The Benefactor
The somewhat impromptu cooking stream had ended successfully.
Not only had I achieved my original goal of teaching Sihyeon to cook, but the results weren't half bad either. Jaejun, like most men who claimed stir-fried pork as their favorite food, had given his approval, so there was no need to elaborate on the quality.
There had been a minor incident where the viewers collectively lost their minds midway through, but it wasn't a big deal. Sure, Jaejun had unexpectedly drawn hostility from my fans, but that was just business as usual whenever I appeared on stream with a man. Consider it a regular occurrence.
With the cooking stream safely wrapped up and my cute neighborhood friend Sihyeon's request fulfilled, there was nothing to worry about. The Vtube viewers who had been quietly hoping for more of my daily content would probably be pretty satisfied once this video went up.
But of course, life isn't easy. Just when you clear one hurdle, another appears. Granted, cooking with Sihyeon wasn't exactly a major obstacle, but the prep work and various tasks did take a lot of effort.
Anyway, back to the present—I was facing a new challenge.
"Ugh, Unni... I'm so, so grateful..."
A pretty young girl was standing in front of me, tears streaming down her face. She was gripping one of my hands tightly with both of hers, looking utterly pitiful.
What was going on? She'd randomly called me out and started crying, leaving me completely at a loss.
Men's tears are weaknesses, and women's tears are weapons, or so they say. I didn't know who said it, but it fit perfectly. I was being attacked without mercy right now.
Passersby kept glancing our way as they walked by. No one stared openly or struck up a conversation, but they clearly wondered what was happening.
After a while, the girl who had been clutching my hand and crying seemed to compose herself and looked up with a bright face.
"I'm sorry, Unni. I acted like a child, didn't I?"
"...."
She had made things awkward, and she had acted like a child—but she was actually the age where being called a child wasn't entirely wrong.
Eighteen, they say, is the age of blossoming youth. The age where you laugh at falling leaves one moment and plunge into sudden melancholy the next. Truly an age of rich sensitivity.
Eighteen years old, a current high school student. There was only one person I knew who fit that description.
Seulbi, the sub-vocalist and youngest member of the girl group Midkiss. We'd crossed paths during her appearance on the broadcast program Midnight Talk, and despite her busy schedule, she'd kept in touch with me ever since.
Her appearance on Midnight Talk had gone better than expected, and she thanked me every time we spoke, which was a bit burdensome. She'd kept saying "Let's meet up" until finally, here we were.
Still, I couldn't really fault her for causing a little trouble. How overwhelmed must she have been to act like this?
"It's okay. I understand."
Offering that generic comfort, she immediately lunged forward again, eyes glistening with fresh tears.
I sighed inwardly but patted her back, murmuring "There, there" as she buried her face in my chest.
My chest was a little damp where Seulbi had buried her face.
Stage name Seulbi, real name An Ju-hui, lifted her head from someone's embrace.
It was so soft and cozy she didn't want to leave, but she couldn't stay like this forever.
Embarrassing.
As soon as she came to her senses, shame washed over her—along with humiliation, self-pity, and a sense of her own foolishness.
Despite pulling her face away from Kayak's chest, Seulbi couldn't bring herself to look up. The emotions swirling in her head were overwhelming.
I'm not a child anymore. I'm all grown up...
Kayak might not agree, but Seulbi truly felt that way.
How many years had it been since she'd entered the entertainment industry? No, even setting that aside, how long had it been since she'd left her hometown to start her trainee life? This childish behavior was something she should have outgrown long ago.
She couldn't understand it herself. She never acted spoiled in front of her older group members, always staying strong and composed. So why had she thrown herself into Kayak's arms the moment she saw her?
Was it because of those maternal, generous breasts? They were certainly full. She could bury herself in them for hours. Seulbi now partially understood why men went crazy for such heavy, soft flesh.
Ahhh, seriously...
How was she supposed to recover from this situation?
Part of her desperately wanted to escape this moment, but another part knew she needed to apologize properly to Kayak as an adult.
After all, Seulbi had arranged this meeting herself. The reason she'd done so was to properly express her gratitude to Kayak.
After appearing on Midnight Talk, the dance Kayak had performed there had gone viral, bringing attention to Seulbi's group. Lately, they'd been getting more schedules, and for the first time in her dark idol life, she felt light breaking through.
So Seulbi, her group members, the company staff who had hoped for Midkiss's success, and their fans—all of them owed Kayak a debt.
If Kayak had known, she would have waved it off as exaggeration, but Seulbi truly felt that way.
Anyway, she was in a situation where bowing a hundred times wouldn't be enough. This wasn't the time to be crying and hiding her face in shame.
With that resolve, Seulbi lifted her flushed face—and at that exact moment, Kayak set down what she'd been carrying on the table.
They were desserts so sweet they made your mouth tingle.
Blueberry cheesecake and matcha latte. All Seulbi's favorite menus.
Seulbi's eyes widened as she looked at Kayak, who had brought them. Kayak smiled warmly and said:
"I remembered you liked them. You seem like you have something to say, so let's talk while we eat."
Kayak had remembered what Seulbi had casually mentioned in the waiting room last time.
This is cheating. This is so unfair. How can she be like this...
Seulbi felt tears welling up again and covered her face with both hands, whimpering.
She was such a crybaby.
I distinctly remembered her being mature and poised for her age last time. What's going on today, crying the moment she sees me?
Now she was sitting there with puffy eyes, happily munching on dessert. It was nice to see her looking brighter.
"Here, Unni should eat too, ah."
"No, I'm fine..."
But she kept scooping up big bites of cake and feeding them to me, saying I wasn't eating enough. As the saying goes, you can't spit out food when someone's smiling at you. I couldn't help but open my mouth as she handed it over with a cheerful grin.
Then Seulbi started rambling incoherently.
"Unni, do you want to join our company? No, you should join."
"What are you talking about..."
There were several issues with that statement.
First, whether I wanted to join was beside the point—Seulbi didn't have the authority to offer that. What power did a company idol have to bring someone in?
"I'll figure something out!"
"Never mind. Why would I join an entertainment company in the first place?"
Seulbi rambled on about how I was half an entertainer myself and had more recognition than most people, but those weren't important points. I didn't plan on appearing on broadcasts anytime soon, even if I might later.
Someone might say I should strike while the iron's hot, but I felt I'd had enough experience from the last broadcast. My personal stream was already doing well enough.
"Hmm, then at least come see the company while you're here. I'll introduce you to my older members too!"
"Don't you have schedules?"
"I cleared them all for today."
From what she told me, I was practically treated as a benefactor within her group, and everyone wanted to thank me.
Thinking back, Midkiss had been on a roll lately. They'd been appearing on broadcasts frequently and seemed to have entered the ranks of major groups.
Not a few people had even come to my stream to thank me for Midkiss's success.
There was no need for that, though. I'd just done what I needed to do. I hadn't done anything that warranted such gratitude.
But Seulbi didn't seem to listen, no matter how many times I said it. She nodded as if understanding, then grabbed my wrist and started walking toward her company.
"This is the recording studio, this is the lounge, and this is..."
Seulbi explained excitedly, her steps light and bouncy. Honestly, I wasn't really listening. I just nodded along, treating it like watching a child's antics.
"I think the older members are in the choreography practice room. Let's go check."
And so we arrived at the choreography practice room. The distinctive K-pop backing track could be heard through the door, along with the occasional sound of shoe soles dragging across the floor.
"They seem to be practicing. Is it okay to go in?"
"It's fine, it's fine. They said I could bring you anytime."
"Older members— we're here!"
The door to the choreography practice room opened, and I followed Seulbi inside.