The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

“It’s about time we start wearing winter clothes.”

I said that while looking out at the pitch-black window.

Well, to be exact, it wasn’t completely dark. The night in Seoul is bright. Even when most restaurants and shops are closed, 24-hour fast food places and convenience stores stay open. There were still quite a few cars on the road, and the night buses were still running.

The capital city at night isn’t completely dark either, but it’s nothing compared to this city that never sleeps.

It’s been about two months since I returned to this world. The weather, which had only been getting a bit chilly, had now reached the point where it could rightfully be called cold.

It wasn’t cold enough to be called midwinter yet, but if we didn’t start preparing winter clothes soon, we’d be caught without anything to wear when it really got cold.

Fortunately, tomorrow was Monday. Our day off.

“And while we’re out, we should check out a driving school. We’re free in the mornings anyway, so getting a license shouldn’t be too hard.”

Everyone except Mia, who clearly had no interest in getting a license, had fairly decent motor skills. Driving probably wouldn’t be much of an issue.

“Ah!”

And as soon as the word ‘license’ came up, someone’s eyes lit up.

There was no need to think too hard—of course, it was Claire. She absolutely loved things like this. When we went to the amusement park last time, she had been obsessed with the bumper cars.

So I knew she’d be excited about this—

“Unnie, there’s a specific license I want to get!”

—but I didn’t expect that.

“A specific license... you say?”

A specific license? Isn’t that what we were talking about?

Ah, maybe she means she wants to get a manual license? Claire seems like the type who’d enjoy the controls. Some car enthusiasts even go out of their way to buy manual cars.

My first license was also a Class 1 manual, but honestly, is it really necessary to get that kind of license these days? Even if manuals are cheaper, do most normal cars even come with that option?

“Yeah! This one!”

And on the smartphone Claire showed me—

“No.”

“Huh?”

—was a photo of a motorcycle.

Not even a scooter—one of those sleek, high-end motorcycles that looked like it could cost as much as a car.

You’d barely tap the accelerator and it’d take off like a rocket, and if you crashed, your body would be flung like a boulder from a siege weapon.

“...No?”

Claire instantly looked dejected.

Had I ever said no this firmly to Claire before?

Probably not.

Honestly... maybe I’m just being too uptight. I don’t really care if other people ride motorcycles. As long as it’s not one of those annoyingly modified ones that are super loud, it doesn’t bother me.

But when I imagine my little sister riding one, I just... can’t help but want to stop her.

“It’s dangerous. Even for people like us, an accident could mean serious injury.”

Or death.

“I’ll ride safely, I promise!”

Claire did her best to persuade me, but I shook my head again.

“It’s not just about how safely you ride.”

Even if you follow all the safety rules, not everyone else on the road will. If a car ignores the traffic laws and crashes into a motorcycle, the person in the car might walk away unharmed—but the motorcycle rider could die on the spot.

I mean... maybe I’m just biased? I’ve heard safety gear has gotten better these days and the fatality rate has gone down.

“Heee...”

“It does look kind of dangerous.”

While I was hesitating, Alice peeked at the photo and commented.

“If Sylvia’s going that far, maybe you really shouldn’t. Has she ever been this firm about anything since we got here?”

Uh.

No, now you’re making me question whether I should be this firm.

All the stats I’m thinking of are old anyway... and maybe saying this stuff is offensive to people who do ride motorcycles...

“...Instead, I’ll let you pick whichever car you want. Since we need one car that can fit everyone, how about the other one be whatever you like?”

“...Isn’t that a bit soft of you? You were so firm a minute ago.”

But she looked so sad.

Am I too soft-hearted?

Still, I didn’t want to completely shut her down and risk causing a rift. So I offered another option. It’s not like money’s an issue. Buying one slightly expensive car wouldn’t be a big deal.

And I trust Claire, too.

Claire wouldn’t pick something unreasonably expensive or hard to maintain.

“Really? I can?”

Seeing Claire perk up instantly told me I made the right choice.

It almost looked like even her tied-up hair bounced upward. Just my imagination, right?

When I glanced over at the others, Charlotte and Alice were both nodding with wry smiles.

And Mia... Mia just nodded silently without even the wry smile. She didn’t plan on driving at all, so she probably had no opinion.

I thought to myself, Thank goodness they’re all such good kids.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

*

First, we went out and bought winter clothes. Each of us got two thick outer layers and some warm inner layers... but they were so bulky, it was hard to carry everything around.

So we headed home, hung everything up, and went back out—this time to a nearby photo studio to get ID pictures taken.

...And only then did I take a closer look at the photo on my resident ID.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering how they got a photo for our IDs when we never had one taken.”

“...You’re only noticing that now?”

Yeah.

Why didn’t I notice that earlier?

The person in the photo was definitely me. Not even a black-and-white photo—an actual, proper ID picture.

I stared at it for a while before deciding not to overthink it. I put my wallet back in my pocket.

No point thinking too hard. The goddess probably made it. Some divine rule or whatever.

Then we went to the driving school and registered. It wasn’t school break season, so it wasn’t too crowded. Either that, or we just got lucky.

From the orientation, it sounded like the number of training hours required wasn’t too high. Come to think of it, that was the case when I first got my license, too.

Not that I passed right away back then...

...But since I’ve done it before, it shouldn’t be too hard this time.

Even if it was more than ten years ago.

Worst case, I’ll just ride in the car my sister’s driving.

...She does seem to enjoy it.

*

And then, a week later—

“Hey, unnie, don’t worry so much. Driving’s not that hard!”

“If it’s not hard, why did you fail?”

Alice tried to tease me from the side, only for Claire to clamp her mouth shut.

“It’s something you can just try again. No need to stress about it. And if it doesn’t work out, it’s not like you have to get a license.”

Charlotte’s well-meaning comfort somehow made it sting more.

“I-I don’t plan on getting one, so it’s fine!”

“...”

The thing is...

I had this dream where I’d get a cool car, pick everyone up, and drive us around.

I wanted to come off as this cool, capable native of this world, now that I was back.

But thinking back... I didn’t pass on my first try the last time either. And back «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» then, the in-course driving test had practically been phased out. Or maybe that’s why I failed this time?

Actually, I wasn’t that bad at driving.

It wasn’t even a manual car, so I couldn’t stall the engine. I only failed because I couldn’t memorize the route.

“I’ll try again next time.”

I nodded.

“I got the directions mixed up this time, but it won’t be a problem next time.”

“Didn’t the voice navigation guide you?”

“...”

“Unnie, don’t be mean!”

Alice tried to make a jab but immediately got smacked by Claire.

Still, Alice seemed to be enjoying herself. I guess she never got to beat me at anything when we were younger. And even when I lost, she used to think I did it on purpose.

“...Once I get my license, I’ll challenge you to a circuit race someday.”

“That sounds fun. I’ll win, though.”

“...Please don’t forget, on a circuit, you don’t need to memorize directions.” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

“Unnie, didn’t you say going too fast is dangerous...?”

Only when Claire’s comments started heading in that direction did I finally stop arguing with Alice.