Chapter: 120
Whooooosh!
“It’s raining.”
Kim Lulu looked up at the muted sky from the school entrance. She then cast her gaze downward. Raindrops fell from the dark clouds, splattering on the dirt ground and scattering into various fragments.
It was a rather tragic plunge, but the raindrops didn’t meet death. They simply divided into pieces and seeped into the soil.
Instead, the raindrops that fell onto the cold asphalt could not seep in anywhere and simply flowed. The water trickling down the sloped pavement would eventually reach the blackened mouth of hell, known as the sewer.
Gurgle gurgle.
With a sound that could come from a hungry crocodile’s belly, the sewer gobbled up the rainwater greedily. And so, it flowed endlessly.
The mysterious laws of nature had a certain resemblance to human affairs. Specifically, it reminded one of the growling sound made when hungry…
“Alright, reality escape’s over.”
Now, how was I supposed to get home?
I don’t mind getting wet. But if I go home looking like a drenched rat, I’ll be bombarded with Oh Dae-su’s nagging. And Oh Hye-in would probably join in too.
They’d be all like, “Do you realize how transparent your shirt is? What if you catch a cold?” Blah, blah, blah. I need to find something that could double as an umbrella.
A bag?
Does it matter if it gets wet? Not really. The textbooks inside are things I can leave to get wet anyway. Especially the math workbook—it could practically drown and it wouldn’t be missed.
I have homework due for page 45 tomorrow, but if I tell them it got soaked in the rain while I was walking home… well, that would make it a perfect day. No homework, no lectures.
“Alright.”
Right before Kim Lulu could use her bag to shield her head and dash off,
Squish squish.
A familiar face was crossing the schoolyard. Carrying a blue umbrella while tucked under her arm was a pink folding umbrella.
It was Oh Dae-su.
As Kim Lulu watched Oh Dae-su approach, she squinted her eyes. Maybe it was the rain, but it seemed as if raindrops were also falling on her face. It was damp and humid.
The face of someone who had a week’s worth of homework piled up, or perhaps… the face of someone facing seven painful injections, or…
The face of someone she might never see again. Kim Lulu cautiously asked,
“…Oh Dae-su, are you crying?”
“What nonsense is that? Here, take an umbrella.”
“You just looked so upset. You even skipped school today.”
“…It’s that day.”
Kim Lulu almost teased, “Oh, I see,” but stopped short. Didn’t Oh Hye-in mention something about how “on magical days, magic disappears as if by enchantment”?
She accepted the pink umbrella from Oh Dae-su and popped it open with a bang. Imagining it was a shotgun as she opened it was the key.
Kim Lulu rested the umbrella on her shoulder and inquired, “Did you not pack your rain boots?”
“Seriously, you have a lot of expectations…”
“But with boots, you could splash around without a care!”
“Water games happen in the bathroom. Meanwhile, you can scrub your feet while you’re at it. Also, don’t ask me to wash your feet again.”
Oh Dae-su waved her hands dismissively like swatting away flies, and Kim Lulu clung tightly to her side.
“It’s hard to clean properly when it’s ticklish!”
“Space out, you two! You’re gonna bump the umbrellas together!!”
And then it happened.
You know, like when trying to rub on some ointment or pulling out a knife stuck in your belly, Kim Lulu thought it was better to borrow someone else’s hand than to do it herself. These were situations you could fully imagine.
Cleaning her feet would be the same. Just once with a shower scrub feels overwhelmingly ticklish; a chill would crawl up your spine. There’s no way she could bear to do it herself.
So, Kim Lulu had Oh Dae-su do it for her. When Oh Dae-su held her ankles and scrubbed, she’d burst into laughter, squirming around like crazy, soaking Oh Dae-su in the process.
After they decided to wash together since they were both soaked, Oh Dae-su told her to stop being ridiculous.
“Huh.”
Kim Lulu hummed as she walked, splashing about. Since Oh Dae-su came out to meet her, she felt a little happier. The sound of raindrops was nice too. The only downside was not being able to smell Oh Dae-su.
Thump. Thump.
Kim Lulu took a short run-up, jumped into the air, and twirled three times before landing.
Splash!
“Ta-da!”
“…You splashed water everywhere!”
She got scolded.
As they walked side by side again, Oh Dae-su suddenly said, “Hey, is Oh Hye-in in club activities?”
“Yeah. So doesn’t that explain why you only brought one umbrella?”
“That’s right. But it might not be the case.”
“Yep.”
Whooooosh!
As the raindrops pounded the umbrella with increased fervor, there was a visible shift as the heavy downpour rose a milky mist beneath the asphalt.
The more trivial conversations they had, the heavier the rain seemed to fall on Oh Dae-su’s face. Kim Lulu seriously went over what she might have done wrong.
Then, suddenly…
“…Hey, Kim Lulu.”
“What?”
“Maybe… no. Just pretend you didn’t hear that.”
Upon hearing those words, Kim Lulu grinned. Oh, so it wasn’t that he was mad at her or didn’t like her; it was just a traffic accident in his head!
Catching the combo of “Maybe—pretend you didn’t hear that,” which was nearly a taboo, Kim Lulu made a critical decision. The brilliant brain of the Master of the Capital Knights found the answer: a high kick.
Boom!
With a magnificent high kick that sent her feet soaring over her head, Kim Lulu whooshed Oh Dae-su’s umbrella far away.
“……??”
Oh Dae-su froze, looking utterly dazed.
Kim Lulu tossed her own umbrella to the ground. With the heavy rain pelting down, both of them got completely soaked. Kim Lulu beamed with delight.
Just as Oh Dae-su was about to blow up, Kim Lulu suddenly pinched his cheek with a squish.
“Now, cool your head. The only thing you need to think about right now is one thing, alright? Listen well and remember it.”
“………”
“Try and catch me if you can, idiot!”
“………?”
With that, Kim Lulu dashed off into the rain. Oh Dae-su was just catching on to the situation, raising his palm to wipe the tingling sensation away. He brushed his unruly bangs back and shouted,
“Stop right there, Kim Lulu, you lunatic!!”
Hahaha!
She laughed uproariously while sprinting at full speed to escape.
===============================================================
The playground, of course, was completely empty.
Inside the human hideaway with holes all over, two people were crouched down, huddled closely together.
They hadn’t been so close from the start. Kim Lulu had snuggled up, and then Oh Dae-su pulled away. When Kim Lulu sneezed with an “Achoo!” Oh Dae-su leaned back in.
Oh Dae-su wrapped her hair around her hands, squeezing the water out, thinking to herself that after acting like such a fool, her head was starting to feel more alive. In a positive way, of course.
She understood this was Kim Lulu’s rough-and-tumble support.
It wasn’t a bad feeling at all. The moment she had been given the mission to “catch Kim Lulu,” her head had gone completely blank, and after realizing it was support, she felt a little invigorated.
“Hey, Dae-su, can I hold your hand?”
“………”
So, she forgivingly allowed Kim Lulu to take her hand. It had been helpful. Her previously gloomy feelings had definitely shifted.
Tickle tickle.
Kim Lulu’s slender fingers intertwined with Oh Dae-su’s fingers. Then, they clasped tightly, fingers laced together. She didn’t expect to hold hands in such a bashful way; she turned her head to say something…
Kim Lulu was slightly turning away, her face bright red. Her ears were flushed crimson too. So Oh Dae-su just kept her mouth shut.
If you’re gonna be that shy, then don’t go pulling pranks, right? she thought to herself.
Then, when the atmosphere had nicely matured…
Roderus finally opened her mouth.
“…You know.”
“Yeah?”
“Actually… I’m not Oh Dae-su.”
“Uh, didn’t you say you were a foreigner? You mentioned that last time; Oh Dae-su isn’t your real name, it’s Ro… what was it again?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I mean, I have a form you don’t know about.”
The right arm of Duke Redburn, a killing dog that takes orders to kill anyone, a man who has neither saved anyone nor has ever had the right to do so.
With blood-red hands, even being drenched in cold rain, the crimson wouldn’t wash away.
Roderus, who wore the shell of Oh Dae-su, was such a pitiful little thing.
Of course, Kim Lulu couldn’t hear Roderus’s inner monologue, and merely summarized it with,
“Is that… like a middle schooler’s syndrome or something?”
“………….”
“Oh, come on, don’t sulk, okay? It’s not as big of a deal as you think! Just relax!”
Roderus let out a bit of a squeak, like a pin getting pricked, looking at Kim Lulu while raising her voice slightly. It wasn’t as if she was being taken seriously.
“…How is this not a big deal?!”
“Then who am I talking to right now?!”
“……”
“Oh Dae-su, right?!”
But perhaps, it was she who hadn’t taken it seriously. About all these relationships.
Kim Lulu’s unwavering gaze met Roderus’s. Her eyes were firm, burning with something pure and bright. They radiated genuine affection.
“You silly Oh Dae-su. You keep acting all prickly, but that’s just a sickness. You should really fix it. But still, even if you act like a porcupine, I like you.”
“…………”
“Even if you keep grumbling, I know you think about me. That’s you, Oh Dae-su. You’re the one talking to me, Oh Dae-su. Were you brainwashed by an evil organization and forced into this? Do you hate me?”
“…No.”
“Then great!”
Having said that, Kim Lulu leaned back against the wall as if she had said all she needed to say. Roderus, searching for something else to say, resorted to silence instead.
She received affirmation so simply. Too incredibly simple.
While it didn’t completely sink in, she felt something seep into her heart. Words like friend, ally, and friendship spun around her mind.
“And I also… have a side you can’t even imagine! Keep saying it, but my real self is super strong, you know?!”
“…Pfft.”
With that, Lulu and Roderus exchanged soft words. They talked about playing ranked games when they got back, how Roderus would drop her tier if she played with her, and so on.
In the ensuing natural silence, Roderus nonchalantly asked. She wanted reassurance.
“What would it be like if I were a guy?”
A guy? Oh Dae-su?
…Right now my heart’s racing, so what if he were a guy?
Kim Lulu carefully painted the image of Oh Dae-su as a handsome young man in her mind. Same orange hair, but with a sharper look. Then, her heart began to thump wildly.
Thump thump.
Holding back her pounding heart, Kim Lulu smiled brightly and said,
“Ah, that sounds like it would be really tough for you…?”
“…??”
Boom! A loud thunder roared from outside.
Roderus received a great emotional blow.
===============================================================
The next day, during Physical Education Class, at the indoor swimming pool, Roderus found herself feeling like a gloomy sea otter, floating around the pool while hugging a surfboard.
