108. BaTalk
108. BaTalk
***
The B-course meal she had ordered consisted of only five dishes—a small number for a course meal.
"Regarding the truffle soup served as the appetizer..."
As the server carefully set the appetizer on the table and began introducing the dish, Eunha cut in before he could continue.
"Please keep it as brief as possible."
Eunha had no desire to have her meal with Serin interrupted by the server's explanations.
That was precisely why she had ordered the B course with its smaller number of dishes.
Serin glanced at Eunha with a slightly puzzled look, but that was all.
Flustered by Eunha's words, the server finished a relatively short description of the dish and left the room. From then on, whenever the plates were mostly emptied, the server would bring the next course and continue with brief explanations, repeating the process.
Clink.
Clink.
Only the soft sound of small tableware shifting echoed quietly.
The course meal continued without any real conversation between them.
Several dishes came and went like that, and once the main course was finished, the server left to prepare the final dessert. A small silence settled over the room.
Eunha, who had been speaking somewhat passionately before the server arrived, found her face growing hotter the more she ate as she recalled her earlier behavior.
The way she had blurted out everything she had been holding in her heart toward Serin, as if she had gotten carried away all by herself.
'What if Serin thinks I'm... a weird person?'
Belated embarrassment and awkwardness welled up, and the words she had spoken came back to her one by one. She wanted to bury her face in her hands, but she held it in.
And on top of that, her unfinished sentence at the end had cut off as if she were confessing something to Serin.
Even if Serin saw her as a strange person, it wouldn't be strange at all.
Clack.
The server who brought the dessert carefully placed white ceramic dishes in front of Eunha and Serin.
Inside the white ceramic dishes, ice cream in beautiful harmonies of blue and red sat neatly arranged. The server gave about thirty seconds of explanation about the dessert, then left with the words, "Enjoy the rest of your evening."
Serin picked up the white ceramic dish, but rather than eating the dessert right away, she momentarily lifted her gaze.
And there was Eunha, staring straight at her.
"Ah. I..."
Eunha, flustered, hesitated as she tried to speak, and Serin let out a small laugh and spoke first.
"Eunha, are you embarrassed now?"
The reason they had been so quiet throughout the meal.
Serin had deliberately not spoken to Eunha because she found it cute how Eunha kept feeling awkward all by herself.
What Eunha had said so purely and sincerely had genuinely left an impression, but Serin wished she'd also thought about how it might feel to be on the receiving end.
It wasn't that the things Eunha had said before the server arrived were unpleasant. It was just that the awkwardness she felt while listening had been overwhelming. So she had wanted Eunha to feel a bit of that embarrassment too.
"...Yes."
Nodding slightly in agreement with Serin's words, Eunha also picked up the white ceramic dish in front of her.
Perhaps because the silence had been broken, Serin casually brought up something she had been thinking about while eating.
"You said you have three days of rest left before you return to the team dorm, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
Relieved that Serin was speaking to her so casually, Eunha took a spoonful of dessert and responded.
"Then I really hope you rest comfortably without thinking about anything for the rest of your break."
Unlike Eunha, who had taken only a small spoonful of ice cream, Serin scooped up a spoonful so full it nearly overflowed and continued calmly.
"Since you're saying that much, Serin... I'll try to rest comfortably too."
"Pfft... What effort is there in resting? You just have to take it easy. You can let time pass, or lie comfortably in a cozy bed. Sometimes it can help more to just lounge around until you feel downright lazy."
Serin, who had once taken a long rest in the world of Black Ark, had spent quite a few days doing absolutely nothing.
Right after clearing the main story, she had momentarily lost her sense of purpose. She had wandered through various countries as if lost, and at other times she had hunted monsters like crazy.
When she felt exhausted, she had sometimes booked a high-end inn and holed up for about a week, literally doing nothing but eating and sleeping.
Everything just came down to how she set her mind.
Though in the end, with so little to enjoy, she had gone around hunting monsters like mad until she was pulled into this world.
Thinking about it now, it seemed like it had actually worked out for the best.
At first, the sense of loss had been so overwhelming it was painful—the power she had built through effort, the mythic-grade equipment and items she had obtained with such difficulty, even the rare elixirs. All of it had been taken from her. But as time passed, she had been able to shake it off.
This world had so many things to enjoy, and so much to learn.
Right now, she was even finding a different kind of enjoyment as a streamer doing internet broadcasts.
......
Watching Eunha poke at her dessert with her spoon as if mulling over her words, Serin simply savored the taste of the dessert in silence.
Maybe because it was a high-end restaurant, even the dessert had a rather intriguing flavor.
Rather than feeling especially delicious, it was more that the flavors were mixed together in an interesting way. That impression was strong, but it was certainly edible.
"Serin, your mindset seems... a little different from other people's."
"Does it?"
Serin said this as she scooped up another spoonful of dessert.
Eunha smiled softly at the sight and, in contrast, gently set her spoon down before continuing.
"Yes. The more I see you, the more I'd say you have this real composure... Your appearance doesn't seem much older than me, but it feels like you've lived a very different life from mine."
Serin, who had been savoring the dessert, looked at Eunha quietly for a moment before speaking softly.
"Now that you mention it, how old are you, Eunha?"
"I'm twenty-five. What about you, Serin?"
"Ah, I'm... twenty-five too."
Serin, who had hesitated for a split second, suddenly remembered that she was twenty-five.
But since she still remembered the time she had spent in the game world, she definitely felt like she had lived much longer.
She soon shook her head slightly. There was no point in dwelling on that now. After all, the person living in this world right now was twenty-five.
"You're the same age as me?"
Eunha looked surprised, and Serin was just as surprised.
"...I guess so?"
This was also the first time she had spent this much time with a woman her own age.
"I can't believe you're the same age as me, Serin... It makes me want to get even closer to you."
Eunha said this with wonder and smiled, and Serin gave her a slightly puzzled look.
"Aren't we already close?"
If the distance between them had narrowed this much on their first meeting, weren't they already close?
They had spent time together without anything bothering either of them or any particular dislikes.
And seeing someone express their fondness so openly, she hadn't felt any aversion from the start.
It wasn't as if Eunha was expressing romantic feelings in a big way. It would be stranger to feel bad about someone who simply showed that she wanted to be friends.
With that thought, Serin briefly looked back on the day.
Meeting at a cafe, exchanging greetings, eating dessert, then enjoying a drive in Eunha's hypercar, shopping at a department store, and exchanging gifts.
And at the end of it all, they were now having dinner together like this.
'...Is this really an itinerary that can happen on a first meeting?'
—BaTalk!
Yoon Sua.
[Serin! Are you having a good date with the Saintess?]
Serin was about to reply to Sua's sudden message when she was struck speechless.
'A date? Please.'
She thought this as she sent a reply, but then a thought crossed her mind. If they had been a man and a woman, this would have been no different from a date course.
—Assuming they were a man and a woman.
Only then did the vague sense of dissonance she'd been feeling click into place. The realization left Serin briefly confused, and an indescribably complicated expression crossed her face.
Eunha, unaware of Serin's thoughts, was simply repeating Serin's words—that they were already close—over and over in her head, feeling elated.
The certainty that they'd become close filled Eunha with a sweet feeling; she beamed and parted her lips.
"We're already close, right? Aren't we? Serin?"
Seeing Eunha ask repeatedly as if seeking confirmation, Serin pushed her thoughts aside and smiled softly.
"Yes. I think you're... really great too, Eunha."
On the other hand, once Serin had become conscious of the fact that this was like a date, she felt very strange as she answered.
When Eunha's dazzling appearance caught her eye, she averted her gaze slightly.
***
With the dinner at the restaurant with Serin finished, all the plans she had made came to an end. Along with a sense of accomplishment, as if she had achieved something, a deep feeling of regret washed over her.
She had planned the itinerary by referencing NewTube videos and various books, and it had been more successful than she had expected.
Even as she left the restaurant and walked toward the car, her gaze kept drifting to Serin.
When she had quietly tried to pay at the restaurant, Serin had refused without hesitation and held out her card—that image had left quite an impression.
"Thank you for dinner, Serin."
"No. I received something too, so I should return the favor."
As she said this, Serin gently lifted the wallet I'd given her.
It suited her so well that I couldn't help but smile.
"I really... just gave it to you because I wanted to."
"Then I bought dinner because I wanted to buy it too."
Serin suddenly met her eyes as she said that, and Eunha couldn't help but laugh softly and nod.
When the person receiving a gift said she wanted to give something in return, that felt pretty good in its own way.
—Aren't we already close?
Even as she walked in silence, Serin's words suddenly came back to her.
And when she had heard those words... the feeling she had felt came back little by little, and she felt good for no reason.
She had wondered what it meant to feel good for no reason, but now that she actually felt it, it really was like that.
She couldn't say exactly why it felt good, but it just felt good for no reason.
In a way, it was a trivial remark, close to mere pleasantries.
It might have been a momentary joke or just something said lightly, but even such words clearly meant that the distance between them had narrowed.
Maybe it was because she really felt they had become close.
It wasn't someone else approaching her.
This was the first time I'd reached out myself and formed a connection with someone.
Among the countless NewTube videos and books Eunha had watched, there had been a few strange videos she hadn't expected.
—How to get close to the opposite sex!
—100% real tips for going from first meeting to lovers!
—Recommendations for the most ideal date courses by type!
—The rules for leaving an unforgettable special impression! Kindness and consideration!
—The fact that everyone is actually weak to gifts!
......
Vroom.
The Bugatti Chiron smoothly entered the road with a soft engine hum.
Now that it was night, the blue hypercar glowing softly among the bright building lights naturally drew people's attention.
Special film blocked the interior from outside view, so no one could see the driver or passenger, but people's gazes still inevitably followed it.
After receiving those subtle stares, the hypercar soon arrived at an officetel, and when Eunha smoothly turned the wheel, it entered the underground parking garage.
Swoosh.
Eunha parked the car in a familiar spot and quietly looked over at Serin.
Serin rubbed her eyes lightly as her eyelids drooped, looking quite tired.
Watching her, Eunha smiled softly.
"We're here, Serin. Are you tired?"
"Ah, yes... a little."
Serin stretched a little in her seat as if loosening up. Seeing that, Eunha thought, 'She's actually not that strong physically,' and carefully unlocked her phone and held it out.
"Serin, could I get your contact info?"
They could contact each other within Another World, but actually contacting each other in real life felt different.
And since this was the first time she'd ever asked someone for their contact info first, it felt strangely new.
Serin took the phone without a word and began entering her contact info with practiced ease.
"If you're ever bored, message me and I'll reply."
"Then I think I'm going to be bored a lot from now on. Is that really okay?"
Eunha gave a small laugh and spoke playfully. Serin looked back at her and laughed in disbelief.
When we first met, Eunha had clearly been careful with her words and seemed to pay attention to my every move, but now she was even joking around quite naturally.
"Yes, of course. Then you have to answer me too when I message you because I'm bored, okay?"
Since learning they were the same age, Serin had considered suggesting they drop the formalities. But she figured this level of distance wasn't bad either.
......
After going up to her apartment, Serin showered and then collapsed into sleep as if she had passed out.
Leaving Serin behind in her deep sleep,
—BaTalk!
The phone on the desk began to ring.
Yoon Sua.
(Attached image.JPG)
[This photo... isn't this you?]
After the message appeared on the screen, the phone chimed several more times.
—BaTalk!
—BaTalk!