Alone with Si-hoo # 2
Alone with Si-hoo # 2
"My memories of you, yeeeeeeeah! That past love! Inside of meeeee!!!"
I dig deep!!!
"Gah! Turrrrrrn into a poem!!!"
When it comes to singing, I never half-ass it.
"Pleeeease go, gooooo!!! Just go, for gooooood!!!"
I pack in every ounce of my emotion, tear my throat out, and sing with absolute conviction!
"Even if I tryyyyy, you still torment meeeeee!!!"
I'm gunning for that 100!
Kids these days sing a song and skip the score, but I'd never pull that crap! No matter what, I'm the type who checks the score!
So after absolutely destroying that song, the score that popped up was.
[100 Points!!!]
"Heh. An entirely predictable result."
"Geun-cheol, ahahaha! You're singing way too seriously! Heeheehee!"
"Dude. When I sing, I never just phone it in... I pour my soul into every single song. Didn't I tell you? My childhood dream was to be a singer."
"Last time you said you wanted to be a painter!"
"It just means I was a kid with a lot of dreams."
Children of Bodom? Nah, more like Children of Dreams.
"Anyway, Si-hoo, it's your turn."
I immediately handed the mic over to Si-hoo.
"Uh, o-okay."
Si-hoo took the mic awkwardly and looked at it with a gaze full of anticipation. He did say it was his first time ever singing at a karaoke room.
Alright.
Let's hear what you've got.
"Let it rip!"
"Okay!"
And the song that came out was!
"I love you!"
"I love you girl!"
"You're the only one in this world!"
It was a super-famous song. Singing his heart out to Big Farm's Crimson Sunset, Si-hoo let his voice loose. This guy... his voice is higher than I expected. The more I listen, the more it sounds like a girl's voice. Well, no wonder he's got a complex about it.
"Phew! Geun-cheol! Next song!"
"Hey! Wait! Don't hit cancel! You've gotta check your score!"
"But it's embarrassing... should we check it?"
"Just look at it, hurry up!"
And the score that came up was!
[85 Points!!!]
"No way! Si-hoo, that's totally pathetic!"
Could you even take on Varg's thorns with that?!
"What! No way! I think the machine's broken!"
"What's broken is your singing ability, Lee Si-hoo!"
"T-to think I'm worse at singing than you, Geun-cheol, the Scream Man...!"
"Well, that's just how the world works. You win some, you lose some. You might be a bit strong, Si-hoo, but when it comes to singing, you just can't hold a candle to me."
"This is so unfair!"
"Just train hard from now on. I'll train with you anytime."
"Geun-cheooool...!"
I picked the next song while looking at Si-hoo, who was staring at me with a deeply moved face.
And so began the impassioned encore.
"Exhaaaausted and collapsed, I'll still get up! To find you once agaaaaain!!!"
Man, it's been ages since I came to a karaoke room, this is fun.
* * *
"Geun-cheol, I think you're actually insane...!"
"Si-hoo. You need to be a little more bold when you sing. Be bold. Something I realized back when I studied to be a singer: singing is all about confidence. Confidence."
"Hoo boy."
We finished singing and came outside. It's still morning, anyway. I don't know when the F-rank gate will appear, but I figure we've got a little time to spare.
"Geun-cheol. Drink this."
Si-hoo, who'd stepped away, held a drink out to me.
"How much was it?"
"My treat. You don't have any money, Geun-cheol."
"I might not have money, but you think I don't have my pride?"
"It's thanks for going to the karaoke room with me."
"Okay."
I immediately grabbed the drink and chugged it. Smart choice with the chocolate banana. Choco-ba... Choco-ba. Reminds me of my army days. It was an unwritten rule to suck down a choco-ba at Dong-Seoul Station while waiting for the bus back after leave.
"Ahh, maybe it's 'cause my throat's all scratchy, but this is freaking delicious. Alright, Si-hoo. Let's wander around a bit and see what's here."
"Hey, Geun-cheol. If we're looking around, want to go down to the underground shopping center?"
Whatever, doesn't matter to me.
"Sure."
"Heeheehee."
You look pretty damn excited about that.
"Dude, what's in the underground shopping center? Why do you like it so much?"
"Ah, honestly, it's a first for me, sort of. Coming out with a friend at all is a first. So it's kinda fun."
"Wait, is everything a first for you again?"
Seriously, what isn't a first for this guy?
Is there anything?
Could it all really be firsts?
"What, you've never even been to an underground shopping center?"
"Th-that's... um. My family was a bit strict."
Si-hoo, who'd been hemming and hawing, scratched his cheek and said,
"So, until I came to the academy, I was kind of locked up at home. Something like that."
"Strict?"
"Yeah. Strict. Ah, hahaha. I'm not supposed to go around telling people this. But I think being with you, Geun-cheol, keeps making me let my guard down. Geun-cheol, you promise you won't tell anyone?"
"You bastard. Rest easy, I won't go blabbing to anyone."
"...Ah."
Si-hoo looked at me.
"Thanks, Geun-cheol."
He said thanks.
"What's there to thank. But, jeez, your family must be seriously intense, huh? What, are you from some kind of clan?"
"Sort of."
Apparently, Si-hoo was from a good family, too. Like Ryu Cheon-hwi or Leona, something like that. A family like that could definitely be strict.
"Anyway, Geun-cheol. Let's look around."
"Yeah."
The underground shopping center was cool.
Lines of clothing stores, bag stores, and shoe stores on both sides. And if you go down that way, there's a snack food section.
The whole time we walked, Si-hoo was fidgeting, looking around at everything and having a blast. So, he's got that young master vibe too, kinda like Ryu Cheon-hwi. Though unlike Ryu Cheon-hwi, I guess he was raised to be nice.
"Oh! Geun-cheol! Look at that!"
"What, the corn dog?"
"That potato corn dog! We have to eat it!"
"Uh. Sure."
Eating a potato corn dog in an underground shopping center is as iconic as jumping when you enter a dungeon.
"This is so good...!"
"This is really goddamn good."
We immediately bought potato corn dogs, bit into them, and headed up to the surface. Maybe it's from all the singing, but I was starting to get hungry. The underground shopping center isn't the best place for a proper meal.
We were walking down the street looking for our next restaurant when, in a single moment.
—Crackle.
Suddenly, in the middle of the road, something like a spark.
"Huh?"
"Oh. That."
—CRRRRRRRACKLE!!
"Oh shiiiiiiiiit?! Holy shit! That thing!!!!"
A purple spark started flashing violently above the road, and then a dimensional hole, at least three meters in diameter, ripped wide open with a tearing sound!!
"A gate! It's a gate, holyyyyy shiiiiiit!!!! A gate!!!"
Was that the F-rank gate the main quest Omen had mentioned?! Son of a bitch! It showed up while I was stuffing my face with a corn dog! I had to kill the monsters that came out of there! But holy shit, actually seeing it in person was totally overwhelming!
So that was a gate!
Fuck...! What kind of fights had heroes been through until then?!
"Everyone in the neighborhood! Run away! Stop standing there gawking and run, you dipshits! Can't you see a gate just opened!!!"
First, I screamed at the top of my lungs to alert people to the danger and draw their attention!
And then!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
"Waaaaaaah!"
"Get inside! Get insiiiiiide!"
Passersby screamed and ducked into the surrounding buildings.
—BOOM!
—BOOM!
—BOOM!
Simultaneously, the shutters of every nearby building slammed down violently with a series of booms! Even the windows!
"Whoa! Holy crap, this place!"
Even the civilians here are seriously prepared for monsters! I never would've guessed they'd have iron shutters on the windows!
"Anyway, Si-hoo! That's a gate!"
"I see it too!"
"What do we do!"
"First... we probably have to see. But Geun-cheol! This is weird!"
What is?
"What's weird about it?"
"Look closely!"
Si-hoo shouted very urgently.
"Before a gate appears, there are usually omens! It never just suddenly shows up like this! That gate just now appeared without any warning at all! That's clearly abnormal!"
At some point, Si-hoo had already drawn his sword.
"To my knowledge, a gate never manifests in just a few seconds like that...! It could be dangerous!"
Seeing Si-hoo glare at the gate with such a serious face made a chill of fear run through me, too. It's supposed to be F-rank, you goddamn quest! Shit, that's not an SSS-rank gate, is it?
And then.
—Guwaaaaaaaargh!
"Scrrrrreeee!"
"Scree!"
"Screee scree!"
Some crazy maniac bastards started crawling out from inside the gate!
"Holy shit, fuck! Look at those crazy-eyed little bastards!"
They were monsters with thick, plump caterpillar-like lower bodies! Their upper halves were grotesquely human-like, which made it more disgusting, but their faces were like mantises, and both arms were like thick tarantula legs!
About 1.8 meters in size!
These things came pouring out of the gate in droves and started crawling in all directions!
"Those are F-rank monsters, the Sorez!"
"Si-hoo! Are we fighting them?! I'll help!"
"N-no! Geun-cheol! More monsters might still come out! Run away!"
"Run away, my ass! We'll fight together!"
There's no way I could run away alone!
"What are you talking about! You need to run, Geun-cheol! Go, now! I'll deal with a few monsters and catch up!"
"Hey! Wait!"
"The hunters and the Defense Force will be here soon anyway! Geun-cheol, just get out of here! I'll be mad if you get hurt!"
In an instant.
—Swoosh!
Si-hoo made a light jump, kicked off a sign attached to a commercial building, repeated the jump, and shot straight up to the rooftop.
"Gah! Damn it! Of all days, something happens on the day I'm out having fun with Geun-cheol! I told you to go, hurry up!"
Whoa, how the hell do you even do that?
"Ha! You think I'd run?!"
"Scrrrrreeee!"
Looking around, the Sorez were screeching and crawling all over the place. Occupying the road, trampling abandoned cars as they advanced. One of them was even climbing up a traffic light.
Taking on the whole swarm is impossible.
I had to pick off the isolated ones, one by one. Honestly, it looked dangerous as hell, but I needed to complete the quest to raise my stats. I had no choice but to kill them as carefully as I could!
"Scrrrrreeee!"
"You're the one!"
Just then, I spotted one that had strayed off by itself and was crawling up the wall of a commercial building.
—Swoosh!
I immediately sprinted in that direction.
"High Jump!"
...not that I can actually do that!
"I'll just take the stairs!"
I instantly ran up the building's stairs and headed for the rooftop. It was a violent sprint, but it wasn't that hard. Is it because of my mana?
—Bang!
I threw open the rooftop door with my sword in hand.
"Scrrrrreeee!"
The Sorez was skittering rapidly on its spider-like legs, scrambling over the building's rooftop and starting to flee.
"Whoa."
A thing with a heavy, caterpillar-like lower half can move that nimbly? Anyway, if it's just one, I can win! Let's chase it down!
"Stop! You crazy-eyed little bastard!"
—Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
I dashed across the rooftops, chasing the creature. The buildings were all roughly the same height, so I could mostly just leap across them. Whoa. First time jumping between rooftops since I was in elementary school.
"Khhh!"
Seeing the green-painted rooftop floor brings back a flood of memories. Except there's a damn monster booking it right over there.
"Scrrrrreeee!"
But while it was running, the bastard caused a major disaster!
—Crash!
"Th-that son of a bitch!!!"
It collided with a set of traditional crocks that were placed on the green rooftop! The impact sent the soy sauce inside spilling everywhere!
"How dare you destroy the precious soy sauce crocks of the elderly!!!"
This. Is. Unforgivable!!!
"I won't forgive you!!!"
—Grip!
The moment I clenched my sword and unleashed my rage!
—Sssssss.
"Huh? Huhhh?"
Suddenly.
—Fwooosh!
A blue sword aura began to flow out from the blade!
"Wha! Waaaaaaah!!!!!!"
Th-this is!!!
"The realm of Sword Aura Projection!!!!!"
True power released through rage!