Ch.93Episode 19. Making a Move (End)

“Are you sleeping? Are you working?”

[Why are you calling? You could have just texted.]

A curt response came through the phone.

On the night before her birthday, I contacted Michelle. I wanted to give her advance notice in case she might be sleeping when I came to pick her up.

“I was worried you might have forgotten about the birthday.”

[Do you take me for a fool?]

“Of course not.”

I chuckled nonchalantly before getting straight to the point.

“Have you thought about contacting Gu Yeonhwa first? I think she’d be really happy.”

[What kind of contact are you talking about?]

“Like asking her to have a meal together. Haven’t you been receiving birthday messages from her every year? I think it’s about time you responded.”

[You’re being nosy.]

“I do tend to meddle a bit.”

[Don’t take that as a compliment.]

I giggled softly at her sharp voice that clearly revealed her irritation.

I decided to be understanding even if she was somewhat temperamental, since I had been calling her daily for a week to pressure her.

“Would you consider acknowledging my efforts to improve the relationship between you two?”

[No.]

“How cold.”

I hadn’t expected much anyway, and I had no intention of forcing her.

As long as Michelle would just meet with Gu Yeonhwa, that would be enough. If I tried to push beyond that, Michelle would likely resist strongly, so this was the appropriate limit.

“I’ll be bringing Gu Yeonhwa, so keep your evening free. Don’t get up when we arrive.”

[Good grief. As I’ve said before, you really don’t seem suited to be an instructor.]

“I might not be suited as an instructor, but what about as a person?”

[Absolutely terrible. You suffocate people. To an unpleasant degree.]

“That’s unfortunate.”

I deliberately made a deflated sound, pretending to be disappointed. Perhaps annoyed by my glib attitude, she let out a deep sigh.

[I’m hanging up.]

“I told you. Don’t try to avoid it this time. There might not be another chance.”

[…Come or don’t come. Just stop annoying me with all these details.]

“Then about the time—”

Click.

“It’s basic phone etiquette not to hang up when someone is speaking. But I’ll let it slide since you’re older.”

After delivering my closing remarks to the disconnected call, I sent a text message.

[I’ll come by around 5.]

Predictably, there was no reply.

But this was enough.

By now, she would be at home. If by some chance she wasn’t, I could ask the hero I had stationed there where she had gone.

Everything was perfectly prepared.

* * *

The next day. July 11th.

While waiting in the shade of the building in front of the women’s dormitory, I heard hurried footsteps approaching.

“Ah, Instructor!”

Upon spotting me, she scurried over like an excited pet. Approaching at a very fast pace, she grinned broadly while smoothing her golden hair.

“How do I look today?”

“……”

Is she seriously asking?

Watching her childishly fluttering her skirt, I could hear people around us pointing and whispering. I let out a sigh.

“Hey.”

“Yes!”

“Are you really going like that?”

“Yes, of course!”

This is ridiculous. She’s going to meet her mother dressed in cosplay?

Looking back and forth between her flashy black dress and her bold expression that seemed to ask what she had done wrong, I covered my face.

“Gu Yeonhwa.”

“Yes.”

“Should I forcibly strip you and make you change, or will you go change yourself?”

“F-forcibly strip me…? Isn’t that going too far?!”

“Follow me.”

I grabbed her wrist and entered the dormitory. The security guard tried to stop us midway, but I briefly explained the situation and said we’d be down in five minutes.

After taking the elevator to Gu Yeonhwa’s room, I released her wrist.

“Enter the passcode.”

“Why are you doing this?”

Despite objecting to my forceful tone, she seemed intimidated by my demeanor and entered the passcode. As she opened the door and went in, I said:

“Put on something normal. Now.”

With those final words, I closed the door.

I swear, I can’t let my guard down for a second. After all my effort arranging this meeting, is she trying to ruin everything?

About five minutes later.

She came out wearing a black slip dress over a white T-shirt. It was a long skirt that came down to her shins, paired with pristine white sneakers.

I smiled with satisfaction at her outfit that showcased Gu Yeonhwa’s characteristic cuteness and vivaciousness.

“What’s this? If you could dress this prettily, why didn’t you in the first place?”

“Don’t you know how important individuality is these days?”

“Individuality, my foot. If you went out in that other outfit, even your mother would run away if she saw you by chance.”

“R-really? That bad?”

“Yep.”

“Then if you encountered me wearing that dress from earlier outside, would you run away too?”

“…Yep.”

“Ugh. I thought you were a fellow otaku.”

Gu Yeonhwa pretended to cry, expressing her disappointment.

This is absurd. How can she equate me, who enjoys subculture normally, with a hardcore cosplayer who dresses up everywhere?

“Who said we’re the same kind of otaku?”

“I feel so betrayed.”

“I’m the one who feels betrayed by your behavior.”

After ensuring Gu Yeonhwa had changed properly, we left the dormitory. We headed straight to the parking lot behind the building.

Having obtained my driver’s license and rented a car in advance, transportation was no longer an issue.

“A car?”

She tilted her head when she saw the white sedan responding to my car key.

“I’ve actually contracted for a new car, but they said it would take three months to arrive. So I just rented this one temporarily. Get in.”

“This seems… quite serious?”

“If we’re going to have fun, we should do it comfortably. I can’t exactly carry you around on my back.”

Honestly, that would be more efficient. Driving into downtown Seoul would mean dealing with traffic jams and struggling to find parking spaces, which would consume a lot of time.

But since we needed to pick up Michelle today, driving was unavoidable.

“But being carried around has its own charm, doesn’t it?”

You wouldn’t say that after trying it once.

I felt like showing her Bin Yoon-i throwing up.

“Enough of that. Just get in.”

“I’ve never seen you drive before…”

She looks anxious, glancing at me sideways. She seemed to be asking with her eyes if I was a good driver.

“Well, now you will.”

“You’re not going to get into an accident, are you?”

“No. Just hurry up and get in.”

“If we crash, it’s your responsibility.”

She cautiously climbed into the passenger seat and looked around the interior. Being a cheap sedan, there was nothing special about it. It was no different from any other car interior.

“Just put on your seatbelt.”

“I know that. It’s my lifeline. If anyone crashes into this car, I’ll turn them into a human barbecue!”

“What kind of talk is that for someone who’s going to be a hero…”

Sigh, really. After today, there won’t be any more issues about my driving.

I need to show her my driving skills.

It was time to demonstrate the skills I learned in that other world.

* * *

“How is it? Not bad, right?”

“…It’s fine. But where are we going?”

She reluctantly acknowledges my stable driving. Somehow, I feel like I’m receiving an undeserved bow.

“Downtown. We’ll watch a movie there, have some fun, then go to the department store to buy a gift.”

“Okay.”

She answers obediently while fidgeting with her seatbelt, glancing at me repeatedly.

“What?”

“Eek!”

When I spoke to her because she kept looking at me nervously, she startled and shook her head vigorously.

I don’t know why she’s so tense.

Is she still worried about my driving? Or is she conscious of this being a date?

“Gu Yeonhwa.”

“Yes?”

“Let me tell you in advance. Don’t call me ‘Instructor’ today.”

“Um… then what should I call you?”

“Hmm. ‘Yujin-ssi’ or ‘Yujin oppa’ should be fine.”

Honestly, with just a five-year age difference, “uncle” would be too much.

“Oppa…?”

“If ‘oppa’ makes you uncomfortable, you can call me ‘Yujin-ssi.’ I don’t mind either way.”

The reason for changing how we address each other was to implicitly demonstrate that Gu Yeonhwa and I were close.

Since I had boldly declared I would make Gu Yeonhwa mine, I needed to show that we had some level of intimacy.

And if Michelle knew that Gu Yeonhwa and I were close, she would become more anxious. She wouldn’t want to give her daughter to a rogue like me.

…It feels a bit strange to call myself a rogue.

“Then… I’ll go with ‘oppa.'”

“Really? If it’s uncomfortable, ‘ssi’ is fine too.”

“No way. There’s nothing like that between us.”

“What kind of relationship do we have then?”

Even as I asked, I felt somewhat pleased.

If she had chosen ‘ssi,’ there would still have been distance between us, but with the change to ‘oppa,’ it felt like the line in our relationship had been erased.

“We’re companions who enjoy subculture together and even cosplay together!”

That’s not our relationship at all. She’s deliberately choosing misunderstandings.

“No, we’re not.”

“Even if we weren’t, I’ve sometimes thought it might be nice to have a reliable oppa who takes good care of me.”

“Is that so.”

“Then you should call me Yeonhwa, right? Drop the surname for closeness.”

Gu Yeonhwa says with a mischievous smile.

“Do I have to?”

“Wow. You ask me to address you intimately, but you won’t do the same for me?”

I never asked her to address me intimately. Even calling me “oppa” was her own choice. I could have logically refuted this, but I didn’t want to argue on a day like today.

“Fine. I’ll call you Yeonhwa.”

“Great. Do it right now.”

“No. I’ll do it when the time is right.”

“Aw, that’s disappointing… But why are you suddenly organizing how we address each other?”

After briefly considering this expected question, I decided to tell the truth.

“Because it’s a date.”

“WHAT?!”

She exclaimed in surprise, and I glanced at her. She was blinking with wide eyes, looking dazed. I smiled at her reaction and patted her shoulder.

“Let’s have fun today.”

So you can be even happier when you see your mother tonight.