Joel was the one who made the burrito that almost killed me, but Joel was also the one who administered the EpiPen. If Joel’s cupboard hadn’t had an EpiPen at that time, I might have died.
I knew allergies were scary, but experiencing it firsthand gave me chills. Just eating a tiny bit of that herb made breathing that difficult. I almost died helplessly. Before even saving this world, just because I ate a burrito with cilantro.
Plus, he fixed my bike too, so I really need to repay this debt…….
“Ah, the bike.”
“What about the bike?”
“I left it at that friend’s house.”
“Ah, that friend who is absolutely not July’s boyfriend and has zero possibility of becoming one in the future? What was his name again?”
“I told you, it’s Joel, honey.”
“Right! Right! Joel, Joel Gomez! Hahaha, even his name is handsome!”
My parents and hyung made ‘Joel Gomez, who has a 0% convergence possibility of becoming July’s boyfriend but is extremely kind and handsome’ the topic of conversation at the dinner table.
The part about being ‘extremely kind’ bothered me quite a bit, but since I did owe him my life, I held back and just ate my meal. That day’s dinner was kimchi stew, rolled omelet, pork and egg soy sauce braised dish, and lettuce salad. Of course, none of them had cilantro.
* * *
Since I’d left both bikes at Joel’s house, I had to take the school bus. The time when you could catch the school bus was quite early, so I woke up earlier than usual and came out to the kitchen. Dad, who was sipping coffee, asked in a subtle voice.
“By any chance, isn’t that friend coming to pick you up?”
“……Dad.”
“No, no. Just wondering.”
Dad, who raised both hands in a surrender pose, was quite annoying. When I glared at him, Dad pretended not to notice and put sugar in his coffee. Then he got scolded by hyung. It meant he should watch his sugar intake since he’s getting older.
“July, aren’t you eating before you go?”
“I’m afraid I’ll be late. I’ll just go.”
“Then at least eat this!”
I caught the apple hyung threw while opening the door. Then “Oh.” came Dad and hyung’s exclamations of admiration.
“Our July, shouldn’t we get him into baseball starting now?”
“Isn’t it a bit late? But he has talent so maybe it’s okay?”
“What if he becomes a major leaguer?”
“Then he’ll be famous and people will recognize him everywhere……!”
“I’m leaving!”
I quickly cut off Dad and hyung’s fussing that had started in the morning and went outside the house.
“Seriously, they’re all doting fools.”
I grumbled but tried hard to suppress the corners of my mouth from rising. After hearing nothing but criticisms like “you’re lacking” and “you should be like your hyung,” and constant comparisons, I couldn’t help but feel good hearing words like that.
In the end, I couldn’t hold back and giggled, then crunch! took a bite of the apple. The apple, which looked as pretty as one Snow White would eat, was a bit mealy and sour. Still, it wasn’t bad, so I walked in the direction the system indicated while crunching on the apple.
Since there seemed to be no one else taking the school bus in this neighborhood besides me, I was the only one at the place I arrived.
“Is this right?”
Yes yes!
“Yeah, well…… Why would you be wrong?”
🙂
It smiles again because it’s happy. I laughed “hehe” once along with the system floating in the air, then waited for the bus. Tap, tap, tap. I was tapping the ground with the toe of my shoe when I saw a yellow bus coming from far away.
The bus driver looked unhappy for some reason, so I quietly got on and went to sit in the back. It smelled like sausage and mustard. I scrunched up my face thinking someone must have eaten a hot dog and just sniffed. I was moving to a seat with as little smell as possible when a girl who had gotten on the bus that had just stopped greeted me.
“July? Hi! We saw each other the other time!”
“……Oh, good morning.”
Who was this? I couldn’t quite remember the girl who was pushing up her glasses and waving her arms around. She had braces on her teeth…… ah, I remembered.
“Hi, Angela.”
It was Angela Fermi, who I’d seen at the party where Dave had left me the whole time. That girl who had been stuck in the closet struggling with hangers caught on her calves and arms. After greeting this girl, the nickname stat was unlocked. What was this girl’s nickname again? It was something really ruthless…….
“July, are you talking to an impersonator? If you do that, you’ll have bad luck from the morning!”
Right, the Harper impersonator with -61% popularity. I waved my hand toward the girl who was sneering with her arms crossed in the back. I’d greeted her once before for the quest to greet 100 people.
“We all go to the same school. It’s better if we get along.”
“Get along? No matter what, I hate someone who goes around impersonating others. It’s creepy and disgusting.”
Pfft! That girl who snorted sat in the front of the school bus with her friend. I scrunched my face, but Angela, the actual target of the criticism, seemed unfazed.
“July, can I sit there?”
“Ah, yeah.”
I nodded to Angela, who was pointing to the seat next to me. Angela pushed up her glasses again, then carefully sat down next to me.
“But July, if your name is July, you were born in July, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. July 24th.”
“Then you’re a Leo. I looked at the flow of the stars last night, and Leo’s fortune for today is pretty good. They said you’ll be able to form good connections……”
Angela spoke in a dreamy voice as if whispering while looking into the air. Does she like occult stuff or something? She’s completely different from Harper—I don’t know how she ended up impersonating that girl.
“I’m a Taurus and my luck isn’t good at all today. They said a big accident could happen, so I left my car and took the school bus. But then I met you! Come to think of it, it’s been so long! This is the first time I’m seeing someone I met at a party outside!”
“Ah, yeah. Right……”
Angela’s sparkling eyes felt burdensome, so I leaned back a bit. But whether Angela didn’t notice or not, she sat a little closer to me. Then her lips twitched before she slowly opened her mouth, and at that moment, soft music began to flow. I thought it was a song the bus driver played or someone’s ringtone. But it wasn’t.
― I always feel it, the flow of the stars. The stars go around us, around and around again. This gloomy and ominous morning, I woke to the cold dew and felt it. Misfortune and bad luck. ♪
NEW!
The ‘Musical’ keyword has been added!
Fuck!
Even when the melody gradually grew louder, I tried hard to deny it, saying it couldn’t be. But the moment the system window opened, I had no choice but to finally acknowledge it. That goddamn ‘Musical’ keyword had appeared again.
― The stars whispered to me, Angela. Angela. Your misfortune is foretold. Fate cannot be defied. ♪
I have no idea what the lyrics are about or what they’re trying to say. I couldn’t understand this situation at all where they go to the trouble of singing instead of just saying it briefly.
― Fate cannot be defied. ♪
The girl who had criticized Angela as an ‘impersonator’ and even her friend stood up from their seats and snap, snap snapped their fingers. At some point, the bus had stopped. The bus driver, who had definitely been in a bad mood, now had a bright face and was flying around doing turns in the bus aisle. His movements were light, not befitting that chubby build.
SYSTEM
NG in 5 seconds. 5, 4……!
I get it. I get it! I’ll do it! I also stood up from my seat staggering. Ah, I shouldn’t have taken the school bus. I should’ve just walked to school. I should’ve asked for a ride! It was too late for regrets.
― The stars’ whispers that continue every day. People say it’s worthless but I always listen. ♪
― Ooh, oooh. Always listening! ♪
I formed my lips into a circle and snap, snap snapped my fingers while adding the chorus. Angela, like Natalia had done before, sang while moving with flashy gestures like a protagonist. She nimbly jumped over bus seats and flew around. Her face was so happy, she was so excited.
Another boy grabbed the bus pole and spun quickly, even hanging upside down, doing pole dancing. No, it was closer to acrobatics. Do, do I have to do that too? I’ll sing obediently. But please, not the dancing……! Please! Even though I was pretty good at PE, I couldn’t dance! Even my parents, who taught me various things when I was young, failed at teaching me dance!
― Ooh, oooh. The stars’ whispers, whispers! ♪
― Ooh, oooh. The stars’ whispers, whispers! ♪
But the gazes of the people who had been singing in unison were now all directed at me. As if it was my turn. Those eyes gleamed like crazy people’s, shining brightly. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
While cursing like crazy inside, I tried to smile to avoid getting an NG and spun around in my seat. I did recall Kim Yuna’s double axel that I’d seen once, but unfortunately, I wasn’t Kim Yuna. I wasn’t even a player much worse than her. This was my best.
“……”
“……”
Everyone fell silent for a moment, seeming quite displeased. But since the melody didn’t stop, it wasn’t an NG. I followed the hand gestures of waving fingers around as if trying to express the sparkle of stars. Angela, sitting in the very back middle seat of the bus, sang the climax with her arms raised toward the sky.
― Everyone says I’m crazy, but actually I’m not crazy. Everything I know, that too is the truth. Telling the truth is always hard. But I will overcome it. ♪
Angela, who drew out the end of her words, reached out her arm looking forward.
― The truth only I know, that fact the stars told me. I know. I’m not crazy. Even if everyone criticizes me, I alone know…….♪
