Vol 1 Chapter 8 (1/2)
Today's a sunny and bright Sunday
Okay, sunny or not, the weather wouldn't uy like lance out the henever, I'd prefer if there was a ray of sunlight than a dark, cloudy mess Humans are photosynthetic creatures, didn't you know?
The problereat, in spite of the a weather
I sighed
I wasn't feeling down because I was stuck inwatched by ood reason to be down-- but it was mostly due to the events of yesterday
Yes, that incident that quickly went downhill
””It's the Otaku Word Chain!”” said Yeonji and Yerin in unison, who then resulares
”Hah! To choose the Otaku Word Chain, you appear to be quite confident! But I will soon show you that your confidence was mere recklessness!”
”Helse! So, are you bringing those two behind you toat the maid and the butler
Yerin nodded, ”That is correct But there are only two of you; if you ask nicely, I may scale down my team!”
”Heh! Don't bother, we already have three! We now have three against three playing Any objections?”
When did we have three people?! Yeonji, you're not thinking about forcing the nurse into this game, are you?
Yeonji and Yerin began discussing the conditions and rules of the game, unimpeded due to silence from everyone else There wasn't a clean entry for interjections when two of the world's greatest egoists were butting their heads together here
”The only rule in effect will be the 'unique subject pool' rule! It's fine this way, right?”
”Quite the standard play Yes, I will accept-- The contest would end too quickly if we use rules that are too complex for lowly peasants, after all!”
”Nyuuuu-t!”
”Hmph!”
I'laring at each other all day
Yeonji broke out of her duel of glares ”H the rules How about we start talking about the stakes of this match?”
”Oh, it isn't much; once I win the match, you put an end to your silly little 'Clotaku Club' and take leave frohtfully take place”
Her bet was as predicted Yeonji nodded and agreed, ”Yeah, I'll accept And what if you lose?”
”Hah, surely that will never happen! It is utterly unnecessary to prepare for so that won't happen in the future”
”Nyuuuuu-t!” scowled Yeonji, gritting her teeth Yerin grinned uish
”Hive you one,” said Yerin, brushi+ng her golden hair aside, ”In the off chance that we lose, ill do anything that you ask of us So, tell me your conditions”
”Anything ant, huh?” repeated Yeonji, a dark, evil aura quickly forly sinister, befitting a demonic echo from the depths of hell ”Is that so If in, how about we strip you down and tie you to the school's front gate?”
”Hah, that's fine by- What?!”
Yeonji continued her , ”Strip you down to the last thread of your clothes Tied down under a banner that says '100 Won per turn' Ka-haha, you dirty pig!”
”Stop it! What kind of twisted things are you iht now?! What do you mean by '100 won per turn'?!”
”Loose like a used-up rag All sticky Dripping”
”What are you saying?! What is with those uncoht now!”
”Well Okay, I think that'll do for our victory condition”
”I will not accept! Think of soet rid of MoeRe when you win!”
”What?! That kind of crap won't satisfy my newfound inner sadist!”
”H-how can you refer to our MoeRe as 'that kind of crap'?!” cried Yerin, jolting in surprise
It seeerous and twisted within herself ”Yeah If in, you should wear a sign that says 'I ao around the school with it! Of course, this is while you're still naked”
”Why do you keep going back to that?!”
”And once you're done with that, go straight to the gallows”
”After all that humiliation, I'll be executed?! How can you be so insensitive of human life?! Shut up!”
”Fufufu Ka-hahaha”
”Kyaaaa-! S-stop laughing like that! You're weird! H-hey you, that peasant over there! Do so about this rabid hamster!”
”Uh, I'm kind of tied up to a chair over here”
Chaos ensued After a whole lot of things happening in between then and now, it was decided that the winner of the Otaku Word Chain gaets to scrap the loser's club
--And that's the full story of what happened yesterday Now it's easier to understand why I'ht?
In a blink of an eye, I'd been assaulted and kidnapped in the middle of a nice day, and now, all the effort I've poured into starting the Clotaku Club was about to go to waste Yeonji alreadylike this will happen on its own', but I couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that this chain of events was started entirely by me
When we lose the competition tomorroill it really be the end of Clotaku Club?
I wanted to believe that everything that had happened so far was a great prank, but Yeonji and Yerin looked like they were very far fro contract that turned this gaation, so there was no way to back out of it now
It was almost as if our club was a Hardcore Mode character-- or, uess?
They took the contract one step further and added a silly clause that prevented either side fro another club There could only be one
Yeonji aside, what ood idea to accept this silly duel? Compared to the week-old Clotaku Club, her MoeRe seeoes back to her middle school years It was obvious how attached she is to her club, but Yerin accepted Yeonji's declaration of ithout a moment's hesitation
Seriously, what the hell is everyone thinking?
I shook my head It didn'tto happen regardless There was no need to worry my little head over it
I suppose I should still try my best in the match tomorroever, whether in or lose, if it happens, then it happens I had no will or reason to be so eager about putting an end to Yerin's club, so I wasn't going to wastefor the match
If practicing would help me pay back all the trouble Yeonji caused in my life recently, then maybe I would
”I guess I'll study” I diverted s to worry about in
In tihts Filling up my head with memorization-heavy courses should clear my head Korean history or modern history should do nicely
You ?” But don't forget that I'ht see around with Yeonji, but I've always been studying to rade
When do you ever see anime characters study, other than in one or two episodes? They're all studying when they're not on screen, of course; even if soet adue universities, it wouldn't be a strange thing in the context of anime
”damn”
Wait, they were studying when off screen?! What a convenient excuse! My life would be so o to sleep and know everything when I wake up again
No big surprise that there's a saying that girls in anio to washrooms, or pick their nose, or whatever else They're hu they need to do as hus when they're off screen Yeonji, for exa drinks froe, so she takes very frequent trips to the washroo on
So, without being a fictional character, studying is still a big part of my daily life
Feeling dreadful from the harshness of reality, I pulled out --
--And then I was interrupted by the doorbell
Every da like this happens Oh well, though, life finds its way to be cruel someti lazy only when you start doing so useful
Sad life
I lurched toward the door phone, gru all the way I turned on the caht
I picked up the door phone and asked if someone was there ”hello?”
But there was no reply Did so the door by mistake?
Just as I was about to turn around and leave,
The doorbell rang again What the?
The ca outside Confused, I walked to the front door and opened it
”Is anyone th--”
As soon as the door opened, a s my arm
”Bwaargh!”
What the hell?!
”It's me”
The rumpy voice was Yeonji No wonder I couldn't see her from the door's camera!
”S-S-S-S-Seo Yeonji?!”
I was surprised, not just fro reminded of how tiny she is Yeonji came to my house, not on a weekday, but on a Sunday!
Why is this so shocking? Because my dad is in the house, since he doesn't have work on Sundays! He's such a conservative old ht froirl into this house, nothing good can come out of that
”What's the issue here? You're looking like you don't want lance out of the corner of her eyes I had to focus on getting out of this situation first
”Huh? Oh, uh You're ?”
I almost added at the end, 'Why aren't you home on a Sunday?'
Yeonji replied cheerfully, straightening up, ”It's Sunday! I' stuck inside o for a walk!”
When did I beco to take me out for a walk because you feel like it, is that it?
I was about to start studying, anyway Unless she wants to seeand transfer to a different school, she should leave me be
”Hether at your house”
”?!?!?!”
Yeonji continued, grinning like a villain, ”I was going to go over tomorrow's match with you, but if you want to study, then we'll just have to study together My marks are better than yours, so I'll teach you Can I co, it's Yeonji~!”
”W-wait! I'll change and go out right now!”
I can never deal with her
And so, I so
Going over to nervous about it, too Though, it would be stranger if she didn't care at all that our hard-earned club was in danger
”Ah, what a nice day~! On a day like this, you really have to enjoy the sun!”
But this girl, it had been thirty lecompletely out of her Otaku character
Also, that s, happy face it had absolutely no trace of nervousness
So
Whenever Yeonji felt either very content or very angry, so fro It didn't help that I wasn't dressed up to deal with this chilly wind of April
”A-hem!”
Yeonji stopped leading the way and tried to attract my attention What is it now?
She turned around with an exaggerated movement and put her hands on her waist as if to show off Both of us fell silent for a while
”Nya-he Injin, don't I look different today?” asked Yeonji, sounding hopeful
”Erk Different?”
Did she change her hairstyle? Unfortunately for her, I know absolutely nothing about hairstyles I reot her hair permed and I didn't notice it at all-
”Not my hair! My clothes! Clothes!”
Yeonji shouted angrily, waving her fist ather without the school uniform on So, uh
On her hair was a strange ribbon, her pale shoulders and neck exposed above her off-the-shoulder sweater, then a short, checkered skirt below that, and then finished off with striped stockings covered by platformed shoes
I inspected Yeonji all around, while her eyes sparkled brightly in eagerness for my response I smiled forcefully and commented,
”You're not in your school uniform today!”
”That's it?!” screamed Yeonji, filled with despair ”Nyuuuu-t! Seriously? Is that really it? Isn't there anything else you can say?”
Say what else? I had no idea what she wanted me to say Then Oh, here's one
”Uh You look a little taller?”
”Nyaaaaaaaaahh--!”
I guess not
After squawking like a dying rooster, Yeonji dropped her head and sighed, dejected
Low, droning groans escaped her lips like the cries of deep sea fish from the bottom of the Mariana Trench ”Nyuu I knew this would happen I never expected anything from an Otaku who has zero interest in 3D wo every single day Why did I waste so ?”
”Hey, hey, hey,” I interrupted, having interpreted some of her words as insults
Yeonji raised her head back up, bearing a e was that of a s under a linden tree
”Well, whatever It doesn't o buy me some chicken kebabs”
”How can you say that like it's a natural thing for me to do?!”
It was a good thing that I brought encies like these
”Hee hee”
Her energy returned in the very moment she took a bite out of the skewered chicken She stuffed her face full like a squirrel, and pointed at an empty bench with her free hand
”Let'sh munch shtey here munch fer a momenh,” she le word she had said, but she likely wanted to rest on that bench for a bit I dusted the seat off with my hand and sat with Yeonji
Hm the weather's pretty nice
I looked towards the sky and saw an endless sea of blue, devoid of any clouds It was like the skies I'd see in generic anis
It saddens me that the only poetic comparison that I can think of involves anime
By the tiain, she was already down to the last chicken skewer She sure eats quickly for someone with such a small frame
”Yuu donat her What a greedy girl
In the end, she ate everything by herself, down to the last bits of the sauce that got on her fingers I really was expecting her to share at least one of the skewers Holy
Her mouth was almost covered with sauce, which soon disappeared like the rest of the food when she wiped her ers and then sucked the sauce out of them
I was just about to consider wiping her mouth for her, too She doesn't realize how this scene is supposed to work out!
”Here, throw this out,” de over the bare wooden skewer I briefly conte bits of chicken on it, but quickly decided against it
After throwing the skeay in the nearest garbage can, I ca before
”What are you doing?”
”Nyuu- I was just thinking, today's sky really looks like an ani”
You thought about that too? We're completely hopeless
We sat down together and stared at the cloudless sky in relaxing silence but however poetic that , so I started a conversation with Yeonji instead
”Hey, can I ask you so?”
”No, you can't”
Wow
I glared at her ht still fixated at the sky, she explained, ”It's because I already know You were going to ask why I decided to have a ht?”
”Erk”
S-she's pretty good
”I told you already, this is so ”And I don't like her, either I thought I'd use this chance to put her out of her misery”
”You know, it could be the end for us, instead” I replied I felt that she needed to be renificant for us, too
”Of course, when you kill, you also have to prepare to be killed If I want to destroy her club, I have to risk my own” Yeonji emphasized
”You really want to go that far to stop MoeRe or whatever?”
”Yes” replied Yeonji, not even giving a hundredth of a second of thought ”Her group is evil For all the Otakus trying to survive in this country, and for the new Otaku world I' to demolish it I'll remove all traces of it fro the response of Cold War-era A towards Communism
If they're evil, are you saying you're on the side of good?! 'Dear Lord, forgive the aniures up my sleeves'[1], is that it?!
”Whether or not I'm the Mysterious Otaku doesn'tas they stand in my way, I'll never accomplish my dream Hmph, whoever tries to stop me will be sliced and quartered”
Such a terrifyingly inappropriate remark did not fit her cute face
By her standards, it seemed like 'whoever tries to stop her = absolute evil' For soh school, she ell on her way to starting a coup d'état
Speaking of Yeonji's 'dream'
I haven't been keeping it in my mind thus far, but what Yeonji declared back then-- that she was reshaping this country to a place where Otakus aren't looked down upon-- she was clearly serious aboutit happen
If she were to achieve that dream, history books in the future would say that toe and her chance to embark upon the world of politics'
Just thinking about that ht face when thinking about her goal What caused her to set such a silly goal? If you keep your Otaku life in secret and let everything be, isn't that enough? Why try to change an entire country?
”Hmph”
Yeonjipink lips soon unsealed, having found her desired words:
”The reason for this goal is-”
”Oh, hello, Mister Injin How are you?”
Interrupting Yeonji was the voice of an expressionless woman, who happened to be Yerin's -sunbae
”Erk- uh S-Sukyong-sunbae?”
”Yes, that is I This may be late, but I ”
Her sudden appearance left us in disarray Not -sunbae held the ends of her skirt and curtseyed
She earing neither a maid outfit nor the school unifor her casual looks, she could not contain her cold, stern aura fro me curiously uncomfortable
”And, please feel free to callYou do not have to be polite, sir”
”B-but it's”
It's precisely that attitude that's forcing me to speak politely, you know
Sukyong-sunbae turned around to speak to Yeonji, preceded by another polite bow
”We have also met before Is your name 'Seo Umji', perchance?”
”It's Seo Yeonji!” screamed Yeonji
Sukyong-sunbae clenched her hands in front of her and apologized ”I am sorry Madame remembers you by 'Seo Umji', so I may have been influenced by her I will be more careful in the future”
”Nyuu-” groaned Yeonji She couldn't be happy that soroup was here, especially after a discussion where she wished for the end of all things that had to do with Yerin
IYeonji's predatory glare as danger signals
”By the hat are you doing here? Is Yerin nearby?” I asked, out of fear that sheto bolt away in the other direction
Sukyong-sunbae shook her head ”No I only work for six days a week, part ti a walk outside to enjoy this sun”
”Is that so”
What happened to Otakus being shut-ins today?! I sighed
Sukyong-sunbae narrowed her eyes in contemplation ”That is my reason What about you, sir and madam? Are you two on a date?”
”No,” I denied i to the one Yerin had yesterday Is it really strange for a boy and a girl to be together without being on a date?
”Nyuu--”
Glancing overlike a kitten with a stomachache
Sukyong-sunbae stared at us quietly, inspecting my honest-to-God s a blank expression that was curiously different than before ”Yes, I see I understand Then, may I join you two?”
””Wha-?”” Yeonji and I simultaneously responded
”I asked if Ian unyieldingly void face that was impossible to decipher, ”If you are not on a date, then I a, yes?”
”Uh, I guess not, but”
”If not, are you heading to a place I should not join? Say, a love hotel?”