Episode 245
245. Chailpiil
“I need more time to think.”
“what?”
“I can’t make a decision now.”
Ryu Min did not reject Min Joo-ri’s confession.
They put it on hold, saying they needed time.
‘If I refuse here, the spirit of democracy will not remain.’
Courage is courage, but it is a confession made with little expectation.
But try rejecting it coldly.
Wouldn’t you be so disappointed that you’d collapse like a sand castle?
What if my mentality is shattered like that?
Can you survive until round 20?
I was skeptical about Ryu Min’s thoughts.
‘Maybe he will turn his back on the Black Scythe too.’
Rejection is the worst outcome for Min-ri Min.
It may have a negative effect on both Ryumin and the Black Scythe.
Therefore, if I was going to confess someday, I wanted to do it as late as possible.
‘But I never thought it would be today… … .’
I decided to hold off, thinking that refusing right away could be the worst option.
That’s what’s best for both of us.
“Please give me more time… … ?”
“huh. It was so sudden… … “I need time to organize my thoughts.”
“… … okay. I’ll give you time. “Please contact me when it’s time to respond.”
With those words, Minjoo-ri got up and left the cafe without looking back.
Looking at that scene, Ryumin tilted his head.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
* * *
Quiet room.
Ryumin’s eyes stared blankly at the wall clock.
Tick-tick-tick!
The minute hand of the clock points exactly to 12 o’clock.
‘Round 15 begins in just 12 hours… … .’
Ryumin looked at his cell phone and was troubled.
‘The person who is disappointed should contact me first, right?’
I flipped through the text messages I had with Min-ri Min.
-3 weeks ago-
[Minjoo-ri: Are you finished thinking about it?]
[Ryumin: Not yet… … .]
[Minjoo-ri: I’ll be waiting for your answer.]
-2 weeks ago-
[Minjoo-ri: Min. Do you need more time to think?]
[Ryumin: Oh, wait a little longer.]
-1 week ago-
[Minjoo-ri: What is the answer?]
[Ryu Min: Ah, just a little more.]
[Minjoo-ri: It’s been over 15 days and still?]
[Ryu Min: Sorry. I want to make a decision carefully.]
3 weeks ago.
After receiving an unexpected confession from Min-ri Min, Ryu-min has been avoiding answering.
And today there are 12 hours left until round 15.
Ryumin had to make a decision.
‘We have to meet somehow today.’
Because I can’t put it off any longer.
‘I have to teach you how to beat the 15th round and also hand you an invisibility potion… … .’
In the name of the Black Scythe, Ryumin taught the followers of the Four Gods Church a strategy.
I also gave invisibility potions to Seo A-rin and Yamti.
‘The only person who hasn’t heard the strategy now is Minjoo-ri.’
Min-ri Min did not even appear at the regular meetings of the Four Gods Church.
This means that he is mentally unstable.
‘Maybe I put it off too much?’
I felt sorry, but it was better than outright refusing.
If that were the case, Minjoo-ri’s spirit might really be broken.
‘Minjoo-ri must have felt it because he avoided answering to this extent. ‘I’m just roundly rejecting it.’
Unless you’re an idiot, you’ll know.
If you have any sense, you will know.
Because there is such a thing as feeling.
‘Still, the reason I keep asking is probably because I want to hear a clear answer like yes or no.’
But I didn’t have the courage to say it.
Now that I’ve put it on hold, there’s at least some hope, but what if I reject it?
Doesn’t that even destroy that hope?
‘If that happens, it might become even more serious than it is now. He might not even talk to me at all.’
Well, it doesn’t matter if you don’t talk to your real self.
All you have to do is not disturb your relationship with the Black Scythe.
‘I want to maintain our relationship as colleagues like we do now, but I wonder if Min-ri Min will be mentally okay after hearing the rejection… … .’
I was afraid of that.
Losing a colleague named Min-ri Min.
Losing a friend named Min-ri Min.
‘Anyway, I have to ask you to meet me today. If it’s too late, there’s no time… … .’
At that time, a text message arrived on Ryumin’s cell phone.
[Minjoo-ri: I want to meet you.]
Ryumin responded immediately.
[Ryu Min: Okay, let’s meet. How about the cafe where we met before until 2 o’clock?]
[Minjoo-ri: Good.]
‘I already wanted to meet you, but you contacted me first.’
Ryumin grinned and put on his coat.
* * *
1:30 PM is the perfect time to drink coffee.
Normally it would have been noisy, but the inside of the cafe was quiet.
The exterior, seen as a show window, was no different.
‘Survival games have changed many things.’
Nowadays, it is harder to find a young person on the street than it is to find Kim Seo-bum in Seoul.
All cafes have also been converted to unmanned.
‘It’s rather good. ‘To have a serious conversation in a quiet place.’
I’ve tried sending reminder texts that weren’t reminders, but they were rejected every time.
Perhaps that’s why there was a kind of determination in Minjoo-ri’s eyes today.
‘I’ll definitely get an answer today.’
The determination to hear an answer to Ryu Min’s confession.
Of course, Minjoo-ri is not an idiot either.
I don’t know that Ryu Min has been subtly revealing the answer all this while.
‘I may already know the outcome. And yet… … .’
Still, I desperately wanted to hear the answer from Ryu Min’s mouth.
Otherwise, you won’t be able to escape this torture of hope that will last forever.
‘Probably refused… … ‘I’ll do it.’
My head was spinning, but it was okay.
I had a lot of time to think, and that was why I showed up early to the meeting place.
rattle-
When the cafe door opens, I see the face of the man I love.
My high school classmate, Ryu Min, whom I have had a crush on for four years.
Now that I have the courage, I won’t give up.
“I’m here?”
“Oh, you came early?”
“Yes.”
“What, should I drink? “I will live.”
“no. I can’t get it forever. I’ll buy it, take a seat. Double espresso, right? “By adding shots.”
“Uh huh.”
When I bring coffee, Ryumin accepts it with a puzzled look.
“here.”
“thank you.”
The two just drank coffee in silence for a while.
‘Oh, what should I do? I don’t have the courage to actually ask.’
It was scary, but I had to do it anyway.
Even if you hear rejection.
Minjoo-ri’s mouth barely opened.
“excuse me… … “Don’t you have something to tell me?”
“ah.”
Ryumin smiled somewhat awkwardly.
No, should I say it’s an embarrassing laugh?
“Do you want to hear the answer to the question you asked before?”
“huh.”
“I’m sorry, but I need more time…” … .”
“also?”
When I tried to delay answering again, I started crying without realizing it.
“How much more time do we have to give?”
“… … .”
“Isn’t it a lot for 3 weeks? “That’s enough time to organize your thoughts.”
“It’s such an easy decision… … .”
“Ryumin!”
Min Joo-ri shouted and looked straight into Ryu Min’s eyes.
“Stop dragging your feet any longer and make a decision. How long do you plan on taking your time? Don’t you know that this is causing more pain to me? “It’s like torture of hope.”
“… … .”
“While you were taking your time, I thought a lot. Are there any lies in my heart towards you? “Isn’t it just like a flame that burns briefly?”
Minjoo-ri’s eyes were extremely serious.
“But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became. My decision was not wrong. “Even if I regret it, I have to let you know how I feel.”
Everything is difficult at first.
Once Min-ri opened her heart, she revealed her true feelings without hesitation.
“So now I want to hear it. your honest heart. “Because I can’t wait any longer.”
“… … .”
“Answer me. ‘Do you like me?’
Ryumin raises his head and speaks with serious eyes.
“I like it.”
Min Joo-ri was surprised by the answer, but only for a moment.
“But I only like you as a friend, not as a person of the opposite sex.”
Minjoo-ri’s expression hardened at the firm refusal.
It was an answer I expected, but when I heard it, it felt like a dagger was stabbing me in the chest.
“Sorry. “Because it wasn’t the answer I expected.”
“Oh, no. “Thank you for being honest.”
“… … .”
“… … .”
Silence came again between the two.
I’m suffocating in the silence, which is more awkward than before.
‘It hurts.’
This is what it feels like to be dumped by someone you have a crush on.
Min Joo-ri didn’t know what to say anymore.
My mind was completely blank, as if it had been formatted.
At a time when the awkward airflow continued to tighten around my throat, Ryumin was the first to break the silence.
“Sorry. But you are a really good friend to me. So much so that you don’t want to miss it.”
“… … .”
“So, can’t we forget about what happened now and just be friends like before?”
‘friend… … ?’
It was awkward.
Why do words that seemed close just a moment ago seem so far away?
‘Will we really be able to live without hesitation like before? ‘Are you going to make a confession out of nothing?’
Min Min-ri felt skeptical.
Maybe he opened Pandora’s box.
As Ryu Min said, I think delaying the answer might have been the correct answer.
“Juri.”
“Yes?”
“Because there is no answer. “Are we still friends?”
“Okay, then. “Friend, friend.”
Minjoo-ri suddenly became curious.
Is there a case where someone confessed to someone and then dumped him, but then went back to being friends again?
Is it right for us to go back to being friends as if we have erased what happened a little while ago from our memories?
“thank god. “Because we can remain friends.”
“… … .”
“Then, now I’ll tell you how to conquer the 15th round.”
“Yes… … .”
Min Joo-ri fell into confusion when her confession became as if it had never happened.
* * *
‘Did I hear that correctly?’
Ryu Min, who broke up with Min Ri, was worried for no reason.
This is because he seemed unable to concentrate while explaining the strategy.
‘I had no choice but to refuse the confession because he showed no signs of backing down any longer… … .’
I’m not sure if I did a good job.
We also heard Min Joo-ri’s complicated thoughts as she pondered whether they could go back to being friends.
‘Anyway, what do you think? All you have to do is conquer the round and that’s it.’
He also handed me an invisibility potion and told me how to attack the 15th round.
Although it will be difficult because the confession is rejected, Minjoo-ri will have no choice but to move forward in order to survive.
‘Honestly, I thought about erasing my memories with an memory erasure potion. But it would be a bit of a waste to use such a precious item to erase a confession.’
Contrary to what I had feared, Min Joo-ri did not look that shocked.
There is no need to erase the memory.
‘If we continue to be friends like before, Minjoo-ri will come to her senses someday.’
Ryumin returned home with that mindset and lay down in bed five minutes before midnight.
And when midnight came, my eyes slowly closed without me realizing it.
* * *
When I finally opened my eyes, a completely different world unfolded.
‘The 15th round begins.’
People appear one after another in a colorless space.
Ryumin stood in a daze and checked in his head what he had to do in this round.
‘The five core members who received the invisibility potion will not have any problems in the first mission, and the second mission will be easy to complete by using the members of the Church of Despair. And in the third mission, Christine’s performance is more important than anything else.’
Since you have healing as a temporary skill, protecting Christine should be no problem.
I also plan to keep an eye on this guy named Berber, so nothing unexpected will happen.
‘The only variable in this round is the angels… … .’
We never know when the Archangel will appear again.
He might have instigated the player like last time.
‘I can’t let down my guard.’
That time when you are wary of your surroundings.
“Ah, hello, Black Scythe.”
Someone came up and said hello.
