Chapter 97: Lack of Brain Cells

I had never gone on a blind date before, but maybe this was roughly how it felt to go to one.

Haa…

It was suffocating.

The couple sitting across from us burst into giggles, as if they found something incredibly amusing.

“Oh no~ Honey! We shouldn’t just keep to ourselves like this.”

Fumurin said as she wiped the cocoa off her boyfriend’s lips as if it was a natural thing to do.

It felt like she was doing it out of habit from how natural it looked.

For Doah and me, such a scene wasn’t that common.

“Ah, right~ We’re late with the introductions! Haengnim!”

Right, why the hell did he keep calling me that?! I wasn’t his Haengnim!

I had low resistance to this kind of excessive friendliness, so it was hard to get used to his way of addressing me.

“I’m Gahee’s boyfriend, Changjin!”

“Ah, yes. Changjin-ssi.”

“Ah, c’mon~ I’m your dongsaeng, just treat me comfortably~!”

I almost spit out ‘what should I call you if I’m uncomfortable’ to his face, but there was no way I could do that to someone who was clearly smiling at me.

“Um… Okay…”

“By the way, Unnie! Your boyfriend is way too handsome!”

Unlike Luka, Fumurin’s real life and vtuber personality were so similar, they could identify her easily.

Her excitement didn’t seem forced either.

“He looks like a celebrity! You know, like that one idol, right?”

“Nah, what are you saying? Haengnim looks like that one actor!”

The two of them proceeded to start a heated debate about who it was that I looked like.

Meanwhile I was here, praying desperately that they’d stop.

“A-Ah, yeah. Oppa was quite popular at school.”

Like me, Doah also seemingly struggled to handle their extroverted energy. She voiced her agreement with Fumurin in a small voice.

“Wow! Then again, with how handsome he is, that’s a matter of course! Now I understand why you were screaming for Oppa during that one stream!”

Hearing the controversy from the virtual world spilled into the real world, Doah made a face as if she had been punched in the guts.

Like a manhwa character’s eyes spinning, Doah’s eyes seemed to be in a daze.

“I was calling for my papa…”

“Oh, c’mon, you don’t need to hide things between us, Unnie! We’re closer than just business partners!”

Every time she spoke, her piercing moved too.

It looked painful no matter how I looked at it.

What on earth made her decide to get that?

I was curious but didn’t have the courage to ask

“Anyway, Oppa, did you know that Doah unnie was Luka?”

That was a secret that I could never tell anyone, but in this case it wasn’t so.

Because the one asking was none other than a CLOSER member.

I glanced at Doah, as if asking if it was okay for me to speak, but Doah opened her mouth instead of me.

“I told him a little afterwards.”

“Oh my! Then, Oppa must have been so surprised!”

I figured that it would be best for me to just follow Doah’s lead here.

“Ah, well… I was surprised at first.”

“Did you know about vtubers and stuff?”

“Um, well…”

I had a feeling that it wouldn’t help anyone if I were to reveal that I was an extreme otaku.

“Ah, c’mon! Guys like Haengnim don’t usually watch that stuff!”

When Changjin embarrassed Fumurin as if to say, why ask such a question, I was the one who felt deflated.

No, dude…

I watched a fuckton of those stuff…

It seemed people really lived with strange fantasies about others.

Someone’s appearance didn’t dictate their tastes, you know?

“Oh myyy! Unnie! We’re going to be late!”

“What time is it?”

“1:40!”

Our Escape Room Cafe reservation was at two.

We left behind our remaining coffees and immediately headed out.

“Honey! I’m so excited! Aren’t you?”

Fumurin’s voice as she said that was even more coquettish than when she was streaming.

If Doah were to be like that, I think I would’ve been too drained to handle her.

No, actually…

If she was like that, it would’ve been nearly impossible for us to date in the first place.

Seeing those two, Doah seemed to feel something as she tightly gripped my collar.

“…Huh?”

“W-”

Her face was flushed red.

She coudln’t even form a proper word.

As I silently waited for her to continue, Doah stuttered and finished her sentence.

“W-We should go too, Honey.”

…Honey?

That was new.

Normally, she’d just call me Oppa.

When I blinked and stared at her, as if trying to ask her why the hell was she acting like this, she lightly kicked my shin.

“Ah. Okay. Let’s go.”

I pondered why I got hit for a little, but couldn’t come up with a clear answer.

What, did she want me to call her honey too?

That didn’t seem to be the case. But why was she doing something she didn’t do before?

Maybe my belief that I understood Doah well was just my own delusion.

We crossed the main street and entered an alley.

Then, we entered a commercial building that didn’t look too old.

After climbing the narrow stairs and reaching the third floor, we arrived at the Escape Room Cafe we reserved.

“Ah~ Welcome~”

The employees greeted us in a tone similar to that of a variety TV show host.

“Yes! Please put your belongings here, and call us when you’re ready!”

“Honey! What if we solve everything too quickly?”

“Hm~ It’s possible because my Gahee is too smart~”

Damn… Was this how ordinary couples talk to each other?

The more I heard them talk, the more my head started to spin.

Doah’s mouth also showed no signs of closing.

It seemed like she was just as shocked as me.

“Alright! If you’re ready, please close your eyes and follow me!”

We closed our eyes and held the shoulders of the person in front.

I held Doah’s, and Doah held Fumurin’s.

Like playing train as kids, we wobbled after the employee and opened our eyes in a dimly lit room.

“The time limit is an hour! If you find the puzzles too difficult or unable to figure them out at all, please use this smartphone to check for hints!”

Since this was our first time, we paid close attention to his words.

“Well then, I hope you discover all the hidden clues! Fighting!”

As the employee left, a red timer appeared above our heads.

This room we were locked in had an atmosphere similar to the rundown houses in foreign movies than something you’d normally see in Korean ones.

The floor was covered with wooden tiles that seemed deliberately broken, and the lamp looked quite exotic.

“Uh… so what should we do first?”

Well, they said all the clues were inside this room, so…

“Let’s just gather everything that looks suspicious.”

Standing still and pondering wouldn’t get us anywhere.

“Understood!”

“Okay!”

At my instruction, we split up and started thoroughly searching the room.

I was in charge of rummaging through the drawer and closet.

When I opened the first target, the drawer, one opened while the other didn’t.

What I found on the first floor was a palm-sized postcard.

I couldn’t make out all of the contents, as if someone had burned it.

Only a few sentences and some words remained.

After placing the postcard on the table, I headed to the closet and started taking out everything I could get my hands on.

There was a stopped clock.

A box that looked really suspicious no matter how I looked at it.

And an old teddy bear with one eye missing.

I swear, they couldn’t make it more suspicious…

After gathering all the plausible-looking items, we reconvened and officially started the meeting.

“Where should we start?”

At Doah’s question, I carefully examined the objects on the table.

“We should start with the postcard, no? I mean it has the writing and all?”

I picked up the damaged postcard that I found and read what was written inside.

“It was a wonderful July. The end of summer. I don’t regret visiting that island with you. Did you receive the gift? I hope it’s to your liking.”

That was everything that I could read.

The rest was damaged and only partially visible.

“The cat died, it was sad.”

“The box is emp-”

“Die-”

I wasn’t sure what to make of this, but if we were to put our minds together…

“What do you think, Honey?”

“The July part sounds like a big hint, don’t you think?”

At her boyfriend’s words, Fumurin answered, as if she was a detective.

“I brought a calendar, how about we check it out?”

The notebook-sized calendar had sporadic memos for each month.

“July… since it’s July…”

Turning the pages to July.

There were two main events written that seemed to be scheduled.

[7/12 – 7/13 Fencing Competition]

[7/20 ☆]

“What did the star mean?”

At Fumurin’s words, her boyfriend clapped his hands as if he’d realized something.

“I knew it! Honey! It’s this!”

He immediately flipped through the dictionary that was on the bookshelf and showed us the page with the word star on it.

“This must be related to the English word for star!”

Hearing that, a question mark appeared in my head.

Would it really be that simple?

“You’re right! That has to be it!”

Fumurin nodded her head vigorously.

Then, the two of them proceeded to start talking about stars and constellations, sticking close together

But, that couldn’t be right…

At that moment, Doah quietly approached my side, tapped my shoulder and gestured for me to lend her my ear.

I slowly lowered my upper body to match her height.

Then, due to the words that entered my ears, I almost died trying to hold my laughter.

“I think they lack brain cells.”¹

Ah, Kim Luka.

You’re killing me.

Hearing her unfiltered thoughts, I strongly felt that this was what bonding felt really like.