The Sweet Scent

Collab?! (7) Ah~ This is nice. So this is what they call a woman’s scent. I get it now. Why gamers chase after girls. Why they’d even pay money just to game with one. I understood everything. Just listening to her voice made me happy. If I were a guy right now… this girl would be going “Oppa~ Oppa~” for real. Ha. I feel like swearing. Hoo-ha~ The scent… it’s good. I like it~

“Ehehehehe.”

“Hihihihihaha.”

How can someone laugh this much? I finally understand what a laughter virus is…! It’s just funny. We spent a while just laughing together. After we finished laughing… Maem started sniffling. Is this phase two? Laughing, then crying? You really can’t just anyone pull off this kind of scent.

“No… I laughed too much… too much… haa… haa… my stomach hurts.”

“Got it.”

“No… stop making me laugh… please…”

When did I ever make her laugh? I’m always sincere. There’s probably no one stricter, more dignified, or more serious than me.

“I’ve never been funny. You were just laughing by yourself. While giving off a really strong… scent. If I were a guy, I’d be ordering an immediate invasion right now… all the Jjang-i’s would be wearing wedding rings and charging in. Our Jjang-i’s are seriously one-man armies. They’re the ones who only use the chat. Absolute chat firepower. Ah.”

Oh no, I said that without thinking. The Jjang-i’s are probably puffing their chests out right now. I quickly checked the chat.

“No, that wasn’t an order… I just meant if I were a guy… then, you know. Yeah.”

“Eeeeeeh? No, really?”

“Your voice is nice too.”

“Eeeeeeeh?”

Aigoo. I said my inner thoughts out loud again. I did something bad again. I used to be good at holding back my thoughts, but ever since I started streaming, it’s gotten hard. Once you get into the habit of saying whatever comes to mind… you can’t filter it anymore. This isn’t my fault. It’s an occupational hazard. At least I’m a girl. A girl complimenting another girl is fine. It’s not something to take the wrong way. I was purely sincere with my praise. I hope she doesn’t misunderstand my intentions.

Those people were sexually harassing her. I wasn’t. I was being sincere.

“Just in case there’s a misunderstanding, let me say this. Maem. What I said was sincere… it was a compliment… not sexual harassment! Really.”

“…Huh? That makes it even weirder!! Hihihihahaha.”

“You like it that much? Should I keep going?”

I asked again because I thought she was giving permission since she was laughing. I had no bad intentions at all. If she had said “No, don’t,” I would’ve stopped. I’m trying to hold back. I really am. But she likes it. Maybe she’s the type who enjoys this kind of thing. Then… does that mean I can just say all the bad things I’ve been holding in…? I was really asking for permission. But why is the chat like this?

What did I even do? I didn’t do anything bad. If being honest is a crime… no, that can’t be a crime in the first place.

“You can’t. No… hihih.”

“But why are you laughing so much? I thought you liked it.”

“No… I just laugh a lot.”

“Hmm… so you laugh even when you don’t like it?”

“Hihihihahaha. No, seriously, stop. Don’t say it in that serious tone.”

This person… is she one of those landmine types? The kind who lures guys in like this and then… eats them alive? Like a praying mantis? I got scared. Really scared. A sudden chill ran down my spine. It felt like it made sense. I had no real evidence or reason. It just felt that way.

“Landmine type.”

“Yes?”

“The kind who lures guys in like that… eats them and throws them away… praying mantis landmine type.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Who could it be? Come on, tell me.”

“Ah… me? Ah! Hahaha. Me? Ehehehehe. No, it’s not. No, this is too funny. Seriously.”

I have no idea what’s so funny. Explain exactly what’s funny. If you don’t explain, I can’t defend myself. Right now, in my head, Maem is a praying mantis landmine type. Explain yourself. Don’t leave it like this. The chat will take my side, right? Of course they will. They realized I’m a mirror that only speaks the truth! Right? I excitedly turned to the chat.

“Sasaeg-origin evil Jjanga-nim. You wrote that you’re a new viewer but Jjangbro made you go kyung kyung… Are you a uterus owner? Really. Are you a real uterus owner? Can you verify? Evil Jjanga-nim. If you verify, I’ll give you a Jjangburger. Please verify. Where are you? Where did you go? Nim. Jjanga-nim. Answer me. Ah, I’ll give you a large one. Seriously.”

Really? There’s a uterus angel in our chat? I searched for over two hours before and couldn’t find one. I had concluded there were no girls in our room… and now such a perfect specimen is chatting. My eyes spun without me realizing. Then Maem spoke to me.

“No, why so suddenly? Why are you looking for female viewers all of a sudden? And… what was that vulgar line? Kyung kyung…? That’s way too much. Kyung kyung?”

“Because she’s a girl, so it must be her uterus. There’s no way it’s a guy, right?”

“Pfft…”

Maem… really laughs a lot. Way too much. Whatever I say, she bursts out laughing… What’s so funny? What part of me is funny? Explain it. Seriously. I have no idea. I want to argue… but the scent is so strong I can’t. The conversation isn’t moving forward. I’m also intoxicated by the scent… I can’t think straight. I really… couldn’t shake off this scent. To be honest, I didn’t even want to. I actually want to keep smelling it. I really should’ve been born as a medieval noble!! Then I could’ve created excellent talent. I’m someone with that kind of courage!!

I had no choice but to wait until Maem got tired of laughing on her own. After about three minutes…

“Haa… haa… it was so funny… really… now… shall we start?”

“Yes. But… can I ask you one thing?”

“Haa… what is it?”

“Why did you laugh? Can you explain what was so funny?”

“Ah. You’ve never been told you’re funny before, Team Leader?”

“Me? Hmm… no.”

I used to wonder sometimes how others saw me… and there was only one conclusion.

“I’m a really boring person.”

I don’t know how to make puns, I don’t say things people want to hear, and I’m not good at conversations… so to others, I’m probably boring.

“Eeeeeeh?!!! No. You’re super fun. Actually really fun. Seriously funny.”

“Hmm… how much?”

“Completely.”

“From the sky to the ground?”

“To the universe.”

“Hihih.”

So I’ve grown? I was a funny person? No~ Maem was genuinely laughing because I was funny!! What~ I almost misunderstood. She was just laughing because I was funny? I was funny enough to make her laugh as much as the universe? If she had explained it like that, I would’ve understood!! She’s a really good person. Pass… I knew she would. I’ve grown. Now I even do deep analysis!!

“What part was funny?”

“Everything~! Everything’s funny. The way you talk, your tone, the conversation. Everything. Just… everything. I like it so much. Everything’s funny. I’ve never met anyone like you. Superstar. Everything’s funny. It was so funny I almost collapsed from laughing. I haven’t laughed this happily in a long time.”

“Hmm, good. Pass.”

If she says this much… there’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sincerity. Pass. She’s not a bad person. She’s a good person.

“Thank you! Then, shall we practice now?”

“Yes! Sounds good.”

Dong dong. Yesterday we got our first win in scrims. Of course we lost every other game… but anyway, we got that first win. Everyone was really happy. Honestly, I wasn’t that happy. I didn’t do anything in that game. My damage was last… no super carry or anything… so it didn’t feel great. There’s something more important than that. Maem, who only laughed for me. I searched through her YouTube thoroughly yesterday… she really is someone who laughs a lot. Even when she duoed with some elementary school kid who was being a tryhard in FPS, she just kept laughing… I felt seriously betrayed.

‘No. Hihihihihihaha. Really? Carry me, noona~ I’ll trust you~’

“Ugh…”

How could she do that? Even if he’s an elementary schooler, a tryhard is still a tryhard. Is she friends with him? Does she think it’s okay to make exceptions just because he’s a kid? Asking an elementary school tryhard to carry her as noona? Wow… this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is going to be controversial, right? But when I checked the comments… they said it was funny… both of them are cute. Maem is cute today too. Her laughter is seriously addictive. Huh? Even if he’s a tryhard, they let it slide because he’s a kid? I didn’t know that… I really didn’t. I doubted Maem again.

“I’m sorry…”

I looked for other videos too. The comments were things like ‘Please upload a one-hour version of her laughter,’ ‘She laughs whenever someone talks next to her. Does she have a condition?’, ‘She’s seriously so cute,’ ‘Does half of every video just her laughing?’ There were many people who liked her, and many who thought the same as me. So everything she said yesterday was true… she’s an honest girl who doesn’t lie. An honest girl. After that, I studied Maem seriously. Luckily, there was a wiki. I read through it all. First, her age… undisclosed. She’s a VTuber… and she sometimes does half-cam. Her content is FPS. That’s her main content… especially good at sniping. Cool. Relationships with other streamers. Huh? What! I’m there. “Good broadcast chemistry…?” Ehehehe. What!! So we became friends? Ah~ really. I wanted to know more about Maem, my friend candidate, so I looked at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wiki in detail and checked the community… wait, what’s this?

Wow. That’s really interesting. How do people find this stuff? I searched for her previous life like I was possessed. She was a famous person with her own wiki. A streamer who reached 110,000 subscribers… but retired due to conflict with the company. I got curious and searched for the red pill too, but I couldn’t find it. Not finding the red pill was a blessing in disguise. I shouldn’t have looked. If I do this, Maem… previous life… Necky… ugh… no. No. Disappear. Go away. What are you doing. Disappear from my head. This is a really rude question… I absolutely shouldn’t ask this… ugh. Please get out of my head. We’re supposed to meet and practice again today like yesterday… this is really bad. I tried to forget by washing my face, shaking my head, closing my eyes… I did everything, but I couldn’t forget.

“No.”

Still, it’s fine!! It’s okay! Trust the grown-up Seon-a!! I can get through this without any problems. I can do it! Fighting. Aja aja. Hwaiting.