Chapter 636: A Real Woman’s Date (2)

-Charyureureureuk!

“Oh…”

The bowling ball that slipped from Cheon Jihee’s hand rolled down the lane center in a rather fast trajectory, then spectacularly knocked down the cluster of bowling pins.

She knocked down all 10 pins at once with a precise roll.

Seeing Cheon Jihee easily score a strike, as if she’d enjoyed bowling often, a short exclamation of admiration unintentionally slipped from my lips.

“You’re good, Jihee.”

“…Just a coincidence.”

“For a coincidence, the ball seemed to glide in at a very smooth angle?”

“…R-really?”

“And your posture was really stable, too. It looks like you’ve been playing often recently, right?”

“Well, j-just a little, for fun…”

Judging by her interaction with the bowling alley owner-ahjumma earlier, it seemed more like a second specialty than just a hobby, but I decided not to pry and let it slide.

There was no need to remind Cheon Jihee of her earlier embarrassment, especially after she’d already shown such a mortifying display while renewing her membership right before my eyes.

She had even been chided by the owner-ahjumma for bringing a guy to a bowling alley on a date, so making Cheon Jihee feel any more ashamed here would just ruin her mood for no good reason.

Fortunately, compared to the average guy, I’m quite open-minded about women’s hobbies, and I used to bowl frequently with friends in high school during my previous life, so I could accept this date without much resistance.

I suspect if I had suggested today’s date to an ordinary man in this world, he would have already ditched me at ‘Bap Kim Cheonguk’ and gone home.

I briefly thought that while she was a reliable vanguard inside the dungeon, outside the company, she was a rather embarrassing senior to show off. This time, it was my turn, so I picked up a bowling ball with a familiar weight from my past life and walked up to the lane.

“16 pounds? That’s lighter than I expected for you?”

In my previous life, that was the heaviest weight.

…I couldn’t say that out loud, so I just mumbled an excuse.

“I figured I’d start with a lighter one to get a feel for it. It’s been quite a while since I last played.”

“…Okay, then.”

For the record, ‘a while’ referred to my last memory from my previous life; by this world’s standards, it was practically my first time bowling.

Since this is a world with Awakened individuals, the bowling balls and pins here were about 1.5 times heavier than in my original world. The heaviest ball in my original world was 16 pounds (7.25kg), but here, 25 pounds (11.3kg) was the maximum, and naturally, the pins were heavier to match the increased ball weight.

Honestly, considering the weight of the greatsword I usually swing around, even 25 pounds wouldn’t be particularly heavy for me. Still, for my first roll, it was better to use the ball I threw most often in my past life to regain my feel for the game.

With that thought, I stood slightly to the left of the lane and rolled the bowling ball forward. My 16-pound ball, starting slightly to the right of the center, flowed into the gap between the 1st and 3rd pins with a subtle spin.

-Charyureuk!

It smoothly took its path, hitting two pins simultaneously and breaking the formation. I was relieved that my feel for the game seemed to be mostly intact. It was a bit disappointing that the 10th pin on the far right didn’t fall due to the change in pin weight. I finished my turn by cleanly picking up the spare with my second ball.

“…What, you know how to bowl too?”

“I used to play quite a bit. I haven’t had anyone to go with recently, though.”

“R-really…?”

Cheon Jihee looked at me with a strangely excited expression, perhaps because she realized I shared the same hobby. Well, for most women, discovering such a small commonality could change how they see someone. Especially since, in my previous world, girls who enjoyed typically male hobbies like fishing, billiards, or gaming often gained a cult following among guys who shared those interests. If that same basic psychology applies to the women in this world, then this shared hobby of bowling would likely resonate well with Cheon Jihee.

“I’m going to switch to a slightly heavier ball. It feels like the weight isn’t quite enough to get a strike.”

“…Oh, r-right…”

As I felt Cheon Jihee’s gaze, which had strangely softened the moment she learned I also enjoyed bowling, the thought that we could inevitably grow closer crossed my mind.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The bowling match between just Cheon Jihee and me somehow turned competitive midway through, and before I knew it, we ended up playing five consecutive games.

Of course, there was no way I, relying only on memories from my past life, could seriously beat Cheon Jihee, who actively enjoyed bowling recently, so except for the very last game, it was an overwhelming victory for her.

To be honest, she was on a completely different level.

She scored strikes or spares four or five times per game, and always managed a spare or a strike in the final frame. It was fundamentally impossible for me, whose bowling in my past life was merely a hobby, to genuinely win against her. Even the last game was only won by me because a belatedly self-aware Cheon Jihee clearly went easy on me while watching my reactions; otherwise, it would have been perfectly normal for me to lose all five games.

After enjoying the bowling alley to her heart’s content, Cheon Jihee quietly mumbled, glancing at me.

“…Sorry, it wasn’t fun for you, was it?”

“No, it was fun?”

Of course, contrary to her thoughts, I, who had genuinely enjoyed the date with Cheon Jihee, naturally shook my head in response.

“If it wasn’t fun, we wouldn’t have played five games in a row, right? Why do you think it wasn’t fun?”

“…I was the only one playing like myself the whole time, and you were just trying to keep up.”

“What’s wrong with that? We have different skill levels, so it can’t be helped, right? Besides, we weren’t really competing.”

“……”

“And you even checked my form, right? Let’s just say I learned properly from the skilled bowler, Jihee.”

“…That’s because you asked me to.”

That’s true. I only offered to help after I deliberately brought it up to try and induce some physical contact. If I hadn’t mentioned it, she probably wouldn’t have even thought of offering to check my form. She had clearly said she’d act like a couple for the day, yet she barely showed any couple-like behavior.

By the standards of this world, she probably wasn’t a very attractive girlfriend. Still, fortunately, I don’t really dwell on such things. As I said earlier, my standards regarding those aspects are quite broad compared to the average man. And the bowling alley with Cheon Jihee was, in a different sense, quite an enjoyable time for me.

Where else could I see the rare spectacle of a bowling ball bowling a bowling ball? Of course, I couldn’t tell her that, as she’d likely get angry or call me an idiot. And despite everything, the fact that she started watching my reactions on the last lane was strangely endearing. It meant that, at some point, she too had started taking our date quite seriously. Cheon Jihee changing her attitude towards me was a significant gain in itself.

“As I said again, the date wasn’t unfun, and I wasn’t disappointed with you today, Jihee.”

“…Really?”

“And honestly, I was already happy just knowing you were thinking of this as a serious date with me today. It’s true our meeting originated with Hye-eun between us, but the fact that you decided to take one step further makes me content.”

“…That’s good to hear, but it doesn’t change the fact that I ruined the date.”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t ruin it. And since we bowled together today, you know I like bowling quite a bit too.”

She was shamelessly bold when she took me to ‘Bap Kim Cheonguk’ and ordered Jeyuk Bokkeum without hesitation, but her attitude did a 180-degree turn the moment we found a common interest and she decided she wanted to get a little closer. This change must stem from her personality, shaped by having a one-sided crush on Hye-eun for so long. She must have lived for years with the mindset that ‘a man is unnecessary in my life,’ so naturally, she would have little experience catering to a man’s feelings or reading his cues.

Just looking at the ‘sexual fetish’ section from when we first met, it was entirely filled with details about Hye-eun, leaving no room for anyone else. Yet, after experiencing an intense night together with the three of us, Cheon Jihee occasionally shows me a flustered expression and is gradually becoming more honest, expressing her desire to grow closer to me.

Seeing these changes, it seems possible that even if completely forgetting Hye-eun is impossible, there’s enough room to raise her favorability towards me to match that she holds for Hye-eun.

…Well, personally, I don’t find our current relationship too bad either.

“Where should we go for dinner? Do you have anywhere in mind?”

“Just a nearby tonkatsu place… Ah, no, w-wait a second!”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go to B-Bap-ssi. There’s a decent place in front of the station.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

It was still a choice that didn’t quite shed Cheon Jihee’s characteristic personality, but compared to taking me to ‘Bap Kim Cheonguk,’ her indifference felt significantly lessened. Cherishing her subtle change inwardly, I followed Cheon Jihee with a happy stride.