[Idol Project]
“Eat up.”
I was sleeping soundly when a voice suddenly woke me. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up, and the kind lady who had roused me steadied my body while handing over a tray loaded with rice, side dishes, and soup.
“Ah……”
Only then did I realize it was already morning. Looking around, I saw the other patients already digging into their breakfasts.
“……Thank you.”
“Enjoy your meal.”
A bit late, I expressed my gratitude to the lady, who gave me a warm smile before bustling off to serve breakfast to the other patients. Watching her, I couldn't help but think she was amazing.
“Yawn.”
Stretching out a big yawn, I set the tray on the table, got out of bed, and headed to the bathroom. I figured I should wash off the sleep from my eyes before eating. After splashing cold water on my face, I returned to the room and started breakfast. At the same time, I pulled out the smartphone I'd charged the night before to check the time.
Eight-thirty in the morning.
Staring blankly at the screen for a moment, I decided since I was up anyway, I'd send a morning greeting to Seoyeon noona.
I sent the KakaoTalk message and waited for her reply, but only the notification number vanished—no response. She must still be pretty sulky.
And understandably so. Last night at the restaurant, Seoyeon noona had asked me to stay over at her place. But I'd stubbornly refused and insisted on coming back to the hospital. Of course, she wasn't one to let that slide, but when I even threatened to take a taxi if needed, she pouted and drove me back anyway. Not without getting extremely upset, though. Or more accurately, feeling hurt.
She's such a kid sometimes.
Chuckling to myself, I sent another message to Seoyeon noona.
She replied right away to the suggestion of hanging out. Smiling faintly, I pondered where we could go while scooping up a bite of food.
How about the beach?
It was summer, after all—perfect timing.
Luckily, she seemed to like the idea and responded enthusiastically. Thanks to that, I enjoyed my breakfast in a great mood, chatting with her about this and that. As I was finishing up, another message came from noona.
Her offer to buy dinner gave me pause.
Hmm.
If Seoyeon noona was treating, it was basically a guarantee of something delicious.
……But Eunha seemed like she really wanted to treat me alone.
After waffling for a bit, I sent a reply.
I'd known Seoyeon noona was stubborn, but dating her made it clear her level of it exceeded my expectations. Or in this case, it was more like obsession.
Do I really mean that much to her?
The thought crossed my mind briefly, but then I remembered I was her first boyfriend, and I pressed my lips together.
……I need to understand her.
With a soft chuckle, I called Seoyeon noona right away.
“Hello.”
The call connected after a few rings, and her curt voice came through the phone. Holding back a laugh, I spoke up.
“I'll stay out tonight.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I'll eat with Eunha and head straight to your place after.”
“For real?”
“For real.”
A giggly laugh bubbled through the phone. She sounded genuinely pleased, so her mood had clearly lifted. I whispered, “See you tonight then.”
“Yeah, I'll be waiting. Oh, but……”
She replied happily but seemed reluctant to end the call, chattering away and filling my ears with joy. She was so excited that even after I took my empty tray to the collection bin and tidied my bed, she showed no signs of stopping.
Finally, after a long while, she spoke in a reluctant tone.
“I gotta get to work. See you tonight.”
“Okay, noona.”
As I went to hang up, her voice came through again.
“Um, hey……”
“Yeah?”
At my response, she hesitated before speaking.
“I love you.”
Hearing that made my chest warm. Normally, I'd cringe at something so cheesy, but right then, her confession felt wonderful.
“I love you too, noona.”
I replied with the gentlest voice I could muster, chuckling softly. A squeal of delight—kyaa!—briefly pierced the line before she said, “Okay, hanging up,” and ended the call first.
Nice.
Chuckling again, I set the phone down. Checking the screen, the call had lasted a whopping 1 hour and 14 minutes.
……We talked for a while.
It was the longest call since my discharge from the military.
“Anyway……”
Tapping confirm, I checked the real-time search trends. If Lee Hyunju was really going to follow through, “National Apology” or something similar should be trending by now.
But even searching her name directly, nothing about an apology appeared.
Did she ignore it?
Or maybe preparing a public statement took longer than expected. After fiddling with my thumb on the screen, I decided to wait a bit more and closed the browser.
Launching the Manager App, the check-in prompt appeared as usual.
Congratulations!
You have successfully checked in!
A Random Skill Box has been awarded as a reward.
Would you like to claim the Random Skill Box?
[Yes / No]
“A skill box this time?”
Gulping, I claimed it immediately.
Congratulations!
You have acquired the skill Vitality!
Effect: Vitality increased by 10%.
“……”
Seeing the skill Vitality, I was at a loss for words.
I never imagined a skill like this existed.
It was completely out of left field. All previous skill box rewards had been combat-oriented—like High-Speed Movement and Goblin Summon.
Vitality boost, huh……
No cooldown meant it was a permanent effect.
……Seoyeon noona and Minseo are gonna love this.
They already went wild; with this, who knew how intense it'd get. Sticking out my tongue, I tapped confirm.
Another notification followed.
Victory against Hwungmi Life Pink Spiders! 20 EXP acquired. However, as this was a practice match, acquired EXP is halved.
Distributing EXP.
Please wait a moment.
Kim Minseo has acquired 510 EXP. (Cumulative EXP: 680)
“Oh……”
She must've had a practice match this morning—her results popped up. And quite impressive, judging by the hefty EXP gain.
Should I praise her?
As I thought about summoning Minseo to the Training Room, I paused.
……Nah, first I should draw from yesterday's Vital Energy boxes.
Shaking my head, I tapped confirm and headed to the shop. Right away, the top-right corner showed an enormous Vital Energy total.
Current Cumulative Vital Energy: 1185
A truly massive amount.
But what if you buy in bundles of 10?!
On sale now!