Seo Dan-bi's Accidental Reveal

Seo Dan-bi had made a mistake. In a moment of absentminded gratitude, her true name—Pruru's real identity—slipped out of her mouth. Pruru seemed flustered, posting a question mark in chat before falling silent for a while.

It wasn't. She'd really blurted it out without thinking... She was just as flustered as I was. Sure, she'd revealed Pruru's identity herself, but it was an accident, not intentional—and way too sudden.

I'd planned to ease into it once she was mentally prepared.

...Well, too late now. No use crying over spilled milk. Might as well push forward while the iron's hot.

"Dan-bi. Why no reply?"

Had the shock made her leave the broadcast? I checked the ally list just in case.

She's still here.

Pruru was just pondering how to handle this mess.

Her chat popped up about 30 seconds later.

It was unexpected. I'd figured she'd deny it at first—"I'm not Dan-bi"—but she admitted it outright. Then why hide it all this time?

"Right away from the drawing. Your style's so unique."

"Reasons? What reasons?"

"What’s that mean?"

A ridiculous reason made me chuckle. I'd expected something serious, but she hid it just in case I forgot her? What needless worries.

"Why wouldn't I remember you? We were classmates—think I'd forget?"

Of course not. It's been over nine years since graduation—not one or two.

"Maybe not super casual acquaintances."

"But hearing the name or seeing the face? I'd vaguely recall most."

"Who's that?"

"Nah, she had zero connection to me, right? If I can't remember even the name, we barely talked."

Bad analogy. Unlike Min Ju-hyun, Dan-bi and I had real overlap. Sure, minimal contact post-graduation, none after my isekai trip... but back in school, we shared a love for drawing, sketching together during breaks. Nine years wasn't enough to erase that.

Compare apples to apples.

"You're not like her. We weren't that distant."

"......"

"......"

"I thought we were pretty close in school. Guess not, Dan-bi. Big disappointment."

I hadn't really thought we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were super close either. Objectively, no. Just teasing her for hiding it so long.

Pruru was pretty, actually. By my standards, at least. Didn't stand out from afar, but up close, her features were striking. In school, without makeup, she blended in—but dolled up properly, she'd have been popular.

Anyway. Reunited with old classmate Seo Dan-bi after all these years. I asked how she'd been, chatted about this and that out of fondness.

Then the other allies started prying about Pruru.

"Just... liked drawing, normal, quiet personality."

"Grows with age, I guess."

Starting from what Pruru was like, the allies bombarded her with questions. Then came a random one.

"Nah. Just shared hobby, friends. Never got that vibe from her."

None. Just friends.

Before I could say it, Pruru chimed in.

"Dan-bi. Let's not go there."

"No need to apologize."

The lively chat quieted. Awkward vibe. To lighten things, I switched topics.

Pondering what to say, I remembered the unused invites.

"...Oh yeah. Haven't used the invites yet."

Planned to save more, but whatever—now's fine. Allies' curiosity about my past should fade.

Stroking Melody Fox napping on my lap—［Kyurorong.］—I used 10 lower invites.

"Hm..."

"Guess I'll nap."

I decided to erase the invites from memory.