272. Did Serin Really Do That?
272. Did Serin Really Do That?
***
—So... is it your partner?
At her words coming through the call, Serin was momentarily at a loss for words.
'Why is a partner coming up here...?'
The word "partner" was so unexpected that for a moment she even wondered if she had misheard.
She was sure she had given a hint that would make someone think of family.
She ended up letting out an involuntary laugh and answering.
"Eunha, really, why would the word partner suddenly come up?"
A partner, huh.
It was a topic she hadn't thought about until now, and didn't particularly want to think about going forward either.
Even just briefly imagining a partner as a simple hypothetical was enough to make her whole body break out in goosebumps.
—Ah, I, that's... So the person you're with right now isn't your partner... right?
"There's no way that's the case."
Even as she spoke, I could see Seoyun looking at me, and a laugh slipped out.
—The reason I said that was... well, not only did you say it was the person you trust most, but you also said you were together until this late at night... I must have unconsciously assumed it was a partner. And for someone like you, Serin, it wouldn't be strange at all if you had a partner.
Hearing Eunha sound a little flustered, unlike her usual self, was fascinating, and my gaze returned to Seoyun, who was still staring at me.
Seoyun looked like she wanted an answer about Eunha, and Serin figured she had dragged this out long enough.
"Ah, and the reason I brought it up was because I wanted to introduce you to Eunha."
—Because you wanted to introduce me?
"Yes. Because I wanted to introduce you to Eunha. Ah, Eunha! Can you wait just one minute?"
—I don't mind waiting however many minutes.
At Eunha's flustered but accommodating answer, I switched to mute so that no sound would leak out.
"...What's this about a partner all of a sudden, and who exactly are you talking to?"
As soon as I muted, Seoyun asked, and I let out a small laugh.
Before they greeted each other, she needed to explain Eunha to Seoyun.
"Who do you think... Hold on."
She operated her smartphone and opened a portal site in split-screen.
As soon as she typed "Jeanne d'Arc" into the site, countless articles appeared along with her profile.
Then she turned the smartphone screen toward Seoyun.
"Seoyun, do you know this person?"
She asked first just in case, before explaining.
"Yeah, I know her. She's the pro player Jeanne d'Arc, right?"
Unexpectedly, Seoyun calmly said she knew Eunha.
"How do you know her? You don't play Another World."
"What do you mean how? Jeanne d'Arc is famous. She's the kind of person you constantly see in ads for famous brands, so wouldn't it be weirder not to know her?"
"...Really?"
Seoyun's look of asking why she was asking something so obvious flustered Serin, but she figured this was actually for the best.
"Seoyun, who do you think I'm talking to right now?"
As if giving away the answer, I kept asking while wiggling the smartphone.
"What, no way... Is the person you're talking to right now Jeanne d'Arc?"
Serin nodded right away, as if to say that was correct.
"..."
At the sight of Seoyun blankly opening her mouth, a laugh slipped out of Serin without her realizing.
"You're really... talking to that Jeanne d'Arc right now?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Seoyun looked back and forth between Serin and the smartphone as if speechless, and it was funny for no real reason.
"So right now, I'm going to put you on the phone with Eunha. That's okay, right?"
"...I'm a little flustered. Wait, Sis, why are you suddenly trying to introduce me to a pro player like Jeanne d'Arc? Isn't introducing me so suddenly a bit weird?"
"Honestly, there's no particular reason. I just thought it would be nice for you two to greet each other? And I don't think it's that weird."
What I was doing might sound sudden to the two of them, but I still thought this could become a connection between them.
There might be a chance for the three of them to be together sometime, and there was nothing bad about the two of them greeting each other now.
"Well, I don't mind, but..."
Seoyun's slight hesitation was even more unexpected.
Even though Serin had brought it up lightly, Seoyun seemed to regard the name Jeanne d'Arc as a bigger deal than Serin expected, and she was more flustered than anticipated.
"Why? Is it too much pressure?"
"...It's not that much. I don't mind just talking on the phone. It's just that if I suddenly butt in, I'm worried Jeanne d'Arc might think you're weird."
Seoyun worrying about something so odd was funny, but also showed she was thoughtful.
"It's fine. That won't happen."
And knowing Eunha's personality, she was absolutely not the kind of person who would think Serin was weird for introducing someone.
Eunha was someone who contacted her as often as the editor she usually worked with, and she had been interested in Serin from the start.
So if Serin introduced Seoyun, Eunha would probably actually like it.
'And it's not bad for Seoyun either.'
She also thought that forming a connection with Eunha would be a good thing for Seoyun in itself.
"...Okay. Then."
Once Seoyun agreed, I belatedly realized that far more than a minute had passed.
She unmuted and continued with an apologetic tone.
"Ah, Eunha. I'm sorry. Did you wait long?"
—No. It's fine. So the person you're with right now is...?
"Ah, the person I'm with right now is my younger sister."
—...Your younger sister?
"Yes. My younger sister."
At Eunha's voice sounding even more surprised than expected, a laugh slipped out for no reason.
—I didn't know you had a younger sister. I'm a little surprised.
"It happened to be the timing when my sister came over, and she's also a fan of yours, so I thought she'd like it if I introduced you."
As I said that and glanced over, Seoyun was staring at me as if dumbfounded.
—Then please put her on.
As soon as Eunha agreed, I naturally handed the smartphone to Seoyun.
Seoyun took it.
"...Hoo."
Having received the smartphone, Seoyun found this situation of suddenly becoming a fan of Jeanne d'Arc absurd, and at the same time, hard to believe.
'Sis really goes off the rails sometimes.'
She wasn't actually a fan, but she knew quite a bit about her.
She was someone her best friend Chaerin talked about practically every day, and she couldn't not know her since she frequently saw her face in ads and various brand shops.
"...Hello?"
Even as she answered, Seoyun shot Serin a glare.
'Why exactly am I a fan?'
***
"..."
Right after she had unconsciously asked if it was her partner, the more they talked, the more relieved Eunha felt, but on the other hand, she found it hard to maintain her composure.
Normally she wouldn't show a flustered tone, and even her pupils trembled like a lost child in the middle of their conversation.
Right now, she was too internally confused.
She quietly clenched her hand.
'Really, why did I say something like that...'
The person she trusted most, and someone she could be with until this late in the evening.
Why had she asked if it was a partner?
Even thinking about it simply, it would have been more reasonable to think of a friend, or to think of family, as Serin had just said.
As Eunha calmly continued answering Serin afterward, she was actually grateful when Serin asked for a moment.
Before long, she was on the phone with Seoyun.
—...Hello?
When she heard a woman's voice that was both cautious and clear, Eunha blinked for a moment.
'So it's a younger sister.'
Since she had said "younger sibling," Eunha had wondered if it might be a younger brother. But the voice she heard belonged to the younger sister Serin had said was her fan.
"Yes. Hello."
—Ah, hello. Jeanne d'Arc...
At Seoyun's cautious voice, a faint smile unconsciously spread across Eunha's face.
'She really does seem to be my fan.'
She could feel the tension in the younger sister's voice, and since she had faced many fans like this, Eunha was fairly used to it.
"You really don't need to be so nervous."
—...Ah, ah. Yes.
"Could I ask your name?"
Rather, Eunha began leading the conversation with practiced ease.
—Han... Seoyun. It's Han Seoyun. You can... speak comfortably.
In the other person's slightly hesitant tone, Eunha could feel both anticipation and trembling.
'She must be so excited that even her voice is shaking.'
Moreover, the younger sister's voice was oddly similar to Serin's, so even though this was their first call, she felt no particular resistance.
Even with fans, she didn't usually give special treatment or pay much attention, but the woman on the phone now felt cute with several factors overlapping.
'Is it because she's Serin's sister?'
She also figured that since she was Serin's sister, she was probably quite pretty too.
"I'd also like you to speak comfortably without feeling pressured, Seoyun. You're Serin's younger sister, aren't you? So you're not a stranger to me."
—Is that... how it works...?
"Yes. Of course."
As if it were only natural. Eunha's face, answering with sincerity, was lit with a pleasant smile.
......
After that, the more they talked, the more Eunha felt a kind of comfort from the woman named Seoyun.
She could clearly feel Seoyun's attitude quickly calming as they talked, and Eunha grew more at ease as well.
'How fascinating.'
For a fan who had been so nervous, her way of speaking carried a subtle consideration, and Eunha got the sense that she was a good person. She could even tell from their conversation that her personality was quite warm and affectionate.
She could immediately see that Serin had a good younger sister.
While they were talking in such a friendly atmosphere, Eunha unconsciously found herself listening more closely.
—Ah, and you know my sister? I think she really, really likes you, Jeanne d'Arc. Even when you called just now, it was so obvious how happy she was, right?
Because Serin had come up as the topic of conversation.
"Did Serin really do that?"
Eunha's expression as she carefully answered was visibly bright with excitement.