A crowd, drawn by the music, walked towards the stage.
They found a place to sit quietly in order to avoid making even a slight disturbance.
Then they pulled out their cellphones and sent texts to their friends.
'Jung Hyo Rin's singing on the lake concert stage. Come quickly!'
As ever, she sang with a magical voice.
She wasn't the youthful high school student she had been, but a woman who was now learning to truly love.
The magical voice did not convey sadness and grief, but was weeping to be taught about love.
Jung Hyo Rin did not look at the piano.
She looked at the Lee Hyun who was sitting right next to her, as she sang with her sparkling obsidian eyes.
Chapter 7: Smith's Curiosity
Weed returned to Nekan Castle with a haggard face.
The hunting without breaks inside Kramado Dungeon!
He could still a gain considerable amount of levels and items, but with his exhaustion, he incurred an Overwork Hex and fell into critical condition. His current Vitality and stats weren't even a third of what they originally were.
Weed entered a Tavern after purchasing a sack of peanuts, an onion, and garlic.
“Give me one half stout!”
He ordered beer and took a swig.
— A small amount of Vitality has been restored.
You are in a state of severe Overwork.
He felt he might live now.
'It wasn't just hunting; the festival was wearisome too.'
The first festival of his youthful college life and it was boring to him!
'I can't relax like the others when it's time to make money. If I ate whatever I wanted to eat, played everything I wanted to play, and did whatever I wanted just like other people, then when would I be able to make money?'
These days, even little kids knew about the gap between the rich and the poor.
In Weed's perspective, a child who comes to kindergarten riding the foreign car their parent drives is full of confidence and dignity. However, a child who comes riding a school bus is somewhat intimidated.
“You….”
“Huh?”
“You use a Monami ballpoint pen for writing.”
[T/N: Monami is the name of a Korean company. It's a little more expensive to use a Monami.]
“My mom was laid off… Next month, I'll replace it with a Japanese-made pen.”
It was a conversation between kindergarteners from Weed's dream.
In truth, having money or not made a difference in even little things.
When eating the food on their lunch trays, a kid from a well-off family will dip their sausage in ketchup and eat it first. But kids from poor families ate their bean sprouts or vegetables first.
The obsession that the sausage needed to be saved for last.
Lee Hyun acknowledged his inferiority complex.
'Kids who grew up drinking white milk can never be the same as those who grew up drinking strawberry milk.'
His heartfelt theory on strawberry milk struck a chord in his heart!
As he drank his beer, Weed recalled the things that happened in the festival.
Jung Hyo Rin's live concert lasted until dawn.
It kept going as encores continued to be called out, and since she was grabbing onto Lee Hyun's hand, he had to stay with her.
'And that wasn't all, was it?'
If it had just ended there, his vitality wouldn't be so severely exhausted like this.
On the last day of the festival, the seniors spoke to Seo Yoon.
“Seo Yoon, you've gotta enjoy the festival too. Are you just going to work here?”
90 % of the pub's customers came to see her, but her upperclassmen gave her freedom.
“At least go out and take a look around. Everyone should participate in the festival together. Is there maybe someone you would like to go out and play with?”
In response to her seniors' goodwill, Seo Yoon reflexively stared at Lee Hyun.
Lee Hyun immediately smiled brightly for her.
“Alright. Don't worry about the pub and go enjoy the festival.”
The pub was a success and since the orders went well, it seemed there were almost no ingredients left. If they closed early at 8 pm, he could go home and log into Royal Road.
Lee Hyun was one to refuse even a date with Seo Yoon if he had 2 hours to spare in Royal Road.
“Lee Hyun.”
The reserve forces who came back from the army did not miss the delicate matter.
[T/N: In Korea, all able men are required to train in the army for two years. They come back as reserve forces.]
“Yes. Sunbae.”
“Although we can't believe it, looks like Seo Yoon wants you. Go guide her around the festival.”
Since he couldn't refuse his reserve force upperclassmen, Lee Hyun was forced to take on the role of a festival guide.
“Argh, I envy him.”
“Ah, I can guide you well too…”
In the midst of the seniors' and customers' envy, Lee Hyun and Seo Yoon left the pub together.
She changed from the wedding dress into casual clothing, but her beauty was still enough to make the eyes of the men who came to check out the festival pop out. The men who passed them looked back again with expressions of disbelief and did not move.
“Shall we go?”
Lee Hyun suddenly grabbed Seoyoon's hands.
Jung Hyo Rin had liked holding hands to the point of not letting go, so he held Seo Yoon's hand first believing that she probably wouldn't dislike it. It wasn't manly courage, but the festival crowds were large, so his main reason was that it seemed they were going to get separated if they didn't hold hands.
“…”
Soft and tender, her hands were surprisingly warm.
He felt Seo Yoon's body go rigid after he grabbed her hand, but she soon relaxed.
“Is there something you want to do?”
When Lee Hyun asked, Seo Yoon couldn't answer.
Although her voice got stuck whenever it came to speaking, it was also because she had never looked around a college festival before.