One Lap Around the Neighborhood 2
"No, I..."
"Come on, don't be like that. Let's go!"
Despite my repeated refusals, the blue-haired girl showed no signs of giving up. It was pure stubborn persuasion with zero logic behind it. This had been going on for a good ten minutes now. She kept circling back to the same point like a broken record.
"Can't we just call it quits now?"
Her relentless badgering was so over-the-top that even one of the gold-tanned guys behind us—who'd been watching with hopeful faces—finally stepped in to rein her in.
Honestly, it was a bit surprising. I'd expected that kind of pushiness from the gold-tans, not her.
The blue-haired girl crossed her arms, puffed out her cheeks, and shot him a glare. The gold-tan guy looked incredibly awkward as he glanced between us.
He seemed way more reasonable than I'd thought.
"Ugh, seriously. Why not? Got a boyfriend or something?"
"A boyfriend...? No, not really."
Jung Taeyang's face flashed in my mind for a split second, but I shoved it away. Him as my boyfriend? The very idea was horrifying.
"No boyfriend, so why? Why won't you hang out with me? Do you hate me or something?"
"No, what are you even..."
She put on the most pitiful expression, looking up at me with wide eyes. It was pretty convincing, I'll admit. But that didn't mean I wanted to hang with these gold-tans and this weirdo girl...
Just as my resolve started to waver a little, she suddenly grabbed my arm tight.
I could feel the soft squish of her breasts pressing against my arm. Still clinging like that, she gazed up at me.
"You really can't...?"
"Ah, I really can't..."
Squeeze!
"For real?"
"Ah, w-wait, ow..."
What the hell kind of strength is this?
"For real?"
"F-Fine! I'll go, okay? Ow, it hurts..."
"Yay!"
With that, she let go of my arm and beamed with innocent delight. The pure smile clashed hilariously with her outfit.
But more than that—what the hell was with her grip strength? I have no idea if I'm just weak or if she's freakishly strong, but I thought my arm was gonna snap off.
I rubbed my throbbing right arm and grimaced.
"You okay?"
One of the gold-tans spoke up as I stood there.
"Ah, yeah..."
"S-Sorry about that. We had no idea she was like this..."
"Ah, sure..."
Getting a polite apology from a gold-tan? The disconnect from his looks was unreal.
"D-Do you two know each other?"
"No, we just got hit on by her earlier too."
Hit on? More like hunted.
I shot the blue-haired girl a baffled look, but she was busy whispering with the other gold-tan, who looked seriously uncomfortable...
"What kind of person is she?"
"No idea. We were just gonna grab dinner and head out when she showed up and insisted we all hang together..."
"Ah, got it."
Yeah, fair enough. If a girl like that—with her looks and that outfit—came onto me, I'd probably follow too.
"Uh, I'm Choi Sunbok, by the way."
"...Pardon?"
"Choi Sunbok. My name."
"...Oh, uh, I'm Lee Sebin..."
"Doesn't really match the look, huh? Haha..."
I almost blurted out yeah.
"No, why would a name have anything to do with looks..."
That said, it totally clicked now. Choi Sunbok as a gold-tan? Oof.
"Thing is, I don't really like looking like this, but my little bro pushed me to try the gold tan and blond dye..."
"Little bro?"
"Yeah, that one."
Choi Sunbok pointed at the other gold-tan chatting with the blue-haired girl.
"He's a real gold-tan through and through. Total player type..."
"...And what's his name?"
"Used to be Choi Sunja, but he changed it to Choi Hyunho."
"Ah, yeah... makes sense he'd change it."
Choi Sunja. What kind of parents name their kid that? Suddenly, I felt grateful for my name, Lee Sebin. Though if it were something like Chun-ja or Chun-sik in an ero-game, even I'd have trouble immersing.
"Sorry, but could you maybe hang out with us just this once?"
Choi Sunbok looked genuinely apologetic.
"My bro's got a thing for you... He was the one pushing me to invite you. If you turn him down here, he's the type to get super annoying about it..."
"Well, when you put it like that..."
"I won't let anything weird happen. Promise."
"...Still."
"Just chicken and beer, for real. Beer only—no soju. You're not gonna get wasted on beer, right?"
Ah, damn, chicken and beer does sound good.
"And her too... Uh, forget I said that."
"Ah, sure..."
Choi Sunbok glanced at the blue-haired girl, then looked away. He was probably about to say it'd be fine since there'd be another girl... but yeah, not quite.
Honestly, though, chicken and beer was tempting as hell. I hadn't had any since becoming Lee Sebin. Crispy fried chicken... And this guy didn't seem that bad. If anything sketchy went down, I could always bolt.
"So, just chicken and beer, and I'm out?"
"Yes! Thank you!"
He bowed deeply in thanks. A gold-tan giving me a 90-degree bow...
"...Shall we go?"
"Ah, yep!"
...Suddenly, I was curious what he looked like before the gold tan.
*
We ended up at a chicken joint in downtown. I'd been half-expecting some shady back-alley dive, but this was your standard, everyday chicken place.
Families chowing down over there, high school kids with friends on the other side, and a group of middle-aged guys having a work dinner across the way.
Nothing about it screamed "place where bad shit happens." I'd planned to sneak out if it looked even a little off, but this? Safe enough for now.
"What'll you have?"
No sooner had we sat down than the second gold-tan—Choi Hyunho—grinned and asked, staring right at me. Was he seriously targeting just me?
"Let's do medium fried and seasoned, two each. Leftovers, we eat 'em."
Choi Sunbok smoothly cut him off. Guess that "no weird shit" promise wasn't just talk.
Choi Hyunho shot him a pissed-off glare, then softened it into a bright smile.
"Alright, that's the order then."
I quickly flagged down the server before he could say more, ordering the chicken—and draft beer, of course.
"Hmm, but you don't know our names yet, right? Let's introduce ourselves."
And here comes the blue-haired girl again. I already knew the two guys' names, but not hers, so I couldn't really complain.
"I'll go first? I'm Choi Hyunho, academy instructor. Twenty-five."
...Academy instructor gold-tan?
"I'm Choi Sunbok, just an office worker. Twenty-six."
"I'm Hwang Hyunji! I do some modeling gigs sometimes? Twenty-four!"
Can models really dress like that? Or maybe they can because they're models.
"I'm Lee Sebin... I go to school. Twenty."
More normal than expected. Is this what gold-tans are really like?
I'd always figured they were the type who hustled women and lived off their money... Especially Choi Hyunho—they said he was a real one. But an instructor? Talent, I guess.
I poked at the complimentary pickled radish with a bittersweet pang. Crunchy was okay, but I preferred it a bit soggier.
"Whoa, you're a student?"
"For real?"
"Twenty's fine, though, right?"
"Yeah, not like she's in high school."
Suddenly they were chatting among themselves, leaving me out.
"Ah, you gotta date a ton in school. Adult dating's a whole different beast."
"Totally. I regret not dating more back then..."
"Yeah, it's not the same. So, Sebin? Cool if I drop the formalities? How many times have you been in love?"
Already dropping them, huh. I munched on a radish and answered Hwang Hyunji.
"Never dated. Too busy living life..."
No love life in Lee Sebin's memories either, so this was safe.
"No way? With that face and body, I figured you were breaking hearts left and right. Surprising!"
"Seriously? Not even once?"
"Yeah."
I could see Choi Hyunho light up at the virgin news. As if I'd ever date you.
"So, Sebin, no experience either?"
"...What kind?"
"You know, the stuff between guys and girls? That kind?"
"Why would you ask something like that..."
Choi Sunbok flushed as realization hit late.
"I-I mean..."
I was blushing too. No dating experience, sure—but plenty of sex. Didn't that make me look like a total slut...?
"You have?!"
"...Seriously?"
Hwang Hyunji gasped, Choi Hyunho pressed. Their faces screamed please say no.
...No need to tell the truth, right?
"Nah, none."
"Then why's your face so red?"
"Because the question's weird...!"
Choi Hyunho looked relieved. Should've just said yes. He's clearly into me.
As we bantered awkwardly, the server brought the beer and chicken.
"Ooh..."
This is chicken. Game worlds nailed the food, as always. Crispy to perfection just looking at it. Amazing...
"Fucking delicious..."
The exclamation slipped out. If I'd seen this at night, I'd have caved and ordered delivery for sure. Crispy outside, juicy inside—real deal.
I tore into a drumstick and chased it with beer. Perfect brew too. This is chimaek.
"Haaah..."
Best moment since transmigrating. Pure healing...
"Alright then!"
Just as I was blissfully tearing into chicken, Hwang Hyunji piped up again.
What now?
"We're drinking, so drinking games, obviously? No vetoes allowed!"
No, fuck.