302. Oh, It's Nothing Special. Everyone, Please Eat Up. There Are Still Plenty of Side Dishes Left
302. Oh, It's Nothing Special. Everyone, Please Eat Up. There Are Still Plenty of Side Dishes Left
***
"You two. I can hear everything, you know?"
Serin paused while serving herself some side dishes and glanced over with a small laugh. Soyul simply smiled brightly and moved her lips.
"But what am I supposed to do when Serin is really this pretty~ And I'm only saying this now, but honestly, when I heard you were coming to the drinking party, I deliberately tried not to expect anything about your appearance. I was worried I might say something rude or show some weird reaction around you. But when I first saw you yesterday, I was seriously so shocked, you know? Because you're really this pretty... Hayoon! Don't you think so too?"
As Soyul smiled brightly and revealed her true feelings, she naturally passed the conversation over, and Hayoon also smiled awkwardly.
"I felt the same way, because Rin from Another World exists in reality just like this. I was so surprised... Even now, looking at you, it feels a little amazing. Like, this person actually exists..."
When Hayoon also praised Serin in a relatively composed manner, Serin was momentarily at a loss for words.
'Well, it's only natural for them to be this surprised.'
Still, being praised so openly like that brought on embarrassment.
But denying it outright felt like a kind of deception too, so she just smiled slightly and shook her head.
The two, who had been watching Serin as if she were fascinating, finished the morning preparations as well, and soon the meal was ready.
Clack.
With Soyul, wearing oven mitts, carefully setting down a bubbling stew on the table, the table was now filled with the food Serin and Hayoon had prepared.
"...I think this is the first time I've ever had such a luxurious breakfast."
Hayoon, who had prepared a few side dishes like rolled omelet, marveled at the breakfast table laden with countless dishes, and Serin smiled softly at the sight.
"I know. I feel like I'm having a fancy breakfast for the first time in a while too."
Just sharing a meal with new people first thing in the morning felt refreshingly new.
'Meeting in person really does feel different.'
Unlike exchanging messages on BaTalk all this time, meeting face-to-face and having conversations like this was certainly a different experience.
As the saying goes, a person's eyes speak for their heart.
Now that she could directly see the clear eyes of the two, along with their bright expressions and every little action, she felt herself growing more fond of them.
After that, Soyul took off her mitts and took her seat last, and the three of them were all gathered together.
Soyul admired the food spread on the table anew.
"Wow... from this braised beef to the stir-fried shishito peppers and seasoned dropwort. What is this menu? It's like we came to a proper Korean restaurant."
When she looked at Serin, who had prepared the side dishes, and asked, Serin smiled lightly.
"Well, it's not food that was that hard to make, so you don't need to praise it so much."
In truth, whenever Seoyun prepared food, she would whip up multiple dishes in no time.
Soon, the morning meal began with the clinking of utensils.
Hayoon, who first tasted the braised king oyster mushrooms in soy sauce, widened her eyes for a moment.
"Wow, this is really good."
"Then I'll have a bite too!"
Soyul also tried the nearby braised beef and made a surprised expression.
Soyul, who had enough skill in cooking to say she cooked as a hobby, hadn't had high expectations, so her surprise was even greater.
"...Wow, seriously. How is everything this good?"
Soyul, who had let out an exclamation without realizing it, tasted it again and then unconsciously looked at Serin.
"I'm glad it suits everyone's taste."
The woman with snow-like silver hair, who answered in a calm and gentle voice, felt too unreal no matter how many times she looked.
It was morning, so she probably hadn't put on any particular makeup or done much to dress herself up.
So why did her appearance seem even more dazzling now?
Whether it was gaming, her looks, her personality, or even her cooking skills.
'So people like this really do exist.'
The sight of an exotic beauty who seemed like she'd stepped out of a novel wearing a confident expression about her own cooking was overflowing with charm even to Soyul, a woman herself.
On top of that, from her own experience making braised beef a few times, she had never tasted braised beef this tender and delicious from her own cooking.
And Serin also wore a very satisfied expression at the two's reactions.
'As expected of Seoyun.'
In truth, I hadn't made the food myself, but I was still so happy that my younger sister's cooking was being praised by others like this.
It felt like Seoyun was being praised indirectly, almost as if my younger sister were being recognized by someone else.
While Serin was thinking that, Hayoon also looked at Serin with sparkling eyes.
"Serin... there really doesn't seem to be anything you can't do. How is every single side dish this delicious?"
Since she had often skipped meals with cup ramen, the shock she felt was even greater.
She properly felt what home-cooked food was like, because she had no memory of ever experiencing a morning like this.
Even before she moved out to live alone, she had many memories of eating frozen or instant food, so the taste of such neat and refined Korean food was truly a shock to Hayoon.
At that sight, Serin smiled brightly and spoke.
"Well, it's nothing special. Everyone, eat up. There are still plenty of side dishes left."
Then she picked up a piece of braised beef herself and tasted it, and a small laugh escaped her.
'It really is delicious.'
It was enough to make comparing it to the Korean food she'd had delivered feel pointless; she could feel that Seoyun's cooking skills were exceptional.
'Maybe if I set up a restaurant under Seoyun's name later, it'd be a huge hit.'
Seeing that even a pro player like Eunha was satisfied, and Sua and the two editors in front of her were all satisfied as well, Seoyun's skills were practically verified.
...
Both editors ate heartily through the rest of breakfast, polishing off two bowls of rice each despite the early hour.
They were so busy eating the side dishes Serin had prepared that they barely touched the ones they had made themselves, and a big part of the reason was that the more they ate, the more openly Serin showed how happy she was.
***
What does it feel like to be scammed by someone?
And what does it feel like to realize you've been deceived as if bewitched, even though you were clearly told not to do something?
Sometimes, choices.
Not ones made because of someone else.
There were times when your own choices felt agonizing.
......
Whoosh!
The weight, swung wide through the air, drew a clean arc.
The Crescent-Moon Weight, which had traced a trajectory like a giant circle, returned to its original space at the end as if coming home, and the sharp blade at the tip of the weight gleamed.
"Aaaah!"
A tall woman let out a shrill scream and frantically dodged.
Swoosh!
The Crescent-Moon Weight narrowly grazed past the spot where she had just been standing.
Thunk!
Only when the sharp blade of the weight embedded itself in the floor did the Crescent-Moon Weight finally stop.
"...Ugh."
The woman, staring at it with a pale face, shuddered without realizing it.
Right now, feeling the danger of the weapon called the Crescent-Moon Weight, she was wrapped in an indescribably strange feeling.
No, seriously, what kind of weapon tries to hurt the person swinging it?
That absurd thing was exactly what this Crescent-Moon Weight was doing, as if showing off.
"When Rin uses the Crescent-Moon Weight, she uses it really well, so what is this? Seriously, how can a weapon like this even exist...?"
The woman muttered repeatedly.
Chaerin, Seoyun's best friend, was dumbfounded right now.
She had definitely swung the Crescent-Moon Weight at a scarecrow not far away, but instead of heading toward the target, the Crescent-Moon Weight had only traced through empty air and then attacked her at the end.
"A full legendary Dancer set. How did I even manage to buy this..."
She had sold off all her existing equipment and then bought this legendary set.
She had even paid the expensive price for a notorious character slot, and then created a Dancer while imagining a bright future, hadn't she?
No, she had seen someone selling a Crescent-Moon Weight set cheaply on a trading site and thought it was an opportunity, so she had snatched it up. But now that she was experiencing it like this, she felt completely scammed.
Plop.
Chaerin, who had slumped down in a corner of the training ground, blankly let go of the Crescent-Moon Weight's cord and roughly ruffled her own hair.
"...Ah, seriously, what do I do. If I resell this, the fees are going to be insane..."
She had spent nearly 30 minutes swinging the Crescent-Moon Weight to get used to it. But it didn't feel like a good weapon the way it had looked on stream.
Rather, the more she used it, the more negative thoughts she had.
This weapon doesn't suit me at all, I don't think I can ever use this, how does anyone use this thing? Is this even a weapon? Thoughts like that kept filling her head.
So now, in the end, she was leaning toward reselling the item she had bought, but that was also a headache.
"Huu..."
She let out a groan and had all sorts of thoughts.
The cost she'd paid for the character slot could still be used for an alt character later, but the legendary Dancer equipment she'd just bought was the problem.
Once a legendary-grade or higher item had been traded, the moment you put it back on the auction house, a fee of 30% of the sale price was attached, so she couldn't list it because it felt like taking a loss. And the personal trading site she'd used had a resale-prevention system that placed a kind of mark on purchased items, preventing you from posting a sale listing for about a month.
In the end, she had to sell it through a personal trade to get a proper price with relatively low fees.
But she didn't have a good way to sell it.
"Ah, seriously. What do I do."
Chaerin, who had spoken as if complaining, blankly thought of someone all of a sudden.
'Huh? I want to play a Dancer too because Dancers look pretty.'
'The Crescent-Moon Weight looked fun.'
'Is the Crescent-Moon Weight hard? Still, if you put in the effort, wouldn't it work out?'
She remembered the face of her one and only best friend, with whom she had exchanged words while watching Rin's stream.
Shoulder-length black hair, an exotic yet cute impression, a friend like no other.
She blankly recalled those words, then hurriedly shook her head.
"...No, no. Yoo Chaerin, what are you thinking right now?"
Chaerin blankly tapped her own head, trying to erase the bad thought.
No matter how crazy she was about games, thinking about offloading an item onto her one and only best friend was absurd.
'I'm supposed to go to my sister's place this week, and I already reserved a capsule. I think I can do it too.'
'If you teach me, Chaerin, I'd be grateful.'
'Yeah. Even if we can't meet often during vacation, wouldn't it be fun to play games together?'
'You said you're going to play a Dancer too, Chaerin, so if we both play Dancers, it'll be kind of cool.'
'My sister's been taking care of me a lot lately, so I don't think money will be an issue.'
'You'll help me with my setup? Then I'll trust you and ask for your help?'
But as Seoyun's words kept coming to mind, they circled in Chaerin's head like the devil's temptation.
The Dancer she was trying to switch to this time.
Even the same weapon.
Seoyun was someone who perfectly matched the conditions for the legendary item she had just bought.
"Seoyun also... said she wanted to try a Dancer and the Crescent-Moon Weight anyway."
As she muttered blankly, she even recalled Seoyun's personality.
A personality that doesn't easily change a decision once it's made.
Having been best friends for years, she knew better than anyone that when Seoyun said she couldn't do something, it was almost certain she couldn't.
Thinking of her decisive personality, even if the Crescent-Moon Weight was hard, she would probably try to solve it through effort.
Since she was new to Another World, she wouldn't really feel how much harder the Crescent-Moon Weight was compared to other weapons...
Right, if I give it to her a little cheaper, it'll be a good thing for Seoyun too.
Maybe... this isn't such a bad idea?
"...Yeah, if I give it to her cheaper than market price, Seoyun will be more comfortable adapting if she starts with a legendary set."
Chaerin was rationalizing to herself without realizing it.
A legendary-grade Dancer set she had bought by practically blowing her entire savings.
Even the armor was a legendary item with options specialized for the Crescent-Moon Weight, so if she wanted to give up on the Crescent-Moon Weight, there was really no other answer unless she sold it.
"It's Seoyun. Yeah, let's just take 80% of the price I paid. Yeah, that'll be good for Seoyun too..."
As Chaerin made up her mind to offload the item onto her best friend, she felt a great sense of guilt for no reason.