Ch.10297 – Truth Game

I had prepared a nice futon on the floor for them, but somehow all the kids ended up on my bed, leaving me barely enough room to move.

Huddled together under one blanket, I felt like fish neatly arranged at a supermarket display.

We could only make out each other’s faces through the dim glow of the mood light.

The kids’ warm breath tickled my cheeks.

“Ugh, I can’t breathe! So what are we doing now?”

Ha-ru poked her head out from under the blanket. Yu-na was already grinning, knowing what was coming.

I decided to answer her question.

“How about we play the truth game?”

“Truth game?”

“Yeah. It’s a game where you have to tell the truth to the other person’s questions.”

Originally, I had planned several board games, movies, and saved this game for right before bedtime.

My perfect strategy was to bring Yu-na and Ha-ru closer, then use the truth game to clear the air and reconcile them.

Though they’d already somewhat made up, Yu-na kept pestering me about it, so I decided to play it briefly during this downtime.

“What happens if you lie…?”

Ha-ru asked curiously.

“Well, then…”

I suddenly grabbed the mood light from the headboard and held it under my face.

“A ghost will come eat you in the middle of the night.”

“Kyaaaah!”

“Hey, you scared me! What the heck!”

“Anyway, you get it, right? Want to play?”

“Yes! I really want to try it.”

“Then NoName, you can’t lie either.”

“Of course. Those are the rules.”

Since I needed to go along with them, I planned to mostly tell the truth anyway.

“So, do you have questions you want to ask each other?”

“Hmm…”

Yu-na and Ha-ru fell into deep thought.

Since they seemed to be struggling to come up with questions, I spoke first.

“Okay, Seo Yu-na.”

“Yes?”

I turned my head to the right and made eye contact with Yu-na.

“What’s your favorite animation?”

For reference, I already had a good idea of her tastes from visiting her home once.

I chose an appropriate question to show that the truth game typically involves asking uncomfortable questions.

As expected, Yu-na’s face turned as red as her hair.

“T-that… Do I really have to answer?”

“Why? Isn’t NoName’s question easy?”

“Ah, well, it’s just…”

Ha-ru hugged me from behind and peered over my shoulder at Yu-na.

“Promise you won’t make fun of me… There’s this show called Winx Club…”

“…? What’s Winx Club?”

“I’ll explain. Winx Club is a magical girl anime about an ordinary girl who discovers she has fairy powers and enrolls in Alphea, a fairy school, to fight villains.”

“Hey NoName! You already knew and just asked to embarrass me!”

Yu-na’s face flushed red and blue. She yelled so loudly my ears rang.

“Ohhh… I see. So Yu-na likes that kind of thing.”

“Ugh, seriously… Hurry up and ask Ha-ru something too.”

She kept pestering me, not wanting to be the only one put on the spot.

Since I knew much less about Ha-ru than Yu-na, I chose a safer question this time.

“Alright. Ha-ru, if someone gave you and Yu-na 10 billion won, how would you split it?”

“I’d just give it all to Yu-na.”

“Really? You’d give it all to me?”

She answered without a moment’s hesitation. Yu-na’s eyes sparkled with emotion.

“My family is rich anyway, so I don’t need it.”

Oh right, her family is wealthy.

I’d forgotten despite the fact we’d just used pure gold face masks she’d brought from home.

Yu-na’s excitement deflated at this mundane reason, and she added “I should have known” as the mood fizzled out.

This isn’t working. I need to jump straight to the climax of the truth game.

“Yu-na, Yu-na. Do you have a boy you like in our class?”

“Huh? A boy I like?”

“Yeah.”

It’s only natural to ask who someone likes during a truth game.

“Oh, I’m actually curious about this too.”

“Why am I the only one answering questions?”

“You can ask the next question. So, what’s your answer?”

I’m genuinely curious. The way she’s hesitating makes me think she might actually like someone.

But the answer we wanted never came.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t like anyone.”

“NoName, do you know something?”

I turned halfway around and whispered to Ha-ru.

“I’m pretty sure Si-hoo has feelings for Yu-na.”

“No way…! Really?”

“Yeah. I’m 99% certain.”

“Poor Yoon Si-hoo…! That’s so sad.”

Yu-na wasn’t about to just sit there while we whispered to each other.

She decided to climb on top of us, lifting the blanket and disrupting us with all her might.

“Wait, Yu-na, you’re heavy…!”

“Don’t leave me out! Tell me what you’re saying!”

“Hehe, Seo Yu-na, you’re secretly pretty popular?”

“Of course, Yu-na is cute.”

“Come to think of it, you’re good at sports too. Remember when you played dodgeball with the boys and it was 1 against 10? You were pretty cool then.”

The stream of compliments softened her up, and she returned to her spot.

“So what were you talking about?”

“Hmm. Should I tell her or not?”

“I think it’s okay to tell her.”

With Ha-ru willingly becoming my accomplice, I didn’t feel the need to keep it secret anymore.

Besides, Yoon Si-hoo has been too pushy lately. He deserves what’s coming.

“Yu-na.”

I called her name in a somewhat serious voice.

I twirled her bright red hair around my index finger. It was surprisingly addictive, and I could see it becoming a habit whenever we talked.

“How would you feel if someone in our class liked you?”

She had always been a loner at the academy.

She probably thought everyone disliked her, but I was curious how she’d react to learning someone might have wanted to be friends with her all along.

“Who would like someone like me…”

“Our Yu-na is cute, smart, and capable.”

“Honestly, I… haven’t been kind to anyone in class.”

“What about Yoon Si-hoo?”

“Eh?”

“Si-hoo seems to think well of you.”

“Kyaaah! I can’t listen to this anymore…!”

Surprisingly, it was Ha-ru rather than Yu-na who was cringing and making a fuss.

“Ah… um… well…”

Yu-na mumbled as if something was broken inside her.

“Si-hoo probably hates me…”

“But I’ve noticed something too. Si-hoo seems to smile a lot when he’s around you. He’s usually quiet and doesn’t talk much.”

“See? Ha-ru noticed it too. So next time Si-hoo approaches you, don’t push him away and try hanging out with him.”

“NoName, the truth game is so fun! It’s nighttime but I’m not sleepy at all!”

Yu-na became much quieter than before, while Ha-ru became more talkative.

Perhaps annoyed that I was only chatting with Ha-ru, Yu-na took control of the truth game.

“Then Ha-ru, did you like anyone at the academy?”

“Hmm… I used to, but not anymore.”

“Oh, who was it?”

“Kim Han-gyeol.”

“Girls don’t like him though. Didn’t you feel the same?”

“Han-gyeol and I have known each other since we were little.”

It was cute hearing these young kids talk about “when they were little.”

“But you don’t like him anymore?”

“No. He asked for just one bite of my ice cream but ended up eating all of it.”

“Haha…”

“I didn’t speak to him for a whole week! It was a limited edition ice cream that I really wanted to eat…!”

It’s fascinating how people have such different reasons for disliking someone.

Sharing secrets with each other was embarrassing but also refreshing.

That’s probably why Ha-ru attacked me with a mischievous smile.

“NoName, do you like anyone?”

“Of course not.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re all too young.”

“You always call us young. But you’re the same age.”

“That’s right, Ha-ru! I’m not the only one who feels this way. NoName always treats me like a child.”

“You are a child, Seo Yu-na.”

“No, I’m not! Teacher said second graders aren’t children anymore.”

She quoted what Teacher Jackie occasionally says to control the noisy classroom.

“Oh, that’s what Teacher Jackie says! I can imitate her perfectly. Ahem. ‘Class 2-A, you’re not children anymore. You have first-grade juniors below you, so you should set a good example. Understand?'”

“Wow, that sounds exactly like her!”

I laughed at Ha-ru’s excellent impersonation.

I especially wanted to give her bonus points for not missing the detail of adding English at the end.

* * *

The truth game gradually transformed into a versus game.

Learning about each other’s preferences was also great fun for the kids.

Thinking it was about time, NoName gathered them together one last time.

“Actually, there’s a reason I invited you both to this pajama party today.”

“Huh, really?”

Ha-ru quietly nodded.

“Can we sit up and talk for a moment?”

NoName, who believed apologies should be made face-to-face, grabbed the girls’ arms firmly.

Everyone made cracking sounds as they sat up, having been in one position for too long.

Then she joined Yu-na and Ha-ru’s hands together.

“Do we really have to do this…?”

“Yes, we promised, remember?”

“Okay… Um, Yu-na.”

Ha-ru began in a sweet voice.

“Last year, I said some harsh things to you… remember?”

“Yeah…”

“I spoke without thinking. I’m really sorry…”

“…”

“I had so much fun today. Playing Jenga, eating chicken while watching TikTok, having a picnic with Niobe, and playing the truth game… Would you like to hang out again sometime? I’ll invite you next time. I’m really, truly sorry…”

The once noisy room fell silent in an instant.

Both Ha-ru with her head tilted back and Yu-na biting her lip hard.

Neither knew what more to say.

Yu-na’s hands trembled.

Memories of her difficult times at the academy flashed through her mind, overlapping with the joyful experiences of the pajama party.

Yu-na slowly turned her head to look at NoName.

‘There’s nothing to worry about.’

NoName smiled brightly at Yu-na, signaling that everything was okay.

After contemplating for a while, Yu-na took a deep breath.

“I know how badly I treated everyone in class last year. I wanted to play with everyone… but since I couldn’t join in, I became more spiteful.”

“If you knew, then why…?”

“I knew you were trying to look out for me in the second semester. Hic… When everyone hated me, when they called me the ‘Yu-na virus’ and didn’t even want to touch me, you were the only one who talked to me. Hic… But when I overheard you gossiping about me with the others… I felt so betrayed…”

Yu-na’s face quickly became streaked with tears.

Even though she tried to hold back by squeezing her eyes shut, droplets formed and rolled down her reddened cheeks.

“That’s a misunderstanding! I… I…”

Ha-ru couldn’t continue.

She wasn’t sure if what she’d said counted as gossip or not.

She probably thought that even if she’d said things for Yu-na’s sake, it might still be considered gossip.

“You pretended to be friends with me in front of my face but talked behind my back. That’s why I hated you the most in Class 1-C. Really… even now, you might just be doing this because NoName is making you.”

“That’s not true…”

“NoName is enough for me as my only friend.”

This statement hit Ha-ru like a bolt from the blue.

Just when the situation seemed to be taking a turn for the worse,

Yu-na suddenly hugged Ha-ru, who had been hanging her head and fidgeting.

“Hic… But you know… I definitely thought that way before… but when we had to write down our friends’ names on that survey, I could only write NoName’s name and it made me so sad. I cried all day when I got home…”

Even though she tried to keep her mouth shut, emotions burst through her lips.

NoName silently mouthed to the confused Ha-ru to gently pat Yu-na’s back.

The trembling vibrations traveled through her hands to Ha-ru.

“I think I’ve been living too selfishly… If I could go back, I’d apologize to everyone in class. And about hitting you… I was so scared of myself that I couldn’t sleep that night. I really wanted to say sorry, but hic… I don’t know why I did it. Did it hurt a lot?”

“Yeah… a little…?”

“Waaah, I’m sorry! I’m sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…”

Ha-ru looked uncomfortable, as she was supposed to be the one apologizing but ended up receiving apologies instead.

Yu-na kept repeating “I’m sorry” while Ha-ru seemed dazed.

“So will you come to the next pajama party with NoName and me?”

“Sniff… yes!”

Finally, both girls’ expressions brightened.

Fortunately, the regrets and resentments they had been carrying seemed to melt away as they comforted each other.

As Ha-ru wiped away a tear, NoName approached with tissues.

“Do you want to blow your nose too?”

“N-no…! I can do that myself!”

When Ha-ru snapped, NoName casually held the tissue to Yu-na’s nose.

“Here, blow.”

“Sniff…!”

“Good. Everyone’s tears seem endless today. Are you feeling better now?”

“Hic… yeah…”

NoName held the still-sniffling Yu-na preciously in her arms.

“See? Apologizing wasn’t such a big deal, right?”

The question was directed at Ha-ru.

“Yeah… easier than I thought.”

“Yu-na told me that after me, you’re her favorite person.”

“Hey, you promised not to tell—mmph…!”

“Shh, quiet now.”

Ha-ru giggled at Yu-na, whose mouth kept getting covered by NoName today.

“You two really look like mother and daughter. It’s so funny!”

“Really? Then come be the dad. We’ll be a perfect family.”

“No way! I don’t want to be a man!”

“I didn’t want to be a woman either, you know?”

“Huh…? But you are a woman?”

NoName gave a meaningful look. Ha-ru would never understand its significance.