"Ah! I've been too annoying and naggy, right? I won't do it again!!"
"Calm down! It's not that!"
"It's... not?"
Why was she reacting like this all of a sudden? Sensing her over-sensitivity, I glanced at her eyes.
"……"
A bit cloudy? Probably just my imagination. Hard to see clearly from inside the costume head, but I'd need to be careful going forward.
For now, soothe her.
"You just seemed anxious."
"……"
Yuli listened quietly to my story.
"Yesterday, you said you wanted to cut ties with other people. I know this might sound weird coming from me, but I wanted to talk you out of it."
"R-Really?"
Yuli let out a deep sigh of relief. Her eyes seemed back to normal. The dark circles and hollow gaze being her usual made it kinda funny.
"Might be meddling, but when I had social anxiety, I cut ties indiscriminately and regretted a few."
"I'll probably regret it too. But there are just so many people I don't click with."
"How about sticking to the ones you do get along with for now? Skip group hangs if you don't want."
"Won't they hate me for refusing?"
I looked at Yuli for a moment. Low self-esteem, deep trauma, insomnia, depression, paranoia—truly the heroine with the tallest wall to climb.
And characters like this shouldn't be handled alone by a regular person.
After a brief silence, I spoke lightly.
"You've been having a tough time lately, right?"
"………Yeah."
"Social anxiety was rough for me too."
I pulled a business card from the bag slung over my shoulder.
"I wandered around lost, but this helped."
Yuli took it dazedly.
"It's not some weird place—a youth counseling center. Run by the city, so it's cheap."
This was the goal of reaching out to YuriMental today. I could've just chatted on SNS, but setting up this face-to-face storytelling had more persuasive power.
Of course, counseling wouldn't solve everything. But better than me handling the whole The World Is Still a Warm Place! operation alone—having one more pro on board was ideal.
One more inhibitor meant fewer chances of her obsessing or snapping at someone.
It was more a tactical move than a full solution.
Last night, exhausted as I was, I'd researched every counseling center near home. To avoid worsening symptoms at a shady spot, I filtered for licensed places, scoured reviews, considered prices. Public city-run ones seemed cheapest and best—by the time I concluded that, it was late evening.
I was so beat I reviewed the plan and crashed.
Just to be safe, I visited the place before heading to the park today. Counseling was by appointment, so no session, just a look around. Atmosphere seemed fine, clients leaving looked okay, so I grabbed the card.
The staff was super kind, giving extras beyond the card.
"Ah……"
Yuli looked stunned, like it hadn't crossed her mind.
In the game, it was mid-second semester second year when Seong Juyeon suggests counseling to her. Yuli suffered alone without seeking help anywhere.
"No pressure—try it if you need. They're all nice."
Yuli's reaction was neither yes nor no, just bewildered.
"I'll think about it."
"Great!"
Guess I'd watch for progress. She might not go.
Yuli nodded, then stood.
"Um... sorry, can I use the bathroom?"
"Sure, go ahead."
I nodded and let her go.
"I'm not running away, so don't misunderstand!"
"Huh?"
Before I could process, she bolted.
"Is she seriously running away right now?"
Thankfully, she hadn't run. Texts came soon after.
Right, I'm a high school girl just like Yuli right now. I'd set the voice modulator to female to lower her guard as much as possible, but I didn't expect this.
Obviously, I couldn't go in myself. Who wouldn't think a bear-headed guy barging in was weird? If my gender got exposed, Yuli wouldn't be the problem—I'd be socially dead.
"Gotta get TP first."
I bought some at the nearby convenience store and headed to the bathroom entrance. Spotting a woman about to go in, I called out.
"Excuse me!"
"Yes?"
Hard not to be wary of a bear-suited figure holding TP at a bathroom door.
"Sorry, but the second stall's out—could you pass this in for me?"
"...Sure, okay."
She looked dubious but took the TP and went in graciously.
"Phew~ Dodged that somehow."
Now, if Yuli asked why I didn't come in, I'd say the costume would've looked too weird.
Turning back relieved, my pocket buzzed. Constant vibration—must be a call.
Why now? I sat on the bench, pulled my arm out of the costume sleeve, fished the phone from my inner pants pocket. Shoved the hand holding it inside the head.
Hm... awkward to operate.
It was White Noona calling. I tried rejecting with an auto-text to call later, but fat-fingered it.
[Taeyang-ah, you out?]
White Noona's voice came out distorted through the speaker.
[Huh? Why's your voice echoing?]
"Noona... call later..."
[What? Can't hear you?]
Hang up first, explain later.
"I'm back."
[Taeyang-ah?]
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
I drowned out Noona's voice with a scream and quickly hit end call. Shoved the phone back in my pocket and whipped my gaze to Yuli.
"FridayAngel! You okay!!!"
Yuli jumped, checking on me.
"...Um... did you hear the call just now?"
I asked, steadying my trembling voice.
"Huh?...No. I didn't hear anything!"
Was that to reassure me, or honest? A brief silence hung between us.
