“Seriously.”
The more I looked, the more absurd it seemed, and I let out a hollow laugh.
“So what am I supposed to do with that?”
Half of it was because Ban Eunhyeol liked me?
And I just didn’t get the hint?
‘I almost got myself into big trouble by doing what Yeonha Yeon said.’
I had almost received Ban Eunhyeol’s disdainful gaze again, the same one I got at the very start of the possession.
This was definitely not the kind of reply you’d send to someone you like.
Maybe if we were just friends, but no.
I threw my phone onto the bed and opened the door to leave the room.
“Eunhyeol said you got home okay last night? Do you have plans to hang out with your friends tomorrow?”
“No, I don’t.”
Feeling the pressure from their hopeful glances that I’d get along with Ban Eunhyeol, I decided to avoid the conversation.
I ran a bath, and as I soaked, my thoughts kept drifting back to Ban Eunhyeol—how he helped me quietly despite knowing my true identity, how he let me rest my head on his shoulder for a moment when I dozed off in the car, the bouquet of roses he gave me on Rose Day.
There were so many moments that could easily be misunderstood.
I was slow to realize it because I had stubbornly labeled Ban Eunhyeol as ‘just a friend’ in my head, but it was definitely suspicious.
But in the end, it was just my misunderstanding.
‘What the heck, I actually thought it was real.’
The hot bathwater made my face flush.
‘I would’ve really been fooled if he hadn’t said “So what am I supposed to do?” ’
Thinking about that message, the heat on my face suddenly cooled off.
[Look what came! Check this out!]
After finishing my bath and going back to my room, Red handed me my phone, wrapped up in his tail.
“Huh? What is it?”
I checked my phone while brushing my teeth and widened my eyes, bringing the screen closer to my face.
[That earlier message was just autocomplete -_- I didn’t type it. I don’t have plans tomorrow, wanna meet up? – Ban Eunhyeol]
It was autocomplete!
‘No wonder! He’s prickly, but he wouldn’t reply like that on purpose.’
I couldn’t even count how many times I had splashed the water while thinking about Ban Eunhyeol’s reply during my bath.
But it turned out it was an accidental send thanks to autocomplete.
With the toothbrush still in my mouth, I pondered what to reply. I usually just answered whatever came to mind without much thought, so why was I suddenly agonizing over every word?
[Uh? It’s spilling!]
Maybe I was thinking too long.
The toothpaste foamed up and spilled out of my mouth, so I grabbed my phone and rushed into the bathroom.
By the time I finished brushing and drying my hair, quite a bit of time had passed.
‘I need to reply quickly.’
I thought about what to say while drying my hair, but my mind went completely blank.
After much deliberation, I wrote a short reply and pressed send.
[Where do you want to meet?]
***
I had a restless night.
I couldn’t fall asleep, so I sneaked out early in the morning and closed one of the gates.
Usually, I’d come back and fall asleep immediately, but today my eyes felt wide awake.
‘This is bad.’
I hurried to check myself in the mirror.
Thankfully, I didn’t look too tired—no pimples, no dark circles.
As I noisily got ready to go out, my parents kept glancing at me suspiciously whenever I stepped outside my room.
‘If I say I’m meeting Ban Eunhyeol, they’ll probably think we’re dating.’
Better to say I’m going to the guild.
“Who are you meeting?”
Just as I finished getting ready and stepped out the door, my dad approached and asked.
“I have some business at the guild. I’ll be back soon!”
“Alright, have fun.”
I told him I was going to the guild, didn’t I?
My dad’s last words felt a bit off, but I had to hurry to be on time.
I rushed outside and started walking when—
“Get in.”
Ban Eunhyeol’s head popped out of the car window parked at the apartment entrance.
Lately, every time we met, he’d pick me up and drop me off, so I wondered if today would be the same—and sure enough, it was.
I raised my arm to wave cheerfully as usual but quickly dropped it again.
‘Why does it feel so awkward?’
For some reason, getting into Ban Eunhyeol’s car felt more uncomfortable than usual.
I stiffened up and climbed in, and the driver greeted me warmly.
He always kindly drives me around, so I returned his greeting before closing the door.
On the way into the city, the car was filled with such awkward silence that breathing felt conspicuous.
‘Is something up?’
Meanwhile, the driver kept smirking uncontrollably, which caught my attention.
I glanced sideways at Ban Eunhyeol sitting next to me—he was staring out the window, lost in thought.
The car moved smoothly at a moderate pace and soon arrived downtown.
As soon as the car stopped, I hurriedly opened the door and got out.
Sitting cramped inside the car with Ban Eunhyeol felt far worse than standing outside together.
“What do you want to do?”
“Shall we eat first?”
Ban Eunhyeol couldn’t keep his eyes fixed on one spot and pointed ahead.
Unlike him, my gaze was locked on Ban Eunhyeol from earlier.
His shirt and slacks were clearly chosen with extra care today, his hair neatly styled, his face shining with vitality.
Passersby glanced over or even stopped walking because of his sharp appearance.
Truly fitting the looks of a male lead in a novel.
‘Wow, he really is handsome.’
I must have stared for a while without realizing it.
“Why? Something on my face?”
Ban Eunhyeol brushed his face with his hand and checked his reflection on his phone screen.
“Nothing’s there.”
I hesitated over what to say but decided to be honest.
“You just look really handsome today.”
Ban Eunhyeol’s mouth twitched uncontrollably into a smile.
He chuckled and grinned with a pleased look.
“Is that so? I am pretty good looking.”
“On second thought, maybe not.”
“No way. You still can’t take your eyes off me.”
“No, I really can’t.”
The tension broke instantly.
Joking back and forth like usual, we headed to Ban Eunhyeol’s favorite regular spot after a long time.
The menu was exactly the same—vegetable gopchang.
‘Still no customers today.’
Just like last time, and today again, there wasn’t a single other customer.
Looking at the empty tables, I started to worry if business was doing well at all.
Since it was Ban Eunhyeol’s favorite restaurant and held memories for me too, I hoped it would stay open for a long time.
“Eat right away!”
The cheerful owner brought out the cooked vegetable gopchang and returned to the kitchen.
I glanced toward the kitchen and gestured to Ban Eunhyeol to lean in closer.
When he bent toward me, I whispered cautiously into his ear.
“But why are there no customers here? It tastes really good.”
Ban Eunhyeol chuckled and covered his face with his palm, laughing.
I looked at him in confusion, and he shrugged, then quietly whispered.
“I rented it out.”
“Huh?”
“I wanted to eat quietly, just the two of us, so I rented the place.”
“What?!”
I thought something like that only happened in dramas or novels.
‘Ah, so I really did get possessed into a novel world.’
Startled at first, I calmed down once I realized where I was.
Renting out an entire restaurant just to eat quietly…
‘That’s some next-level chaebol scale.’
Suddenly, I burst out laughing.
Ban Eunhyeol looked at me confused.
‘Usually people rent a restaurant, but renting out a gopchang place? That’s so Ban Eunhyeol.’
Even while eating gopchang, I kept chuckling softly.
It wasn’t really that funny, but I didn’t know why I couldn’t stop laughing.
We ate an early lunch while chatting about this and that—school, dungeons, and more.
Being one of the two people who knew my secret, and the one who understood me best, made the whole conversation feel comfortable.
After lunch, we headed to an arcade.
Since it was the weekend, there were many students.
Ban Eunhyeol was well-known, and I was fairly recognized, so I felt some people sneaking glances at us.
But at some point, those gazes vanished suddenly.
Though Ban Eunhyeol acted like it wasn’t him, I noticed he shot those staring people a sharp look to keep them away.
After leaving the arcade, we went to watch a movie.
‘This is totally like a date course, isn’t it?’
I almost felt awkward again thinking that, but watching a comedy kept things from getting weird.
“That was really funny. I want to watch it again.”
“You kept laughing the whole time. It was pretty funny.”
We left the theater with smiles from laughing so much and chose a café as the next stop.
Ban Eunhyeol said he knew a quiet café with wide table spacing and took me there.
The café was spacious and quiet, with warm orange lighting adding to the ambiance.
After hanging out like friends all day, coming here made me speak less without realizing it.
I just sipped my drink through a straw when Ban Eunhyeol quietly looked at me and finally spoke.