Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Outsider Makes Vacation Plans
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Mid-July weather is the worst.
Hot, humid, mosquitoes breeding endlessly, and tropical nights on top of it all.
No matter how I think about it, Korea doesn't seem like a place where humans can survive.
And here I am, coming back from the cool high altitudes of Daegwallyeong. It feels like I've committed a crime and been thrown into the fires of hell.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ But we humans have over-the-top technology that guarantees survival even in this harsh land.
That would be the savior of humanity, Mr. Willis Carrier's air conditioner.
No matter how murderous the heat, no matter how sleepless the tropical nights, one blast from the AC and...
"No way! Do you know how much the electric bill skyrockets if you sleep with the AC on at night? If it's a bit hot, just take a cold shower!"
...
Willis. You were wrong.
You should've invented infinite power sources or nuclear fusion reactors before air conditioners.
"Arrrgh!!! Mom, please turn on the AC!! I can't sleep because it's so hot!"
"Ugh. If you're gonna pay the electric bill, then go ahead and sleep quietly! Or just lie on the cool floor."
"How much could it even be? I'll cover it, whatever."
During the day, I can escape to cool spots like big marts or cafes, but at night, there's nowhere to run.
A comfortable sleeping environment is a major issue!!!
I've got plenty of prize money saved up lately, so I can afford the electric bill.
Think simple.
This is buying time with money.
It was money I was gonna use for Bitcoin anyway, so it's a shame, but buying time is obviously a better investment than Bitcoin.
.
.
.
But when I calculated the estimated extra cost for the electric bill, I started thinking that maybe it was a bit arrogant for a mere human like me to try buying time.
Staying up all night with wide-open eyes on a warm summer night has its romantic charm anyway.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A day had passed since returning from the eventful gifted education program with Han Si-a.
Since I left for Daegwallyeong right at the start of summer break, you could say my vacation truly begins now.
Even though it's a week later than everyone else's, what matters in the end isn't the 'duration' but the 'density,' in my opinion.
Before my regression, I spent most of summer break stuck in academies, so this time has to be different.
But a dense summer break doesn't come just by twirling your spoon like with meals.
If you want something specific, you need a proper plan and effort, no matter what it is.
So, I devised the perfect plan for the perfect summer break.
Okay, everyone close your eyes and think about what you'd want to do on summer break.
Head to the mountains, the beach, or a pool for a getaway?
Watch a horror movie in a cool theater?
Go to a valley for water skiing or rafting?
...
Sorry, but all wrong answers.
These are just fantasies cooked up by Insiders, so don't fall for it.
On a common-sense level, climbing mountains isn't even worth considering.
Unless you're going as high as Daegwallyeong, it's not that cool, and the hike itself is exhausting and grueling.
Anyone hiking in midsummer must have such an easy, boring life that they crave the thrill, right?
The idea of summer mountain getaways is pure fiction born from evil Insiders bragging on SNS.
So what about the beach, valleys, or pools?
Summer water fun seems like the classic vacation vibe. And plenty of people do head there.
But of course, this is just another Insider scam, pure fiction.
Because if you try enjoying water activities during peak summer break, you'll witness scenes where there are more people than water.
Good lord. Dive your face into that filthy soup? Eww!
Plus, wearing swimsuits in this heat means risking severe sunburns from the intense sunlight, and dealing with peeling skin and blisters for over a week. No matter how you slice it, the cost-benefit doesn't add up.
Well, Insiders would probably giggle among themselves and have a blast anyway, but as an Outsider, I'll pass.
So, if you're an Outsider like me, not an Insider, here's my perfect summer break plan, meticulously designed to exclude all Insider tricks. Take note.
2011 Summer Break Schedule
09:00 - Wake up
10:00 - Exercise
11:00 - Breakfast/lunch, then head to Sandwich Shop for work
14:00 - After work, head to cafe to cool off
17:00 - Dinner, then back to cafe to cool off
24:00 - Bedtime
*Repeat daily.
.
.
.
Kyah... Simple is indeed best.
Doing absolutely nothing is undoubtedly the ultimate way to spend a dense summer break.
There is that minor issue of tossing and turning at night due to tropical heat, but since that's beyond human power to fix, nothing to be done!
I was basking in pride over my perfect summer break plan when my smartphone chimed with a notification.
Sender: Class 1-5 Yoo So-mi
-Hey Yi-an, hope you're having a great day! (⌯ ‘ ᵕ ‘ ⌯)
-Heard Daegwallyeong was cool, hope the heat didn't shock you too much?
-[Photo of Yoo So-mi wearing sunglasses and lounging on the sofa]
-Ta-da! Bought new sunglasses? (≧∇≦)
-Wearing these makes me feel like a career woman on vacation. So fun!
-So, Yi-an, got plans for summer break? Mind sharing with me? ( ✧ ̫ ✧ )
Ever since summer break started, she messages me almost daily, and every time she sends at least one photo of herself. My messaging app's temporary photo storage is filled with Yoo So-mi pics.
And every single one is so pretty, they could go straight into a photobook without edits.
But saving personal photos of a female classmate in my gallery feels ethically dicey, so I just leave them to auto-delete eventually.
Also, Yoo So-mi must've recently learned to use text emoticons, since she sprinkles them in her messages a lot.
Imagining her tapping away on her phone, mimicking those expressions, is kinda fun. Maybe I should learn some when I have time.
Hmm... Nah? They look fine on a pretty high school girl, but if a guy like me uses them, will I just come off as a weirdo?
Anyway, from her message, it seems Yoo So-mi is curious about my perfect summer break plan too.
So I snapped a photo of the schedule I just made and sent it to her.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ *** Yoo So-mi POV
The room cafe is packed during summer break.
Of course, "packed" is figurative—meaning no empty rooms left.
Rooms are just flimsy partitions with zero soundproofing, so crowded room cafes are noisy as hell.
You hear kids whining with their parents in some rooms, and guys from other schools cracking vulgar jokes without a care for who hears.
But in one room, two female students sit quietly, staring at a single smartphone.
"Oh... Jeong Yi-an's schedule is totally empty during break. Seems like I can call him out anytime outside work hours. Right, So-mi?"
...
That's right.
Han Si-a and I are peering at the break schedule Yi-an just sent.
Normally, this private exchange between Yi-an and me would feel weird with Si-a watching, but...
Explaining how we got here would take a while.
.
.
.
The night before Yi-an and Si-a returned from Daegwallyeong, Si-a messaged me.
'Does Yi-an have anyone he's dating?'
If you take that sentence at face value, it's just a meaningless question.
Simple curiosity about whether Yi-an has a girlfriend.
But when a high school girl bursting with curiosity about the opposite sex asks that, the meaning shifts.
A high school girl checking a male classmate's relationship status is basically declaring 'I want to date him!'
And it doubles as a warning: 'He's mine, hands off.'
...Source is some anime from next door, but it probably holds true in reality too.
Si-a clearly wants to develop a romantic relationship with Yi-an.
For the record, I'm not worried about Si-a's love life.
She's gorgeous, top of her class, and from a rich family. If she confesses to Yi-an, he'd fall instantly.
I take care of my looks too, but the only thing I have over Si-a is the extra flesh on my chest, so I'm hardly in a position to fret over someone else's romance.
But that leads to a big problem.
Lovers usually get uncomfortable with their partner's opposite-sex friends.
Of course, whether to keep a friendship is up to the friends themselves, and if it's a close one, one side can't just force it to end...
But if Si-a starts objecting to my relationship with Yi-an, we'll end up clashing.
So I called Si-a here today to hash out our relationship beforehand.
If she acknowledges us as close friends before confessing to Yi-an, it'll reduce future conflicts.
I even braced myself for a potential argument with Si-a in the worst case.
...
...But my resolve fizzled out rather anticlimactically.
"Huh? You thought I wanted to date Jeong Yi-an? Not at all. My family's super strict—dating's basically forbidden unless it's serious. Even if we did, it'd just make things awkward."
"...?"
"I was checking if Jeong Yi-an had a partner just in case I ended up bedding a taken man.... Uh, we'll talk about that later."
I inwardly sighed in relief at Si-a's words.
Si-a's just a friend, not my bestie, but clashing with a friend is still heartbreaking.
But soon, I started regretting inviting her here a bit.
"So-mi. More than that, what you just called 'besties' is bugging me a little. Mind telling me more details?"
"....Ah."