EAR Ch 43

At the tail end of summer vacation, the students were all restless. Few had enjoyed a proper break, but a vacation was a vacation. Feeling excited just by seeing the two syllables “vacation” was a habit ingrained in them since elementary school.

The autumn mock exam awaited them at the start of the second semester. The students grumbled about who had come up with such a terrible schedule, having an exam right after school started.

Seungpyo, Jaemin, and their friends were no different. During their break at the academy, their conversation, which began with worries about the upcoming mock exam, somehow led to the conclusion that they should enjoy themselves a little, so they wouldn’t regret the end of summer vacation.

“Let’s go play laser tag after class today!”

One student strongly suggested. Another student asked,

“What’s that? A new game?”

“I tried it last week, and it was so much fun. It’s not a computer game, you actually use laser guns. You can play individually, we can split into teams, or we can even play team matches with other people who came to play.”

“Ah, I tried something similar when I was little. We used BB guns back then.”

“The game I played doesn’t need bullets. It’s laser, so it doesn’t hurt at all even if you get hit.”

The student who brought it up was eager to introduce this new activity to his friends. Laser tag was a tempting suggestion for the students who were getting tired of rotating between PC rooms, arcades, basketball, and soccer.

“Does it take long?”

“No, one game is 15 minutes.”

“Let’s go.”

When Seungpyo made the decision, everyone nodded. The students agreed to try the new laser tag game after their academy classes.

📚

The game center was on the fifth floor of a tall commercial building. The laser beam-like lighting decorations throughout the lobby made it feel like they were entering a spaceship. The employee at the counter, organizing the guns and vests, explained to the customers.

“If it’s your first time, I recommend starting with an individual match with your friends. Choose a nickname you’ll use during the game and tell me.”

Seungpyo was the first to raise his hand at the employee’s instructions.

“I’m Oh Seungpyo.”

Seungpyo was the only one who decided to use his real name without hesitation, and the other students began to ponder over cool nicknames. Iron First, Shaved Head Today, Crazy Jindo Dog…. While they were showing off their tough-sounding nicknames as if in a competition, Jaemin, lost in thought, also chose his nickname.

“Zombie Killer.”

The student who first suggested laser tag told Jaemin,

“Oh, but this isn’t a zombie-killing game.”

“Yeah, I don’t care. It just came to mind when I saw the gun.”

“If you’re Zombie Killer, then we’re all zombies?”

Seungpyo secretly smiled as he overheard the conversation between Jaemin and the other student. Jaemin enjoyed the zombie shooting game that Seungpyo had introduced him to at the arcade, and he still played it occasionally.

The fact that he thought of zombies when he saw a gun must have been influenced by the game they played together. Seungpyo felt happy and proud whenever traces of their time together popped up in unexpected places like this.

The employee added a detailed explanation.

“These round buttons on the vest are sensors. When you get hit by a gun, these sensors will flash. If the light flashes, you’ve been hit, and if it doesn’t, you’ve missed. You have five lives, and if you get hit five times and use them all up, there will be a 5-second attack delay, so you won’t be able to shoot. See the LCD screen on the barrel showing the numbers? The delay time will be displayed there, and you can shoot again after 5 seconds.”

“Can you feel it when you get hit?”

“There’s a slight vibration, but some people don’t feel it when they’re focused on the game. There’s no pain at all, and it’s a safe device, so you don’t have to worry.”

Everyone put on the vests with round sensors attached like buttons, then picked up their guns. Some students posed with the long, realistic-looking rifles and took pictures.

“You look like a real killer. You look so fierce.”

Seungpyo chuckled and took a picture of Jaemin with his phone. Jaemin also took a picture of Seungpyo in return.

“You just look like Oh Seungpyo even when you’re posing like that.”

While they were enjoying their short photo time, the employee raised his voice again.

“If you’re ready, please check the electronic display board. We’ll start with an individual match.”

The students, who had been playing around taking pictures, turned their attention to the electronic display board in front. A list of nicknames appeared on the large screen.

“You’re all dead today.”

“I’m going to settle all scores.”

While the students brandished their guns and exchanged threatening jokes, Seungpyo and Jaemin silently looked at the electronic display board. Jaemin spoke first.

“We’ll have to shoot each other.”

“Since it’s an individual match.”

Standing in front of the electronic display board, the two only exchanged those words and glanced at each other. The other students, realizing that the top two students in the school were facing off in an unexpected place, also started whispering and predicting the winner amongst themselves.

“Wouldn’t Oh Seungpyo be first here?”

“Right. He always loses in academics, but in games…”

Seungpyo turned around and swung his gun.

“I can hear you, guys.”

Despite the students playfully giggling, the game center employee continued the instructions calmly, without changing his expression.

“Let’s go in! It’s dark inside, so don’t run. You could get hurt if you fall.”

“Yes―!”

The students answered loudly, adjusted their grips on their guns, and entered the game arena.

Inside, it was truly dark. Only the obstacles that provided cover were decorated with fluorescent lights, so they had to figure out the map’s structure based on those lights. He could fully understand why the employee told them not to run, but the students started running as soon as they entered.

Seungpyo, quick-witted, easily found the best spot for cover on the map. It was slightly sloped compared to the other flat areas, making it a good place to hide behind and shoot like a rampart.

The dark game arena was very noisy. At first, it was filled with the footsteps of people constantly running around, attacking and defending, and then the cries of students who were suddenly attacked began to echo.

Seungpyo shot the students running around in their vests one after another from behind his cover. In the darkness, the round sensors flashed, indicating hits. The students hit by Seungpyo’s gun, stuck in a 5-second delay, grumbled.

“Ah, Oh Seung! Stop camping there and come out.”

“Why? Is it wrong to play strategically?”

“Let’s be fair!”

Although he could comfortably enjoy the game thanks to securing the best spot, Seungpyo was also getting bored of just standing still and shooting. Staying in one place and shooting for 15 minutes might be advantageous for winning, but it wouldn’t allow him to fully enjoy the game.

Seungpyo ducked. Despite his height and build, which were much larger than average, he nimbly moved behind another obstacle, avoiding the students’ eyes. One by one, he started taking down the enemies as he moved between covers, and the students complained again.

“Hey, Oh Seung! Just camp there.”

“I can’t even see where you’re shooting from.”

They complained even after he did what they asked. Seungpyo didn’t answer and aimed his gun through a hole in the obstacle.

Just as Seungpyo successfully lit up another sensor and was about to move, another student suddenly appeared behind his cover. Seungpyo immediately aimed his gun but only blinked without pulling the trigger.

“Ryu Jaemin.”

Zombie Killer, who had suddenly appeared, was also aiming his gun at Seungpyo. Instead of shooting Seungpyo, he slowly approached, whispering,

“Did you take this spot?”

“Yeah, just for a bit while I was walking around.”

Since it was an individual match, Jaemin and Seungpyo were also each other’s enemies. However, neither of them seemed to intend to shoot as they approached each other. Seungpyo whispered,

“How many times have you died?”

“Three times.”

“You didn’t defend properly.”

It was a game battle between the top two students in the school. They should have attacked each other without holding back since it was an individual match, but they only whispered to each other, showing no signs of doing so.

While the two were talking, the other participants were busy shooting each other beyond their cover. Even in the risky situation where they could be spotted at any moment, the two lingered without moving.

Seungpyo, instead of shooting, suddenly kissed Jaemin’s cheek. Jaemin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Hey, there are other people out there.”

“They’re too busy to notice. It’s dark here, so they can’t even see us.”

Should we do it one more time? They didn’t say it out loud, but both could sense that they were thinking the same thing. Despite the darkness making it difficult to see each other’s expressions.

They hesitated and slowly moved closer. Their faces, illuminated by the bluish laser light in the darkness, looked pale without a trace of blood, far from a romantic atmosphere, but even that was different from usual, making their hearts flutter.

As Seungpyo faced the approaching lips expecting a kiss, he recalled a recent event. Since “that day,” Seungpyo had become much more enthusiastic about kissing Jaemin. His symptoms of wanting to kiss Ryu Jaemin whenever he saw him were only getting worse, so he couldn’t predict when this fever would subside, even though summer was ending.

On the day they bet on confessing their first kiss partners, Seungpyo, who had been whining like a puppy needing to pee throughout the academy class, dragged Jaemin out of the classroom as soon as the class ended. He hurriedly took him to the emergency exit on the upper floor, which they often used for some alone time, and after a brief introduction, he asked,

‘Who was that guy you had your first kiss with?’

‘I told you everything. Why do you keep asking when you know?’

‘Tell me his name properly. I want to hear it.’

At Seungpyo’s request, Jaemin muttered, averting his gaze as if embarrassed,

‘Oh Seungpyo.’

‘Wow!’

Seungpyo raised his voice involuntarily. Jaemin chuckled, perhaps thinking his reaction to the obvious answer was excessive. But Seungpyo quickly stopped laughing and questioned Jaemin.

‘Then why did you say it wasn’t your first?’

‘Would I say it was my first there? Would you?’

Jaemin retorted with a scoff. Seungpyo couldn’t answer confidently. As Jaemin had pointed out, he, too, had been maintaining the lie that it wasn’t his first kiss to save face.

Jaemin gave him a blunt look.

‘Now it’s your turn to talk.’

‘…….’

‘Who did you have your first kiss with? It must have been in middle school, right?’

‘No.’

‘What? Don’t tell me you did it in elementary school?’

‘Of course not. I mean it was in high school.’

Perhaps thinking that the time gap between his kiss with Jaemin and his first kiss was smaller than he thought, Jaemin’s expression became more displeased.

‘What kind of person was she? Was she pretty?’

‘Just pretty?’

Jaemin’s brow furrowed slightly at the provocative affirmation. Seungpyo continued,

‘She’s good at studying, good at sports, tall, has a nice body, and her personality isn’t great, but she’s nice to me. I like her even more because she’s not nice to just anyone.’

‘This bastard… As if it’s something to brag about, rambling on about someone he kissed in the past.’

‘She’s a model student who always ranks first in the entire school, and since she said she never skipped class, I took her to the arcade, and she stole my first kiss.’

Jaemin’s expression, which had seemed indignant, gradually became awkward. He looked unsure whether to be angry, laugh, or ask for more details, then slowly lowered his gaze. He coughed softly as if to regain his composure and glared at Seungpyo.

‘You’re lying after hearing my story, aren’t you?’

‘No, I’m not.’

‘Then why did you say no back then?’

‘Would I say it was my first there? Would you?’

It was a déjà vu conversation. Jaemin chewed on his lip and changed the question.

‘So, who was she?’

‘I told you everything. Why do you keep asking when you know?’

Jaemin’s face flushed slightly after being hit with the same retort he had used.

‘I want to hear her name too.’

Seungpyo smiled brightly and tilted his head. He whispered the answer, lips close to Jaemin’s ear, and Jaemin, unable to hold back any longer, burst into laughter and hugged Seungpyo tightly.

The advantage of Ryu Jaemin as a lover, in Oh Seungpyo’s opinion, was that despite his somewhat twisted personality, he was honest with him. Seungpyo’s heart also fluttered at the sight of Ryu Jaemin rushing towards him, unable to contain his joy, and he kissed him.

Even with the sudden kiss, Jaemin wasn’t surprised; instead, he eagerly accepted Seungpyo’s tongue and lips, completely immersed. If it weren’t for the academy class starting again, they would have kissed like that all day.

…And since that day, Seungpyo had been restless, wanting to kiss Jaemin whenever he had the chance. It said everything that he could only see Ryu Jaemin’s lips even in a situation like this, where they were supposed to be shooting each other with guns.

Even if they were thrown into a world filled with zombies, he wouldn’t give up this kiss. Just before their lips met, careful not to be caught—

“There are two people hiding here!”

One of the students finally found them hiding behind the obstacle and shouted. Seungpyo jumped up.

“Fuck, you scared me!”

Seungpyo, caught in the middle of attempting a secret kiss, got angrier than necessary and immediately shot at the guy who had ambushed their hiding spot. The student who interrupted their kiss was hit by Seungpyo’s attack, his sensor flashing as he quickly dodged.

Even as he ran away, he didn’t forget to tell everyone.

“Oh Seungpyo and Ryu Jaemin are teaming up!”

“Are you guys allowed to do that in an individual match?”

The individual laser tag match quickly turned into Oh Seungpyo and Ryu Jaemin versus the rest of their friends. Seungpyo and Jaemin shot at the remaining students from behind their cover, and the other four students shot back at Seungpyo and Jaemin, turning it into a siege-like battle.

The battle was quite intense, but it couldn’t last long. The 15-minute playtime ended, and the guns and sensors lost their power.

“Ah, that was fun!”

“Team matches are definitely more fun than individual matches.”

Seungpyo grumbled as he followed the students.

“Was that a team match? You guys cowardly teamed up and ganged up on me and Ryu Jaemin.”

“Who told you two to team up?”

As they came out, bantering with each other, the electronic display board with the list of nicknames from before they entered caught their eyes first. However, the order of the list had changed from when they started the game.

1. Oh Seungpyo
2. Zombie Killer

Seungpyo’s name was at the top, and Jaemin’s nickname was right below. The employee explained.

“This is the ranking for the game you just played. It’s calculated based on the number of times you deactivated other players and the number of times you were deactivated.”

“Oh Seung is first.”

The students looked at the electronic display board as if it wasn’t surprising. They all seemed to be thinking the same thing. Ryu Jaemin was always above Oh Seungpyo on the school exam announcements, but the tables had turned in the game…

Seungpyo snapped at the students,

“Are you guys thinking about the exams?”

“No, we weren’t.”

The students shook their heads in unison. A strong denial meant affirmation. Seungpyo looked at them with a dubious expression, but at the employee’s announcement to prepare for the second round, he moved on to the next game without further questioning.

📚

After playing three full 15-minute games, the hungry students moved to a hot dog place in the same building. Although it was mainly a takeout place, there were a few tables inside, so the students gathered around a corner table and ordered hot dogs and drinks.

“Come to think of it, I have something to show you guys.”

While waiting for their hot dogs, one student lowered his voice conspiratorially. At his beckoning gesture, the students leaned in curiously.

“What is it?”

“I found it in my brother’s room, and I stole it because it was funny. He actually carries this around?”

The student opened his bag pocket and took something out. The students’ eyes widened when they saw the “something.” Most of them had seen it before, even if they hadn’t used it themselves yet.

“Oh, this is a con…!”

“Hey, lower your voice.”

It was an unopened condom, taken out of the bag pocket.

The students were busy looking at it, murmuring, but Seungpyo, an experienced user who had already used condoms several times, maintained an indifferent expression.

But Jaemin was different. Despite having used condoms with Seungpyo, his eyes were wide with surprise. The student who took out the condom smirked at Jaemin.

“Look how surprised he is. You’re a model student, so this is your first time seeing this, right?”

“Huh…? Oh, are condoms usually this small? I was surprised because it’s so small.”

“I think this is the average size. It’ll stretch when you put it on.”

“It’s still too small.”

The students exchanged bewildered glances at Jaemin, who kept repeating that it was small. A silent communication through eye contact took place intensely in the air.

‘Ryu Jaemin must be huge.’

This bastard really has everything. Seeing the students staring at Jaemin with bewildered expressions as if saying that, Seungpyo almost burst out laughing but managed to suppress it, covering his mouth.

What could he do? It was understandable that Ryu Jaemin was surprised since the only condom he had ever seen was the double XL size condom that Oh Seungpyo had bought online.

While they were debating the condom size, freshly fried hot dogs were served. After quickly devouring the hot dogs with melted cheese and cold cola, the students left the store without hesitation. The academy classes were over, their short playtime was over, and now it was time to look forward to tomorrow.

“Bye!”

“Let’s play again later.”

After parting ways with their friends, Seungpyo and Jaemin also turned around. As they walked in the same direction, Seungpyo chuckled, letting out the laughter he had been holding back.

“Hey, why did you keep saying it was small earlier? That’s the average size.”

“I didn’t know normal condoms were that small… The ones you use are almost the size of snack wrappers.”

“That’s why I have to order them online. They don’t sell them at convenience stores.”

Seungpyo shrugged, feeling a bit smug. Looking at Jaemin, who was still dumbfounded by the shock of the tiny condom, Seungpyo put his arm around his shoulder.

“Ryu Jaemin, then do you want to come to my house and use a big condom?”

“Now?”

“Yeah, my brother will be home late. We’re done playing with laser guns, so let’s play with water guns now.”

“Don’t you need a condom to not play with water guns?”

They quickened their pace, giggling like boys planning mischief. The chatter continued as they headed home. Seungpyo asked,

“If a zombie virus really spread in the world, what would you do? What if you’re fine, but I turn into a zombie?”

“Hmm… I’d tie you up so you can’t run away and research a vaccine. What about you?”

“I’d just become a zombie with you. I think people should follow the trend. In a world conquered by zombies, it might be better for me to become a zombie too.”

“If we both become zombies, we can go around together without being afraid.”

On a peaceful summer evening, the two walked along, talking about love in a ruined world. Even absurd talk was fun when shared together.

For the high school sophomores, the upcoming second semester mock exam was more worrisome than the end of the world.