A Request for Countless Handshakes
Ririyang was a fan of Kayak.
She could never honestly confess that she had been one ever since they were selected for the same team. Back then, just managing her own stream had been overwhelming enough that she had no energy left to keep up with anyone else's.
In crude terms, the big names—the celebrities who had gotten into internet streaming—
Yeah, people like Taker, for example. Aside from a handful like him, Ririyang hadn't known much about other streamers at all.
She had only entered Taker's tournament because her viewers kept pestering her to apply, just as a trial run, and somehow she had ended up selected as a player.
For a broadcaster—for a streamer—Ririyang had a timid disposition, so while she was happy, she had also fretted in secret. Could someone like her, who had never even collabed with another streamer once, really hold her own mixed in among other people?
She had also carried the inferiority complex that she had been picked as what viewers commonly called the rural quota—the hole who sucked at Abyss and the designated punching bag—so that made it worse.
In a way, it had already been foreshadowed. That Ririyang would start creaking from the very first day of team practice. That even after carving out non-existent time to grind until the day before, she would still end up as the team's hole.
It was a tournament with crowds of people watching. As such, the stones thrown by the majority hurt more than usual.
The sharp chats. Even the viewers she usually saw unable to comfort her. She had braced herself for it, yet tears had still nearly welled up.
That was when Kayak—a streamer she had never seen before in her life—extended a hand of salvation.
Really, truly. A heart as beautiful as that pretty voice.
To the point she felt sorry for having doubted those teachings at first.
When Kayak recommended support, Ririyang had even felt a twinge of disappointment, wondering if she was being treated as little more than a tool in crude terms—but that had stemmed from the low self-esteem residing deep inside her.
Kayak had truly, sincerely thought of her. Of Ririyang. Not just a performance put on for the stream, but even off-stream she checked homework, praised, encouraged, and sometimes delivered strict feedback exactly as she did on air. Truly like a master teaching a disciple.
At that point, not becoming a fan would have been the strange thing.
No—it might even be fair to say she was more than a mere fan. Kayak had given Ririyang something more valuable than tournament victory itself.
Her usual stream, which she had fretted over endlessly, no longer felt like such a burden after the tournament.
That was why Ririyang had clung to Kayak politely yet persistently, asking if she could come to the dinner, begging her to come to the dinner.
Wasn't she a great benefactor in her streaming life? Ririyang wanted to face her somehow and express that gratitude. Even if Kayak herself might find such feelings burdensome.
And so, when a positive response came back from Kayak—when she finally secured the answer that she would attend the dinner—
Ririyang felt happy, yet on the other hand she also found herself imagining what face her teacher might have.
Everyone has their own unique image. Leaving aside the other teammates whose faces were already public and who usually ran cam streams, Kayak was truly a figure shrouded in a veil.
Sturdy like an older sister yet subtly quirky, and strict yet kind….
A rather complex image had formed inside Ririyang. That said, her head wasn't exactly a flower garden, so she hadn't overly beautified Kayak's appearance itself.
Decent black hair, somehow long, a subtly gentle yet firm impression.
The final sketch of Kayak drawn in Ririyang's mind just before the meeting.
For an imagination, it was a montage of quite high completion.
"Uh, Kayak-nim…?"
"Yes."
But the reality she faced directly was beyond imagination.
The real Kayak neither had black hair nor a gentle yet firm impression. She wasn't someone who could be expressed with such simple modifiers.
Dreamlike. Ririyang suppressed the urge to pinch her own cheek.
And without even knowing what she was saying, she opened her mouth.
"Kayak-nim? For real? Are you really that Kayak-nim who taught me Abyss…?"
She asked again even though she knew. Even though the voice she had heard earlier was already a familiar one.
Nod nod—.
Kayak merely sent a subtly puzzled look, as if wondering why this person was acting like this.
"Let's sit."
A hand that skillfully caught her dazed wrist. And then she strode toward the center of the room, the seat that drew everyone's gazes.
Ririyang was dragged into the room after her with an "uhh—" at the stronger-than-expected strength.
"Oh, Hoon-nim, you're here? Hoon-nim, come pick a course too. Opinions are split. Let's see, what would Kayak-nim like…."
"I'll take Course A."
"Course A? Lots of Course A. But just now who said—"
"Whoa! Camilla! Camilla has appeared!"
"Oh my god…."
Pupils fully dilated. And somewhat dazed faces.
Reactions not much different from Ririyang's.
Kayak scratched her cheek lightly, as if those reactions were awkward, then opened her mouth.
"Sorry for being late. This wine… I'll buy."
She had been about to say she would cover the first or second round, then, considering her financial situation, belatedly switched to wine.
Though the trap was that even that wine was expensive as befitting a high-end restaurant, Kayak had said it with the mindset of how expensive could booze be anyway.
Only then did people come to their senses and face Kayak.
The restaurant room started getting noisy for a different reason than before.
Kayak was someone who could be treated as the star of the table originally.
From the start, wasn't the team name Kayak Team? It had been named in a somewhat half-hearted way where the team leader's name simply became the team name, but still, Kayak Team was Kayak Team.
As such, the stake Kayak held in this team was considerable. To the point Limetaq cracked a joke that a Kayak Team dinner without Kayak was like a steamed bun without red bean paste.
Interest would have poured regardless of appearance, but with those looks drawing eyes too—
In an instant, Kayak becoming the center of the room was only natural in a way.
"Kayak-nim, you're really, really pretty! Are your eyes color contacts? Ah, natural. How do you take care of your hair? Your hair texture is so good. To get that color you'd have to bleach how many times. Ah, that's natural too. Wow… words really fail me. Can I touch it just once?"
"No."
Hakchu, who had stuck close to Kayak with a flushed face even without drinking a single glass of wine yet, stepped back with a dejected look.
Now it was Hangang's turn.
"Then are you mixed race?"
"I'll no-comment on that."
"No-comment…. Hmm, okay. But you really look like Camilla—. No, you're prettier than Camilla. Looking at it now, Camilla must have been modeled after you, Teacher."
"She's Camilla herself. So that's why you're good at Camilla. As expected, a master pays attention even to such minor details."
"If I dye my hair purple like Cassia, will I get good at Cassia?"
"Wake up from your dream, noona. It's a joke—why are you taking it seriously."
Hangang nodded in understanding. Limetaq and Hakchu bickered while putting in interjections beside him, and Limetaq, who had been tormented by Hakchu, muttered.
"At this rate, didn't the Abyss design team model Camilla after you, Teacher? Maybe you used to be with Abyss back in the day…."
To Limetaq raising a conspiracy theory, Kayak made an awkward smile, and Hangang, who was showing her the menu, nodded.
"You like meat, you say. Yes, Course A. Course A…. If it's not enough, tell me. I'll order more."
"Hyung, earlier you said you wanted Course B."
"Me? When did I… What Course B. Actually I wanted Course A too. Gotta eat meat heartily—what's seafood. Oh, you don't have to buy the wine. I was originally going to treat the first round. Huh? Late fee? No, for being only like ten minutes late, what—"
"Hangang oppa makes good money. Just Vtube revenue alone is how much. Don't worry."
"Right, right. Monthly hundred-mil Hangang. This is when you gotta fleece him."
"It's not a hundred mil…."
The dinner proceeded in a lively atmosphere.
Cheonhun, who came late, was stunned seeing Kayak, and people laughed watching that. A barrage of questions about Kayak continued while they all clinked wine glasses together.
Kayak wasn't the talkative type, yet she sat at the center of conversation. Answering flying questions while downing wine, sometimes smiling subtly, and for some questions even bringing her index finger to her lips saying it was a secret.
She was a charming person. Not just her appearance, but every single mannerism was utterly mysterious—so thought the people present.
Some among them even convinced themselves why Kayak never turned on cam.
Because she had the looks for it. On the day Kayak ever turned on cam, all of Twish would surely be in an uproar.
A massive storm would rage, incomparable to the day they had done the online drinking stream.
And so, once one round of question time about Kayak passed and a lull arrived.
People sitting next to or across from each other chatted quietly among themselves, and while Kayak was sipping wine with a subtly tired face—
Tap tap.
At the hand that very carefully tapped her arm, she turned her head.
"Teacher. Um, can I ask just one thing…?"
"Yes."
"By any chance… how old are you…?"
Since it wasn't that sensitive a question, Kayak answered comfortably.
The age on her current resident registration—Miss Moon A's age. That is, eight years younger than her original age when she had been a man.
"T-twenty-one…?"
Ririyang's eyes widened, then she somehow withdrew with a dejected face. A small voice muttering "younger than me, huh—" could be heard.
Kayak, looking at her, and glancing once at the others, quietly chewed her meat.
With a gentle smile on her lips.