ICYM Ch 43

Episode 43

“Cute, both of you. You look like a pair.”

Laura, who had gone off to check out the costumes, came back.

I thought she might feel awkward since I kept turning her down, but instead, she acted refreshingly casual, which put me at ease.

While Kevin and Kendrick were away in the bathroom, Laura brought up the uncomfortable topic first.

“Let’s just call it even with this.”

“Huh?”

“The meal I said I’d treat you to. So don’t feel too pressured.”

“…Was it that obvious?”

“Totally.”

“……”

“I guess I got ahead of myself because my feelings of gratitude were so overwhelming that I couldn’t consider your position.”

“No, really, it’s something anyone would have done.”

“Still, thank you. We’re only a year apart, but because he’s so scatterbrained, I’ve gotten into the habit of being overprotective.”

“I get it. Sorry for refusing you so much.”

“So now we’re even, no hard feelings? I heard you get along with Owen, and I’d really like us to be close, too.”

The childish side she showed when she was with Kevin was gone, leaving only a mature demeanor.

Looking back, right after I possessed this body, I must have been more tense than I realized. There hadn’t really been a need to avoid the female lead and male lead just for the sake of surviving on my own.

Despite that past, now we were spending time together, and surprisingly, it didn’t feel all that bad.

A little overwhelming, though.

Just getting along smoothly and harmoniously didn’t seem so bad either.

Soon Kevin returned, and in an instant, Laura’s mischievous smile was back. As she led him out, she suddenly glanced back at me and gave a small wink.

Kendrick saw this too and, as if he had guessed something, asked, “…What did you two talk about earlier?”

“Nothing much.”

“…Okay.”

It really hadn’t been much.

Up ahead, Kevin must have found something funny because he handed Kendrick some clothes with a face that could barely hold back his laughter.

“Hey, can’t you wear this?”

It was a paper-thin medieval-style shirt, laced up in the middle of the chest like shoelaces.

“No.”

Seeing Kendrick’s dead-serious expression, Kevin grinned in satisfaction and gave him a big thumbs-up.

“Bet it’d be skin-tight. Let’s buy it, and then when you flex, we’ll see if it tears or not.”

“…No thanks.”

“Boring.”

“……”

“Then how about I wear it? I’m a little smaller than you.”

“Do what you want.”

At Kendrick’s firm response, Kevin said, “Hmm, I’ll just ask Laura,” and disappeared in a flash.

They were oddly mismatched, but I could see why they were friends.

He really likes Kendrick.

No wonder he had been wary of me earlier.

Once the two of us were left behind, I finally got the chance to speak to Kendrick.

“Are you going too?”

“…Probably. You?”

It was surprising that Kendrick was going, but after seeing him with Kevin, I could vaguely guess how he got roped in.

The Halloween party that Sunbae said would be big, they’re really going all out with it, huh.

I had heard that the girls’ dorm and the boys’ dorm rented out a club together, selling only non-alcoholic drinks and just having fun, but it seemed they were planning it on a much bigger scale than I thought.

“I’m not really sure.”

“Yeah?”

“…But wasn’t the Halloween party only open to dorm students?”

“I heard each person can invite one guest.”

“Oh.”

So that guy would be coming too. I glanced at Kevin with lifeless eyes and once again steeled myself not to go. He wasn’t malicious, but his head was so full of flowers that it was exhausting just being around him.

“You all take your time looking around. I’ll go check out the other side.”

I deliberately slowed my steps in the crowd to distance myself from the group. I’d look around on my own. I wasn’t going anyway, so there was no need to buy anything.

“I don’t really have anything to buy either.”

But instead of rejoining the others, Kendrick came to stand next to me.

The range of things being sold was broader than I expected. As I was browsing, my gaze stopped at one spot.

“Looks like Nabi.”

Noticing that Kendrick’s gaze had also stopped at the same spot, he pointed at an accessory that resembled Nabi. It was a black cat, pitch-dark except for the white around its mouth and chest.

“But this one’s a keychain.”

I didn’t really need it, so I only looked. Or rather, I pretended to. It wasn’t much, but since Kendrick’s eyes lingered on it, I thought it might make a nice gift.

“By the way, are we eating dinner with them?”

“No.”

“Yeah?”

“Why? Did you want to eat together?”

“No, that’s not it. I was just wondering when we’d split up.”

“I was about to suggest we go our separate ways soon.”

“Shall we?”

“Should I go tell them now?”

Right now, they were too far away, and the place was crowded. I looked over at Kevin and Laura on the other side of the partition.

They were finding the tackiest props and hanging them all over their faces, which made me let out a small laugh.

Laura and Kevin looked like nothing more than friends. As for us, we were secretly dating, so to anyone else, it would just look like a group of friends hanging out—

“In a way, it’s kind of a double date.”

The thought slipped out of my mouth before I realized.

Thunk.

“Huh?”

Hearing my words, Kendrick dropped the cat-shaped keychain he had been holding. When I looked at him in surprise, he hurriedly picked it up, hung it back in its place, and said in an oddly urgent tone, “I’d better go tell them now.”

Before I could even answer, Kendrick pushed his way through the crowd and headed straight toward the other two.

Watching his back, I seized the chance, grabbed the keychain, and dashed to the counter to pay for it.

* * *

Whatever Kendrick had said, the two let us go without fuss, and we managed to slip away. I thought not much time had passed, but when I checked the time, it was already five o’clock.

“We’re going in here?”

Even with so many people outside, the restaurant looked quiet inside. And the reason was obvious.

It looks ridiculously expensive.

The place we arrived at was a restaurant at the entrance of a main street, about a thirty-minute walk from the mall.

Up ahead, I kept locking eyes with the young old-fashioned gentleman standing like a butler, so I deliberately stared into empty space instead.

“Yeah. You don’t like Italian restaurants?”

“It’s not that…”

“I made a reservation on purpose…”

“You even made a reservation?”

“…Yeah.”

“When?”

“After we decided earlier to have dinner together.”

So he even made a reservation while I wasn’t paying attention.

I had my own plan, too. I thought just pajamas as a birthday present felt lacking, so I intended to treat him to dinner as well. But this place looked so fancy that I’d be lucky if my allowance even covered my share.

“Isn’t this against the dress code?”

I needlessly glanced down at my outfit. A white T-shirt under a light sky-blue button-up, jeans, and sneakers.

At most places, no one would care, but this outfit didn’t suit such a formal setting.

“They say it’s fine as long as it’s not slippers or shorts.”

“……”

Since he’d made a reservation before leaving the dorm and hadn’t dressed up just by himself, I couldn’t really blame him.

Wearing a navy shirt and black slacks, he looked perfectly at home in a place this formal.

“Do you not want to go in?”

It was clear that if I said yes, he would turn back immediately. The birthday person’s opinion carried the most weight.

“I didn’t mean that I don’t want to go.”

The moment we stepped inside, my jaw dropped at the dazzling chandeliers and the gold-trimmed tables and chairs, as if the outside world didn’t exist.

Kendrick looked completely at ease in this kind of setting.

A moment ago, he had seemed like a gentle big dog, but now he looked every bit the child of a wealthy family.

Accepting the menu with practiced ease, Kendrick glanced through it and asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Why weren’t the prices written on the menu?

It wasn’t like I could ask about the price of every single dish, so I had to carefully guess which ones might be cheaper.

“Mm. Not sure. I’m still deciding.”

“Can I recommend something then?”

“Have you been here before?”

“A few times.”

“Then sure, could you choose for me?”

Kendrick smoothly made the selections. From appetizers to dessert, he ordered the whole course.

If worst comes to worst, I’ll just use Dad’s card.

I tried calculating how much I had left in my wallet, but quickly gave up.

Since I was already here, I might as well enjoy a good meal. Even just glancing at the dishes on the tables across the aisle, it was obvious this place was famous for its food.

While we were waiting, new customers entered between the tables. One of them, passing by ours, stopped in his tracks when he saw Kendrick and asked, “Oh my. Aren’t you Ken?”

“Uncle.”

Recognizing the face as someone he knew, Kendrick stood up and greeted the man who had suddenly appeared.

“Looks like you’re here to dine with a friend. I’d heard from the Chairman that you were in the area—”

“Just a moment.”

At Kendrick’s subtle signal, the man, who looked more like an uncle than a father^[1], glanced between us before politely asking, “Would it be alright if we talked somewhere else?”