The Algorithm-Picked Train Trip (3)
Chae Ji-hyeon didn't know exactly what state Seon-a was in, but she had a rough idea. She'd once spent over three hours on the phone with Seon-a's mom. What she did know for certain was that her parents were incredibly worried about Seon-a. And though she couldn't remember every piece of advice Seon-a's mom had given, a few lines had stuck with her. The way the woman spoke, as if she were dealing with a toddler, had left a deep impression.
"Our Seon-a can be rude sometimes. Whenever she does that, you have to tell her no. She'll understand if you explain it clearly. So every time it happens, you must say firmly, 'That's not allowed!' If you let it slide, she'll think it's okay. You have to be strict about it."
"She just doesn't know any better. Once she understands, she'll try not to do it, so you have to be clear."
"She'll keep asking why. If she does, just say, 'Mom said so,' and that usually settles it."
"If that doesn't work, tell her to talk to Mom."
"Our girl really tries hard not to do the wrong thing, so whenever she does well, a little praise goes a long way."
"It might be exhausting, but you have to keep repeating it. That's how she'll improve."
"Please take care of her. And thank you for staying by our Seon-a's side."
Chae Ji-hyeon could feel just how much Seon-a's parents loved her. At first, she'd been completely flustered by the sudden hand-holding and couldn't believe what was happening, but when she saw how upset Seon-a looked, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She hadn't understood why Seon-a was sad. Once she found out the reason, she was shocked. It was because Seon-a thought her own chest was too big. The reason was so far outside anything Chae Ji-hyeon had imagined that her brain stuttered for a moment. She could understand why the parents were worried. It felt like watching a kindergartener insist on going to the playground alone. So she hadn't said anything. This time, she'd let it slide. But if it happened again, she promised herself she'd scold Seon-a properly.
"I'm really looking forward to the trip. The food's going to be amazing, right?"
"Yeah. I think it'll be fun."
"Do you know how I came up with this idea?"
"How?"
"It popped up on my algorithm! I'll show you!!"
Seon-a pulled out her phone and opened YouTube.
"Look at this. I saw this vlog YouTuber in my recommendations? It looked so fun that I searched for more."
"Oh… this one's overseas, isn't it?"
"Ah, right. We can't actually go overseas, so I looked for Korean ones instead, and this was perfect."
"I see."
"I checked it out already. They eat tons of delicious food. Isn't that awesome?"
Seon-a grinned at her phone.
"Ah, Pyeongjipja, look at this too."
"What is it?"
"They eat all these foods. I looked it up. Isn't it great?"
"Oh… yeah."
"Are you good at taking photos? We should take some cool pictures to post on Insta."
"I'll do my best."
The ordinary conversation continued. Seon-a was occasionally rude, but she didn't stay that way for long. Once the food talk ended, Chae Ji-hyeon had barely let out a sigh of relief when it happened again. The rudeness came bursting out. This time it was sexual harassment, tossed out casually. And the target wasn't her—it was their colleague, Moddeok.
The explanation was blunt and disrespectful.
Pyeongjipja and I had been at the café for about thirty minutes when the topic of "girl power" somehow came up.
"Moddeok is seriously something else. She's really that big."
"…"
"It's true! Pyeongjipja, if you saw it you'd be shocked. You just haven't seen it yet. Once you do, you'll react the same way I did."
"Still… that's sexual harassment."
"We're VTubers!! Our faces don't show anyway, so it's fine."
For the record, VTubers don't get sued. I looked it up myself. I was scared too—someone said viewers got sued just for talking about Maru's face, so I checked. Turns out, because we don't show our faces, it's basically impossible. Defamation or insult charges require "specificity," and without a real face, the chances of success are almost zero. Plus, the bar for suing over malicious comments has gotten stricter because of how some YouTubers operate. I researched everything.
"Is it the same as that?"
"It is!!"
It is!! And if the person involved doesn't say anything, it's okay. If they were uncomfortable, they would've spoken up!! Ah, I should ask today. When Moddeok comes, I'll tell her I'm going to talk about her chest. If permission is the issue, I'll just ask for it.
"And when Moddeok gets here, I'm going to ask her."
"A-ask her what?"
"I'm going to say on stream that she has huge boobs. I'm going to mention those lewd, massive breasts!! How about that?"
I spread my arms wide, drawing a big, exaggerated curve in the air. But for some reason, Pyeongjipja's expression had gone ice-cold. Did I mess up somehow?
"No, Pyeongjipja, wait a second. Come here."
I whispered quietly. This really had to be whispered.
"Huh? Why?"
"It's Moddeok, right? So you'll think of breasts! Cow udders!"
Moddeok probably had the nickname "cow" back in school. That nickname must've hurt. You have to be careful when mentioning someone's old wounds.
"Uh… ow… ow… it hurts, Pyeongjipja. It really hurts. My cheek's turned into cheese. It's stretching out. Ow… ow."
Pyeongjipja suddenly pinched my cheek. It hurt… but she smelled like roses. Hehe. I hadn't even put on makeup, but Pyeongjipja had. She was such a girl. A real girl. I thought she was a girl, but then her expression suddenly turned strict. It felt like looking at Mom. And that feeling became reality. I hadn't realized it, but I'd been rude. I really hadn't known. I thought having a big chest was something to brag about. I thought it was a point of pride…
In the end, Chae Ji-hyeon drew her sword. She scolded Seon-a sharply and thoroughly. Then Seon-a spoke up.
"Is that not allowed?"
"No, it's not. It's completely wrong. Your mom told me to scold you if you did it."
"Ugh… it was bad?"
"Yes. Very. You can't do it again. Commenting on someone's body when they're not around can cause serious trouble later."
"…What if the person is there?"
Chae Ji-hyeon tilted her head and stared at Seon-a.
"Still not allowed!"
"Oh… so I really can't do it… Mom said not to?"
"Yes."
"Hng… Okay. I'll hold back!! Mom can even beat the devil!!"
"Eh? Ah, anyway, you can't mention it on stream either."
"Huk… really?"
"Yes. It's a very bad thing to do."
"Huk… I didn't know."
"You can't do it anymore."
"Okay!! I'll definitely keep that in mind. If I ever say something like that again, please scold me properly. I'll grow from this."
Seon-a still didn't fully grasp why it was bad or rude. But she'd learned over a long time that if Mom said no, it was bad. It was something she shouldn't do. Mom's scolding was stronger than any devil's whisper.
"Then what exactly counts as rude? Can you summarize it?"
"Kuh… a summary?"
"Yes!! I'll memorize all of it."
"No more rude comments."
"Ung… that's hard."
Seon-a let out a small groan and furrowed her brows. The rule was so broad that, from her perspective, it felt like being told not to speak at all. What exactly shouldn't she say? And how did Seon-a feel about it? Mom had explained it like this:
Seon-a, when someone else is talking, you shouldn't interrupt. No matter how much you want to speak, the other person might feel upset. Mom doesn't like it when you cut her off, right? You have to think about it that way.
Seon-a, when you're talking to someone, you shouldn't glare at them. The other person will think you're angry. Look, if Mom glares at you like this, how does it feel? Huh…? Right? Then Seon-a would understand and try not to do it again.
Of course, hearing it once wasn't enough. It just went in one ear and out the other. The second time, she'd remember about 1%. The third time, 5%… Through endless repetition and practice, she'd eventually fix it. It just took longer, but she would get there.
"Uh… so no sexual harassment at all."
"Why?"
"Because it makes the other person uncomfortable. It's extremely rude."
"Really? How much?"
"A lot. A whole lot. So it's better not to do it. Ah… oh!! Right. Seon-a, do your colleagues ever sexually harass you? They don't, right? Because it's a bad thing. If it were a good thing, they would've done it to you, wouldn't they? Right?"
"Oh!! Whoa!! That's amazing."
Seon-a's mind lit up. It was the perfect analogy for her. No one had ever sexually harassed Seon-a. Not even once.
"Wow!! That's huge. Now I get it."
Seon-a had two ways of growing. The first was repetition and mastery—repeating something until her body remembered it on its own. It always worked, but it took a long time. The second was understanding—grasping why something shouldn't be done. That couldn't be solved with time alone. It required a sudden flash of insight. But once she understood, she could apply it immediately.
Seon-a understood. She still didn't know exactly why it was rude, but because respected people like Maru, Moddeok, Pyeongjipja, Raming, and Maem never did it to her… she understood that it must be rude.
"I've grown. I won't do it anymore!! Thank you!! As expected of Pyeongjipja."
"You just did it though…"
"Eh? It's just a nickname!! I call myself Jjangham and Jjangforty too. But I don't feel bad about it. It's not rude. Moddeok calls me Jjangham too. That's fine."
What Seon-a had realized wasn't just that it was rude because Pyeongjipja said so. It was because no one else did it. Because Seon-a always tried to be normal, if everyone avoided something, she would avoid it too—even if she wanted to do it. If everyone did something, she would do it too—even if she didn't want to.
"I've grown so much. Mwahahaha."
"Hahaha… yeah."
Seon-a laughed heartily, delighted. She'd grown again today.
"Ah, this isn't the time. I need to call Moddeok. I have to tell her how much I've grown. Now I can look at Moddeok… without saying anything. Look!! I really won't say it. Pyeongjipja, watch me. Watch how much I've grown."
Seon-a grinned mischievously as she opened her phone.