18. I'm Not a Crazy Bitch - (3)
18. I'm Not a Crazy Bitch - (3)
***
Ding.
The cafe door opened with a chime.
Sua quickly glanced around, spotted the silver-haired woman, and followed after her.
Serin was walking at an ordinary pace, neither fast nor slow, so when Sua picked up her speed a little, she was able to close the distance and catch up in no time.
As she kept following, maintaining just enough distance not to lose Serin among the passing crowd, a thought suddenly struck Sua.
'What am I doing right now?'
The silver-haired woman walking ahead of her at a set distance.
She was unmistakably a real person. That woman was not some Another World character.
And yet here she was, following behind her.
Out of nowhere, a web news story she had glimpsed a few days ago flashed through her mind—a woman who had been stalking someone and ended up committing murder.
'This is totally a crime...'
The moment that thought hit, Sua hastily shook her head. There was no way she would do something like that.
A few people walking nearby glanced at her as if she were strange, but Sua didn't notice.
"I-I'm just... going up to ask her something."
Sua muttered under her breath, so quietly that even the people passing by couldn't hear, and kept following Serin.
Whether she knew the character Rin from Another World, or whether she might even be the user Rin herself.
The resemblance was too absurd to dismiss as coincidence.
The silver-haired woman walking ahead was wearing a cap, so her face wasn't fully visible, but Sua had stared at her face for quite a long time from a seat in the cafe where she could get a good look, and she was more than half convinced.
That this woman had some connection to the user called Rin.
And right now, Sua was following her because she was curious about that.
Right. That was all it was.
Absolutely not.
'I-it's not like I'm a stalker or anything.'
She was definitely following with that thought in mind, but Sua hesitated to approach Serin and speak to her.
All she had to do was walk a little faster, catch up, and ask the silver-haired woman if they could talk for a moment. There was no need to trail behind her like some suspicious person.
But.
Sua was afraid to even attempt that seemingly simple action.
She couldn't forget that cold gaze that had looked at her, even briefly, inside the cafe. On top of that, her "acting" had come undone because of that silver-haired woman's gaze.
That was something Sua had never experienced before.
She had always been confident in one thing: acting no matter who she was dealing with, hiding herself. But the moment she met that silver-haired woman's eyes, she had felt a bizarre sensation, as if she were standing naked in front of a stranger.
Whether she should call it intuition... even Sua herself couldn't judge it precisely. It was nothing more than a truly faint basis.
Even so, Sua was afraid of approaching, plagued by the thought that she might be provoking someone she shouldn't.
That fear and hesitation, enough to keep her from approaching the silver-haired woman.
And her curiosity about the user called Rin, who was the talk of Another World.
The two were clashing fiercely, causing confusion.
That was Sua's current psychological state.
"Whoa... is she a celebrity?"
"I don't think so? I've never seen her in any entertainment articles."
As they passed, people occasionally exchanged words, and those words reached Sua's ears too.
People turning their heads toward the silver-haired woman and murmuring.
That silver hair was certainly hard to come by. Anyone who had ever taken care of their hair could tell it was on a completely different level from dyed hair—it looked meticulously maintained.
It almost felt as if it might be natural silver hair.
Just by walking for a few minutes, people passing by naturally turned their heads one by one to look at her.
A cap, a black T-shirt, jeans. An ordinary outfit.
It was a truly unremarkable, common look, but the presence of that silver hair over the black T-shirt was absolutely overwhelming.
Yoon Sua, cautiously following behind Serin, was feeling that anew.
She herself was following because she had seen that face, but to other people's eyes, it was that silver hair that stood out.
Even with the cap covering part of her face, Serin drew people's attention just by being there.
Then, at some point, Serin turned.
"Ah?"
For a moment, Serin seemed to vanish among the crowd, and Sua hurried her steps.
Step, step.
Dodging the people passing by, Sua practically ran toward the spot where she had last seen Serin.
Grab.
Suddenly pulled along by a force yanking at her hand, Sua went blank, and when she saw the face in front of her, she flinched and screamed.
"Aaaah...!!"
Sua's shrill scream cut through the city's white noise. The passersby stopped too, glancing over to see what had happened.
As if oblivious to their stares, Serin, who had pulled Sua by the arm, spoke in an icy voice.
"Hey."
"Y-yes?"
At that cold voice, Sua answered stupidly, her hands trembling.
Just hearing Serin's cold voice was enough to make Sua feel her mind reeling.
"What the hell is this?"
"Oh, no, I mean."
Was this what it meant to go blank? She truly couldn't think of anything. That emotionless gaze looking at her was terrifying in and of itself.
Putting on an act now?
The thought didn't even occur to her.
The real Sua, the one who acted like herself at home, was coming out.
Inside Sua's mind right now, it was as if her thoughts had shattered—nothing came to mind. Only emotions swirled: what should I do, I want to run away.
So now, faced with Serin holding her hand and questioning her, she just stood there blankly, stammering and shaking her head as if she didn't know what to do.
"You were following me just now."
"Th-that's true, but. I-it's not like that. I really haven't done anything yet. N-no! I wasn't trying to do anything either!"
Serin frowned as if she couldn't understand what Sua was saying, sighed, and looked Sua over once.
A neat blouse, straight hair in a ponytail. Frightened, but with refined features.
All of it matched the person who had been staring at her in the cafe.
At most, she looked like a college student around the same age as her younger sister Seoyun.
But right now, this woman was trembling like an animal facing its natural predator.
To Serin, she looked like someone in extreme terror.
'...What the hell?'
Anyone watching would think Serin had done something to this woman.
She glanced around for a moment, and already a few groups of people were looking their way.
"...Ha."
Serin let out a small sigh and pulled the woman along by the hand.
Honestly, this woman wasn't a threat to her, and she didn't know who she was, but she had definitely been following her.
She had already caught her staring holes through her in the cafe, and on top of that, she had followed her.
Even for Serin, who was indifferent to others, this wasn't something she could just let slide.
It didn't seem like she'd get a proper answer if they stayed here, so Serin pulled the woman along and spoke as if informing her of a decision.
"I don't know who you are, but let's talk for a minute."
"Yes? Yes. Yes!"
Even as she was being dragged along, Sua just repeated her answer blankly, trembling but following on her own feet as Serin led her.
"...Shouldn't we call the police?"
"I dunno."
"I heard what they said, and it didn't sound like anything serious?"
The people who had been watching carefully wore uncertain expressions, but soon lost interest as the two women left.
Step.
Step.
The footsteps of Serin in plain black sneakers and Sua in stylish flats echoed.
***
Ding.
Along with the sound of the cafe door opening, the two women entered.
"Welcome. May I take your ord—"
Jinseong, who was working part-time at the cafe, set down what he had been organizing, turned his head, and spoke out of habit before blinking blankly.
`What the? Are they models?`
The thought came to him before he even realized it.
"Two cafe mochas."
At the silver-haired woman's cold, beautiful voice, Jinseong nodded blankly and took the order.
Jinseong's gaze was fixed on the silver-haired woman in front of him.
What did it mean when people said someone didn't seem human? Jinseong understood for the first time today.
They said you could feel an aura when you met celebrities in person.
Wow, so that was true.
"W-would you like any help with anything else, or any additional options..."
Seeing the silver-haired woman about to head to her seat, Jinseong hastily spoke, hoping to keep the conversation going just a little longer.
"No."
A cold, curt reply without even turning her head.
"Yes. Yes."
At that answer, Jinseong just nodded blankly and muttered, "Two cafe mochas..."
Then Jinseong immediately turned his head.
"Hey, Taekjin."
"Yeah? What’s the order?"
"Take over here for a bit."
"Huh? Why? You never switch with me even when I ask."
The man called Taekjin answered with a puzzled look, but Jinseong was already moving to make the cafe mochas himself.
"Shut it, man. Just do it when I tell you."
"Yeah... well, fine by me."
Taekjin casually switched places.
......
Once they reached a seat after pulling her along, Serin quietly let go of the woman's hand.
"Ah."
The woman let out a small groan, then immediately closed her mouth, as if conscious of Serin's gaze.
Serin had thought she'd eased up on the way, but maybe she'd gripped too hard. Still, did that even matter now?
"Sit."
She spoke and took a seat.
"Yes..."
The woman sat down across from her weakly, like a criminal who had been dragged in.
Seeing that, Serin briefly considered just letting her go, but she wasn't that merciful.
Still, this was someone who had followed her. She needed to hear her out thoroughly.
"So, what's your name?"
"Sua... Yoon Sua."
"Sua, then. Alright. I’m Han Serin."
"Oh, oh! Yes. That's a pretty name."
She answered promptly, forcing a smile, but Serin wondered how a face could twist like that.
Now that they had exchanged names, Serin saw no reason to delay and got straight to the point.
"So what, are you a stalker?"
Today was her first time going outside. And a woman who followed a complete stranger?
Even at a glance, it was obvious this wasn't normal.
"N-no!!"
Sua flinched and denied it, waving both hands.
Serin looked at her quizzically and spoke again.
"Then why did you follow me?"
"W-well, you see. S-Serin, I-I p-play a g-game...?"
Sua kept stammering, enough to make any onlooker feel sorry for her, but Serin didn't so much as blink.
She stared at Sua for a moment, mulling over what she meant, then answered as if dumbfounded.
"Ha... that's your reason for following me?"
At that, Sua grew even more flustered, trembling and not knowing what to do, when—
Jinseong approached their table.
"Here are your two cafe mochas."
"Thanks."
"Oh, and these cookies are on the house because you're both so beautiful..."
"Sorry, but could you leave?"
Serin spoke in an utterly cold voice, without even turning her head from Sua.
"Y-yes. H-have a nice time."