〈Chapter 10〉

 The 15-Year Female Best Friend Wants a Plushie

* * *

The second place they went that day was a game center that had only recently opened.

‘This is a place Chae-yeon used to love.’

He had first come here two months ago. Chae-yeon, who took a liking to the place, demanded they come here about once a week.

And now he was here with Yerin instead. The thought left Si-hyeon feeling strangely unsettled.

“Si-hyeon, I’m going to exchange some bills. Wait here for a second.”

“Then I’ll go grab some drinks. Let’s do our own thing and meet back here.”

“Okay!”

Yerin took her wallet and headed toward the bill exchanger.

Meanwhile, Si-hyeon, who went toward the vending machine…

“Ah, wrong one…”

By mistake, he had pressed the button for grape soda—the one Chae-yeon always drank.

“I guess I’ll have to drink this one myself…”

Is this why they say habits are scary?

Even though he knew mentally that they had broken up, Si-hyeon let out a sigh at the fact that his body hadn’t accepted it yet.

With a bitter heart, he selected a Milkis for Yerin to drink.

Heading back toward the entrance, he saw Yerin, who had finished exchanging her bills, fanning a stack of thousand-won notes like a fan.

“With this much, we can play for hours, right?”

“What, are you planning to just move in and live here?”

Si-hyeon handed the Milkis to the excited Yerin.

At the same time, noticing what was in Si-hyeon’s hand, she tilted her head in confusion.

“That’s rare. You don’t even like carbonated drinks.”

“Just… suddenly craved it.”

“Really?”

She accepted his answer without any particular suspicion.

Shortly after, she grabbed Si-hyeon’s hand and led him somewhere.

Yerin, who had been glancing around as they walked, soon plopped herself down into a driver’s seat.

“Starting with racing?”

“Yeah. I’m going to show you the true power of someone without a driver’s license.”

Si-hyeon looked at the fired-up Yerin as if she were being ridiculous.

And for good reason—racing was his specialty.

Among all the arcade games where Chae-yeon possessed god-like talent, racing was the only one where Si-hyeon could actually hold his own.

Vring—!

As soon as the bills were inserted, the screen displaying the background shifted to the character selection window.

“This big sister looks really strong.”

The character Yerin chose was a sexy racing queen type with a killer body.

She paired it with a bright red sports car and nodded in satisfaction.

Now it was Si-hyeon’s turn.

“What matters is skill, not the character.”

As if to prove his point, he set both his character and vehicle at random.

The result: a lean, muscular male character and a bulky, wide-bodied vehicle.

‘Not bad.’

Compared to a sports car, its top speed was lower, but it was a vehicle with great stability when taking curves.

Since Yerin was a beginner, there was no need to obsess over top speed. All things considered, it was a solid draw.

“It’s finally starting…!”

Both cars lined up at the starting point.

With a fierce determination not to lose, Yerin ran her tongue lightly over her lips.

3.

2.

1.

The moment the countdown ended, both of them slammed on the pedals.

Due to the nature of her vehicle, it was Yerin who pulled ahead first.

“Si-hyeon, you think you can keep up? Want Noona to slow down a bit for you?”

“Yeah. Slow down just a little.”

“Psych! Suck it!”

With a mocking laugh, Yerin applied more pressure to the pedal.

Because her reaction was exactly as he’d predicted, a smile spread across Si-hyeon’s lips.

To finally give her a taste of her own medicine, he yanked the steering wheel at the optimal distance the moment a curve appeared.

“Wait… huh? No way!”

With fantastic inside-line maneuver, Si-hyeon overtook her in an instant.

As a result the smug confidence that had been plastered across Yerin’s face stiffened.

“Yerin, want Oppa to slow down a bit for you?”

“…Just a little.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“Eek!”

A full-blown grin bloomed across Si-hyeon’s face.

Meanwhile, grinding her teeth in revenge, Yerin jerked the wheel back and forth trying to reclaim the inner lane, but…

“Not a chance! Enjoy breathing in my exhaust fumes.”

Because Si-hyeon kept blocking her path, moving ahead was impossible.

“Is someone pushing me from behind? Why is this game so easy?”

“Kim Si-hyeon, you…!”

Yerin had decent instincts for games—but in front of a seasoned player, she was helpless.

She kept searching for an opening to turn things around, but in the end, she lost.

Just as Si-hyeon started to get up, she shoved him back into his seat.

“One more round.”

Grinding her teeth, she forcefully fed another bill into the machine.

This time, both of them chose the same character and the same car.

The only difference was the map—Round 2, now set in a desert.

Since the skill gap remained the same, it was Si-hyeon who pulled ahead.

“Yerin, want me to show you something cool?”

As if to say he could beat someone of her level even like this, Si-hyeon gripped the steering wheel with just one hand.

Despite that, his driving remained perfectly stable. Seeing this, Yerin immediately followed her intuition:

There was no way she could win playing fair.

Stare—

Gazing resentfully at Si-hyeon’s smug side profile, she decided to take action.

“Fuu… fuu…”

Leaning close to his unguarded ear, she blew softly against it.

“Ah! What the hell?!”

“Now’s my chance!”

Taking advantage of Si-hyeon’s flustered state, she reached over and violently jerked his steering wheel.

Screeeech!

Si-hyeon’s vehicle began to veer into oncoming traffic. Ye-rin seized the moment to widen the gap between them.

“Hey! That’s a total foul!”

“It’s fine. Life is a battlefield, after all.”

What was once a fair and square match had suddenly devolved into a muddy, no-holds-barred brawl.

The two continued their racing match, bickering and scuffling in real life.

And the winner was…

“Well, it was the obvious result.”

It was Ye-rin, who had seized victory through her underhanded tactics.

“Does it feel good winning like that? Huh? Does it?”

“Pffft… I love it so much…”

Even as Si-hyeon pinched and pulled at her cheeks, Yerin wore a bright, innocent smile.

How long had it been since she had laughed like this?

Perhaps it was thanks to finally hanging out with Si-hyeon after all this time; Yerin’s smile showed no signs of fading.

* * *

After the racing was over.

“Si-hyeon, on the right! On the right—Kyaaaah!”

“Get back a bit! I can’t aim because of you!”

They moved on to a 3D zombie survival game.

From famous fighting games to various others, the two lost track of time playing until the sky darkened. They finally started getting ready to head home.

After a quick trip to the restroom, Si-hyeon gathered his things and approached Yerin.

As he approached, he saw her staring intently at a white teddy bear inside a claw machine.

“You want it?”

“Forget it. Games like this are obviously just a waste of money.”

She denied it with her words—but the disappointment in her voice was painfully obvious.

Unable to just stand there and watch, Si-hyeon set their things down and took the bills Yerin had been gripping tightly in her hand.

“Si-hyeon…?”

“I’ll wire you the money back later.”

Si-hyeon also thought claw machines were a total scam, but he wanted to give her a nice memory to commemorate their first time hanging out in a while.

And luckily, the plush she wanted was positioned near the prize chute. It wasn’t the worst gamble.

Whirrrr—

The machine began to operate the moment the bill was inserted.

The claw moved in sync with the joystick. When the button was pressed, it descended in a straight line.

Thud…

Whether due to a lack of grip strength or bad luck, the claw grabbed the teddy bear’s head only to drop its target. Seeing this, Yerin grabbed the hem of Si-hyeon’s shirt and spoke.

“I’m really fine. So…”

“Just stay back and trust me.”

Si-hyeon inserted another bill.

Though he missed again, the doll’s position moved about 5cm closer to the exit.

Whirrrr—

Third attempt.

The plushie’s arm was now hooked right over the edge of the exit.

Attempt number four.

The head of the plushie was now perched right over the edge of the prize chute.

“Whoa…”

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Ye-rin watched the teddy bear with bated breath.

And then, on the fifth attempt—

Clunk!

Grabbing the torso dead center, Si-hyeon finally succeeded in pulling it out.

Pulling the teddy bear out from the bottom, he handed it to Ye-rin and spoke.

“See? Didn’t I tell you to just trust me and wait?”

With her mouth slightly agape, Ye-rin pulled the teddy bear into a tight embrace.

“Yeah…!”

Wearing a smile brighter than ever before, she rubbed her face against the plush.

‘If I’d known she’d be this happy, I should’ve bought her stuffed animals more often…’

Oblivious as ever, Si-hyeon scratched the back of his head, thinking her joy came purely from getting the prize.

On the other hand, Yerin—overflowing with happiness—suddenly pulled Si-hyeon into a tight hug. She then looked up at his face and whispered.

“Si-hyeon, thank you so much… I’ll cherish this forever.”

Thump. Thump.

‘What the… Why is this happening all of a sudden?’

Si-hyeon was flustered by the way his heart was racing.

He knew exactly what this sign meant. However, he couldn’t believe he was feeling this sensation toward Yerin.

Ultimately, Si-hyeon answered without being able to look her in the eye.

“Whatever, do what you want…”

* * *

Along a street lined with lamps in a narrow alleyway.

Having turned down Si-hyeon’s offer to walk her home, Yerin was heading back alone.

‘Today was really great.’

They’d watched a movie, played games… and he’d even won her a plushie.

Sure, there had been plenty of chaotic moments—but it was basically a date.

“This should go on my bed.”

Yerin affectionately stroked the teddy bear. Like a child, she fell into deep thought about what to name it.

And just as three potential names came to mind…

Patter.

She suddenly began to run.

As her speed increased, the cold night air whipped fiercely against her face.

She passed the wide main road and slipped back into a another narrow alley.

The moment she turned into a side path, Yerin quietly came to a halt.

At that exact moment…

Tap-tap.

Not long after, she heard footsteps approaching in her direction.

As if searching for something, the person alternated between running and stopping.

“…Haah.”

Hearing it, Yerin brushed her bangs back, realizing there was no way her day would end peacefully after all.

Muttering a curse under her breath, she…

“Why don’t you stop following me already?”

…revealed herself to the person who had been tailing her.

* * *