Jangmi

I’m really thirsty.

The first thought that Jangmi had as soon as she entered the mall was that she wanted a beverage. After a long first day back at school, which consisted of mostly useless introductions of both her classmates and teachers, all she really wanted was to sit down and relax and then maybe do some window shopping. Her first semester as a college senior literally just started and she was already tired of it.

Checking the time on her mobile, the female proceeded towards the food court to grab herself a beverage.  She would kill to have a taro milk tea with boba in her hands right now. Her eyes traveled to the line of the only tea shop in the entire mall—it was so long that the line started to curve around the food court, causing her to groan in irritation. The one day she goes to the mall just to get her favorite drink and the line is as long as one from an amusement park. Great, just great.

Turning on her heel, she decided to do a lap or two around the mall until the mob at the cafe died down; she’d rather not just stand in line aimlessly.

Her quick strides turned into somewhat of a long wander as she found herself right in front of a game shop she’s never seen before and from the looks of it, the place was definitely not new. With a pout of confusion, she slowly made her way through the entrance. This mall has been around for at least a decade, and she was here when it first opened. Jangmi knew this place like the back of her hand, so why did she never notice a shop like this one?

Her fingers gently pushed the glass door open, causing the bells at the top to jingle lightly. The middle-aged man at the counter suddenly sat upright in his seat and smiled at her as he pushed his glasses up from the tip of his nose. The place was empty, dusty, and reeked of cheap air freshener. As much as she wanted to run out to escape this creepy dump, she was oddly drawn to a dimly lit corner of the room that was blocked by a couple of shelves.

Although she was a little timid to go near it at first, she figured that it wasn’t much of a big deal to check it out. What she saw wasn’t much at first glance. An old dusty wooden shelve with boxes labeled ‘Action & Adventure’ didn’t really spark much of an interest in her. The sight of a spider web turned her off even more. She turned around to leave but was instead welcomed with a familiar eight-legged bug in front of her face. Suppressing her squeal painfully, she backed up with a hand clasped over and knocked into the shelf, startling her even further. Something had dropped on the top of her head, causing her to rub the hit area.

“What the hell…” The female mumbled to herself. With a glance downwards, she realized that what had fallen over was the container of a video game. Jangmi would have been lying if she said that she didn’t find the cover intriguing. Unconsciously kneeling down, she picked up the game gently and realized that it was a game meant for her PSP—which, in all honesty made her even more drawn to it. Her eyes scanned over the title of the game.

Sweet Nothings.

With a pout etched onto her face, she flipped it over to the back for a better description. Her cheeks flushed a light pink as soon as she read what it was all about

‘Which boy will steal your heart?’ That caption itself was enough to reel her in. It was a little embarrassing to purchase a dating simulator game; but she continued with reading the summary of the game.

‘It’s your last year in college and it’s time for you to finally get a boyfriend,’ she realized that the situation sounded familiar to her own (except for the “finally getting a boyfriend” part). It was, however, her final year at the university and she’s never been in a romantic relationship—though she didn’t really need one, considering she’d rather not waste her time on something so useless that’ll only hurt her in the end (that’s what she thought at least). But maybe, this game could be entertaining for her; she wouldn’t have any feelings of romantic attachment.

‘You’ve finally moved out of your house and into a townhouse owned by your parents, there’s one catch though…’ Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and slight terror. It was like this game description was a reenactment of her current life. However, she was sure there was no catch into moving into her new townhouse (not that she knew of, at least).

‘Four hot guys will be living with you until your graduation!’ Now that sounded a bit far-fetched; her eyes flattened as she pursed her lips at the cheesy scenario. ‘Who will be the man of your dreams?’ Although that line made her cringe, it still for some odd reason sent her heart into a flurry of emotions—she didn’t know why she felt so compelled to buy it, it was as if someone was whispering in her ear for her to purchase the item in her hands. With a final sigh, she walked towards the counter. The middle-aged man smiled at her. His eyes seemed tired, his hair was beginning to white but his overall aura was comforting—it was as if she knew him for a long time, like an uncle.

“Did you find everything alri-” Eyes widening, the man quickly took the game that was placed onto the counter and into his hands. His gaze switched back and forth between the game and Jangmi. “Where did you find this?” He asked curiously. “It was on the shelf in the back, it fell down in front of me.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. It looked as if he wanted to say something, but he just couldn’t.

“It’s on the house; I wouldn’t want you to pay for… a game like this.” Her hand rested on top of her purse. She felt bad for not having to pay at all, so she still handed him some cash. “If I can’t pay for it, then I’ll just give this to you as a tip. So please, don’t refuse it.” He couldn’t resist the kind smile that she gave and he accepted the cash hesitantly. His name tag had the name ‘Bang Si Hyuk’ and she made a mental note to remember who the nice man was.

“If you have questions—anything at all—don’t hesitate to come back here and ask me. Okay?” The female wasn’t really sure what he meant by that, but she only nodded her head to indicate that she understood.

As Jangmi exited the empty store, her eyes glanced down at the game in her hands. Not wanting others to see that a girl like her had a romance game, she stuffed it into her purse. She had a responsibility to not embarrass her family name and if anyone recognized her, she would never hear the end of it.

Her mo