LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 8
Chapter 8: This Woman Isn’t Going Back Now
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“Huh?”
Even after the long loading time, Park Da-Hye couldn’t accept the truth.
“I’m telling you, I’m KwonSungHyeonFighter. How long are you going to take to figure it out?”
“Lies.”
“Really.”
“Big fat lies.”
“I swear on the guild master. If I’m lying, may his penis fall off.”
It might sound vulgar, but it’s our guild’s truth oath.
Saying that means it’s absolutely true.
Anyone who breaks it gets kicked out of the guild.
The guild master never agreed to it, but that’s the rule we established.
There’s no more convincing statement than that.
As expected, she finally reacted.
“Ah… you… you’re really Sung-Hyeon?”
**
“Wow.”
“That’s the tenth time you’ve said that.”
“Wow.”
“Eleventh.”
“Wow.”
“Stop it!”
After eating meat until our stomachs were about to burst, crying a river, and laughing…
Park Da-Hye seemed to have short-circuited after expending so much energy.
She’d been saying “Wow” repeatedly.
Ah, she’s rebooting.
“But… how can you be the assistant manager? Did you come here knowing it was me? Or were you messing with me from the beginning?”
“I just came here for work, saw the figure in your room, and realized. I didn’t know either.”
“So… the company I sent my illustrations to happened to be your company, and you happened to be in charge of it, so you came to meet me, and you happened to enter my room and recognize me?”
“Precisely. I take back the ‘clueless’ comment.”
“Does this even make sense? How many game companies are there in Korea?”
“About one in 2 billion? If we’re talking probability.”
“It’s fate.”
“It’s a goddamn bug.”
“A goddamn bug.”
A goddamn bug, right. There’s no other explanation.
Park Da-Hye muttered “goddamn bug” and “fate” alternately for a while, then gave up trying to understand and started staring at me intently.
The special effects are amazing again.
Her eyes, red from crying, now looked like she was wearing eyeliner.
At this point, it’s not just pretty, it’s a skill.
Those magically beautiful eyes…
Were now looking only at me.
It was overwhelming.
“Stop staring. I feel bad about deceiving you too. No, let me say it properly, I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“I should have told you as soon as I realized.”
“Sung-Hyeon.”
“Yeah.”
“Forget the apology.”
“Yeah.”
“Buy me drinks.”
Huh?
I just tricked you and eavesdropped on your thoughts, and you’re not mad?
I was at least expecting a slap.
Instead of a slap, a bright smile bloomed on her previously dazed face.
Her white teeth showed as her mouth stretched from ear to ear, her eyes crinkling into crescents.
If a flower took human form, it would probably look like this.
A smile she never showed me when I was Assistant Manager Kwon struck my heart.
Ugh…!
This is… a fatal blow. Get a grip.
She’s a woman.
I pulled myself together and looked again, and beneath that flower-like smile, a hand was extended.
Park Da-Hye’s hand, holding her smartphone.
“What is it?”
“Read it. I wrote it down.”
I took the phone and checked the contents.
[Beer x32, Beef x12, Chicken x82, Beer x11, Soju x14…]
“What is this?”
“The things you promised to buy me. I’ll just take the drinks today.”
Did you really write all of this down?
Right, I did promise.
Since I never meet offline.
Whenever the guild members suggested hanging out, I’d tease them, bragging about buying them this and that.
Since I’d never actually have to buy them anything. Have fun hanging out without me.
Ah, come to think of it, there was that time too.
[Me: Holy shit! We actually won! We made it to the finals!! PokDaughter!! You did it!!]
[KimPokDaughter: Whoa… awesome. Crazy! We actually won!!! Sung-Hyeon ㅠㅠㅠㅠ We’re getting figures!!!]
[Me: I’m dead. Drinks are on me tonight. Whatever you want, just name it. I’ll buy it!!]
[KimPokDaughter: Huh? You mean meet up outside? Really?]
[Me: Nope, it’s dangerous outside the blanket.]
[KimPokDaughter: -_- You’re lying even now.]
[Me: lolololololol If you’re so upset, write it down. If we happen to meet on the street, I’ll buy you everything lolololol]
Ah, right.
The karmic retribution of Kwon Sung-Hyeon.
You’ve done it again.
Well, it’s natural to pay the price when you get caught lying, but right now, I can laugh.
Just the fact that you’re drinking with me instead of going back to your residence…
Makes me happy.
I’m relieved that you’re with me.
“Fine! It’s on me! Let’s drink till we drop!”
“That’s the KwonSungHyeonFighter I know! Let’s go!!”
“Let’s go!!”
We yelled “Let’s go!” like elementary school kids meeting on the playground and headed to a bar.
I still wasn’t sure.
If this was the right thing to do. Or just meddlesome and immature.
If I was making Park Da-Hye miserable out of misplaced pity I couldn’t be responsible for.
But today…
I just want to do this without thinking.
You’ll eventually return to that place and start your arduous gold farming again.
PokDaughter.
At least for today…
Smile for me.
**
*Is this all I remember?*
No matter how hard I racked my brain, this was all I could clearly recall.
I’m really weak with alcohol.
I could see blurry images in the fading film of my memory…
First, we left the barbecue restaurant and went to a nearby pub.
We drank there until closing time… and then…
We went to some random open place and drank until 2 a.m.
We probably only talked about games.
Whatever we talked about, it was so much fun that we lost track of time.
And then we said goodbye at the door.
I waved until she was as small as my finger.
Park Da-Hye did the same.
She kept waving, precariously walking backward.
And finally, I saw her turn around.
As I watched her disappear into the building…
I ran after her and grabbed her hand.
“Don’t go. Stay at my place tonight.”
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Damn you, dark past!
What am I doing with a kid!
I wanted to grab my hair and bang my head on the floor, but then I heard a sweet voice from behind.
“Sung-Hyeon, what are you doing? Is your mouth burning?”
“It is.”
“Go rinse it quickly. You’ll get a sore.”
“Okay.”
Sigh. Even if I’m pissed, I have to finish brushing my teeth.
It burns.
The toothpaste burns.
No, the idiotic memories of yesterday burn.
This is the result of acting on impulse while drunk.
Bringing a girl I just met yesterday to my place.
And not only that, letting her sleep over while I have no memory of it.
*Aaaaaaaaaaah!! You idiot!! Today’s karma!!! Will come back to bite you someday!!!*
I finished brushing my teeth furiously, grimacing at my reflection in the mirror.
Then I went out and drank some water.
Water given to me by the prettiest girl in the world.
“Thanks.”
“Hehehe. You look pretty after washing up.”
“I’m twenty-nine years old.”
“Still pretty is pretty.”
No, you’re the pretty one.
I’m not pretty at all. Just an old fart, shamelessly.
But…
Having someone take care of me in the morning isn’t so bad.
Unlike my confused self, Park Da-Hye’s face wore a happy smile.
Well, she did nothing wrong.
From Park Da-Hye’s perspective, she just had a delicious meal and slept in a clean house.
Same goes for today.
She’s just visiting a friend she’s played with for eight years, excited to have fun.
We always played games together for over ten hours on weekends.
Today might be a repeat of those days.
Right, so this guilt only exists in my mind.
Let’s forget about yesterday.
Right now, it’s just an old friend visiting my place.
Thinking that way, it couldn’t be better!
If…
I didn’t do anything stupid during the blackout.
Let’s just confirm that and forget everything.
I forced a smile and asked,
“Da-Hye, how was yesterday? Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah! I slept really well. The bed was warm, and maybe it was the scent of the candle? I slept like a log. Did you sleep well, Sung-Hyeon?”
Did *I* sleep well? Me, with max-level insomnia?
But… come to think of it, my body feels incredibly light.
“Huh? How long did I sleep?”
“You fell asleep at 4 a.m. and slept until now.”
I looked at the clock; it was 11 a.m.
I don’t know how long it’s been since I woke up at this hour.
I always woke up in the middle of the night, or on weekends, I’d finally fall asleep around this time.
“Whoa. I slept for seven hours?”
“Why?”
“I have insomnia, so I usually only sleep for four hours at most.”
“You have insomnia… You fell asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow yesterday.”
“Really? That’s strange.”
Huh?
Wait a minute.
I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow?
Me?
No, more importantly…
How do *you* know that?
I woke up in my bed this morning.
But how does she know when I fell asleep?
Did she wait until I fell asleep before going to bed herself?
No, but… she mentioned the scent of the candle? The candle is only in my room.
A sense of unease washed over me.
“Da-Hye.”
“Yeah!”
“Where did you sleep yesterday?”
“In the bed?”
“The bed in the small room?”
“I don’t know? Was there another bed?”
“You don’t mean… the bed in *my* room, do you?”
“That’s right. We slept together yesterday.”
Time out.
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m telling the truth. I’ve never lied to you.”
“Why did you sleep there?”
“Because you told me to!”
“That’s impossible.”
“Sigh, I’m telling the truth. It’s a good thing I took a picture.”
Park Da-Hye scampered to my room and returned with her phone.
Why is your phone in there? This is not good.
Then, with a bright smile, she showed me a picture.
“Look at this.”
It was a picture…
Of us lying in bed together.
First, I saw my face.
Fast asleep, my face buried in Park Da-Hye’s back.
And in front of me, Park Da-Hye was smiling at the camera.
Making a V-sign with one hand.
But… my eyes must be playing tricks on me today.
Park Da-Hye only has two hands.
One hand is holding the camera, the other is making a V-sign, so…
Whose two hands are those on Park Da-Hye’s chest?
Ah, are those mine?
I want to die.
Someone stab me in the stomach.
* * *
—–CROW—–
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