As soon as I got home after casually playing with Han Jibin, I reviewed the original story.
Ban Eun-hyeol wasn’t the type to care for someone in such an indifferent manner.
Moreover, until a few months ago, I was a stalker who relentlessly pursued him.
And now, just because we’ve gotten a bit intertwined recently, he’s forgiving me so quickly?
I was sitting in my chair, deep in thought, trying to deduce Ban Eun-hyeol’s intentions, when I heard my mom’s voice calling me to dinner from outside.
“Did you meet Hayeon today?” my mom asked in a subtle tone.
Lately, she’d been pleased that I was getting close to and hanging out with Yeon Hayeon and Yeon Hyeonggwang, and she seemed to think I’d played with Yeon Hayeon again today.
“No, I met a different friend today.”
My parents didn’t think much of my personality change.
They seemed to have concluded that their teenage daughter’s personality had changed because she started hanging out with friends who were quite unusual, rather than her usual crowd.
“Who? Is it that friend?”
My dad, who was watching the news while eating, pointed to the TV with his chin.
News about the Four Heavenly Kings Gate was being reported.
The “that friend” my dad mentioned was Ban Eun-hyeol, who was currently being interviewed.
‘How did he know?’
He’d guessed who I met in one go.
I almost blurted out my thoughts.
“Yes. Him and another friend, two of them,” I added casually as I ate.
“He bought me a bookshelf. It’s coming in two days.”
“What?”
“What?”
My parents, whose relationship had recently improved quite a bit, said the exact same thing as if on cue. Even their shocked expressions were identical.
They were definitely a married couple.
“I just prodded because you’ve been hanging out with Guild Leader Hyeolhyang, no, Hayeon lately, but you actually played with that friend?”
“And even received a bookshelf as a gift?”
My parents had already put down their spoons and were bombarding me with questions, one after another.
They asked how we got close, if I used to like him, if we were seriously dating as romantic partners, and if so, they approved.
‘No, why is the conversation veering in that direction…?’
“Who confessed first?”
It seemed a youth drama had already been completed in my parents’ minds.
Those bright, expectant eyes and expressions.
It’s best to nip such expectations in the bud.
“Confession? What confession? We’re not that close. I just met him by chance when I had plans with another friend.”
The news was already reporting other stories. It was a bit uncomfortable seeing Ban Eun-hyeol even while eating at home, but now I could watch TV more comfortably.
“But he gave you a bookshelf as a gift?”
“Oh, um… I helped him with something, so I received it as a thank you.”
“Really?”
Before I possessed this body, Dana had been very obvious about her crush on Ban Eun-hyeol, so my parents knew how much their daughter liked him.
They were happy to hear that their daughter had received a bookshelf from the boy she liked, but upon hearing that there was nothing significant between them, their disappointment was palpable.
However, the next day, when friends came over under the pretense of helping organize the bookshelf, their eyes lit up again, as if they had never been disappointed.
“Hello. I’m Eun Bada, Dana’s friend.”
“I’m Han Jibin, Dana’s classmate!”
My parents, who were already reeling from the “face attack” that had been going on since Sunday morning, completely lost their minds when the Yeon siblings also entered.
“Honey… was this a broadcasting station?”
“The house looks so bright today. Why doesn’t it feel like our house?”
Seeing their reaction, I immediately felt embarrassed and quickly ushered my friends into my room and closed the door.
I firmly closed the door and turned around to see Eun Bada, Han Jibin, and the Yeon siblings greeting me with smiling faces.
“Haha.”
It really was like a broadcasting station.
I responded with a smile too.
It was an incredibly awkward moment.
***
Why did the Yeon siblings and Eun Bada also come to help organize the bookshelf, when it was only Han Jibin who was supposed to?
The incident started with Han Jibin.
Cutieâ—†(9): Who wants to help Dana organize her bookshelf! Me!
Sashimi(1): Bookshelf organizing?
â–¶Cutieâ—† (9): Yup >_< I’m going to Dana’s house today!
Sashimi(1): I’m coming.
PrettyBoy(6): I definitely have to go.
Ocean(5): If it’s helping organize, I’ll go too ^_^
Focus(1): Going to her house?
â–¶Cutieâ—† (9): Ah, wait! Dana just texted me that if I bring friends, only three are allowed ã… _ã…
Focus(1): …-_-]
The situation escalated because Han Jibin recruited people to come to our house in a chatroom where even the top 10 ranked individuals were gathered.
When the chat first appeared, I was horrified and almost sent a message telling them not to come.
But if I had done that?
[Nada(0): Don’t come.]
This is how it would appear in the chat, and her identity would be exposed.
I snapped out of it and texted Han Jibin on my phone.
By the time I sent the text, Ban Eun-hyeol had already sent a chat message saying, ‘Going to her house?’
So I limited it to only three people.
I typed and sent the message with incredibly fast hands.
I almost let Ban Eun-hyeol into the house.
‘It’s already awkward with just these kids; what would I have done if Ban Eun-hyeol was here too?’
The “Dana Bookshelf Organizing Squad” that gathered was surprisingly helpful.
My friends diligently took out the books from the original bookshelf, neatly stacked them, and tidied up the useless items that were carelessly placed on the shelves.
The bookshelf was small, so this many people weren’t really needed.
Thanks to them, the work finished really quickly.
“Cleaning, done!”
After finishing the room cleaning, Han Jibin stretched with a refreshed look on her face.
Although they had come to my house to hang out, my room felt a bit cramped for all of them, so we moved out.
I was already close with the Yeon siblings, and had become quite close with Han Jibin, but Eun Bada was different, and I worried if it would be uncomfortable to hang out together.
We talked a lot, but we weren’t quite close enough to be called best friends.
A friend’s friend.
That phrase perfectly described my relationship with Eun Bada.
I’m not very sociable, and Eun Bada is a typical model student, so we didn’t become close as quickly as I did with Han Jibin.
However, there was a great place that could instantly bring ambiguous friends like us together: the arcade.
We confidently strode towards the arcade.
‘When did they get so close?’
Ban Eun-hyeol was quite displeased right now.
It was clear at a glance that Dana and Eun Bada had become closer since last weekend.
He deeply regretted not checking the chat earlier and missing out on being one of the three.
In the car parked in front of the school gate on the way home, he didn’t immediately leave but waited for a bit.
As time passed, he saw Dana approaching in the side mirror.
He needlessly adjusted his posture, checked his face in the rearview mirror, and waited for Dana to get closer.
Nowadays, Dana didn’t greet him on her way home, but just in case, he decided to sit and wait.
However, Dana walked past the car without the slightest hesitation.
‘Ah, what am I doing?’
Only then did he realize what he was doing.
He irritably ruffled his hair and tried to start the car.
Knock-knock-
Just then, someone tapped on the window.
He urgently stopped the driver, who was about to pull away, quickly tidied his hair, and rolled down the window.
“Eun-hyeol! Let’s go together!”
As he rolled down the window, his face filled with disappointment.
Han Jibin, completely oblivious to this change, beamed and tried to open the car door and get in.
“Let’s go.”
“Huh?”
Ban Eun-hyeol coldly drove off. For some reason, he just wasn’t in a good mood.
Cutie (9): So mean ã… 0ã… ]
Han Jibin, who had gradually started preferring the chat window over text messages, sent a message that clearly showed she was hurt.
Ban Eun-hyeol completely closed his eyes.
But he didn’t go far before turning the car around to pick up Han Jibin.
Walking down the street, when he accidentally got caught in a sudden gate, he remembered the first dungeon where he got caught with Dana.
For some reason, that moment just came to mind. That was all.
When he got home, the bookshelf Dana had chosen was in his room next to his desk.
It was a wooden design, a bit out of place with his simple room decor, but the more he looked at it, the more it seemed to become a unique focal point.
‘Her taste isn’t bad.’
It was a short observation. He unconsciously wore a satisfied smile.
Then, he headed to the bathroom connected to his room to wash up.
He hadn’t consciously noticed it until now, but his body wash had a baby powder scent.
As he smelled the baby powder scent filling the bathroom, he recalled the scent that came from Dana.
It felt even cozier and softer than this.
Along with that, he also remembered the day Dana almost died at the hands of a heinous criminal.
He had rushed over as soon as he saw Dana being thrown, but it seemed Dana could have escaped the situation perfectly well without him.
He couldn’t understand why her completely fearless face, actions, and indifferent voice that didn’t tremble even in such a situation kept swirling in his mind.
Come to think of it, Dana strangely seemed to frequently have close calls with death.
She often got caught in sudden gates, and even became the target of criminals.
He remembered when he asked if she was an extraterrestrial, given her sudden personality change and the fact that she had awakened.
‘Come to think of it, that pink bag.’
He remembered now.
The girl who beat up delinquents in the alley and ran off with her face covered.
He thought it couldn’t be Dana because she seemed to be an awakened person, but now that he thought about it, the person he saw back then might have been Dana.
The traces of fire left in the school incinerator were probably also Dana’s doing.
The sight of her skipping playfully down the deserted hallway during class seemed to reappear before his eyes.
“Heh, hahaha!”
Laughter burst out.
“This is interesting.”
She used to be nothing more than an annoying, bothersome stalker.
Was it because her personality changed after awakening?
Or did an extraterrestrial possess Dana’s body, as he suspected?
Either way, she had truly piqued his interest.
Yes, he was just curious about Dana out of simple interest.
Concluding that his recent unusual behavior stemmed from interest, he headed to the Hunter Association with a refreshed expression.
It was, as expected, a place that held memories with Dana.