episode_0027

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In the end, there was no escaping from Gong Jeong-hoon until we got to the drinking session.

I let out a sigh at the sight of him, who was the epitome of a loner to the point of frustration.

If only his thoughts weren’t so transparent, maybe I wouldn’t feel as annoyed. But his pitiful thoughts were so clear that my mood worsened gradually.

[Sigh… Where should we have the wedding? I’m a lucky guy… Should I buy a lottery ticket again? I’ll definitely win first prize this time. It’s certain. Second prize before, first prize now… And then, marriage with Prada!]

Ugh…

Me and that guy? Me marrying that loser?

I’m reaching the peak of disgust.

I want to grab a beer bottle and smash it against my head right now.

But I have to hold back.

I’m Lurica… disgustingly cute Lurica…

The bar… was a bit bewildering.

Honestly, I had never been to a place like this before. I had seen a few of these places while walking down the street, but never thought of coming to a crowded place like this to eat.

Every time I heard people say that eating at places like this was fun, I wondered why I had to be like that…

And that thought remains the same now. Why do I have to be here?

The tables were rectangular, with three different flavors of chicken and beer glasses placed on top.

There were many people around, male and female employees, company workers, and groups of ordinary college students.

They were all secretly stealing glances at me.

With so many glances, the ‘Attention Focus’ effect seemed to only work when a certain number of people were looking at me.

Even though there were many glances, the focus wasn’t there, and I felt like arrows were piercing my chest, but the desire wasn’t rising.

I checked my status window by holding my smartphone in my pocket.

I could see it as a hologram, but just holding it allowed me to check the numbers in my head.

My current desire level was 23… I let out a sigh involuntarily. If I don’t masturbate soon, I’ll reach a level where [Desire Discontent 1] will occur.

It’s terrible, but… I can endure that level. No, it’s a comfortable number.

I sneakily glanced at Gong Jeong-hoon across the table without anyone noticing.

That loser tried to sit next to me, but got pushed away by others who wanted to sit next to me, ending up on the opposite side.

It was fortunate that he ended up across from me, but… feeling the unwanted closeness from people who weren’t interested, pressing their shoulders against mine, made me feel a growing disgust.

It could be because of my chest size, but every time someone slightly pressed against me from both sides, my chest grazed against the men’s arms.

It might be accidental, or due to the crowded space, but I didn’t say anything and endured it, feeling the gazes of these guys through the ‘Attention Focus’ effect. They were intentionally making contact. The sensation of arrows piercing me came first, followed by the repeated brushing of my chest against their arms.

I wanted to smash each beer glass in front of me against their heads right now.

But I had to hold back, even if it meant looking at Gong Jeong-hoon… I’m… I’m Lurica…

I’m torn.

“Prada-nim, come on, have a drink~”

“Oh… Yes, yes~”

I was about to say ‘Oh, okay,’ but changed my mind and accepted the drink.

Being dragged around from the bookstore, I was starting to get a rough idea of the relationships between these guys.

Within this loser group, there were three subgroups. The Gong Jeong-hoon group consisted of Gong Jeong-hoon, Snowman8, and GND7, three friends in a group, while the other three were buddies with the chat room leader, and the remaining two were a quiet guy and me, not belonging to any specific group.

A while ago, the person who offered me a drink is the owner of this chat room… I forgot their nickname. They wear glasses, are quite tall, and have a decent appearance.

For a leader of the nerds group, they are quite normal.

Only in appearance.

“So, what do you do, Prada-nim?”

“Me? I… I’m just taking a break right now.”

“Wow~ You must be rich to stay at home…? Oh, could it be because your nickname is Prada…?”

Each word they say is somehow irritating.

I feel like they are checking my smartphone, checking my clothes one by one.

This guy is trying to flirt with me, thinking I’m a naive rich girl.

How can I tell? I know because I’ve done it often. The more I’ve done it, the better I know those lures.

But it’s too tacky and low-class.

“Do you like movies by any chance? I enjoy watching classic movies based on pure literature….”

A hobby that looks old-fashioned. Disqualified.

Well, what’s the point of checking if I look rich? They think the other person would have a classic and ladylike hobby to match.

Sorry, but money and hobbies are separate. Even other ordinary rich girls don’t like that. They might prefer clay shooting, horseback riding, swimming, or shopping.

Well, people can be different, but it’s a disqualification to judge and flirt without properly checking the hobby.

Tacky.

“Oh, really…? What kind of movies do you like? I, for one, don’t really like old movies….”

“Ah…! I like recent movies these days!”

“Ah~ I don’t really like very recent movies….”

“Then what kind of movies do you like? How about watching one together next time…?”

I try to avoid the conversation, showing that I’m not interested, but they persistently stick to me.

Another disqualification. If you show that you don’t like the other person, you should immediately back off and change the topic. It’s basic. The basics of communication.

As expected, this guy only looks decent.

“P-Prada-nim… you… prefer anime to movies….”

At that moment, Gong Jeong-hoon, who was sitting across from me, awkwardly intervened in the conversation.

…I want to praise this. When the girl you’re aiming for talks to another guy, you should naturally assert your ownership.

I was worried about how to go as far as having sex because I was too passive, but luckily, it seems that this good-for-nothing guy is not the type to be okay with losing Lyrica in front of his eyes.

No, not Lyrica… Prada… Park Ah-young… damn.

“Ah… right, you always talked about Lyrica in the chat room, didn’t you?”

“Ah… now that you mention it, your taste is quite unique. Lyrica is a completely male-oriented anime.”

When the guys sitting on both sides of me mentioned Lyrica, they immediately asked about the common topic and continued the conversation.

Seeing that, Gong Jeong-hoon made an uncomfortable expression. Oh, if you didn’t like it, you should have sat next to me, right? When I showed a little bit of dislike, if you had immediately suggested sitting together, it would have been nice, why regret it now?

While thinking about that, a very annoying sound suddenly came from my side.

“When you say magical girl Lyrica, the original was an adult game. Well, the most popular social game right now was also based on an adult game, and an animation was made too….”

“…Adult game? The original was an adult game?”

“Oh? You didn’t know?”

…Lyrica was based on an adult game?

No, there was an original?

It was a shocking statement, but… I didn’t want to hear any more. An animation that turns into a child and also into an adult, and the original was an adult game.

Well, come to think of it, there were quite a few subtly sexual contents… I thought this was the culture these nerds liked, but to think that the original itself was an adult game.

I don’t want to know more about Lyrica.

“Originally, the game was much more famous than the anime, so there weren’t many people who paid attention to the anime. The magical girl Lurica originally consisted of three works: Magical Girl Lurica, Magical Maiden Lurica, and Magical Virgin Lurica, with Magical Girl being the third story…”

It’s going to be a three-part series?!

My hand holding the beer glass trembles. It’s a waste of labor, data, and production costs. It’s a waste of money. How can such trash content become a three-part series?

“Well, originally, the advantage of the game was that you could enjoy both lolita and older sister, married woman body types at once…”

“Um… could you please stop talking about that…?”

“Oh! Sorry!”

I ended up hearing more information that I didn’t want to hear.

I didn’t want to know. The term lolita body type was hard to understand, but… as soon as they mentioned married woman body type, I understood right away.

It’s amazing that such a world exists.

“Cheers! Cheers!”

“C-Cheers!”

As the only woman in the group, the awkward atmosphere caused by the discussion of lewd games was quickly resolved by the chat room leader.

Certainly, I thought I was just good-looking, but… compared to the nerds, I have social skills.

He knows how to read people’s reactions and lead or liven up the group atmosphere.

If Gong Jeong-hoon were only this much, my head wouldn’t hurt this much….

“Oh…! Prada-nim! Just now, my chopsticks accidentally touched the person next to me… Oh no! I-I indirectly kissed…! Ugh! I-I just had Prada-nim’s first indirect kiss with that guy… M-Me too!”

…This is really giving me a headache.

Is he crazy?

“Haah… *gulp*, *gulp*, *gulp*… Ugh?”

I really wanted to drink more alcohol, so I sighed and quickly downed the beer in front of me.

No, I stopped before drinking it all.

I hesitated for a moment because my head was pounding due to Gong Jeong-hoon. My body is terrible at handling alcohol, even with just a little bit.

I hurriedly put down the glass, but it was already half empty.

…I thought it would be okay for a moment because it was just beer, but it doesn’t seem that way.

I immediately started feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

This body is really crazy. Getting drunk from just a little beer.

Is this what being human is like?

“Uh? P-Prada-nim… Do you want some alcohol?”

“Oh! Then are we all going to drink? Should we play a drinking game?”

“Thanks to the room leader, we’re going to experience being insiders again…”

“Even though it’s a game that doesn’t suit us nerds, it might be fun today…?”

The way they talk, damn it….

The atmosphere of the guys who saw me drinking alcohol became a bit strange. They quickly downed half a glass, thinking they were good at drinking, but… I want to tell them to take a good look at my face.

My face is already flushed. Does this look like the face of someone who’s good at drinking?

I wanted to say that, but… they had already started the game without my consent.

I reluctantly participated in the nerds’ drinking game, and the chat room leader placed an empty soju bottle on the table and spun it around.

The bottle slowly spun and stopped in front of Gong Jeong-hoon, who was taken aback and suggested a game.

It seems that the person the bottle stops in front of chooses the game.

“I-I don’t know much about drinking games… um… the only thing I know is… the finger folding game?”

“Ah~ the Son Byeong-ho game?”

“…The Son Byeong-ho game?”

I have no idea what game that is. You have to attend this kind of drinking gathering to know.

The drinking gatherings I’ve been to were just men and women gathering in a room or at a club to drink. I’ve never played this kind of drinking game before. I’ve made bets that involve drinking, but never like this.

Known drinking games are simple games like flipping coins or the person with the lowest dice roll drinks, or poker.

“Someone named Son Byeong-ho created it, so it’s called the Son Byeong-ho game….”

Someone next to me was giving a really useless explanation, but I casually ignored it.

Then, Snowman8, who was sitting diagonally across from me, glanced in my direction… and gestured towards me.

I leaned in a bit, and Snowman8 explained the game to me in a low voice that I could hear clearly.

“If you don’t know the game… it’s simple. The person corresponding to the action folds. The last one standing wins.”

“Yes, yes! If you don’t know, you learn by drinking!”

“…The host may say that, but those of us who don’t drink don’t have to. Instead, we play a truth game.”

“What’s a truth game?”

“Oh… it’s just answering truthfully, like a penalty. For example, telling an embarrassing story.”

Playing such an unheard-of game and unfairly saying to learn by drinking, unless intentionally trying to make someone drink, is there a need to say such things?

I thought that way, but after hearing Snowman8’s explanation, it seemed that they weren’t playing so roughly.

It seemed like just a game to liven up the drinking atmosphere by sharing embarrassing or funny stories.

“Okay, then… starting from me, to the left~! Fold the person with long hair here!”

As soon as the chat room host spoke, 3 out of 8 people folded. Me and two other unknown guys. Are guys growing their hair even though they’re men a trend among otakus?

Next was my turn.

Indeed, as Snowman8 said, the game was simple. I felt like I knew what kind of game it was as soon as it started.

I looked at the guys around me… and said something that applied to everyone.

“…Fold the guys.”

“Wow~! Prada-nim, you’re too much!”

“I, I can’t help it if you come out like that… Fold the girls.”

Well, I knew it would turn out like this… 5 fingers, 8 people. The game will probably end within one or two rounds.

Since I was next, it was best to state the condition that could fold the most people. Unless someone had a condition where I had to fold my hand no matter what, it was advantageous to say it in advance.

It was a more fun game than I thought. Simple… I folded two fingers and waited for the next condition.

“Fold the person shorter than me.”

…Immediately, Gong Jeong-hoon, and the other otaku folded.

There were only two fingers left, and they folded faster than I thought.

“Oh, fold the person who doesn’t wear glasses….”

…The chat room host, Snowman8, and I folded our fingers.

Next was Gong Jeong-hoon.

“T-That, t-t-that… uhhhh… t-t-that… uhh… ”

[Oh no, what should I do… Prada-nim already has four…! I have to say that Prada-nim doesn’t have to fold…!]

The guy who was staring at me quietly, lost in thought, seemed to come up with one idea and said with a surprised look.

“Fold the person who’s not a first-time attendee!”

“Wow! Chofu-nim, isn’t that self-destructive?”

“Making everyone fold~”

Everyone except me folded, and it seemed like there were quite a few people who had folded four fingers.

This game… I realized when Gong Jeong-hoon was examining my body, but something was off.

This… is not a fair game at all.

Upon hearing that condition, my fingers folded, and Gong Jeong-hoon looked bewildered as his fingers were completely clenched into a fist.

Snowman8 is discreetly following GND7 right next to him, making sure no one else notices.

And everyone else… they were all silently watching me with sinister smiles on their faces.

…These bastards?