A Peaceful Day (5)
A Peaceful Day (5)
Jong-su was getting along smoothly with everyone.
The moment he was away from me, he started chattering excitedly—should I say the whole class dynamic revolved around Jong-su?
Inside the classroom, regardless of gender, everyone treated him comfortably.
But was it because my presence was simply too big?
Everyone who noticed me dropped their real personalities and sat down with serious expressions.
The way they subtly adjusted their posture or settled into position—it was a little like the way Tae-oh used to act back when he was trying to seduce me.
The class rapidly fell silent, and Han Jong-su sat down beside me like he was being forced to even though he didn't want to.
This period turned out to be Art in Daily Life.
"Hello~"
""Hello!""
"This is why I like you kids who've given up on studying, you know? The vibe is different~"
Even though class had started, everyone was still chattering, and the teacher smiled and nodded.
Then she began taking attendance, and when my turn came, she called my name.
"Kim Si-yoon? A face I haven't seen before..."
The female teacher spotted me and couldn't finish her sentence.
She clearly knew who I was.
"Wow... the top-ranked student in the whole school is taking my class? So you're not studying?"
"Yep."
"Oh man~ The vice principal, who's been saying we've got plenty of kids to send to Hanguk University this year, is gonna have a terrible look on his face. Anyway, I'm a fan of yours?"
"Thank you~"
"At this rate, I might be the one who needs drawing lessons from you... Oh, right. I'm a close junior colleague of Go Min-su's."
I nodded at this unexpected connection.
The art teacher glanced at me a few more times, then continued taking attendance.
- Draw the person sitting next to you.
The art teacher wrote on the board, and we moved to rearrange the desks.
Jong-su even moved my desk for me.
In the end, Han Jong-su and I sat facing each other.
When I rested my chin on my hand and smiled, Han Jong-su pretended to stare straight at my face.
His eyes were so small they were barely visible, and they weren't actually focused on me.
"Try to draw me pretty."
Jong-su started drawing, glancing at me with lifeless eyes—
and honestly, his face was charmingly ugly.
I picked up a thick pen and drew that Jong-su in ten seconds flat.
"Heh. Damn, it's identical."
Yuk In-su looked flustered by the way I talked.
Then he checked my drawing and cackled.
I looked at the drawing Han Jong-su had done of me.
"Honestly, there's nowhere to pick on looks-wise, right? Even if you draw me roughly, I don't come out looking unlike myself or anything—just pretty, right?"
Han Jong-su drew pretty well.
I gave a short laugh and pulled two drawing pencils out of my bag.
And then I drew Han Jong-su properly.
""Whoa...""
A lot of people assumed my paintings only commanded high prices because of my fame, simply because my recent work hadn't been shown to the public.
Even though I made sure to send Farzier one every two weeks.
I presented the drawing of Han Jong-su, rendered like a photograph.
Even though it was only pencil, the students gaped at the business-card-sized drawing, which almost seemed colored.
The art teacher's reaction was no different; she stared at it for a long while, then took my drawing and hung it up on the board.
Hanging drawings on the board wasn't just for me—she put up pieces by all the students who'd drawn well.
It was just that mine was overwhelmingly better among them...
The difference between a pro and a kindergartner, maybe?
I gave the drawing to Han Jong-su as a gift.
Time passed, and we headed to a PC bang.
"What lane do you play?"
"ADC..."
"Oh... support is my main lane."
Han Jong-su, having learned firsthand what laning with me meant, started losing the color in his face.
"Wow... the other side is really good."
"? Are you saying that so I'll hear it?"
"..."
"Yikes... this is... a jungle diff..."
The enemy jungler hadn't shown up once, while ours had ganked us six times... this bastard really had a knack for twisting things around just to screw with me.
"It's a matchup diff..."
The enemy had first and second pick; Jong-su and I were fourth and fifth, so our comp couldn't have lost.
""...""
After three straight losses, In-su laughed and said,
"Wanna play Empurd? Ever tried it?"
"What kind of no-name game is that?"
Since it seemed like a game they enjoyed quite a bit, I quickly made an account and started thinking about a nickname.
"Hmm..."
In the end, I set my nickname to 'Prince Siyu' and logged into the game.
Empurd was a fighting game. It had made a name for itself when I was three years old, but now its popularity was gone; over the course of sixteen years, only the die-hard crowd remained.
I looked at my account with zero items and Han Jong-su's account.
This bastard—people said he was the richest kid in class besides me—was decked out in flashy accessories.
"Hey, switch seats with me."
"..."
Compared to Maple Leaf Game, it was probably chump change, but when I looked them up, these were Epic accessories that still cost a fair amount in real cash.
After playing for a bit, I found the game more fun than I'd expected.
Maybe because users made the skins themselves, it was full of obscure skins, and the fighting motions appealed to me more than I'd imagined.
Maybe because the player pool had been stagnant for sixteen years, everyone left was a hardened veteran, and every single one of them moved with ridiculous skill.
There were even skins modeled after my character from My Love Was a Gumiho 1 and 2—Han Jong-su owned two of those among his collection.
""......""
"If you like it, just say you like it. I was starting to misunderstand and think you were gay~"
"Are you insane...?"
As I started talking more openly with Han Jong-su and learning the game, I gradually began to feel hungry.
In-su and Jong-su must have felt the same, because they looked at me and spoke carefully.
"Ramyun... you want some?"
There's a misconception people have about me: they think I eat baguettes every morning and slice steak by candlelight every night.
The reality is me lying around watching Alien movies and licking yogurt lids.
"Are you buying?"
Han Jong-su nodded, and I pulled up the menu, gave it a once-over, and pressed order without hesitation.
I ordered yukgaejang ramyun, fried dumplings, french fries, and a cola.
"This game's worth playing. Hey, do you guys play Maple Leaf?"
Both shook their heads.
Now I'd have to show them the game I was best at...
They watched me, a rank-one player, check the damage numbers right in front of them and nodded.
Every time I pressed the attack key, the screen filled with numbers.
There were two more games where I'd shown more talent than anyone.
One was Tetris, and the other was rhythm games.
With my superhuman dynamic vision and sense of rhythm, I could casually score SSS rank even in a rhythm game I'd never played before.
While we'd been enjoying games for a while, Dad called.
"Hello."
-"Yeah, it's Dad. Are you eating before you come home?"
"Ah, my friend bought me food just now. They're new friends I made today—wanna say hi?"
-"Really? If they're my daughter's friends, Daddy is happy~"
I smoothly switched to a video call and handed the phone to Jong-su.
Han Jong-su looked burdened by my sudden move.
It was awkward to say it myself, but the reason he was flustered was that I was Kim Si-yoon—and my dad was Kim Ji-ho.
"Hello..."
Dad saw Jong-su's face and seemed to feel reassured.
-"Hello~ Please take good care of our Si-yoon~"
"Yes, sir! I'll do my best!"
-"Ahaha."
I introduced Yuk In-su to Dad as well, hung up, and we went back to our game.
"Ah... I've got a curfew."
"Yeah? Then head home first~"
I held out my Hanseong phone, the one I used often.
I got both their numbers, then called Jong-hyeon to come pick me up.
I chatted with Jong-hyeon on the way home, then arrived and punched in the door code.
And there was Dad, standing right in front of me.
"You're home!?"
"Why are you acting like that? Did you do something you shouldn't have?"
"...I'm acting like this because I'm happy to see you, you know?"
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Dad suspiciously.
"I came running out because I was happy to see my daughter—what's with the reaction?"
"Hmm..."
"Stop fooling around and come inside."
I kicked off my shoes roughly, and Dad scolded me to put them away properly.
I turned on the computer and downloaded that Empurd game.
If I could make my talent bloom, then once I started, I was supposed to see it through to the end...
One thing that startled me, though: the chat culture in this place was profoundly niche.
They kept cackling over inside jokes only they understood, and the chat reeked of musty old-timer energy.
Worse, there wasn't even a chat filter program, so they were practically throwing parent insults as a greeting—made me wonder if I should summon Park Ji-hoon here.
I'd smacked Park Ji-hoon upside the head after watching him spew parent insults at an opponent in front of me, but honestly, with the vile chat he writes, this game seemed to suit Park Ji-hoon.
'Information is a must before I jump into a game...'
I studied up quickly, then went straight to the cash shop and casually put in a hundred.
"♬~"
A game without gacha would be missing something.
Sure enough, Empurd had a gacha system too.
Not quite as bad as Maple Leaf, but the rates were lousier than I'd expected, so I started adding a little more money at a time, and eventually I'd dumped in nine hundred more.
"..."
I was slightly conscious of Dad's eyes on me, but it was fine. I had nothing to hide.
Since fighting games naturally have a practice mode, I practiced by myself until it was evening, then I went to my room and slept.
The next day, while eating breakfast, I made a group chat with Jong-su and In-su and was texting them.
"The new friends you made?"
"Yeah."
"You'd been seeming lonely lately... I'm glad."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you hated going to school—Dad was really worried."
I'd thought I hadn't let it show, but Dad had evidently noticed.
After turning nineteen, Da-yeon really was doing nothing but studying. Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon were also doing nothing but studying, aside from meals, sleep, and exercise.
Those two were studying with the goal of Hanguk University, but from what I could see, it seemed impossible even with that kind of effort.
Each of them had personal reasons for studying that hard.
For Park Ji-hoon, supercars and the bank account he managed himself.
For Kim Tae-oh, being treated as a genius in his family and becoming a proud little brother to his older brother Kim Tae-jun.
From my perspective, handing Park Ji-hoon the account he manages seemed like a bad move...
That bastard loves gambling; if the reins ever slipped, he'd go absolutely berserk.
Even when he was truly broke, Park Ji-hoon had no sense of money—what really gave me chills was that he even liked losing.
After blowing an entire house, he clicked his tongue and said "shame," and I'd seen with my own two eyes him doubling the bet on the next round along with the deed to the house he lived in.
If you put an account he controls into the hands of a Park Ji-hoon like that, I could see it plain as day: every single week he'd be raising hell demanding I pay him a salary.
I ate, lay down, and a text came from Jong-su.
(Jong-su) - PC bang?
(Me) - You think I can get all the way to school by myself? I'll send you the address—you guys come here.
(Jong-su) - You can't come by yourself?
(Me) - Yeah, to go that far I'd have to take security with me.
The HSW Team 7 types would tail me in secret either way once I went out, but if I went any real distance, Jong-hyeon had to stick right next to me.
(Jong-su) - ... Send the address.
I sent the address and told him to bring In-su too.
I undid my tied-up hair, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom.
"Going out somewhere?"
"The friends I met yesterday want to go to a PC bang."
I took a quick shower, then changed.
I put together a slightly loose, casual style, pulled a cap down low, and put on glasses with no lenses.
"Heading out~"
"Mask!"
At Dad's words, I took my personal mask out of the drawer.
"What else."
Even at my prickly question, Dad came all the way to the front door and smiled as he saw me off.
"Get home safe~"
"Got it~"
I strolled for about five minutes, enjoying the surroundings, then met up with Jong-su and In-su.
In-su waved when he saw me. Jong-su had his hands shoved in his pockets, staring at the sky and pretending to be indifferent.
"Hey~"
Today I got another look at Jong-su's face: darkish skin, small eyes, a face faintly resembling Yulgok Yi I—still ugly.
I'm not insulting Yulgok Yi I's appearance; it's just that Jong-su has a Joseon-era face in the twenty-first century.
I was in a good mood, so I dragged them to a noraebang.
"Hey, dance."
"... No."
He acted indifferent, but I'd known for certain from the first day I saw him.
This bastard was going to have a hard time hiding his inner showman.
To show them what pro-level singing sounded like, I sang "My Apples," which Jong-su had been obsessed with lately, and I could see his body twitching with the urge to move.
In the end, we danced like absolute degenerates, singing our heads off, and then stepped outside.
The two were taken aback by this side of me, but it'd be stranger for me to have no sense of fun with a superstar for a dad.
Jong-su, having seen a new side of me, smiled and asked,
"You know how to play pool a little?"
"No?"
The building with the noraebang also had a pool hall, so we headed there.
In an empty pool hall, we played pool.
"Hmm... this is tricky~"
"Your dad is super famous for being great at pool, isn't he?"
The only proof I'd ever seen of Dad's pool skills was JSM people talking him up on broadcasts.
Rumors just circulated that he was top of JSM.
How would I know if he was any good unless he'd actually played pool with me...?
"Hmm, I've never once seen him play pool in front of me."
"They say he's almost pro-level."
"Yeah? I should ask him to teach me sometime."
We sat down at a café and started chatting.
"So, what are you going to do after you graduate high school?"
"I'm gonna do quick delivery."
"...?"
For a direct heir of a family wealthier than most midsize companies, attending a prestigious high school, why the hell was he suddenly talking about delivery work...?
Jong-su sipped his americano with resolute eyes and said,
"Money's not short, and I want to ride a motorcycle. Two birds, one stone. I'll ride a motorcycle and do leisurely domestic travel."
"So you're a deadbeat?"
"...?"
"I can hear your parents' heads exploding from here."
"You crossing the line?"
"Just do a working holiday instead. Go work somewhere broke, where you can't understand a word—might actually learn how harsh the world is."
That advice genuinely came from my own past experience.
Back when I was a young mercenary, I couldn't understand the language, and whenever some big-nosed bastard in a suit seemed to be talking shit about me, I ended up trading punches with my team practically every day.
"Oh... I like that. I'll look into it."
Crazy bastard...
In-su thought about it seriously, then spoke.
"I've gotta study."
"...?"
What kind of creative bullshit was that...?
"I'll play while Jong-su's around, and once Jong-su leaves, that's when I'll seriously study."
"What a head case..."
"Didn't I say it at the start? If Jong-su's not here, I'm a guaranteed outcast."
Jong-su nudged In-su and said,
"Haven't I always said it? It has nothing to do with me, right?"
Suddenly Jong-su and In-su started cementing their bromance by themselves.
If Tae-oh and Ji-hoon had said that kind of thing in front of me, I'd have given them each a zap from the stun gun in my left hand.
"Hey, I'm cringing here—is it... because of the cheesecake?"
""...""
Han Jong-su looked at me, then opened his mouth.
"I really do think people wear all sorts of masks."
"What's that supposed to mean."
"Nobody in the world knows you've got this kind of personality, do they...?"
"And if they did, what about it?"
"... Good point."