Strategy Meeting – 2

Seol-ah is strange. She’s clearly showing abnormal symptoms. Poor complexion, flushed face, and constant cold sweats—by all appearances, it looks like a cold.

Because she’s excited to be with me? That can’t be possible. Not with how she’s been behaving. Just yesterday she was saying things like “the cheetah is smiling” and “should you really be worrying about me?” and now she’s getting heart flutters just because we’re having a strategy meeting? Hestia evolving into a yandere with a husband complex would be more plausible. I completely erased that possibility.

Seol-ah is sitting there blankly, not even touching the dessert she ordered.

“…Aren’t you going to eat it?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, I should.”

Seol-ah takes a small piece of cake with her fork, puts it in her mouth, and then looks at my face again. She’s been doing this the whole time. She barely touches the desserts, just staring at my face.

“Is there something on my face?”

“……”

“Hello? Ms. Seol-ah? Can you hear me?”

“Eek! What, what!”

“Why are you staring so intently at my face? Is there something on it?”

She was absently chewing with the fork in her mouth when she snapped back to attention with a startled sound. Was she dozing off with her eyes open?

“You’re really strange today. You keep going back and forth, stuttering, sweating, and your face is red.”

“Uh, uhm, ah!”

At my words, Seol-ah twisted her body with a strange groan. Her pupils shook.

“Are you really not sick?”

“I told you I’m not! Why do you keep trying to make me a patient?”

“If you’re sick, don’t stubbornly deny it and just say so. It’s not like we absolutely have to have this conversation today.”

“I’m fine.”

Seol-ah curtly replied and then took a big bite of cake. Cream from the cake smeared around her mouth. She seemed satisfied and praised it.

“This is delicious.”

“Hey, wait a moment.”

I pulled out a tissue from the side.

“Hold still.”

“Why? What is it?”

Seol-ah looked at me with a puzzled expression. I leaned toward her and neatly wiped the cream from around her mouth.

“You’re not a child, why are you eating so messily?”

“Y-You! What are you doing?!”

Seol-ah stuttered. What did I do that was so wrong? Isn’t this something friends can do? It’s not like I wiped it with my bare hand. Actually, I probably wouldn’t have done this before. She’s older, and she had shown herself as Lily before.

But after finding out just yesterday that she was actually younger than me, she suddenly started to look less like a snake trying to devour me and more like a younger acquaintance. It’s amazing how one’s mindset can change.

“Y-You, are you flirting with me?”

Seol-ah pulled out a bunch of tissues in embarrassment and vigorously wiped her mouth. It’s a bit hurtful when she acts like I smeared something dirty on her.

“What flirting? You eat messily and have the nerve to say that. Ah, did you get it on purpose? It seems like you’re the one flirting.”

Did she deliberately smear it so I would wipe it off? Seol-ah furrowed her brow sharply. Without saying a word, she kicked my shin under the table.

“Ouch.”

“I hit you so it would hurt.”

As soon as she finished eating the dessert, Seol-ah dragged me out, saying we should have lunch. I honestly wasn’t enthusiastic. How could I have an appetite when I just ate cookies and cake five minutes ago?

“Now that we’ve finished the desserts, let’s really talk about—”

“Ah! It’s lunchtime! I know a delicious restaurant nearby.”

“No, first let’s talk a bit—”

“Let’s talk while eating, okay?”

What on earth has made her so food-obsessed? It’s not like she was particularly fixated on food before. I asked in bewilderment.

“Are you hungry? Didn’t you eat breakfast?”

“What are you talking about?”

“No, I mean, we just ate cookies and cake a little while ago, and now you’re saying let’s go have lunch. I’m wondering if you’re hungry.”

Is she so hungry that the cake and cookies we just ate weren’t enough to fill her up? But she hardly ate the dessert earlier.

“Huh? Oh, that’s right. Maybe it’s because I didn’t eat breakfast, I’m a bit hungry.”

“Really? Then why did you barely touch the dessert earlier?”

“I, I didn’t like the taste!”

“But you said it was delicious earlier.”

Seol-ah fumbled for words in a fluster. Her words don’t make any sense at all—is she actually malfunctioning? When she smiled and said it was delicious earlier, and now claims it wasn’t to her taste, who would believe that?

“Are you perhaps feeling embarrassed now?”

I asked, though I immediately thought that couldn’t be it. If she were going to be embarrassed, she would have been long before now. This is the same person who maintained a composed attitude during our nightly meetings and when we were the only ones sober yesterday. It seems too sudden for her to transform into a love-struck girl just because we had coffee together.

Strictly speaking, she is a girl in love, but isn’t this too different from how she’s been until now? Surely she couldn’t have been completely fine before and only started feeling shy after going out with me alone.

“Em-Embarrassed? Why would I be embarrassed about having a meal with a friend?!”

“Ow, my ears hurt. If it’s not true, just say so—why are you yelling?”

She jumped up and yelled for no reason. I covered my ears and scolded her.

“I’m not! Anyway, I’m not!”

Watching Seol-ah whine makes me want to tease her a bit. Not in a mean way, but just playfully. It’s similar to how I feel when I look at Cordelia.

“You’ve become really childish since we talked about age yesterday. You know that?”

“What are you talking about?”

She tilted her head. Even that gesture now seems younger sister-like.

“You’re like a completely different person from when you used to pretend to be my noona and give me advice.”

“Isn’t that just your perception?”

As she said, it’s possible that she hasn’t changed and only my perception has. But even until yesterday, she wouldn’t have whined like this, saying “I’m noooot!”

“Did you secretly want to act spoiled?”

She’s 25, but that’s not terribly old. She might have felt lonely after falling into this world without any connections, and it might have been hard without having anyone to lean on or to act spoiled with. By that logic, I’m the child here, but I’m completely fine. Isn’t it the way of the world for someone who’s doing well to help someone who isn’t?

“Acting spoiled, what…”

Seol-ah grumbled.

“You only had younger siblings on Earth, right?”

“How did you know?”

Seol-ah seemed quite surprised. I’ve always been good at guessing whether someone is an only child or has siblings. Blood type too. I just have good instincts.

“I can tell by looking. How old is your younger sibling?”

“We weren’t that far apart in age.”

“I see. That’s why.”

Usually, when someone has siblings close in age, the eldest is always starved for attention. Always having to give in, and not having many places to vent.

I naturally raised my hand to pat her head but stopped with a start. I recall that women hate having their heads patted without permission. Seol-ah may like me, but that doesn’t mean she’ll view all my actions favorably.

I lowered my raised hand. The hand, now without destination, pathetically cut through the air. Seol-ah looked at me with an expression that asked what on earth I was doing by myself.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, I was going to pat your head to show that it’s okay to act spoiled with me…”

“And?”

“But I realized that patting a woman’s head without permission is a bit…”

Before I could finish speaking, Seol-ah thrust her head forward.

“Do it.”

“What?”

“I said, pat my head.”

Instead of raising my hand to pat Seol-ah’s head, I bent down to meet her eyes. For someone who had so boldly asked to be patted, her face looked like it might explode.

“Are you embarrassed?”

“Shut up. I just thought I could indulge you if you wanted to be treated like an oppa so badly.”

After saying acting spoiled is nonsense, now she’s asking me to pat her head—is she embarrassed? As soon as she finished speaking, Seol-ah grabbed my wrist and pulled it toward her head. I firmly tensed my arm. She glared at me with a look that asked what I was doing.

“Oppa.”

“What?”

“Call me oppa and I’ll do it.”

I’ve never been called oppa in my life. Just call me that once.

“Are you crazy?”

“Why not? You said you could indulge me if I wanted to be treated like an oppa. So treat me like one.”

Seol-ah ignored my words and struggled to pull my hand, grunting with effort. But it’s no use. If even Cordelia couldn’t overpower me, how could Seol-ah possibly do it? Saying it like this makes Cordelia sound like some symbol of strength. Seol-ah glared at me with sharp eyes. Who’s in charge here?

“Won’t you stop resisting?”

“Call me oppa.”

“Are you a pervert? Why are you so obsessed with being called oppa?”

“And what about you, trying so hard to be patted by this pervert?”

That’s unfair. I’m confident that less than 10% of Korean men have no fantasy about being called “oppa.” I’m just part of the 90% majority.

Seol-ah sighed deeply and looked up at me.

“Do I really have to call you oppa?”

“On the contrary, why are you so against calling me oppa? It’s not that difficult, and it’s not completely unfounded.”

There might be differences in interpretation, but the fact that I’m her oppa isn’t completely unfounded. Seol-ah fidgeted with her fingers, seemingly debating whether to answer my question. After a moment of silence, she finally opened her mouth.

“If I call you oppa… I feel like I’d lose my initiative.”

“Initiative?”

“I prefer being the one in the lead…”

Initiative, huh. I nodded. Certainly, titles and age play quite a significant role in relationships between people. Just yesterday, after learning that Seol-ah was younger than me—although she strongly denied it—I found it much easier to deal with her.

“You definitely seem like the type who would prefer that. The novel content too. Lily firmly holding onto two men… Gack!”

My words were cut off by Seol-ah’s sudden strike to my Adam’s apple. I’ve noticed this before, but she really hates being teased about her taste in novels. She must find it embarrassing. Well, I’d probably feel embarrassed too if she constantly teased me about reading harem fantasy novels where the protagonist effortlessly succeeds with a cheat item.

“Don’t say unnecessary things. Anyway, that’s why I don’t want to call you oppa.”

She declared. Initiative, huh. What an unnecessary concern.

“Seol-ah. Until yesterday, I called you ‘Ms. Seol-ah’ and spoke to you formally. Did you have the initiative then?”

To begin with, she and I weren’t in a relationship where initiative was even relevant, and this might sound a bit trashy, but since Seol-ah fell for me first, she could never have the initiative.

Seol-ah closed her eyes and concentrated, seemingly pondering deeply. Think all you want—was there ever a time? The last time she had any initiative over me was before I rescued her from Wilhelm.

“So, just call me oppa once.”

“Do you really want to hear ‘oppa’ that badly?”

“Yes.”

I nodded at Seol-ah’s words without a moment’s hesitation. She looked at me with a disgusted expression. What? I have nothing to be ashamed of.

Seol-ah sighed as if giving up. Eventually, she closed her eyes and clasped her hands. Her eyebrows trembled slightly.

“O-Oppa.”

Wow. That sent shivers down my spine.