Date with Her (2)
We arrived at the cafe and grabbed a seat at a decent table. I'd only ever been to places like this on dates with my ex-girlfriend, so after heading to the counter with I-se, I fumbled for my wallet to order the cheapest Americano on the menu. Sure, she'd said she'd cover everything—but how could I let a girl I just met pay for it all? At least Dutch pay would be the decent thing to do.
But...
"...Huh?"
My wallet, which should have been in my pocket, was nowhere to be found. Had I left it at home? No, that couldn't be—I'd definitely used my card to tap in at the subway station. So, had I lost it in that short time?
A chill ran up my spine with a bad premonition just then.
"Here you go!"
I-se, who had been standing behind me, handed me my wallet.
"Huh?"
"You dropped it on the floor."
"Oh, really?"
I'd never once dropped my wallet before, so I was a bit flustered—but still, the thought of nearly letting her pay for everything made cold sweat break out. As I opened it up, thinking that...
"...Huh?"
There was 300,000 won in cash inside. I'd put all my money on my card, though...?
It sure as hell wasn't like money multiplied on its own in there.
That's when it hit me. I turned to look at her face.
She gazed back at me with an utterly innocent smile, then said in a cheerful voice,
"Buy me lots of tasty stuff today!"
"......"
No way... had she slipped the money into my wallet?
Using her own cash, just to save my face at the counter?
"...Ah."
I barely held back the urge to tear up for real, shaking myself straight.
No matter how you sliced it, was there really a donation reward that went this far? Sure, someone could argue I gave her 1.65 million won and got 300,000 back, so what was the big deal... But the gratitude from her thoughtfulness didn't just vanish like dust.
I couldn't keep the waiting part-timer standing there forever while I drowned in sentiment, so I ordered drinks for us both. We took our menus back to the table and sat facing each other.
I considered bringing up the money in my wallet to her beaming face, but decided against it.
Never mind. No need to make a fuss.
Here, acting like an adult meant not nitpicking her kindness, but accepting it. Besides, this was basically a date under the concept of her [reward].
The money? I could always give it back later.
And so, a brief silence fell.
I broke it first.
"So? What fun content did you prepare for today?"
"Yeah! Content! You nailed it! But first!"
She grinned brightly.
"Can I borrow your phone for a sec?"
"Huh? Mine?"
"Yep!"
There wasn't anything on it I couldn't show someone, so I handed it over without a second thought.
"Thanks!"
She fiddled with it for a moment, then showed me the screen.
Prwichi TV was open—specifically, the notification bell for RenaPpi's stream.
"Now you have to watch my streams without missing a beat!"
"No way... taking my phone just to hit the bell isn't your big content plan, right?"
She answered with a proud look.
"Of course it is! Alright, now for a super fun story!"
"A fun story?"
"Listen up!"
She tapped her ample chest with one hand.
"What does a pacifist order at a Chinese restaurant?"
"......?"
I stared at her coldly, already convinced this was a waste of time. But she powered through with enthusiasm.
"Anti-war tray, extra large!"
"...."
"How 'bout it? Funny, right?"
"Haa..."
My long sigh slipped out involuntarily, and her energy dipped just a bit.
"Not... funny?"
"Yeah. Not funny."
"But! The sand grains thought it was hilarious. They all went [Lehahaha]!"
I swallowed the urge to say, That's what you do when you're forcing a laugh.
"That's what you do when you're forcing a laugh."
Damn, it came out anyway. But I couldn't let it slide—if I didn't say something, she'd think it really was funny. No way I'd stand for that!
"I kinda figured... Yeah, I had a hunch."
Her disappointment was plain as day on her easy-to-read face. Meeting her in person really drove it home: this girl wore her thoughts on her sleeve. The way she dropped slightly offbeat jokes only reinforced that the stunning beauty who'd done a phone date with me on her 100-day milestone stream as the hakko streamer RenaP was one and the same.
"But seriously, you really nailed it, huh?"
"Huh?"
"Rena... I mean, I-se. You succeeded big time, right in front of everyone's eyes."
I'd wanted to praise her more warmly, but it came out a tad cool from the awkwardness. Still, she beamed like it was fine.
"Ehehe. Had to, right?"
"Oh, confident, are we?"
"Yep!"
She thumped her chest again with that same proud look from her weird gag earlier.
...By the way, every time she did that, her huge breasts jiggled a little. If she wasn't doing it on purpose... damn, what insane potential she had for yuksujigi!
"You taught me everything, Min-ho!"
"...Huh?"
She recited it like a monk quoting scripture she'd memorized by heart.
"Always cherish your fans! Build buzz with singing streams! Change your nickname to RenaPpi, swap out that weird avatar, work hard so the yuksus become true fans, and give them dreams and fantasies too!"
"Everything I do is just following your advice!"
"I remember every single word you said back then, crystal clear. Haven't forgotten a moment!"
And with that, she looked at me and smiled brighter than ever.
"You've always been right by my side! So of course I'm loved this much—don't you think?"
"......"
She shone so dazzlingly.
RenaPpi. The girl who came down from the sun to this world, always carrying its light in her eyes. And the woman who made her exist, Ryu I-se, glowed like the sun herself.
Today alone, my chest had tightened twice already. Once when she slipped money in my wallet, and now as she told me I'd helped her.
...My ex dumped me because I wasn't 'worth keeping around.'
And here this woman was saying I made her loved because I was always by her side.
Even though I'd actually been in a coma for a year and hadn't been there at all.
"Oh, right! I have a question too."
"A question?"
"Yeah! Um... after your first stream but before the donation, did you ever watch mine...? Even anonymously, not logged in."
She fidgeted with two fingers shyly.
"Ah..."
Come to think of it, she didn't know I'd been in a coma that whole time.
How to explain that...? Right as I pondered, a familiar melody drifted into my ears—one I figured I'd grown used to by now.
"Oh, this."
The song shifted the conversation naturally.
She leaned in close, whispering excitedly like a kindergarten kid sharing a secret.
"This is it! My song! New track!"
"Yeah, I know."
The song RenaPpi uploaded three weeks ago, which hit 30 million views in that time. Just Tell me, Sir.
I'd even listened to it on the way here.
"What do you think of this song?!"
Her eyes sparkled as she asked, and I swear I could almost see a sun whirling in them.
"I like it. You sing really well, I-se—"
"Thanks so much! I'm thrilled! But that's not quite what I'm asking!"
"Not quite?"
She stared straight into my eyes.
"Don't you get it?"
"......No clue?"
Come on, throw me a hint before asking if I get it!
As if reading my mind, she kindly unpacked the secret of her new song—one only she knew.
"This song's title is Just Tell me, Sir."
"Yeah. So?"
"Look at the album cover!"
She pulled out her smartphone and showed the single's jacket: a side profile of RenaPpi wearing headphones, eyes closed, head bowed, with Just Tell me, Sir written above. Pretty standard.
She pointed at it, chattering happily. Her perfume hit my nose as she leaned closer.
"If you take out just the red capital letters, what do you get?"
"...J, T, and S."
"Right! JTS! There's a hidden meaning—anything ring a bell?"
"......?"
Still lost, I stared. She grinned wide and whispered even closer to my ear.
"Jihachel Tlttak tlni Stealer... that's what it is♡"
"Cough!"
I hacked a few times. What the hell? Was she saying her hit song's title came from that troll nickname?
"Hehe. I figured Jit-leus... I mean, Min-ho, would catch on, so I named it that."
"How the hell would I catch that?"
"And technically, shouldn't it be Subway-Old-Man-Denture-Stealer?"
She giggled at my protest.
"But then you might not get it!"
"I didn't get this either!"
I was floored. I took a sip of my Americano to wet my throat.
And that's when I realized—I'd smiled brightly for a split second hearing it.
At the same time—
"Ah! Min-ho smiled!"
She beamed like it was the best thing ever.
"You looked like you had a lot on your mind. I wanted to make you laugh somehow, and I finally got one!"
Did I look that troubled? Well, life had been rough lately, nothing going right... Showing that side even briefly on a fun outing made me feel bad.
Need to manage my expressions better.
JTS, huh. If it was just for laughs, it kinda made sense. Who'd name a precious song after a troll nickname?
"...So it was just a joke to make me laugh? Here I thought—"
"Nope?"
Her reply came faster and firmer than I'd expected.
"JTS is Jit-leus."
"......R-Right... sure..."
For some reason, her stubborn tone left me speechless. I just nursed my now-melted-ice Americano.
*
After the cafe, we grabbed food, then a light walk. A textbook date, but honestly, a blast. Eating something tasty for once was pure healing.
She really was a streamer—kept the audio flowing without awkward silences, chatting away so happily we never ran dry.
Hell, 1.65 million won felt like a steal for how hard she tried.
Her question about my year got brushed off vaguely—but no need to drag down a good day with heavy stuff.
Sunset came before we knew it. Time to part ways.
"I wanna hang more, but I have a company visit tomorrow... Sorry."
"No worries. It was plenty fun. Worth the donation, at least."
"Really? Ehehe... So glad."
Would I get to hang with I-se again? Probably weird to ask too often. Or maybe this was it—just the reward, no more meetings.
She was busy, after all. Still, these memories would fuel me plenty going forward.
"Ah! I'll drive you home. I brought my car!"
"Home...?"
"Yep!"
She started toward the parking lot, but the word "home" froze me, my face slipping before I could control it.
"...?"
Noticing, she came closer with a worried look.
"Everything okay?"
"Uh... I can go alone."
"No way! I'll drop you. It's part of the reward! No backing down!"
I debated some excuse to refuse—then stopped cold, like a gadget with a dead battery.
I still don't know why exactly. But right then, I just wanted to be honest about my situation. No lies.
About the year-long coma no one knew of.
"Actually... I don't have a home to go back to."
The words tumbled out in front of her.