Only Extroverts Enjoy Parties #3
The place was buzzing with excitement. “Whoa, look at this! They’ve got model cars! Holy crap, this one’s a gold motor!”
“Isn’t this from the Survive series? Man, it’s been forever since I’ve seen these.”
“…….”
Changsik, Taeseong, and Deoksoon were wandering all over my house, oohing and aahing at every random thing they found. I’d only been back a few days myself, so I hadn’t exactly memorized every object in the place either. Their discoveries felt surprisingly welcome.
While the rest of us explored the house together, Ppang-daeng-i Baek Yeoul kept circling me like a broken robot, twitching and glitching. She looked like she had something to say but it was stuck between the roof of her mouth and her front teeth. How lame.
I was, after all, Ha Namjin—the smartest guy among all middle-school dropouts—so I decided to show a little sense.
“If you gotta go, the bathroom’s over there. It’s got a bidet and everything.”
“…No it’s not!”
Ppang-daeng-i puffed up like a raccoon that just got hit with cold water, her hair standing on end. I was still wondering how she even controlled that mane when she finally spoke, voice cautious.
“…Um, like I said earlier. The party at the headquarters building is a trap, so you really shouldn’t go. Aren’t you going to ask me anything else about it?”
So that’s what she wanted to talk about. The way she’d been fidgeting nonstop, I’d thought she had to pee or something. After scarfing down my cooking and moaning in delight earlier, Ppang-daeng-i had spilled everything she knew about Seo Gaeul. According to Baek Yeoul, Gaeul’s party was some kind of “trap,” so stepping foot inside would be a terrible idea.
“If you go, you’ll just end up humiliated. So it’s better not to. Everyone only wants to see the good side of Seo Gaeul, but I know what kind of person she really is… how cruel she can be…”
Baek Yeoul muttered to herself, then clamped her mouth shut. A calm silence settled between us. I took the quiet moment to think about what I needed to do next.
The answer was simple. I still didn’t know exactly why the headquarters party was a trap, but I had to go anyway. After all, that was where Seo Gaeul was supposedly going to give me her answer about the date. She even said she’d kindly hand me an invitation!
It was the perfect chance to scout out her house. It would definitely help with my “kidnapping” plan.
“I’m going.”
“She’s obviously trying to make fun of you! You know it’s a trap and you’re still going? Are you a complete idiot?”
Having failed to convince me, Baek Yeoul paced back and forth, sighing helplessly. Maybe she really did need to use the bathroom?
“Th-then… I’ll go with you.”
“You?”
“You don’t even know where the headquarters building is or what kind of party it is. But I do. I’ve… been there a few times. Not exactly memories I want to revisit, but… I still have one invitation left…”
“Perfect. Then you can be my guide, Ppang-daeng-i.”
“And we made a deal! In return, you have to make sure we stay in the same group so I can earn tons of points! I want to take special classes too! I need to learn how to control my ability!”
“Nice. Our interests align perfectly.”
I held out my hand. Ppang-daeng-i stared at my palm in surprise, then quickly wiped the sweat off her own hand on her skirt before grabbing mine. Her hand was delicate. So small it was hard to believe she carried the weight of all that bad luck.
“Too bad. My part-time shift’s about to start, so I gotta head out. Reading the Survive series again after so long was seriously fun though.”
It was a little after eight in the evening. Geum Taeseong, who had been lounging on the old sofa reading, stretched with a huge yawn and stood up. I handed him a few volumes of the Survive series.
“Take them home, finish reading, then bring them back. This stuff will really help you.”
“Whoa, you’re lending them to me?”
No lie—I had survived the ruined world, however clumsily, thanks to that very Survive series. It was a true life bible packed with practical info: how to purify dirty water, how to build shelters, all kinds of golden knowledge. The debate classes and practicals at Youngsa High? Totally unnecessary. They should just make these books the official textbooks.
But I was the only one who knew this world was going to end. And since I didn’t know who the “Traitor of Humanity” was yet, I couldn’t reveal that information lightly.
I’m guessing it’s someone close to Seo Gaeul.
Whoever it was had gotten close enough to that wary girl to stab her in the stomach and inflict a fatal wound. The probability that the traitor was one of the people around her was extremely high. Maybe I’d even get to meet them at this upcoming “Headquarters Party.”
“My friend. This is truly embarrassing, but… could you possibly lend me this model car as well? I actually have a track at home. I promise I’ll just run it once and return it right away.”
Apparently lending books to the two-faced delinquent Taeseong had been the signal. Candy Maker Changsik was now staring at me with sparkling eyes, clutching my precious model car. That car was a meaningful Christmas gift from my childhood—
“Changsik, just keep it!”
My memories versus infinite candy. The winner was obvious. No amount of points would ever be enough when it came to Changsik!
“Really? You’re just giving it to me? I feel kind of bad taking it like this. Ahem… Well, in that case, would you… like to come over to my house next time?”
Changsik’s face turned red as if he were making some grand confession. His house? If visiting would earn me points, of course I’d go. The only one left was the quiet Deoksoon.
Deoksoon had barely spoken all day, but her gaze kept flicking toward Geum Taeseong from behind her bangs. Why was she sneaking glances at him? As the smartest middle-school dropout alive, I understood the reason perfectly.
My Emotion eyes couldn’t be fooled. She wanted to read the Survive in the Apocalypse book Taeseong was holding right now, but he was taking forever, so she was waiting her turn!
“Taeseong! When you’re done with that Survive book, pass it to Deoksoon. You two can figure out the reading schedule between yourselves.”
“H-huh…?”
Oh Deoksoon looked completely flustered that I’d said what she couldn’t bring herself to say. Her awkward hand and foot movements made her look like she was doing some weird dance. Luckily, Geum Taeseong was the second-coolest guy after me.
“Really? Got it. Then Deokhui, since we should probably coordinate the borrowing schedule, would you mind giving me your number?”
“M-my number? What was my number again… um…”
Watching Geum Taeseong and Oh Deoksoon exchange numbers gave me a brilliant idea.
“Hey everyone, while we’re at it, let’s all swap contacts!”
Honestly I just wanted Candy Maker Changsik’s number, but if I asked only him, people might think, “Why is he treating that guy special?” “What’s so great about him?” “Turns out he’s actually amazing!” and suddenly Changsik’s value would skyrocket. So I casually chopped down the whole forest to get the one tree—meaning I collected everyone’s numbers at once.
“Deokhui, I saved your number.”
“M-me too.”
“This will make creating a group chat much easier.”
They all smiled, completely unaware of my perfect and devious plan. It was so foolish I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Uahaha!”
“See you all at school tomorrow!”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
“B-bye…”
Once everyone left for their homes or jobs, the house that had been so noisy suddenly fell silent, as if it had all been a dream. No sound came from the neighboring houses either. For a moment I remembered lying on the worn carpet, staring at the stars through the holes in the ceiling. It had been so quiet back then that I wished there was anyone to talk to. That was probably why I’d started talking to myself so much.
Kok-!
Right then my phone buzzed.
What? A KakaoTalk from Ppang-daeng-i. Special classes, huh. And of all people, my very first incoming text from a girl had to be from Ppang-daeng-i. I’d been saving my first for Seo Gaeul, so this felt incredibly unfair. So unlucky!
“Ha Namjin, you applied for ‘Special Class’ this morning.”
“Yessir, Cap’n.”
“It’s Captain, not Cap’n. And at the very least call me Instructor. Now, Ha Namjin and Baek Yeoul, proceed to the special lecture room. Move out—.”
Apparently, students who signed up for special classes skipped the regular morning theory lessons and instead received instruction from a special faculty in a dedicated lecture room. A 400,000-point lecture! If one pack of ramen cost 1,000 won, that was roughly 400 packs—enough to eat three meals a day for about 170 days. A three-hour lecture worth 170 days of food? I was so excited to find out what they’d teach that my tailbone was practically twitching.
Plus, Seo Gaeul supposedly only ever took special classes. With the headquarters party happening today, getting some conversation time and scoring points during the special lecture seemed like a great idea.
With that in mind, I headed toward the location of the “Special Lecture.” I’d been picturing a gym full of barbells and dumbbells or a boxing room packed with punching bags, but what appeared was a research lab crammed with machines and monitors. Quite the surprise.
Many students were already sitting on the soft mats. “Huh, Jahyeon. That guy—” “Isn’t he the one who confessed to Gaeul in the cafeteria?” A few students recognized me and raised their eyebrows. Being famous was surprisingly inconvenient. They knew me even though I didn’t know them, acting all chummy on their own. That’s why I’d practiced my autograph so thoroughly for days like this.
“Why are you all whispering? If you want an autograph, just ask like a man.”
“What’s he saying?”
“This dude’s hilarious.”
The male students stared blankly at each other for a second before bursting into laughter. The only one who didn’t laugh was a tall, well-built male student who was chatting with a pretty girl. Even while sitting, his height and impressive physique were obvious. He was talking to the girl as if I didn’t even exist. And that girl was Seo Gaeul.
Who the hell was he, talking to Seo Gaeul without my permission? I was starting to get a little angry when Baek Yeoul—who had been quiet since this morning—lightly tapped my back.
“That’s Wang Jahyeon. He’s basically the boss of F-class and comes from a really powerful family. If you want to get along with Seo Gaeul, you should stay on his good side too. Whatever you do, don’t get on his bad side.”
Get along? Let’s see.
Name: Wang Jahyeon
Status: 《Two-Faced》 — He is extremely angry at you for flirting with the female student he has been targeting, Seo Gaeul.
Doesn’t look like he wants to get along with me at all. Wang Jahyeon of F-class was pretending not to care about me while secretly burning with rage. Being a popular guy sure is tough.
Just then, someone entered the special lecture room.
“Alright everyone, please take your seats. Since there are some new faces, I’ll introduce myself first. I am Instructor Wi Seon-ah. My Explorer ranking is 44th out of 1,000, and my Concept is Grade 4. Impressive, right? Top 10 percent.”
Wearing a lab coat and goggles on her face, she looked like a female engineering PhD. “Today we will be conducting ‘Special Sparring.’ Experiencing your limits through combat is especially helpful for strengthening your Concept. So, shall we take the first challenger for today’s spar?”
Sparring? So this was what made “Special Class” special—you actually got to fight. Sounded fun. And more importantly, this was the perfect chance to show Seo Gaeul my cool side.
“Me.”
I raised my hand and stood up. Then I asked Instructor Wi Seon-ah,
“Professor, may I choose my own opponent?”
“Choose? Hmm, normally special sparring is done against me, the instructor, but… this could be interesting once in a while. Who do you want to pick?”
Who? Obviously.
“Wang Jahyeon. Get out here.”
“What?”
“Jahyeon?”
“Whoa—”
“━─!”
Amid the mixed reactions, only Baek Yeoul turned deathly pale and let out a silent scream. What a chaotic kid.