Chapter 14: Is This What They Call Love?

“So. You sent this picture to your brother?”

Kyuseok stared at the phone for a long time.

On the screen was a silver-haired, blue-eyed beauty, blushing and posing awkwardly for the picture.

Kyuseok’s brows furrowed as if something was wrong.

There’s nothing wrong with it…?

Well, the small, white V-signing hand is moe, and the expression is awkward but cute. Her skin is so white it’s almost transparent, and the pose is totally adorable.

What’s wrong with it? It’s perfectly beautiful.

“Yeah. Well. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with i…”

Glare!

“Gulp… Sorry…”

Your serious expression is scary…!

“Sigh. Hey. What’s with the clothes? The clothes.”

Huh…? Clothes?

Kyuseok’s index finger tapped the screen.

The bloodstained clothes I wore the day I broke Kyuseok’s nose.

The oversized t-shirt that exposed almost all of my small shoulders.

Kyuseok’s blood, of all things, stood out starkly against the white t-shirt.

Now that I see it, the picture is… a bit strange. She looks like a sickly, fragile, poor little girl.

Unable to withstand Kyuseok’s demanding gaze, I raised both hands in surrender.

“Ah. I just grabbed some random clothes and sent it…”

Ah. I messed up.

I should have said I had no other choice because I hadn’t done laundry.

Kyuseok, a man with a fashion philosophy…

“Hey. What would your brother think if he saw this? If you were going to send it to Shimjeong-hyung, you should have paid attention to your fashion.”

So that expression can get even scarier.

Yeah. I knew you’d hit another trigger point.

Kyuseok, further agitated by my fashion negligence, which he found shocking, zoomed in on the red stain in the picture.

The beautiful girl disappeared beyond the frame. Only the dried, dark red stain, looking like nothing but blood, caught his eye.

I reluctantly gave him the answer he wanted.

I lowered my head and averted my gaze as much as I did back in high school.

Pathetically, enough to make the fashion-conscious Kyuseok feel sorry for me.

“He’ll think I’m so sick now that I’m taking medicine…”

A mournful voice.

If I were still in my old body, it wouldn’t have been effective.

But this appearance is the strongest. Anything I do looks like a painting.

My teary blue eyes rippled like the surface of a lake.

My face, with my pink lips tightly bitten, was simply the best.

The power of a living, breathing virtual avatar.

Even Kyuseok, whose receipts for his girl-related expenses could probably be used to make a mummy, blushed.

“No, if you put it like that…”

See. It’s effective.

“Well. Now that everyone’s here, I only take sleeping pills. I’m fine.”

Chatting with Sayo and Yui makes me forget about distracting thoughts.

If I suddenly have strange thoughts while talking, I can just tell Sayo and Yui.

‘Eh?! Mama, are you okay? Where do you live? Should I come over?’

‘Mama. Are you struggling? Send me your address, and I’ll bring you some udon…’

They give me warmth, something no one but Kyuseok has ever given me, as if it’s the most natural thing to do.

It’s just a shame they live in Japan. It’s hard to meet them.

I erased the tearful expression and smiled naturally.

Perhaps because my body is built on the framework of a virtual avatar, my expressions change very quickly.

Switching from crying to smiling in an instant. Even I’m surprised. And the quality of each expression is high.

‘Oh, this kind of expression is possible in real life,’ I thought, but it wasn’t unpleasantly exaggerated. Think of it as the Jim Carrey of the beautiful girl world… no. That’s a bit strange.

Heh… It’s a bit funny to talk about the quality of expressions, but since they’re expressions I drew, that’s the only way I can describe them. As expected of high-quality expressions, they can easily fool ordinary people.

“…Huh.”

Including Kyuseok, who has known me the longest.

He let out a disbelieving chuckle.

Soon, the chuckle turned into genuine laughter.

As he laughed, the corners of my lips naturally curled upwards.

“Heehee… Did I fool you? I fooled you, didn’t I?”

This wasn’t a forced smile, but genuine laughter.

Not a perfect, pre-programmed facial expression, but my true feelings.

A pleasant smile that was contagious even to Kyuseok.

“Ha. This kid. Your acting has improved. You should become an actress.”

“Well. I can’t do lines. I could be an extra, changing expressions in the background. Standing there silently, glaring…”

I told you countless times, I can’t talk face-to-face with anyone other than you and my daughters.

Well, if I can’t see their faces, I can talk about my unfortunate family history in front of 100,000 people, but that was a special case.

“Can you look into it for me later? About being an extra?”

“Hey. There’s no way such a role exists.”

The conversation after that was meaningless.

A conversation as sweet as marshmallows, but with no real substance.

Actor.

Model.

Kyuseok’s job.

Money.

Livelihood.

Life.

After chatting for a while, going through various topics, the conversation became stale.

I don’t know when the topic shifted to my body.

“Hey. Kang Soohyun.”

“Yeah. What?”

Kyuseok fidgeted with his knees, lost in thought.

It was the considerate pause of someone thinking about whether something would be offensive.

Finally, Kyuseok spoke.

“Is there anything uncomfortable since your appearance changed?”

It’s not an offensive question.

If I had to pick something, it would be my decreased height and reach.

There have been countless times when the potato chips I tried to reach for with my feet were too far away.

But besides those everyday things.

Something I could laugh about.

“I can’t buy alcohol by myself. Going to a convenience store is too cliché, right?”

“…Sigh.”

Wow. Kyuseok made a truly disgusted face.

Pfft. He keeps saying he’s an otaku now, but he still has a long way to go.

The convenience store cliché. I do want to experience it.

I heard it boosts your lacking self-esteem.

Isn’t that exactly what I need?

“You’re… really…”

“Pfft. You’re making a funny face.”

I pushed his stomach with my foot, making a laughing expression.

Even if it’s a joke, I hate that disgusted expression. He knew that, so he didn’t insult me even after being pushed.

Kyuseok rubbed his slightly sore stomach and approached me. The disgust was gone from his face, having realized I was uncomfortable.

“I guarantee the part-timer will blush within 3 seconds of seeing me. Wanna bet?”

“Tsk. Sigh…”

Now it’s pity, not disgust.

Hmm. That’s even more offensive… As if he doesn’t blush when he sees my face.

Chop!

“Ouch.”

A karate chop to the head…

He’s quick-witted, as always.

“That’s the kind of nonsense I expect from you. I’m glad your mind hasn’t changed.”

“Well. I don’t know about my mind, but the drastic change in my body is a problem. Ah. But some details haven’t changed.”

Leaving aside allergies, which I never had,

Like how easily my skin reddens when touched or scratched. The lack of body hair…

“Are you still ticklish?”

Damn it. He noticed.

This is why I shouldn’t speak carelessly in front of Kyuseok.

“That’s a secret. I’ll never tell.”

I averted my gaze and backed away.

The biggest weakness of Kang Soohyun’s life was still present.

Kyuseok’s expression turned mischievous.

“Oh ho…”

“I’m warning you. If you come any closer, I’ll stab you with a knife…!”

***

Crash!

“Hey, Kang Shimjeong. You’re refusing all the reporters’ interviews?!”

The angry coach next to him was foaming at the mouth, on the verge of collapsing.

To think that he could now knock someone out with words without even throwing a punch. As expected of the strongest champion, Shimjeong chuckled inwardly.

“I said I have a family matter, so they’ll understand.”

Of course, he didn’t really think so.

They were the type to take pictures even if people were dying.

Still, they were treated a bit better since they’d be interviewing their ancestors if they messed with Shimjeong.

Shimjeong knew the power and annoyance of reporters very well.

He was prepared to make an example of someone if things went wrong.

His mood today was quite complicated.

His beloved brother sent him a picture of a girl, claiming it was her. Anyone else might joke like that, but not his brother.

However, Shimjeong stared at the picture on the plane and memorized it. Even when his coach kept asking if it was a newly debuted idol, he ignored him.

He tried to believe and remember the image his sister claimed to be her.

“Okay. Then rest today and starting tomorrow…”

The coach, clinging to a sliver of hope, asked Shimjeong, who was lost in thought.

The coach thought that the crazy fighting maniac Kang Shimjeong would spar with his juniors as soon as he arrived in Korea. He never dreamed that he would go to his family.

Still, one day should be fine.

Shimjeong’s talent was genuine.

Even during the time when he didn’t have a coach and just smoked cigarettes, not training at all, he was already an undefeated rising star.

A beast’s instinct, a blade sharp even without honing.

The coach believed in the numerous nicknames Shimjeong had before he became his coach.

Shimjeong met the coach’s gaze.

A calm, unwavering gaze. The coach became a little uneasy.

“No. I’m going to spend about a week with my sister.”

That belief shattered with a cold chill.

The coach was on the verge of tears.

“A week? Hey. You have a fight against a former gold medalist in a month…”

“Michael Zaraki’s wrestling is definitely top-tier in the WFC, but it’s fine. His striking is negligible.”

Slam!

Shimjeong calmly walked over and opened the car door.

It was a reunion he had been looking forward to for years. He patted the dumbfounded coach on the shoulder and said,

“Coach. I’ll definitely win. Prepare the drinks.”

“How can you… Sigh. Fine. But if you lose, be prepared to train all day.”

Scoff.

Shimjeong scoffed and got in the car, heading to Soohyun’s house. It was quite a distance from the airport to Soohyun’s house, but his racing heart, beating faster than during a match, made him forget the distance.

The pop song playing in the car was quite romantic.

Fitting for a night drive towards a reunion.

After who knows how long he drove and walked,

The reunion he had waited years for took less than a few hours.

The same door, the same digital lock. Change the lock. Get an expensive one.

Shimjeong opened the door, worried about his sister’s safety.

Creak-

And what unfolded before his eyes was…

“Hey, stop it!”

“Wait. Let me see how sensitive you are…”

His sister’s friend on top of his sister.

His mind couldn’t process the situation, but

His body moved first.

Dash!

An instinctive sprint.

Followed by a high jump.

An overwhelming leap, unbelievable for his 193cm frame.

He lifted his leg, putting all his weight into it…

Wham!

“Oof?!”

A flying knee to Kyuseok’s solar plexus.

Kyuseok lost consciousness.