episode_0024

“Wow….”

“This is like a small movie theater.”

“Wow! The chairs are reclining chairs!”

Following Seong Yurin’s guidance, they arrived at a place that was decorated like a small movie theater inside a room.

Well, it’s small compared to an actual movie theater.

It’s definitely not the size of a room you would typically find in a personal home.

Of course, this was not a regular house but a mansion.

In contrast to the luxurious exterior of the mansion and the modern interior design, it felt like a movie theater….

The more you look at this house, the more impressive it feels.

I wonder what else is hidden here next time.

…Where could the maids be hiding?

While I continued my scholarly and philosophical contemplation of Seong Yurin’s mansion, the others followed Seong Yurin’s guidance and moved on.

“There’s also drinks with the popcorn!”

“Oh yes!”

Whether the butler had prepared everything in advance, we could choose from various types of freshly made popcorn according to our taste.

Hong Yeonseo and Yoon Jiuwoo were running around excitedly.

The two of them seemed to be a perfect match with their overflowing energy.

Isaea and Seong Yurin seemed more mature, but those two seemed to have the mental age appropriate for their age.

…Or maybe even younger?

“I want caramel!”

Following behind, Lee Sooyoon, who liked sweet things, also ran towards the popcorn.

Even after eating snacks, she still wants more sweet things.

Of course, I understand, as I am someone who goes crazy for sweet chocolate.

…Come to think of it, I suddenly remember the day when I watched a movie with Lee Sooyoon not too long ago.

That day, Lee Sooyoon also ate caramel popcorn.

I also grabbed popcorn and cola and headed to my seat.

While the kids were waiting for me to sit down,

Somehow, Isaea, Lee Sooyoon, and Hong Yeonseo were looking at me.

“…Why are you just standing there? Sit down, won’t you?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Ugh….”

The three of them seemed to want to say something, but they hesitated while looking at each other.

Eventually, they all sighed deeply at the same time and gathered in a corner.

Then they started playing rock-paper-scissors while whispering.

…What are they doing?

“What are they doing?”

“I know, right….”

The three of them, including Yoon Jiuwoo and Seong Yurin, raised question marks.

No, only Yoon Jiuwoo and I did.

Seong Yurin seemed to have a suspicion of something and looked serious.

I was about to ask Seong Yurin about the reason, but she shook her head at me first.

With a gesture that seemed to say not to ask for the reason, I just nodded in understanding.

A little while later.

“Ugh! Let’s do it again!”

“Haha. We agreed to play one round.”

“Ugh….”

There was some commotion, and the three who had finished playing came back.

Isaea, who was at the front, smiled brightly and said, “Huh? Why is everyone standing instead of sitting?”

When Isaea glanced around, Hong Yeonseo took Seong Yurin, and Lee Sooyoon took Yoon Jiuwoo to sit down.

“Oh, wait.”

“Wow, why are you suddenly like this, Sooyoon.”

What’s going on here….

Could it be that, by any chance,

No. Wait. This situation is…

Not by any chance, but definitely!

Did they decide who to sit with Yoon Jiuwoo?

It seems like Lee Sooyoon won….

But looking at how they didn’t include me in between, it seems like Seong Yurin still doesn’t have a liking for Yoon Jiuwoo.

Well, even though I don’t know what’s going on, the contact they had in the academic class should have been an opportunity for them to develop a liking for each other,

So in the current situation, it might be a little late for them to develop a liking for each other.

While I was thinking about Seong Yurin and Yoon Jiuwoo,

As the other kids all sat down, Isaea came up to me.

“Let’s sit down too. Hehe.”

Surprisingly, Isaea didn’t seem to have any particular thoughts about Yoon Jiuwoo and Lee Sooyoon, and she grabbed me with a bright smile.

“Oh.”

The seat was a reclining chair made of comfortably soft material.

As expected, the chair provided a scientific level of comfort, almost as if it were a high-end product.

Thanks to the reclining chair, I could comfortably lie down and watch the movie.

“Wait a minute! Jina, are you… watching while lying down?”

For some reason, a flustered Isaea asked.

“Oh. This is really comfortable. You should lie down and watch too.”

“Uh, um….”

Isaea looked at me with trembling eyes.

Why is she acting like this?

“This, this isn’t right….”

Muttering softly, Isaea hugged the popcorn bag.

As if waiting for us to sit down, the lights in the hall went off and the screen began to glow.

* * *

Se-ah glanced briefly at the side.

A boy chewing popcorn with a relaxed expression and posture, his gaze fixed on the screen.

Seojin.

Despite the chaos of screams around them,

One focused on the screen,

The other on a man.

They both stared without flinching.

‘Ugh. He pretended to be scared and tried to hug Jin’s arm tightly.’

But lying down like that.

If you stick to the person lying down like that, the picture will look weird.

She puffed up her cheeks for a moment to show her dissatisfaction.

Se-ah looked at Jin’s face and fell into deep thought.

‘Does Jin really not have any feelings for me or anyone else?’

In Se-ah’s opinion, Jin didn’t seem to see them as anything other than rational beings.

Although there were moments when he seemed to waver, they were fleeting.

He quickly returned to his indifferent expression.

Is it because of his mature personality?

Even though they were the same age, to Jin, they all seemed like children.

‘Today, I tried to change that gaze.’

The surprise attack on Jin in the morning, giving him a knee pillow, was part of that effort.

Se-ah inwardly rejoiced at seeing Jin’s eyes tremble.

But seeing Jin quickly avert his gaze and act as if nothing had happened, Se-ah sighed inwardly dozens of times.

‘Fool. If I had been this forward since I was young… wouldn’t he have noticed?’

In fact, Se-ah had never made such a bold move during their time together.

But she couldn’t help but blame Jin for not showing any response, thinking that the one who confesses first loses.

‘Besides, it’s really dangerous now….’

When she first met So-yoon, Se-ah was bold.

But when she found out that So-yoon had also fallen for Jin, Se-ah’s head hurt.

If So-yoon, who was not like that at all, was like this, what was going on in high school?

With two classmates who had more charm than most celebrities or idols, and going a step further, both showing interest in Jin from the first day of school.

Se-ah had already given up at that point.

She knew Jin was popular.

So, even though Se-ah had gone through a lot to protect Jin in middle school, before her hand could reach him, she had already become friends with Seong Yoo-rin and Hong Yeon-seo, and there was nothing she could do about it.

…Now, Se-ah herself had become close to them as well.

Of course, Seong Yoo-rin had not directly informed ‘us’ that she liked him, but Se-ah honestly thought it was only a matter of time.

…But,

But.

But!

‘I can’t let this go on any longer!’

Even though it was a conservative Korean society, even four people were too many.

It was dangerous for another girl to join them, Se-ah thought.

They hadn’t even started dating, let alone getting married.

Se-ah seriously thought about marriage.

‘Jia…. And, could Jin’s club president also…? And someone else…? Ugh. Could it be Yurin’s sister in just one day!’

Before she knew it, flames flickered in Se-ah’s eyes as she looked at Jin.

Se-ah felt an urgent need to come up with a plan.

It’s not just my own concern.

It’s a plan for all of us.

* * *

Although pretending to watch the movie while ignoring me…

One side of my face feels too hot.

For some reason, Yi Se-ah spent most of the movie time staring at me.

Is she turning her eyes away because the movie is scary?

No, it doesn’t seem like that kind of gaze.

What did I do wrong?

Wait. Could it be…!

Is she taking out her anger on me because she couldn’t sit with Yoon Ji-woo!?

She seemed fine earlier. But of course, she wasn’t.

But, Se-ah. That’s not my fault, right?

You should have won in rock-paper-scissors!

I tried to ignore Yi Se-ah’s gaze and pretended to watch the movie.

The movie was quite gory and had a lot of jump scares, a horror movie.

Because of that, I couldn’t tell if the giggling sounds coming from left and right were from the movie.

I shouldn’t watch horror movies with them.

I felt like I might get kicked out of the theater.

Until the movie ended, Yi Se-ah’s gaze didn’t waver, and the noise from left and right didn’t stop.

I was getting tired quickly, this is.

But the chair was really comfortable, so that was nice.

Someday, when I make a lot of money,

I thought it would be nice to have my own movie theater at home.

With a home gym installed. How much do I need to earn for that?

Imagining an uncertain future, I reached into the popcorn bag on the floor and popped the last handful into my mouth.

It tasted good. Caramel popcorn.

I’ll send you to where your friends are so you won’t be lonely.

Crunching sounds of popcorn being eaten filled the theater as the movie ended and the credits rolled.