Chapter 10
Chapter 10
A Childhood Friend of Fifteen Years Wants a Plushie
The second place the two of them went to was a newly opened arcade.
“Chaeyeon really liked this place.”
The first time Sihyeon came here was two months ago.
Chaeyeon liked it so much that she demanded they come once every week.
And now he was here with Yerin instead, which made Sihyeon’s heart feel strangely restless.
“Sihyeon, I’m gonna go exchange some bills. Wait here for a second.”
“Then I’ll go grab drinks from the vending machine. Let’s each do our thing and meet back here.”
“Okay!”
Yerin headed toward the bill exchange machine holding her wallet.
Meanwhile, Sihyeon walked toward the vending machine.
“Ah, wrong one.”
He accidentally picked the grape-flavored soda Chaeyeon always drank.
“Guess I’ll drink this myself…”
Was this what people meant when they said habits were scary?
Even though he knew mentally that they’d broken up, the fact that his body still acted automatically made Sihyeon sigh.
With bitter feelings, he chose a Milkis for Yerin.
When he returned to the entrance, Yerin had already finished exchanging her money and was fanning herself dramatically with stacks of thousand-won bills.
“This should be enough to play for a few hours, right?”
“You planning to live here or something?”
Sihyeon handed the Milkis to the excited Yerin.
At the same time, she tilted her head after noticing the soda in his hand.
“What’s this? You don’t even like carbonated drinks.”
“Just… suddenly felt like it.”
“Really?”
Yerin accepted the explanation without suspicion.
Then she grabbed Sihyeon’s hand and dragged him somewhere.
After constantly glancing around while walking, Yerin soon sat down in the driver’s seat of a racing game.
“Starting with racing?”
“Yep. I’ll show you the power of an unlicensed driver.”
Sihyeon looked at the burning determination in Yerin’s eyes with amusement.
After all, racing games were his specialty.
Even against Chaeyeon, who had monstrous gaming talent, racing was the only genre where Sihyeon could compete evenly.
Beeep—
The moment they inserted their money, the screen switched from scenic visuals to the character selection menu.
“This older sister looks super strong.”
The character Yerin picked was a sexy woman dressed like a racing girl.
She also chose a red sports car and nodded proudly.
Then it became Sihyeon’s turn.
“Skill matters more than characters.”
As if proving his point, Sihyeon set both his character and vehicle to random.
As a result, he got a lean muscular male character and a wide-bodied vehicle.
“Not bad.”
Compared to sports cars, it was slower, but it handled curves with excellent stability.
Since Yerin was still a beginner, speed didn’t matter much, making this a pretty decent result.
“It’s finally starting…!”
The two cars lined up at the starting point.
Yerin licked her lips with fierce determination not to lose.
The moment the countdown ended, both slammed the pedal down.
Thanks to her car’s higher speed, Yerin immediately surged ahead.
“Sihyeon, can you keep up? Should your noona slow down a little for you?”
“Yeah. Slow down a bit.”
“As if!”
Yerin mocked him gleefully and pushed harder on the pedal.
Her reaction was so perfectly predictable that a smile spread across Sihyeon’s lips.
As soon as the first curved road appeared, he sharply turned his wheel at the perfect distance.
“W-Wait? No way!”
With an incredible inside-line maneuver, Sihyeon instantly overtook her.
The confident expression on Yerin’s face slowly hardened.
“Yerin, should oppa slow down for you?”
“…Slow down just a little.”
“Don’t wanna.”
“Grrr!”
Flowers of victory bloomed across Sihyeon’s face.
Meanwhile, Yerin sharpened her thirst for revenge and aggressively aimed for the inside line at every curve—
But—
“No chance! Stay behind me and enjoy the exhaust fumes.”
Every time she tried advancing, Sihyeon blocked her perfectly.
“Is someone pushing me from behind? Why’s this game so easy?”
“Kim Sihyeon, you…!”
Even though Yerin had decent gaming sense, she was helpless against someone truly experienced.
She desperately searched for opportunities to turn things around, but ultimately lost.
Afterward, just as Sihyeon tried standing up—
Yerin shoved him back into the seat.
“One more round.”
Grinding her teeth, she stuffed another bill into the machine.
Round two began with both of them choosing identical cars and characters.
The only difference was the map, which had changed into a desert.
The skill gap remained the same, so Sihyeon still took the lead.
“Yerin, wanna see something fun?”
As if showing off that he could still win effortlessly against her, Sihyeon started steering with only one hand.
Even then, his driving remained perfectly stable.
Watching him, Yerin instantly realized something.
“There’s no way I can beat him fairly.”
Stare—
Yerin glared resentfully at Sihyeon’s smug side profile before finally taking action to secure victory.
“F-Foo…”
She softly blew air against his completely defenseless ear.
“Ah! You scared me!”
“Now!”
The moment Sihyeon flinched, Yerin violently yanked his steering wheel.
Screeech—!
Sihyeon’s car spun into reverse.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Yerin widened the distance instantly.
“Hey! That’s cheating!”
“It’s fine. Real life is all about practical results.”
Their fair competition had somehow turned into a muddy street fight.
The two continued racing while bickering in real life.
And the winner was—
“Well, the result was obvious.”
Yerin, who seized victory through shameless tactics.
“You happy winning like that? Huh?”
“Hehehe… so happy…”
Even while Sihyeon pulled on her cheeks, Yerin grinned brightly.
How long had it been since she laughed this much?
Maybe because she was finally spending time with Sihyeon again after so long, the corners of Yerin’s lips refused to fall.
After racing—
“Sihyeon, right side! Right side— Kyaaa!”
“Move over! I can’t aim because of you!”
They played 3D zombie survival games.
“Hyah! Taste the power of kung fu!”
“Says the coward who only goes for cheap tackles!”
And famous fighting games too.
The two completely lost track of time until the sun started setting.
Eventually, they began preparing to head home.
After returning from the bathroom, Sihyeon grabbed his things and walked toward Yerin.
Then he noticed her staring intently at a white teddy bear inside a claw machine.
“You want it?”
“It’s fine. These claw games are obvious scams anyway. You just lose money.”
She denied it with words, but disappointment practically dripped from her voice.
Unable to ignore it, Sihyeon set down his bag and took the bills Yerin was clutching tightly.
“Sihyeon…?”
“I’ll send the money back to your account later.”
Sihyeon also believed claw machines were scams.
But since they’d finally spent time together again after so long, he wanted to leave her with a good memory.
Fortunately, the teddy bear Yerin wanted was already positioned close to the prize chute, so it wasn’t an impossible gamble.
Beeep—
The machine activated as soon as he inserted the bill.
The claw moved according to the joystick, then dropped straight down when he pressed the button.
Thunk…
The claw grabbed the teddy bear’s head, but lacked enough strength and dropped it.
Watching this, Yerin tugged on Sihyeon’s sleeve.
“I’m really okay. So…”
“Just trust me and wait.”
Sihyeon inserted another bill.
He failed again, but the teddy bear shifted roughly five centimeters closer to the exit.
Beeep—
Third attempt.
The bear’s arm hooked onto the edge of the prize chute.
Fourth attempt.
The bear’s head tipped over the exit.
“Whoa…”
As hope slowly appeared, Yerin held her breath while staring at the teddy bear.
And then, on the fifth try—
Clunk!
Sihyeon grabbed the body directly and finally won the plushie.
After pulling the teddy bear out from below, he handed it to Yerin.
“See? Told you to trust me.”
Yerin hugged the teddy bear while staring blankly with her lips slightly parted.
“Yeah…!”
Smiling brighter than ever before, Yerin rubbed her face affectionately against the plushie.
“If I knew she’d be this happy, maybe I should’ve bought her dolls more often…”
Clueless as always, Sihyeon assumed Yerin’s joy came purely from receiving the plushie itself.
Meanwhile, overflowing with happiness, Yerin suddenly wrapped both arms tightly around Sihyeon.
Then she looked up at him and whispered softly,
“Sihyeon… thank you so much. I’ll treasure this forever.”
Thump. Thump.
“What the hell… why’s she acting like this all of a sudden?”
Sihyeon panicked at the violent pounding of his own heart.
He knew exactly what this feeling meant.
But he couldn’t believe he was feeling it because of Yerin.
In the end, unable to meet her eyes, Sihyeon awkwardly answered,
“Do whatever you want…”
A narrow alley lit by streetlights.
Even though Sihyeon offered to walk her home, Yerin refused and was now heading back alone.
“Today was seriously amazing.”
They watched a movie together.
Played games together.
He even won her a plushie.
Even with all the unexpected incidents, it practically felt like a date.
“I should put this on my bed.”
Yerin gently stroked the teddy bear.
Then, like a child, she started thinking about what name to give it.
Right when she’d narrowed it down to about three candidates—
Tap tap—
She suddenly started running.
As her speed increased, the cold night air whipped harshly against her face.
She passed through a wide road before entering another narrow alley.
The moment Yerin slipped into a side path, she quietly stopped walking.
And then—
Tap tap tap.
Not long after, footsteps rapidly approached from her direction.
The other person repeatedly ran and stopped, as if searching for something.
“Haa…”
Hearing the sound, Yerin swept back her bangs as though realizing her pleasant day was ruined now.
Then, after muttering a curse under her breath—
“Can you stop following me already?”
She finally revealed herself to the person chasing after her.