episode_0079

“…I might not have heard you properly, could you say it one more time?”

Could it be that due to a tipsy mood, I misheard something?

I scratched my head and asked Jaehyuk.

“What do you mean by that?”

He must know the answer himself; there’s no reason to ask a question he already knows.

Wow –

I popped another marshmallow into my mouth, waiting for him to speak.

Surely, I must have misheard.

Or maybe…

Jaehyuk made a mistake, saying a different question than what he originally intended.

Enjoying the soft texture of the marshmallow, Jaehyuk, with a serious tone as if driving a wedge, asks again.

“What do you mean by that?”

“…”

A question I couldn’t fathom why he was asking.

So, my mind was filled with questions.

It wouldn’t be a random question thrown just to fit a truth game.

With only three friends, including myself, even if I complain later, I never show any dislike when having fun.

Then, he must have asked this question because he wanted to hear a specific answer.

Why would he ask me such a question?

I was about to casually answer ‘a friend’ and move on, but considering the atmosphere, that didn’t seem appropriate.

After asking for a moment to think, I began pondering our relationship.

“Hmm.”

Honestly speaking,

Apart from living together, our relationship wasn’t anything special.

Literally just friends, or digging deeper, close friends?

He helped me so much that I felt grateful almost to the point of guilt.

For me, Jaehyuk was exactly that kind of presence.

“Grrr…”

Emptying the contents of the beer can into my mouth, I continued to contemplate.

It was unlikely that he asked such a question wanting a relationship beyond friendship.

Not even three weeks into living together, Jaehyuk said himself that our tastes were too different.

…Especially since I already liked someone, maybe he said that hoping to create some distance?

As long as I live with him, it’s obvious there will be obstacles in my love life.

‘…Strange.’

If distancing ourselves after living together helps him, then it’s only right to do so to repay his kindness.

Even though repaying a favor should make me feel relieved, why does it feel regretful to grow apart and end our cohabitation?

“Sigh.”

Exhaling my regret, I gather my thoughts.

I don’t know why there’s lingering attachment, but I should start answering soon.

With a smile in my eyes, I spoke the answer to his question.

“Just a friend, a very grateful friend who owes a lot…”

Woosh –

As I finished speaking and activated the lie detector, the sound before the results felt harsher than before.

I clearly told the truth, so why do I feel so uneasy?

An unnecessary sense of anxiety.

Trying to calm myself, I closed my eyes quietly, but soon felt a warm sensation emanating from my palm along with crackling sounds.

“Ugh…!”

Frowning, I removed my hand from the lie detector, feeling like an angel and devil were teasing me as if they had been waiting.

“Hey, you didn’t say just a grateful friend, did you? Hehe… How did you really feel about Jaehyuk to get a false result, huh ~ ?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? After living under the same roof for four months, wouldn’t such feelings naturally develop?”

“…Both of you are noisy.”

Their teasing laughs were so annoying that I wanted to shut them up with a single blow.

No, but really.

This can’t be happening, can it?

I told the truth, so why did it come out as a lie? Can that machine be trusted?

Suspicious, I briefly considered looking into it, but Jaehyuk approached confidently, demanding a lie detector.

With a stiff expression and lips twitching, it seemed my answer didn’t sit well with him.

Feeling apologetic, I handed over the lie detector, lowering my head in response.

“Sigh…”

Only a sigh escaped me.

If I had known, I would have just quietly sipped on the mysterious liquid in the water bottle.

Trying to hide my melancholy, I stuck a marshmallow in my mouth as Hyeun asked Jaehyuk in a lively voice.

“Yoon Jaehyuk, you mentioned someone you like earlier, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, that’s not a question, okay? Don’t activate the lie detector! Anyway, what’s their personality like? What made you like them?”

“…Sneakily asking two questions. Seojunghyun, isn’t this breaking the rules?”

“Tsk, nitpicking. Start by telling us about their personality. We’ll ask why you like them next time.”

Frustrated by the failed attempt, Angel expressed disappointment with a blunt expression.

Ignoring her, Jaehyuk casually activated the lie detector, contemplating his response or pretending to, turning his gaze towards the campfire.

After a moment of thought, he diverted his eyes from the fire and began to speak.

I quietly retrieved the marshmallow I was nibbling on, listening intently to Jaehyuk’s story.

I was genuinely curious about this girl.

What made her so captivating that he fell for her in an instant?

As I nonchalantly chewed on a slightly undercooked marshmallow, a spirited voice soon reached my ears.

“Well… If I put it nicely, she has a free-spirited personality, perhaps?”

“She dislikes ordinary or bland things. She has a distinct personality and strongly dislikes anything boring.”

“What else… Hmm, this is all that comes to mind for now. But isn’t that enough for an answer?”

Glancing at the bewildered Hyeun, Jaehyuk activated the lie detector, sporting a confident face that seemed to speak the truth, causing my brows to furrow unknowingly.

Why do I feel so upset?

Shouldn’t I be supportive of a friend, especially one who has never been in a relationship before, if they’ve taken a liking to someone?

A strong sense of discomfort with an unknown origin.

Feeling a bittersweetness that even the sweetness of the marshmallow couldn’t erase, I found myself staring blankly at the ground.

“Ugh!”

At the brief sound indicating the falsehood of his statement, I inadvertently put on a vacant expression.

Negative emotions washed away as if they were never there. Instead, my mind was engulfed in confusion.

The statement about liking a girl is true.

Liking a girl with a personality completely opposite to mine is false.

Considering his dislike for unnecessary words or actions, he wouldn’t have uttered such an elaborate lie without reason.

If Jaehyuk’s recent jokes, delivered with a smile, were actually truths disguised as jests…?

“Sigh…”

…If my assumption is correct.

How should I accept this incredibly awkward reality?

Glancing briefly at Jaehyuk fidgeting with his hands, I retreated into the tent as if fleeing.

—–

“…Looks like it’s ruined.”

With a face that seemed to have realized something, Han Jiwu suddenly disappeared with a puff of smoke.

I gazed at the empty spot where the guy with a handful of sticks had been, then let out a long sigh.

“Let’s end the truth game here. It seems too much to continue. And sorry, could you clean this up? I think I need to talk to Jieun right away.”

“Uh, yeah! W-We’ll clean up! And no need to apologize… I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“Fine. Since it was bound to happen eventually. Let’s meet tomorrow evening with good news.”

Leaving behind the angel and demon who hurriedly cleaned up, the vampire slowly made his way towards where the vampire fled.

What should I say?

Despite pondering repeatedly, perhaps due to the influence of alcohol, no good thoughts came to mind.

Unlike usual, there were only two choices.

Would I brush it off as a lie and move on vaguely?

Or would I admit to liking him and just leave everything to fate?

“Sigh…”

Honestly, in my heart, I wanted to choose the former.

If I chose to lie, at least I could maintain the current level of intimacy.

But thinking of it as something inevitable, even lying became hesitant.

Will it be different later?

Of course, if Jiwoo starts to like me, things might change.

But how long can I wait for that?

What if someone else comes along while I wait? That would truly be a dog chasing a chicken on a rooftop situation.

“I don’t want that.”

It’s better to try and fail than not to try at all.

With a faint spark of courage, I cautiously initiated a conversation from outside the tent.

“Can I come in?”

[…]

Silence is another form of affirmation.

After taking a deep breath and entering the tent, Jiwoo, wrapped in blankets like a cocoon, catches my eye.

“Aren’t you hot? It’s midsummer.”

[…]

Looks like he’s about to suffocate just by looking at him.

Seemingly feeling the heat too, he hesitates for a moment before creating a small opening.

…Will that really make it cooler?

After letting out a deep sigh, I slowly widened the gap he created and proposed a conversation.

“Let’s talk for a bit. Stop enduring and let me… Agh!!!”

Fortunately, with a sip of blood as payment, the vampire readily engaged in conversation.

And so,

A long, long night began.