Chapter 32: Movie Theater Just the Two of Us (2)

A romantic horror movie? Just hearing the genre name didn’t make immediate sense. Romance is romance and horror is horror, so what was a romantic horror movie?

“A romantic horror movie?”

“Yeah. A romantic horror movie.”

When I echoed the question, So-yul answered as if explanation was hardly necessary. Of course, I definitely needed explanation. When I prompted for more details with a look, So-yul finally continued:

“It’s about a man and woman who are in love, but strange events happen in the mansion where they live. But they trust each other and endure, so it ends with everything being safely resolved.”

“…If you know it’s safely resolved, isn’t that basically like watching the whole thing?”

“The process is what matters.”

So she says.

Anyway, it was horror mixed with romance. Though we were lovers, albeit fake, so romance made sense. But why on earth did she have to pick horror?

Well, what could I do? I’d left the movie choice entirely to So-yul in the first place, and there weren’t really any good alternatives. I had no choice but to accept it.

Standing up to hit the switch, the club room instantly turned dark. The mannequin we’d moved looked needlessly scary. At least the projector’s light illuminated the screen.

Relying on this to return to my seat, So-yul pressed the keyboard as if she’d been waiting. A production company logo appeared on the large screen, and someone’s scream hit our ears. The sound signaling the movie’s start.

Around when we entered the introduction, I realized.

Come to think of it, hadn’t So-yul complained about being scared even in just the dark corridor…?

This late premonition proved exactly right.

“Eek, uuu…”

At every single thing that popped up, So-yul let out strange sounds without tiring. She was so scared her shoulders jumped even when just the protagonists appeared. It was almost admirable that she had the courage to pick horror with this temperament.

“…If you’re that scared, should we watch something else?”

“I-I’m fine. Not scared at all. …Eek!”

She didn’t look fine at all.

“Then what was that sound just now?”

“I was just exclaiming because it’s so fun.”

“My, how fun must it be for your voice to tremble?”

“…You’re annoying.”

When I responded with a snicker, So-yul shot me a cold glare.

Well, I was trying to joke around in my own way so she wouldn’t be scared.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t scared at all. It was just repeating ordinary jump scares.

Something suddenly appearing to startle you. Running away from that only to have something else pop out. Even for me who’d barely watched horror movies, the patterns were readable.

Of course, this was just my impression, and it didn’t seem to apply to So-yul who was apparently quite timid inside.

For So-yul who usually only thought about teasing me, this side was extremely rare.

Being startled by an unremarkable horror movie, trying to act tough though she didn’t want to be found out. Either way it felt so cute that a smile formed on its own.

The story gradually entered its middle section.

Finally the main villain appeared and separated the couple. A villain with the power to control ghosts attacked the man. The man ran away quickly and started searching for the woman.

The horror elements faded somewhat, now changing into a thriller with them being chased by the villain.

Of course, I hadn’t been scared at all since earlier but.

“…”

Seeing So-yul absorbed without making strange sounds, that seemed to be the case.

“You’re watching really intently.”

When I commented casually, So-yul glanced at me.

“This is the really interesting part.”

“Weren’t you finding it interesting earlier with all those exclamations?”

“…Really.”

A blank expression settled on So-yul’s face. Though she’d said it herself.

Anyway, So-yul was enjoying the movie so much she couldn’t take her eyes off it. Though I thought her hobby, specialty and major were all piano, maybe she liked movies almost as much.

“You must really like movies?”

“Yeah. I do.”

After quietly answering my question, So-yul:

“I think piano performance involves a kind of acting too. So I watch things like movies. They’re professionals at expressing emotions, so there’s a lot to learn from watching.”

“Ah, I see.”

Hearing it made sense.

So-yul at the piano wasn’t just a performer playing pieces.

She was closer to an artist who used not just the performance but expressions and gestures to dye all viewers with her emotions.

To become like this, So-yul must have poured in all sorts of effort.

Even a seemingly ordinary movie-watching hobby had the underlying purpose of developing expressiveness.

The movie gradually approached its climax.

They barely shook off their pursuer. Finally when it seemed everything was resolved with the villain meeting their death. Rather, as if for revenge, the ghosts started attacking the man and woman.

Ghosts appeared everywhere. Surrounding furniture and fixtures fell threatening the couple. By this point even I was watching the movie with tension.

Meanwhile So-yul:

“Huuu.”

Was letting out sounds like she might cry.

So-yul staring at the screen with narrowed eyes. I wasn’t sure if she didn’t want to see or wanted to see even like this. She squeezed her eyes shut at every ghost scene – I wondered if she could even understand the plot.

But well.

Her trembling like a kitten constantly stimulated protective instincts. Already small and cute So-yul shaking with fear made emotions well up wanting to comfort her.

If I let my guard down, I felt I might hug her any moment.

Lost in these ridiculous thoughts.

The villain they thought dead crawled out from under the bed.

Oh ho. This was quite a surprising twist. Being called a famous work, it seemed to live up to its name. Well, considering the ghosts were still being controlled, the possibility of the villain being alive was high.

While I was internally finding this interesting.

For some reason So-yul covered her eyes with one palm and…

“N-no…”

Making this sound while.

Stretching out her other hand to tightly grasp mine.

A hand much smaller and more delicate than mine. Yet with long extended fingers. A soft and smooth sensation transmitted where we touched. It even felt slightly ticklish.

The movie must have been quite scary, as So-yul’s hand trembled.

I probably wasn’t much different now.

The sudden surprise attack coming without warning startled me too.

“Hey, hey. Han So-yul.”

“What?”

So-yul turning to look as if asking why I called.

The action just now must have come from her unconscious. That meant the embarrassment was mine. While trying to hide my slightly shy appearance, I hesitantly moved my lips.

“You’re… holding my hand right now.”

“What?”

When I conveyed the current situation without exaggeration, So-yul blinked her large eyes several times then.

Soon dyed both her cheeks the deepest pink.

“S-sorry.”

So-yul apologized and pulled away the hand she’d been holding. Placing the withdrawn hand on her chest and clutching it with the other, her flustered state showed through completely.

“No, nothing to be sorry about.”

“Mmm…”

So-yul nodding lightly.

But that was all. Perhaps feeling embarrassed about unconsciously grabbing a boy’s hand, So-yul bit her lower lip hard and hung her head. Of course she didn’t say a word.

What should I say? It felt somewhat like my fault.

I definitely wanted to help So-yul trembling with fear. Lending a hand for a while wouldn’t hurt. Rather, if it helped So-yul watch the movie comfortably, it would benefit both of us.

We’d even done lap pillows before. The time for being embarrassed about mere hand-holding had long passed. Even non-dating people held hands well enough.

Right. Though fake, I was her boyfriend. That was the reason. Absolutely no unnecessary ulterior motives. Just imitating what other couples did with fake skinship.

Repeating this internally.

Unable to hide my awkwardness, I said:

“You can hold my hand if you want to. …Though we’re fake, we are dating.”

Then So-yul lifted her head sharply to look up at me and.

After a moment, opened her mouth with visibly hesitant behavior:

“Hands… not yet.”

Yet?

As I wondered about this puzzling statement, So-yul raised her gaze to meet my eyes. Her look held a gentle light.

Then:

“C-can I just hold your finger?”

She proposed this compromise.

Of course it was fine with me. So-yul might prefer holding fingers to hands too. Plus well, my hand was probably sweaty now. This might be better actually.

I nodded silently and extended one index finger toward So-yul.

So-yul stretched out one hand and gripped my finger tight.

Her body temperature slightly warmer than mine spread throughout my body.

“Not scared anymore?”

When I asked with an idle snicker, So-yul answered with a “hmph”:

“I was never scared at all.”

Sure, sure.

Like this, So-yul and I continued watching the movie connected by one finger… or tried to.

We’d forgotten the fact that the movie steadily progressed even while we were doing this.

The villain on screen had already collapsed bleeding. Peace returned to the mansion with the ghosts’ interference gone. The man and woman held each other’s hands, sharing joy while facing each other.

I’d worried whether So-yul could understand the content watching like that. I never dreamed I’d be the fool.

“…How did they defeat them?”

“…I don’t know either.”

Of course, So-yul didn’t understand at all either.

Since it was almost time to return to the dorms, we couldn’t rewind to watch the climax part. We had to close our private theater soon.

Though watching the movie was the goal, we ended up missing the most important part. Really, it was ridiculous. As I snorted, So-yul hesitated briefly then reached one conclusion:

“Well, it was a happy ending so I guess everything worked out.”

Earlier she’d said the process was what mattered.

Enough. We understood they somehow defeated the villain and reached a happy ending. If really curious we could search it up later. I decided not to think too deeply about it.

“So? Was it fun?”

I asked while wiggling my index finger still tightly held by So-yul. As if just realizing, So-yul removed her hand and answered:

“Yeah. For a first date suggested by my boyfriend.”

“As if you usually do anything that amazing.”

“Then next time I should do something amazing.”

“I’m sorry.”

Better not encourage such thoughts with careless words. An important life lesson.

Resolving this while just snorting, Soon So-yul’s lips curved up.

“Just kidding.”

Then So-yul showed a gentle shy smile and:

“It was fun. Thank you.”

Gave these admirable words.

At her smile shining bright even in the dark club room, I too couldn’t help but smile.

Trying hard to hide that, I barely answered:

“It was nothing.”

Just then.

A creaking sound came from the club room door opening.

Simultaneously So-yul’s eyes snapped wide. It was a face showing more shock than I’d ever seen since first meeting her.

Then as the club room lights came on:

“My my. You two are getting along so well?”

A voice that absolutely shouldn’t be heard followed.

This was completely impossible.

It was a truly unbelievable situation.

To the point of wishing it was all a dream.

Forcing down the feeling of not wanting to face reality, I turned my face back.

There stood… the head of student affairs wearing a strange smile.