[ System ]
[?. Water]
This quest’s name was a little different. Where quests usually displayed the name of the capture target being pursued written in Roman numerals, this one showed “?” — because there were two or more targets involved.
[ System ]
[As practice wraps up and the club members trickle back to the bench one by one, I’m handing out the water and towels I’d prepared, going down the line — when Woosu comes closer and reaches his hand out to me.
“Yura, can I have some wat—”
“Here.”
I’m about to hand the water to Woosu when Bohyeon shoves him aside, steps in front of me, and holds out his hand for the water bottle I’m holding. With Woosu glaring daggers at him from behind, I hesitate — worried that handing it to Bohyeon first might set off a fight.]
[ System ]
[Answer.
- “Here.” Hand the water bottle to Bohyeon first.
- “Hold on. Woosu was here first.” Hand the water bottle to Woosu.]
It would set off a fight, just as Lee Yura feared — but that was exactly what he wanted.
[ System ]
[“Here.”
Bohyeon wasn’t budging, so I had no choice but to hand it to him first. He cracked it open and downed it in one go, then held out his hand for a towel like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Towel.”
“Already have one ready.”
After a match: hand over the water bottle. Once it’s empty: hand over the towel. It might not seem like much, but this has been the long-standing rule between Bohyeon and me — going on ten years now.
“Hey. I was here first.”
“So what. Take this if you want something.”
Bohyeon held out the empty bottle, and Woosu made a move as if he was about to snap. It looked like a fight was about to break out, so I quickly stepped between them — and thankfully, Woosu’s anger died down fast. These two had been in the soccer club together for a whole year, you’d think they’d be close by now, but who knows how long they plan to keep this up.]
[ System ]
[Quest Complete!]
[Han Bohyeon’s affection toward Lee Yura has increased by 6%.]
[♡51%]
[Lee Yura’s affection toward Han Bohyeon has increased by 2%.]
[♡36%]
Since he’d always been picking the choices that raised affection, Han Bohyeon’s numbers were running well ahead of everyone else. Choi Woosu’s, on the other hand, had been steadily tanking.
[ System ]
[Choi Woosu’s affection toward Lee Yura has decreased by 2%.]
[♡20%]
[Lee Yura’s affection toward Choi Woosu has decreased by 2%.]
[♡8%]
Both the affection Lee Yura had started with at 23% and the affection Choi Woosu had started with at 10% had dropped noticeably below where they’d begun. The two of them looked awkward with each other even from a distance, and he was starting to wonder whether he should stop letting those numbers slide. As much as he disliked Choi Woosu, opportunities in this world were limited. Having a backup plan never hurt.
“……Why am I drooling like an idiot.”
At some point Han Bohyeon had taken his top off and was walking toward the faucet. His build was solid enough that it was hard to believe he was a high schooler. He caught himself with his mouth hanging open, slapped both cheeks to snap out of it, and pulled himself together. Drooling over a guy. I’ve lost my mind, actually lost my mind.
Han Bohyeon had gone at the faucet so aggressively — somewhere between washing his face and an impromptu shower — that his entire upper body was soaked, and he was now drying off with the towel Lee Yura had handed him. Choi Woosu was at the far end, and while he hadn’t taken his shirt off, he rinsed his face and lightly wet his hair.
When they both lifted their heads after toweling off their faces at the same time, sparks flew between them. The spark CG that only he, as a player, could see was blinding even from the third floor — if this had been a classroom instead of a faucet area, the sheer intensity of it might have set every book ablaze and turned the room into an inferno in seconds.
“How am I supposed to survive a whole year with those two? This is torture, actual torture.”
He clicked his tongue at the two of them, busy with their love feud, and finally headed back to the classroom.
“Inho, want to go to a café?”
“A café? What café?”
“You know, that one we used to go to sometimes. Your mom liked the cake there.”
“Oh, that place. ……You want to go there again?”
“Yeah. Why? You don’t want to?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just — we went there every time we met during spring break. Aren’t you getting tired of it?”
Did we really go that often? Thinking back on it, it wasn’t just during break — even after the semester started, they’d gone at least two or three times a week, so yes, that counted as often. But it couldn’t be helped, since the bakery café was the only place he could see Go Jin.
It wasn’t for some absurd reason like a crush. It was to get accustomed to this world, partly as a walk, and partly to catch a glimpse of the elusive Go Jin — someone he couldn’t see at school.
On top of that, Go Jin hadn’t made his official appearance yet, so unlike the other capture targets, there were no quests to open with him. That made it low-pressure, and he’d been going there as his own little sanctuary — but Yang Inho, who didn’t know the reason, could understandably be getting tired of it.
“Sorry. Let’s go somewhere else today.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind the place itself — I just don’t really want to spend my own money there, honestly.”
“Because it’s expensive?”
“Yeah. Without my parents’ card, not really worth it. The price of one coffee there could get me a few hours at a PC bang.”
Yang Inho counted the hours on his fingers — one hour, two hours — and he found himself nodding along. The prices at that café were pointlessly steep: even the coffee cost more than at a major chain, and the cakes went without saying. It was definitely a lot to spend as a student on a regular basis. He felt a belated wave of gratitude toward Yang Inho for never saying anything and just going along all this time.
“What’s gotten into you, all of a sudden?”
“You’ll pay for me, right?”
“……What?”
“If you pay, I might come with you.”
“Honestly.”
A hand suddenly slid along his side, and he turned to find Yang Inho linking arms with him and propping his chin on his shoulder, putting on airs with a cute little pout. He’d just said it himself — the place was expensive — and yet here he was, asking a fellow student to pay for him. Whether the guy had a conscience or not was genuinely unclear.
But then again, thinking about it — every time, he’d been the one to suggest going, and he’d never once paid for Yang Inho, not even for the cheaper items on the menu. Yang Inho probably hadn’t particularly wanted to be there, but had tagged along every time because he asked, and must have spent a fair amount without meaning to. Maybe treating him once wasn’t just fine — it was the right thing to do.
Right, let’s do it. Steeling himself to treat Yang Inho, he unlinked his arm and reached into his pocket to check his bank balance.
But there was nothing there.
“……It’s not here.”
“What’s not there?”
“My phone……”
He patted down his padded jacket pocket, checked his jacket and the back pockets of his pants, then opened his bag and unzipped every single zipper — only textbooks and stationery. No phone. He looked up, hollow and dazed.
Since this world was modeled after present-day Korea, more people used mobile payment apps than carried cash or cards — and he was one of them.
If there was food at home he could wait until tomorrow and look for it at school, but he needed to pick up groceries for dinner tonight, so the phone was urgent.
Betrayed by the phone he’d counted on, he made a mental note to keep his card in his bag from now on, just in case.
“Don’t look like your whole world just ended. Think. Did you leave it in the classroom?”
“It’s probably in my desk drawer. I’ve been keeping it in there because having it in my pocket is uncomfortable — I put it in and just never took it out.”
“Good grief, nice move.”
He said it was in the drawer, but whether it was actually there was anyone’s guess. When his face fell with worry, Yang Inho patted him on the shoulder. The offer to come with him was appreciated, but it felt like a bother, so he declined. He headed back to school, leaving Yang Inho behind with a request to message him as soon as the phone turned up.
