Chapter 053 …
It’s a Dating Sim but There’s No Romance
“Are you not mad?”
Vanessa asked again, putting some distance between us even before I could answer.
“Aren’t you angry with me?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really, really.”
Should I even cross my fingers for emphasis?
Her sulky face didn’t soften at my answer. Her lips, bitten roughly, moved slightly.
“Then… aren’t you curious?”
“About what?”
“Why they’re acting like that toward me. Why they fought so much.”
“Do you want me to be honest?”
“…Yeah.”
“I can more or less guess.”
I hadn’t been completely blind.
Words like betrayal or a friend’s boyfriend were enough to piece together the situation without overthinking.
I brushed a few bits of leaves from her chestnut-colored hair and explained.
“Maybe one of the guys they liked confessed to you… or at least it looked that way to them. Isn’t it something like that?”
“Well…”
“Was I wrong?”
I didn’t even need to hear her answer. Her sweat-drenched face looked like a kid caught stealing.
“Sanha, do you think I—”
“You mean, do I think you did something wrong?”
The wind blew. Leaves hanging above swayed with a heavy rustle.
The eyes of the prettiest girl in school darkly shimmered.
“I don’t know. You haven’t told me anything.”
“…”
“Whether you actually took him, or if they’re just angry and saying reckless things.”
“You… you think I actually did that?”
“No.”
From what I’d observed, she wasn’t really interested in romance.
‘She never really talked about guys much.’
She had mentioned it a few times in passing, but that was all.
Even if she did have feelings, she wasn’t the type to snatch a friend’s boyfriend and cause trouble.
“I don’t think you did.”
“The things they said to me… if…”
Her unfinished sentence dissolved into nothing.
Suddenly, I remembered a version of ‘Bani’ from the past—when she was much younger.
I want to get close with Sanha.
A playful gesture as she tilted a transparent glass of alcohol.
Long eyelashes, flushed cheeks, a friendly elbow nudge.
I wish we were in the same school. I didn’t have any friends in high school.
Yet, the Vanessa I met again was always surrounded by people. Many knew her, many called her name.
Still, twenty-something Bani said she had no friends.
“Sanha, why are you so nice to me?”
“Have I been nice to you?”
Vanessa just nodded without elaborating.
‘Have I? Hmm, I guess I might have been.’
She—Vanessa—was the most welcoming face among the people I met here. Because…
“When we first met, the very first time.”
“Yeah.”
“You smiled so beautifully.”
I remembered a past the eighteen-year-old me didn’t know.
A drinking party where half the people were strangers, dim lighting, rapidly emptying glasses.
And then, a girl my age came along as the party was peaking.
Wow, how did you pour so much?
Bani, are you here? No, it’s just that Sanha lost the game…
I’ll drink it. I’ll be the black knight.
She naturally squeezed into the seat next to me, downed a large glass in one gulp, and smiled radiantly.
My name’s Bani.
‘We only met once after that, but…’
We might have become friends.
Maybe,
If I hadn’t gotten caught up in some system’s meddling ten years ago…
“Bani, I really like your smile.”
“…Why?”
“It’s beautiful.”
She must have heard this a lot before, but Vanessa furrowed her brows as if hearing it for the first time. She pressed her lips together, unsure what to do.
I hugged the young girl—maybe she could have been my friend.
“Reflecting is fine, whatever, but for now, let’s just blame others, just blame others.”
I gently patted her back. Her shoulder, leaning against mine, gradually got wet.
“If you cry too much, you’ll get dehydrated.”
No reply came. I kept patting her back until her sobs subsided.
“Students, are you okay?”
“Well done, you stayed calm.”
“Thanks to your guidance, it was easier to search.”
Vanessa and I descended the mountain around lunchtime.
As soon as we left with the search party, familiar faces appeared. One was the PE teacher I first called, and the other…
“Sanha! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Any injuries?”
“No.”
Kwon Cha-hyuk didn’t seem reassured by my answer and quickly checked me over.
‘So he was by the teacher when I called.’
I hadn’t expected him to come this far.
After staring at me for a while, Kwon Cha-hyuk shifted his gaze to the darkened ambulance. Vanessa’s ambulance was just leaving the parking lot.
“Was Vanessa badly hurt?”
“Not seriously, just a sprained ankle. Not dehydrated, but yeah, she was really scared.”
“And you? Don’t you need to go too?”
“I walked down just fine. Didn’t hit my head.”
No chance of dying here.
I didn’t want unnecessary fuss, but the teacher added his opinion.
“Sanha, you should get a basic checkup. Come with me.”
“I’m fine—”
“Yeonsan-ha.”
His icy voice sounded completely different.
The habitual smile was gone. Kwon Cha-hyuk said, expressionless,
“You need to go to the hospital.”
“O-okay, alright. I’ll go.”
If I refused, it’d be a big problem.
His firm expression didn’t soften at my answer. His serious face seemed far too intense for the situation.
“Teacher, can I come too? I’m worried about her.”
“You want to? She must have been really scared—comfort her well.”
“Yes.”
She didn’t need comforting at all.
And so, I found myself back in the rear seat of Kwon Cha-hyuk’s car within a day.
The car was filled with radio updates on real-time traffic.
And then…
[‘Kwon Cha-hyuk’’s affection decreased by 5.]
[‘Kwon Cha-hyuk’’s affection increased by 5.]
[‘Kwon Cha-hyuk’’s affection decreased by 5.]
[‘Kwon Cha-hyuk’’s affection increased by 5.]
What’s up with him?
‘Maybe he thinks I’m hurt.’
I tried to explain my condition as cheerfully as possible.
“But there’s really nothing to do at the hospital. The doctor will probably just ask why I came.”
“…”
“I’m only going to check just in case, no pain. My bones are usually strong.”
“…You tumbled down the mountain.”
“The slope wasn’t that steep. The leaves were soft.”
No matter how many times I emphasized, it didn’t register with Kwon Cha-hyuk.
‘He’s never acted this way before.’
Almost like he was angry.
But he wasn’t the kind to get mad just because a friend got lost—
[‘Kwon Cha-hyuk’’s affection decreased by 5.]
Or maybe he was?
‘Is he criticizing me because I’m weak and got lost on the mountain?’
I couldn’t read the thoughts behind his polished face.
[‘Kwon Cha-hyuk’’s affection increased by 5.]
Ding ding.
The consecutive sounds made me dizzy.
I poked the boy staring at the window to stress once more,
“Cha-hyuk, I’m really fine.”
“Really fine?”
“Yeah. Want to check?”
“Then… take it off.”
…Excuse me?
