Freshman Gathering (3)
Under my hand on my neck, I felt a texture that wasn't skin. It was the tattoo cover sheet that Kim Seong-ju had mentioned.
I took a deep breath, then let it out.
That alone was enough to calm my startled nerves. Had I really improved that much over the past five years? My voice didn't waver.
"It is a cover sheet, but it's not because of a tattoo. I have some scars."
"Ah, I see."
Kim Seong-ju gave me an apologetic look, as if he thought he'd asked something unnecessary. Had my tone been too sharp? I hadn't meant to sound angry.
Just as I worried the mood would turn awkward,
Kim Seong-ju grinned and chided me.
"More importantly, are you gonna keep using formal speech? Everyone else is speaking casually. Mi-hyeon practically calls me 'hey you'."
The briefly stiff atmosphere relaxed.
I nodded, a little dazed.
"Uh, well, you are two years older than me anyway......."
"Whatever you're comfortable with. I don't mind if you drop the formalities later either."
"Ah, okay."
I nodded, and Kim Seong-ju led the way back to the others.
Inwardly relieved, I returned to my seat.
As soon as I set the desserts on the table, Pi Ah-reum eagerly picked up her spoon.
"Whoa, the shaved ice looks so good!"
Shaved ice with milk, topped with sweet pumpkin and sweet red bean paste.
The visuals were pretty appetizing.
I took a bite. The sweet pumpkin's unique flavor blended nicely with a savory note. Was it worth the price? I let out an involuntary hum of appreciation; I hadn't known shaved ice could have this kind of depth.
'I might come here often just for this shaved ice.'
When I muttered to myself, Pi Ah-reum, who had been eating the shaved ice next to me with a blissful face, reacted strongly.
"Right?! It's super delicious, isn't it? Wasn't it a great call ordering it?!"
"Y-yeah."
She really does respond passionately to everything. Was she always this bubbly? I nodded half-heartedly and resumed shoveling in the shaved ice. Anyway, this is seriously good.
Maybe it was because Ah-reum and I were only focused on the shaved ice, ignoring the other desserts,
"Is it that good?"
"Lemme have a bite."
"Me too."
The others started showing interest and began tasting the shaved ice.
One bite turned into two, then three, and before we knew it, the shaved ice, which had become public property, vanished in an instant. These one-bite bastards!
Damn, that startled me. For a second I thought I was the one who said that.
When Pi Ah-reum shouted with a tearful face, the others came to their senses and put their spoons down. Though it was already scraping the bottom.
"S-sorry. This is good. Ah-reum, try the rice cake churros."
"These yakgwa-rong are good too!"
The others held out the other desserts with apologetic faces, probably thinking they'd eaten too much themselves.
Pi Ah-reum's cheeks puffed up like a hamster's as she put a yakgwa-rong in her mouth. But it seemed that wasn't enough to satisfy her. Pi Ah-reum frowned and turned to me.
"Kkang-cheol, let's come again later."
"Later?"
"Yeah. You said you'd probably come here often for the shaved ice. Come with me. I mean, I can't finish it all by myself."
"...Sure."
The serving size was definitely pretty big. It had just disappeared quickly earlier because the six of us had wolfed it down. If we come again, I should order multiple servings next time.
*
After finishing the coffee and desserts, we moved locations.
[Strike!]
Accompanied by a 'Ppak!' sound effect, text flashed on the electronic scoreboard.
The sound of balls rumbling along the lanes and pins crashing down echoed everywhere.
A bowling alley. I was actually at a bowling alley.
I'd been to a café at least back in middle school, but a bowling alley was a first in my life. My head throbbed at the sight of guys and girls everywhere gleefully high-fiving and squealing. Too many people, too much noise.......
If I had to find some consolation, at least it wasn't a billiard hall. A billiard hall felt less like a place for popular kids and more like the exclusive domain of bullies.
I tried my best to act nonchalant, sneaking glances around so it wouldn't be too obvious what a total loser I was, when—
"Whoa, this is my first time at a bowling alley."
"Mine too. The age range is more diverse than I thought."
"Yeah."
Three people in our group were looking around as if fascinated.
So I wasn't the only first-timer here. That gave me some strange confidence.
"Has anyone ever bowled before?"
Kim Seong-ju, who'd bowled quite a bit, was the one who had dragged us here.
"I've done it."
Park Mi-hyeon raised her hand.
"How good are you? Since there's six of us, it'd be nice to split into two lanes and do a three-on-three team match."
"My average is about 150."
"Really? That's pretty good."
If your average is over 100, you don't usually get called bad anywhere. At 150, you'd have to take a penalty in betting games, and once you pass 200, you get ostracized from betting games entirely. By normal people standards, anyway.
I'd read that on a forum while researching strategies for a classic bowling game.
'I've bowled all strikes in the game though.'
Obviously, games and reality were different. I'd never even touched a real bowling ball.
"I'm about the same, so we can split up and pick teams."
"Are we betting on it?"
"Hmm. How about the losing team pays for the bowling?"
"I'm fine with that......."
When Park Mi-hyeon looked around, the others nodded, looking like it'd be fun.
What the hell, we bet without even knowing each other's skill level? What if we get absolutely crushed?
That thought crossed my mind, but I nodded in agreement anyway. I didn't want to be a buzzkill. Besides, I figured it didn't really matter, just a casual thing between friends.
"But oppa, about how good are you? It won't be fun if the gap's too big."
"Average around 180? But it's been a long time since I bowled, so it's probably dropped. It's been about 2 years."
"Hmm. Okay."
Soon, Kim Seong-ju and Park Mi-hyeon played rock-paper-scissors and started picking team members one by one.
'Ah, I hate being the last one picked.'
Memories surfaced of always being foisted off onto people when I was forced to join soccer games because they were short on players. The position was always goalkeeper, and if I blocked well, the other team glared at me, and if I let one in, my own team glared at me.......
"Okay. I'll take Seong-hyeon."
Kim Seong-ju, who won rock-paper-scissors first, picked Ahn Seong-hyeon.
It was the expected outcome, so I just clicked my tongue in disappointment, but then Park Mi-hyeon pointed at me.
"Then I'll take Kkang-cheol."
"...Me? I've never bowled before."
When I asked back, eyes wide, Park Mi-hyeon gestured to the remaining people.
"The others are in the same boat. Still, you're a guy, so you'll do a bit better, I guess."
At that, the remaining two jeered, making 'boo' sounds.
"I'm gonna make you regret that, unni! You're underestimating my athletic ability!"
"Tch. Says the woman herself, unni."
I sheepishly went and stood next to Park Mi-hyeon.
The teams were soon decided.
Kim Seong-ju, Ahn Seong-hyeon, Lee Seo-jin on Lane 1.
Park Mi-hyeon, me, Pi Ah-reum on Lane 2.
We split off to our respective lanes to set up our bowling balls.
"Ah-reum, go with a light one. Kkang-cheol, you'll be fine with something heavier, right? Your hands are big, so I don't think a light one will fit."
So my name was just settled as Kkang-cheol now, was it?
I nodded and searched for a bowling ball that fit my hand. The lighter balls definitely had smaller holes. Like Mi-hyeon nuna said, my fingers are on the thick side, so I'd have to use a heavy ball. Would my fingers get a bit thinner if I dieted more?
"Let's go buy something to drink before we bowl."
"What do you want to drink? They do have beer."
"They have beer at a bowling alley? I-I wanna try beer!"
Pi Ah-reum said, her hand shooting up.
"If you've never had alcohol before, go with something low-proof. They have fruit beers too."
Kim Seong-ju and Park Mi-hyeon, who were relatively more experienced, recommended beers. It seemed everyone aside from Pi Ah-reum and me had experience drinking.
But was it okay to drink without any snacks? Ah, this is lemon-flavored. A sort of sharp sensation pricked my tongue and then faded, leaving a lemon aftertaste. At this level, it's basically no different from a soft drink, so we wouldn't need snacks.
Shortly after, we split off to our assigned lanes and started bowling.
The order began with the experienced Park Mi-hyeon.
For the first cycle, she decided to teach the simple rules and motions to the inexperienced ones, me included. Mi-hyeon nuna slowly repeated the motion as she spoke.
"If it's your first time, you don't need to think about complicated stuff like spin. See the arrows on the lane here? Just think about rolling it as straight as possible toward the center arrow. When you first bowl, just not ending up in the gutter is a success."
After kindly explaining, Mi-hyeon nuna properly took her stance.
She raised the arm holding the ball, took a couple steps forward while slightly crossing her feet. The arm tracing a semicircle extended straight out and let the ball go.
Dereureureureu─!
My eyes ended up going somewhere other than the ball. Her posture being what it was, the curve of her backside was emphasized over her jeans. I quickly averted my eyes to avoid any potential misunderstanding.
Warereureu─!
The ball, which had rolled at quite a fast speed, knocked down all the pins.
A strike from the very first throw.
Pi Ah-reum cheered, "Wah—!" and clapped like a seal. I clapped along too.
"Nuna, you're so cool! Do I just, just swing like this?"
Pi Ah-reum imitated Park Mi-hyeon, swiftly changing her stances this way and that. Whether it was talent or not, it was pretty convincing.
"Alright, my turn!"
Pi Ah-reum took up the ball with an expression like a soldier about to enter battle. She was a friend with extremely rich emotional expressions.
Rather than sitting in a chair, Mi-hyeon nuna was watching over Pi Ah-reum's posture. She seemed chic on the surface, but she was quite attentive. Or maybe she was just fiercely competitive.
Personally, I thought that in order to get close to people, it was important to figure out their traits and tendencies. So, I was watching the others here and there, observing them whenever I had a spare moment, when—
Suddenly, an object that had fallen at my feet caught my eye.
What's this?
'An accessory?'
A flat acrylic plate, smaller than my palm. There was a drawing of a hamster being chased by a cat on it. Given that there seemed to be buttons, it wasn't just a simple accessory.
Without thinking, I pressed the number 3 in the dead center.
Ttalkak.
"Hngahk?!"
A shrill scream burst out.