Parties Are Only Fun for Extroverts #1
「400,000 P」
Baek Yeoul’s face lit up the moment she saw the number glowing on her smartwatch. With this much, she could buy herself a proper lunch, get the cracked screen on her phone fixed, and maybe even pick up those socks she’d been eyeing at the school store. And then… and then…
She hummed a little tune, practically skipping on her way home.
Thud.
“Oof!”
Something caught her foot and she went flying forward, landing hard. Of all the stupid things, she’d tripped over a broken paving stone. Her luck really was the worst.
“Ow, ow… I scraped my knee…”
Baek Yeoul was always falling or bumping into things. It was definitely because of the Bad Luck concept she possessed. She hated her own ability. When she first awakened, everyone had congratulated her for becoming someone special, but if this was what “special” meant, she would’ve rather stayed ordinary.
People around her kept suffering misfortune, and because of that, they kept drifting away from her. Today was probably going to be another disaster during the group project…
“Four hundred thousand!”
She pulled a band-aid from her bag and stuck it on her knee, shouting with joy. A bird flying overhead got startled and dropped a little present on her shoulder, but she didn’t even care.
“I earned four hundred thousand points!”
Four hundred thousand points was the exact minimum needed to sign up for the special classes. Those classes offered personalized training to help awakeners control and strengthen their abilities while unlocking new powers. For someone like Baek Yeoul, who was constantly struggling because she couldn’t control her Bad Luck concept, it was the most necessary course imaginable.
The only problem was…
Seo Gaeul is definitely going to be in those special classes…
She reached into her bag and pulled out a photograph. It showed her smiling brightly with her arm around another girl’s shoulders. The girl’s face had been completely blacked out with a permanent marker, but Baek Yeoul could still picture that face perfectly.
They’d been in the same class from kindergarten all the way through middle school.
What does Ha Namjin even see in a girl like that? All she’s got going for her is a pretty face, a rich family, and smelling nice.
Baek Yeoul grumbled to herself, blaming a boy who wasn’t even there. The guy she’d been tangled up with in a terrible relationship from the moment they met was head over heels for Seo Gaeul.
Idiot. It’s all pointless anyway.
Seo Gaeul was known for being kind, beautiful, smart, and talented. But Baek Yeoul knew the real her better than anyone. She could never forgive Seo Gaeul. Even if it meant she herself would keep suffering endless misfortune.
“Seo Gaeul is the worst fucking bitch.”
“Seo Gaeul is my light. My love. The lighthouse of my life! Butterfree, Kadabra, the birds’ hometown—.”
Singing while scrubbing myself clean felt fantastic. After all, I’d earned four hundred thousand points from yesterday’s group project and become the center of everyone’s attention. Even emotionless psychopaths would’ve been so happy they’d be doing the doom-chit-doom-chit dance.
“Four hundred thousand points!”
With those points, I could sign up for the special classes, get close to Seo Gaeul, hand her the handkerchief I’d washed spotless and even upgraded, and then—
“You’re my girlfriend starting today! Got it?”
If I confessed in such a bold, manly way, there was no way she wouldn’t fall for me. She might even go weak in the knees from how happy she’d be.
“Right, Ing-ing?”
…….
……
No answer came back. My happy little home was only quiet and empty.
“It’s great being back home, but it really is too quiet.”
I suddenly missed my friend Ing-ing. In the end, the emergency food supply I’d been saving had disappeared without me ever finding out what it tasted like. It would’ve been perfect if Seo Gaeul had sent Ing-ing back in time with me too.
“I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
I’d believed in fate ever since the day Seo Gaeul came to me. Just as Seo Gaeul was my destiny, I had no doubt that Ing-ing was part of that same fate.
“We’ll definitely meet again.”
Anyway, the important thing right now was Seo Gaeul.
“Who’s that handsome guy in the mirror? Oh, it’s me!”
I doubted there was a single woman who wouldn’t fall for my dazzling smile and teeth as white as rice noodles. Though maybe Seo Gaeul had unusual tastes when it came to men. She might prefer a scavenger rolling around in the junkyard over a clean, impressive guy.
That’s why I’d taken out insurance.
Her name was Ppang-daeng-i Baek Yeoul.
From what I’d heard, she and Seo Gaeul had been in the same class from kindergarten through middle school. That meant she probably knew exactly what kind of guys Seo Gaeul liked and what kind of trash she’d dated before. The thought of heading to school and asking her all about Seo Gaeul made my spine tingle with excitement.
“Well then, I’m off to school.”
I said goodbye to the silent house and headed out. The breeze blowing past me was warm. It really was spring.
The spring of my life—one I had already lived through once, but had never truly experienced before.
After the boring morning classes ended and lunch arrived, we decided to use the second-place prize we’d earned from the group project. Five Noble Access Tickets.
Team “No Leftovers Day” agreed to head to the fancy student restaurant together and enjoy a delicious meal. I was especially excited about it because I’d brought something special for today.
A lunchbox container!
“Hey! Taeseong! Keep watch for me!”
“Namjin, again?”
“Yep!”
I loaded the lunchbox I’d brought with all kinds of buffet food! It would be my side dishes for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow! Hah, wasn’t this the perfect example of a man with thorough preparation and strong survival instincts?
Maybe she was charmed by my impressive display, because Baek Yeoul, who had been hovering around me, blushed bright red and shouted in a small voice.
“Hey! If you get caught loading up food like that, you’ll be banned from the Noble restaurant forever!”
“Are you stupid? Then I just won’t get caught.”
Name: Baek Yeoul
Status: 《Resentment》 — She wants to refute your perfect logic but can’t come up with a proper comeback, so she feels wronged!
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—.
I filled four entire lunchboxes with meat side dishes. Even without eating rice, I’d be full. Right now, I was the complete victor of life.
“U-um, my friend…”
At that moment, the candy maker Choi Changsik approached me. What did he want to say?
“…Could you possibly give me one of those lunchboxes?”
One of the lunchboxes I’d risked so much to fill? Just like that?
It was a situation where I could’ve roared like a lion, but I decided to nod generously.
“Fine. Take it. But you have to wash it and return it later.”
The candy maker Changsik could create infinite candy. In the world that was going to be destroyed, there probably wouldn’t be anyone more important than him, so it was crucial to score points with him early.
“Th-thank you!”
Changsik looked genuinely happy as he tucked the lunchbox into his clothes. I had a lot of questions, but everyone had their own circumstances, so I kept my mouth shut.
That was how our meal began. We were chatting about making our own group chat and studying for exams together when I noticed Baek Yeoul, who had looked emotionally unstable all day, kept sighing.
“What’s wrong? Ppang-daeng, you gotta pee?”
“…No I don’t!”
“Then what is it? You’ve been like this since earlier.”
“Ughhh…”
The chattering kids all turned their attention to Ppang-daeng-i Baek Yeoul. Her face turned bright red and she fidgeted anxiously before finally gathering her courage and blurting everything out.
“My mom and dad… they want to invite all of you. It’s the first time I’ve ever earned such a big prize from a group project…”
It was the exact same hesitant attitude as an unpopular, introverted elementary schooler inviting friends to their birthday party. As everyone glanced at each other, Geum Taeseong was the first to nod.
“If it doesn’t overlap with my part-time job hours, I’m in.”
“I’m good too! Isn’t Lady Yeoul’s family home the main branch of Baekdang Foods? I’m sure we’ll get to taste some incredible desserts!”
“……”
Only the quiet Oh Deokhui was hesitating and mumbling without giving a clear answer. Geum Taeseong turned to her.
“Deokhui, you should come too. Honestly, you contributed the most this time along with Namjin, right? It’ll be fun if we all go together.”
“Uh… um, then I guess I’ll go…”
Even the quiet and well-behaved Oh Deokhui melted for a handsome guy’s invitation. I understood that feeling perfectly. If Seo Gaeul had said to me, “My parents aren’t home tonight. Want to come over to my place?” I probably would’ve nodded with my spinal reflex before my brain even processed it.
Speaking of which, where was my beloved Seo Gaeul?
“S-so… everyone’s coming to my house today? What about you, Ha Namjin?”
I was fiddling with the handkerchief Seo Gaeul had given me and looking around when, as if by fate, my eyes landed on Seo Gaeul picking up a tray and sitting down. Among all the kids, she shone like she was under a spotlight. Like I was possessed, I stood up from my seat and walked straight toward her.
“Gaeul.”
“Huh? Who are you?”
“What’s going on?”
“Gaeul, do you know him?”
“Never seen his face before. And his uniform is different.”
There were plenty of pretty girls around Seo Gaeul, but they all blurred together like Hyangdan next to Chunhyang and I couldn’t see them. In this moment, it felt like only Seo Gaeul and I existed in the world.
“What?”
Her gentle yet slightly coquettish question made my heart pound. My frontal lobe heated up like melting butter. In the end, I quietly held out the handkerchief I’d been clutching.
“Thanks for lending me this.”
“Ah, the handkerchief. So it was you back then? The tiger-print underwear guy.”
“Pfft, that guy?”
“It was so funny.”
Seo Gaeul remembered me? This was a total green light! I was right to wear those tiger-print underwear that day. When I bought them I’d wondered if they were even worth ten thousand won, but they’d more than paid for themselves!
“But this handkerchief looks a little different from when I gave it to you?”
“Ah, I embroidered a tiny heart on it.”
Seo Gaeul, can you feel my heart for you?
In reality, Seo Gaeul’s face brightened as if she was moved, and she showed the handkerchief off to everyone like she was bragging.
“Look at this. The embroidery is really well done, right? Have any of you ever received something like this?”
“You’re good with your hands.”
“Gaeul’s popularity is off the charts.”
Kyaa, kyaa—.
The atmosphere was warm and friendly. Soon, Seo Gaeul smiled softly and said,
“I actually really liked this handkerchief. Thank you for returning it, and even decorating it so nicely. Every time I look at this handkerchief from now on, I’ll think of you.”
“Really? Then, Gaeul, I’d like to repay you for the handkerchief. How about we grab a meal together sometime?”
She said she’d think of me every time she looked at it. Anyone could see that was a signal of love! Since our feelings were already mutual, there was no need to drag this out.
“Wait, is he asking her on a date?”
“Seo Gaeul got hit on by another guy again?”
“Didn’t Prince Hyun confess to her just last week…?”
The surroundings grew noisy. But whatever the outfield was chattering about didn’t matter. The only thing important to me was Seo Gaeul’s answer.
I looked at her using the Emotion power I’d received from her. From what I’d figured out so far, the Emotion concept was specialized in detecting openings in living beings. Even Seo Gaeul, suddenly receiving a date invitation in front of so many people, must have developed a gap in her heart. That gap was exactly what I needed to aim for. In other words, my flirting just now had caught her completely off guard.
However, for some reason, Emotion gave me no information at all about Seo Gaeul. So even a public date request wasn’t enough to make her budge?
“Sorry, this is the first time I’ve been invited to eat in front of so many people, so I was a little surprised. To be honest, I’m so flustered I can’t decide right away?”
Flustered? She was lying when her heart hadn’t even stirred. Seo Gaeul covered her mouth and laughed as if she were shy.
“There’s a party at our company building tomorrow. I’ll give you an invitation, so could you give me a serious answer then? By the way, your name is…”
“Ha Namjin. The ‘Nam’ from alpha male and the ‘Jin’ from true man. At least remember the name of the man you’re going to choose.”