Amusement Park 2

What just happened?

Han Seoyeon blinked for a moment.

Some delinquents came to hit on her.

Baek Da-eun appeared and intercepted them.

“Excuse me. Would you please step away from my lover?”

Along with an incomprehensible line.

“…L-lover? What do you mean? You both seem to be women.”

“Is this your first time seeing a same-sex couple?”

It wasn’t a misunderstanding.

Baek Da-eun was clearly uttering incomprehensible lines with her own mouth.

“Unfortunately, neither I nor my lover are interested in the opposite sex.”

Not interested in the opposite sex.

That was true.

Everything else was a lie.

“Please make such propositions to someone else.”

“Ah…”

The cleanly rejected men move away from sight.

Only then could Han Seoyeon slightly break away from Baek Da-eun’s embrace and meet her gaze.

“I’m sorry. Were you very surprised?”

The first words from her mouth were an apology.

“…I heard somewhere before that pretending to be lovers is perfect for rejecting this kind of pickup. I’ll apologize if it made you uncomfortable, Han Seoyeon.”

“Not really…?”

Han Seoyeon tilted her head.

There was no reason to be uncomfortable about being embraced by a beautiful girl for free.

Moreover, her friend’s consideration for her.

She was a bit touched that she told such a white lie despite having someone she had a crush on.

“I liked it.”

Above all, it was dependable.

Perfect for protecting her crybaby sister.

“This kind of thing might not be so bad?”

“Is that so…?”

Baek Da-eun’s voice also seemed to rise at the end, due to the high praise from her future father-in-law.

“But you know, how did you know? That it was me being hit on. Even though I’m wearing a wig.”

She wore a wig.

From a distance, she should look like just an ordinary girl.

Of course, she’s still a beautiful girl.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize you.”

Still, it wasn’t such a light disguise that she could be recognized at a glance.

“You, I mean.”

“…Oh.”

As if it were the most natural thing, Baek Da-eun recognized her at a glance.

“Honestly, I’m touched. A little.”

This is what a close friend is.

Han Seoyeon was moved.

Isn’t this the kind of friend you can’t buy even with billions?

If she had gotten such a friend back when she hadn’t met Michaela, she would have immediately confessed and been rejected at lightning speed.

“…We should get going. There’s no reason to stay in the square any longer.”

“Yeah.”

Did she say something unnecessary?

Due to hearing the cringeworthy lines, Baek Da-eun’s earlobes turned bright red.

“Do you know the way?”

“Nope!”

Even though Han Seoyeon was the one who rejected the limousine and set the meeting place.

She actually didn’t know where Lilyland was.

“Can I hold your hand?”

“What…?”

It can’t be helped.

The city was too vast for someone from the slums.

“Ah, that! I don’t have any strange intentions! It’s just, I’m kind of directionally challenged. I feel like I might get lost if we wander around. So…”

It’s embarrassing to say, but she wasn’t confident she wouldn’t become a lost child.

“You don’t have to force yourself to hold it! I’ll follow properly…!”

“─That’s fine.”

Baek Da-eun extends her hand.

“Take it. Here.”

“…Okay!”

Han Seoyeon happily held her hand.

Hmm, now she could relax!

Lilyland.

The largest theme park in South Korea.

Like many events and large facilities in today’s South Korea, this place was also named after Lee Yeon.

But let’s skip over that since it’s an unpublished spoiler.

“Wow…!”

Han Seoyeon’s eyes sparkled brightly.

Literally.

What unfolded before her eyes was truly another world.

A fantasy land she had only seen in advertisements.

Roller coasters filled with screams.

The Ferris wheel, a cliché among clichés for dates in fiction.

And other things like carousels and so on.

Around them were families who came to play with their children, and children.

People were smiling.

Sweet smells permeated the air.

“…Is it that amazing to you?”

“Yeah! This is my first time at an amusement park!”

Of course, in this life born and raised in the slums.

Similarly, in her past life as an orphan, such places were always a world beyond dreams.

Something she only saw on television.

Something she never thought she’d go to in her lifetime.

To come to such a place with a beautiful girl like this, it gave her a strange feeling.

“Ah…”

Baek Da-eun made a somewhat guilty expression.

“…I’m sorry. My consideration was lacking.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about every little thing!”

Han Seoyeon brushed it off with a smile.

“Besides, you’re the one who invited me. If anything, I should be thanking you.”

Her close friend was all good, but if there was a problem, it was that she was sometimes overly sensitive.

“Come on, let’s have fun first!”

“Yes…!”

Still holding hands, the two girls walked.

“Roller coaster! I choose you!”

The first target was already decided.

Han Seoyeon is a top.

In yuri terms, this means she’s the dominant one.

The point is.

She has strong nerves.

Add Clear Mind and Still Water to that, and she’s practically invincible.

“Kya─.”

She’s not weak enough to feel fear from something like a roller coaster!

“─Kyaaaaaaah!”

There was a time when she thought that way.

‘W-why? Even though I have Clear Mind and Still Water, why…!’

Clear Mind and Still Water.

A skill that nullifies all forms of mental interference.

Originally, due to the influence of that powerful mental barrier, she wouldn’t have let out delicate screams because of the roller coaster.

It was just a coincidence of overlaps.

The point of being with someone with a certain level of intimacy.

The point that amusement rides are also a kind of pleasurable activity.

“Hu, huaaaaa─!”

With these two things overlapping, Clear Mind and Still Water didn’t work.

There’s no way Han Seoyeon could know about such behind-the-scenes settings.

Moreover, Han Seoyeon had virtually no immunity to amusement rides, which she had never ridden before.

“Huff, huff, haah…”

“Are you okay?”

By the time she came to her senses, Han Seoyeon’s body had long since become a living corpse.

“…I-I’m fine! This much is nothing!”

Han Seoyeon struggled to regain her composure and spoke.

Her pride wouldn’t allow her to say she was scared.

“So, what should we ride next?”

Han Seoyeon might not have money, but she had pride.

“Ah, but rides with the difficulty of roller coasters might be too much for you, Da-eun! Since we just rode a scary ride, this time…”

“I’m fine. It wasn’t particularly scary for me.”

“…R-really?”

“Yes. If Han Seoyeon wants, we can focus on thrilling rides.”

And Baek Da-eun was overflowing with money and courage.

Is this what they call the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?

“Are, are you really okay? You don’t have to lie and push yourself!”

“Rest assured. I don’t lie about things like this.”

Baek Da-eun showed a relaxed smile as big as her heart.

“No, that, that!”

At this rate, she couldn’t help but give minus points.

How could the crybaby Suho ride something like this!

She lacks consideration.

It wasn’t particularly that Han Seoyeon didn’t want to ride, but this was something she couldn’t overlook as an older sister!

“Next, let’s try this upgraded roller coaster…”

“I! I think I’d prefer a softer atmosphere!”

This was all for her sister’s sake.

“I thought, if couples were to go, wouldn’t a place with more atmosphere be better than a roller coaster…? Just a thought.”

“…”

It definitely wasn’t because Han Seoyeon was scared!

“For couples, you say…”

As if thinking about something, Baek Da-eun muttered to herself.

Somehow, it was a serious atmosphere.

“Is there somewhere you want to go, Han Seoyeon?”

“Somewhere I want to go?”

A place she wants to go.

In other words, a place that would be good to go with Han Suho.

“…Hmm.”

It’s still daytime.

It’s too early for the Ferris wheel with its beautiful night view.

Then.

“How about the carousel?”

“The carousel…”

An easy-to-enjoy ride without room for likes or dislikes.

The carousel is representative of that.

“Okay.”

Moreover, the carousel was also a ride with situations for couples.

“Let’s go with the carousel.”

Lovers.

It was an absurd assumption.

Baek Da-eun was a friend.

Just a friend, nothing more.

It’s not something she should hope for beyond that.

Because she didn’t have the right to do so with Baek Da-eun.

‘I can’t…’

But.

If she unconsciously tempts her like that.

‘…If you say things that could cause misunderstandings like that.’

What she might end up doing unconsciously.

Even Baek Da-eun herself couldn’t know.

‘I─.’

She was unbearably arrogant.

To the extent of tormenting her life’s benefactor, and yet still having a crush on her.

The age group of people enjoying the carousel was quite different from the roller coaster.

There were more families, or couples.

“Oh, so this is a carousel…!”

A ride that rarely doesn’t appear in romance dramas, or shoujo manga and anime.

Like the roller coaster, it was her first time seeing and touching it directly.

Thump thump.

Han Seoyeon sat on the saddle.

Baek Da-eun sat right next to her.

Soon the horse moves.

And.

“Un-unexpectedly…!”

Unlike dramas or anime, Han Seoyeon clearly realized that the speed of the carousel wasn’t slow.

It’s about the speed of a person running.

As it goes up and down, it was a bit dizzying.

The repeating scenery adds to the dizziness.

So she closed her eyes slightly.

“…I didn’t expect you to struggle even with the carousel.”

A voice was heard.

It was Baek Da-eun’s.

“You’re surprisingly more timid than I thought.”

“N-no, I’m…!”

She turns her head to protest.

Only the pink-haired girl is in her sight.

“Here.”

The girl extends her hand.

“If you hold my hand, you won’t be scared.”

“…”

She was dissatisfied with being treated like a child.

While making a pouty expression, Han Seoyeon didn’t refuse the offered hand.

She felt a warm touch.

…Being treated like a child was a bit much, but it certainly was reassuring.