Chapter 36: You are enough.

Vermilion extracted from cinnabar is not yet dry, and ultramarine extracted from lapis lazuli is painted deeply in the sky.

As if an invisible brush were distorting the sky in real time, the sky was cloudless, with only a gradation of orange and blue rippling.

“…We ended up experiencing everything.”

And, under that, we were staring blankly at the sky together.

“That’s right. I didn’t expect that we would ride all the rides in the playground.”

Once we took a break, we didn’t stop.

Seesaws, jungle gyms, even slides.

After experiencing all the rides in the playground, the time had already passed sunset and was heading towards a full night.

At this point, Lee Seorin seemed to be exhausted, and her face clearly showed fatigue.

“Even kids wouldn’t play this hard.”

It was sincere.

Even when I played with boys in my previous life, I don’t remember playing this hard, and I never thought I would play like this with a girl, especially with Lee Seorin.

“Then why did you tease me?”

“…Ahem.”

-…Hoobae-nim. Judging by what you said, it seems you’ve already rested enough? Now, next is the seesaw!

It was self-inflicted.

It was true that I teased Lee Seorin first, and because of that, I couldn’t refuse Lee Seorin’s hand leading me to the rides.

‘…It wasn’t exactly a lie.’

There was a bit of injustice.

It was Lee Seorin who looked at my chest first.

I felt her gaze, and I just exaggerated it a little….

‘What can I do.’

My body was a woman’s, but I still don’t understand a woman’s heart.

If I were to hear something like that, I would have said I was looking proudly, but it seems that going that far was a high hurdle for the princess.

“I’ll say it again, I’ve never looked at Hoobae-nim with such lewd eyes. Okay?”

“Yes. I know that very well. How could the Student Council President, who is everyone’s idol, imagine such a thing while looking at a mere student?”

“…!”

Thump, thump.

A cotton fist that would be suitable for such onomatopoeia hits my shoulder.

“…Ouch.”

“…! Are you okay? Was it too hard?”

“Pfft, I’m joking, Sunbae.”

There’s something I realized while playing today.

This Sunbae, the more I get to know her, the more pure she is, unlike her appearance.

How can a person who looks like she’s going to devour people with charisma when she’s expressionless have such an opposite personality?

That was really amazing.

“Muu…Hoobae-nim is too mischievous.”

Perhaps she was sulking because I made a roundabout statement, Lee Seorin’s one cheek puffed up.

‘It looks like it’s going to burst.’

Poke.

When I poked the puffed-up cheek with my index finger,

Psh! Phew….

A soft touch and air came out.

‘Her cheeks are soft.’

“Wha is it, Hoobaen….”

Perhaps the air hadn’t all come out yet, Lee Seorin’s pronunciation was somewhat cute.

“No, your cheeks just looked good to poke.”

“…Really, Hoobae-nim has no hesitation in touching me at all?”

“To be precise, it would be more correct to say that I have a low barrier to touching others under my initiative.”

I’m also embarrassed when someone suddenly touches me, but I was fine with touching with my initiative.

If I were to compare the difference between the two based on Lee Seorin, it would be appropriate to compare the time when Lee Seorin first grabbed my chin and the time when I later grabbed Lee Seorin’s chin in return.

In the former case, in addition to embarrassment, a little shame was added that many people were watching, while in the latter case, I comfortably enjoyed Lee Seorin’s changing face without such thoughts.

“There’s a word for that, I think…‘Bad girl’?”

“Bad girl? Haven’t you watched too many dramas, Sunbae?”

I remembered a line from a drama I watched with my sister before, where the female lead called a woman who suddenly wall-slammed her a bad girl.

‘I see, in a world where girls dating girls is similar to heterosexual relationships, such words can arise.’

When I heard that line, I just thought about it and moved on, but it felt strange to be called that.

I didn’t have the ability or skills to seduce women like that, and even in my previous life, I died without any connection to such things.

If I were to say that it was different when I lived as Kim Hayeon without the memories of my previous life…I could definitely say no.

I don’t know if it was this setting in the original, but the character Kim Hayeon that I know when she was young had as much or more difficulty facing people as I did.

Thinking about that time, it wasn’t the time to discuss the word love.

“Bad girl…Do you think I’m good enough at stealing the hearts of women to be called that?”

“That, um….”

See.

When I asked her back, Lee Seorin hesitated to answer, didn’t she?

In the first place, only the main characters of the comics, such as Yoon Sejeong, Baek Ahra, and Lee Seorin, flirt with people, and I couldn’t even imagine myself doing such a thing.

‘….’

“Sunbae.”

“Yes?”

Cook.

“Shall we go back? It looks like the moon will be visible soon.”

As I was talking, the moon, which had been faintly visible, began to appear clearly.

As for the streetlights in the playground, they were already brightly lit after sunset, and mayflies were gathering and thudding.

“…Sigh. That’s right. Then, I’ll call the driver.”

Lee Seorin, who looked like she had something to say while looking at my face, started calling the driver without saying anything.

What on earth did she want to say that she stared at me so intently?

The words I wanted to say were on my side.

Inside the car going back.

‘She suddenly became quiet.’

Our Hoobae-nim seemed to have something to think about after getting in the car, or maybe she was just tired, she closed her mouth and looked out the window.

What is she thinking about? What kind of mood was she in all day today?

Was there ever a time when I was so interested in the expression of another person to this extent?

…At times like this, I felt it was a shame that my ability didn’t work on someone like Kim Hayeon.

When I could see other people’s feelings, I thought many times that I wish I didn’t have this ability.

That’s probably why.

“Hoobae-nim, if it’s not rude, could you play with me like this next time too?”

The reason why I, who became impatient in the silenced car, spoke first.

While I was reviewing whether the sentence I uttered without going through a filter was strange somewhere, the reddish-brown eyes that contained the scenery of the town turned and began to contain my gold.

And,

‘Ah.’

It was that expression.

That expression where the corners of her unexpressive mouth also slightly raised.

I don’t know if she’s aware of it, but whenever I call or touch her, she always smiles at me with those red corners of her mouth raised.

Every time I saw that expression, I had to try not to let my eyes go down to her lips.

Because I felt like I would be swept away by some kind of impulse.

I had already been teased for staring at her cleavage without thinking.

I couldn’t lose my dignity as a senior, as the Student Council President, and as a princess any more than this.

I was holding back in my heart like that.

“If someone like me is okay, I’ll hang out with you as many times as you want.”

‘…Ah.’

Is she testing my patience by saying such admirable things?

“I like it because it’s Hoobae-nim.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Until today, I didn’t make a presence that I could call a friend.

No, I couldn’t make one.

But today, playing with her, I realized.

Only she could be a similar presence.

‘Where should I ask her to play next time?’

If it’s a place I haven’t been to, is it a game center?

‘Hoobae-nim seems to be good at claw machines, so I can ask her to play with me and get dolls…I saw on the internet that there’s a place where you can win prizes by holding a gun, so it would be nice if I could step up and return the favor this time….’

So, I was imagining the happy time of the two of us playing together.

“Um…Sunbae. But next time we play, would it be okay to bring a friend?”

My spine turned cold.

“…Friend…you mean?”

Friend.

Is she talking about the students she always hangs out with?

“Yes. Her name is Yoon Sejeong, she transferred here this time.”

I knew.

Because I met her once when I was active in the board game club last time.

“I’ve been introducing her to the surroundings of the school these days, so can we play together? I think it will be much more fun if the number of people playing increases.”

‘No.’

“Three people are more fun than two, right?”

‘Two people are more fun….’

“Besides, if you compare Sejeong and me, Sejeong fits the purpose of experiencing commoner life better….”

‘Do you really think that playing with me was all about experiencing commoner life?’

If you really think so.

Our Hoobae-nim, you’re really clueless, aren’t you?

Well, that’s why you’re talking about other girls so casually like this.

“No.”

The words came out more bluntly than I thought.

Even though I’ve been learning to speak softly since I was a child, I knew that there were emotions that I couldn’t help.

And I also knew that the color of such emotions was always black and red, like the color of a rotten heart being cut out.

“I want to play with only Hoobae-nim. Let’s make a separate time with your friend later.”

If I read my emotions now, they would definitely be that color.

“I had a really good time today, Hoobae-nim. Then, I’ll be looking forward to our next appointment?”

“…Yes. Sunbae, please go in carefully too.”

Swoosh.

The limousine, which is almost silent, slides away from the house.

“…Sigh.”

A sigh that I let out unintentionally contained many things.

I failed to get the two of them together.

‘As expected, I can’t force the same situation as the original.’

Seeing Lee Seorin’s reaction, I had no choice but to admit it.

Now, things are flowing in a very different direction from the original.

“…Eish!”

It’s no use thinking about things that have already passed.

There were many things left to do, and it was just a matter of thinking about them.

‘I should rest in bed….’

And, today I was so tired that I didn’t want to think about anything.

Click.

When I put the key in the keyhole, a cheerful sound rang out and the door opened.

“I’m home~.”

What I saw was the same hallway as always.

But something felt strange.

‘What is it…?’

There are times like that, aren’t there?

When you unconsciously notice that the house is different from usual.

And that intuition….

“…Why are there so many shoes.”

It mostly comes true.

Pitter-patter.

“Unnie (older sister)! Why aren’t you answering your phone!”

When I looked at my phone after hearing Siyeon’s words, there were about two missed calls from 30 minutes ago.

“Sorry. I didn’t answer because I was playing…So what’s up?”

“Sigh…Unnie’s friends came, so I was playing with them in the living room.”

“…Friends?”

Thump, thump.

At those words, I went straight to the living room, and two familiar faces came into view.

“Oh, Hayeon is here!”

The first person to notice me was Yoon Sejeong.

And,

“…Hi.”

The person who couldn’t meet my eyes was Baek Ahra.

The two were playing games while eating potato chips in comfortable clothes, and I couldn’t tell if they were students of a young lady’s academy or 10-year-old NEETs.

“…What are you two doing here?”

Therefore, it wouldn’t be wrong to ask such a question unintentionally.