Chapter 208: A Date with Kkotbi
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 208: A Date with Kkotbi
While some hunters were as strong as returnees, the gap in experience between them was something that couldn't be easily bridged.
Just as Baeksan treated hunters like "instant ability users," hunters fundamentally had their powers forcibly awakened by the Tower of Revelation.
So, it was possible he wanted a more capable body.
‘And Kkotbi is the most well-known of all the returnees.’
With a few exceptions, the identities of most returnees were difficult to confirm.
Even an S-rank hunter wouldn't have much information on returnees, so he might have targeted Kkotbi because she was the most public figure.
"Kkotbi, about this case…"
The more I thought about it, the more I felt I couldn't let her meet Shin Jong-hyeok.
"It's okay."
But Kkotbi spoke up before I could finish.
"This involves one of my group members. You're stepping up for my sake, Ha-chan-oppa, so I don't want to back out just because it might be dangerous."
Kkotbi, volunteering to be the bait, gave me a confident smile.
"Besides, I'm a returnee too, you know? I may not be S-rank, but I've fought dimensional entities countless times."
Just as she said, Kkotbi was by no means weak.
The power of the Word Spirit Art she used was incredibly strong.
"Besides, this time."
At the same time, Kkotbi leaned her head gently against me.
A captivating smile spread across her face.
"You'll be there to help me, won't you, Ha-chan-oppa?"
Sensing Kkotbi becoming subtly more forward, I stroked her hair.
"Of course."
This was a matter for our guildmate.
As the guild master, you think I'd just stand by and do nothing?
Kkotbi smiled happily at my words.
"Then, as we discussed, we should meet with Shin Jong-hyeok first. Kkotbi, can you set up a meeting?"
"Yes, unni."
Saying she would call Joy, Kkotbi stood up and walked out of the room for a moment.
Thanks to that, the only people left in the room, besides Baeksan, were Heuksan, Eva-noona, and me.
At some point, Heuksan had lost all interest in our conversation and was just staring at her phone like a moody high school girl, and for some reason, an awkward atmosphere lingered between Eva-noona and me.
I think it was because as soon as Kkotbi left, the memory of her kissing me in her sleep resurfaced.
"D-Domi, should I make you a cup of coffee?"
"Ah, yeah, please. Heuksan, you?"
"I don't like bitter things."
Come to think of it, she only eats sweet things.
I wonder if she'll gain weight soon.
"Then I'll make a hot chocolate."
Eva-noona said so and got up to make the drinks.
The sound of the coffee machine brewing quietly filled the room.
Eva-noona also mixed some hot chocolate powder with hot water and stirred it a few times with a spoon.
A moment later, Eva-noona returned with the hot chocolate and coffee.
She also brought out some simple snacks, like cookies and pastries.
They looked like they were from a rather high-end bakery.
"We got some pretty nice ones. Let's have some together."
"Thanks."
After saying that, Eva-noona stood there, holding her coffee for some reason.
When I gave her a questioning look for not sitting down, she glanced nervously toward the door for a moment before quickly sitting down right next to me.
I was momentarily flustered by her sudden action, and she sipped her coffee in silence, unable to meet my eyes.
It must have been quite hot, but her beet-red face looked even hotter.
As I watched Eva-noona and silently took a sip of my own coffee, I could hear Heuksan crunching on a cookie beside me.
"Um, Domi."
"Oh, y-yeah?"
When I answered Eva-noona's call immediately, she hesitated, pursing her lips as if struggling to speak.
Then, as if she'd made up her mind, she finally lowered her coffee cup and spoke.
"About what happened earlier…"
‘What happened earlier’ had to be the kiss in her sleep.
As I waited silently for her to continue, Eva-noona squeezed her eyes shut.
"It's… it's just, it's not something I do with just anyone."
Well, obviously.
Kissing just anyone in your sleep would be a problem in itself.
"And, um, that was… my first time…"
The moment Eva-noona spoke shyly, I tilted my head.
Because on the day of our guild's offline meeting, Eva-noona already had a history.
"I don't think it was your first time."
"What?"
I immediately clapped a hand over my mouth.
But as a returnee with extraordinary physical abilities, there was no way Eva-noona hadn't heard me.
She stared at me with wide eyes, as if demanding an explanation, and I let my gaze wander for a moment.
Was it okay to tell her?
Nine times out of ten, Eva-noona's face was going to explode.
While I was hesitating, the door to the room opened.
At that, Eva-noona shot up from her seat faster than the speed of light and casually plopped down on the sofa across from us.
"Ha-chan-oppa, unni, Joy said she'll set up the meeting!"
As Kkotbi happily announced that she'd seized the opportunity, she looked between the two of us and tilted her head.
"…Did something happen between you two?"
"N-No, nothing at all."
As Eva-noona answered while taking another sip of coffee, Kkotbi tilted her head for a moment.
Then she casually plopped down next to me and quietly felt the sofa cushion.
"…It's warm, isn't it?"
I was starting to find Kkotbi a little scary, too.
*
Since the meeting was arranged so suddenly, Shin Jong-hyeok's side also had things to attend to, so it was scheduled for the next day.
For now, we all headed home.
On the way back.
After dropping Heuksan off, I turned the car toward my house.
I glanced at Kkotbi sitting in the passenger seat and asked.
“It's your first day off in a while. Is there anywhere you want to go? Anywhere you want to have fun?”
Kkotbi, who worked every day, was having her first real day off in a long time.
Since I still had time before I had to go to the company, I wanted to let her have fun while she could.
At my question, Kkotbi pressed a finger to her chin and thought.
“Let's see. To be honest, I've never really thought about it…”
“Does that mean you've never even thought about taking a break?”
“Yeah, when I had time off, I usually just played Lord of Academy.”
Playing games also takes energy.
You need other ways to recharge, but it seemed Kkotbi had truly never once considered it.
Then, as if something suddenly came to mind, Kkotbi looked up.
“Um, I'd like to go to a noraebang after so long.”
“A noraebang?”
Hearing Kkotbi, who sang every day, say she wanted to go to a noraebang, I tilted my head.
For a singer, does that really count as relaxing?
The thought crossed my mind, but since it was what Kkotbi wanted, I immediately started to turn the car around.
“Alright, if you want to go, let's go.”
Besides, Kkotbi's appearance was different from her usual self anyway.
There was just one problem: I'd barely ever been to a noraebang myself.
I think I might have gone when I was really young.
But as I got older, I was the type of person who had no connection to such things.
‘Come to think of it, I think I went once because Si-ho and Ji-eun wanted to go.’
Watching the two of them sing was pretty fun.
They were both at that age where they loved going to noraebangs.
‘Thinking about it, Kkotbi isn't that much older than Si-ho and Ji-eun.’
Although she was a returnee, according to her ID, there was only a one-year age difference.
But I had forgotten one thing.
Noraebangs are usually on busy streets, which makes parking difficult.
And I'd also forgotten just how much of an impact the car Seol-hyang gave me had.
Every time we drove down the street, all eyes were fixed on the car.
Since it was a Friday, the streets were packed with people in their teens and twenties, so we drew even more attention.
It was a relief the windows were tinted.
If things went wrong, we would've become monkeys in a zoo.
“Sorry, I didn't think it through. All these stares must be uncomfortable.”
“Huh? This is actually pretty tame, don't you think?”
Hearing Kkotbi's incredibly relaxed response, I blinked.
Come to think of it, for Kkotbi, situations much more intense than this were probably an everyday occurrence.
‘I forgot again that she's an idol.’
Was it because she was sitting next to me so naturally?
Or was it because she had shown me so many different sides of herself, unlike the Kkotbi I only saw on TV?
To me, she was more Kkotbi than Yua.
In the meantime, I safely found an underground parking garage.
We'd have to pay for parking, but it seemed much better than parking on the street.
‘Don't bring the car downtown.’
Making a mental note of that, I got out with Kkotbi.
“Which noraebang should we go to?”
“Oh, I want to go to a coin noraebang!”
She said, walking forward confidently.
Putting the experience I'd gained with Si-ho and Ji-eun to the test, I found a coin noraebang.
It was a place that accepted cards, and as I was tapping my card, Kkotbi looked around the room with a nostalgic expression.
“A long, long time ago, I used to come here every day. It's really been a while.”
“Well, if you like singing, I guess you'd come to noraebangs often.”
“Yeah. After my debut, I was busy, and I stood out too much, so I just stopped going.”
Kkotbi said as she picked up the song selection remote.
“Oppa, do you have a favorite song?”
“A favorite song, huh.”
I was the type who preferred older songs over new ones, so I thought for a moment.
“Ah, I like the song ‘Sticker Photo’.”
“That's a good one.”
“You know it.”
Since it was 2031, a song from 2021 was now over a decade old.
“I know pretty much every song out there. You can pick anything.”
Kkotbi said with a proud smile.
Come to think of it, Ahyu had once shown me a video of Kkotbi on a TV show guessing song titles.
She hadn't gotten a single one wrong.
She certainly had a right to be that confident.
“Is this a 'Find a Song Kkotbi Doesn't Know' event?”
“It's a hidden event.”
Kkotbi laughed playfully.
Meanwhile, the intro to the song began to play from the machine.
The disco ball on the ceiling started flashing various colors, creating a proper noraebang atmosphere.
“A picture taken with my eyes closed~”
In that instant, Kkotbi's voice flowed through the microphone.
Her voice, always pleasant to listen to, took on a powerful quality when amplified by the microphone.
This was Kkotbi, the main vocalist of Blackstar and a singer whose skills were considered among the best in the world.
Even through the noraebang's cheap microphone, her voice demonstrated a completely different level of skill.
But there was something that stood out even more than Kkotbi's singing ability.
It was the fact that she was singing with such pure joy.
As if to say her happiest moments were when she was singing.
With a radiant smile, she simply enjoyed the song.
Seeing her like this, I could understand.
I could see how she had healed people in that war-torn world she'd been swept into.
