SIDE STORY – TO EARTH (6)

‘W-Why are you here!’

Their voices did not come out.

It was close to a mental scream.

Hong Yoo Hee and Kang Jin-ho stared at each other, and after mentally screaming, they immediately thought of the same thing – no, they had the same yet different thoughts.

‘Outboxer009?’

‘Yellow Storm?’

H-He’s oppa?!

She is?!

They were literally in shock and horror.

Not a single groan came out, but the bewildered expressions of the two explained it all.

[How come they look more surprised than we were?]

[Because there are different types of shock.]

At the message of Cordelia who was hiding behind a wall and sticking her head out, Jude also responded with a message.

When they first met in Pleiades after remembering the memories of their past life.

At that time, the two immediately exclaimed out loud, but were able to think rationally after that.

However, that did not happen to Hong Yoo Hee and Kang Jin-ho.

Because their kind of shock was different, as Jude had said.

[We just met an unexpected person in an unfamiliar place, but for these two there, they had never thought and connected that the two people they knew were actually the same person. On top of that, both of them had their own fantasies.]

[Are you saying that their fantasies are falling apart? So their shock is more intense?]

[Something like that.]

The situation was different from when Cordelia found out in Pleiades that Jude was actually the oppa next door.

By that time, Cordelia had already fallen in love with Jude.

The shock of finding out that the person she already liked was the same person she had admired before would be what one would call as a ‘pleasant surprise.’

But for Hong Yoo Hee, Outboxer009 or Outbo was just a bad grade schooler.

She definitely had a bond with him after playing together for six years, but it was close to a bad friend.

But that Outbo.

That bad grade schooler Outbo.

He’s the same person as the oppa next door who I imagined to be a really, really, really cool oppa in my fantasies?

[Did you fantasize about me too?]

[Well… I just had the impression that you were a good and pretty child.]

[Heh, I am pretty.]

As Cordelia snorted, Jude also smiled.

‘Anyway… Kang Jin-ho will be shocked too.’

He must have felt immense shame the moment he found out that Yellow Storm was the girl next door who was a lot younger than him.

He had done all sorts of childish things to a girl much younger than him.

In any case, amidst their excitement, Jude and Cordelia watched Kang Jin-ho and Hong Yoo Hee again.

“Uh… Ah… No way… You’re Yellow… Storm?”

Kang Jin-ho managed to recover first.

He had forced his brain that was not moving well to work and draw a conclusion, and took a deep breath as he stared at Hong Yoo Hee who was surprised at his words and stuttered in her reply.

“I-I’m not…”

She unknowingly denied it.

Like how a child who committed a mistake would lie and say no.

“Y-You’re not?”

Kang Jin-ho was quite bewildered at the ‘no’ answer and unconsciously asked again. Hong Yoo Hee began to stutter again with a red face and tears in her eyes, and covered her face with both hands.

“T-That’s right. That’s right.”

Why am I saying an obvious lie!

Hong Yoo Hee mentally strangled herself.

And she thought.

‘Wait a minute. He’s really Outboxer009?’

The oppa next door?

The oppa next door is that bad grade schooler?

Seriously?

For real?

Really?

‘N-No way.’

I can remember all the mean things Outbo did even now when I close my eyes.

That Outbo who crazily snickered as he made fun of me.

That Outbo who teased me as I clenched my teeth.

That Outbo who barked at me like a dog, saying I’m bad at games in our first meeting.

He’s that oppa next door.

That cool oppa.

That oppa who stood looking at the sunset over the Han River.

Cigarettes are harmful to the body, but the oppa next door, who puffed out cigarette smoke and stared at the Han River with a gloomy look, was so cool.

The oppa next door then looks at me. And says with a snicker.

“I’m first place again!”

“F*ck!”

Without realizing it, she let out a curse – no, an exclamation.

N-No.

No.

My dream is shattered.

It’s gone.

But the thoughts in her head continued.

The oppa next door who dances while shaking his butt.

The oppa next door who is proud that his score is higher.

The oppa next door who cries because he failed his weapon enhancement.

The oppa next door who steals her drop items and runs away.

The oppa next door who is embarrassed and blushes when she says ‘Power Sex.’

‘Oh, that’s good… not! No. That’s not good at all!’

Outbo is the oppa next door!

Outbo is!

Hong Yoo Hee was staggering as though she was about to collapse from her extreme confusion, and peeked between her fingers as she faced reality again.

The oppa next door was standing with a troubled expression in his face.

‘F-F*ck.’

He’s still handsome.

Even though I know that he’s Outbo, I still find him cool and handsome.

The oppa next door spoke.

“Uh… Ah…”

In reality, Hong Yoo Hee was not the only one who was shocked.

He did not know that the girl next door whom he thought of as nice, cute, and polite was that Norfolk who always cursed.

He did not know that Norfolk, who always obsessed about Cordelia and collected normal and sexy pictures of her, would be the girl next door.

He felt shame.

A bottomless shame.

‘Aaaaaah!’

Kang Jin-ho had been mentally screaming since earlier.

He was embarrassed.

All the words and actions he did as Outboxer009 to Yellow Storm were flying towards him like sharp bullets.

‘Alexei! Alexei!’

W-What should I do?

What am I supposed to do?

Even when he was alone in the enemy camp, it was not as daunting as it was now.

On the morning after Natasha appeared in his dirty dream, he was not that embarrassed when he faced her.

Aack.

Ugh.

Ugh.

But he was still Kang Jin-ho.

He used his superhuman patience to prevent all of his inner sufferings from appearing in his face.

At least on the outside, he clearly appeared relaxed and calm.

So.

That’s why.

Let’s relax.

Don’t show your embarrassment.

You’ll be giving the enemy an advantage if they find out that you’re agitated.

Let’s calm down.

Kang Jin-ho, calm down.

[He’s taking a deep breath. He seems to be recovering from his panic to some extent.]

[Oh.]

While Jude and Cordelia watched as they laughed, Kang Jin-ho deeply breathed several times.

And looked at the girl next door again.

‘Let’s be calm.’

As the person a year older – no, perhaps almost ten years older, he had to be calm.

Kang Jin-ho had been through all sorts of hardships since he was born, and was now feeling embarrassed, so what about the girl next door who was just 20 years old?

‘Yeah, Norfolk is mentally weak.’

So Kang Jin-ho had to calm down here.

He had to deal with this situation as the older one.

“Are you… Norfolk?”

“Y-Yoo Hee. I’m Hong Yoo Hee.”

As soon as Jude said her nickname, Hong Yoo Hee reflexively replied with her real name.

If they called each other with their nicknames here, aside from being ashamed, they would also be more confused.

[Oh, how amazing. That ability to instinctively find an answer is still there.]

[Hehe.]

While Cordelia was feeling proud, Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth again.

“Ye…Yes. Miss Yoo Hee. Yes, Miss Yoo Hee. I’m Kang Jin-ho.”

“Ah… Uh… Yes, oppa.”

Hong Yoo Hee muttered in a very low voice.

Her face was so red that it seemed like it would burst if someone touched it.

[Ohmigosh. She said oppa, oppa. Isn’t she cute?]

[She’s cute, but are you a fan of Hong Yoo Hee now?]

Hong Yoo Hee was a fan of Cordelia.

Cordelia snorted at the rebuke of Jude, and focused on the two again.

“Anyway, uh… First of all. Uh, first of all. Would you like to eat?”

They were supposed to eat lunch together after their group meet.

At the offer of Kang Jin-ho, Hong Yoo Hee bit her lip in hesitation and swallowed hard. She answered as she raised her head.

“Okay! I-I mean, yes…”

A small and timid answer.

Endless buzzing and vibrating sounds could be heard between the two, but neither of them looked at their cellphones.

Or rather, they could not feel it.

“Let’s go.”

Kang Jin-ho moved first.

Hong Yoo Hee was not sure what to do again, but began following Kang Jin-ho from a distance. And when he walked ten steps, he stopped. He turned around and looked at her who stopped too, and appeared troubled.

“Umm…”

Beckoning her with a hand gesture felt weird for him.

But they could not just walk apart like just now.

So in the end, Kang Jin-ho approached Hong Yoo Hee again. He said again only after he stood beside her.

“Let’s go.”

They stood together.

Because they were a group.

Kang Jin-ho looked ahead and walked forward, and Hong Yoo Hee nodded instead of answering, peeking at the side profile of Kang Jin-ho.

As for the two spying on them.

[Ohmigosh, ohmigosh. I’m going to die from their cuteness.]

Cordelia repeatedly jumped from her spot and exclaimed, and Jude thought with a smile.

‘That’s right. Cordelia is very cute.’

Kang Jin-ho, Hong Yoo Hee, and Cordelia are the cutest.

As Jude thought so, Kang Jin-ho and Hong Yoo Hee entered a nearby pizzeria.

***

Hong Yoo Hee liked pizza.

It was her who insisted that the lunch for the offline meeting today should be pizza.

It was also her who chose the restaurant.

But at this moment, she could not feel the taste of the pizza.

Or rather, she could not tell whether the pizza was going inside her mouth or her nose in the first place.

And it was the same with Kang Jin-ho.

Munch, munch, munch.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Chew, chew, chew.

Put the pizza on a plate, drizzle the sauce, slice it into small pieces, and bring it to your mouth.

Both of them did that instead of eating with their hands, and only the sounds of eating could be heard instead of a conversation.

A suffocating silence.

A heavy silence.

A painful silence.

In fact, the two had gone out with some kind of resolution.

They had imagined that they would meet all kinds of people, of different ages and sexes.

But the present situation was not among those they had imagined.

‘I never imagined this!’

The troubled Hong Yoo Hee was fidgeting while Kang Jin-ho was seriously replaying the teachings of Alexei in his mind.

And Cordelia said with a happy face.

“Delicious. I miss this taste.”

“If it’s pizza, I’ve made it a few times in Pleiades.”

“Yes, that’s delicious too, but this is a pizzeria, right? It’s their specialty, right?”

“Ahem.”

“Hey, don’t be upset. Okay?”

When Cordelia acted cute, Jude eventually smiled and wiped the sauce off the lips of Cordelia.

“Eat slowly.”

“Yes, yes.”

Unlike the two in the seat behind them, Jude and Cordelia were flirting to the point that the other people who saw them were frowning.

And around 30 minutes later.

Having somehow finished the pizza, Kang Jin-ho and Hong Yoo Hee left the restaurant.

They were originally planning to play at a VR arcade next.

That was the plan.

“Uh… Miss Yoo Hee?”

“Eh? Ah, yes.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Hong Yoo Hee, and she looked at him.

And Cordelia watched the two with a nervous expression. Jude just stared at Cordelia.

And a few seconds later.

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth again.

“Since we had planned it… do you want to go there?”

The VR arcade.

At the suggestion of Kang Jin-ho, Hong Yoo Hee nodded without realizing it.

As if she had been possessed.

“Yes, oppa.”

Her answer sounded a bit timid but was strangely mixed with joy.

At her response, Cordelia touched her chest as she struggled to endure it, while Kang Jin-ho also felt a throbbing pain in his chest.

They both did it because of the same reason.

‘C-Cute!’

Cordelia immediately thought of it while Kang Jin-ho tried to erase the thought that came to his mind.

“Anyway… let’s go.”

Kang Jin-ho turned around first again this time, but it was a little different from before. He did not wait or go back because Hong Yoo Hee quickly followed him.

“Hehehe.”

Seeing that, Cordelia had a sly smile while Jude had a slightly wry smile.

It went quite smoothly after that.

They played games together, watched a movie, and had dinner afterwards.

Hong Yoo Hee was very timid at first, but by the time she left the arcade, her face was full of smiles.

‘It’s fun.’

It’s fun.

It was fun playing games and watching a movie.

Dinner was delicious too.

The reason that this joy could continue was because both of them had an implicit agreement.

Don’t talk about Legend of Heroes.

Don’t mention the names of Norfolk and Outbo.

Strangely enough, they were able to concentrate on playing quite a bit after agreeing to that.

And eventually, Hong Yoo Hee had a thought.

‘Isn’t this a… date?’

A man and woman meet alone to eat, play games, watch movies…

‘W-Wake up!’

Hong Yoo Hee quickly shook her head.

Isn’t the person in front of me Outbo?

‘B-But…’

Isn’t he also the oppa next door?

As Cordelia had said in my dream, Outbo is very handsome and cool.

And he’s kind and attentive.

‘Come to think of it, Outbo is also…’

He never crossed the line, as Cordelia had said.

Because he got embarrassed every time he read sex jokes.

‘Oooh…’

Hong Yoo Hee imagined the oppa next door being embarrassed because of a sex joke, and strangely felt excited.

A lot of time passed.

By the time their dinner was over, it was already dark outside.

It was now time to go back.

“W-Well then…”

They had to say goodbye.

Hong Yoo Hee lowered her head to say goodbye, but Kang Jin-ho had no intention of doing that.

Leave her here and go home?

That was impossible for him.

So…

“I’ll take you home.”

“Eh?!”

“I mean, we’re in the same direction.”

Same direction? Ah, we’re next door neighbors.

“Ah… uh… that… uh…”

Hong Yoo Hee stuttered again, and Kang Jin-ho unconsciously smiled.

“Let’s go.”

“Eh? Ah, yes.”

And they moved again.

But Hong Yoo Hee soon had her doubts.

‘Where… are we going?’

The subway station isn’t this way.

It’s not even the bus stop…

While Hong Yoo Hee was puzzled, Kang Jin-ho arrived at a basement parking lot in Hongdae.

The basement parking lot.

The reason why Hong Yoo Hee and Kang Jin-ho came from different directions despite living next door to each other.

“Here.”

Kang Jin-ho said and opened the passenger seat door, and the eyes of Hong Yoo Hee widened again. She could not help it.

‘There’s only two seats?’

Because the car of Kang Jin-ho was a two-seater sports car.

Hong Yoo Hee did not know much about cars, but liked its white and beautiful color.

‘This is the car of oppa next door.’

Having recalled seeing the car several times near their house, Hong Yoo Hee hesitated a bit before sitting on the passenger seat, and Kang Jin-ho closed the door and sat in the driver’s seat.

“Wear your seatbelt.”

“Yes.”

And click.

He started the engine, waited for a while, and then left.

Hong Yoo Hee was momentarily surprised by the view much lower than a normal car, and swallowed hard before glancing at the seat next to her.

She watched Kang Jin-ho driving while looking straight ahead.

He looked serious.

He was driving.

‘He’s really an adult.’

A true adult.

Not a kid pretending to be an adult.

The cheeks of Hong Yoo Hee turned red, and she quickly turned her head. She looked ahead and pressed her hand against her chest as if to calm down her wildly pounding heart.

And another 20 minutes passed.

It did not take a long time for them to arrive home as their homes were not far away from Hongdae in the first place.

At the basement parking of their apartment.

Kang Jin-ho got off first this time and naturally opened the passenger door.

Hong Yoo Hee hesitated before carefully getting out of the car.

“Umm… Shall we go?”

Because they had to ride the elevator together.

Hong Yoo Hee nodded and the two slowly walked towards the elevator.

But it was at that moment.

Pop!

With a sudden bursting sound, water began to pour down like crazy from the sprinkler attached to the ceiling.

“Kya!”

When Hong Yoo Hee screamed, Kang Jin-ho reflexively moved. As a result, the two got away from the sprinkler in no time, but they were already drenched in water.

“Uwaa?”

“A-Are you okay?”

Hong Yoo Hee could not even answer the question of Kang Jin-ho.

Because not only her hair got wet by the pouring water but also her underwear.

‘F*ck!’

I was so happy today!

Hong Yoo Hee mentally exclaimed and let out a long sigh instead of getting angry.

“L-Let’s go in for now.”

Fortunately, the way home was just a short ride to the elevator and walking a bit.

They were drenched so it was annoying, but they could immediately go in, shower, and change clothes once they get home.

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded after looking at the sprinkler that had suddenly burst.

And a few minutes later.

The two got off the elevator and awkwardly looked at each other.

“That… Uh… Well then.”

“Uh… Ah… Yes…”

“B-bye?”

“G-Goodbye too?”

They had to say their goodbyes.

But if they went in and played Legend of Heroes 2, they would clearly meet each other again.

So what should they do now?

Should they say ‘see you in Legend of Heroes 2?’

But in the end, the two clumsily said their goodbyes and turned around before they stood in front of their respective doors.

However, a problem occurred again.

“Huh?”

The door to the house of Hong Yoo Hee would not open.

No matter how many times she entered the correct passcode, the electronic door did not open and seemed to be broken.

“Uuuuuh…”

The confused Hong Yoo Hee hurriedly rang the doorbell, but no answer came from inside.

And in fact, that was natural.

Because her parents went on a trip with the hot springs ticket they had suddenly won last night.

There was no one in the house and the door would not open.

She thought it would be fine if she called person in charge of the keys, but wondered if that person would come if she called him this late at night. Or if he would come soon.

Moreover, Hong Yoo Hee was drenched right now.

What should I do?

What am I supposed to do?

“Excuse me?”

Hong Yoo Hee reflexively turned around at the voice she heard at that moment.

Kang Jin-ho was standing in front of his door and looking her way.

He was a good observer.

He immediately inferred the situation of Hong Yoo Hee.

So…

That was why…

Kang Jin-ho was troubled.

Because he did not know if he was being too nosy.

Because it was something that might cause too much misunderstanding.

‘Don’t do it.’

His reason stopped him.

But at the same time, another Kang Jin-ho spoke in his mind.

‘Are you going to leave her like that? Isn’t she your neighbor? And she’s not just a neighbor, but Norfolk.’

It sounded foreign to him, as if someone else was talking.

But it was reasonable.

Kang Jin-ho agreed with his inner thoughts.

“Umm…”

The words of Kang Jin-ho trailed at the end, and Hong Yoo Hee blinked and looked at him.

And Kang Jin-ho finally said.

“Would you like to rest?”

But shortly after he said it, he regretted it.

I mean, what did I even mean by resting!

There are many words I could have used!

And at the time when Kang Jin-ho continued to blame himself in his anxiety and nervousness.

Hong Yoo Hee swallowed hard. She looked at Kang Jin-ho and the door of his house behind him, and nodded.

She gave an answer.