111 – Daily Life (2)
Baek So-ah’s father.
And the man who leads the Explorers’ Association.
The president of the association is called the strongest explorer in Korea, and instructor Tak Jae-hwan is also a talented person.
I was sitting across from a table with such a man.
The table was small and simple, in contrast to the spacious mansion, so the distance was close.
‘Baek So-ah asked me to eat alone at his house…’
I never imagined that I would have dinner with the president of the association.
“······.”
“······.”
After we first exchanged brief greetings, there was only enmity in the air.
Is it because of the awkward atmosphere?
For no reason the air felt heavy.
‘It’s more awkward because it’s quiet.’
It seems like the sound was muted only in this space.
I couldn’t even hear the sound of clinking dishes that is commonly heard at a meal.
‘Why don’t you eat it?’
Korea is a country of courtesy in the East.
It is against etiquette to start eating before the elder takes the spoon first. At least that’s what my common sense told me.
However, the president of the association did nothing but put his hands on the table and remained motionless.
What is it?
Let’s eat together?
I have to eat first so I can eat…
This uncomfortable situation lasted for over a minute.
Baek So-ah, who was looking back and forth between me and the president of the association, broke the silence and started eating.
“What are you arguing about now? “Don’t do weird things and eat quickly!”
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Then he pushed all the meat side dishes towards me.
The president of the association seemed to feel uncomfortable and cleared his throat and glared at me.
That’s how the uncomfortable sickness began.
***
I don’t know what I ate.
The rice did not go down properly due to the burdensome gaze of the president of the association.
I somehow managed to finish my meal and was about to end this uncomfortable situation.
“······Please take good care of my daughter. “She may seem immature on the outside, but when you get to know her, she is a deep and tender child, so I hope you can understand and embrace her with her big heart.”
The president of the association suddenly said something like that and left the room while clearing his throat.
I guess he wasn’t looking at me negatively.
She asks better than that…
I looked at Baek So-ah, wondering what this meant.
“Ah. Sorry. “First of all, I told you that I was in a romantic relationship with you.”
“Lovely relationship? “Why did you lie like that?”
“My dad has this strange idea that he shouldn’t talk to anyone unless he’s dating someone.”
Baek So-ah shook her head as if she could not understand her father and spoke again.
“I’m really sorry. “You didn’t feel bad, did you?”
“···It’s okay.”
Somehow, the gaze seemed unusual.
I was wondering why he was looking at me like I was going to kill him, and there was a good reason.
If your daughter brings in a guy who looks like a bastard, it’s okay to look down on him.
As she was sighing inside, Baek So-ah called me. The tone suddenly became more serious.
“Hyeonseong.”
“Huh?”
“······Speaking of which, do you just want to date?”
A sudden confession came to me.
I wasn’t embarrassed.
She already knew that Baek So-ah liked me.
I, who was looking at her blankly, answered firmly after her short silence.
“Sorry. “Your heart is feeling false right now, so I can’t accept it.”
This is a fact that even Baek So-ah knows.
The feelings I have for myself are false feelings that will soon disappear.
I guess the confession I just made wasn’t made with sincerity, but was just an expression of frustration due to feeling dizzy and confused.
Baek So-ah, probably expecting rejection, stood up with a bitter smile.
Then, avoiding my gaze, she stared into space and spoke.
“I still don’t know. Is it really true that my mind has been manipulated right now? I was thankful to Hyunseong that you jumped up and blocked the arrow, and I was also thankful that you stayed by my side without getting tired of my hot-tempered personality. And his face and personality were my ideal type… “Even though we’ve only known each other for a short period of time, isn’t it enough to fall in love with you?”
Even if I hadn’t been manipulated, I would have liked you.
It was Baek So-ah who added those words.
“You know. “If I confess again in three months, will you accept it?”
“If my mind doesn’t change then, I’ll think about it.”
“······Yes.”
Can this shaky relationship between us continue even after it comes to an end?
As the day approached, my anxiety doubled.
***
Early dawn.
I woke up to my phone constantly vibrating.
Looking at it, there was no phone call.
I was simply subjected to text terror.
“······Who is sending texts like this from this hour?”
I turned on my cell phone and checked the text message.
[Seo Hanbit]
-It’s morning! Wake up!
-An early bird! Catch me!
-Hyeonseong?
-Are you still sleeping?
-It’s rude to call so early in the day, so I’ll keep sending you texts!
-ㅇㄹㄴㄷㄴㅁㅇ
-ㄹㄴㅇㄹㅈ
-ㄹㄴ
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“The most serious thing is Seohanbit…”
I woke up feeling sore, immediately washed up and got ready to go out.
Today is a day that suits Seohanbit.
There is no separate schedule.
Maybe we should go for a walk all day?
When I opened the door and went outside, Seo Han-bit was waiting in the hallway.
“It’s late!”
“It’s 4 a.M. Now.”
“Our date starts today and it’s already been 4 hours!”
It seems that Seo Han-bit has been preparing since midnight.
People are becoming more and more strange…
Well, this too will be resolved to some extent over time.
“Today’s schedule is a sewer walk! “I’ve prepared a tour in advance, so just follow along!”
Seo Hanbit spoke as if she had prepared her course in advance and took the lead with her excited steps.
It was a course she didn’t really want to take, but since she didn’t have anywhere else to go, she decided to go along without saying anything.
***
The days with Seo Han-bit were usually difficult.
And today was the worst of all days.
I just walked aimlessly, smelling like sewage.
“How do you feel? “Wasn’t it fun?”
“Yes what… “The mice are so cute.”
“hehehe. Yes?”
I didn’t complain.
It seems like Seo Han-bit had a satisfying day.
I don’t know what the fun was about this, but it seemed like it was more about who I was with rather than where I was going.
“Today was fun! “I’m happy to be able to introduce you to my favorite trail route!”
Seo Hanbit waved her hand and entered her own room.
This is how the day with Seo Han-bit ended and the next day was spent with Cha Yu-ra.
She went to visit Cha Yu-ra’s father, Cha Byeong-ho, in the morning.
She visited occasionally to check on her father’s fate.
It was my first time following along.
“He’s not dead yet. “Do you think it’s a good place to live?”
“······.”
“If possible, I recommend that you commit suicide inside rather than going out into society. “There are a lot of people out there who have a grudge against you.”
Cha Yu-ra coldly said only what she had to say.
Now it seemed like there was no hatred left for his father.
“I know that because I won’t be coming anymore. “Well, sometimes I’ll give you some money for permanent restitution.”
Cha Yu-ra ended the visit without any regrets.
She came out and looked up at the sky with a bitter look on her face.
“I’m sorry, Hyunseong. “For having me follow you to a place like this.”
“It’s okay.”
She didn’t have any other plans after that, so she went to the beach and got some fresh air before returning.
This is how my day with Cha Yu-ra passed.
Ah. And she has never met me once in the middle for a reason.
Her emotional state was not normal because she had also received the author’s intervention.
I told Yuna Lee that it would be resolved over time, and she even added that it would be best for her not to approach me if possible.
He had a confused face, but there was no time to comfort him or pay attention to him.
She’s busy taking care of other acquaintances, so I can’t pay attention to her either.
After that, I never saw Lee Yu-na’s face.
The day after I met Cha Yu-ra, she was with instructor Tak Jae-hwan.
Kim Young-ji also joined us occasionally as a bonus.
Kim Young-ji did not receive any intervention from the writer, so she did not bother to meet on a separate day. Instead, she tended to intervene like this when she felt like it.
“Hmm? Kim Young-ji, why are you suddenly writing like that?”
“Ah. Instructor, would you like to see it too? Sleep.”
“The setting of the world that will be observed after the reversal… Women do not serve in the military, and only men have national defense duties. “What is this?”
“Future Bbbong told me to think about setting up a world to observe when I’m bored, so I was thinking about it, and a fun setting came to mind, so I wrote it down. “hehehe.”
“Didn’t the future iron rice bowl avoid contact with us?”
“Strangely enough, he only met me.”
“···I see. Anyway, this setting is difficult to understand. “If you put in the ridiculous setting that only women don’t go to the military that you wrote about, does that mean the common sense of that world will change like that?”
“They say so? “They say they don’t sense anything strange, as if it’s always been that way.”
Instructor Tak Jae-hwan and Kim Young-ji sat in a cafe and chatted.
I feel like they have become closer ever since Kim Young-ji taught instructor Tak Jae-hwan how to seduce instructor Han Yu-mi. Because thanks to Kim Young-ji, their relationship developed into a romantic relationship.
“But isn’t this setting too artificial? “If we don’t give legitimacy to the fact that only one gender doesn’t go, people will start to notice that the world is strange.”
“Umm. Wouldn’t it be okay to just say that women have less favorable physical conditions than men, so they won’t go? Good! “Replenish settings right away!”
“No, being a soldier isn’t just a job that requires physical exertion.”
“A. If you look at it in such detail, there is no end to it. “You won’t notice even if you set it roughly anyway.”
“······But why bother including such settings?”
“hehehe. Can we say that it is one of the cornerstones for promoting conflict between men and women? “Our world is a world that treats it as entertainment, but we can’t allow it to continue as usual.”
“···It’s an idea without a devil.”
“I told you that I was a devil in my past life, right?”
“It was like that… But can I also add just one setting?”
“What is it?”
“It would be nice to include a setting that Asian people’s penises are generally small. “I can’t be the only one who suffers.”
“Wow. “The instructor also has devilish ideas.”
“Well, I also have a devil’s job.”
The conversation between the two continued in the cafe until the sun went down.
The peaceful days of building memories continued like this, and before we knew it, six months had passed since the day Liberation was destroyed.
***
A guest came to Pasasak Mansion.
At first glance, it looks the same as an iron rice bowl.
If you look closely, she was a slightly different woman.
Her hair color was also completely black.
“Nice to meet you.”
She was an iron rice bowl from the future.
This is our first time meeting in person.
Because he didn’t even come to visit me, saying he didn’t deserve to see my face.
The future iron rice bowl looked at me vaguely for a while.
Then, perhaps remembering the purpose of her coming, she came to her senses and got to the point.
“I came here because preparations for the reversal are over.”