Guess it. When I received such an insincere answer to a question I threw out of curiosity about Baek Sahyun’s true feelings, I lost energy.
If there was one thing I was most curious about lately, it was definitely Baek Sahyun’s emotions. Perhaps because our living environments were so different, I wanted to understand through conversation the psychology of this guy I couldn’t catch up with at all.
I had agreed to even give birth to a child, and although it was limited to 100 days, we had even become a dating couple, so I didn’t want to continue regarding him only as an unfathomable bastard.
But Baek Sahyun only urged me to hurry up and guess. Humming a tune cheerfully, he even counted down 3, 2, 1.
“…Just pretend you didn’t hear that.”
After answering roughly as irritation surged up, I leaned my head against the car window. Baek Sahyun kept muttering and talking to me, but I thoroughly ignored even that.
Perhaps having lost interest after all, he revealed his true intentions.
“As if you’d do anything with Chae Eunwoo. Jang Woohyun, I know you’re not that wild of a type.”
I slightly lifted my closed eyes.
“…You know?”
When I asked back, Baek Sahyun nodded his head. I thought maybe he was teasing me again, but the voice that followed was nothing but serious.
“You wouldn’t do such shameless things as fooling around with kids with no roots and coming back pregnant.”
“……”
“Hmm, no wait. Since Chae Eunwoo is an omega anyway, he can’t get you pregnant.”
It was a statement that made me feel like an idiot for listening seriously along with him. As expected, Baek Sahyun didn’t give a conventionally good-natured answer.
Since it wasn’t even worth responding to, I just kept my mouth shut, and a cold silence circulated inside the car. Since Baek Sahyun also wasn’t humming, the silence felt even greater.
Only after arriving at our destination did Baek Sahyun open his mouth again.
“We’ve arrived. This is our first date location, Woohyun-ah.”
After finishing parking, he personally unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned his face close. When our eyes met, he showed a sullen face. In that state, he began to fill the awkward gap.
“Sorry for always being distrustful. I think you must be quite upset because my personality is like this.”
Coincidentally, it was a tone that seemed to read my mood.
“I know that if I’m too suspicious, it only makes things hard for both of us, but even when I try to fix it, it doesn’t work well.”
“……”
“Perhaps…, it’s because I haven’t met trustworthy people in my life. It was always like that. People always had hidden true feelings toward me and tried to get something from me.”
“……”
“Maybe I want to be confirmed that you’re not that kind of person….”
At the same time, it seemed like he was appealing, pretending to be the protagonist of some tragic movie.
To be fair, it wasn’t wrong. Even if he couldn’t be the protagonist of a movie, he was the protagonist of a novel. Moreover, a protagonist with quite a tragic background at that.
But if he thought he could stimulate my sympathy, he was mistaken.
“Hey, fuck. Your mouth is twitching.”
I said while looking at Baek Sahyun’s mouth corners that were struggling to hold back laughter. Then Baek Sahyun let out a big breath with an “Ah,” and giggled.
“Caught?”
“Of course I caught you.”
Now I felt like I could distinguish to some extent between his false expressions and true expressions. That was actually very easy. If what appeared on his face was a human emotion, it was false, and if it was an inhuman emotion, it was true. In other words, Baek Sahyun was a bastard who could only show inhuman emotions.
Baek Sahyun, who came back with his inherent calm expression, continued with an absurd statement.
“It got boring, so let’s just enjoy our date.”
In the midst of this, perhaps he pressed the button to operate the window, as the passenger window slid down smoothly, revealing the surrounding scenery. I could face a white screen with the sunset behind it.
“This is….”
“Have you been here before?”
“No way.”
It was a drive-in movie theater. Surrounded by a river that began to shine, receiving the light of the screen.
As dusk fell, the brightness of the theater gradually increased. Moody lights brightened the surroundings, adding elegance to the view. I could see the faded-in white screen beginning to properly transmit images.
Suddenly, Baek Sahyun reclined my seat backward.
“I picked a movie I thought you’d like, Woohyun-ah.”
Along with a meaningful statement, the production company’s title floated up in the center of the screen. Baek Sahyun’s hand gently overlapped and held my hand.
“Ack! Why are you holding my hand?”
“Because we’re dating. Dating couples originally watch movies holding hands. Don’t like it?”
“Of course I don’t like….”
“Then endure it. If you want to maintain intact fingers for a long time.”
“…Okay.”
I don’t know if I can concentrate properly in this state. I hope it’s at least an action spectacle with fast scene changes….
I composed myself and focused on the screen. The movie unfolded at rapid speed.
[Easy Man, sorry but this is as far as you go. Our Bari Bari Corps created mass-produced robots modeled after your DNA! So your era will come to an end. The foolish masses no longer need a hero!]
[How unfortunate. Comrade. Have you forgotten the old days when we ran through the plains together nurturing our dreams!]
…It was an action spectacle as I had hoped. Except for the fact that it was an animation rated for ages 12 and up with a spandex-wearing hero as the protagonist.
I thought he would pick a work from among classic masterpieces or independent films, befitting a refined young master, but to think it was a typical shonen manga with 5-head-tall characters flying through the sky shooting beams.
“Is this even funny….”
Unlike me who kept snorting in the middle, Baek Sahyun was watching the movie with amazing concentration. Every time “Easy Man” shot a beam, vitality swirled in his jet-black eyes.
I think Jang Haesu used to enjoy watching similar cartoons too…, perhaps because I overlapped Jang Haesu, who used to stare blankly at the TV with a bib on, with him, I oddly burst out laughing a little.
I also erased random thoughts and started focusing on the movie. As I watched, it was a movie that wasn’t as boring as I thought. The development was refreshing, the quality of the action scenes was good, and the villain’s appearance was attractive too.
However….
[Comrade! Answer me! Your name is…, um….]
[My name is Pet. And how many times do I have to say it! I’m not your comrade!]
[No, why do you deny our old days. Jet!]
However, I oddly didn’t like the protagonist’s airhead quality.
[It’s Pet, Pet! And I really was never your comrade! Who are you confusing me with!]
[Kugh…, to pretend to be my comrade. Why do you do such cunning things!]
[I never pretended! It’s because you’re an idiot that you’re confused!]
Comedy codes like forgetting technique names during combat with the enemy or getting confused about the villain’s identity were inserted in every major scene. It seemed that a stupid but straightforward personality was “Easy Man’s” characteristic, but personally, it just felt absurd. If you’re a hero, you should know how to use your head.
“Ah, funny….”
However, unlike me who had grown cold, Baek Sahyun was chuckling while covering his mouth with the back of his hand. Every time Easy Man stumbled, his long eyes crinkled with a beaming smile.
For some reason, I felt very strange.
“He’s exactly like you. Woohyun-ah.”
“…Are you kidding?”
“Look. What he does is exactly the same as you.”
Baek Sahyun, who alternately pointed at the screen and me, burst into laughter. Coincidentally, a very bizarre development was unfolding where Easy Man pressed the wrong laboratory button and revived an enemy he had just defeated, so the absurdity was doubled. However, I couldn’t rebuke him when he was giggling as if happy.
I reflected on my misdeeds inwardly. It seemed right that I had acted like I had a screw loose. From now on, I should be more cautious in my actions….
While doing so, the movie had already reached its conclusion. All incidents were wrapped up anticlimactically, and a scene unfolded where Easy Man, who had returned to his hometown village, exchanged pleasantries with a character presumed to be the heroine.
[Easy Man. Good work today too.]
[Thank you so much!]
[Are you leaving again? If possible, your destination….]
[That’s right! I’m always so grateful that you pack me a lunch! Haha!]
It seemed Easy Man was unaware of the heroine character’s passionate courtship. Well, a heroine character who had a one-sided love for a fool hero with zero sense was an indispensable element in shonen manga.
[I’m thinking of going on patrol outside the planet for a while! So rather than Miss Cherry worrying about my lunch, wouldn’t it be better for you to find a spouse as soon as possible?]
[…Okay, Easy Man.]
Cherry made a gloomy expression at the words to find a spouse, then immediately showed a smile when Easy Man turned around. A teardrop she couldn’t hide fell to the ground, but at that moment, Easy Man happened to be looking at a crawling ant. Cherry just smiled at the frustrating line, ‘Hmm, is it raining? What’s this water from the sky?’
Then, even though I didn’t ask, Baek Sahyun suddenly explained the situation.
“Cherry is a descendant of the demon tribe that massacred Easy Man’s family.”
“Ah, really?”
“Yeah. She can’t even ask him to love her because of guilt. Because of what her ancestors did.”
Then he pointed to himself and asked.
“Don’t I seem just like that?”
“…What, you? Who does?”
“I mean Cherry. That poor character resembles me, right?”
