Sorim Grapes is Wronged

41.

I bought two drinks from the nearby English Literature department booth and handed them to the kids. Jin’s friends thanked me and disappeared into the crowd.

This was the festival scene at the university Jin and Da-bin attend. It was a moment that reminded me again that their acquaintances were everywhere.

“Hyung.”

Je-beom called me in a deep voice that sent a shiver down my spine. When I turned around, he was looking down at me with a profound gaze.

“It’s our turn. I’ve already paid.”

“Do we really have to do this?”

“Are you perhaps afraid of scary things?”

What kind of question is that, asking if I’m afraid of scary things?

“I’m not afraid. I’m not scared of anything. You know the ghost dungeon in Forest Effect, right?”

“Yes.”

“I went through that alone. Even a place with so many ghosts.”

“I see.”

Je-beom closed his mouth for a moment and looked at me intently, then asked again.

“Then do you dislike scary things?”

“I don’t like them.”

“I see. Then I’ll cancel this.”

“Didn’t you say you already paid?”

“It’s okay. They’ll refund it. Even if they don’t, I have plenty of money anyway. I’ll go tell them we’re not doing it.”

Je-beom went to the escape room booth student and said we were canceling. The student refunded without any fuss.

I was actually a bit surprised by Je-beom.

Was it that obvious that I dislike… scary things? Did I unconsciously show it on my face? Or is it because Je-beom is a quick-thinking pro gamer?

“Hyung, there’s a mural painted by the Animation department. We should go see it.”

“When are we going to play the game?”

“I wonder what kind of mural it will be. I hope there’s a character I like, ah, I also read manga often, and among them, there’s a work called ‘Rabbit Diary’ where a very cute and sensitive small rabbit achieves world domination with just a cotton club, the rabbit’s growth narrative is very impressive and the friendship of the friends who help the rabbit is very touching-“

“Can you please speak in shorter sentences?”

“…Let’s go see the mural together.”

“Okay.”

Unlike his appearance, he’s an introverted guy who gets nervous a lot, but since he’s made this much effort, I decided to go along with him. Besides, I’ve gotten a bit more comfortable with Je-beom too.

And…

By the time we finally arrived at the e-sports department booth, I was holding a large rabbit doll, two small tiger dolls, a paper bag filled with stickers and badges, and a box of handmade diffusers.

“Hello! So you’re Je-beom’s close hyung. Wow, you’ve bought quite a lot. Our school festival is super fun, right?”

When someone who introduced themselves as a second-year e-sports student said that, I couldn’t even refute. To anyone looking, I appeared to be enjoying the festival enthusiastically.

As there were 10 minutes left until the competition started, I filled out the registration form and sat in the waiting area. Je-beom told me to wait for a moment and was dragged away by his seniors.

I put down the pile of souvenirs on the floor and took a moment to reflect on reality.

Taking a photo in front of the cute and adorable mural that the Animation department had supposedly drawn… Buying a set of stickers made by some Design department… Even riding a boat on the lake… Watching ducks floating around, probably unable to sleep due to the noise…

Then on the way back, discovering a diffuser booth with a nice scent and buying three… Finding a claw machine and Je-beom asking for a chance, costing me 5,000 won… Pro gamer Je-beom used that 5,000 won to get two large rabbit dolls and two small tiger dolls, keeping one rabbit doll for himself and giving me the rest. I naturally told him to keep them, but…

‘It’s an apology for dragging you around, so please accept them.’

With that, I had no choice but to accept.

But thinking about it now, isn’t forcing the dolls on me also a bit forceful?

A few minutes later, the competition started, and Je-beom approached.

“Hyung, you’re in preliminary group 3, so you’ll have to wait a bit.”

“Okay. …Wait, preliminaries?”

“Yes, the finals are the day after tomorrow.”

“……”

That means I have to come again the day after tomorrow, right?

I don’t know why I feel like I’ve fallen into a trap…

*

The preliminary game was similar to the picture puzzle I did in POI.

We played a total of five rounds, and I set excellent records in all five, passing the preliminaries in first place. But I probably won’t be able to receive the prize. It’s obvious that my depleted social energy won’t recover by the last day of the festival.

“Hyung, you did well. At this rate, you’ll be first in the finals too.”

“It was fun. You prepared a lot. Well, I’m going now.”

“Please give me your number.”

“What?”

“Your phone number… please give it to me.”

“Why?”

I almost frowned. Je-beom quickly took a step back.

“To let you know the final schedule.”

“Ah, it’s okay. I probably won’t be able to come to the finals anyway. I have some work to do.”

“But the prize is Forest Effect game money…”

“I have a lot of money in POI. Thanks for dragging me around today. Can I go see my brother now?”

I managed to show a smiling face and said goodbye. I just wish he’d let me go now. It seems best to part ways right now. If he keeps holding onto me, I feel like my patience will run out.

Then, as if reading my thoughts, Je-beom looked at me intently and said,

“…Okay, hyung. I understand.”

“……”

“I had fun today. Thank you for hanging out with me. I hope we can meet in person… often in the future too. Take care.”

Saying he hopes we can meet in person, his wording is still strange but…

I was satisfied with how cleanly he let me go and left the e-sports department booth.

As I walked back the same way I came, my head was full of thoughts about Je-beom. I can’t figure out his personality. He seems forceful but also considerate. At least he doesn’t cross the line. Is it because of his experience in social life?

In fact, I’m lowering my guard towards Je-beom more than towards other ordinary people. My respect and sympathy for his having been in the workforce since he was young have combined to make me a bit more lenient towards him.

Working is really amazing. Labor is. No matter what kind, it’s both amazing and pitiful.

I walked back the same way and returned to the Business department booth.

All the seats were full, but they had run out of ingredients and couldn’t make any more side dishes, so serving had ended. I quickly ordered enough delivery food for all the students to eat. While waiting for the food to arrive, I greeted Jin’s department seniors.

“So you’re Jin’s hyungnim? Thank you for the food! We were so busy today because of Jin.”

“What do you mean you were busy because of Jin?”

“Oh, that Ha-jin kid looks too handsome like you, hyungnim, so customers only flocked to our booth. Other booths in our department haven’t even used up their ingredients, but we were so busy we couldn’t even blink.”

Ah, so that’s what it was. With a proud heart, I headed to the table where Jin and Da-bin were. Jin was directing both hand fans towards Da-bin.

“Hyung, thanks. But what’s with all these dolls and things?”

“I ran into Je-beom by chance and… bought them while walking around.”

“Huh? With Je-beom?”

“With Je-beom?”

Da-bin, who had been slumped over, raised her head.

“They’re holding a game competition in their department, and the prize is Forest Effect game money. I had nothing to do while waiting, so I went along.”

“Huh, what’s gotten into Je-beom? He’s usually so shy.”

“Everyone must have been envious of you, oppa.”

“People were staring at us the whole time. Is Je-beom that popular?”

“Enormously. In our world, he’s practically a religion.”

What do you mean, ‘our world’…

“So hyung, did you win a prize?”

“Today was just the preliminaries. I passed, but I don’t want to come for the finals because it’s bothersome.”

“That’s a shame, you should just participate.”

“It’s a hassle. I can just buy game money if I need it… Da-bin, take these.”

I handed the diffuser and sticker bag to Da-bin.

“Wow, it smells nice. Thanks, oppa.”

“Take the dolls too. Je-beom won them. He’s good at it.”

“A rabbit and a tiger. Super cute… Huh?”

Da-bin stopped midway through receiving the dolls and stared intently at my wrist. Jin, who was asking “What?”, also looked at my wrist and his eyes widened. Only then did I remember the tattoo sticker on my wrist.

“Je-beom dragged me to get it together.”

“……”

“……”

The two were silent for a moment, then looked at each other. And as if they had planned it beforehand, they took out their phones and started taking pictures of my wrist.

“What are you two doing?”

“It’s surprising to see you with such a cute tattoo, hyung.”

“So did Je-beom also get this cute and adorable small rabbit tattoo?”

“No, he got a tiger. A big tiger.”

“Haha, that suits him.”

When Jin laughed loudly, the seniors asked what was going on. Jin spread the news to everyone that Je-beom had a ‘big tiger’ tattoo sticker on his wrist. Fortunately, he didn’t mention that I had a ‘small rabbit’ on my wrist.

After a good laugh, Jin expressed a doubt.

“I wonder why Je-beom dragged you around? It’s like a level 1 player dealing with a level 100 boss monster. It must have been really tough for him.”

“I’m curious about that too. Let me know if you figure it out.”

“Anyway, it’s nice that he took you around the festival like this, oppa. And you must have made a big effort too. With your personality, you should have turned around as soon as you saw this sticker banner.”

“I made an effort because he’s your friend. And since he’s famous… Anyway, I’m going home now, so enjoy the food when it arrives. Call me if it’s going to be past midnight.”