Chapter 90 : What happened during the trip ?

After showering, Curry realized during the process of changing clothes that his phone was missing.

As he retraced his steps to figure out where he might have lost it,

he remembered lending his phone to Barcode during the drive stream.

While he was relieved that it wasn’t lost, the fact that Barcode had his phone was a problem in itself.

Knowing Barcode, it wouldn’t be surprising if she did something strange with his phone.

That’s why Curry, without even properly drying his hair, hurried to find Barcode.

“Barcode? She said she was taking a break in her room.”

Following Ji-hye’s words, who was enjoying the spa, Curry headed downstairs to the first floor.

To an outsider, it might seem like there was no reason to be in such a rush.

But Curry, like any man, had a secret folder.

This wasn’t about preventing a data breach—it was closer to a desperate attempt to avoid social suicide.

“Curry? You didn’t even dry your hair properly, and you’re here…”

When Curry reached the first floor, he immediately ran into Barcode.

Barcode noticed Curry’s still-wet hair, but Curry’s only concern was his phone, which Barcode had.

“Barcode, please return my phone.”

“…Ah, so that’s why you came rushing down here.”

Barcode pulled the phone out of her inner pocket and extended her hand.

But as Curry reached out to retrieve it, Barcode pulled her hand back again.

“Hmm… What kind of secrets are on this phone that make Curry so desperate?”

“Ah, there’s nothing! So please, quickly…”

Perhaps Barcode enjoyed seeing Curry fidget like a nervous puppy.

With a blooming smile on her face, Barcode shook the phone and spoke in a subtle tone.

“Now I’m even more curious. Could you place your fingerprint here, Curry?”

“I’d rather die than do that.”

Knowing that doing so would be akin to social death, Curry spoke with genuine resolve.

“What kind of filth is on here…”

“It’s not like that!”

“Then what is it?”

“…Anyway, it’s not that.”

Thinking she had teased him enough, Barcode chuckled softly and handed over the phone.

Curry, now holding his phone, began checking to see if anything had changed.

This inspection continued as the two of them headed back upstairs to the second floor.

“I didn’t know Curry had such tastes.”

Barcode whispered slyly into Curry’s ear, making him seriously consider ending his life right then and there.

“I’m joking. The phone was locked—how could I have seen anything?”

“Hah… I was genuinely terrified. Please don’t joke like that next time.”

Relieved by Barcode’s follow-up, Curry sighed and voiced his complaint.

Once back on the second floor, the two joined Ji-hye and Rine, who were already enjoying the spa, and joined in themselves.

This pension had a wide variety of facilities.

Considering the amount spent on the reservation, it wasn’t too surprising.

Still, having a sauna inside the pension was a nice touch.

“Sis… I think this is my limit…”

“Me too… Barcode, aren’t you struggling?”

The two who had boldly decided to challenge the sauna with me gave up in less than 20 minutes.

Well, this room had a higher temperature than the others, so their reaction wasn’t unreasonable.

Even with the help of cold sikhye and roasted eggs, they couldn’t overcome the heat and eventually left the sauna.

Originally, I had planned to start streaming here, but since the two were too exhausted, I couldn’t.

Still, Curry, who had gone for a walk instead of joining the sauna, said he’d come to the sauna soon, so I wouldn’t be bored.

I waited for Curry, and after about 10 more minutes, he entered the sauna.

“Phew! It feels hotter than I expected.”

“What’s this? You were bragging about being resistant to heat earlier, and now you’re complaining as soon as you arrive?”

Here’s the English translation of your text with spaces after every line:

“No, that’s not it… But Barcode, aren’t you struggling at all? It’s seriously hot in here.”

Seeing Curry grumble already was amusing and adorable, so I let out a small laugh.

Perhaps feeling his pride wounded by my mocking chuckle,

Curry gritted his teeth and sat down beside me, determined to endure the sauna’s heat.

“Curry, how about a bet?”

“A bet?”

“Yes. Let’s see who can last longer.”

At my sudden proposal, Curry hesitated.

All he had to do was decide whether to accept or refuse, so what was he thinking about so much?

As the silence dragged on, I began to wonder if we might both end up passing out from the heat instead of making a bet.

Finally, Curry spoke up.

“Are you really confident? You’ve already been here for 30 minutes longer than me.”

“Hmm… So that’s what you were worried about—me?”

“Agh, no, I wasn’t worried about you or anything! I just think if we’re going to have a bet, it should be fair.

That’s all.”

Apparently embarrassed, Curry turned his head to the side.

Adding to the act, he whistled as if pretending to be completely nonchalant.

“I appreciate the consideration, but I’ll pass.”

“Huh, are you that confident?”

“Of course I am. How about this—whoever loses the bet has to grant the winner one wish?

Obviously within reasonable limits.”

“Alright, deal.”

With our conversation settled, we fell into silence.

Time passed quietly in the sauna.

Before we knew it, 30 minutes had flown by, but neither of us had given in yet.

I had assumed the intense heat would make Curry quit quickly.

But to my surprise, he endured it without showing much struggle.

Surely, he should be ready to give up soon, right?

Yet looking at him now, he was still perfectly fine.

‘I can’t ask for a handicap now…’

I had already proclaimed my confidence out loud,

so requesting a handicap at this point would be embarrassing.

Losing the bet might bring an even greater humiliation than asking for a handicap.

Avoiding Curry’s gaze, which seemed to mock me, was better than letting my pride take a hit.

“…Barcode, aren’t you struggling?”

“It would be a lie to say I’m not.”

“Then why don’t you just give up now? I think I’ve won.”

“Well? I think I can still hold out…”

Trying to keep up a relaxed front, I suddenly felt my vision blur.

“…Huh?”

“Are you okay now? See, this is why you shouldn’t be so stubborn…”

Regaining consciousness, the first thing I saw was Curry looking at me with an expression that was half concern, half disappointment.

Looking around, I realized I was outside the sauna, and that I had lost the bet against Curry.

“Barcode, are you okay? How many fingers do you see?”

“Two.”

“Your awareness seems fine… That’s a relief.”

Instead of focusing on the bet, Curry was prioritizing my well-being, which touched me.

For a moment, I felt like all the money I had spent supporting Curry was worth it.

But then—

“Anyway, so I won the bet?”

Scratch that.

“…I’m an idiot for feeling touched.”

“Huh? What was that?”

“You won the bet.”

“Congratulations.”

“…You’re not sulking, are you?”

“Who says I’m sulking? I’m not sulking.”

Turning my head completely away from Curry, I checked my condition.

Though I had a towel wrapped around me, my clothes were somewhat damp from staying in the sauna for so long.

Since I hated feeling sticky, I got up immediately to shower.

“Are you heading to shower?”

“Yes. What about you, Curry?”

“I think I’ll stay in the sauna a little longer.”

“You’re not just bragging because you won, are you?”

“Come on, why would I brag about something like this?”

Curry, who had stood up with me, went back into the sauna.

I, on the other hand, hurried to the bathhouse to wash off the sticky sweat.

And so, the endurance contest in the sauna ended with Curry’s victory.

After washing up with hot water in the bathhouse, I decided to check on the sauna just in case.

Sure enough, Curry was still stubbornly enduring the heat inside.

But judging by his slowly closing eyes, he seemed to be on the verge of losing consciousness.

“Barcode?”

When I entered the sauna, Curry looked directly at me.

At least he was still conscious, which was a relief.

I grabbed his hand and forcibly led him out of the sauna, seating him on a chair.

Then, I took a cup, went to the water dispenser, and filled it with cold water.

Returning to him, I handed over the cup of cold water, which Curry gulped down in an instant.

“Sis, what’s going on?”

Ji-hye, who happened to be passing by, asked me.

I answered her question sincerely.

“That’s a relief.”

While Ji-hye and I chatted, Curry caught his breath.

I didn’t know why he had stayed in the sauna until I finished bathing.

But suddenly, I thought this situation could be used to mess with Lee Seon-ah.

I took out my phone.

“Ji-hye, could you take a picture of us with my phone?”

“Are you going to stream?”

“Yeah.”

Though the decision to stream was sudden, Ji-hye didn’t question it and quietly held my phone.

“Sis, I’m starting the stream now.”

As Ji-hye spoke, I moved closer to Curry.

Curry, still breathing heavily, and me, with my face slightly flushed from the hot bath.

I wasn’t sure if Lee Seon-ah would watch this live.

But by now, she was probably grinding her teeth.

The thought of it made me feel better.

The stream that started in the sauna continued until the evening.

I had wanted to have a barbecue outdoors, but it was too cold outside.

So we decided to have the barbecue on the day before leaving the pension.

There was no need to endure the freezing air just to have a barbecue.

Instead of the barbecue party, Ji-hye and I decided to prepare dinner together.

Since it was a live stream, I thought it would be nice to have something more engaging than a typical cooking show.

So, I pulled in Curry and Rine, who were resting.

“Curry, do you know how to cook?”

“I can only make ramen.”

“What about you, Rine?”

“I’ve never cooked before either…”

Upon hearing their answers, I exchanged glances with Ji-hye and immediately came up with a content idea.

Pairing two experienced cooks with two inexperienced ones and having them cook together sounded like a fun concept.

It seemed like a decent idea for something impromptu, so I decided to team up with Rine.

I would’ve liked to pair up with Curry, but doing so might make Rine sulk.

I knew how she felt, and ignoring it outright would have pricked my conscience.

Though my conscience was only as tough as steel when it came to Curry.

This spontaneous “teaching how to cook” segment ended up creating many hilarious moments and drew a great response.

Ji-hye, who was extremely strict when it came to cooking, and Curry, who was nonchalant, had great synergy.

If my past collaboration with Curry had felt like a flirtatious teacher-student dynamic,

Curry and Ji-hye were the embodiment of a real teacher-student relationship.

After many ups and downs, we finally completed the dishes and sat down for dinner together.

What started as a cooking stream unexpectedly turned into a mukbang, but it wasn’t bad.

Honestly, this was what I had planned the pension trip for anyway.

The finished dishes were surprisingly decent.

They weren’t spectacular, but considering all the chaos during the process, they weren’t bad at all.

With everyone satisfied with the meal, we ended the stream.

Streaming was important, but the essence of the pension trip was relaxation and healing.

Even though it was still a bit early, we decided to retreat to our individual rooms.

Since so much had happened today, I quickly fell asleep.

And so, the first day of the pension trip came to an end.