Ch.101101 – Girlfriend 4

# 101 – Girlfriend #4

Cicadas were shrieking loudly.

It was so intense that “shrieking” seemed a more appropriate description than simply “singing.”

After enduring a long time as nymphs and finally transforming into cicadas, it was only natural they’d want to shriek when faced with a world averaging 34 degrees Celsius.

It was seriously hot.

The weather was so scorching that if you cracked an egg on the hood of a black car, it would probably fry instantly. Even standing still, your back and armpits would be drenched in sweat.

At least the bus was cool.

Vroooom-

On the bus ride to the zoo.

I watched the asphalt road with heat waves shimmering above it and people walking by with deeply furrowed brows.

“Going outside in this heat is insanity.”

I was already regretting my foolish decision to have a date at the zoo tomorrow.

The bus stopped at the zoo station.

As I stepped out from the air-conditioned interior into the world, a blast of hot air hit my face.

“Ugh, it’s so hot!”

Yang Juhui, wearing a white t-shirt and short black dolphin pants, frowned and complained as soon as she got off the bus.

Despite wearing the most skin-exposing outfit among us, she seemed unable to bear the heat. Come to think of it, when I briefly held Yang Juhui’s hand before, it was beyond warm—it was hot.

She must have a constitution that generates a lot of internal heat.

Wasn’t her first Quirk “Boiling Blood”?

Yang Juhui clearly had a constitution particularly vulnerable to heat.

“Ugh, it’s so hot! Look! I’m already sweating profusely the moment we step off the bus. Were you really planning to take an idol on a date to a place like this?”

Yang Juhui was blaming me.

Even considering it was a weekday, the zoo was empty, probably due to the hot weather.

The parking lot was completely vacant.

We could enter immediately without having to wait in line.

“No, I deliberately chose a place that wouldn’t be crowded because I thought Kwon Sua might feel uncomfortable in crowded places since she’s a celebrity…”

Even a worm will squirm when stepped on.

After listening to her constant nagging, I felt compelled to make at least one excuse.

Of course, it didn’t work at all.

Since I had two tickets and there were three of us, we bought one more ticket and entered the zoo.

The zoo had a rather romantic feel with brick tiles covering the ground, and snack bars and souvenir shops standing with an old but solid appearance.

Signs mounted on poles in the ground indicated the locations of animal enclosures with directions like “Tiger 20m,” “Raccoon 50m.”

Yu Dahui, wearing a white dress, created shade over her face with her palm and shouted.

“There are raccoons over there! Let’s go see the raccoons!”

Yu Dahui was cheerful regardless of the hot weather.

Unlike Yang Juhui, who was saying “I’m sweating just standing still” while fluttering her clothes, Yu Dahui still hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat.

She must naturally be someone who doesn’t sweat much.

“Look at them! They’re all hiding in the shade!”

Yu Dahui shouted while looking beyond the fence where many raccoons were gathered.

The raccoons huddled in the shade of trees in their enclosure looked quite depressed. Perhaps because of the hot weather, the animals weren’t moving around either.

Looking at them, Yu Dahui said:

“These days, not just stray cats, but raccoons are frequently spotted in apartment parks and residential areas! I once saw a raccoon in our garden at home, and it was super cute!”

Yu Dahui was squealing with delight, busy taking photos with her phone.

Was she planning to post them on Instagram?

Perhaps due to Yu Dahui’s commotion, the raccoons sleeping in the tree shade began to stir and approached the fence.

“They must really like people!”

Yu Dahui was extremely pleased.

She reached her hand toward the enclosure.

I noticed a sign that read “Please do not feed the animals.”

Yip yip-

Yip yip yip-

The raccoons, perhaps thinking we might have food, clung to the fence and flailed their front paws.

For some reason, though, the raccoons were only gathering around Yang Juhui.

“W-what’s wrong with these little guys!”

Yang Juhui seemed quite flustered.

Seeing this, Yu Dahui laughed, “Pfft-“

“They must smell food on you, Juhui!”

“I don’t have any food! Ugh, let’s go somewhere else!”

“Over there, they say we can touch rabbits!”

Tap tap tap-

Yu Dahui, wearing sandals, ran hurriedly toward a place marked “Experience Zone.”

Yang Juhui and I followed, and in the “Experience Zone,” rabbits were freely hopping around, seemingly unbothered by the heat.

Yu Dahui caught one rabbit and held it in her arms.

“Rabbits! I used to raise rabbits at school when I was in elementary school! Did you know? Rabbit meat is the fourth most commonly slaughtered meat for food consumption in the world!”

I thought her holding the rabbit looked romantic, like something out of a fairy tale, but then she suddenly brought up slaughter, which was a bit bizarre.

I see.

So rabbits are the fourth most commonly slaughtered animals.

Yu Dahui often read books, so she knew various facts.

“Ugh, what’s with them! It’s hot! Go away!”

Yang Juhui, who had been annoyed with the raccoons earlier, was now irritated with the rabbits.

This was because the rabbits were all flocking around her.

In the sweltering summer heat, having these white balls of fur jumping all over and clinging to her must have been truly torturous for Yang Juhui, who was sensitive to heat.

“Yang Juhui, you’re quite popular.”

I teased her.

First the raccoons, now the rabbits. Animals seemed to follow Yang Juhui.

Come to think of it, didn’t Baekseol, the white cat Yu Dahui kept, act more affectionately toward Yang Juhui than toward Yu Dahui?

Perhaps Yang Juhui had a talent for being loved by animals.

# # #

“Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve had pearl ice cream. I first had it when I went to an amusement park with my mom, dad, and sister. This is my first time since then.”

During a short break.

We sat in the shade of a snack bar eating pearl ice cream.

I paid for it.

The ice cream was very refreshing and delicious.

“I took so many photos. Look at this. A squirrel put its face in my mouth.”

Yu Dahui seemed to enjoy the photos she took today more than the ice cream.

In the photo Yu Dahui showed me, she had her mouth wide open with a squirrel halfway inside it.

It almost looked like she was eating it.

“Now let’s go see the tigers!”

Yu Dahui was full of energy.

She seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Yang Juhui, despite her verbal complaints, had taken plenty of photos and bought souvenirs too.

She was wearing a headband with heart balloons attached, which suited her well.

“Hey, Ha Yeongwon. Take a picture of me.”

“I want to be in it too!”

One thing I noticed today was that Yu Dahui and Yang Juhui took an incredible number of photos.

Almost one photo every five steps.

Thanks to that, I had over 500 photos in my gallery just from today. I was practically their personal photographer.

“Upload them all to our group chat later, okay?”

“Got it.”

Anyway, that’s how our zoo tour ended.

My impression was:

“Don’t you think the zoo might be okay for tomorrow’s date? According to the weather forecast, tomorrow will be cooler than today.”

“Hey, what zoo? You have to walk around all day inside the zoo. If you go to the zoo for a first date, your legs will hurt, your makeup will smudge, and all that. Didn’t you see how tired we were today?”

Yang Juhui frowned.

Soon, Yu Dahui chimed in.

“My legs hurt too!”

Weren’t they both just taking pictures and laughing and chattering excitedly until a moment ago?

And they took over 500 photos.

Thanks to that, my phone battery was barely hanging on.

Anyway.

With that kind of feeling, we got on the bus to head back to our neighborhood.

It was already 3 PM.

Yang Juhui, having sweated a lot, seemed a bit tired and dozed off in the back seat of the bus. As she slept with her mouth half open, Yu Dahui giggled, “Pfft-“

“Yeongwon, look at this.”

Swish-

Yu Dahui took out a mouth spray from the small handbag on her shoulder and sprayed it into Yang Juhui’s slightly open mouth.

“Eeeuuurgh-“

Yang Juhui made a strange noise, seemed to be tasting something, and then frowned.

“Ugh, what is this. Ubrubebebek!”

“Pfft hehehe.”

“Puhahah. She said ‘ubrubebebek’.”

It was really funny.

Of course, Yang Juhui getting angry after waking up wasn’t so funny.

We arrived in our neighborhood like that and decided to have a late lunch.

We had postponed lunch until we were outside the zoo because even a bowl of ramen inside was too expensive for our allowances.

When we were wondering what to eat, Yu Dahui pointed to a convenience store.

“Let’s eat ramen and triangle kimbap at the convenience store!”

It was a good idea.

Under the outdoor parasol set up at the convenience store, we ate cup noodles and triangle kimbap, and the sensation of cold cola seeping into my body was exhilarating.

“I want some cola too.”

Yu Dahui, who had already finished her sports drink, reached for my cola bottle.

Then she gulped it down, and I felt embarrassed thinking it might be an indirect kiss since I had put my mouth on that bottle.

Do girls usually not care about such things? Am I thinking too old-fashioned?

“Ah, I drank it all.”

The problem was that Yu Dahui had finished my cola too.

Yu Dahui, who hadn’t even sweated, had consumed so much liquid.

Was she actually a water ghost pretending to be Yu Dahui?

“Hehe… I’ll buy another one.”

After Yu Dahui went into the convenience store, some time passed.

Someone made a strange sound, “Huh?”

When I turned my head, there were familiar faces.

It was Gong Yerin and Lim Huiyeon in casual clothes.

They were each holding Starbucks takeout cups and carrying lots of paper bags as if they’d been shopping.

The paper bags had “Jeongsim-dang” written on them, which was a famous bakery in Gaeryong. They must have been on a bakery tour.

“It’s Yang Juhui and Yeongwon. What’s this? What’s going on?”

Gong Yerin raised her thin eyebrows and repeated “what’s this.”

Soon Lim Huiyeon joined in.

“What are you two doing? Why are you two together? What’s going on?”

“Oh geez, stop being annoying and get lost.”

Yang Juhui got angry.

She was licking her lips with her tongue while getting angry, which meant she was genuinely upset.

Yang Juhui, Gong Yerin, and Lim Huiyeon used to hang out together as a trio, but at some point, they ostracized Yang Juhui, which made their relationship deteriorate.

That’s how it is with groups of three girls.

Girls preferred pairs or groups of four that matched up evenly.

“Why are you sitting there like that?”

Just then, someone appeared behind the girls.

It was Wang Jahyeon, tall with a handsome face.

Wang Jahyeon looked at me and Yang Juhui sitting under the parasol and made an “oh” expression.

“We shouldn’t interrupt people on a date. Come on, let’s go.”

Wang Jahyeon took the noisy girls away.

Despite the hot day, he wasn’t sweating at all.

Instead, he even had a subtle yet artificial fragrance.

Perfume? A male high school student wearing perfume?

How unmanly.

Come to think of it, hasn’t Wang Jahyeon been wearing perfume since elementary school?

Since elementary school, he was the type who preferred hanging out with noisy girls rather than playing with boys.

“Hey, Ha Yeongwon. Doesn’t this smell seem familiar?”

Yang Juhui twitched her nose.

She must have smelled a familiar scent.

As I smelled Wang Jahyeon’s perfume, many memories came flooding back.

I took out a glass bottle from the hip pack I was wearing on my back.

“Subtle Perfume: A perfume made with water that fairies have splashed in. Greatly reduces the probability of being discovered by ghosts and Watchers. When used, it lasts for 100 hours. 0/2 uses.”

The first gacha item I ever drew.

When I sniffed this item that had served me well, it had the exact same smell as Wang Jahyeon who had just passed by.

Ah-

I thought I had smelled this perfume somewhere before.

It was in elementary school!

Why does he have this smell?

Countless thoughts raced through my mind.