Summer Sea
“Hey, have you eaten lunch yet?”
At my question, Jihyun wiped the moisture from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and answered.
“Lunch? Not yet.”
“Alright, then let's practice a few more times and grab lunch together.”
“You're paying, right, oppa?”
“Did you hand your wallet over to me or something?”
“Come on, don't be like that. Buy it for me. You're P-gun!”
She burst into laughter, slapping my shoulder a few times, then quickly stood in front of me.
“...Okay, let's do the next song quick! We gotta practice to win that prize money!”
Her cheeky attitude made me burst out laughing too. It was impossible to hate this junior of mine. As the saying goes, beautiful women get forgiven for anything, right?
I helped with her practice like that until it was nearing noon, then stood up.
Jihyun seemed hungry too, just like me. She quickly grabbed her bag and stuck right by my side.
At her clinginess, I recoiled and opened my mouth.
“Hey, people might misunderstand. Don't stick so close.”
“Why? It feels nice.”
Grinning mischievously, Jihyun hugged my arm even more blatantly. Thanks to that, her soft breast pressed against my arm, sending a pleasant sensation through me.
This is subtle torture...
Moreover, the sweat scent of an active college girl was so sweet it made me unconsciously swallow hard.
“But it's weird.”
“What's weird?”
“No, it's just amazing.”
“What's so amazing?”
“You know...”
“So what is it?”
I turned my head to look at her, and Jihyun's black eyes stared straight back at me.
“Oppa, you look kinda handsome lately.”
“Handsome? What do you mean?”
“Hard to say... You haven't changed anything, no makeup or whatever, but you look better than usual.”
“Just a good vibe today?”
“No, you really look more handsome.”
Cold sweat trickled down my back. Honestly, I had a few guesses. And the most likely one was the Charm skill I possessed. Its effect was definitely 'Increases the user's charm by 10%.' Meaning my face appeared 10% more handsome than usual.
But my face is extremely average...
Boosting an average face by a percentage doesn't show much. Say the most handsome face scores 100. A 10% boost adds a whopping 10 points. But the ugliest face? Zero. 10% of zero is still zero. So my plain 50-point face only gets +5. Barely noticeable.
...Act natural.
No need to shoot myself in the foot. How many times had that backfired before? I took a slow deep breath and spoke.
“Maybe 'cause it's been a while since we hung out?”
“No, from what I see, it's...”
She swallowed dryly for a moment.
“...like you want to date someone, oppa.”
“D-date?”
Her totally unexpected words sent tension surging through me.
“Oppa, no one you're into?”
“Well...”
I already had someone, but I lied anyway. Or not quite a lie—the question was if I wanted to date someone. And I just said 'well.'
Sounds like a coward's excuse...
It stung a bit inside, but I vowed to ask Seoyeon noona about it after today. Better to confirm first before revealing anything. No point acting on my own and getting scolded later.
“Eunha's gotten really pretty lately, hasn't she?”
Jihyun suddenly asked. I pictured Eunha in my mind.
“Yeah, definitely prettier.”
She used to have no clue about makeup, but since joining the idol project, she'd changed bit by bit. And the main driver of that change? Jang Jihyun, the girl currently clinging to my arm.
“Right? That's why I'm so anxious lately.”
“Anxious about what?”
“Someone might snatch our Eunha!”
Shouting that, Jihyun yanked my arm harder as we entered the restaurant.
“Is that our business?”
“Of course it is! You're too indifferent, oppa!”
She plopped down after yelling. I sat across from her.
“Well... Dating's about their own feelings, right?”
“So you'd be fine if Eunha dated some other guy?”
“...”
Something felt off now. I looked up, staring hard at Jihyun. She met my gaze, turning it into a staring contest. I broke first, and she smirked.
“You lose. Go get water.”
“Fine.”
Still her quirky fourth-dimensional self. I shook my head, got up, filled a glass, and handed it to her when I returned.
“What'll you have?”
“Order whatever. I'll take spicy pork bibimbap.”
“Then kimchi fried rice for me. Auntie!”
Jihyun raised her hand high, calling the restaurant lady, who came right over.
“...Spicy pork bibimbap and kimchi fried rice, please.”
“Got it.”
We ordered and faced each other again.
“From your view, oppa, Eunha's... pretty good, right?”
“Yeah, she's good.”
“As girlfriend material?”
“You saying I should date Eunha?”
I asked seriously. Suddenly, Jihyun burst out laughing.
“Just saying. Why so serious?”
“Oh?”
“Joking, joking.”
She took a sip of water and stood.
“...Gonna hit the bathroom quick.”
She hurried off.
Eunha's making her anxious, so she wants me to confess?
Made sense as a friend—better a known senior than some shady creep. I agreed too. Better a solid guy than some thug stressing her out.
...Confess to Eunha.
If I'd heard this before dating Seoyeon noona, I'd have considered it seriously. Eunha had gotten more feminine lately, and surprisingly shy. Definitely attractive.
No, snap out of it.
I shook my head hard, banishing the thought.
“Which one's the spicy pork?”
The food arrived; the lady asked me.
“This one.”
I took it, set out spoon and chopsticks. Jihyun returned from the bathroom and sat.
“Let's eat well.”
“Yeah, dig in.”
I scooped up some spicy pork. As always, the sauce made it. Meat mattered, but bad sauce ruined it.
“Oppa, just one bite.”
While eating, Jihyun extended her spoon.
“Why? Not tasty?”
“No, it is... You eat it so good, I wanna try.”
She scooped a big bite. I smiled wryly and let her. She popped it in.
“How is it?”
“Pretty much the same.”
Not as great as expected; she looked disappointed and went back to her food.
As we finished, Jihyun checked her phone and looked at me.
“Ye-eun and Eunha are here.”
“Cool, let's go.”
I nodded, paid, and headed to the park with waiting Jihyun. There, on a bench, Eunha and Ye-eun were deep in serious talk.
What's up?
Tense, I approached.
“Sunbae.”
Ye-eun called, coming to my side.
“What's wrong?”
“Something new came up.”
“New?”
She nodded, glancing at Eunha. Under our gazes, Eunha fidgeted before speaking cautiously.
“My voice changed.”
A jade-like sound escaped her lips. Purely feminine. It was good before, but now transcendent.
Like a voice actress.
Yeah, exactly—a specialist in soft, beautiful voices.
“Eunha, what happened?”
“Dunno... I...”
“Why cry? This is huge!”
Jihyun grabbed her hand, jumping—whether to comfort or excited, unclear.
Ye-eun tugged my sleeve.
“A notification about her voice popped up, then it changed.”
“No issues?”
“Not sure.”
“Anything else?”
“Some stuff, but... voice changed most.”
I was impressed inwardly.
Power of 70... What about 80? 100?
I imagined, then shook my head and approached Eunha.
“You okay?”
She looked up, eyes red-rimmed.
“Sunbae... I don't sound weird?”
Her voice stirred protective instincts; my heart dropped. But I steeled myself.
“Weird? Not at all.”
Jihyun chimed in.
“For real! Totally... yeah, like Kotori! Super cute!”
Kotori—praise or insult? Her jumping said praise.
Anyway, calm Eunha first.
“Just in case, rest today.”
“Okay...”
She nodded meekly. Jihyun agreed, gripping her hand.
“Yeah, rest up. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
“P-gun, take care of Kotori!”
Calling me P-gun again, she shoved me toward the bench. I sat beside Eunha.
“R-really not weird?”
Still adjusting.
“Not weird. Promise.”
“For real?”
“Absolutely.”
She finally relaxed, sighing and clearing her throat.
Meanwhile, Jihyun taught Ye-eun the U-Go-Girl moves from morning.
“One, two, three. Turn here—one, two. Got it?”
After demo, she looked at Ye-eun. Ye-eun glanced nervously at us, then danced.
“...”
“...”
We all went silent. Same dance as Jihyun's, but Ye-eun made it entirely different. Not bad—way better. Sleek, mesmerizing. Onlookers gasped and clapped.