episode_0058

18. Nodeul Island, Radio, and His Confession (2)

The shocking story I heard from Dohee unnie came an hour after I heard it.

Even after so much time had passed, Yeonseo didn’t come back, and Hyunseok and I just sat there blankly staring at the ceiling or out the window.

Where did Dohee go? She drank tea with us in silence for about 30 minutes, then looked at her watch and left, saying she had something to do.

Honestly, I couldn’t believe what I just heard. It was only been a month and a half since I returned here.

But now, all the places I’ve been to during my time there are gone, so I wonder how I could be so unlucky.

Well, I think I’m doing okay. I only lived there for a short while, so I don’t have many memories.

But even now, Hyunseok, who is just looking at the ceiling and sighing, must be having a very hard time.

Hyunseok and Yeonseo have been in this world longer than me and have many close friends, so they must be feeling anxious like that.

‘ In the future… about a month… I guess… ‘

One month. An ambiguous period that is either long or short.

Dohee has already shown a resigned look, but at the same time, seeing her do what she can in such a situation, should I say that she is amazing or… just foolish…

Well, I think it’s the former. No matter how I look at it, it seems like Dohee unnie won’t stop doing what she’s doing even if that day comes.

Seeing her like that, I also thought about what I could do now.

‘Honestly, the story about informing people and evacuating… doesn’t make sense, and in the end, all you can do is…’

” Hyunseok-ah. ”

” Huh…huh? Why…? ”

‘Sigh, how long is this kid going to be like this? It’s nice to see him smiling and being sly like usual.’

When I think about that, I go behind him

” Charlotte…? ”

He then hit me hard on the back with a ‘bang! ‘

” Oh! Why… all of a sudden…?! ”

” Cheer up! How long are you going to keep doing this? ”

” Charlotte… Don’t you care about what I said earlier? ”

” Me? Yeah, not at all. ”

” Haha… That’s amazing. Honestly, I still get tremors thinking about losing the people I cherish once again. ”

So he showed me his trembling hand and I held it.

” Then just keep it. ”

As I spoke as if it was nothing, Hyunseok kicked the chair away and came over to me.

Did that sight feel a little scary? Without realizing it, I slowly took a step back as Hyunseok kept approaching me, and before I knew it, my back was against the wall.

” How?! What the heck! How are you going to protect it? Even Yuji Seong, who is a legend among those who conquer, ultimately failed! Even if you run away, if this is true, the moment you can’t conquer the other towers…! ”

I put both hands on his face as he banged his fist against the wall and vented his anger, and opened my mouth.

” Don’t worry. There was no ‘mine’ back then, right? ”

” Charlotte? ”

” I wasn’t there then, but I am now. We’ve done well so far, so don’t worry. And just because that person failed doesn’t mean we have to fail too, right? ”

So I put my hand on his cheek with a soft smile to calm him down, sending my warmth to calm him down.

Then Hyunseok opened his eyes wide, took his hand off the wall, brought it to his mouth, and turned his head away from me.

But his ears were so cute with their red tint.

‘Seeing you react like this makes me feel… happy and amused. Hehe. ‘

” Just now… That was a little bit unfair… ”

” Huh? What the~? I just said it? ”

” Ahem… Th… For now, I’ll go look for Yeonseo. I’ll contact you when I find her, so in the meantime, look around. ”

As soon as he finished saying that, Hyunseok quickly ran out in front of me.

His actions are so cute that I can’t take my eyes off him.

” Haha, why is this so fun? Hehe, well I’ll think about why later and then where should I go~ ”

Since this was my first time on Nodeul Island, I thought it would be best to ask someone who knew, so I went to find Minhee and Elina.

But even as I moved like that, the smile never disappeared from my face.

” Haa~ Should I tease Hyunseok like this again next time? Yeah, that might be fun… ”

*****

I told her that I was coming to find Yeonseo, but in truth, I quickly left because I felt like if I stayed there longer than I wanted to find Yeonseo, I would unknowingly cause her… trouble.

This is definitely… It might be because Ms. Elina and Ms. Minhee are talking nonsense to me.

A while ago, I got angry at those two for running away and thinking about what they had done, but I was being interrogated more and more.

As I was talking to her, I heard things like, “Why are you so concerned about that kid?”, “When did you start seeing Charlotte?”, and “Do you like her?”

I gradually became aware of her as a ‘person of the opposite sex’.

Perhaps, it was when I first started talking to Yeonseo and started seeing her as a person rather than someone who looked like my younger sister.

Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t have been so angry when Pedro clung to Charlotte… But the reason I was…

I was upset. I think it was because I was so upset and upset about being so close to her.

When I told this story to Elina and Minhee before Yeonseo and Charlotte returned, the word they both said to me was ‘jealousy’.

” Lately, Charlotte has been coming closer to me like before… to the point where it makes me feel like I’m being fooled… ”

I stopped running and looked around, and although the number had decreased slightly, there were still couples playing music or holding hands and dancing.

Before I knew it, I was seeing myself and Charlotte in that image.

While I was watching them like that, someone touched my shoulder. I was startled and turned around to see Junwoo, Dohee’s younger brother.

” What? Why are you so surprised? Anyway, it’s been a while? ”

” Haha… yeah, it’s been a while. ”

” Yeah, what happened to you? Why is your face so red? Did you drink? ”

” Huh?! No, that’s… Ahem, did you hear that too, hyung? ”

” It’s bland. But looking at that expression, I can tell what you’re asking me to do. You mean the one in Namsan? ”

” Yes. ”

” Hmm, Hyunseok, do you have time left? ”

” Huh?! Hey… Hey? Hyung?! ”

I was caught by Junwoo hyung and dragged to the pub next to the lounge.

‘Oh, I told Charlotte I was going back with Yeonseo…’

Even as I was being dragged away like that, I was only thinking about her.

*****

I was walking around and asking a person who was running a store, and he said that they were doing a radio broadcast in the rehearsal studio on the first floor, so I headed there.

The moment I tried to check if Minhee or Elina were in front of the studio just in case

” Oh, you there, miss? Is this a good time? ”

” Yes..?! Me? ”

” Okay! If you don’t mind, would you like to appear on our radio show? ”

” Hey… Wait a minute…?! Over there!!! ”

I was dragged by a broadcast staff member and ended up sitting next to Elina.

Ms. Elina skillfully turned off the microphone, looked at me, and smiled.

” Wow, even though I’m a fan, I’m touched that you came all the way here to find me. ”

” No, not really… Rather, do you usually invite people like this out of the blue? ”

” It doesn’t happen often. It’s just that I really like the guy who brought you here to play our PD. ”

” Ahahahaha… So what should I do? ”

” That’s perfect timing. It’s time to receive stories from our settlement and respond to them. Don’t be so nervous. Just read them roughly and give a rough answer. ”

‘Wow this elf. He really does whatever he wants…’

When I glared at her as if I was dumbfounded, Elina turned her head away, avoided eye contact, and went back to her seat. She then started the corner before I could even get ready.

” Alright~ You guys listening to Noddle Radio! This time, it’s time to read stories with a special guest. So hurry up and introduce yourself~ ”

” Yes…?! Oh, so it’s ‘Charlotte’. Please take care of me. ”

” Hehe, do you usually say that when you’re on the radio without speaking like that? ”

” Well, I don’t know. Haha… ”

” Okay, let’s do that. First, the first story~ ”

At first, I was a little nervous, but with Elina’s unique way of telling the story, I soon started enjoying it, reading the stories together, and responding with my own thoughts.

I’ve read quite a few stories, but the one I remember is…

‘It’s hard to live alone, but the story is that the dog that has been with me until now died a while ago.’, ‘The story is that the family that was captured by outlaws returned.’

And the story was, ‘It’s a shame that the fireworks that happened a month ago are no longer visible.’

‘ No, this is the last one, right? Huh? Aren’t you talking about what I said..? ‘

I was a little nervous that I might get caught because the mention of what I had done while training just a moment ago was brought up again.

My throat was getting dry, my body was stiff, and my speech was a bit slurred. That elf… seemed to have been watching me without missing a beat.

” Hmm, Charlotte, why are you so nervous? Huh? You were speaking so well earlier. What’s wrong? Do you know anything about this story? ”

” Huh?! No, no way. I saw it too, but I thought it was noisy. ”

” Really? I think so too. Someone who goes ‘bang! ‘ like that at the moment you’re about to fall asleep is definitely a pervert who wants attention! ”

” Who the hell is that pervert?! Ah… ”

” Huh? Why are you reacting? Huh?! ”

‘This guy… is annoying…! ‘

” Oh, is that you? ”

” Oh… no… ”

” Hey, don’t do that. It’s between us. Okay? I turned off the mic too, so it’s okay~ ”

Well, if you turn off the mic… it’s okay if I tell you… right…?

” The truth is… I did try to train my abilities a little bit… ”

” Huh~ Yeah, you did it yourself? ”

” Yes, I was bored because I was alone and I didn’t really think anyone was watching… ”

” I see. Okay, you heard me?! We finally caught the culprit! ”

” Hey… Wait a minute! I said I turned off the mic, so I only spoke to Elina…! ”

” Oh~ Right. It’s my mic, you know. But it’s not our firecracker Charlotte’s mic~ ”

At those words, I looked at the microphone I was using and saw that it had a button to turn the microphone on and off, just like Elina.

‘I’ve… been… hit…! ‘

Elina was holding her stomach and laughing out loud as she watched me panic and not know what to do.

At that sight, I just banged my head on the desk and stomped my feet.