The Gift
I stared blankly at their faces.
For a full ten seconds, no less.
It was the first time I'd ever looked at anyone that long.
"Kang Hahwi, what's wrong?"
"Why are you suddenly staring at our faces like that?"
"...It's nothing."
I snapped back to my senses far too late and whipped my head away.
Had something gone wrong with my brain?
All they'd done was put on animal headbands...
For a moment, Seo I-eung and Isabella's faces seemed to overlap with the cat and dog I'd met before.
Those little ones I'd nicknamed Meow and Woof.
They kinda look alike...
Seo I-eung had a cat-like face.
Isabella a dog-like one. That played a part too.
I picked out props while stealing glances at their faces, then tried overlaying Meow's face onto Seo I-eung's and Woof's onto Isabella's.
Like this, they feel even more familiar.
My gynophobia seemed to ease a little more.
An unexpected new discovery.
Who knew I could shake off my trauma this way.
I liked it.
From now on, I'd think of Seo I-eung as Meow and Isabella as Woof.
If I hypnotized myself like that, getting closer to them should become much easier.
"Hey, why do you keep staring like that...? Does the headband not suit me?"
Isabella had noticed my gaze and fidgeted with her headband.
I picked up a bear headband as I answered.
"Nothing. Just... when you wear that headband, you look a lot like that Woof I mentioned last time."
"W-what?"
Isabella flinched and stammered.
Why was she reacting like that?
I shifted my gaze to Seo I-eung and continued.
"And Seo I-eung looks like Meow."
"W-what?"
Seo I-eung flinched too.
What was with her?
Their reactions were identical.
And neither of them looked particularly pleased.
Was comparing a girl to an animal considered rude?
I'd meant it as a compliment, but their responses left me awkwardly embarrassed.
I slipped on the bear headband and offered a quiet apology.
"I was just trying to compliment you. Sorry if it made you feel bad."
"Huh? No... it didn't feel bad or anything..."
"Same..."
Isabella and Seo I-eung fidgeted restlessly, avoiding my eyes.
The longer I looked, the weirder they seemed.
Had they eaten something strange?
While I was still puzzling over it, Isabella cleared her throat and tugged on my arm.
"A-anyway! Let's just hurry up and take the picture!"
As expected, understanding the creature known as "girl" was still hard for me.
The photo developed right away.
I slowly studied the print Seo I-eung handed me.
In the center, me wearing the bear headband with a blank expression. On the right, Isabella striking all sorts of poses with a bright, sunny smile. On the left, Seo I-eung standing stiffly and staring straight ahead.
Thanks to me and Seo I-eung, the whole thing felt a little awkward—but I still liked the photo.
It turned out well.
A satisfied smile rose on its own.
I even felt the hollow pit that had been gaping open in my chest fill in just a little. Across both my past life and this one, this was the first time I'd ever taken a picture with friends.
"It came out pretty nice! Heehee."
Isabella grinned goofily at the photo, while
"I have to keep it safe so I don't lose it..."
Seo I-eung carefully, almost tenderly, slipped the photo into her wallet as if she were handling a baby.
They seemed satisfied with it too.
I also tucked the photo carefully into my pocket.
So I would never lose the first photo I'd ever taken with friends.
Our next stop was the movie theater.
Isabella wanted a romance film.
Unfortunately, neither Seo I-eung nor I preferred romance.
So by majority vote, the romance film was out.
Seo I-eung and I ignored Isabella's dejected face and booked tickets for a noir movie instead.
The one we chose was the newly released Crime Universe 4.
After we entered the theater and spent two solid hours watching, we finally came out.
"Wow. That movie was seriously fun."
The gloom on Isabella's face had brightened again.
I'd felt a little bad for not watching the romance she wanted, so I was relieved.
After that we barely stopped moving.
We tried the claw machines.
Stopped by the shooting range.
Played a bit at the arcade.
Ate snacks at a traditional market.
Even bought crepes from a street stall and tried them.
Bowled a few games and casually enjoyed some beer...
Before we knew it, the sun had set.
Before we parted ways, we made one last stop at a "mood café."
It was my first time at a place like that, and to be honest, my review was not great.
Being located in what looked like a construction site was weird enough.
The crumbling outer walls were weird too.
On top of that, they used bricks in place of chairs and tables, and the hygiene didn't look especially good either.
I looked around the café and lowered my voice.
"No matter how you look at it, this place seems like a half-finished building..."
"You just don't get it. Interiors like this are trendy right now."
Isabella answered.
It didn't feel like they'd actually designed an interior so much as slapped a sign on an abandoned building, but...
It was clearly popular. Young people were packed in tightly.
I don't get it. Is this what they call "mood"?
Well, if the kids liked it, that was enough.
Isabella and Seo I-eung both wore happy expressions, so they seemed to be enjoying the place.
Anyway.
I'd been quietly worried I might fail to enjoy the day properly and ruin the atmosphere, but everything had gone fine without any problems. I was glad.
I was thinking what a truly fulfilling day it had been when—
"I-eung, we should give it to him soon."
"Already? Wouldn't it be better when we say goodbye later?"
Seo I-eung and Isabella, still sipping their coffee, whispered between themselves.
They glanced at me, then started pulling something out of their bags.
Boxes wrapped in striped paper.
"Kang Hahwi. Take this."
"This too."
Isabella and Seo I-eung held the boxes out to me.
I stared at them in silence for a moment.
Were these... birthday presents?
I hadn't expected to receive gifts at all.
When I looked up at them, Isabella flashed her white teeth in a bright smile.
"Happy birthday."
"Congrats. My arms are getting tired, so hurry up and take it."
Seo I-eung avoided my eyes and shook the box with a deliberately indifferent look.
"Uh... thanks..."
Still half-dazed, I accepted the boxes.
"Can I open them now?"
I asked just in case as I ran my hands over them.
Maybe proper manners meant waiting until I got home.
Not that I'd ever received a real birthday present before, so how would I know?
In my past life, the only "birthday gift" I'd ever gotten was a box full of disgusting bugs.
"Doesn't matter. Open them now if you want."
With Seo I-eung's permission, I nodded and immediately tore into the wrapping.
Inside the box Seo I-eung had given me was...
"A bracelet?"
"Yeah. It's a bracelet with magic enchanted on it."
"Magic enchanted on it? Isn't that expensive?"
"Don't worry about the price."
Even at a glance it looked expensive.
I didn't know much about these things, but it had to cost at least several hundred thousand won.
Something like this felt burdensome.
Normally I would have refused, but this was a birthday gift, so I decided to accept it with good grace.
"Thanks. I'll take good care of it. What kind of magic is on it, though?"
"Protection magic and location-tracking magic."
"Location-tracking magic...?"
"Yeah. If you end up in danger, it sends your real-time location to the police."
Ah. So that was it.
They'd given me this because they were worried about my safety.
I fastened the gifted bracelet around my left wrist, then opened the wrapping on Isabella's gift.
Inside was a small pouch that looked like a cloth bundle.
Was this a lucky pouch?
While I was wondering, Isabella explained.
"That's a charm pouch. I put all kinds of talismans inside."
"Did you make it yourself?"
"Yeah. I think sincerity matters more than anything with gifts. It's definitely not because I was too broke to buy something."
So that was what she'd been making little by little during free periods.
I tightly gripped the charm pouch she'd given me and offered my thanks.
"...Thank you. I'll always keep it with me."
And then, belatedly, a warm lump rose in my chest.
After Santoto and Suptoto, now Seo I-eung and Isabella too.
The fact that other people had taken an interest in me and remembered my birthday still didn't feel real. Their kindness felt like insecticide spraying the trauma-bugs that had been gnawing at my heart all this time.
Today truly was a happy day I would never forget for the rest of my life.
After parting with Seo I-eung and Isabella, I returned to the studio apartment building where I currently lived.
"You're back late."
Cha Seolyu, sitting on the outdoor wooden platform, greeted me.
For once she didn't seem to be drinking today.
Only soda cans were piled up on the platform.
And there was also a cake box.
"Here. Take this. Today's your birthday, right?"
As if she'd been waiting, Cha Seolyu handed me the box.
I'd wondered why she was sitting out here without drinking—had she been waiting this whole time just to give me this?
Apparently she had known today was my birthday too.
"Thank you. But how did you know it was my birthday?"
"I remembered from when you showed me your ID while signing the lease... Ah, no. Santoto and Suptoto brought me side dishes yesterday and mentioned it."
So the rabbits had brought side dishes to Cha Seolyu as well.
Seeing them take care of their former student like that, they really were warm-hearted rabbits.
"I'll go inside and eat the cake right away. Thank you so much."
"You don't have to eat it right this second. Just have a slice whenever you feel like a snack."
I sat down on the edge of the platform.
I figured I should keep her company for a little while.
I couldn't just take the gift and rudely head straight inside.
"By the way, Hahwi, you've gotten a lot better at talking. Is it because you've been going to the Academy?"
"Ah. I've been practicing talking with girls a bit."
"With your classmates?"
"No. With a game friend."
After chatting with Cha Seolyu about this and that for more than ten minutes, I finally stood up to head inside.
"Well then, I'll go in now."
"Sure. Get some good rest."
I finished saying goodbye to Cha Seolyu and was just stepping into the building when—
"......"
My eyes met those of a woman crouched on the stairs, leaning against the wall.
It was the woman from room 303.
What?
Why was she here?
Had she been hiding here eavesdropping on our conversation?
Before the question could even fully form,
the woman from 303 yanked her hat down low, sprang to her feet, and scrambled up the stairs in a rush.