WTFUDLS 51

Chapter : 51

The weather was nice.
Not too hot, not too cold.
Summer was almost over, and autumn was just beginning.

It was that brief moment of the year when summer and fall overlapped — a kind of weather you could only feel right then.

Noeul, who had been sitting on a stone wall, stood up.
From the subway entrance, Jiwoo was walking toward her.

She was wearing a checkered skirt and a black short-sleeved T-shirt. The slightly fitted V-neck top accentuated Jiwoo’s curvy figure.

Jiwoo waved brightly, smiling.

Maybe it was because of the weather, or because she greeted her that way — but for a moment, it felt like they were a couple meeting for a date.

Of course, that’s not how anyone else would see it.

Noeul felt awkward seeing Jiwoo dressed up more prettily than usual.
But she couldn’t show that awkwardness — it would reveal her thoughts.
That she felt like they were on a date, just the two of them.

Noeul walked toward Jiwoo as casually as possible.
She made sure her eyes didn’t dart around too much and looked at Jiwoo calmly, trying not to avoid her gaze.

Jiwoo, looking cheerful, said,

“The weather’s soooo nice today.”

“Seriously. How did it get this cool in just a few days?”

“Right? It’s not hot at all in the mornings and evenings anymore.”

“So it could’ve been this cool all along, huh? Damn Earth.”

Jiwoo laughed in a high tone.
Noeul’s heart fluttered.

Bzzz.
Bzzz.

Jiwoo’s phone vibrated. She glanced at the screen.

“Oh, it’s Hansol. Hello?”

As she listened, her expression turned worried.

“What? …You’re really sick? …Mhm. …Well, that can’t be helped. …Merch? Okay, I’ll make sure to get some. …Yeah. Get some rest, okay? I’ll call later. …Mhm.”

She hung up.

Noeul asked,

“What happened?”

“Hansol says she caught the flu. Has a fever, coughing a lot. She said she can’t come today.”

“Oh… I see.”

“Yeah. So it’s just the two of us. She asked if we could grab some of the merch for her.”

“Mmm…”

Noeul felt suspicious. Very suspicious.

If Hansol wasn’t feeling well, she must’ve known since morning.
Why was she only saying it now, right when they were supposed to meet?
In the group chat earlier, she hadn’t said a word about feeling sick — she sounded totally fine.
And knowing Hansol, if she couldn’t come, she would’ve said so hours in advance.

“Park Hansol, you little…”

Come to think of it, it was Hansol who’d suggested this “movie expo” thing in the first place.
Even back then, Noeul had wondered, ‘Since when does she care about movies?’

Could it be that she planned this from the start?

Noeul couldn’t accuse her of anything — she only had suspicion, no proof.
If she did, Hansol would just say, “I really am sick! How can you be so mean to a sick friend?”

Noeul said to Jiwoo,

“So what do we do? Since Hansol can’t make it.”

She didn’t really care what Jiwoo thought — they were already there.
If she’d asked before leaving home, that’d be different, but now, Jiwoo would definitely say:
“Well, since we’re already out, let’s just go, the two of us.”

That way, Noeul could later say, “Hey, I asked what you wanted to do — it’s not like I suggested going alone.”

As expected, Jiwoo said,

“Well, since we’re here, let’s just go, the two of us.”

“…Yeah, okay.”

They walked together, checking directions on a map app.

“Do you even know what this is?” Noeul asked.

“What? The movie expo?”

“Yeah.”

“Nope, no clue.”

“…So confident.”

“Do you know?”

“No.”

“Then what the heck.”

“I’m just saying it’s nice that you’re confident! I didn’t mean anything.”

“Why’d you even agree to come if you didn’t know what it was?”

“Does it matter? We were just gonna hang out together.”

“Same.”

They joked around like that until they reached the venue.

Both of them stopped and stared.

“…”
“…”

Jiwoo looked as if she’d just seen a bug corpse.

“…Is this really it…?”

“…Seems like it…”

Whether Hansol meant it or not — well, Noeul was pretty sure she did — she’d left out a key word.

[ Horror Movie Expo ]

And calling it an “expo” was misleading — it was more like an interactive haunted house.

Jiwoo stepped closer to Noeul.

“Ugh… I’m scared…”

She really did seem frightened.
Not that Noeul was worried about her — he just thought she looked cute when she was scared.

He figured this was a great chance to see that cute side of her, comfort her a little, maybe even make her rely on him a bit — show off a cool side while pretending not to care.

Then he immediately cringed at himself.

What a stupid, juvenile thought.

Still, he couldn’t help it. Who doesn’t think that way sometimes? That’s how people end up flirting, dating, falling in love.

But not him.
Noeul couldn’t let himself think that way.

For someone like him — who had no chance, no mutual interest — to feel that way was just pathetic.
If only he was the one feeling fluttery while Jiwoo wasn’t, that made him just… creepy.

“Maybe we should just skip it,” he said.

“No way. Hansol asked us to buy the merch, remember?”

“…”

Park Hansol… How far ahead did you plan this?

He reluctantly bought a ticket and followed Jiwoo inside.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. He had asked if they should skip it — and Jiwoo had said to go.
So it wasn’t his fault.

He was almost grateful to Hansol for giving him an excuse — for letting him tell himself it couldn’t be helped.

The farther they went in, the darker it got.

Jiwoo clung close to him, their arms brushing.

Noeul wondered what it must look like to an outsider.
Probably like some creepy guy who’d dragged a girl here just to make her scared.
Whenever Jiwoo shrieked and clung to him, people would probably sneer at how gross he looked, pretending to be calm while secretly enjoying it.

He hated the thought.

Even if he didn’t grin or say “Don’t worry, it’s fine,” just standing there would still look gross — because people could see he was enjoying it inside.

Noeul didn’t want to be that kind of guy. Not to himself, not to others, and especially not to Jiwoo.
The last thing he wanted was for Jiwoo to think he was like all those immature, sleazy guys.

So he decided he’d make absolutely sure she couldn’t even imagine that he might feel that way.

A staff member dressed as a zombie droned in a lifeless tone:

“Please hold the safety bar and move forward. Do not hit or attack the actors even if you get scared. If you wish to quit midway, press the emergency button on the wall. Now, please enter.”

Jiwoo looked even more nervous after that.

“Wait, people actually quit midway? How scary is this supposed to be?”

“They’re just saying that to freak you out. Like, ‘Oh, it must be terrifying if they tell you how to quit,’ right?”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Me? Not at all.”

“Really?”

As she said that, Jiwoo lightly grabbed his arm.

In the darkness, her hand brushed his skin — and goosebumps ran down his body.
He couldn’t tell if it was from fear or excitement.

He swallowed hard. Focus.

Then he smacked her hand away.

“What are you doing? That’s not like you. Handle it yourself — be strong.”

“Ugh…”

Apparently she didn’t like being called “weak,” because she quickly let go.

They moved forward slowly. Then something like a strand of hair brushed Noeul’s forehead.

He froze — and then overreacted completely.

“AAAH! What the hell! Jesus, that scared me!”

Startled, Jiwoo screamed too.

“What?! What happened?!”

She clung to his arm.

“Get off me!” he said.

“Why?”

“Because I’m scared!”

“That’s why I’m holding on!”

“No way. Your long hair makes you look like a ghost!”

Even to himself, he sounded snappy. Jiwoo reluctantly let go.

“Tch… But you said you weren’t scared.”

“Yeah, well. Turns out I am. Scared as hell.”

He stumbled forward, flailing at every little thing — enough to make even the actors in ghost makeup raise an eyebrow.

Near the end of the exhibit, they entered a long corridor.
On both sides stood figures wrapped like mummies.

The atmosphere genuinely creeped Noeul out.

They walked slowly between the mummies.
Nothing happened — almost to the end.

“Maybe it’s just supposed to feel creepy—”

And then, suddenly, all the mummies turned their heads toward them at once.

“Gasp…”

Noeul felt his pupils dilate in the dark.

One of the mummies lunged at them with a shriek.

At that instant, something soft, warm, and sweet-smelling fell into his arms.

He looked down — Jiwoo was trembling against his chest.
She didn’t scream; she was too terrified to even make a sound.

Noeul froze, arms awkwardly half-raised like a scarecrow.

It was like a baby kangaroo clinging to him… or a blob of slime sticking to him.

The scent of her shampoo filled his nose, making his head spin.
His heart pounded like someone was hammering on his chest.

He wanted — so badly — to hug her back tightly, to bury his face in her hair and breathe that scent in deeper, to lose himself completely.

But if he did… what would she think of him?
She’d think he was some lust-crazed creep taking advantage of her fear.
If he were handsome, maybe it’d look romantic — but him? Never.

She might’ve said he wasn’t ugly, but still… she’d be disgusted. Definitely.

So he just patted her arm a couple of times.
He didn’t push her away — just tapped lightly, pretending it was to comfort her.

Jiwoo looked up at him with teary, wide eyes.

She was so close.

He couldn’t breathe. His heart raced faster than when the ghost jumped out.

Noeul forced himself to peel her off.

“Hey. You scared me even more! You — yeah, you! With your hair flying everywhere, you scared the crap outta me. Why’d you scream like that? Did that mummy hit you? Swear at you? You just assumed it’d hurt you because of how it looked, huh? Did you even think about how that mummy must feel?”

He rambled nonsense, not even knowing what he was saying.

Jiwoo sniffled, her voice trembling.

“…You’re right. I shouldn’t judge by appearances… Maybe… maybe those bandages are a fashion statement…”

Her voice wavered between talking, sniffling, and almost crying.

Noeul couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.