I Unknowingly Rejected My Favorite Chapter 81 to 90

CH 81

Early December.

It was thattime for college students.

Two weeks until the end of the semester, which meant, there were formidable foes that needed to be defeated.

The final exams and final project submissions, two things that left people exhausted.

-Riiing

I quickly reached for my vibrating phone and swiped the screen to answer the call.

「Hello?」

「Hello.」

It was a call from Doah. I had been waiting for a long time for it.

She said that she was busy and couldn’t contact me properly. I greeted her excitedly.

「Oh! Are you done now?」

「…Oppa.」

Contrary to my expectations, she sounded extremely tired.

An uneasy feeling began to arise.

「…Yeah?」

「I’m sorry, I don’t think we can meet until next week.」

But why?

I thought it’d be okay for us to go to school together.

The list of questions I had grew too big, so I took a deep breath before asking.

「By meet, you meant going out on a date, right?」

「…Yes.」

「What about going to school together?」

「Ah, of course we can do that.」

I felt relieved, but it was still hard to hide my disappointment.

「Does not being able to meet include today?」

「Yes… I haven’t finished studying yet…」

Hearing her voice gradually getting smaller, I shed a tear inwardly.

「I see…」

「Yes… I’m sorry…」

「Will you be able to stream?」

She did say that she wouldn’t be able to since she was too busy in real life. What a professional girl my girlfriend was.

「I can’t do anything about the stream. Well, I told the company that I might have a hiatus next week, I still don’t know if I’ll have the time to see you.」

「No, no, if it’s next week, I’ll probably be busy too, so it’s fine.]

Of course, it wasn’t like I had more on my plate than Doah did. I was just the type to cram all that studying last minute for the final week.

The break would feel depressing if I got terrible grades, you know?

I didn’t know about others, but, when it came to the exams…

Especially when I bombed the finals, I’d end up feeling depressed when the winter vacation came.

「I see… Anyways, let’s work hard together, and make sure to have lots of fun during the break!!」

At her words that sounded like setting off a flag, I immediately set to destroy that flag.

「We’ll have fun even if it’s not during the break.」

「Alright, you should study too, Oppa. Or else, you’ll screw up your exam.」

「I’m already studying.」

「Good job. Anyway, I need to continue what I’m doing, so, I’ll contact you again after the stream!」

“Huh…? Wait!”

After she was done saying everything she wanted, she abruptly hung up.

I double-checked, but the screen was red.

But… I was waiting… For so long…

Moreover, I had been diligently working on my assignments to the point that my eyes would turn bloodshot at the thought of meeting Doah. Now, all I could do was slump in my chair, feeling empty inside.

Right… I could just watch the stream later… That should count as meeting her, right…?

I tried to comfort myself, but because my time suddenly freed up, it felt like my mental state was collapsing.

Kim Doah…

You were the one who cried, telling me to pay more attention to you…

But you neglected your boyfriend like this just because you were busy…

I felt so spiteful to the point I considered filing up a complaint, but unfortunately, no brilliant idea came to mind.

It felt childish to whine just because of this.

In the end, I crawled back into my bed, starting to rewatch her clips over and over again, just like I always did before meeting Doah.

It was true that after she officially joined CLOSER, she had a lot more variety in her content.

She always aimed to stream alone, so co-op or party games weren’t an option back then, but not anymore.

CLOSER had five members, an enormous workforce to say, and every weekend they’d play the latest trending games or the consistently popular multiplayer games.

So, I watched them all.

Again.

And again.

Rewatching was my pastime usually, but today, for some reason…

It just didn’t feel the same.

In the end, unable to go over thirty minutes, I turned off YouTube and started racking my brain to find what the problem was.

Was this the effect of Doah telling me to stop liking Luka so much?

But that shouldn’t be the case, she was okay with me liking her, I just needed to refrain talking about Luka a little when Doah and I were talking, that should be all.

If my interest in Luka cooled off instead, would Doah feel disappointed?

Anyway, if that wasn’t the problem, why the hell did I feel so dissatisfied?

Hmm…

I only discovered the answer to that question…

…very late into the night.

“Aaaah!!! Why why?! Eeeeeek! Why is it coming out from there?!?!”

Fuck, I’m so pissed!

Having to do assignments all day long already made me mad, so why did I have to deal with this kind of game after all that?!

Which Pink Army recommended this thing?!

I asked them to choose a game for the second half of the stream after the zatsuwas done, but now I had the urge to kill my past self who listened to their bullshit and chose to suffer.

This game was too hard!

I was already bad at games, now I had to deal with this stupidly difficult game!

[YOU DIED.]

That polite-looking font just pissed me off even more!

[Luka-nim! You should dodge to the right for that one…]

“Hey! You think I don’t know that?!”

“Like, you really think I don’t know that?! You people!”

I yelled at the chat in a fit of anger, but I knew full well that I shouldn’t be doing that.

Because I wasn’t a small streamer anymore. Many people would see me in a negative light if I showed my genuine irritation like this.

“Uhuhuuu I can’t do itttt…”

But what was I even supposed to do? I was hurting…

Like, I died over thirty times at the same spot…

If I were really going to try and clear this game before wrapping up the stream, I’d need to resolve myself to not get any sleep tonight.

Actually, even if I used all 24 hours of the day, I still might not be able to finish it.

[Let’s go for the 37th try~ Let’s go for the 37th try~ Let’s go for the 37th try~ Let’s go for the 37th try~ Let’s go for the 37th try~ Let’s go for the 37th try~ Let’s go for the 37th try~ Let’s go for the 37th try~ Let’s go for the 37th try~]

When I noticed a chatter who posted the death count, I secretly hovered my mouse over the timeout button before moving it away.

“My dear Pink Army. May I make a suggestion here?”

The public opinion was half and half.

Half seemed like they would listen to my suggestion.

While the other half insisted that I absolutely must clear the game today no matter what.

“Okay, hear me out. I’m not trying to run away. So, listen to me and let’s talk a little.”

After subduing the atmosphere in a dramatic way, I played my hidden card.

“Actually, I’ll have my final exams next week, but I haven’t studied at all…”

I tried to look as pitiful as possible.

You all liked me, right? Kids?

So, please, let me live, just this once.

I had a life, you know? I needed to live that life too, you know?!

“So rea~lly! I really want to stay up all night and clear this too…”

Boos were already pouring in.

At times like this, I had to firmly express myself and state what I had to say.

“What if we do this again at the end of December? As for today, I’ll end the stream at two? Would…that…not…be…okay…?”

I frantically pressed the key for the model’s crying animation.

Tears endlessly flowed down from the pink eyes.

The Pink Army didn’t seem to hate my whining appearance that much, so the public opinion roughly reached an agreement.

Amidst that, a familiar username caught my eye.

[Lucario: Luka-nim, fighting!!]

I told him to stop acting like a troll in the chat, yet he was still doing this!

Feeling a bit better upon reading his message, I fake coughed out of embarrassment.

“A-Ahem…! So for now, I’ll just play the usual rhythm game for another hour and then I’ll end the stream, okay…?”

There were still some people telling me to keep playing that shitty game, so I sneakily pressed the quit game button while being mindful of them.

When I opened up the rhythm game, my mind became totally at peace.

Ahh… Home sweet home.

What they said about people finding solace in games that didn’t require much brain power was true, after all.

Just like that, I apologized one more time after excitedly tapping the keyboard to relieve stress and then ended the stream.

“Ah… So tired…”

I couldn’t find a better expression to describe my current feeling other than that.

Both my mind and body were too exhausted.

Thinking that I should probably call Oppa, I grabbed my phone. But, maybe I should just message him that I was gonna sleep since he must be tired too. At that moment…

-Knock knock

Was anyone gonna come over?

It was 2.15 am though.

Who the hell would come over at this time?

I considered ignoring it because I felt scared, but in the end, I decided to call Oppa instead.

「Hello.」

「Can you open the door for me?」

「…What?」

「I’m in front of your house right now, so please open the door.」

Taken aback by Oppa’s completely unexpected words, I went to the entrance and unlocked it, and there I found…

“Ah. I missed you so much! Kim Doah!”

“Huh…?”

Even now, I still couldn’t understand why this person was here at this hour.

But, he was hugging me so tightly while smiling brightly, so I just stayed still. I liked this development though.

As soon as he let go of me, Oppa took something out of a bag and held it out to me.

“You must have a hard time today, right?”

What he handed to me was a sweet peach-flavored ice cream.

---

CH 82

Though I accepted the ice cream, I was still dazed.

For the time being, I sat Oppa down on the gaming chair and asked him a question.

“What am I supposed to do when you suddenly come at this hour without saying a word?”

“But this is the only time I can see your face.”

He took out a chocolate ice cream and tore up the packaging while answering me.

“You shoulda called before coming over. I thought it was some strange person, it was scary, you know?”

“Ah, really? I thought you’d know it was me.”

“And how would I know that?”

“Uh, well.”

He let out a faint smile.

“Because I usually visited after your streams ended, so I just thought that you’d naturally know. Sorry about that.”

I thought that my whole day was a mess, but with him coming over, it has gotten much better already.

“…At least send me a text before coming next time.”

He even brought me snacks, I didn’t want to nag him any further.

“Okay.”

As I tried to throw away the trash after deliciously finishing the ice cream, Oppa started taking something else out of the bag.

“…You bought something else other than ice cream?”

“Of course.”

What he took out were various jellies and snacks.

Basically just lumps of sugar.

“What’s all this?”

“Well, you seemed to be in a bad mood during the stream.”

He remembered…

The things I said…

“So I thought that you might feel a bit better if you eat these…”

Blinking my eyes, Oppa scratched his head like he was embarrassed.

“…Do you not like it?”

I felt a fluffy, ticklish feeling.

Instead of answering him outright, I came closer to him and rubbed my face against his shirt. Hard.

Whatever the scent I was smelling, shampoo, fabric softener, whatever, it smelled nice.

“…Doah?”

“Are you doing this because I nagged you?”

“Huh?”

Yeah, how could someone suddenly become this sweet?

Of course you were doing this because I scolded you, Han Taemin.

Well, that didn’t chase the pleasant feelings away, so I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.

“So? Am I right or am I right?”

“…No, you’re wrong.”

He rested his hand on top of my head.

“I didn’t come here because of that.”

What was up with this person today?

Was this part of his evil plan to make my heart explode so that I couldn’t sleep at all?

“I told you, I came because I missed you.”

He bent his waist to match my eye level.

In his eyes, which were like the dark night sky, I could see affection.

“Even after watching your entire stream from start to finish, I still missed you.”

He caressed my cheek.

“And I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I came.”

Then, he played with my cheeks as if they were rice cakes or some kind of toy.

Usually, I’d tell him to stop and run away.

But today, I’d let it slide.

You know, I felt like letting him do whatever he wanted today.

“Uh, so when are you going?”

“Huh? Going where?”

“Home, of course.”

It was almost 3 am.

“Well, I was just about to leave.”

From his response, it was clear that he didn’t plan to stay long, and I understood that. But, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

I didn’t want this sweet feeling to end just like that, so I grabbed his wrist.

“Yeah?”

He looked at my hand, as if asking what it was that I wanted.

I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I wanted to follow my heart.

“Just a while longer.”

I wasn’t asking for much.

“Can’t you stay just a bit longer?”

Just earlier, I did the same thing to the Pink Army, pitifully begging them, desperately negotiating with them.

This oddly overlapping scene made me feel a mysterious feeling,

“You have to go to school tomorrow and study too.”

“Going to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual won’t make that much of a difference…”

He seemingly tried to reject the idea, so my eyes darted around as I muttered the words quietly, but then…

“Doah.”

After he called my name, what I felt was a sensation I had never experienced before in my life.

-Chuu

Oppa, who removed his lips from my forehead, turned his head around as if he were shy.

“…Can’t you let me off just for today?”

Ah…

Uh…

Uggghhhh…

My ears were hot.

And my heart seemed to beat really fast.

If this was a manhwa, there would be steam coming above my head.

“G…G…Go…”

The two of us were unable to make eye contact.

Oppa stepped back as if running away and slipped on his shoes.

“I-I’ll contact you tomorrow then?”

“Y-Yeeesh!”

Ah, my voice cracked.

I was so embarrassed that I wanted to dive under the covers, so I hoped Oppa would leave quickly.

He waved his hand briefly, opened the door, and went out. Now all alone, I buried my face in the pillow.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!”

I let out a strange sound, similar to a dolphin and hit the pillow.

Then I raised my hand and touched the part of my forehead where his lips touched.

Oppa.

I didn’t even tell him to.

On my forehead, he…

Also, that reaction of his after doing it…

Remembering his face again, I tried to calm down my breathing.

“Phew…”

He left first, telling me to go sleep because we’d have tomorrow to talk more.

But how was I supposed to sleep after he pulled out something like that before he left?

In the end, I was only able to sleep at 5 am.

Doah and I promised to meet at 11.30.

The lecture that started at 12 would end today as well.

A notice was posted earlier, saying that the professor couldn’t hold the final class due to personal reasons, so after listening to today’s class and submitting the assignment online next time, the course would be effectively over.

It was about time to leave…

The moment I put my hand in my pocket, thinking that I should probably call her…

“Sorry!”

The glass door swung wide open, my girlfriend came out, accompanied by the white fog that came out of her mouth.

“What happened? Did you oversleep?”

“Ugh… I swear I set five alarms yesterday before falling asleep…”

She kept on explaining her grievances all the way to school, that was how frustrated she was, I guess.

Honestly, it was fine even if she was a little late.

I didn’t understand why she was so hung up about this.

Like, I already told her that it was okay. Several times. But, she said that she didn’t feel the sincerity in my tone and repeated her explanation over and over again.

“Hey, I said I got it.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I totally understood.”

Only then did she finally calm down and grab my hand. She was cute like this.

When we arrived at the lecture hall, the professor was already there and the last class of this semester began.

Just like other classes that replaced exams with assignments for its evaluations, the professor spent around the last thirty minutes on introductions and Q&A about the final assignment.

“If anyone has questions about this or things you don’t properly understand, please contact my email address here, I will do my best to reply.”

Seeing that no one raised their hand, the professor ended the final lecture like that. After that, Doah and I grabbed our bags and went outside.

“What should we eat?”

“…Want to eat at the cafeteria?”

“Hmm…”

Actually, I’d been eating there way too often recently, so I was getting a bit tired of it.

“I’ll see the menu and decide.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

We diligently walked for five minutes to get there, but…

“…Let’s go out to eat.”

Ugh, seriously. Why was there only these kinds of food here?

“Why? You don’t like rice noodles, Oppa?”

“No, I don’t like cilantro.”

“They’ll take it out if you ask them to.”

“I still don’t like it.”

When I firmly expressed my refusal, Doah shrugged and followed me outside.

“Since we’re eating out, I’ll pay.”

“I suggested it, why would you be paying?”

“Because I want to thank you for the snacks yesterday.”

Doah smiled brightly.

Still, she didn’t even know how much she’d need to pay, why was she doing this?

“What if I eat something really expensive?”

I said that as a joke, but she only nodded as if it didn’t matter.

“Well, I’ll still pay for it. Oppa, aren’t you looking down on me too much?”

“Huh?”

My girlfriend, slightly tiptoeing, pulled my ear closer to her mouth.

“I’m an idol, you know.”

Hearing her whisper, I let out a chuckle.

She returned to her original position.

“Look at you, acting cocky before even getting paid.”

I lightly hit her head and she grabbed it with both hands, as if in pain.

“You know I have money saved up from when I was a solo streamer, right?”

“C’mon, I know you spent all that on your model.”

Doah flinched, not expecting I’d know about that, then she quickly looked away.

“Facts are banned.”

“This ain’t your channel, you have no power here.”

While we exchanged more nonsense, we arrived at a pizza place not far from the school’s main gate.

We ordered potato pizza and while waiting for it to arrive, we drank our cola.

“Right, Oppa, I told you before, no? I might get my own studio.”

“Yeah, you did.”

I was consciously trying to not talk about Luka unless she brought it up first.

Well, I could do this if I tried, but the problem here was I might suddenly get too excited and start talking about her.

Honestly, I wasn’t confident that I could fully control myself yet.

“I’ll probably move in next week, so can you help me then?”

“Sure.”

What wouldn’t I do for you when it came to your stream?

“It should be around an eight minute walk from where we live.”

“You have the location ready?”

“One sec.”

Doah took out her phone, moved her small thumb here and there, and showed me the screen.

“Ta-da! It’s here!”

“Woah. Huh? Doesn’t this look bigger than my place?”

I wasn’t lying. The place looked bigger and more comfortable than my one-room apartment.

“They probably chose it after taking the full-body tracker into consideration.”

“Makes sense.”

What can I say? As expected of a big company.

“Manager-nim said she’ll probably come that day too.”

“Is that so? Have you met them in person?”

“Nope, I haven’t. I don’t think we’ve ever had to meet till now.”

Thinking back, I wondered what would require meeting in person when working as a vtuber.

“Anyway, let me know when the date is confirmed. I’ll make time for you.”

Another name for new encounters, is the beginning of new worries.

---

CH 83

I swear, this was just one thing after another!

After putting up the stream cancellation announcement, I let out a deep sigh at the mountain of things I needed to do.

For now, I planned to dedicate my whole week studying for the exam.

Since I didn’t need to stream, I needed to make every second count.

-Riiing

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

If this call was from Taemin oppa, I planned to talk with him briefly before hanging up, but unfortunately, it wasn’t from him.

「Hello?」

「Oh, yes, Luka-ssi, are you available to talk for a bit currently?」

「Ah, yes yes.」

I had talked with Manager-nim many times through Voicecord, but this was the first time we had a call.

Thinking about just the two of us talking made me a bit nervous.

「I’m calling you to check about the studio.」

「Yes yes.」

「First, we’ve finished the contract on our end, so you’ll need to come over to take a look at the place in person. Then, we will be moving your belongings on Thursday at 2 pm, is that correct?」

「Yes. That’s correct. I think it’ll be around then .」

「Understood. Then study hard for your exams and I will call you again on that day.」

「Yes yes, thank you!」

「Alright!」

I hung up the call, put my phone down, and stretched my body.

Since I decided to move my PC and monitor over, there would be quite a lot of luggage to bring over.

The fortunate thing was that the company would provide me with a desk and chair.

If they wouldn’t, then I’d need to sit on a hard chair for hours until I ordered a new one.

However, if you were to ask me if I disliked this tedious process or not, my answer would be no.

I mean, just imagine, I got my own office at the age of 21!

Yeah, sure, it was the company’s, technically, but c’mon! Who’d have their own office at this age?

I felt extremely proud of myself.

-Riiiing

At that moment, the phone rang again.

When I answered the call, this time I heard the voice I’ve been longing for.

「Who were you on the phone with?」

「Oh it was Manager-nim.」

「Manager?」

「You know, the person who helps out with CLOSER activities.」

「…Is it a man?」

「Geez. How many times do I have to say it’s a woman?」

I swear I’ve told him before, but it seemed he forgot about it again!

「Ah, sorry.」

He sounded embarrassed.

But the mood wasn’t bad.

「Why do you even ask? Huh? Could it be that you’d be jealous if she was a man?」

I asked teasingly while laughing, but for some reason, he didn’t respond.

「…Hello?」

「Well I would have been a bit upset that you didn’t answer my call because of another man.」

…Huh? He called me?

I moved the phone away from my face, put it in speaker mode, and tapped the notifications.

「1 Missed Call」

Ah… He did…

It seemed that I missed it because the call came right after the other one ended.

「Well, it’s fine since it’s a woman.」

When Oppa trailed off as if it didn’t matter, I didn’t persist any longer.

「Anyways, so, I’m moving this Thursday, is that time okay for you, Oppa?」

「What time?」

「2 pm.」

「So right after the advertisement theory exam ends. Can can.」

「Thank you.」

Now that I told him everything I needed to say, it was time to say goodbye.

I had no intention to talk for a long time with him to begin with, so I subtly brought the matter up.

「Then… I’ll get going now…?」

「What?」

「I have to study. You do too, Oppa.」

「We only talked for ten minutes though?」

This guy, did he really think that he was the only one who was disappointed by this?

Me too! I wanted to have fun too, you know!?

I wanted to chat and laugh together with him!

「We already agreed to play a lot after the semester ends, no?」

I really planned to play to my heart’s content during the winter break.

Like, maybe I’d go on a date with him every day except for the days when I had to stream.

I-If possible… Maybe a trip with him…?

But, the difficulty level was too high for me to suggest something like that at this point in our relationship.

「…Aegyo.」

「What?」

I didn’t overhear that, right?

「I said do aegyo in return. Kim Doah.」

A question mark popped up in my head.

「Hmm? What do you mean by aegyo?」

「Look here, I’m here sitting obediently and let you do whatever you want, but you won’t even do aegyo for me? Is that even fair?」

That was a very Pink Army-like logic, toxic. Still, I was curious to see what he had in his mind.

「Fine, what do you want?」

「Wait a min.」

I could hear the sound of him putting the phone down, followed by the messenger’s notification.

When I clicked on the mysterious link Oppa sent, it contained the clip I absolutely couldn’t do during the stream and rejected it.

「I’ll let you off if you do this.」

Which would be more embarrassing?

Doing this kind of thing in front of my first boyfriend? Or doing it in front of thousands of strangers?

I didn’t know which side the scale in my heart would favor, but in the end, I couldn’t win against him.

All that crap about if you like someone, then you lose was true, after all.

I closed my eyes after playing the clip one more time.

Let’s do this… Doah…

He said he wanted to see it like that, so I’d do it for him.

I wasn’t even hiding behind my vtuber model at the moment, but whatever.

At the very least he didn’t tell me to do it right in front of his face.

「Y… You knywo… Doah~」

Ughhhhhh…

Now I remember.

The reason why I didn’t do this in the first place, even though the dono was a big one.

Like… This was too much even for me, considering my high resistance to this kind of bullshit…

「Wikes when you pat her head~」

My hands and feet started to twitch and I could feel my eyes losing their focus.

Fortunately, there was no sound coming from the other side.

If I heard a mocking laugh here, I’d just stop and throw my phone away. Not even kidding.

「Pwease tweat Doah super duper kindly in the future~ You gyot that!」

Ugh, could I just end this call already?

I only tried to soothe his disappointment, why was I the one getting hurt here?

After that aegyo was done, a very, very perverted laugh came out from his side.

「Hehehehehe.」

At first I did it with a good intention, but now I just wanted to smack his butt. Seriously.

「Recording complete.」

…Record? Did he record that?!

「Hey! Han Taemin! Delete it! You god damn!」

Unbelievable!

He saved this as blackmail material, didn’t he?!

「Doah~ Study hard for your exams~」

Hearing his shameless voice, I stomped my feet, but the screen had already turned red long ago.

“Ah! So annoying!”

Seriously, was he my boyfriend? Or was he one of my toxic fans, huh?!

The difficulty level of the advertising theory exam was so-so.

It was mostly because the questions were focused on the points the professor had covered and there were really only about two questions that were being put there to fuck us over.

After I submitted the exam sheet and went outside, my girlfriend was already there.

She was waiting for me.

“You went out really early.”

She left the lecture hall just twenty minutes after the exam ended.

I never imagined that she’d solve all those questions that quickly.

“Ah… I just solved what I could and left.”

“You didn’t touch what you didn’t know at all?”

“Yes. You know, in this kind of exam, pondering over it doesn’t suddenly make more come out.”

That usually applied to exams that had you memorize things, but twenty minutes was still way too quick.

“So what grade do you expect for advertising theory?”

“Hmm… B, maybe?”

“Just B, not B plus?”

“Yes.”

Wouldn’t that be closer to a C?

For a moment there, I was about to say something, but I swallowed my words.

I felt like if the boyfriend said something about the girlfriend’s grades, that would just lead to her being stressed out.

Besides, I knew very well how busy she had been.

“Then should we go straight to your home now?”

“Yes. If we leave together now, I think we can arrive right at two?”

Today was the day when we’d move things to her studio.

We had finished preparing early on, so we only needed to carry her PC as planned.

“Should I call the taxi now, Oppa?”

“Do it.”

While holding the computer case, I nodded.

Soon, the taxi arrived, and we loaded all the luggage. Then, the taxi took us to our destination. It was close enough that we only needed to pay the base fare.

“Ugh, we should’ve just walked.”

Man, playing the base fare felt like a waste.

“Jeez, how can we walk up that hill with the monitor?”

As we approached the entrance of the building that would become Doah’s studio, a woman with short hair was waiting for us.

“Are you Luka-ssi?”

She gave me a gentle impression.

I put down the luggage and stood slightly behind Doah.

“Ah! Yes! Nice to meet you, Manager-nim!”

The two exchanged greetings unique to women.

They said it was their first meeting, but they already seemed to be super friendly.

“Ah, this is…”

When the manager turned her gaze towards me, Doah delivered the lines she had prepared.

“Ah, he’s an Oppa in the same year who agreed to help with the move today!”

With an awkward smile, I bowed.

“Hello.”

I thought it would end with just that greeting.

But, the so-called manager stopped to stare at my face, as if examining it.

When I tried to turn my head slightly because I was getting uncomfortable, an unexpected sentence flowed out of her mouth.

“Do you happen to be in an agency?”

…What?

---

CH 84

“…An agency?”

The only group I belonged to was the Pink Army, you know?

Hearing the manager’s unexpected question, I blinked like a fool.

“You look so much like a model~”

I’ve heard people calling me handsome so many times, but this was the first time I’ve ever heard that I looked like a model.

Those words came out of a manager working at an entertainment agency to boot. Crazy.

“I don’t have one.”

What else could I say?

I didn’t have any, so I said I didn’t have any. Was I supposed to say something else here?

“Really? Your face is something else, though. Ah, right.”

She suddenly rummaged through her pocket, taking out her wallet.

Then she handed me her business card.

「YM Virtual Business Department Assistant Manager Park Yejin」

“I think it would be a really good opportunity for you to reach out and visit the company.”

“Until last year, I worked in the Street Casting Division, I have a good eye for faces!”¹

Even though I clearly came to help Doah move.

Somehow, it felt like she became a third wheel, albeit temporarily.

“Uh… Well…”

My girlfriend, who had been quietly standing and listening to our conversation, opened her mouth.

“Wouldn’t it be better to talk…inside…?”

It was mid-December.

Due to the cold snap, the streets were frozen all over.

Yeah, there wasn’t any reason to shiver and talk out here.

“Ah, right. Oops, my bad. I’m sorry Luka-ssi. Just a moment.”

As the manager scanned the key card to unlock the door, Doah and I, each holding a monitor and a computer case in our hands, stood side by side.

“Come this way.”

After entering the building and climbing the stairs, the manager opened the door for us.

“Here it is!”

The tone of her voice made it sound like she was trying to raise our expectations.

And there was a clear reason behind that.

“Woah.”

“Wow.”

Doah and I exclaimed at the same time.

Honestly, it wasn’t extraordinarily spacious or anything, but considering that Doah would be having this studio all by herself, this place seemed extremely pleasant to be in.

“How do you like it?”

When the manager made a triumphant expression, Doah nodded very vigorously.

“It’s perfect! It seems even more spacious than when I saw the photos.”

There was a neatly organized desk and chair.

Below, there was also a storage cabinet to place the computer on.

“The furniture in the back is something I prepared by splitting a bit from the company’s allocated budget.”

There was a small sofa and table placed inside the room with the desk.

It seemed like they set that place up so that the streamer could take a break after they were done streaming.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t provide a refrigerator.”

When the manager licked her lips as if it was regrettable, Doah shook her head to deny that.

“No! I’m already grateful for all this.”

“Also, you’ll probably be able to receive the full-body tracker equipment in around January or February. Whenever we finished planning for the content.”

“I see.”

As Doah looked around the room happily, the manager reached out her arm and offered her to sit.

Doah, sitting in the computer chair, pulled the chair back and spun around the room.

Seeing her playing around like an innocent child, I looked at her with a satisfied smile.

“Wow, this place is so spacious. You can even do this.”

“Of course, since you’ll be doing something like sports festivals here in the future.”

Right, there were many VR contents that would involve intense body movements.

“Speaking of, may I ask your name?”

When the manager turned her head towards me, I flinched again.

“It’s Han Taemin.”

“Taemin-ssi. Then, would it be okay if I talk a bit more about what we discussed earlier?”

It wasn’t like I could tell her not to do it here.

So, I gave her my affirmation with a reluctant expression.

“You’ve heard of our company name, correct?”

No matter how much of an otaku I was, it was pretty much impossible for someone who spent their whole life in Korea to not know YM Entertainment.

They were the ones who produced several legendary idol groups. How could I not know them?

“Yes, I have.”

“I highly recommend you talk with our company representative just once.”

Maybe because she was in a different department, she didn’t seem to have any intention to have that kind of serious talk with me here.

“I don’t need to mention about the treatment and conditions that our talents live in, you could also do various activities with various celebrities under the agency. So, make sure to contact us.”

“Ah… Yes…”

I took out the business card from my pocket and checked it again and told her I would contact her later. She only left the studio after she finished talking with Doah for around thirty minutes.

After she left, Doah and I were the only ones here.

There was a strange atmosphere between us.

“Oppa.”

Turning her chair towards me, Doah called my name.

“Yeah?”

She gestured for me to go to her.

I approached her without a word and stood next to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hand.”

When I held out my hand, she grabbed it and pulled it hard towards her.

Naturally, my upper body bent forward and my arms moved to embrace her shoulders.

“…If you do well, you might become a celebrity, right?”

I couldn’t see what kind of expression she had, but she didn’t seem to be very happy.

“Celebrity? Me?”

“You know… This isn’t an opportunity that comes by often and all…”

Well…

Honestly, this was the first time I was ever scouted by anyone, so I had no idea if it actually was an opportunity that didn’t come by often.

“But I have no intention of doing it.”

“Why not?”

Judging from her reaction, it really seemed like she couldn’t understand why, so I just let out a bitter laugh.

“Doah, look, you knew me already. I can’t even talk to others properly and all I’ve been doing was watching anime in my room. Did you really expect me to be a celebrity?”

You know…

If we were going off the MBTI, I’d be an extreme I among Is.

It was obvious that if I did that kind of job, I’d have to constantly deal with people.

I didn’t want to live like that, nor did I have the confidence to do so.

It was enough for me for things to stay as they were.

After meeting Doah, I was finally changing little by little.

But, I had no desire to push myself for a big change.

Moreover, I absolutely refused to get involved in something that I didn’t choose to do on my own.

“But, there are so many introverted celebrities.”

“Either way, I don’t like it.”

Not wanting to continue this conversation any longer, I rubbed my cheek against her face, and Doah also gently shook my face.

“Sigh. Anyways, think about it some more later.”

“Okay, I will.”

And so, Doah’s studio move came to a successful end.

What would have happened if I had just thrown away the business card at that time?

「Ah~ Hello~ Pink Army~~~ Everyone~~~」

As if it were to express her happiness, Luka shook her head vigorously from side to side.

Her light pink hair swayed, following that motion.

The Pink Army was full of energy, enthusiastically welcoming her.

Well, they had to give a more intense greeting than usual today.

Because it was the promised day.

The day for Luka to pay the price for not clearing the game she played in her previous stream, for running away during her exam break.

「You’re telling me to keep my promise? Yes~ I understand~ I’ll stay up all night with you today. Chat, don’t go to sleep either. Okay?」

Obviously many of them would go to sleep, but we, the unemployed no-lifer Pink Army Squad, wouldn’t fall victim to our drowsiness!

And I was one of them.

Well, that was a bit, but there might be some of us who were really unemployed. Most of us were true fans who’d watch her until the end because of our love for her, despite having a full day tomorrow.

「Oh, you want me to talk about the exam period? Hmm… First, I’ll talk about the conclusion.」

This was one of the regrettable parts now that Luka had become my girlfriend.

The fact that I would hear stuff on the stream again that she had already told me when we talked.

When I didn’t know Doah, every single story was new, but now, about half of the zatsu was something I already knew.

「I failed~ Wow~~」

As she reported her own failure so joyfully, the chat was filled with giggling messages.

「How much do I expect the average to be? Hm… If it’s only a 3, I really need to bow to the school.」

「No! I was just really inhumanely busy!」

「Streaming, checking what the company gives me, attending group projects and quickly working on it.」

「Ah. Anyways, I still have things to do, but it isn’t as messy as before, so I’ll live.」

While talking about last-minute studying for final exams in her campus life.

[Luka-nim! Did you know Boundary is currently 18th on the music charts?]

The message flew in with a 1,000 won donation.

Luka’s light pink eyes trembled.

「Hey. Don’t lie, that’s not funny.」

While saying that, Luka-tan quickly went to look at the music chart.

The thousands of Pink Army there couldn’t help but be shocked.

Because no one could predict the music chart performance of a newly debuted virtual idol.

The site Luka went to didn’t even list the song at 18th.

[No. 11: Boundary – CLOSER]

「Wait, does this make sense?」

Luka refreshed the page several times with her mouth wide open, but the result was the same.

「No way. We’re actually 11th? Is this real? No! This can’t be… Uh…?」

The shadow of a promise slowly emerged amidst the flood of chat messages proclaiming paradise.

And the fierce onslaught from the Pink Army continued.

[h]

[o]

[r]

[r]

[o]

[r]

[g]

[a]

[m]

[e]

Luka sighed, acting as if she had a headache.

「Ah, you’re all too much.」

After finishing the first half of her stream, my girlfriend texted me.

「Can you come to the studio now by any chance?」

Well, I was already full on standby.

---

CH 85

When I stepped outside, the snow was falling.

“It’s cold…”

I pulled the padding zipper all the way up and stuck my hands deep inside the pockets.

The distance from my house to Doah’s studio was about a seven minute walk.

If I ran, I could get there in three, so I went down the slope at a fairly fast pace.

When I arrived, I took out my phone.

「Doah, I’m outside.」

Less than thirty seconds after I sent that text, Doah came out to greet me.

After that, she gave me a tight hug. She was wearing fluffy fur slippers and sweatpants that looked even fluffier.

“Oppa!”

“What’s wrong? Don’t you need to go back quickly now?”

“I fucked up…”

Doah went on and rambled incoherently, seemingly unable to cope with the fact that she had to play a horror game.

If we were in a cartoon, they would probably add the spinning eye thing to her eyes. Imagining it made me laugh.

I placed my hand on top of her head then persuaded her to quickly go back inside.

Her stream was currently muted.

Inside, I waited for her instructions on what she wanted me to do.

“For now, can you just stay next to me, Oppa?”

“But, wouldn’t that be weird?”

“…Actually, yeah…”

If I made any sound by accident, things would turn messy real quick.

“Then, just stay over there, Oppa.”

“There?”

She pointed at the small lounge area with a sofa.

“Yes, just sit there and don’t say anything.”

“Will that really work?”

In my case, I could just turn on the stream, plug in my earphones, sit down and watch, but she was the one who’d need to tank all the jumpscares.

“If it gets too scary, I’ll run over there, so just sit there.”

I nodded, indicating that I understood what she wanted. Then, she went back to her chair, wearing a grim expression, before giving me a signal that she would be continuing her stream.

「Ahemm!」

As soon as she began, I took out the wireless earphones in my pocket.

When I felt the delay between her actual voice and the stream, I forcibly turned up the volume on my phone.

「Now finally… I’ll really…」

Luka’s model had tears welling up in her eyes.

But the chat ruthlessly ignored that. If anything, it just added to their passion to force her to play the horror game.

[Luka-tan! Start it quickly!!!!!]

I didn’t know if this emote was made for this purpose, but the Pink Army was spamming a ton of pArmyGlowstick.

Seeing Doah slapping her forehead with her hand, I could tell that she was having a headache dealing with these guys.

「Now then… as promised… I’ll playyyyy… the… horror gameeeee.」

Luka made a wailing noise.

Oh, whoops, I shouldn’t laugh.

She could see my face at any moment.

But, ugh, she was so cute! Even if I tried to hold back, I’d end up smiling! What was I supposed to do?

Like, if I were seeing this at home, I woulda burst out laughing from the very beginning.

「T-Then should I press play now?」

After she pressed the start button, a chilling background music played as the screen went dark.

Like most horror games, this game was in first person.

The small Luka chibi was floating on the side, showing the changes in her expressions in real time.

-Creaaak

The eerie sound effects unique to horror games crept through my ears.

「Ah… Seriously… I’m just opening the window! Why is it so scary…? Ugh…」

No ghosts or monsters had appeared yet, but she kept looking up at the ceiling.

By the way, this game that I recommended to her was one of the less scary ones among the horror games.

It had a decent story and it wasn’t too difficult, so even she, who couldn’t handle scary things well, should be able to clear it,

The first thing she had to do was to find the key to enter the basement.

Using the direction button to move around, she just aimlessly wandered inside the abandoned house.

「Huh? The interact button isn’t working here?」

…That wasn’t an object you could interact with!

Things had barely started, but I already got frustrated watching her!

The Pink Army must’ve felt the same thing as me. Look at them go, they were going crazy in the chat.

[Huh]

[Luka-nim! Not there, go to the right!]

[fr lolll]

[Ah… I’m gonna die from high blood pressure…]

See! Someone was thinking the same exact thing as me!

Seriously, if I was allowed to go right next to her and move the mouse myself, I would.

Go to the right! C’mon!

「Ah. Right here.」

Only then did Luka discover the key inside the drawer. Finally, she was able to enter the locked basement,

Inside, the first event was waiting for her.

Said event was none other than…

「KYAAAAAH!」

Before it even came up on the stream, her scream came blasting through my earphones.

Doah covered her eyes with both hands.

This was because as soon as she entered the basement, a bright red hand grabbed her character.

The next thing that appeared on the screen was the face of a woman with a twisted neck.

Shocked, she took her hands off the keyboard for a good while.

「Ah… Euh…」

She looked over my way, nearly bursting into tears,

I wanted to tell her it was okay, but I couldn’t make any sound.

So I just nodded and encouraged her to continue playing.

「…Everyone.」

Luka’s avatar started to tear up.

「If I don’t make any sound after five minutes, you have to call 119, okay?」

Led by the ghost, her character woke up in the deepest part of the basement.

What she had to do from now on was simple.

Escape the place alive.

Of course she needed to get some items and clear some quests before she could do that.

Sometimes she’d need to get keys or lamps or even exorcize the ghosts of a grudge-filled family.

「W-What should I do now?」

As she asked that in an extremely frightened voice, the backseat gamers in her chat kindly told her what to do, step by step.

「Go left from here?」

And my girlfriend was diligently looking at the chat while carrying out their instructions in order.

As with many horror games, dark spaces were scary.

Moving around with limited vision was a horrifying experience.

She was moving her fingers, her back hunched, even though he wasn’t actually inside that house.

「…Chat, when will the ghosts appear?」

Just walking while listening to the eerie background music was already stressful for her.

The constant tension that lingered in the back of your mind, not knowing when or where something would pop out to eat you.

Well, actually, our Luka-tan didn’t need to worry about that.

Because…

「Should I touch this?」

She found a doll in the shape of a child.

Without even feeling the slightest bit of suspicions, she listened to her chat and ended up letting out another high-pitched dolphin-like scream.

「KYAAAAAAAAAH!」

Like, seriously?

Did she not feel suspicious at all when she saw that doll?

No matter how you look at it, that thing was definitely a cursed doll.

As soon as she pressed the interact button, the doll’s face transformed creepily. Something seemed to possess it and it started chasing after her character like a hunting dog.

Its movements were inhuman, like a monkey.

Doah smashed her keyboard as she ran away with all her might.

「YOU TOLD ME TO TOUCH IT, YOU FUCKERSSSSSS!」

Honestly, she was twice as cute now that she didn’t hold back on her swears.

Too bad that she rarely swore after her debut.

It seemed like she couldn’t hold it back at the moment, though.

After she managed to lock the doll behind the bars, she brought her shaky hand to her tumbler.

「Chat… My hands are shaking… I tried to drink water from my tumbler just now, but I can’t stop shaking…」

After drinking some water and catching her breath, she asked the chat, like a student waiting for lunchtime.

「How much have I done…?」

If you ask me, well, around halfway there, I guess.

Some pretty scary scenes came up, but the highlight hadn’t even started.

Momhadn’t even appeared yet.

I swear the clipmakers would have a field day today.

Like, if my exams were over, I’d definitely join in and make some myself, too bad I didn’t have that kind of leisure yet.

The game was getting closer and closer to its climax.

It was around the time for Mom, the peak of the game to finally appear.

When the background music changed, Luka noticed that the atmosphere was off. Her face irl turned pale.

「Chat. What’s this? What is this? Someone say something quickly.」

However, the chat only laughed at her.

It was like they had teamed up to not say anything to her.

Her character reached the heart of the winding underground passage.

I also bit my lip hard so that I wouldn’t make a sound.

Because even if I had already seen it once, the scene was still creepy as fuck.

Well, in my case, it’d still surprise me rather than scare me.

At that moment, Doah turned around.

The BGM was cut abruptly and the screen was filled with the face of a woman who had bugs pouring out of her eyes.

“OPPAAAAAA!”

Throwing away her earphones, Doah ran over and hugged me.

On the other side of my dropped phone.

[oppa…?]

[Did she say Oppa just now?]

[not appa?]¹

(T/N: Appa = Dad)

[where did luka-tan go?]

…Fuck. Doah-tan.

How would you explain this?

While hugging her, I started to sweat profusely.

---

CH 86

It was hard to breathe.

Would I see that scene from a moment ago again if I were to open my eyes?

I buried my face deeper into Oppa’s embrace.

He gently patted my back without saying a word.

I knew that the stream was still on and I had to return to my seat.

So, I lifted my face and saw Oppa’s dark eyes, his gaze locked at my face.

Without making a sound, he said something to me by moving his lips.

-Are you okay?

I shook my head side to side while sniffling.

No! I wasn’t okay! How could I be after seeing that?!

I wanted to shout, let out my anger, but that could wait for after the stream.

Reluctantly, I pulled myself together and returned to my seat. Then, I noticed the chat was going wild.

[ex]

[plain]

[what’s w oppa?]

[plain]

[Are you with your boyfriend right now?]

[ex]

Ah… Right, I was so surprised that I called for Oppa without realizing it.

I had a strong feeling things were ruined, but for now I took a long sip of water.

「Ah. Ah. Everyone.」

When they heard my voice again, the chat went even crazier than before.

「Explain? Huh? What do you mean by that?! I was about to faint from fear just now!」

「What Oppa? I said Appa!」

「Are you kidding me? Look at the time, who’s gonna be awake at this hour? Also, I’m streaming alone in my studio right now!」

I needed to deal with the situation as calmly as possible.

Also, it wasn’t like they could prove that Oppa was here with me.

How could they when they couldn’t even see him?

This wasn’t an irl stream where I had a camera turned on.

But, some toxic chatters kept on going even after I explained.

No other choice. If I wanted to continue the game, I’d need to draw my sword. And I did exactly that.

「Chat, should I just stop? It doesn’t seem like you guys want to watch me play anyway.」

「Like, seriously! I’m trying my best to play something scary because everyone said they wanted to watch me.」

「Are you guys actually malding that I screamed for my appa? And you can’t watch the stream just because of that, huh?」

While I said that, I paused the game. Only then did the chat show signs of slowing down.

[stop, just watch like a normal person.]

[she said appa, so why do u guys keep going on abt this? sigh]

[I was having a good time watching, why are y’all ruining the fun?]

Honestly, now that the mood was completely ruined, I didn’t feel like playing anymore. But I knew more than anyone that ending it here would only give birth to a bigger controversy.

Wait, if I continued playing, wouldn’t I need to deal with that ghost mom again?

I turned my head slightly to check Oppa’s face, only to see him focusing intently while tapping on something.

[Lucario: Quit witchhuntingggg]

I looked to see what he was doing and it seemed like he was busy defending me.

After that, I made up my mind to continue the game no matter what. While I screamed, I just called out mom, dad, god, whatever, in turns for the hell out of it. Just like that, the seemingly never-ending horror game finally came to an end.

「Phew…」

As I pressed the exit game button, I let out a deep sigh.

I can’t, I just can’t.

Playing a horror game was stressful enough, then this controversy over something that I said broke out, leaving me distraught.

「Did everyone have fun watching?」

As I asked in a wilted voice, the chat was flooded with PArmyThumbsUp emotes.

There were still some people parroting and demanding an explanation about the oppa thing, but I knew that those guys weren’t the type to listen even if I said anything.

「I’m… never playing a horror game again in the future even if I promise… Ugh…」

「My heart can’t take it. Oh, my poor heart…」

「Anyway.」

Knowing it wouldn’t befit an idol’s dignity to end while whining, I expressed my gratitude to wrap things up.

「I guess it just means everyone loves CLOSER that much.」

「That horror game scared me to death, but at least you enjoyed that, huh, chat?」

As I saw the warm messages increasing in the chat, it finally felt like I could relax a little.

「Haa… What can I even do with you rotten apples…?」

「Let’s meet again next stream everyone? Lubai lubai lubai~ Lubai all of you~」

Like that, I ended the stream with a smile.

After confirming the stream was completely off, I walked over to Oppa’s side with heavy steps.

“Doah.”

Oppa got up from his chair and approached me.

“Ah… I’m so…”

Just a moment ago, it felt like I had so many things to say.

But, when he embraced me, no words came to mind.

“It’s okay.”

A gentle pat followed his soft voice.

“You did well.”

Why did those words of acknowledgment feel so touching?

I felt a lump in my throat, but I didn’t want to cry. So I just hugged his waist even tighter.

“Let’s go home.”

That day as well, I grabbed Oppa’s hand that reached out to me.

And asked him to stay with me until I fell asleep.

Next morning.

“Oh, man…”

A deep sigh automatically escaped my lips.

We were fucked. Actually fucked.

Honestly, I already realized how bad the situation was when it happened. As expected, the clip of Luka’s Eoppa was setting the internet ablaze.

Their reactions were diverse.

There were those who took her words at face value and genuinely thought that she said appa. And there were also those who insisted that she was calling for her boyfriend.

[LOL you guys still cant get it together even after getting fucked like that, simps.]

[nah is it actually that big of a deal for her to call for her dad while playing a horror game? literally listen again, i clearly hear appa.]

[Lmao the popcorn tastes good.]

Scrolling through my phone, watching how her channel was on fire, I called Doah right away.

Was she okay…?

She was a timid one, it wouldn’t be strange if she was bawling her eyes out right now.

After the call rang a few times, a gloomy voice answered.

「Hello.」

「Hey, Doah.」

「Oppaaa…」

After hearing my voice, she seemed to unleash all the sadness she had been holding back. Sobs began to mix into her voice.

「Are you okay?」

「Yes…」

「For now, don’t look at the comments and stuff, wait until the company gives you instructions on what to do.」

「I already finished talking with Manager-nim earlier.」

Feeling embarrassed after finding out that she had already spoken to them, I asked her about their response.

Instead of giving me an answer, she told me that we should go out instead.

「…I want ice cream.」

「…Should I buy some for you?」

「No, let’s go eat together.」

「Alright, I’ll be there in 10..」

I quickly got dressed before heading down the stairs to Doah’s house.

She was wearing a long padded coat and a backwards cap.

The padding was so long, she looked like a young girl wearing her dad’s clothes.

“Ready to go?”

“…Yes.”

“Let’s go.”

When I held my hand out, she grabbed it without saying anything. We went down the alley and entered our go-to ice cream chain store.

“Here.”

As I handed her the ice cream I ordered, Doah reached out with both hands to hold the cup.

She took a big scoop, smacking her lips together vigorously as if she didn’t feel the cold.

Meanwhile I was just sitting there, watching, thinking if I should ask what happened, when…

“…I got scolded.”

Doah brought up the matter first, as if knowing what I was thinking.

“You got scolded?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing me wiggling my eyebrows, as if demanding her to elaborate, she puffed out her cheeks for a moment before opening her mouth.

“They didn’t directly scold me or anything, but I did receive a stern warning. Also, they said that it would be very problematic if this kind of thing happened again on stream in the future.”

“Ah, I see… Is that all?”

“No. They asked if I really have a boyfriend, so I told them the truth.”

Surprised by her answer, I couldn’t help but raise my voice instinctively.

“What?! Is it really okay to tell them that?”

“Actually, I didn’t really want to tell them… But I was just being honest. There’s no clause in my CLOSER contract that says I can’t be in a relationship anyways.”

“I see…”

I didn’t know what to say. Should I say thank goodness, here?

Or should I ask her what the hell she was thinking?

In the end, I decided to spare her the unnecessary remarks and just held her hand instead.

“I’m sorry, I won’t stay around you whenever you’re streaming again.”

“No, it’s not Oppa’s fault.”

Doah shook her head vigorously.

“You know, in that situation… it felt like I would have screamed something like that even if you weren’t around, Oppa…”

“Doah…”

“And honestly, what’s making me more depressed is what happened next…”

Her gaze, which had been fixed on our tightly clasped hands, wandered outside the window.

A green town shuttle bus departed, its noise passed through the glass, reaching us.

“Jennifer unnie… said to me…”

For a while, she couldn’t continue talking.

---

CH 87

I’ve almost never been comforted in my life, but I rarely lamented that fact.

Now, though…

My mind went blank, I didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t make that face. You made me feel like I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Doah’s weak smile only amplified my self-loathing even more.

“Ah… Sorry…”

It was all my fault.

I was the one who persuaded her to play a horror game for the promise.

And I was also the one who went to the studio to help her out, in case she got really scared.

Everything, all of it, was my fault.

“Stop it. I told you to not say stuff like that, Oppa. I was the one at fault here…”

“How could it be? If I didn’t go, none of this would have happened.”

She wouldn’t be scolded by the company or hear any unpleasant words from the other CLOSER members.

Jennifer, the leader of CLOSER.

As the oldest member, she didn’t seem to have any intention of letting this matter slide.

In the group chat, where all other members could see, she practically humiliated Luka with harsh words and she had to keep repeating how sorry she was.

An emotion that I experienced for the first time surged.

Resentment toward Jennifer, who spoke so harshly to her, mixed with self-loathing over the fact that I was the one who put her in that situation, giving birth to an extreme displeasure.

Perhaps noticing that I became more and more drowned in my emotions, Doah got up from her seat and sat next to me.

“No, Oppa, I’m really fine. They said idols usually argue at least this much, you know?”

Ironically, I was the one who ended up getting comforted.

Maybe she tried to change the mood, Doah brought up a new topic.

“Besides, it wasn’t like they were only showing me bad reactions when I said that I have a boyfriend.”

Unable to understand, I tilted my head.

“Huh? Not all of them hate it?”

“Well… It isn’t like we’re the only ones dating, you know?”

A question mark popped up in my head.

What did that mean?

“Who else?”

“Are the other members dating too?”

Huh…?

Maybe because I only knew Doah in real life, I never imagined that the other members were doing the same.

I just assumed they were all single…

The thing that she said next showed me how mistaken I had been.

“Clover unnie said she’s been with her boyfriend for four years.”

That alone was already shocking, but the next one was even more so.

“While Fumurin asked me if I want to go on a double date?”

“…Was she actually being serious?”

Really? A double date?

We didn’t even know each other’s faces.

Just how much normie power did you even need to be able to suggest that?

“Honestly, I’m not sure if she was serious either. She said that right after I got scolded by Jennifer unnie, so I don’t know if she was just trying to comfort me or if she really meant it.”

When I saw her shrugging her shoulders, I finally felt a little relieved.

I was really worried that she might be getting bullied or something because of all this.

“At the very least, not everyone was super negative about it.”

“Oppa, we’re actually pretty close, you know? Our relationship isn’t 100% business.”

The conversation derailed to talks between their members, something they never revealed to their viewers.

Since it came up, I asked about the other members’ relationship status out of curiosity.

“Jennifer unnie said she’s not seeing anyone right now, and Leah said she’s not thinking about it. Currently, at least.”

“Really?”

“Talking about Leah suddenly reminds me of Junseok oppa.”

“True.”

Junseok said that Leah was his favorite.

Before we knew it, the advertisement production class only had the final presentation left.

“This is just hypothetical, but.”

Then, something suddenly came to my mind.

“What if Junseok and Leah dated?”

I knew how silly this was, but wouldn’t it be funny?

Always liked these kinds of silly and random questions.

“Hmm… But, would Junseok oppa like someone like Leah?”

“What’s she like?”

“Uh, she doesn’t talk much and she can’t really express herself well? She’s the type to only answer when asked directly.”

Ah… I got it.

She was like that in collabs too.

I just didn’t know that it was her real personality, not her character.

Since Doah and Luka showed such different sides, I mistakenly thought the others would be different as well.

“Well, Junseok is talkative, wouldn’t it be fine?”

“Maybe…”

“Ah, right, what does she look like?”

That guy seemed to care a lot about looks.

Still, she said that she prepared herself for musicals, so she must have been on the stage often. Chances were, she was really pretty…

“Oppa.”

Doah raised her index finger and poked my cheek.

“Is Luka not enough for you? You’re going for Leah too now?”

“What? No, it’s just—”

“Shush.”

She narrowed her eyes before attacking my sides.

“Apologize right now.”

“But why? I really wasn’t thinking about it that way!”

“You perverted Lucario.”

As my girlfriend’s finger launched a fierce attack on my side, I, who was weak to tickles, eventually raised both hands in surrender.

“Okay okay, I was wrong… But I really wasn’t thinking that?”

“You’re finally laughing.”

Doah stopped and looked at my face, smiling along.

“When I got scolded, I felt really bad, but I’m already okay now. You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

I swear I was the older one here.

Getting her to be considerate of me again made me irritated at myself.

“Doah, if you want to do a double date, let me know.”

Going back to our conversation, I tried to figure out what I could do for her.

“If you think you can get closer to her with that, we can do it.”

If it helps her work life even just this much, I could bear one day…

Even if I felt awkward just from thinking about it, surely I could endure it for a day if I put my mind into it.

“…Really?”

She sounded like she didn’t expect this, so I nodded as my irritation doubled.

“Yeah, of course.”

Just, why the hell did I have to answer like that at the time?

For the last day’s presentations, everyone came to class dressing up all nicely.

Standing between Oppa’s apartment building and mine, I lifted my head when I heard his voice.

“Wow…”

He was wearing a beige coat with a white shirt inside.

Usually, you wouldn’t see him wearing anything other than sneakers, but he came out in loafers today.

“Doah!”

“Wait…! Don’t come any closer!”

I reached out my hand to stop him from approaching.

“Huh? Why?”

“Just stand still for a moment.”

They said that you should admire good things for a long time.

And since he looked crazy handsome right now, I wanted to do exactly that.

“…Can I come closer now?”

“Yes.”

Seriously, he didn’t even work out, how could his shoulders be so broad?

I just didn’t get it!

We walked to school while holding hands and I ended up stealing glances at him the entire way.

How could he be so handsome?

Now I realized that there was a reason why Manager unnie gave him her business card as soon as she saw him.

This man really radiated a model-like aura.

While I was sneaking peeks at him like that, our eyes met and I froze stiff like a statue, as if I had looked into Medusa’s eyes.

“Uh…”

“Yes…?”

I awkwardly smiled.

“Is there something weird about me today?”

“Huh? No? You look like, totally cool?”

“Ah… I thought maybe I dressed strangely since you kept looking.”

Oppa lowered his head to check his outfit again.

“Do I really look okay?”

“O-Of course!”

If anything, I wanted him to dress like this from now on! But I didn’t say that out loud.

He was already so popular when he never put in any effort in his looks, there was no way I’d be able to handle it if he dressed like this regularly.

“Ugh, it is uncomfortable though.”

Bear with it! Please bear that level of discomfort for me!

As we entered through the campus main gate and into the lecture hall, the unique bustling atmosphere of the last day rushed in.

“Woah. You know, appearance wise, it would be a hundred times better if you’re the one who presents.”

Junseok oppa said that jokingly, but Taemin oppa shook his head vigorously.

“Hell no, I don’t want to ruin my grades on the last day.”

“Doahhh!”

When Minji linked arms with me, I also greeted her happily.

“Hi Minji.”

“If the professor’s evaluation is good today, should we have a get-together?”

“Get-together?”

“Like, we’ve been together all semester, but we haven’t had a proper meal together, no? Exams are over too, so why don’t we go out and drink?”

I glanced to the side and saw Taemin oppa’s eyes trembling.

Seeing his entire body sending a signal that he absolutely didn’t want to, I smiled and tried to give a good excuse.

“Drinking might be a bit hard since Oppa and I still have exams left, so how about just getting some food?”

“Ah, a light drink then?”

Minji must really like alcohol.

“A light drink should be fine. What about you, Junseok oppa? Will you come too?”

“I already got him on board before you couple arrived!”

“Yeah, let’s eat together.”

Junseok oppa, who was flipping through the presentation slides, tapped Taemin oppa’s elbow.

“I was planning to pay for drinks anyway since your girlfriend really carried the creation of the VR video.”

When my name was mentioned, Taemin oppa finally surrendered.

“Alright… Since Doah worked hard and all…”

But why were you looking at me with eyes like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse, mister?

The alcohol-filled reunion with him wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

---

CH 88

“That’s all.”

The moment Junseok took his lips off the microphone, applause poured in.

But, the important thing here wasn’t the applause, but the professor’s reaction.

Only when I saw the professor clapping like the other students did I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

At the very least, we nailed the basics, I guess.

“I was quite worried for this group, since the technique they proposed was quite new, but wow, this is brilliant.”

Doah and I made eye contact after seeing the professor’s satisfied smile before lightly nodding to each other.

“Putting aside the VR medium for a bit, the filming technique was excellent, everyone here would agree with me.”

“While it’s still faithfully following the style of advertisements we’ve seen a lot before, it still gives us a fresh feeling.”

“I have to praise them highly for their willingness to take on such a challenge.”

“But, I do have to point out something that I wish was improved on…”

As expected of a professor, I guess.

There was no way he’d be a yes-man who’d just say everything was good.

After receiving his feedback on what would have been better if we focused on which part, we thanked him and returned to our seats.

“Phew, it’s over.”

As if he was sweating from nervousness, Junseok wiped his forehead, letting out a relieved voice.

“Hey, good work everyone.”

“It was no big deal. At the very least, the professor seemed to like it.”

“Right.”

From next to him, Minji chimed in.

Our group sat at the very back corner of the lecture hall.

I felt sorry for the other presenters, but we were too busy whispering and chatting among ourselves to listen to them.

“Alright, we’ll meet up later at four then?”

“That sounds like a good time to eat.”

Because Doah had a stream at eight tonight, we ended up deciding to meet at that time.

“…Is it okay for you to drink?”

When I looked at my dear girlfriend with worry, she made a circle with her fingers.

“Just a little should be fine.”

Not much time had passed since her streaming incident, so I was genuinely worried about her.

It wasn’t like I didn’t believe that she could handle it well, I was just trying to eliminate any potential controversy at its source.

As I rested my chin, staring at the screen, the presentations were over before I knew it, and the professor came up to the podium again.

“Alright, with this, we will wrap up the advertisement planning course.”

“This semester’s performance seems to have improved a lot compared to last year overall.”

“I hope that what you have learned in this course will be helpful for your job or for elsewhere, really. Now, I will end our course here.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you!”

“Thank you for everything!”

As soon as the professor’s remarks that signaled the end of the semester finished, the sound of chairs being pushed back filled the lecture hall.

We went outside, then discussed our plans in more detail in the hall on the first floor.

“It’s one already, what should we do?”

Junseok asked after he checked the time on his phone.

“I have a liberal arts lecture in thirty minutes, I’ll come over after I’m done with that, okay?”

Minji had a class to attend to, while I didn’t have anything in mind, so I just gave Doah a blank stare.

“Why don’t we just head home then come back later?”

Doah looked at me, asking if her idea was fine. I just nodded my head.

“Alright, Hanseong Pocha at four. We’ll meet there.”

“Yeah, we’ll be off first then.”

I placed my hand on Doah’s shoulder and said goodbye to them, then we each went our separate ways.

“Oppa, do you think we’ll get an A?”

Doah must have been satisfied with the professor’s evaluation, since her smile hadn’t left her face.

“Right… Maybe…? I don’t know.”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure.

Because the other groups also received a lot of good comments from him, it was hard to predict what our grades would be.

“Ah… Still, I think the video came out really well. Hehe~”

There was a reason why Junseok said that he’d treat Doah to drinks.

It was her who stepped up and carried us through the finishing line.

Like, I myself only did the editing, while Doah was practically the film director for our project.

“You did well.”

When I stretched her adorable cheeks, Doah’s face became very much like the PArmySqueeze.

“Ow. Stwop it!”

So cute.

Hearing her saying it just made me want to do it more.

I only stopped after she slapped my forearm several times. Red marks remained on her face, who knows they were there because of the cold or because of me, though.

“Ugh.”

While touching her cheek with her small hand, as if they were hurting badly, she glared at me.

Damn, even that glare was cute.

Then again, whatever it was that she did, she looked cute to me.

Before we knew it, we had already arrived in front of her house and she suggested that we hang out there before leaving together.

-Beep beep beep beep

That was the sound of the passcode being entered.

When Doah gestured for me to follow her inside, I entered her room.

I always felt it, but Doah’s house seemed to have a fragrant scent.

“Oppa, I’m gonna change my clothes and come back here, okay?”

Taking off her coat, she opened the drawer and took out her comfy clothes.

“Alright, I’ll just sit here.”

As she went to the bathroom, I used my left arm as a support to lean on the bed.

“Hm?”

I felt a rough texture against my fingertips.

This was a blanket? Didn’t feel like it.

Curious about what it was, I fumbled with my hand and realized it was the string of something, so I pulled it out to see.

And that curiosity of mine created a scene that was out of a manhwa.

It was light pink underwear.

More specifically, it was the bra that she had been wearing and the thing that I grabbed was its string.

And, as you had guessed, at that timing…

“…Oppa.”

Doah, who had changed into her sweats, looked at me with cold eyes.

“What are you doing?”

Uh, holding your bra with my hands?

While you were watching, I guess…

“Ah… That’s…”

“Hentai!”

She hit the top of my head with fist.

It hurt a lot, so I knew that she definitely wasn’t holding back. Still, I didn’t know how to react to that.

“What are you doing to someone’s underwear?!”

“No! Wait! This isn’t—! It was on the bed, so I was wondering what it was…!”

“If you knew it was my underwear, you shoulda put it back and played dumb! Why did you keep on playing around with it?!”

Now, that was just unfair!

Too fucking unfair!

“I literally was about to put it back like you said… It wasn’t like I got any weird ideas or anything…”

The way her eyebrows furrowed told me that I fumbled in my word choices.

“…You didn’t get any weird ideas?”

“Yeah! I swear on my life, not even one percent!”

She suddenly bit her lip really hard and pushed my shoulder.

That unexpected attack was enough to break my center of gravity.

My upper body fell onto the bed as I looked up at her with a puzzled expression.

Doah looked down at me, and then…

“Why?”

…she climbed on top of me.

Her butt rested on my pelvis.

Noticing how embarrassing our position was, I inadvertently turned my head the other way.

“Uh… Doah…?”

“Why weren’t you getting any weird ideas?”

As if my answer didn’t please her, Doah’s hand turned my face back towards her.

“Um.”

No matter how much I shouldn’t equate Doah with Luka, Luka was an inviolable territory for me.

Since making lewd jokes or doing something that crossed the line with Luka would earn me a permanent ban…

And I had no intention of destroying my precious mental sanctuary with my own hands…

My mind went in an obvious direction.

Which was, I shouldn’t be thinking about weird things.

The problem here was that for some reason, I kept thinking this way without realizing it when I was with Doah.

It was hard to explain this in words, I didn’t seem to be able to organize my thoughts.

“So? What’s your answer?”

It felt like her gaze was constricting me, demanding my answer.

“Sorry.”

I pushed myself up, figuring that it would be better for me to apologize than giving her a clumsy answer.

With that, the two of us ended up sitting face-to-face really close.

Not expecting me to get up, Doah’s shoulders trembled and she pulled her upper body back slightly.

“That…”

Ugh, what should I even…?

Would it be right of me to say it this way?

Couldn’t I think of something else to say?

But, if she disliked it, I should fix it, no…?

“I’ll do it.”

“…Huh?”

Maybe because I left out too many words.

Doah’s face turned bright red.

“W-What?”

She was the one who boldly got on top of me.

How ironic that she became all nervous now.

I reached out and wrapped my arm behind her waist.

Her posture looked way too seductive.

Thanks to that, the distance between the two of us grew even closer.

It felt like she could even hear my heartbeat clearly.

You know what? I’d just say it.

Now, it was my turn to properly express my feelings for her.

It felt like my head was heating up, but that didn’t deter me from slowly opening my mouth.

“Um… From now on, I’ll start having dirty thoughts about you.”

Her face turned so red that it seemed it was about to explode.

---

CH 89

Staring at me with a serious look, Oppa said that he would have dirty thoughts about me.

I couldn’t even think of a response.

Yeah.

This was an awkward situation where I couldn’t agree to the words he said, nor could I pretend to be shocked and ask whether he was crazy or not.

So, instead of answering, I just got up from his thighs.

“Phew, it’s kinda hot here, don’t you think so?”

I said those words while walking towards the closet. Just like mine, Oppa’s face was also red like a ripe tomato.

Even though the temperature outside was so cold that the snow that fell a few days ago was still there, I opened the window wide.

Thanks to the chilly wind, my face started to cool down, little by little.

What the hell was this feeling?

It felt good, but it also felt off? Also, somehow, I was kinda looking forward to it?

I was acting as if Oppa wasn’t there for a moment, leaning against the window, when a question suddenly flashed through my mind.

“Uh… Oppa?”

Now that I actually felt a little cold, I closed and locked the window back.

“Yeah?”

Oppa also put down his phone and looked at me.

“So, um, this is related to what we were talking about.”

“Okay.”

“Um… Oppa…”

So, how did my boyfriend…

How did Taemin oppa usually satisfy his urges…?

“Yeah?”

Maybe bothered by my hesitation, as I kept on pausing in between my words, he urged me to continue.

“What is it?”

“Do you watch porn…?”

Wasn’t this supposed to be a topic that adult couples could comfortably talk about? Why did it feel so embarrassing? It wasn’t like we were kids!

“Uh…”

Seemingly not expecting this kind of question, Oppa’s eyes went around in circles.

“I-It isn’t like I don’t watch them or anything…”

Okay, at least he wasn’t impotent or anything. Huh, why did this revelation give me a strange sense of relief?

“T-Then.”

Anyway, they said that when an opportunity presents itself, you’d have to seize the moment!

Now that the mood was set and I wanted to learn more about him for some reason, I only needed to gather my courage and strike.

“D-Do you have any specific tastes or anything like that?”

Even if I knew, I wasn’t sure if I could fulfill them or not, but it shouldn’t be hurt to ask, no?

Wait, what if his taste was really, really weird or extremely perverted?

As I approached him, sitting next to him while watching his reaction, he looked down at me with a very troubled face.

“I do have some…”

His voice trailed off.

Was it really difficult for him to say?

Now I became scared, but I still asked him one more time.

“Is it something… you can’t say?”

“That’s not it.”

Oppa ran his hand through his hair, letting out a short sigh before opening his mouth.

“It’s just, I don’t really watch 3D.”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what he meant by that, but as soon as I realized, I stared at him with a gaze full of contempt.

“…It’s not Luka, right?”

Please, don’t let it be her.

“Eh? No, it’s not you.”

That answer was strangely unpleasant to hear.

Seriously, being with him made me feel like I grew weirder and weirder.

“Wow, there really is no one here.”

It was 4pm, the time we planned to meet.

Though the end of the semester was approaching, the bar was as deserted as it could be.

“Haa~ Obviously! Who would drink at four?”

Minji laughed, as if finding it absurd before opening the menu.

“You’re going to order some food, right, Doah?”

“Ah, yes. We haven’t eaten lunch yet, what about you?”

“Well, I got hungry before going to class earlier, so I bought myself a sandwich. I’ll pass. What about you, Junseok oppa?”

“I’m starving.”

We ordered some stir-fried octopus on a hot plate and an old-fashioned bento box each. While we were waiting for the food to come, we recalled stories of our group project.

“We really can’t talk about this stuff without some drinks.”

When Junseok expressed his desire to drink, Minji, who was sitting next to him, nodded vigorously, clearly agreeing with him.

“Yes! A lil drink to let out any lingering disappointments! Them’s the rules!”

But, Doah would have a stream later…

“Will it be okay?”

I glanced to the side to ask her and she nodded.

“It should be fine if it’s just a little bit.”

When the waiter brought the drinks out, Minji opened the soju battle with flashy hand movements unique to normies.

“Here~ I’ll mix it up nicely for you!”

The mixed concoction was somaek.¹

(T/N: somaek = Soju + Beer)

She skillfully poured some soju into each glass.

“Wow, you’re crazy good at this huh, Minji?”

Hearing Junseok’s laugh next to her, she let out a giggle.

“Heh, it’s not a skill you can master after doing it just once or twice!”

“Cheers!”

When Junseok raised his glass high to start a toast, we all clinked our glasses together.

With a refreshing sound, everyone downed it all in one shot.

That included me, who chugged the drink after checking their reactions.

“Keuugh! Now that the semester’s over, alcohol tastes so damn good!”

As he wiped the foam on his lips, he said that, setting a nice mood for the rest of us.

“Doah.”

“Yes?”

When Junseok called her name, Doah’s eyes widened.

“I’m saying this now. Honestly, I was quite pissed when you disappeared at the start!”

“Ah, right! Same! I was a little miffed when you suddenly left like that!”

Knowing the full story, I could only smile wryly as they talked.

They didn’t know. Our Doah here was on an audition to become an idol.

She was in the middle of a life-changing occasion, there was no way I could take their sides.

“I’m sorry.”

After she apologized again, seemingly really sorry, Junseok filled her glass with soju.

“Don’t be, don’t be. You carried us after that anyway. You worked hard and made up for it.”

That was good and all, but he wasn’t the one who gave me a bad vibe.

Sitting diagonally across from me, Minji was wearing an unusual expression.

“Oh yeah, back then, I wondered what was up with Taemin oppa. He acted just like some kind of protagonist from a drama, you know, he went ‘I’ll do it!” and all…”

When I heard her bringing up a story from the time when Doah and I didn’t even have anything going on yet, I suddenly felt a strong urge to drink.

…Ugh, so embarrassing.

This gathering itself already made me feel awkward and now they shifted the topic of the conversation to me.

Even worse, the way she was telling the story made it sound like I was trying to make a move on my girlfriend. Ugh, could I just crawl into a hole somewhere?

“Doah, did you know Taemin oppa had a thing for you back then?”

When Minji asked Doah in a playful tone, Doah waved her hands side to side.

“Nope, no clue at all.”

“How though? He gave off that kind of vibe, like there was something going on, like a spark.”

“Well…”

Doah, who was about to talk, suddenly stopped.

Most likely because if she were to continue, she’d have to mention that I had rejected her once before.

“You know, Taemin oppa is famous for being an iron wall.”

She was clearly trying to shift the direction of the conversation.

“That’s why I thought it was a joke when he first said he’d do it for me. Like, really? THAT Taemin oppa?”

Now all their attention was focused on me.

It felt like they were silently pressuring me to say something.

I downed the drink in front of me in one go. That gave me a little courage, at least.

“Well, I just thought that Doah was kind of cute.”

That should be a safe answer, right? I didn’t give off any information from that. But, for some reason, Minji and Junseok started making a scene in front of me.

“Wow! Oh my! Ughh~ I’m gonna die of loneliness as a single person. It’s almost Christmas too…”

“Han Taemin, you sly bastard.”

Junseok laughed and offered me another glass of alcohol.

“So when you two went to the VR experience center, you two were having a blast, huh?”

Actually, he was right. I didn’t know what to say to that.

“Can you believe that, Minji? We were working our asses off to look for data while these two went on a date behind our backs!”

“I know, right? How dare they! Especially you, Doah! You little punk, why are you the one who ends up being happy alone, huh? Huh?”

They continued hurling out their gibes, filling with their jealousy, while Doah and I were stuck as their punching bag.

We resolved our fate as pushovers, incapable of fighting back, only taking hits.

It was only after Minji went to the restroom and Junseok went out to smoke did we get our brief moment of respite.

“Are you okay, Oppa?”

Doah placed her hand on my thigh.

“Me? I’m fine.”

Actually, I kept on drinking instead of answering because those two kept on teasing me.

I wasn’t even sure if I was fine or not.

Though, I did feel a little tipsy. Probably.

“What about you, Doah?”

“I only drank a little, you know?”

“Really?”

Now that we got our short break, it felt like the alcohol was starting to kick in.

“You need to drink in moderation too, Oppa.”

“I’m fine.”

Ugh, she was treating me like a child again. It scratched my pride.

How dare she. She was younger than me.

And much smaller than me.

I reached out my hand to pull her towards me. Punishment time.

“Don’t get cocky, Kim Doah.”

“When was I being cocky?”

“Right now.”

Doah stared at me.

I stared back, not avoiding her gaze at all.

“Oh, what do we have here? What are you two doing?”

Having finished his smoke, Junseok clicked his tongue while looking at us.

“What?”

Seriously, couldn’t you see that I was punishing my girlfriend over here? What were you butting in for?

He didn’t answer me and instead just smiled at Doah.

“Doah, your boyfriend is wasted.”

“Yeah, we should probably get going now.”

…You two, why were you talking without me?

Why were you ignoring me?!

When I sent Doah a glare filled with dissatisfaction, she shook her head and stood up.

“I’ll take care of the bill, send me your portion later!”

“What? You’re leaving already?”

When Minji returned, Doah was holding my coat and told me to put my arms in. I grumbled while buttoning my coat up.

“Alright! Everyone worked hard! Enjoy your break!”

“Doahhh, keep in touchhh~”

The two saw us off, waving their hands.

I also waved back, feeling rather nice, and Doah bowed her head and dragged me back home.

The night sky was gradually getting darker.

By the way, why weren’t the streetlights standing up straight?

What the fuck were they doing, installing them at an angle like that? That could be dangerous.

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“Now I know exactly how much alcohol Oppa can handle.”

“What is it?”

Did she know that I could handle up to a bottle of soju?

“Half a bottle.”

“What?”

No? Was she underestimating me?

“Oppa, you can only drink up to half a bottle, okay?”

Given her habit of stating something obviously untrue as if it was the truth, I needed to demonstrate to her exactly how sober I was.

“Hey, Kim Doah.”

I stopped and placed my hand on her cheek.

“What?”

“I’m not drunk.”

“You’re drunk.”

“I said I’m not drunk. I remember everything you said.”

“What did I say then?”

“You…”

What Doah said today.

It was…

“You told me to push you down.”

Hearing that, Doah’s eyes shook like crazy.

---

CH 90

“When did I ever say that?!”

Surprised, I shouted at Oppa.

“You told me to have dirty thoughts about you earlier today!”

“No, I didn’t! I never said anything like that!”

It was 6 pm and we were near the college, so there were students still coming and going.

Worried that someone might have overheard us, I quickly looked around.

Thankfully, the passersby didn’t seem to be paying attention to us.

“…Really?”

His clouded eyes stared down at me intently.

“Yes, really.”

I didn’t expect him to ask that question, to the point that I suspected he might have mistook me for someone else.

“Then I really can’t?”

Ugh, seriously! Why was he doing this to me?!

With a tearful face and unable to answer, I grabbed Oppa’s arm and dragged him forward.

I swear, he was like a large dog.

It felt like I was dragging a large dog up a hill.

“Hey, Kim Doah. I can walk by myself! Ya hear me? I said I can walk!”

I could hear him mumbling nonsense behind me, but I completely ignored him as if I had pressed the deafen button on him.

Our walk back home felt especially long today.

“Let’s go in.”

After I managed to drag him to the front of his house, I wiped my damp forehead with my sleeve.

Seeing that I was sweating even in winter, I must have really struggled.

“…What about you?”

He asked me, holding the doorknob after punching in the password and opening the door.

“My stream starts soon. I only drank a little because of that, don’t you remember?”

“…No, don’t go…”

He grabbed my wrist and forcefully pulled me towards him.

Maybe it was due to the alcohol, but I didn’t expect him to use that much strength. With that pull, I was dragged right into his house.

I heard the sound of the door locking behind me.

“…Oppa, I really need to go.”

I wasn’t joking, I was being serious!

Well, it wasn’t like I had no time at all, but I wanted to wash up and change into more comfortable clothes first, you know?

“I know you still have some time.”

“Only two hours.”

“Two hours are plenty!”

At his childish whining, I let out a sigh. You know what? I’d just get him to sleep and leave. It’d be faster that way rather than arguing here.

“Alright, I’ll stay for half an hour.”

“An hour.”

“Half an hour. No more than that.”

When I firmly declared that this wasn’t negotiable, he took off his shoes and went inside.

After turning on the lamp, he threw his clothes off one by one onto the chair.

The scarf he was wearing must have been uncomfortable, because my boyfriend was busy taking off his clothes without a care in the world as they fell on the floor.

He sat on the bed, wearing just his slacks and his shirt. After taking off his socks, he pulled me, who had been standing still, towards him.

“Doah.”

He used both his hands to grab my wrists.

Then, I could feel the texture of his hair.

Like a sinner begging for salvation, he lowered his head in front of me and started to self-diagnose.

“I think I’m drunk.”

“You just realized that?”

I laughed in disbelief.

Seriously, everyone who had eyes could tell that, he was the only one who couldn’t!

“Whatever, better late than never. Come on, lie down quickly.”

I wanted to tell him to change into more comfy clothes and sleep…

But, I didn’t want another mishap to happen again, so I just pulled the blanket instead.

“Come here.”

Oppa got up and went inside, fumbling.

I thought that would be the last of his antics, but…

“…What are you doing?”

Lying close to the wall, he gave me a blank stare while asking me that.

“…What?”

“Why aren’t you coming in?”

His tone made it as if it was something obvious to do. I even second guessed that I probably had messed up somehow.

“No no, why would I come in there?”

Coming to my senses, I snapped back in disbelief.

Seriously, I was just going to watch you sleep then leave!

“Well…”

When he realized that I had no intention of coming in, he crawled over on his knees.

“Because you said you wanted it.”

Ugh, that look in his eyes was too dangerous!

His smile possessed a different quality from the one he usually showed me.

It stimulated my lewd desires. If I had a word to describe it, it would be arousing.

I instinctively sensed danger and took a step back. He didn’t stay idle and took a step forward, as if saying that I wasn’t allowed to run away.

“…Oppa. You’re only doing this because you’re drunk right now. Just go back to sleep quickly and wake up tomorrow morning…”

“No.”

He cut off my words.

“I just…”

My boyfriend raised the corners of his mouth.

“…want to be with you.”

…That was just unfair!

He never said something like this normally!

Instead, he always looked at Luka while giggling to himself!

Well, I knew that he wasn’t very good at expressing his affection.

He did say that this was his first relationship.

That was why, even when he didn’t say cheesy things…

I endured it, even when at times, I became doubtful that he really loved me.

But now that he was intoxicated by alcohol, he kept on whispering sweet nothings to me!

“Doah.”

His low whispers… I couldn’t resist them anymore…

It was getting hard for me to hold back.

He wasn’t the only one who drank some alcohol.

Unsure of what to feel, I relaxed my body as his two hands cupped my cheeks as if it was the most natural thing to do.

“I love you.”

His face was getting closer and closer.

What would happen from this point forward, was an uncharted territory. I had never experienced it before.

As I slowly closed my eyes, I felt the warm and soft sensation of his lips.

Maybe because it was winter, his lips felt a little rough, but that feeling only lasted for a moment.

His tongue brushed over my lips.

The unfamiliar sensation made me widen my eyes, but he pulled my neck even harder, as if he wasn’t allowing me to be surprised.

His tongue slipped between my parted lips.

It was an aggressive move and hot at the same time.

I didn’t know when I would get to breathe.

Unable to do this or that, I also wrapped my arms around the back of his neck, just like what he was doing.

Our tongues intertwined with each other.

And our lips were glossed over by saliva as if they were never dry in the first place, and when our lips parted, I heard his panting.

“Haa…haa…”

That was my first kiss.

When I was younger, I had always imagined what my first kiss would be.

I thought it would be an innocent kiss in a really romantic place somewhere.

But, reality was different from fantasy.

No, it wasn’t unpleasant or uncomfortable.

It was just…

…Much hotter than I imagined.

“…This is your first time, right?”

Ironically, the first words that came out of my mouth were words of doubt rather than my feelings on this situation.

Then again, it was hard not to be suspicious!

Using my standards… He felt too skillful.

Like, how his tongue was… Violently…

Ugh, I didn’t know how to say it!

“Yeah… It’s my first.”

His answer that was accompanied with his panting sounded so sexy. It made me want to feel the previous sensation all over again.

“But, how are you so good at it?”

“I’m an expert at theory.”

A chuckle escaped.

“What the hell? Just how much have you seen? Really.”

“Too much. Probably a lot more than you think.”

“In 2D?”

When I asked jokingly, Oppa explored my lips again instead of answering.

He had been dominating me until now, but this time it was different.

Because I also wanted to take a lead, even if it was just a little.

I nibbled and caressed his lower lip, playfully slipping my tongue in and out.

“Euk!”

His greedy tongue seemed to want to get inside my mouth somehow, but when I rejected him, Oppa made a strange sound with a sulky face.

Unable to tell me what he wanted to do with words, he only sent intense signals with his eyes.

Ahh…

Happiness…

The feeling of being connected to each other, being able to confirm each other’s feelings, felt really nice. But, a realization made me feel sad all of a sudden.

Because the drunk Oppa would forget things easily.

It was like that when he left me with kiss marks.

Even though he tormented me so strongly to leave out those marks on my body…

Yet he said he couldn’t remember anything when he woke up in the morning! Even after some time had passed, I still got pissed whenever I thought about it!

I gently push his shoulders back.

The thought that all of this might become just my memory alone made me feel like I couldn’t continue with the same mood as before.

“…Why?”

My boyfriend asked me the reason for my action.

I didn’t even consider hiding it from him.

“Because I’m worried you’ll forget everything again, Oppa.”

I was afraid all these feelings and emotions would be treated as an accident.

But his answer was more than enough to make my heart flutter.

“…That won’t happen.”

My face was reflected in his dark eyes.

“I will…”

His finger wiped the saliva from the corner of my lips.

“…remember what happened today, no matter what.”

And once again.

He placed his lips on top of mine.

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