Chapter 137: Thin Ice
In media mixes, board games always bring about bad results.
Usually, it's a devil's board game, or a board game where bad things happen. In any case, it was clear that nothing good ever came from them.
Especially since they're called isolation objects.
It might only be a matter of time before a romance board game completely turns into a death board game.
"You look worried."
I was watching Yu Daon, who was fidgeting with the dice, with unease when Jang Chae-yeon, who had approached without me noticing, sat down beside me.
"Ah, Ms. Chae-yeon."
"Is something worrying you?"
Is something worrying me? Of course there is.
"It's just... I'm worried that something might go wrong while we're doing this."
Considering past cases, wouldn't it be more strange if nothing happened?
"It won't."
As soon as I finished speaking, Jang Chae-yeon shook her head in denial.
"This is a pretty famous board game at the Management Bureau."
"...Really?"
"A lot of office romances start with this."
Now that's surprising.
"But is the number of people right for this? The genders don't match, and one person is a married man."
I couldn't bring myself to refuse the intense, pleading look in Park Ye-eun's eyes from behind them. How could I refuse a kid younger than my own sister looking at me so pitifully? At the very least, I had to extend a helping hand...
"It's fine."
"No, but still..."
"It's fine. No problem."
"Um, Ye-eun is only seventeen..."
"The board game accounts for all that."
"...Understood."
Also, I don't have the ability to win against Jang Chae-yeon.
I'm sorry.
Ignoring the pitiful gaze, I look at the board.
Basically, it was a very simple board game.
A square board with a space for cards, designed similarly to a game like Parcheesi.
The only difference was an electronic display in the center showing a number.
As for the components...
Six game pieces. A die, and a deck of laminated cards.
"The victory condition is..."
Let's see.
I read the enclosed instructions.
[The Board Game of Love]
[Roll the dice and move one lap around the board!]
[Draw a card from the space you land on and 'must' act according to what is written on the card.]
[Afterwards, the love formula is automatically calculated, and the couple with the highest love score wins, receiving a small prize!]
[We sincerely thank you for using our stationery company's board game!]
The rules themselves are easy. It doesn't seem like it'll take as long as I thought.
I sit next to the Team Leader.
"..."
The Team Leader looks at me with a face full of tension.
"Jae-heon."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"I'm really scared."
What?
Hearing that, I suddenly became afraid too and scrutinized the area above the Team Leader's head.
[Name: Heo Chan]
[Age: 49]
[Trait: Complacency]
[Talent: Crisis Detection]
[Background: This man is currently in danger of suffering a social execution.]
[Weakness: There's nothing to do but pray that he loves his wife very much.]
"Ah, it's nothing."
"Of course it's nothing. Me!"
Seeing it so transparently actually made me less worried.
"Eight!"
Yu Daon flung the dice.
It showed a 3.
"Then I'll move!"
Yu Daon moved three spaces and drew a card.
"What does it say?"
"Um..."
Yu Daon mumbled as she looked at the card.
"To the person you like the most among the men, give a gift you've wanted to give them, retrieved from your surroundings."
An ambiguous choice.
"A gift, but what kind... Huh?"
Yu Daon was mumbling when she suddenly shot up from her seat.
"Huh? Huh? My body is moving on its own...!"
Then, she walked robotically to her desk.
"Uh, no. Wait. That's not it!"
She took something out of her drawer, came over to me, and held it out.
Even though I'm clueless about makeup, I knew what this was.
It was a lip tint.
And one she had been using.
"...Uh, this is."
"Well, you see..."
With her face bright red, Yu Daon held out the tint with both hands and began rambling.
"No, I mean. It's probably because I didn't have many things at my desk, so I gave you this. You know what I mean?"
"Aren't you not using that tint?"
"...You're right..."
She mumbled, seeming embarrassed.
As soon as I took the tint, Yu Daon went "Ugh!" and, as if she had regained control of her body, walked back to her seat and sat down.
"Next is me, right?"
Then our intern, Park Ye-eun, threw the dice.
The number was 6.
Park Ye-eun drew a card.
"Sit next to the person you feel most comfortable with."
Silence.
Park Ye-eun didn't move.
The gazes of all five people turned toward her.
She had been sitting next to me since the game started.
"Well, of course it's the most comfortable, right?"
She looked at the others with an expression asking what they were talking about and pointed.
"Ahjussi." [Older man/Mister]
"Ahjussi is correct..."
The Team Leader.
"Scary."
"Yeees...?"
Pointing at Yu Daon.
"Uncomfortable."
"..."
Pointing at Jang Chae-yeon.
"Annoying."
"You little brat, do you have a death wish...?"
Pointing at Song A-rin.
"By process of elimination, Oppa is the most comfortable, right?"
Park Ye-eun smiled like a little devil.
She's definitely teasing me on purpose.
"Yeah, thanks. I'm a bit comfortable with you too."
It just feels like taking care of a younger sister.
"Next."
Jang Chae-yeon picked up the dice and, as soon as she finished speaking, rolled it.
The number was 5.
She moved her piece and, after drawing a card, began to read it.
"Sit on the lap of the person you have feelings for."
"Oh..."
The level just shot up.
Jang Chae-yeon stood up from her seat without a moment's hesitation.
She looked straight at me.
Yeah, I expected this.
Without a shred of doubt, she walked over to me.
"I'm going to sit."
"...Please do."
She sat on my lap.
From the side, Park Ye-eun whistled sharply, teasing us.
"Must be nice."
And the Team Leader laughed heartily.
Look at them all teasing us as if it's not their business.
"..."
As Jang Chae-yeon's body touched mine, a citrus scent wafted from her neck.
She's skinnier than I thought.
And soft, no. Wait.
To avoid having strange thoughts, I endlessly layered other thoughts on top.
Now that I think about it, I have to organize the performance reviews tomorrow...
"Um."
"...Yes."
The citrus scent grew stronger.
Jang Chae-yeon leaned completely against me and whispered in a small voice.
"I feel like I might fall, so hold my waist."
"..."
Sometimes, no. Lately, it seems like she often makes me flustered.
"Uh, well. Ms. Chae-yeon."
Even so, telling me to hold her waist is—
-Grab!
She reached back, took my hand, and placed it on her waist.
The warmth of her body temperature transferred to my hand.
"Mm. Like that."
Jang Chae-yeon turned her head and smiled softly.
"..."
"..."
Our eyes met.
"Four spaces."
-Click-clack...
The sound of dice rolling echoed through the silent office.
Song A-rin had picked up her piece and placed it on the board.
"...My turn isn't over yet."
Jang Chae-yeon muttered while looking at Song A-rin, and Song A-rin received her gaze with a smile.
"I threw the dice because a lot of time had passed. Did I disturb you?"
"Yes."
"I see. Shall I draw a card?"
She answered as if it were nothing and drew a card.
"Let's see."
"..."
Jang Chae-yeon looked at her with a blank expression, and Song A-rin's face turned bright red as she read the card.
"Th-this is insane."
I'm really getting anxious.
"What is it?"
At my question, Song A-rin hesitated several times.
She fidgeted with the card, groaning and turning it over.
"...Choose one person and kiss their neck."
"Is this insane?"
"Ouch..."
Without thinking, I strode over and snatched the card from Song A-rin to read it.
Because of that, Jang Chae-yeon suddenly had to get up from my lap, but that wasn't the important part.
<Choose a person you like and kiss their neck.>
It's real?
"Hey, we really shouldn't do something like this..."
"Hey, I, also, want to, do this..."
Grab! Song A-rin pulled my tie, and my body automatically moved closer to her.
"My body, won't, listen...!"
"If I push Ms. Song A-rin away..."
"That's against the rules...!"
"..."
Song A-rin shouted desperately.
She seems like the last person to follow rules, but surprisingly, she follows them well.
"Team Leader, why are you covering my eyes?"
"It's too stimulating for a minor."
I gave a thumbs up to the Team Leader, who had covered Park Ye-eun's eyes with a binder, and the Team Leader nodded as if he understood.
Still, how fortunate is it that the Team Leader is always the sane one?
"Then, shall I do it?"
"But why me?"
"Then should I do it to the women or the Team Leader?"
"That's a fair point."
Doing it to the other three would be awkward, and you definitely shouldn't do it to the Team Leader.
"Right, right. So it's unavoidable."
"..."
"It's really unavoidable? You're not doing this because you want to, are you?"
"Instead of saying that, hurry up and do it."
"...You're really going to do it? You will? Don't say anything to me after I do it."
"My only wish is for this game to end quickly."
I haven't even rolled the dice yet, but I'm already starting to feel tired.
Song A-rin, her face bright red, looked at me, then closed her eyes and pressed her lips against my neck.
A soft sensation touched my neck.
"Whoa."
A strange sensation tingled up from my spine, and as my body shuddered,
"..."
I looked down and saw Song A-rin with her eyes closed, her lips pressed against my neck.
"..."
"..."
She opened her eyes and looked up at me.
Our eyes met as I looked down at her.
-Sting!
"Ouch!"
Soon, a stinging sensation spread from my neck, and she hurriedly let go of my tie and stepped back.
"Th-there's probably a mark now."
"Probably, right?"
I looked at my neck in the office mirror.
A red mark remained.
I'll probably need to put a bandage on this or something.
"...Why only me..."
With Yu Daon mumbling resentfully in the background, the Team Leader threw the dice.
To be honest.
I'm most nervous about this.
What on earth does he have to do to save the Team Leader from social execution?
"...It's a 6."
The Team Leader moved his piece six spaces and reached for a card.
"..."
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly from the tension.
With a trembling hand, the Team Leader unfolded the card and slowly began to read the text.
"State the name of the most attractive member of the opposite sex."
"...!"
We have to be careful here.
I quickly turned my head.
The intern was already recording with her smartphone, and the other three were glaring at each other as if they didn't care about this scene at all.
I was the only one feeling tense along with the Team Leader.
"Hoo..."
The Team Leader let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth with a grave expression.
"...My wife...!"
"...!"
I found myself clapping without realizing it.
At least for this turn, the Team Leader avoided social suicide and execution.
With a tense expression, the Team Leader handed me the dice.
"Jae-heon."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"Do well."
"Of course I will."
It's not like I have anything to lose anyway.
I roll the dice.
"Two spaces."
I move my piece and draw a card.
Before I knew it, everyone's eyes were on my hand.
This is more burdensome than I thought.
I slowly begin to read the card.
"Sit next to the person you have had the most physical contact with."
Physical contact?
"Ah, that's probably me."
Song A-rin mumbled in a triumphant voice, crossing her legs.
"W-well. It can't be helped. I just kissed your n-neck, and all?"
"...If we count it that way, I'm not behind either. Since it's physical contact."
Jang Chae-yeon replied flatly, crossing her arms.
My legs moved as if they had become robots.
"Uh."
So that's what it meant.
It feels different from a mental attack. I don't get a headache.
Slowly, the place I headed toward was,
"Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?"
"...Uh..."
"Wait a minute, there's, um, a bit of a misunderstanding, I think..."
Yu Daon was frantically waving her hands, sweating cold sweat.
"Wow."
"Whoa."
The Team Leader and Park Ye-eun's gazes turned toward the two of us.
"..."
"..."
Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin were blinking, looking at us as if shocked.
"Um, Ms. Daon."
I did sleep with Yu Daon yesterday.
"Yes, yes."
As if she had committed a great sin, Yu Daon avoided my gaze.
"...By any chance, did something else happen?"
The color drained from Yu Daon's face.