That's Why It's More Fun
Drinks in hand, the conversation flowed naturally, and the atmosphere settled into something comfortable. It wasn't certain, but it felt like we'd returned to those elementary school days when we were close.
Of course, plenty had changed since then.
The way we looked at each other. The careful way we moved around one another.
Back then we'd spoken without hesitation, said whatever came to mind. Looking at us now, that version of ourselves felt impossible to imagine.
“Chae-yeon, want to go to karaoke?”
“Karaoke? Sounds good!! We finished our drinks, so let's head out.”
I was about to take our empty cups to the tray when Chae-yeon held out her fist toward me.
“Rock-paper-scissors. Loser takes the cups back.”
“I can just do it.”
“Where's the fun if we don't play?”
Now that she mentioned it, she'd always loved rock-paper-scissors as a kid. Everything had to be decided that way—who did what, who went first. If she thought she was about to lose, she'd suddenly tack on new rules.
“Rock, paper, scissors!!”
I won.
“There, take them. Good work.”
“Muk-jji-ppa!! Let's decide with muk-jji-ppa instead. Winner takes the cups.”
“Seriously? Nothing's changed since we were kids.”
“Hurry up!!”
“Fine, fine. But if I win this, you take them cleanly, okay?”
“Yeah. Deal.”
Since I'd already won once, the attack right in muk-jji-ppa belonged to me. Might as well keep the momentum going. I attacked without warning.
“Scissors!! Ha, I lost. You take them.”
“Hey!! It was supposed to be muk-jji-ppa. You can't just say it like that!!”
“There was no rule against it. You should've said something beforehand.”
“This round doesn't count. Again.”
“Chae-yeon, you do realize you're being incredibly unsportsmanlike right now, right?”
“I don't care if it's unsportsmanlike. Again. In baseball, three strikes and you're out.”
Giving her another chance wasn't going to change anything. She'd already fallen into my rhythm, so no matter what we played, the odds were stacked in my favor.
“Rock-rock… paper!! You lost. Admit defeat and take the cups.”
“You said ‘scissors’ last time!!”
“Who repeats the same move? You're out now. No more chances.”
“Haa… Fine. I'll take them.”
Who knew taking cups to the counter could turn into a whole game? What should have taken less than a minute became an entire round of fun. Thanks to that, we had a good time.
“Is there a good karaoke place downtown?”
“There's one. Coin-operated, decent hours, nice facilities.”
“Then let's go there.”
We headed to the karaoke spot Chae-yeon often went to with friends. Since downtown was my territory, I'd been to plenty of places, but none matched this one's cleanliness and quality. Chae-yeon seemed to agree—she looked satisfied as we stepped inside.
“It's clean. And the room's pretty big.”
“How long should we stay?”
“Let's do an hour.”
“Just the two of us for an hour? You sure?”
“I can sing for a whole hour by myself sometimes.”
How tough must her throat be to manage that? Mine gives out after twenty minutes. If things got rough, I could just let her handle everything. We paid for an hour and went into the room.
“You pick the songs, Chae-yeon.”
“Got it. Oh, and if you try to bail because you're tired, you're buying dinner tonight.”
“Huh?! Where did that come from?”
“We're here together. It'd be rude to make me sing alone just because you're tired.”
“You should've mentioned that before we started. If I'd known, I wouldn't have booked a full hour.”
“Well, I said it now. Whoever bails buys dinner.”
It was just as sudden as when PangPang posts announcements on the same day. Some things really hadn't changed since we were kids.
Chae-yeon's first song was a group track from that famous hip-hop survival show most people would recognize. I'm the type who sings along without grabbing the mic when I know the song, so I joined in naturally and kept the energy up.
“You're good. Group songs are tough, too.”
“It's one of my favorites, so I've listened to it a lot. Did you queue something?”
“Yeah. Pass the mic.”
The song I picked was an OST from a popular drama. Since the original singer was female and the key was high, I sang it in a lower key for guys. Even then, it was still demanding.
“Whoa, you sing ballads too? Didn't expect that.”
“It's exhausting. I went too hard right from the start…”
“You sounded good, though. But if you start this intense, how are you planning to last?”
“It's fine. Even if my voice gives out completely, I can still sing.”
We traded songs back and forth. While Chae-yeon sang, I stepped out for a bottle of water. When I came back, she handed me the mic again.
“Drink some water.”
“Thanks. Hey, why have we been sharing one mic this whole time?”
“Oh, right. There are two covers and two mics.”
“Too much hassle to change the cover. Let's just keep sharing.”
Ten minutes. Thirty minutes.
Time slipped by, and we were getting close to the hour mark.
My throat… was done for. No proper voice left—just a strained, raspy sound I was forcing out.
“Ten minutes left. You look like you're struggling.”
“I-I can still sing.”
“If it's too hard, you can stop. I can fill the last ten minutes alone.”
“I don't want to buy dinner.”
“Too bad. I was looking forward to a nice meal if you gave up.”
Even though my voice was at its limit, I wanted to enjoy the rest of the time. I'd only ever heard songs sung in guys' voices before—listening to them in a girl's voice was a nice change. Plus, there was the bet.
That's why it was more fun.
“Can't believe you didn't give up till the end.”
“I thought I was going to die. I'm never doing a full hour again.”
“Come on, now that you've tried it once, next time it'll be easier.”
“My throat isn't as tough as yours.”
Before heading out to eat, I pulled out my phone to call Mom. Because my body was different from most people's, my parents' worry was never light, so I made sure to stay in touch often. It used to feel like a chore, but now it just felt natural.
[Hello? Honey, when are you coming home?]
“Mom, I think I'll have dinner with Chae-yeon and head back after.”
[You said you weren't eating out.]
“I was going to, but we lost track of time while we were out. Were you about to cook something?”
[I was. If you'd called any later, I would've started.]
“Lucky timing, then. I'll eat out and come home.”
[What did you two do?]
“We talked at a café, then went to karaoke.”
[Sounds like fun. Come home safe.]
“Yeah, I will.”
After I hung up, Chae-yeon was on the phone too. From the conversation, it sounded like she was talking to her mom.
“I called my mom.”
“Me too. She got really interested when I said I was hanging out with you.”
“My mom was the same. She asked what we were doing.”
“What did we used to do together back in elementary school?”
“Hmm… I think we mostly just ran around and played.”
“Oh, right. We can't really do that anymore.”
“How would we? I don't even run when the crosswalk light is blinking green because it's too tiring.”
On our way to the restaurant, Chae-yeon suddenly stopped in front of a building. It was a movie theater, and posters for the current screenings were displayed out front. Among all the movies, the one that caught her eye was… the horror movie we'd watched last time.
“Pfft!!”
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“Oh, something funny just came to mind.”
“Don't lie. You were thinking about how I freaked out during the horror movie, weren't you?”
“Busted? Well, I couldn't help it. It was hilarious from my perspective.”
“Yeah, keep laughing. I'm just going home to eat dinner.”
“Ah, sorry!! Don't go. I won't laugh anymore, okay?”
“It's getting late. I'm leaving. I'm mad. Bye.”
“I really won't laugh. Let's eat together and then go, Jung-woo.”
When we were kids, Chae-yeon never called me by my name properly. It was always “hey” or “you.” So hearing my name come out of her mouth now felt strangely awkward. Just like the way she naturally reached out and took my wrist.
“If you tease me one more time, I'm really going home.”
“Okay, okay. I won't. But you'd still go see another horror movie with me if I asked, right?”
“Nope. I'm going home.”
I tried stepping in the opposite direction from where she was pulling, but it was useless—she just dragged me along anyway. My legs, trying so hard to resist, looked pathetic in that moment.
“I'm… going home!!”
“Then why are you following me?”
“Because… you're dragging me!!”
How was she this strong? She said she hadn't been working out lately. My legs finally gave up resisting and followed her obediently.
“Now that I'm looking, you're way too skinny.”
“I hear that all the time.”
“Your legs and waist are so thin. Are you eating properly?”
“I eat at least one proper meal a day. I don't skip meals.”
“That's not exactly ‘eating properly.’”
“Still, I like it this way. Having a thinner waist and legs than most girls is kind of an advantage—”
“Oh, really? Lucky you. Thinner waist and legs than mine.”
I'd said it out of habit—the kind of thing that didn't mean anything when I was with guy friends. But I realized too late it was a mistake and cut myself off. By then, though, the damage was done. Chae-yeon shot me a cold glare and walked ahead with much faster steps.
…I was so screwed.