Chapter 22: Lee Mina-4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 22: Lee Mina-4
The week passed faster than I expected.
I was exhausted from trying to learn the ropes, and she was busy driving the other team members up the wall.
The team was struggling with the increased workload, evidenced by the fact that the percentage of people working overtime had spiked.
Perhaps out of a desperate desire to leave early on Friday, the team stayed late into Thursday night and got exactly what they wanted.
Once Mina confirmed the assigned tasks were done properly, she didn't particularly stop them from heading out early.
And so, Saturday arrived.
Her promise to come pick me up hadn't been an empty one.
I thought she’d be waiting at the entrance of the officetel.
I let out a hollow laugh when I saw her standing right up against my front door.
Seeing things like this made it sink in: She really is the obsessive type.
Still, this much was almost cute. It wasn't like she was trying to stab me or slip me some strange drug.
She could have just texted me to say she was outside or knocked on the door, but she was surprisingly hesitant in the strangest ways.
Since there was no movement for about ten minutes, I decided to make the first move.
"Have you been waiting long?"
I had dressed casually in jeans and a shirt before opening the door.
"No, I just got here."
Mina was wearing slacks and a blouse.
Instead of her usual stiff, black-on-black office look, she was dressed in something bright, like the coming of spring. She gave me a faint, beaming smile, like a spring flower.
"You look lovely today."
When I offered the compliment—a mix of seventy percent sincerity and thirty percent lip service—she gave a small, satisfied grin.
"Thank you. You always look so handsome, In-ho, that I hardly even noticed your clothes."
Exchanging pleasantries like a pair of close siblings, we headed toward the office.
Regrettably, neither of us had a car, so we took public transport back to the company.
Come to think of it, do I even have a driver's license in this world?
The office was empty on the weekend, and she became a passionate teacher, showing me the ropes.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened while I was learning.
—Can you give me the mouse for a second?
Aside from her leaning in close enough to brush against me.
—Well done. I guess your skills haven't gone anywhere.
Aside from her patting my head.
—You’ve been sitting for a while, haven't you?
Aside from her massaging my shoulders.
—Here.
Or the way she’d suddenly appear with coffee and press the cold cup against my cheek.
Setting her behavior aside, she explained the work so clearly that it was easy to follow. If things went well, I figured I’d be pulling nearly a full share of the workload by next week.
*
We fell into a rhythm of working, breaking for lunch, and then working again.
We lost track of time and almost missed our movie.
Since we didn't have a car, we scrambled to pack our things and sprinted to the theater.
Fortunately, we arrived just in time. We exchanged our tickets and went inside, each carrying a soda.
When I asked if she wanted popcorn, she said she didn't like it because it made her hands greasy.
Still, caramel popcorn is delicious.
"It's too late to buy any now, but you should try caramel popcorn sometime. It’s really good."
"Is it? But you don't really get a chance to eat popcorn unless you're at the theater, right?" she replied while looking for Row J.
"That's true."
"Then we'll have to come back. With you, In-ho."
She muttered that last part as she took her seat.
The movie started, and we focused on the screen in silence.
Every now and then, her fingers would brush against my hand on the armrest, but nothing more happened.
Only after the movie ended and the credits had finished rolling did she stand up.
"Wow, that was fun."
"I'm glad I picked a good one."
"Actually, it's been so long since I've been to a theater that I think I would have enjoyed anything."
When I asked, she told me it had been about four years since her last visit.
Well, she's clearly a workaholic... she probably spent every weekend at the office.
On our way out to get dinner, we headed toward the theater's arcade.
I had originally planned to go straight to dinner, but her eyes were glued to the arcade and wouldn't budge, so I tactfully changed our destination.
"This is my very first time in an arcade."
"Then I guess you don't know any of the games."
Hmm, what would be good?
"How about this? It's a co-op game. You use guns to take down zombies."
"Whoa! Guns!"
She gripped the heavy gun-shaped controller, aimed it at the screen a few times, and giggled.
What kind of life had she led to be seeing something like this for the first time?
"Alright, here we go."
I dropped the coins in and started the game.
The game began with a loud blast of sound.
Being well-versed in the language of games, I aimed steadily and popped zombie heads, but she was physically moving her whole body, trying to find cover and concealment.
The game wasn't even designed to track that kind of movement.
"Take that! Die!"
I thought about telling her, That's not how you play, but I decided against it when I saw how completely immersed she was.
Games are meant to be fun, after all. Who cares about the method?
Though, aside from her enjoyment, it’s a secret that she was a total noob and died almost immediately.
*
We went to a steakhouse.
Maybe it's because I lived like a total cheapskate in my original world, but I still feel pressured when a single meal costs more than 20,000 won.
Even now.
"Everything is so expensive," I muttered while looking at the menu.
Mina put her hands on her hips and tilted her head back confidently.
"Don't worry, In-ho. It's my treat today."
This was the polar opposite of her persona at the office. This side of her was a rare treasure.
We decided to order a variety of dishes to share and talked about the movie and the arcade.
"I really felt how much technology has advanced. How does pulling a trigger at a screen make the monsters inside get hit?"
"Well... it's complicated to explain..."
"I didn't do very well today so we couldn't clear the first stage, but let's set a date next time and beat it to the end."
"You might have to cancel your savings account to afford enough continues for that."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
While we were talking, the food arrived.
As the dishes were placed on the table, I reflexively leaned back. She looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, I thought you might want to take a photo."
If she wanted to take a picture of the food, I needed to stay out of the frame.
"A photo? Oh, of the food? I don't do that. I don't really have anywhere to post them. I've seen other employees do it, but I never really understood why."
She poked at the pasta with her fork.
"Well, it's a matter of perspective."
I sliced a piece of steak and placed it on her plate.
"A matter of perspective?" she asked, sliding the dish of pickles toward me.
"A photo of food doesn't have much meaning on its own, but it helps you recall the memories of that day. The photo acts as a trigger."
Nod, nod. Her head moved in agreement.
"They say people are surprisingly good at forgetting. It's not that they forget completely, but more like the memories are stored somewhere deep inside."
I took a sip of water and continued.
"When there's a medium, it revives those hidden memories."
"So this photo becomes the medium."
"Exactly. You forget the bad memories, and you recall the good ones while looking at the photos. So, wouldn't it be nice to take pictures of even the small, happy moments in your daily life for later?"
"That makes sense. Should I try it too?"
She picked up her phone and took photos of the half-eaten food.
Click.
Click.
After the shutter sounded a few times, she turned to me.
"Oh, could you show me how to use Instagram?"
"Sure, can I see your phone for a second?"
I took her phone, set up an account for her, and handed it back.
"You'll get the hang of it soon. Just start by posting simple things."
"Thank you. Oh, by the way, In-ho."
She called out to me while uploading the photo she just took.
"Yes?"
"You don't really do this stuff yourself, so how do you know so much about it?"
"That's because my friends do it."
"A girl?"
"What?"
She gave me a thin smile, her eyes boring into mine.
"Is it a girl?"
"Uh..."
"It's a girl."
I silently turned my attention back to the steak.