Ch.115Episode 23. Comic World (End)

“Ah~ I’m so happy!”

Yeonhwa Gu hugs her shopping bag and giggles. After crouching down to examine the contents inside, she suddenly looks up at me.

“Oppa!”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you going to buy anything? Since we’re here, don’t hold back—enjoy yourself!”

For me, it was just awkward since I wouldn’t have anywhere to put anything I bought.

Wouldn’t it be weird if someone came into my room and saw character posters hanging on the wall? I’m supposed to be an instructor, after all.

“I’m fine.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. I enjoy watching you buy things and be happy.”

How could I not enjoy seeing her react so innocently to every word I say?

“I-I see!”

After fidgeting for a moment, she brushes her hair down a few times and clears her throat. It’s so obvious she’s trying to divert attention elsewhere to hide her agitation.

“Ahem. Well, since we’ve bought everything, shall we go take some photos? Having strangers take our pictures is fine, but it would be more comfortable if we took them ourselves, right?”

“I don’t like either option.”

“There you go pretending to dislike it again.”

“I actually do dislike it.”

When I snort and correct her, Yeonhwa flinches and clears her throat again.

“Before we go… I need to use the restroom first.”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“Ugh. Bodily functions are so inconvenient even at important moments like this. You can take photos while I’m gone if you want. I’ll specially permit it. But don’t follow strangers, okay?”

She speaks like a parent cautioning a child. I wave my hand dismissively and tell her to hurry back.

“Hold this for me, please.”

“Got it.”

I take the shopping bag she hands me. I place it by my feet and watch Yeonhwa walk away before yawning.

I lean against the wall and survey my surroundings.

There were still many people walking around. In fact, there seemed to be even more than before we went shopping for merchandise.

I press the corners of my eyes to relieve the fatigue building up.

Ah, I’m tired. The crowds were an issue, but coming here without much sleep was the bigger problem.

While I was waiting for Yeonhwa with my eyes closed, a woman’s voice came from beside me.

“Are you here alone?”

She approaches me with a smile and starts a conversation. She was cosplaying a character I didn’t recognize. I could see several other cosplayers behind her.

“Ah… I’m here with someone.”

“Oh, I see! You’re cosplaying Yuuki from Semyeol Witch, right? Could we take a picture together?”

“…Of course.”

I didn’t really want to, but I agreed to avoid an awkward situation.

“You really suit the character. Would it be okay if we took a selfie?”

“Yeah, sure…”

But do people usually take selfies in this situation?

I don’t know enough to know what boundaries to set. I have no idea how much I should allow.

“Thank you.”

She bows to me and naturally moves closer. I quietly watch as she takes photos with the camera attached to her selfie stick, and soon I hear the shutter sound.

“I’ll take one more~”

Click!

She says “one more” but takes multiple shots in succession.

After taking photos for quite a while, she bows again and expresses her gratitude.

“Thank you. Could I get your email or contact information so I can send you these photos?”

She hands me a notepad while speaking naturally. I stare at the notepad for a moment before taking it.

Honestly, I didn’t need it. Selfies with strangers weren’t important to me.

“…That’s okay.”

“Pardon?”

“I just did this because my friend asked me to… The photos don’t mean much to me.”

I’m more concerned about exposing my personal information than exchanging photos. How would I know if this stranger is connected to Akcheon?

“But you went through the trouble of cosplaying. Each photo should be important…”

“Is that so? I’m still fine without them.”

“I see. Do you have any social media accounts? I’m a cosplayer too.”

I could tell she was a cosplayer just by looking at her. But I had zero interest in whether she used social media or was a cosplayer. Not even a speck of interest.

“No, I don’t.”

“Really? But you’re so good at this!”

“It’s thanks to my friend. It’s just makeup.”

“Haha, I see. Well then…”

“I should probably get going now.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, but it looks like my companion is back, so I’ll be leaving.”

I looked in the direction Yeonhwa had gone to use the restroom. Her distinctive silver hair was swaying noticeably among the crowd.

I smiled as I watched Yeonhwa approaching through the crowd with quick steps.

“But still…”

“Have a nice day.”

I quickly picked up the shopping bag to prevent the woman from continuing the conversation. In situations like this, it was best not to leave any room for further interaction.

I’m not a celebrity who needs to manage my public image, so there’s no reason to accommodate everyone.

Above all, I had no intention of building rapport with random strangers.

Even if I had to date someone, I’d choose one of the special class students rather than a stranger.

“You’re back?”

“Sorry. The restroom was so crowded it took a while.”

“It’s fine. I can wait as long as needed.”

“Hmm… You’re being unusually kind today.”

“I’m always kind.”

“…Your conscience must be dead.”

“What’s dead is your manner of speaking.”

Are you so desperate for a knock on the head?

I’ll let it slide since there are so many people around.

“Hehehe. By the way, I saw you talking with a cosplayer earlier. What were you talking about?”

“Just asking if I use social media, if she could take photos. That’s about it. Why? Jealous that I was talking to another woman?”

“N-not at all! Why would I be j-jealous?”

I found it funny how her voice rose at the end, as if she was honestly reacting to my casual remark.

“If you say so.”

“Haven’t you been teasing me more frequently lately?”

“Not at allll~?”

“Eeeek!!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.”

I quickly responded as Yeonhwa clenched her fist. I decided to stop since she looked like she might hit me.

Still, I should use this tactic more often. It seems more effective on Yeonhwa than knocking her on the head.

“By the way, I’d like to go home soon. Can we? I’m dying of exhaustion.”

“What are you saying? It’s not even lunchtime yet, and we’ve barely taken any photos! We absolutely cannot leave until 4 PM!”

4 PM?

Shit. That’s more than 3 hours from now.

* * *

Comic World finally ended at 4 PM.

In the meantime, I took countless photos. With strangers, with Yeonhwa, just the two of us.

It felt like I’d taken all the photos I’d need for a lifetime.

“Let’s get to the car quickly. I’m dying of heat.”

Going outside for photos instead of staying in the cool indoor space made me tire twice as fast.

After changing clothes, we said goodbye to the photographers who had taken our pictures on the way back and headed to the parking lot.

I roughly loaded the carrier into the trunk and got in the car. As soon as I started the engine, I turned the air conditioning to maximum and opened the windows. The car interior, baked by the sun’s heat, was even hotter than outside.

“I’m dying of exhaustion. Never coming back.”

“But there’s tomorrow too.”

Yeonhwa said as she got into the passenger seat.

“What?”

“This summer’s Comic World is Saturday and Sunday. Two days.”

At the mention of two days, I felt my world crumbling.

I shook my head vigorously.

This won’t do. Even if it’s her wish, I absolutely cannot allow it.

“No, I’m not coming. If you want to come, come alone. I’ll drive you here.”

“Hehe. I thought you’d say that. Don’t worry. I’m planning to rest tomorrow too.”

“Really? That’s unusual for you.”

“I’m satisfied. You followed my wishes despite your annoyed expression. And I got good merchandise and photos.”

As I watched her smiling while looking at her phone, I grew curious. Without making a sound, I approached her and peeked at her phone screen.

It was a photo of us smiling at the camera.

My arm was around her shoulder, pulling her close—anyone would think we were a couple.

“It came out well.”

“Eek! You startled me!!”

Yeonhwa panicked and quickly covered the screen with her hand. What’s with that reaction? Did she see something inappropriate?

I chuckled at the sight of her eyes darting around as she tried to figure out what to say.

“I just got here. Let’s get going.”

The car interior quickly cooled down after turning the air conditioning on full blast and ventilating. The feeling of escaping from a brutal sauna was indescribable.

“I-I’ll send you the photos.”

Yeonhwa changed the subject. She fidgeted with the shopping bag on her lap, trying to smooth over the awkward moment.

“If you want.”

I gave a casual response due to fatigue and started the car. I drove toward the academy while trying to suppress my continuous yawning.

“Um… was it b-bothersome?”

“Huh?”

As we entered the Seoul outer beltway, Yeonhwa cautiously spoke up.

“Even if I said it was my w-wish… I know I bothered you. Making you cosplay because of my silly stubbornness… It feels like I was the only one having fun.”

“Well… it was fun in its own way.”

Honestly, I realized that subculture stuff doesn’t suit me. I should just enjoy works as they are without diving too deep.

Still, I don’t regret coming here.

Because I had the opportunity to see Yeonhwa genuinely happy multiple times.

“I told you. I enjoy seeing you happy. Watching you made it bearable.”

“W-what?”

“The character you cosplayed… Kana, was it? She was really pretty. And your happily smiling face was cute too.”

I was referring to the photo I saw earlier.

In that photo, Yeonhwa showed such a clear smile, as if she couldn’t help but smile because she was so happy in that moment.

Her lips twitched slightly, as if the compliment had eased her anxiety a bit.

“O-of course. Kana is truly happy after being saved by Yuuki.”

“Right. Since Kana became happy, you should become happy soon too.”

I think she understands the meaning of these words better than anyone. I glanced at her before looking ahead again.

Yeonhwa remained silent for a while. She didn’t speak until the academy came into view in the distance.

I kept glancing at her, puzzled by this unusual response, but apart from her reddened ears, I noticed nothing unusual.

After maintaining that silence for a long time, Yeonhwa suddenly placed her hand on top of mine, which was resting on the gear shift.

“…What are you doing?”

“You grabbed my hand in the movie theater without permission too.”

Oh, so this is revenge?

“I’m going to do what I want for my own happiness too.”

“Is that so? Then I prefer this.”

During a brief stop at a traffic light, I quickly pulled my hand from her grasp, flipped it over, and interlaced our fingers. The sensation of our fingers pressing together spread a warm feeling throughout my hand.

“Eep!”

She’s flustered by my bold response. It was amusing to see her face turn red and her other hand fidget while still not letting go of my hand.

“Were you seriously contemplating just to hold my hand?”

“Just?! Y-you might have a lot of experience with women, but I-I-I don’t! Do you know how much courage this took?!”

At this point, I’m pretty confident she wouldn’t reject me even if I kissed her.

Wanting to hold hands first on her own initiative…

As I was contemplating how to use this, Yeonhwa, sensing my thoughts, asked nervously:

“…D-did you dislike it?”

“No? I like it. Anything from you.”

“Ugh… when you s-say things like that, it’s e-embarrassing…”

You’re the one who grabbed my hand, what are you saying?

I pressed the accelerator while watching Yeonhwa’s constant fidgeting.

And so we returned to the academy, holding hands and making light conversation.

The next night, I received a call from the Association President saying they had discovered an underground laboratory.