âUgh, itâs summer!â
Lying on the sofa, watching Yu Arin flounder as if she was whining, I felt something rising in my chest.
How should I explain this? There are words that come to mind, but I didnât want to put them simply into words, and they felt somewhat weak to blurt out carelessly.
My entire life, Iâve never really thought my vocabulary was lacking.
But now, Iâm even feeling doubtful about my Korean language skills.
âI-I justâ¦â
âJust? Just just?â
As I stutter and stand awkwardly, Yu Arin giggles.
âMy body is hot.â
As I say this, Yu Arin lifts her top slightly while lying down.
Her pale, exposed belly button heats my already hot head even more.
âIs our Woojinâs body hot now? Are you getting excited seeing your noona like this?â
âCan I take a moment to sort out this feeling inside me?â
ââ¦Just a moment.â
As I tremble exaggeratedly and say that, Yu Arin seems flustered and sits down quietly on the sofa.
âY-youâre not excited, are you?â
âBe quiet! Iâm choosing my words!â
My head was hot as I urgently yelled back at Yu Arin. She starts to fidget with her clothes and becomes wary of me, but I take a deep breath and after much deliberation, I give up.
âWhat could be a harsher phrase than saying Iâll kill you.â
ââ¦â¦â
âWhat? Excited? I am excited. Iâm not sure what to think about but to kill you in a very cruel and painful way possible.â
ââ¦â¦â
âItâs such a shame that my vocabulary is lacking right now, so I canât think of anything worse than wanting to kill you.â
ââ¦â¦â
âIâve said the same thing to Seo Yerin before. Be thankful to your parents. If you hadnât learned Taekwondo when you were young, you would have died by my hands here.â
ââ¦Thank you, my parents.â
I canât understand how the anger can rise to the top of my head like this. Honestly, I could get over being tricked into coming here.
The moment she frivolously asked me to cook ramen for her, it felt like the tether of reason flew off somewhere.
Itâs like a primary school kid next to me challenging me with âYouâre such a loser, Iâm the boss of our class, letâs fightâ.
âAh, I didnât know you would get so angry like this.â
Yu Arin scratched her head and glanced at me as she spoke.
âDonât be angry, just go and make some Neoguri (instant ramen), but donât add an egg in, and make it chewy.â
ââ¦â¦â
âShould I tell you where the ramen is?â
âLetâs have one of us die today. Call the police now.â
Rolling my sleeves up and approaching, she bursts into laughter and immediately spreads her legs towards me.
âIâve been watching Brazilian Jiu-jitsu on YouTube recently? Fighting on the ground is advantageous for me, you know.â
It was a posture often seen in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, but seeing it in person felt slightly peculiarâ¦
âSure, whatever. Youâre done for, Yu Arin.â
As I charged at Yu Arin, she quickly wrapped her legs around my neck and grabbed one of my arms, entering an armbar. Iâm not familiar with the technical names of such moves, but hanging from my arm, her posture seemed rather accurate.
However, since it was my first time trying this out in a real fight, the technique doesnât fully apply on her. Yu Arin was light, and I am a robust young man, a month into home training.
âUraaah!â
I exert strength in my arms and lift Yu Arin, who was hanging on. Surprised, Yu Arin tightens her thighs around my arms, trying not to fall off me.
âWait, just a moment! Stop! Stop! Okay, I get it! Iâm sorry! Put me down!â
âShut up! You better be ready to fall and die like this.â
âHey! Brother! Master! Just a moment! This is really serious! Donât do it!â
âAre you going to cook ramen for me!?â
âIâll even add eggs and green onions for you!â
Although I wanted to slam her onto the floor, I decided to just throw her onto the couch since she said sheâd cook the ramen.
The couch is soft, so the moment I slammed her down.
âUgh!â
My strength drained from my waist, and I fell forward, collapsing on top of Yu Arin as well.
ââ¦â¦â
ââ¦â¦â
An awkward situation ensued.
Yu Arin, with her face turning red, looked up at me and then punched me in the ribs.
âOuch!â
âHow much porn have you watched to make a move like this?!â
âI feel so wronged for getting hit, and also wronged for being told to cook ramen at your house. Saying I made a move on you is truly the most unjust thing in the world!â
âShut up!â
Despite writhing in agony on the floor, Yu Arin stomped off to the kitchen, determined to have her say.
Thanks to that, I was finally left alone, so I quickly composed myself and began eating the ramen Yu Arin had cooked. In a typical romantic comedy, such a situation would lead to both parties being awkward and blushing, which is the classic development.
âLook at this girlâs chopstick skills. Do you realize you just took a whole packetâs worth with that one bite?â
âMaking a big deal out of nothing. Itâs ramen from my house and I cooked it. Why should I have to hear that from you?â
âTsk, you should at least be a proper host if you have someone over. Right now, youâre single-handedly ruining the image of your familyâ¦!â
âWhat, should I call Mom? Sheâs on a trip to Japan, but you want me to make her take a call now? Should I ask the boss to come out?â
âWhy bother parents who are enjoying their trip⦠Hey! Youâre taking all the egg yolks for yourself?!â
âI need to dissolve it in my soup!â
Without such innocence, we just ended up fighting over who could eat more ramen, and before we knew it, time had flown by.
After a hearty meal, finishing the dishes, and coming out to the living room, Yu Arin also put on her coat when she saw me do so.
âWhat, youâre coming out to see me off?â
I thought she realized I was about to leave and was seeing me off.
âWhat are you talking about. Iâm just going to the convenience store.â
âYeah, what was I expecting from you.â
I clicked my tongue as I stepped outside.
âHey, but what do we do about those kids posting weird stuff in the Bamboo Forest at dawn?â
âWhat is there to do about it. Just block them the next day. When such images are uploaded, guys will post asking why they havenât been deleted, right? Then just donât look and delete them. This is a pro tip.â
âOh, so I throw it to the guys to inform us and I donât have to see the disgusting images?â
âRight. Thatâs why sometimes I deliberately react late. The ones who saw the disgusting images first will freak out and ask why it hasnât been deleted.â
âSeriously a pro tip.â
Yu Arin nodded her head with her hands in her coat pockets. Feeling proud of teaching another thing today as an administrator, I shrugged, only for Yu Arin to immediately slap my shoulder down with her palm.
Before we knew it, we had arrived in front of a convenience store.
âWait a moment.â
Leaving me behind, Yu Arin entered the convenience store. After coming back out she produced a Chocomong and Hersheyâs Chocolate Milk.
âHere.â
But out of nowhere, sheâs handing me a Chocomong instead.
âWhatâs this? Thatâs mine.â
Pointing at the Hersheyâs, I ask, and Yu Arin lobs the Chocomong at my chest and quickly sticks a straw in the Hersheyâs to drink it.
âIâm craving this today.â
âWhat?â
âTry the Chocomong too. Itâs good.â
âSince youâre buying, Iâll enjoy it.â
Just as Iâm about to drink the Chocomong and leave, Yu Arin trotted along behind me.
ââ¦Where are you going?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
I wondered where she was off to again, but Yu Arin sidles up next to me and mutters.
âPC room.â
âWhy now?â
âArenât you going to do more of your assignment?â
ââ¦Thatâs true, I do need to do it.â
âLetâs go together. Iâm bored at home alone anyway. Iâve always wanted to try pulling an all-nighter at a PC room.â
Well, thereâs no need to send someone who followed me here away. And as I watched, just letting it be, Yu Arin frowned and pushed her Hersheyâs towards me.
âHey, this tastes bad. Letâs switch.â
âThatâs why I told you to just drink what you normally drink.â
âWe just need to switch the straws. Hurry up.â
Sighing, I handed over my Chocomong, and after swapping just the straws, we slurped our chocolate milk on our way to the PC cafe.
Wondering if Chan-woo might be working during our brief outing, I entered cautiously, almost tripping because I was pushed from behind.
âMy head almost cracked open because of you!â
âUgh, do you think Chan-woo would be here? Heâs fully booked from tomorrow, so do you think heâd come in tonight?â
ââ¦Itâs even more annoying because youâre right.â
I stepped inside and look around to find a spot again, having chosen to do so in order to make the most progress in editing while the fire is lit. But once Iâm at the PC cafe, I realized Iâd almost finished todayâs quota⦠Do I really need to redo it?
âMaybe I should watch some webtoons while Iâm here?â
âArenât you going to work on the assignment? Just find a seat already.â
âSigh.â
After letting out a deep sigh, I stretch my neck around. Once Iâve somewhat gathered my thoughts, I headed towards a corner seat.
âLooks like our spot is taken.â
In the spot where Yu Arin and I were, thereâs someone in a black hoodie with the hood up, even wearing a headset. Approaching quietly, it turned out to be Seo Yerin, her face completely covered.
âWhy is she here?â
âWhat, itâs Yerin?â
She seemed so engrossed in her game, headset on, not hearing us, her passion was evident.
Wondering how it was possible for us to pull a prank on her, Yu Arin quickly ran and covered Seo Yerinâs eyes from behind her chair.
âWho is it!â
âHuh? Uh?!â
Because of the headset, she couldnât hear anything, and suddenly she couldnât see, so the bewildered Seo Yerin desperately reached out with her hands towards her face, but I caught them midway.
âEek!?â
Seo Yerin made a strange noise. We giggle and enjoy watching her flounder in confusion. If there was one more person with us, we could have even taken a video.
âAh, part-timer! I, I canât seeâ¦!â
âGasp!â
Since I could suppress Seo Yerinâs strength with just one hand, I grabbed both her wrists with one hand and then clamped the other over her mouth.
Seo Yerin, her mouth covered, tried to break free by biting my hand.
âOuch! You got your saliva on me!â
Surprised, I pulled my hand away, and Seo Yerin shouted with a bright smile.
âAh, Woojin is delicious!â
ââ¦Woojin is delicious?â
Yu Arin looked at me as if asking what she meant, but I was at a loss for words and couldnât immediately respond.