Redo of a Romanceless Author’s Life Devoid of Love; Another Chance at Youth Chapter 93

Chapter 93. Christmas Eve, Operation: To Kill A Mockingbird’s Love (5/8)

“Hey, Ran, a little while ago you said you didn’t like this movie, right?” Alicia suddenly asked.

“Uh… yeah. What about it?”

“Was there anything else you would be interested in watching?”

Hmm… was this an opportunity to play another card?

I thought it over a bit and tried to think what sort of show would turn a popular girl like Alicia off. Would ani work? Hmm… I definitely didn’t want to choose a movie though. I suppose a series would do. But which one?

I’d seen just about every ani up to this point in ti.

Honestly, I didn’t like rewatching ani unless it was really good. But picking a good one might backfire. But… I really don’t want to watch a shitty one if I have to research one. If I fall asleep while watching it, it will be obvious I didn’t actually enjoy it either. Hence, my best option was to show it was sothing I especially liked and freak her out with my obsession over it.

After I thought about it long enough, my ideal ani to watch that always got excited was no doubt Attack on Titan. It was considered pretty normy shit to like this series in the future, but during these tis when it was still quite new with only the first season out, it was still pretty niche. I doubted she’d be interested in it as a popular girl.

With my mind made up, I found the first season online then connected my phone to the TV and played the first episode.

“Is this… an ani? I’ve heard of them from friends in the past, but I’ve never watched one before… I’m always busy with other things...” Alicia asked a bit uncertain when she saw what I’d selected.

“It’s really good. In the future, this series will blow up when the following seasons are released.”

“What! You like this ani too!” When Chris turned his head to the TV after he heard his sister’s ntion of ani, he shot up to his feet excitedly with sparkles in his eyes.

“Hmm… so Ran likes this sort of thing? Even I wasn’t aware of that.” Rosa quietly mumbled to herself off to the side.

Well, I hardly watch ani these days after all so it wasn’t sothing she’d catch watching. I’m always reading novels these days in my free ti. Plus, I’ve already watched everything this ti period has to offer. For the next forty years in fact. Maybe there would be so new ones here and there that weren't in my previous tiline, but the odds of them being any good was pretty low.

As you kept watching more over ti, the bar was continually raised higher and higher until the old stuff you watched in the past that once got you excited, turned into third-rate trash. So if a series ca out in the future and only reached the level of sothing that got you excited in the past, you’d end up seeing it as being bad. It’s not that it was necessarily bad, it was simply that your expectations and bottom-line had raised too high.

Unless you could forget everything you ever watched, this was a problem that faced every industry. The thirst for good content was one that could never be quenched.

As the first episode played out I kept a close eye on everyone’s reactions.

Outside of my expectations, it seed everyone was enjoying it. Even Irene, the adult in the room, seed genuinely interested in the way things developed by the end of the episode.

The main protagonist and his sister were carried away as he watched his mother’s final monts, slowly picked up by the Titan. The Titan’s mouth opened, the mother’s body bitten into. The splatter of crimson droplets of blood as it flew out in all directions in slow motion. The mother, eaten before their very eyes.

The despair, helplessness, powerlessness. All combined with the soundtrack that fit the scene all too well.

Then finally, the narrator’s iconic words, which let everything sink in.

“On that day, mankind rembered…”

“The fear of oppression under them…”

“... and the humiliation of being caged like birds.”

At last, the final image portrayed to the viewers was the dreadful look of the son’s trauma-stricken face carried away on a man’s back as they fled for their lives.

Fury.

Rage.

A desire for vengeance.

All sorts of emotions could be seen in that boy’s eyes. But the most prominent... was his despair over his inability to protect his mother.

Everyone had chills the instant that one iconic scene played out. There was excitent in their eyes. Their hearts raced at that single mont.

The studio had done a marvelous job with that scene. It was a scene I rembered from the day I first watched it. To , it was a scene at the pinnacle, the peak. It was engraved in my mories for years to co. I never forgot it. That single experience.

“It’s still so good no matter how many tis I see it!” Chris jumped up excitedly from his seat. Even as soone who had seen it before, it still got you every ti. Just how much ti and effort went into that scene? It was a masterpiece in my eyes.

From the sound design, music, voice acting, narration, visuals, effects, lighting, background, everything shed together so well.

When it was over, everyone let out the breath they’d held in for that instant in ti.

They all started to excitedly talk about that scene while I watched on in an overly satisfied manner. Wait… what the hell am I doing? This was the opposite reaction I was looking for. Damn it! What the hell is with this? You’re supposed to be weirded out by my selection…

Like, it’s Christmas Eve you know. Don’t you think I’m weird for picking this of all things?

I don’t know how it happened, but everyone remained glued to the TV and watched more episodes all the way until I had to go to work. We were over halfway done with the first season by the ti I left and they continued to watch long after I departed.

It was honestly depressing.

What’s with this? They weren’t supposed to actually like it.

When I got to work today, I was all alone. Yuna had requested today and tomorrow off. I’d get paid ti and a half, so I was personally fine working the holidays.

Though while I was at work today, soone showed up I hadn’t expected to show up. It was at 8:30 PM when she appeared. Irene.

When she saw behind the counter she was surprised. She naturally recognized , she’d previously seen through my disguise after all. Though I had my hair styled differently to that ti, she easily saw through the decorative colored contacts instantly.

“What a surprise, so this is where you worked.” She said when she saw .

“Uh… yeah.”

“Was it busy for you today?”

“No. Not really. Most people are spending ti with their loved ones and family after all.”

“I see. By the way… what happened with Rosa? It doesn’t seem like you two have broken up. Are you having a hard ti doing it?” It was the first ti we’d been alone together since that night.

“Well… things didn’t exactly play out the way I’d intended.”

Seeing as no one other custors were in the store, Irene leaned closer over the counter and whispered, “So… you told her you cheated on her and she forgave you?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“By the way she’s interacting with , it doesn’t seem like you told her who you cheated on her with.”

“She… knows.”

“You told her?”

“She figured it out herself. It’s not like there are many suspects I had the opportunity to cheat on her with. When she asked if it was Alicia I naturally denied it and she already was certain it wasn’t her anyway. Naturally, the only other suspect would be you.”

“Certainly. But how is she perfectly fine interacting with like normal?”

“Well… it seems my girlfriend is… very competitive but also… a bit strange?” It was hard to put it into words.

“Competitive and strange?”

“Well, she grilled on the specific... details… and her objective for the future was to… beat the bar you set.”

“Pfft. Hahaha! What?” Irene burst into laughter when she heard that.

“5 in 40… she said she’d beat it.”

“Is there sothing wrong with your girlfriend? Is that the normal reaction for girls in my daughter’s generation?” Irene looked a bit worried that her own daughter might turn out the sa way.

“No, it’s definitely not a normal reaction. My girlfriend’s the strange one here.”

“Strange? You said that before, but what did you specifically an by that?”

I raised one brow in uncertainty and said, “I’m worried she might be a nympho.”