Chapter 37

Ga Joon-sik awkwardly moved aside to make space.

The Gothloli Elementary Student expressionlessly tidied up her desk and opened her workbook.

He glanced at it—it wasn’t for middle schoolers. It was a workbook for exam prep.

*Is this kid already solving stuff like that?*

Internally surprised, Ga Joon-sik decided to focus on the game first.

As an Otome Game Master, he knew exactly what to do in this situation.

First, an apology.

Making a mistake and then breaking the ice is one of the classic tropes in otome games.

“Sorry for touching your stuff without asking.”

“These days, apologies are just words, huh?”

“Want me to buy you a drink?”

“Do you think I’m the type to obsess over material things? If your apology were sincere, you’d have introduced yourself properly.”

Huh.

The conversation flowed more naturally than expected, leaving Ga Joon-sik flustered as he continued.

“Ah, I’m Ga Joon-sik.”

“Joon-sik. A nice name.”

The Gothloli Elementary Student replied briefly and went back to solving problems.

Ga Joon-sik sat there, dumbfounded.

Then he paused the game.

“What the heck just happened?”

—

*How would we know, lol.*

*Thought it wasn’t part of the game.*

*Why’s the NPC reacting like that?*

—

“Isn’t this not an NPC?”

NPCs are non-player characters.

Meaning, if it’s not an NPC, there’s a real person inside. And the only person who could be inside right now is one.

“Yoorim-nim? Is that you?”

No response.

Usually, when playing indie games, the creators try to communicate through donations, but it’s completely silent. A rare case.

“Is this AI? AI has improved a lot, but not to this level of intelligence, right?”

—

*Even before AI advancements, this was possible, lol. It’s just that the workload was insane, so no one bothered.*

—

True. In the end, interaction is just about getting the right output from the input.

If you expand the range of inputs and outputs to the limit, anyone could create such a realistic AI.

But since time isn’t infinite, no one does it.

“So, why is this elementary schooler in a prep class?”

—

*Ask her, lol.*

—

“Should I?”

Ga Joon-sik resumed the game and spoke to the Gothloli Elementary Student.

“I introduced myself. Why won’t you tell me your name?”

“This one is Han Yoorim.”

“Han…”

He paused the game again.

This was ridiculous.

“Why is your name the same as Han Yoorim-nim’s?”

—

*It’s not just the name—the design is identical to the VTuber’s avatar, lol.*

*Han Yoorim-nim’s Thierry is the original character, right? So the VTuber avatar looks a lot like Thierry, and this elementary schooler also resembles Thierry.*

—

Thierry?

Ga Joon-sik loved *Eternal World*. Despite chat begging him to stop, he consistently brought *Eternal World* into his content.

Of course, he knew Thierry too.

Her younger appearance, unique clothes, and speech made it hard to notice at first, but upon closer observation, she definitely looked like a younger Thierry.

“Your love for Thierry is intense.”

—

*Not as intense as your love for Eternal World, though.*

—

Ga Joon-sik thought. Since she’s an elementary schooler, she’s probably not a romanceable character. Maybe an Easter egg?

That made sense.

He’d have to keep playing to find out.

Resuming the game, Ga Joon-sik spoke.

“That’s a nice name.”

“If you’re just going to parrot my compliments, what do you think I’ll feel?”

He almost hit the pause button again but realized reacting to every little detail would stall the game.

Ga Joon-sik casually asked what he was curious about.

“Why are you here? Is one of your parents a tutor?”

“If I were the parent, I wouldn’t leave a child in this dreary place all day.”

“Then what?”

“The ‘Gifted Education Promotion Act.’ A special law that removes the age limit for taking the high school equivalency exam. Thanks to that, I’ve benefited.”

“There’s a law like that?”

It felt like a game convenience, but checking the chat, he saw it was actually enacted in real life about two years ago.

What a messed-up world.

As Ga Joon-sik clicked his tongue internally, Han Yoorim spoke.

“In a broken world, such drastic measures are necessary.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m in the 5th grade of elementary school this year.”

“Why are you so mature?”

At Ga Joon-sik’s words, Han Yoorim shook her head.

“Judging people by age is foolish. What matters is the quantity and quality of thought, not age. Surely you know that, Joon-sik?”

“Nope.”

“With that attitude, you won’t achieve much in this year’s college entrance exam. Have you already given up on our promise to enter Korea University together?”

“We never made that promise.”

Ga Joon-sik subtly glanced under the chair.

Small legs that didn’t reach the floor swung back and forth restlessly. The complete opposite of her expressionless demeanor.

No matter how mature she seemed, a kid was still a kid. Living with peers almost seven years older had to be stressful.

At least now she had someone to talk to, which should make her feel better.

Ga Joon-sik habitually raised his hand. Han Yoorim, keeping her eyes on the workbook, parted her lips.

“A word of advice—if you pat my head, you’ll find out just how strong my vocal cords are.”

“Sharp as ever.”

“How many times have you touched my head by now?”

“Do you think I’m jealous or something?”

The more you look, the cuter she gets. It’s obvious she’s been plotting this for a while.

Han Yoorim gave a sincere piece of advice.

“If you pat a girl’s head, you’ll be treated like an otaku, so be careful.”

“Kid’s heads are fine.”

“You need to take some memory-enhancing pills first. Judging people by age is foolish, as I just said— Wait a second.”

Ga Joon-sik couldn’t resist and ended up patting Han Yoorim’s head. It was more like messing it up than patting, but after satisfying his urge, he felt much better.

Han Yoorim sighed, fixing her hair as she spoke.

“Now, please don’t come within 1 meter of me. I don’t keep beasts who don’t listen to people around.”

“I’ll buy you tteokbokki and fried food.”

“Offering tribute changes the conversation.”

Kids can be solved with tteokbokki.

“Should I get you a slushie too?”

“You should choose your words carefully. I’m smart enough to understand, but kids these days won’t know what you’re talking about.”

“…I don’t know what a slushie is.”

“Joon-sik, you’re a repeat student, so you must be 19, but you oddly seem like 30.”

Gasp.

As Ga Joon-sik was caught off guard by the accurate age guess, Han Yoorim laughed and pointed at him with a pen.

“Even though your body has shrunk, your brain remains the same, great detective.”

“Do kids these days even know that?”

“Tsk tsk. On the contrary, kids know it well. It’s no coincidence that the target audience for the movie isn’t children.”

This was new information.

Ding dong. The bell rang. It was class time.

The instructor came in, and the lecture began.

Do I really have to sit through all of this? Just as that thought crossed his mind, the screen changed.

It was lunchtime.

The game had that much flexibility.

“Tteokbokki, tteokbokki—.”

Han Yoorim hummed an incomprehensible song next to him. Ga Joon-sik muttered to himself.

So when does the heroine show up?

This kid can’t be the heroine, right?

“Joon-sik.”

Han Yoorim spoke solemnly.

Ga Joon-sik replied nonchalantly.

“Give your orders.”

“I’m hungry.”

“Can’t handle spicy food?”

“I’m a tteokbokki fundamentalist who considers market tteokbokki as the root. I don’t consider those capsaicin-filled tteokbokki that are everywhere these days as real food.”

Hearing that, Ga Joon-sik took out his smartphone and checked nearby restaurants.

Ga Joon-sik is also from the era of market tteokbokki. He could tell which ones had that old-school flavor just by looking at the pictures.

“There’s one nearby. Let’s go.”

“Squid fry, shrimp fry—.”

Taking the excited Han Yoorim, they arrived at a snack bar and ordered four servings of tteokbokki and three servings of fried food.

The food came out quickly, and Han Yoorim was impressed.

“With your slim build, it’s amazing how all this fits in.”

“I have more muscle than it looks.”

“Men need to show off.”

Ga Joon-sik picked up an egg with his chopsticks.

Hoho. As he cooled the hot egg and put it in his mouth, a spicy flavor spread.

The broth from the fish cakes kept the seasoning intact, creating a sticky, MSG-filled taste.

It was certain. It was the same taste from back in the day.

Moved, he ate another egg.

People who are good at cooking are usually good at it. This tteokbokki place even boiled the eggs perfectly.

His appetite exploded.

Ga Joon-sik couldn’t resist and put another egg in his mouth.

“……”

Then Han Yoorim looked at him.

Why is he like this?

Han Yoorim muttered softly.

“I was saving those eggs to eat later…”

The kid’s lips pouted. Her tone returned to normal. It was a critical situation.

Ga Joon-sik quickly raised his hand and shouted.

“Auntie, 10 boiled eggs here, please!”

“I can’t eat that much…”

“Sorry! I’ll just add 5 more!”

Barely managing to salvage the situation, Ga Joon-sik wiped his forehead.

Living alone for too long made him unconsciously act like a psychopath.

Meanwhile, the blue-haired girl next to them eating tteokbokki screamed. She must have forgotten her wallet.

These days, NFC payments are common, but it seems young people don’t know how to use new technology. She’s too behind.

“Here are your 5 eggs.”

“Thank you.”

The girl looked really troubled, but Ga Joon-sik averted his gaze and handed the eggs to Han Yoorim.

This was more urgent right now.

“Don’t be mad. I’ve been eating alone for too long because of my exam prep.”

“I’m very understanding. I’m not even bothered anymore.”

Watching Han Yoorim happily eat the eggs, Ga Joon-sik smiled warmly.

Then he suddenly tilted his head.

So.

When is the heroine showing up?