Flirting with Life on the Line – 2

I pick up a ball and stand on the lane.

A bowling ball, similar to the weight of my heart, wraps around my hand.

“Boss, fighting!!”

She shouts so loudly that the bowling alley echoes, and I feel the attention focused on us from the other side.

I wish she would just be quiet.

I couldn’t say anything about her pure cheering heart, so I silently stared straight ahead and took a step.

One step, two steps, three steps.

I lower my left hand, which had been supporting the ball, and swing my right hand back.

Then, I move my right leg behind my left and swing my arm forward.

-Thud

With the heavy sound of the bowling ball hitting the floor, the ball starts to roll.

Oh, it’s going straight?

As soon as I think that, it veers to the side.

-Clang

Still, to save face, the two pins on the left fall.

“Haha…”

“There’s still one more chance left.”

Feeling awkward about the result compared to Garam, I return to my seat, and Garam sits right next to me, saying that.

The machine comes down, lifts the pins, and clears the fallen pins.

Meanwhile, the ball I threw returns.

“Hoo…”

I stand on the lane again.

I take the same steps as before and throw the ball.

This time, it’s different from before. This time, the ball goes completely to the side.

Tsk…

I smack my lips.

“You’ll get a strike next time.”

Looking at her, who seems to care about my score more than I do, I make a strange expression.

Unlike her words, the results become clearer as the game progresses.

While she throws the ball like a shot put and gets strikes, I get about two to four pins.

The score is getting further and further apart.

Actually, we didn’t bet anything, but it still feels bad to lose.

“……”

After mechanically high-fiving her for her strike, Garam, seeing me sulking, sticks close to me.

“Boss. Um… can I help you?”

“Help me? How?”

“Stand up.”

As I pick up the ball and go up to the lane, she follows me.

“Garam?”

Wondering what she’s doing, I try to turn my head, but Garam’s hand on the top of my head turns my head forward again.

“You have to look ahead.”

I feel her sticking close behind me.

And her hand overlaps mine on my arm.

Her firm hand touches my body and corrects my posture.

“Boss, there’s no problem with your steps. But when you lower the ball, it goes behind your waist.”

She whispers slowly in my ear, as if giving me a back hug.

Garam taps my waist with her right hand.

“If that happens, the ball won’t go straight. Don’t worry about dropping it, just pull it straight back.”

Her hand grabs my right hand and guides the path.

It definitely feels a little different from what I’ve been doing so far.

She puts me back in the ready position and places her hands on my shoulders.

“Good job. Try it the way I just told you.”

-Tap tap

She taps my shoulders and goes back to her seat.

Why am I so nervous about this?

I laugh inwardly, thinking that I’m using too much energy just to roll a ball once.

Following the path she taught me, I pull my hand back and swing it straight, releasing the ball.

-Thud

The sound of the ball rolling is different from before, and the ball goes straight.

Bang!

With a clear sound, the solid barrier of pins collapses with a crash.

And the X mark appears on the screen.

“Kyaaaa! Boss, that’s so cool!”

I was about to high-five her with a little excitement, but Garam screams in a high-pitched voice and hugs me.

I cough at her sudden tackle.

“Ga, Garam. This is a bit…”

I grab her shoulders and push her away, but she’s so strong that I have to use real force.

To remember the feeling of that moment for the next turn, I practice in the air, when a burly man approaches from the other side.

“Can’t you be a little quieter? It’s too noisy. Did you rent this place? You’re old enough to know better, aren’t you?”

His voice, mixed with a metallic sound, echoes loudly.

The man is very excited, his face red.

Judging by his appearance, he seems to be a member of the bowling club.

“There are other people here too. You have no manners, no manners.”

The man snorts and points his finger.

Well, we were a bit loud.

I immediately bow.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be careful.”

“Ahem, okay. Let’s be considerate.”

Seeing me take a low posture, the other person seems embarrassed and returns to his seat without shouting anymore.

“Garam, we need to be a little quieter.”

I turn away from the receding man and turn to Garam.

“…Yes.”

Garam, who had been looking elsewhere until just now, turns her gaze to me and answers.

It’s a little sad to see her deflated after being scolded when she was having so much fun, but what can I do? Public etiquette is more important.

We quietly threw the ball for the remaining turns, and as soon as the game ended, we hurriedly left the bowling alley.

Behind me, as I left, I could hear the bowling club members clicking their tongues.

Inho and Garam went down to the underground parking lot.

Inho’s ears were red, as if he was still bothered by being publicly humiliated.

He got into the car and waited for Garam to get in, but Garam didn’t move.

“Garam, aren’t you getting in?”

Inho lowered the window and said to Garam.

“Ah, I have something to do near here. Go ahead.”

Garam replied to Inho, pulling up the corners of her mouth as much as possible.

“Suddenly?”

“Ah! Something suddenly came to mind. I have something to take care of regarding the remodeling.”

I’m so clumsy. Garam added.

“Um… but it’s far from here to your house. If it doesn’t take long, I’ll wait…”

“Ah, no! It’ll take a long time. It’ll take a ve~ry long time. Boss, go ahead.”

“Okay… well, then… contact me when the remodeling is all prepared.”

Inho rolled up the window and drove out of the parking lot.

“……”

After confirming that Inho’s car was completely out of sight, Garam went back into the building.

Ko Seung-deok, a long-time member of the bowling club, stretched his shoulders as he left the pork soup restaurant.

His body was stiff from bowling all day.

After bowling and gathering with the members for pork soup and soju, he was walking home unsteadily.

When he saw his house with the lights on in the distance, he glanced at the bag of rotisserie chicken he was going to give to his children and walked down the alley with a smile.

-Thud

He tried to turn around at the sound of someone approaching.

-Thump

A sudden pain in his abdomen caused Seung-deok to fall forward.

“Ugh!”

He tried to open his mouth and inhale air, but he couldn’t breathe properly.

He tried to look up at the other person, but he could only barely see the silhouette of the attacker silhouetted against the streetlights.

He felt a stinging sensation on the back of his head, and his body was half-lifted and dragged into the dark alley.

Just as he began to feel the pain of his knees scraping, he briefly lost consciousness as he felt something blunt lift his chin and kick it.

In the black vision, he opens his eyes to the feeling of someone patting his cheek.

“Wh, who…”

“Be quiet.”

A woman’s low voice ran down his spine.

His body stiffened like a herbivore hearing the growl of a predator.

“Sa, save me.”

What on earth are they trying to do? He trembled with fear that gripped his heart.

“Boss. You were troubled.”

The attacker’s hand comes to his face. He instinctively closes his eyes.

A finger enters his tightly closed mouth.

The thumb rests on his lower teeth.

Strong pressure is applied to his jaw.

“Ugh… grgrgr…”

Seung-deok struggled against the pressure coming in at an angle, but his body, restrained by the other person, didn’t budge.

Crack crack

An ominous sound was heard in his mouth, and he felt the tingling sensation he had felt when he had his wisdom teeth removed spread through his body.

Crack crack

The sound of something breaking and tearing grew louder and louder…

Pop

“Ughhhhh!!!”

At the same time as the pressure disappeared, tremendous pain rushed in.