As always, time flowed uncontrollably fast. When Friday approached before I knew it, I was already starting to get nervous. Tomorrow was going to be very busy. I had to go to David’s house for a dinner celebrating the marriage between the Evans family and our family, and I had to go on a date with Joel.
I really didn’t want to make a fuss over the date with Joel, but I bought new clothes yesterday. It was partly because there was an important dinner tomorrow and it would be good to look neat and pretty. It definitely wasn’t just for the date! Really. The reason I went to a Korean hair salon to get my hair slightly trimmed was solely for that reason too.
Today, Friday, I had theater class, so I had no choice but to run into Joel.
Let’s not think about the date tomorrow. What’s the big deal? I’m just doing it to raise the Romance Index. It’s not particularly special!
Even while thinking this, as soon as I entered the theater class classroom, I spotted Joel, who had arrived first and was sitting there, and startled, I clutched my heart.
“Oof!”
“……What?”
As always, Joel, who was sitting with his legs crossed chewing on jelly, raised one eyebrow. If you sit with your legs crossed and crooked like that, your knees, pelvis, and back will all go out, you bastard! My hyung is an orthopedic surgeon, so I know very well! I tried to act nonchalant while deliberately bad-mouthing Joel harshly in my mind.
“What, is it?”
“You came in and screamed ‘oof!’ like you saw a ghost. What kind of scream is so dumb and pathetic?”
“……”
Joel’s giggling laugh gradually chipped away at my self-esteem. That son of a bitch, and I have to go on a date with a guy like that. The clothes I bought yesterday, I’ll only wear them to the dinner, then go home and change into the shabbiest thing. You bastard. I trimmed my hair for nothing too— no, that was because of the family dinner. What does Joel have to do with it!
“Hey. Idiot.”
“Ah, what!”
“Seeing how you answer promptly when I call you idiot, you must know properly that you’re an idiot.”
Even though I glared at him with fierce eyes, Joel paid no mind and giggled again. He was laughing while slapping his thigh and even throwing his head back, and I wanted to chop that Adam’s apple with the edge of my hand. I endured the itching in my hands.
“Tomorrow ……go.”
Joel spoke while pulling out and tearing off a long piece of chewy jelly. It was mixed with lots of spit sounds so I couldn’t hear well.
“Tomorrow what?”
“Tomorrow I’m picking you up!”
Gulp, Joel’s Adam’s apple moved as if he swallowed the jelly. Then Joel yelled loudly as if angry.
“That’s what you do for someone you’re dating, so don’t get any other ideas. I’m a gentleman.”
Joel’s front teeth, as he smiled pulling up the corners of his mouth, had a slightly red tint. It must be because of that tasteless and artificial strawberry-flavored and scented jelly.
But how ridiculous. Why are you a gentleman? I’m the gentleman for putting up with all your temper. And it was really obviously 100% heterosexual. Naturally assuming his date partner would be a woman and showing manners.
“You don’t have to pick me up. I’m not even a girl.”
“Why would you be a girl? Anyone can see you’re a guy. Just because I’m going on a date with you, do you think you’ve become some pretty girl? Don’t get it twisted. It’s natural for the one who can drive to pick up the other.”
“Still, no.”
“I’ll park far from the house, so come. I’m also completely sick of hearing about marriage or whatever, dating or whatever, from your family.”
“No, that’s not it…… I have a family event at lunch tomorrow. I’ll go straight from there.”
“Where?”
“You’ll pick me up?”
“You’re really looking down on a gentleman?”
“Ah.”
To me asking back full of doubt, Joel threw jelly at me—thwack. The small jelly packet hit my forehead and fell to my thigh. Yeah, what a very mannerly action.
“No. A family event, so you don’t have to pick me up. Let’s just meet at the theater.”
Joel coming to David’s house instead of my house was an even worse scenario. What if the two of them fought on that good day? Also, David’s family probably knew who the ruffian was who gave David a concussion. I didn’t want to ruin hyung’s marriage.
“Whatever. Don’t be late. For every minute you’re late, I’ll put that all down as debt.”
“……”
What gentleman in the world threatens their date partner like that! As expected, this wasn’t a normal date. I don’t even know why Joel accepted. Was he just bored? Isn’t he the son of a bitch who suddenly visits other people’s houses from the crack of dawn when he’s bored? Yeah, he probably just needed someone to pass time with.
I gripped tightly the jelly Joel had thrown at me in my hand. Then I realized it wasn’t the Twizzlers Joel often ate.
“……It’s gummy bears.”
It was a small packaged German brand gummy bear. Joel doesn’t eat cute jelly like this. He only eats Twizzlers that look exactly like rubber screwdrivers. I stared intently at the bears that were excessively cute and adorable, then put them in my mouth one by one. They were a bit hard, but when I chewed with my molars, the jelly quickly became soft and was very sweet.
“July, hi.”
“Hi, Natalia.”
I swallowed the jelly I’d been chewing and smiled. With a hopeful heart, I opened Natalia’s character status window again.
<Character Status Window>
◈ Name: Natalia Newton
◈ Age: 17 (11th Grade)
◈ Popularity: 52%
◈ Favorability: 『Cannot View』
◈ Nicknames: Brown Hair, Zero Presence, Nerd, Who?, Na-Natalia New-Newton
◈ Special Notes: The only protagonist of ‘Pizza Saver,’ has scopophobia and stage fright
“Looking at how she kissed that David Evans, there must definitely be some charm I don’t know about. When you look closely, she seems pretty and has a good figure!”
Her favorability was still 『Cannot View』. I was slightly frowning at something even the system didn’t know, when the teacher came in and said.
“You all read the script I gave you last time, right? Then…… starting from this side, come to the front one by one and read.”
“……”
Unfortunately, Natalia was sitting at the very end of the side the teacher pointed to. Natalia’s face instantly turned pale. The teacher looked like he’d made a mistake too, but unable to change the lesson content, he said carefully.
“Alright, Natalia. Come to the front…… and try reading once.”
“Y-yes, yesyes……”
Natalia, who stood up hesitantly, walked exactly like a robot. Having arrived at the very front of the classroom, Natalia showed her now bluish face to everyone in the classroom, then wobbled as if about to collapse.
“Whoa!”
They said she has scopophobia and stage fright, and it must really be serious! Just as I jumped forward to catch Natalia who seemed about to faint, a sound effect rang out.
NEW!
‘Musical’ keyword has been added!
……Again. Again, that damn musical!
Natalia, who sat down on the floor like a tragic heroine, lay back and started dancing.
― What frightens me more than anything is people’s gazes. ♪
Natalia grabbed my arm as I came out to support her, stood up, and started using me like a prop. For someone with phobias, it was truly contradictory how she flew around more splendidly than anyone when the musical keyword was activated.
Fine, let’s just be a prop. If I don’t have to dance, that’s fortunate. But I ended up inadvertently holding up Natalia who jumped up. I rotated awkwardly as Natalia’s fingertips led me.
― To play well the role of a protagonist receiving the spotlight, I have far too many fears. ♪
― Ooh, ooh-ooh. ♪
Everyone in the classroom harmonized and laid down the melody. Except for me, who played the role of a vehicle carrying Natalia. Feeling like crying, I spun around holding Natalia, when I discovered Natalia’s character status window still floating there. I tried to close it because it was in the way, but something was strange.
◈ Favorability: 11
Why can I see her favorability? Until just now it was cannot view?
System, system! Right now I can see Natalia’s favorability! What’s going on?
Even while busily rotating to the point of motion sickness, I asked the system. The system began making a sound like ding-ring-ring-ring.
SYSTEM
Loading…….
― But I must silently carry out my given role. Even if, the end is ruin. I know my place. ♪
Just before Natalia’s song reached its climax, I finally put her down on the floor and waited for the system’s loading to finish. And when Natalia raised her arms toward the sky, the text in the system window changed.
― Silently walking the given fate, that is all I must do! ♪
IDK 🙂
……That’s the answer you came up with after even loading? I twisted my lips in disbelief, when gradually the music began to quiet down. Ah, it must be ending!
I hurriedly returned to my seat and sat down, and Natalia also returned to her place, trembling with a pale face. And in Natalia’s character status window that still hadn’t disappeared, the favorability had become ‘Cannot View’ again.
“S-so, you see. The, the first line……”
The wobbling Natalia looked dangerously like she would faint soon to anyone watching, and fearing the musical keyword might activate again, I raised my hand high.
“I’ll! Go first!”
“Oh, okay. July, you go first!”
The teacher called me urgently and gladly, and Natalia returned to her seat while swaying side to side. And I read the lines more stiffly and unnaturally than anyone, earning Joel’s mockery.
“Kekekeke! Pfft, bwahaha!”
There was no one to stop Joel laughing openly. Just wait and see how well you do. I waited with clenched fists for Joel’s turn to come. And the moment Joel, who stood at the front in a crooked posture, slowly opened his mouth to read his lines—
“Ah, class is over.”
The school bell rang.
