People Are Kind
People are kind.
Wide awake.
On an ordinary late morning, I woke clear-headed in bed.
Once I had locked in a routine, my eyes opened on their own the moment the usual hour arrived. I rarely felt so exhausted that I wanted to keep sleeping, or lay there dawdling under the covers. I simply rose when I felt like it and started the day refreshed.
What a high-performance body this was.
In every way it differed from my old one—chaotic schedule, irregular sleep, always steeped in fatigue.
"Mmngh…."
Today, though, I somehow felt like resting. A quiet urge to roll around in the blankets a little longer than usual. I must have worn myself down without noticing. Lately the streams had run long, and the games along with them.
Camilla's sturdy physique never tired, but my mind was nowhere near that resilient.
Unlike my usual habit, I lingered in bed for a long while, tumbling this way and that across the plush mattress. Eventually I pulled out my phone, browsed the Abyss Gallery, even searched my own name, and quietly enjoyed the posts praising yesterday's plays. Watching Abyss shorts on VTube, I looked up to find a full hour had already slipped past.
It had felt like only a moment. How had the time gotten so late?
My phone, the community, VTube—they had simply deleted an hour of my life.
Time to get up.
It was already 11:36 a.m. Perfect for heading out the way I always did, taking a turn around the park, then grabbing lunch.
I shuffled outside, ate, walked, and on the way back ran into the little neighbor girl I had met before—Si-hyeon.
"Nom. How's work going?"
"You're a kid with some real questions…."
I had felt it last time too: she was far too mature. Maybe growing up in that environment had forced her to grow up fast. Even now she was tossing out questions that belonged in an adult's mouth, not a child's.
She had been alone at the playground, so I had happily pushed her on the swings and stuck an ice cream in her hand—and this was what I got in return. Still, I found her easier to deal with than an ordinary little kid.
Watching Si-hyeon demolish the ice cream while staring straight at me, I answered the way I might update a friend on recent news.
"Work… yeah. Pretty satisfying, all things considered. Viewers keep growing, and the money's coming in decently."
"Ooh, I see. Viewers meaning customers? Like more people looking for you, Unnie?"
"Exactly. That ice cream you're eating right now was bought with the money those people gave me."
"No wonder it tastes so good. Heh."
Si-hyeon sat on the playground bench with the ice cream still in her mouth, kicking her legs out and humming under her breath. Then she pulled the stick free and let out a long sigh.
"What? What's wrong?"
"It's Uncle. Seeing you work so hard made me think of him…. He needs to get a real job soon too."
Right—she had said her uncle was unemployed. Hearing this much made me curious, but it felt like a sensitive subject, so I couldn't just ask outright.
As if she had read my hesitation, Si-hyeon set the stick down and began speaking slowly.
"Lately it's honestly awkward just being home. Grandma keeps nagging him to find work, and Uncle keeps saying he'll handle it himself."
"Does he not work at all?"
"No, it's not that. He used to, but these days he even picks up part-time gigs. Grandma's just worried. He's getting older, so she wants him to land a stable job before it's too late. Easy to say, though. Job hunting's brutal right now."
"Uh… yeah. True…."
Was this really conversation material for an elementary-school kid? I found myself wondering all over again.
"I get where Uncle's coming from, though. He used to do a specific kind of work. He'd rather find a job that uses his major instead of just grabbing anything."
"What's his major?"
"What was it… video editing? I think that's what I heard. Yeah. He still sits in his room all day watching weird videos, so I'm sure."
"Weird videos… ah."
Ah. Right. That… um. Yeah. I understood immediately.
Si-hyeon's uncle, no matter how big the age gap, would still be in his prime. But living under the same roof as a kid meant he ought to show a little restraint.
"Si-hyeon, when your uncle's watching videos, try not to go near him if you can help it."
"Huh? Why?"
"It's… hard to explain, but there's a reason. He's probably concentrating, so he needs to watch alone."
I stumbled through the explanation. I wasn't sure why I even felt the need to say it, but better safe than sorry. Better she take my advice and learn the truth gradually than stumble headfirst into a whole new world—.
"Si-hyeon, who are you talking to right now… and what are you saying…."
That was when a heavy voice rolled in from behind us.
Si-hyeon must have noticed the shadow falling over her; she turned, then broke into a bright, sunny grin.
"Ah, Uncle…! Done with your workout? You're back earlier than I thought today?"
"Never mind that—why are you just casually telling strangers about your uncl—."
The man cut himself off mid-sentence.
His pupils began to tremble for no reason at all, eyes darting around with nowhere to land. Those eyes flicked to mine, then to my lips, then to my chest, then back to my eyes, my chest, my face—back and forth—.
Right. I hadn't introduced myself. Of course a stranger hanging around his niece would put him on guard.
"Hello. I'm Mun-a, from the studio apartment over that way."
Si-hyeon's uncle stood there with his mouth hanging open, looking dazed, until—
"…Uncle, what are you doing? You have to greet Unnie…!"
—Si-hyeon whispered and jabbed him hard in the side. Only then did he jolt with a startled "Ack!" and snap back to reality.
"Ah—ah. Yes! I'm Kim Jae-jun, Si-hyeon's uncle! Hello!"
A voice packed with forced energy, a flushed face, and a gaze that still refused to settle properly even while he spoke.
Having roughly grasped the situation, I offered an awkward smile of my own. I was hardly someone who couldn't read the reactions happening right in front of me.
"Uncle, Grandma said when you talk to someone you have to look them in the eyes. Otherwise it's rude. Why are you introducing yourself without looking at Unnie's face?"
"There's a reason for that…."
Uncle Kim Jae-jun scooped Si-hyeon up under one arm as she kept poking his side, then dipped his head toward me in a quick bow.
"W-we'll be heading in for today. I've got things to do, and if we stay out too long Mother will come looking."
"Alright."
"Hey, Uncle, you can't just carry me like this! Unnie, the ice cream was delicious. See you next time!"
Kim Jae-jun strode away with Si-hyeon slung under his arm. She waved from her dangling position; I waved back, then rose and started walking myself.
By the time I got home it was two in the afternoon.
I had only meant to eat lunch and take a quick loop, but running into Si-hyeon had stretched the outing longer than planned. Still, it hadn't been bad. Seeing her again after a while and chatting had left me in a good mood.
A leisurely, peaceful life was so sweetly satisfying that I finally enjoyed a proper rest for the first time in ages.
Even a freeloader's life wasn't so terrible.
Of course, even on ordinary days I already lived half like a freeloader, doing whatever I wanted.
About a week remained until the next tournament—the finals. No team practice was scheduled today; Ririyang and Hangang both had other plans. So today was personal practice or rest time for everyone. That was why I felt no pressure to hit the stream button in a few hours.
And yet… why was my hand drifting toward the start-stream button again?
This was supposed to be pure free time, the first in a while. I could watch a movie, lurk on forums, climb the ranked ladder—anything. So why stream?
Had my brain calcified from streaming nonstop lately? Or was I thinking I should row hard while the tide was in, now that things were going well?
Neither. This was just habit, and simple craving.
Lately I had fallen deep into streaming. Talking with viewers, watching them react to every little thing I did or said—it felt strangely good. I had started treating the stream as something special.
Sure, the money was a factor. At the beginning that had been the main goal. Now it was only secondary.
For me now, the stream was a second sanctuary, a nest. A kind of playground, maybe—a place where I could play with people who were intensely interested in me.
With that feeling I hit the button, and people poured in at once.
Hmm… looking at them lined up like this, the magic broke a little.
The viewers' words were so blunt and raw that they made my earlier warm feelings feel almost silly. I could only let out a soft sigh.
Still, I knew full well they were good kids at heart. They just didn't know how to express themselves properly and were clumsy about it; their hearts were kind—.
Good kids…. Uh, good kids….
Are they… really good kids?