My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 51

But there was no reaction from Seohyunho.

 

Yoohee had expected him to snap back with some sarcastic remark like, How dare you reject my offer? Fine, I’ll never go to a café with you again.

 

She cautiously lifted her gaze. Then she saw Seohyunho’s twisted expression.

 

He looked almost like someone who had been hurt, his jaw clenched tightly as he endured it.

 

Why was he making that expression……?

 

Yoohee forgot even to blink at Seohyunho’s unfamiliar expression. His eyes trembled, and then, without saying a word, he turned away from Yoohee.

 

For a moment, she felt a chill settle around her chest.

 

“You two run into each other often.”

 

Joohoon’s voice sounded strangely sharp. Yoohee tore her gaze away from Seohyunho’s retreating back and answered.

 

“We’re, w-we’re students at the same academy.”

 

“Even though you’re in different years? I’d say there are more students you don’t know than ones you do.”

 

Unlike usual, Joohoon was being rather prickly.

 

“L-let’s drink the juice.”

 

With the atmosphere growing awkward, Yoohee sat on the bench and took out the drinks Joohoon had bought.

 

Inside the plastic bag was grape juice, which Yoohee had enjoyed drinking since childhood, and a refreshing sports drink. She first opened the sports drink and was about to hand it to him when Joohoon’s sharp gaze locked onto hers.

 

“……Are you going?”

 

“Where?”

 

“To the café. With that senior.”

 

Ah, the café.

 

Yoohee quietly placed the opened sports drink beside Joohoon……

 

—Fourth Main Scenario ~Heart-Pounding Café Date~

 

Difficulty: D

 

Objective: Go on a café date with Seohyunho

 

Time Limit: One week

 

Reward upon Success: ???

 

Penalty upon Failure: Clear the Gate ‘Fountain of Trials’ (Difficulty: SSSS-rank)

 

Host Constellation: Constellation ‘Mother of Failure’ oversees the reward and penalty.

 

Smack. Yoohee had no choice but to slap a hand against her forehead.

 

“……I have to go.”

 

Because she didn’t want to die young in an SSSS-rank gate.

 

“So you’re going.”

 

Joohoon’s lips pressed into a tight line. Anyone could tell he was unhappy with the answer.

 

Ever since returning from America, Yoohee had thought that his dependence on her had decreased considerably, but apparently he still didn’t like her being close to other people.

 

She spoke to him with a smile, trying to soothe him.

 

“You know, even though your recovery is good, getting guidance really does make a difference. Even if I can’t do it for as long as before, how about getting a little bit at a time?”

 

She wasn’t suggesting it merely to ease the tension. Since the injury on his shoulder still hadn’t completely healed, she had intended to guide him from the beginning.

 

At that, Joohoon’s eyes sparkled with surprise and delight.

 

But soon, he lowered his eyelids and said,

 

“I pushed you too hard yesterday. You should get some rest for a while, too.”

 

“I’m completely fine.”

 

But Joohoon only gave her a small smile, as though he had no intention of changing his mind. His tightly pressed lips had relaxed.

 

“Can’t be helped. Tell me if you change your mind.”

 

Yoohee knew Joohoon’s stubbornness, which came from worrying about her, wouldn’t be easily broken. Half resigned, she took a sip of grape juice when she heard Joohoon’s voice, almost as if he were muttering to himself.

 

“If our bodily fluids came into contact, you wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

 

“Hm?”

 

Yoohee looked at Joohoon with startled eyes, but at that unfortunate moment, Joohoon tilted his head back and drank his sports drink.

 

‘He was just…… saying it, right?’

 

Yoohee awkwardly fidgeted with the grape juice bottle.

 

In theory, the guiding effect was strongest when bodily fluids came into contact.

 

“Shall we head back now? I think we’ve searched everywhere nearby.”

 

Joohoon downed the sports drink in one go and spoke casually.

 

“Y-yeah.”

 

Feeling silly for worrying about it by herself, Yoohee nodded awkwardly.

 

Then her gaze suddenly fell on Joohoon’s lips.

 

They were reddish, as though he had applied lip tint. Moisture glistened on them from the sports drink he had just consumed. In particular, his slightly raised upper lip looked as though it had just been touched by the morning dew, fresh with a vibrant breath……

 

‘…….’

 

Yoohee stared at Joohoon’s lips as if entranced, then suddenly came to her senses.

 

I wondered what I was thinking.

 

Startled, I shot to my feet, and Joohoon looked up at me in confusion.

 

“You can take your time.”

 

“Ah! Y-yeah. Take your time coming.”

 

And then I stiffly started walking ahead.

 

‘When he said bodily fluids, did he mean… kissing or something?’

 

Although Joohoon had resolved to invest in stocks, I had never imagined having any intense physical contact with him. We had known each other since childhood, and the thought of something like that felt embarrassingly awkward. So even if it were possible, I had always thought it would be a long time from now.

 

“Yoohee, wait for me.”

 

When I stopped and turned around, Joohoon was smiling with an air that somehow carried both the freshness of early summer and the strange chill of winter.

 

The wind swept through his hair, revealing his neat forehead. It almost seemed as though I could sense an unfamiliar scent from him, as if it were proving all the years I had never known about.

 

Had I ever held Joohoon like this before?

 

My chest felt strange at the sudden rush of emotion.

 

***

 

Pour.

 

A clear, orange-colored liquid streamed from the long spout of the teapot. Once the tea had filled the cup halfway, Seohyunho straightened the teapot and said,

 

“Drink.”

 

On the table were the black tea Seohyunho had poured, along with various desserts such as cranberry tart and Shine Muscat cake.

 

[Constellation, ‘Michelin 3-Star According to My Taste,’ sponsors mint candies for a refreshing finish.]

 

[The constellations supporting Seohyunho are proud as they watch you and Seohyunho.]

 

Amid the peaceful New Age music playing throughout the café, I could practically hear the constellations’ reactions exploding like fanfare.

 

When I slipped a hand into my pocket at the weighty feeling inside, my fingers closed around a pink candy container.

 

“What’s that?”

 

“Oh, candy. You should have one after eating dessert, too, Senior.”

 

I placed the candy container on the table and smiled faintly.

 

So, the café date with Seohyunho that we had arranged the day before had finally come to pass today.

 

But Seohyunho was acting a little strange. I had noticed it before, but it was almost as if he had changed.

 

“Have some of this, too.”

 

After pouring my tea, he even cut a piece of cake himself and placed it on my plate.

 

Why was he being so nice? Normally, he would have at least made some sarcastic remark like, ‘Are you a bird? Planning to peck at it?’

 

“Y-you should have some too, Senior.”

 

“I’m eating.”

 

“Liar. You haven’t touched your fork once.”

 

When Yoohee hit the nail on the head, Seohyunho awkwardly cleared his throat and fumbled with the financier sitting in front of him.

 

“Fine, so eat yours, too.”

 

Watching Seohyunho poke at the golden-brown financier a few times before popping the whole thing into his mouth, I couldn’t help but think how strange he was.

 

Seohyunho’s temper had definitely mellowed considerably. Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard a single scandal surrounding him lately, either. At some point, without me realizing it, Seohyunho had slowly begun to change.

 

“The chick still hasn’t turned up?”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

It had already been two days since Ppiyak had run away. By this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we had searched practically every place in the academy where Ppiyak could possibly be.

 

Had it somehow made a little chick-sized hole and hidden inside?

 

“That’s unfortunate.”

 

Excuse me, could you at least put a little soul into it?

 

Seohyunho had already finished chewing his financier and gulped down his iced Americano. Contrary to his words, he looked like he couldn’t care less about the runaway chick.

 

“I’m worried about whether it’s eaten anything in these two days… I’m afraid the little thing might be starving, since it loves food so much.”

 

“There are bugs on the ground. It’ll figure out how to eat on its own.”

 

“Our Ppiyak has never hunted anything in its life.”

 

It was the kind of chick that always ate exactly the right amount of feed from its designated bowl at feeding time. If it even saw an earthworm poking its head out of the ground, it would probably faint from fright.

 

Or what if it ran into some enormous snake and…

 

“No, I can’t do this. I’m getting up.”

 

“Hey, you barely ate anything…”

 

Seohyunho narrowed his eyes in displeasure as he watched Yoohee hurriedly gather her bag. Still, he couldn’t exactly stop her from going out to look for the chick.

 

“Fine. Let’s go, then.”

 

Just as Seohyunho was about to stand, a server carrying a small basket approached their table.

 

“Excuse me, our café is giving out fortune cookies as a special end-of-semester event. Please pick one each, just for fun.”

 

Come to think of it, the first semester would be ending soon.

 

“You go first.”

 

At Seohyunho’s gesture, Yoohee carefully examined the fortune cookies in the basket. Then she picked one from the very top.

 

Crack.

 

She split it in half, revealing a small slip of paper with a single line written on it.

 

[It’s darkest beneath the lamp.]

 

It was a rather suspicious message.

 

It’s darkest beneath the lamp?

 

Did that mean Ppiyak was somewhere nearby?