Summer Beach

'They're doing great.' To be honest, I was genuinely surprised.

'……I thought they'd mess up a few times.'

It was hard to believe this was their first time dancing and singing in front of other people—they nailed it so perfectly. Sure, Jihyun had some experience from cosplay events, but Eunha and Ye-eun? Zero prior practice like that. Well, maybe Ye-eun had done something at school events; she seemed like the type who could pull off a good show.

"How was it?"

That's when Jihyun sidled up next to me and asked. Behind her, Eunha and Ye-eun plopped down on a park bench, looking wiped out.

"You did awesome. Here, water."

"Oh, as expected—great instincts!"

I handed her a water bottle, and she chugged it right away. Then Eunha and Ye-eun turned toward me, mouths open like baby birds begging for food.

"Me too."

"Ah, me as well."

I let out a small chuckle and passed bottles to them too.

"Ahh, I wanna get some patbingsu."

Out of nowhere, Jihyun squatted down in front of me and said that.

"You want me to buy it?"

"Buy it for us, oppa~."

She flashed a big grin, and I couldn't help but give a wry smile.

"Fine, how could I say no to you?"

I shook my head, grabbed my bag, and stood up. The others followed suit, packing their stuff. Seeing us go, the onlookers who'd stuck around just in case started drifting away one by one.

'Won't this end up online?'

The thought crossed my mind, but I dismissed it with a shake of my head.

'……Nah, probably not.'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I brushed it off with a light laugh and headed into a nearby café with the girls to order patbingsu.

"Mango for ours."

Jihyun quickly picked mango patbingsu first.

"What about you two?"

Eunha nodded with a "Me too," and Ye-eun just nodded like anything was fine.

"Mango patbingsu it is, then."

I went to the counter, ordered, and brought it back to where they were sitting. Once we settled in, Jihyun leaned forward with a mischievous grin.

"How about we do the same thing tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow too?"

"Yeah, gather a ton of people. It's the weekend, so way more than today, right?"

She had a point—weekends meant bigger crowds at the park.

"Sounds good. Ye-eun, Eunha—what do you think?"

I glanced at them, and they both nodded without hesitation, clearly having agreed while I was ordering.

"I'm good with it."

"Me too."

"If you're all in, no problem. But……."

I trailed off, fiddling with the pager.

"……I can't make it this weekend."

"Eh, why not?"

Jihyun's eyes went wide in surprise. Eunha and Ye-eun looked curious too.

"Got plans. Can't bail."

"What kind?"

"Heading to the beach."

"The beach?"

Jihyun's eyes rounded at the word, then she rapid-fired questions like a machine gun, as if something clicked.

"……With who? Not a girl, right? Your friends? How many?"

Only then did I realize I'd said too much.

'This big mouth of mine……'

At this rate, I'd end up dragging them all along. I swallowed hard and jumped in.

"Just some acquaintances…… Why?"

"Can't we come too?"

"No, you can't."

I shut it down firmly. Jihyun pouted.

"Sounds suspicious. You planning to hit on girls or something?"

"Does this face look like it hunts?"

"Then what? Eunha, say something! Don't you wanna go to the beach? Practice dancing on the sand! And……."

She poked Eunha's side playfully.

"W-Why? Oppa looks troubled."

Eunha's face turned beet red, flustered. Jihyun thumped her own chest in frustration, then grabbed my hand tight.

"Oppa, let us tag along."

"No, really, I can't……."

If I brought them, Seoyeon noona would straight-up murder me. Picturing her pissed-off face, I shook my head desperately.

Jihyun clicked her tongue and let go. "Super suspicious."

"Suspicious or not, no dice. I'm not going alone anyway."

"Fine."

With Jihyun backing off, I finally exhaled in relief and set down the pager I'd been clutching.

Right then, it buzzed. I picked it up again, fetched our mango patbingsu from the counter, and returned.

"Thanks for the food."

The three of them clasped their hands and dug in. I ate slowly, giving them plenty of time.

Once we finished, Jihyun hopped up, re-energized.

"Practice time, practice!"

We chuckled wryly and followed her out. We ran through a few more songs before calling it and agreeing to meet again next Monday.

Of course, since Eunha lived in the same villa, we walked back together.

"But oppa…… where are you going tomorrow?"

She asked out of the blue.

"Dunno exactly. Why?"

"Huh? Oh, n-nothing……."

"Nothing?"

"Just curious. Ahaha."

She laughed awkwardly and looked away. I smirked, patted her back, and said,

"I'll Kakao you when I get there tomorrow."

"Okay!"

She beamed and nodded. It was pretty cute, so I ruffled her hair a few times before walking her up to the third floor like always.

"Have fun this weekend, then."

"You too—rest up."

"Yes!"

Her energetic reply made me chuckle as I headed back down. Once home, I pulled out my smartphone—which I hadn't touched in ages—and checked the Manager App.

'Their unofficial first stage……'

It was pretty memorable. I smiled faintly and hit confirm with my thumb.

"Got some time left—maybe give Minseo a reward?"

She was probably going nuts by now.

I hit yes right away, pulling up the saved list, selected Kim Minseo, and confirmed again.

The warning was annoying as always, but I ignored it and hit yes. Space warped instantly, fading into the decadent atmosphere of the Training Room.

"This place could use an upgrade soon."

To be honest, there were more than a few inconveniences. No bed was top of the list, no place to wash up second. Sure, it all reset when you left, but having them would still be nicer.

"……Maybe level up the Training Room?"

The idea tempted me. Upgrading might add beds or showers.

"But the sensitivity boost is already iffy."

It was at 60% now. Any higher, and it'd burden whoever I trained too much.

I groaned, pondering, then pulled up the Manager App and checked the Training Room info.

"……No sensitivity adjustment?"

I tapped "sensitivity" experimentally. A new prompt popped up immediately.

"Yes!"

Even a barebones game had to have this. I canceled it, then upgraded the Training Room.

'Torture Room?'

I swallowed hard and looked around. Beyond rooms 1-12, a new one appeared.

"This is new……."

Heart pounding, I opened the door. Basic torture tools to outright lethal ones lined the walls.

'Creepy as hell.'

The massive meat hooks for hanging people gave me chills just looking.

"Hope I never need this……."

Frowning, I shut the door and upgraded again.

"……Shower room first, huh."

Still no bed, though.

"Wha—huh?"

At level 5, space warped again, surroundings blurring before sharpening into something entirely new.

"……This is."

High ceilings like an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠old castle, taxidermied beast heads on the walls. I was in a lavish room with a fireplace.

"It really turned into a luxury mansion?"

I looked around, then headed to the window. Endless plains stretched out, dotted with dense forests and a river rushing down a slope.

"……This is getting serious."

I was too numb to be surprised anymore. Steadying my breath, I checked the updated info.