episode_0059

18. Nodeul Island, Radio, and His Confession (3)

” Your order has arrived~ Junwoo-ssi~ ”

” Thank you~ ”

Holding a grilled sausage and a drink that looked like beer, Lee Jun-woo headed to the seat where Hyun-seok, who was like a younger brother to him after a long time, was sitting.

” Don’t worry, I’m the one shooting it. ”

” Thank you, bro. ”

Lee Jun-woo, who sat down right away and quickly took a sip of beer, began to open his mouth while looking at Hyun-seok, who kept sighing in front of him but occasionally made an unpleasant smile.

” So, I understand you heard about Namsan from my older sister, but why are you making such a sour expression? Do you have a crush on a girl? ”

As I spoke, I picked up a sausage in front of me with a fork and took a bite, and then suddenly heard someone coughing as if they had a case.

” What…what?! You…? Do you really like someone? ”

” Knock, knock, what’s that sound… That’s not it. ”

He denied it, but seeing the smile on his face and his slightly flushed face and very red ears even though he hadn’t had much alcohol yet, I thought, ‘Oh! Is that so? ‘

Lee Jun-woo began to ask questions with the determination to hear them from his younger brother in front of him.

” What the heck, Inma~ Just looking at her, you can tell that she’s still thinking of you and smiling… ”

Lee Jun-woo takes another sip of beer while sipping his drink and glancing at his younger brother’s reaction.

As he thought, Hyun-seok looked so flustered that he even seemed to be thinking, ‘How did you know?’

” Wow~ Hyunseok, you have someone you like. If you do this well, you’ll be able to survive even after a month~ ”

” That’s… I don’t know. That’s where Mr. Yoo Ji-seong failed too, so I don’t know if we can conquer that place or not… ”

” Aha! You, that’s it? ”

” Yes? What are you talking about? ”

” You, when you have something on your mind, you’re the type to speak formally. It’s been a year since we met, and I told you a long time ago to speak comfortably. And you agreed. ”

” Oh, that’s right… No, that’s right. ”

” So, are you going to attack? ”

When asked casually, Hyun-seok took a sip of beer, fiddled with the glass, and then seemed to have made up his mind.

” I have to try. That’s how I can save people. And Charlotte said so too. ”

” Hoo, is the name of the woman you like Charlotte? A half-blood…or a returnee? ”

” Ha, that’s why I don’t drink. Because when I drink with my hyung, I just slurp. ”

” Haha! Making things like that is one of my specialties. And this isn’t that high of a percentage? I’m finally making it and selling it now. ”

” Oh, Charlotte… That’s right. She’s a returnee like me. She’s been back here for two months now? Maybe that’s it? ”

” Oh, that girl is too bad. She came back to this shitty world. No, since she’s a returnee, she might have stayed in one place even longer. ”

So we talked a little about Charlotte and then we started talking about things that had piled up since we hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

When he heard a familiar voice on the radio, Hyun-seok stopped talking for a moment and listened to the voice.

” Is this… Charlotte’s voice…? ”

” What a nice voice. Dude, I’m jealous! ”

” No, what are you talking about? We’re not that close yet. ”

” Ah~ ‘Not yet’? Yes, I guess so. ”

” Sigh, I really can’t even hit you once…! ”

” Yeah~ I’m a non-combat capable person, so if you hit me, you’ll lose~ ”

Hearing her voice on the radio with so many stories going on, Hyun-seok felt a little tipsy, but he liked it that way.

Because it was fun to keep hearing her voice.

While I was listening to the radio, Lee Jun-woo, who had been away somewhere, suddenly came back with a pen and some paper.

” What’s going on all of a sudden? ”

” Hey, aren’t you curious? What Charlotte thinks of you? ”

” That’s… true, but what’s with this paper and pen all of a sudden? ”

” I just received the story, so should I write it down and send it to you? What do you think? ”

Hyunseok was taken aback by the sudden request to send a story.

” Okay. Let’s do it now! ”

Already drunk, he didn’t know what he was doing and continued writing his story without even realizing that Lee Jun-woo was looking at him with an expression like he was looking at a fun toy.

*****

” This story was so~ boring~ ”

” No, is it okay to say that? ”

” If you’re going to do it, don’t send it to the radio~ ”

” Wow, this elf really has no lines. ”

Before we knew it, the time had come for the radio to end.

I was so shocked by Ms. Elena’s behavior that I wondered if it was the radio I was listening to.

‘Yeah, that’s right. It was this kind of radio from the beginning.’

” What, why are you here all of a sudden? Huh? You just came in… What did you say? Oh, I got it~ Junwoo sent you something fun? ”

While we were taking a break, a staff member suddenly came in and said something to Elina and handed her a piece of paper. Elina suddenly looked at me and smiled.

” Okay~ This is the last story! This time, it’s a pretty funny story. ”

” What on earth did you receive that makes you say that? ”

” Ah~ Don’t you know? It’s a story about a man who fell in love! ”

Love… As soon as I heard that word, Hyunseok came to mind and I shook my head slightly.

‘No, why am I suddenly thinking of Hyunseok here?! Haa…’

As I recalled the story I had heard about Elina a while ago, I drank the water next to me and took a deep breath, trying to calm my mind.

Yeah, I was going to do that…

” Okay, since it’s a story about a man in love, this time, Charlotte, read it~ ”

” Yes?! Me? No… ”

” What’s wrong? Just read it. Wouldn’t it be more delicious if young Charlotte read it to you than if I read it to you? Or… Is there someone you care about? ”

‘Ah, this guy… no, an elf…! For that purpose…! ‘

” Oh… no?! Okay! I’ll read it! ”

I accepted the story with a loud voice, but my mouth wouldn’t open easily.

Because my intuition, which had been trained through various incidents in this world… was speaking.

If you read this… you can’t go back.

*****

When I first saw her, she reminded me of my estranged sister.

So I was looking at her a lot. At first, I thought she was just reminding me of my younger sister and was looking at her as such.

In fact, I treated her with the thought of my younger sister, and while talking to her, I felt like I was talking to my estranged younger sister.

Of course, sometimes she would approach me first and act… almost like a seductive person, so I, thinking of her as my younger sister, would just pretend not to notice.

But ever since the time I saved her by flying my body when she was in danger, her usual behavior towards me started to change little by little.

The actions he had taken as nothing special now seemed to be conscious of me, and more than anything, he used to call me by my last name, but now he just calls me by my first name in a friendly way.

I had a brief argument with her later, and from then on, I started seeing her as herself rather than as my sister.

I only realized this recently.

I said I liked her, so when someone approached me, I would get jealous and angry.

But I don’t know what she thinks of me.

It’s only been a little over a month since we first met, so I’m a little scared that people might think we’re just a passing relationship.

– HS –

*****

That’s how the story ended.

As I read, I became immersed in a story that felt somehow familiar, and I gradually felt that the person who had sent the story had fallen for her.

After reading it all the way to the end, I just lowered my head.

‘ This… the initials at the end too… oh… right? Hyeonseok… sent it… ‘

” Hmm, a fresh love? Good~ It’s a good time. What does Charlotte think after reading the story? ”

” Yes…? That… That’s… I could tell how much you liked her. ”

” That’s it?! What, you sympathize more? Like my story? Nothing like that?! ”

‘Ah, this elf… also noticed… that the person who sent this was Hyunseok…’

” Well… I don’t know yet. ”

” Hey, if you say that, what does that make the person who sent the story? But if you were the ‘her’ in this story, would you really accept her confession? ”

” Huh?! A confession!? That… That… Ah, that’s… ”

The word ‘confession’ that came out of Elina’s mouth… My thoughts stopped at that one word.

Since I already realized that the person who sent this story was Hyunseok, I know what Elina is talking about.

An unspoken message: ‘Now is your moment to choose. How will you accept this child’s heart?’

How should I respond? Of course, since I sent this story, it means that Hyunseok is listening to it right now.

So depending on how I answer… his actions or feelings… will definitely change.

If I blurt out the word “no,” he might walk away from me.

But that doesn’t mean I accept his feelings… It was stuck in my throat and I couldn’t get it out.

Because I wasn’t ready yet.

One word that will change your relationship with him.

I kept thinking about what to say. And I kept saying it again. And I think a few minutes passed like that.

Ms. Elina rested her chin on her hand and drummed the desk with the other hand, waiting for my answer.

‘What will you choose? Will you run away like me? Or will you accept his heart?’

For her and for him who is listening to this story, what I chose is…

” If I were you… ”