I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 82

Episode 82

After the stains on their clothes disappeared to a reasonable degree, the two left the cafe and started walking again. Then, Jae-young naturally went into the subway station he found.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go to other places rather than just going around here?”

That’s good, but where is he saying we should go without any plan? It doesn’t seem like I’ve seen him holding his cell phone since we came out.

“…Do you have a place you looked up in advance?”

“No, I don’t.”

At his confident answer, Seung-hyun’s brows furrowed. He didn’t expect much, but he thought this was too much.

Jae-young passed by such Seung-hyun and found a tourist pamphlet to pick up.

“There’s something good here.”

Jae-young, who picked up a pamphlet with English notation, quickly looked through the contents inside. After looking through the paper with a subway map and tourist attractions listed together, Jae-young nodded as if he had decided.

“Alright. I’ve decided.”

“Where are we going? No, what are we going there for?”

It seemed better to ask the purpose since he wouldn’t know even if he was told the location. Jae-young thought for a moment and answered.

“Hmm, dinner?”

“What’s the menu?”

“We’ll have to decide that when we get there.”

In other words, he had no idea. Isn’t he just roughly saying let’s go to any busy area? Seung-hyun half gave up and followed Jae-young. Well, he thought it wouldn’t be the worst.

‘It’s been a while since I rode the subway.’

These days, he always took a taxi or a car, so he had no reason to take the subway or bus. But even if it had been a while, it was only half a year. Until then, he had been accustomed to riding it all his life, so there was nothing strange or awkward about it.

He naturally thought it would be the same for anyone, but it didn’t seem to be the case.

“…?”

Seung-hyun looked at Jae-young, who was creaking as if he was broken. Although it was in a foreign language, there was a button to change the language setting in a visible place, and using that, he could easily buy a ticket.

But Jae-young was moving awkwardly, slowly, and carefully as if this was his first time doing this. Seung-hyun, who was thinking if this was such a difficult thing, realized something and said,

“…Is it your first time?”

From the moment he was born until now, there was never a moment when Jae-young wasn’t a precious rich kid. He could count on one hand the number of times he had even ridden in a car driven by his parents, let alone a bus or subway.

When he was young, it was the chauffeur, and since he got his license, it was himself. In situations without his own car, he took a taxi. It was a life where he had no reason to take public transportation.

Still, he confidently stood in front, thinking this machine wouldn’t be difficult to use, but although it wasn’t difficult, he got a little lost because it was his first time.

“I can do it. It’s just a bit…”

“Yes, I’m sure you can do it. It seems like it will take about 10 minutes though.”

Even this person has things he can’t do, huh. Seung-hyun looked at him with interest and stepped to the side. It was an interesting sight, but it wasn’t a place to use alone, so it would be better to resolve it quickly.

“No. I can do it now. There was something a bit confusing.”

He tried to help, but Jae-young refused. He was really almost done.

“Do you know how to go in?”

“…”

He succeeded in pulling out the card like that, but the next part was more of a problem. Jae-young glanced at the people going inside and said,

“You put it there and go in.”

Boringly. If it was a station with few people, he could have watched him struggling, so Seung-hyun’s lips pouted in disappointment.

“Shall we go then?”

Although they got a little lost, in the end, the two were able to get on the subway without difficulty. After getting on the train, Jae-young looked around here and there as if it was more fascinating.

“There are no seats.”

“I know, right? There were quite a lot of people outside too.”

“Then we need to take the next train…”

“What nonsense are you saying? We just stand and go. Look over there.”

The subway wasn’t crowded, but all the seats were taken. Seung-hyun looked at Jae-young with a surprised face and pointed to one side.

There were a few people standing because there were no seats. Jae-young looked at them and awkwardly stood holding the handle.

“You probably had no reason to ride it either… but somehow you look used to it.”

“These days, I have nothing to do, so I watched a lot of movies and dramas…”

It was a weak excuse, but Jae-young didn’t sense anything strange. He just stood by the window and looked at the scenery outside.

“When I’m with you, I always have new experiences.”

It was just riding the subway, but perhaps it was because of the exhilaration of doing something he had never done before, or because he was sharing that experience with Seung-hyun, but it felt more exciting.

“Me too. You confidently came in here without any plan, and seeing you struggling not knowing how to buy a ticket…”

“Don’t make fun of me. That can happen.”

“It’s interesting.”

Seung-hyun said with a grin. Someone who always seems smug and skilled at things he does for the first time. Just seeing a new side of a person who seems to be able to do anything was enough to make today meaningful.

‘How many times will I be able to see this side of him?’

“Do you know how to ride the bus?”

“…I know that much without having to try it.”

“Should I check when we go back to Korea?”

Seung-hyun said in a playful voice. While thinking that he might not have trouble with buses since he doesn’t need to buy tickets, it also seemed like it would be interesting to think of Jae-young getting culture shock on a crowded, swaying bus.

‘Won’t he be shocked, saying how can this many people fit in a car?’

If he said we should take the next train even on a not-so-crowded subway, a packed bus would be a real shock. While curious about that face, Seung-hyun didn’t want to ride a jam-packed bus, so he soon stopped his meaningless imagination.

“I’ll get used to it quickly. I learn everything fast.”

“What a show-off.”

Seung-hyun snorted at Jae-young, who was speaking confidently. If he rides the 8:30 a.m. subway or bus, those words will disappear completely.

“Well, I’ll let you have that.”

Instead of refuting, Seung-hyun shrugged his shoulders. At his appearance without a hint of belief, Jae-young was about to complain about something but looked outside at the voice announcing the next station on the screen.

“Ah, this is it.”

After checking the pamphlet in his hand once more, Jae-young picked up his cell phone. After getting off at the station, Jae-young stood for a moment and fiddled with his cell phone.

“It’s 5:30 now, so…”

Although it had gotten dark outside, there was still some time left before the sun set. Jae-young looked at the sky and asked,

“It’s a bit early, but… what about eating dinner?”

They had been walking around for a while, but it wasn’t time to be hungry yet. Was he looking for a restaurant a little while ago? Seung-hyun thought about it and answered,

“Shall we walk around a bit more and then eat?”

“Hmm, about 30 minutes?”

“Okay.”

The place they arrived at was a busy area with many restaurants and stores. He wondered if there was a need to come all the way here to eat, but it didn’t matter since it wasn’t a place they came to after long consideration anyway.

“It definitely feels like winter.”

Seung-hyun said, looking at the items in the store visible through the window and the illuminations decorating the streets. Christmas had passed, but it was still winter, so only the trees had disappeared, and the streets were still full of lights.

“It’s more so here since it’s a tourist spot. Do you like it?”

“…Yes.”

Until now, he didn’t have the leisure to look at the changing street scenery each season. The sparkle unique to that season, discovered only in the winter that might be his last, was beautiful enough to leave an afterimage.

“I should probably buy some decorations for the house as a gift.”

“It’s pretty now because it’s winter. If you look at it later, it will just be familiar, not good.”

“Then in spring, we can change it to something that suits spring, and in summer, to something that suits summer. I’ll do it with you.”

Jae-young looked excited as if he was thinking of decorating his own house. Well, although he hasn’t been able to visit often these days because he’s busy, he did come and go as if it was his own house.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to bring in a cabinet and change the decorations inside according to the seasons? It would make you feel the passage of time.”

“…I guess so.”

He wasn’t sure if he could fill all four seasons, but it seemed like it would definitely be fun to just look at. He was just beginning to slowly discover his own hobbies and tastes that he hadn’t known due to the hardships of life, so it was a bit regrettable that he only had time left that couldn’t even complete a full turn of the seasons.

‘No. The time is not enough even for only good things, so let’s not get depressed over unnecessary thoughts.’

“I don’t have much talent in decorating, so you’ll have to help me, Jae-young.”

“There’s still a lot of empty space in the house, isn’t there? It will be fun to fill it up, so we’ll be busy when we return to Korea.”

Jae-young said with a grin. He was already thinking about what size the display cabinet would be good.

“That’s right. We have something to do as soon as we go back.”

Seung-hyun’s eyes met Jae-young’s and they laughed together. That house, which was too big to fill by himself, seemed just right for the two of them to be together.