My Solo Third Playthrough

Chapter 6 – Street Pickup for the Test (2)

Si-un walked confidently. Towards her.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes?!”

She was startled more than necessary.

Si-un continued speaking while forcefully holding back the laughter that was trying to escape.

“I’m sorry, but I saw you and liked what I saw. Do you remember when our eyes met just now?”

“What? Oh, no, they didn’t.”

Though she was smiling broadly, she seemed to be trying to slip away subtly.

Si-un could immediately tell that the smile this woman was wearing meant approval.

“That’s strange. I’m sure our eyes met. And it wasn’t even from far away… Are you denying it now even though you remember?”

The woman finally burst into laughter at Si-un’s playful attitude.

‘She’s definitely not someone who’s only dated once or twice. Plus, she’s not showing much shyness in her response. Should I go for the kill right now.’

Lee Si-un smiled slyly.

“Can I take that laugh as a positive sign? It’s not often that someone smiles when a stranger suddenly starts talking to them, right?”

“Ah…”

She let out a small sigh while maintaining an expression that suggested she wasn’t opposed to the situation.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to buy you a coffee. Do you have time?”

“Ah… coffee?”

“Do you have other plans?”

“Ah, no. I don’t have any plans…”

The woman slightly twisted her body while looking down at the ground with a smile.

A positive body signal.

The game was already over.

And too quickly at that.

“If you don’t have any specific plans, I’d like to chat with you. I won’t take up much of your time. I see a café over there. Shall we kill some time drinking sweet coffee together?”

“Um… are you buying?”

“Of course!”

Lee Si-un felt like performing a celebratory uppercut gesture with his clenched fist.

It wasn’t because he was happy the woman had fallen for it.

He was satisfied with the fact that he had perfectly read someone else’s mind using body signals.

It felt like being a genius.

“Hmm…”

After letting out a contemplative sigh for a moment,

The woman’s lips, covered in tint, twitched slightly as she nodded gently.

Si-un immediately took her to a coffee shop not far from there.

“What would you like to drink?” Si-un asked.

“I’ll have a caramel macchiato.”

“So you like sweet things.”

“Yes, well.”

Si-un took out his wallet, paid for the coffee, and sat down.

Making eye contact with her made him feel somewhat embarrassed inside.

It was Si-un’s first experience approaching a woman he’d just met and immediately engaging in conversation like this.

Though it wasn’t flirting, but rather an experiment.

“By the way, where do you live?”

The woman, who had been rather quiet and awkward until now, suddenly asked with a slight smile, becoming more proactive.

“I live in Seodaemun district. Around here.”

“Ah… I see.”

“How about you?”

“I live quite far from here…”

“Where exactly?”

“Daechi-dong.”

Si-un fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

‘Daechi-dong means Gangnam…. She lives in a nice area.’

Their ordered coffee arrived, and Si-un got up from his seat, gracefully brought the coffee over, and placed it carefully in front of her.

“Ah, thank you.”

She said with a bright smile.

A pleasant sweet aroma wafted up from the steaming coffee cup.

Si-un contemplated what to say next before speaking.

“How old are you?”

“Ah… I’m quite old.”

“How old exactly?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“How is that old?”

Although it was four years older than Si-un’s current age, twenty-seven seemed quite young to him.

He had lived up to thirty-four years in his second life.

Though it ended up leaving a bitter taste in the end…

Well, anyway.

“For a woman, twenty-seven is not exactly young.”

“You’re not even thirty yet. What nonsense is this, saying such things when you’re in your prime?”

Si-un said to her with a smile.

To her, these words must have been sweet flattery.

A smile spread across her face.

“How old are you?”

“Me? I’m thirty-fou… ah, no. Twenty-three.”

For a moment, he almost mistakenly stated his age from his previous life.

Si-un mentally told himself to ‘get it together.’

“Oh my, what’s this? You don’t even know your own age? But twenty-three… hehe, you’re just a baby.”

“A baby?”

It felt strange when a twenty-seven-year-old woman called him ‘baby.’

Adding up all the years he had lived through reincarnation until now, it was 36 years.

Si-un had eaten three meals a day for 9 more years than this woman.

‘Hahaha… Baby, huh…’

He could only laugh.

‘You are a baby. A baby. Twenty-three is such a good age. I’m so jealous~’

The woman rested her chin on her hand as she spoke, genuinely seeming envious.

Then she took a sip of her steaming caramel macchiato and let out a pleased exclamation.

‘Ah, delicious.’

As the sweet caffeine dissolved in her body, her face lit up once again.

Though she initially seemed somewhat reserved, her clear and innocent smile looked pretty.

‘What do you do? Are you employed?’

‘Ah… I’m currently preparing for employment. Are you a college student? Twenty-three is usually college age.’

‘Ah… I only graduated high school.’

‘Oh.’

The woman’s expression suddenly turned skeptical.

Her face showed disappointment at learning Si-un was only a high school graduate.

What was academic background anyway, that someone who wasn’t even an HR interviewer would frown upon first meeting?

Si-un felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

‘Must be tough preparing for employment.’

‘Well, yeah…’

‘Did you graduate from university?’

‘Of course! I graduated from a four-year university!’

Si-un found the word ‘of course’ irritating.

It probably felt that way because his highest education was high school.

‘Depending on circumstances, someone might not be able to go to university, right? Of course, huh… hmm.’

Anyway, Si-un gradually broke down the awkwardness as he made small talk with this woman.

Once they became somewhat friendly, they exchanged names, and the woman who introduced herself as Lee Ji-hyun suggested they speak casually to each other.

‘Call me noona. We can just speak comfortably with each other, you know.’

‘Noona… Okay. I’ll call you noona.’

‘Why do you say it like you didn’t want to call me noona? Si-un, were you planning to call me ‘hey’ instead?’

‘That’s not it.’

‘Right, right. A twenty-three-year-old baby should naturally call someone who’s lived four more years noona.’

Though his face nearly crumpled at her condescension, he managed a smile and maintained his expression.

‘I’ve lived 9 more years than you, you fool.’

As the conversation went on, Ji-hyun became more attracted to Si-un and started to flirt.

She made her voice more cutesy, actively laughed at everything Si-un said, and naturally progressed to physical contact by patting his shoulder.

She suddenly placed her hand over Si-un’s and began to tickle it playfully.

Every time Ji-hyun’s index finger gently rubbed against Si-un’s hand, it created an odd feeling.

‘She’s forward. But it’s been really long since I’ve had physical contact with a woman.’

It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant feeling.

Si-un simultaneously felt a sexual desire that slightly clouded his mind.

Ji-hyun led the conversation while showing reactions with her pretty face.

Then.

Drrrr-

“Hm? I think I heard a vibration. Isn’t that your phone ringing, noona?”

“Ah, no… It’s a call I don’t need to answer.”

Ji-hyun said this without even looking at the phone in her bag.

Her unstable appearance was clearly visible to Si-un.

‘The shirt hem covering her left chest is starting to flutter more distinctly. In other words, her heart rate is increasing. Her pupils are also shaking, and sweat is beginning to form on her left temple’s sweat gland. She’s lying.’

Si-un, scanning her with eagle eyes, spoke as the vibration sound continued.

“It keeps ringing. Just answer it. I don’t mind…”

Ji-hyun reluctantly rummaged through her bag and took out her phone at Si-un’s words.

However, instead of answering the call, she touched her phone to press the call block button.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“It’s a call I don’t need to answer.”

“Who’s calling?”

“Um… Dad.”

Her father’s call?

Si-un scanned her again.

She.

Was noticeably fidgeting, brushing around her mouth more than necessary.

He noticed her playing with her hair and making other distracting gestures. He could also see her unnaturally flexing her finger joints.

‘Not a call she doesn’t need to answer. But a call she must avoid in this situation.’

He wondered if it might be a call from her boyfriend.

Si-un’s gaze at Ji-hyun was now filled with suspicion.

“Shall we go out…? How about having a drink? I haven’t had dinner yet.”

“That call just now. It wasn’t your father, was it?”

“What?”

She flinched.

“That wasn’t your father calling.”

“No… it was.”

“Then why are you avoiding your father’s call?”

“Well, he keeps making a fuss about coming home early… My dad’s personality is just like that. Since I’m his daughter, and being a woman, he’s strict about curfew.”

Although Ji-hyun was skillfully making excuses, her unstable body signals were being completely caught by Si-un’s eyes.

‘Let’s set aside the speculation for now. Should I observe more.’

Drrrr! Drrrrrr!

The vibration sound of her phone continued to ring.

Si-un took a sip of his remaining coffee and opened his eyes wide.

In that moment!

The scene of her fiddling with her phone with both hands entered his vision in slow motion.

A moment flowing slowly in the world.

‘I can see it!’

Since Ji-hyun used the same series of phone as Si-un, the way of inputting consonants and vowels on her phone was the same as his.

In this moment when Ji-hyun’s knuckles were slowly tapping on the phone.

Si-un opened his phone and checked his own keyboard layout.

Simultaneously, he quickly scanned his phone’s keyboard layout and closely observed each joint of her moving fingers.

‘I can definitely see it. Since it’s the same input method as my phone, I can see what she’s typing.’

Without even looking at her phone screen, Si-un began to catch what message she was typing just by her hand movements.

Just from that momentary finger movement.

He pieced together the consonants and vowels she input in his mind.

[‘Baby, I’m in a lecture right now. I’m really busy. I’m not mad about what happened yesterday. You know I love you!! Silly~~’]

This was what she had typed on her phone.

‘Noona…. you have a boyfriend.’

‘Huh? W-what are you talking about? If I had a boyfriend, would I have come when you asked me to come here?’

Si-un didn’t need to think about anything else.

He had already confirmed the evidence with his amazing eyes.

‘I’m going to leave now. Go answer your boyfriend’s call.’

‘What?!’

Si-un stood up from his seat with a cold voice.

And just as he was about to turn his back, she grabbed his arm.

‘Hey! Where are you going?’

‘Let go. I don’t want to mess with a woman who has a boyfriend.’

‘Ha…. This is ridiculous. What are you suddenly talking about?’

‘I may have been the one who tempted you first, but if you have a boyfriend, isn’t it your duty to reject such temptations and give everything to him?’

Si-un spoke calmly and walked out of the coffee shop with composure.

Then, from behind, came the sound of heels roughly hitting the ground.