Our Strange Cohabitation (2)

I chopped the onions and green onions without any trouble. Then I drizzled oil into the pan and heated it up. I laid the thinly sliced green onions on top—a classic method to infuse that rich scallion oil flavor. Anyone who cooked home meals regularly could pick up the technique easily, but the results were incredibly effective.

Tsssizzle!

Inhaling the fragrant aroma of scallion oil, I gave the kitchen another once-over. Every cooking utensil here was top-of-the-line luxury, yet not a single one showed any signs of use.

'Looks like she wasn't lying about not cooking much.'

Once the scallion oil was hot, I tossed in the onions and ham for a quick sauté. As they started to color, I cracked the prepared eggs right into the pan. Then I cranked the heat and added the pre-scooped rice, stir-frying it fast. Done.

'Piece of cake.'

Back in the days when I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scraped by to save every penny on food, I'd survived on golden fried rice—rice grains coated in egg all day long. Three meals a day, every day, just to help cover my ex-girlfriend's tuition. After honing my fried rice skills in that tiny room, it was simpler than boiling ramen for me. And today? Luxurious add-ins like onions and ham. How could it possibly taste bad?

"Whoa..."

Of course, the one who'd actually botched it with these ingredients was standing right behind me. Ryu I-se watched me shake the pan and marveled.

"Min-ho, are you a chef or something...? This is insane..."

"Cut the flattery. No tips coming your way."

"It's not flattery! It's true!"

I wrapped up the cooking roughly. The result looked way more appetizing than whatever she'd made before. I carried it to the table and set it down simply.

"Here. Dig in."

"Yay! Thank you! Bon appétit!"

She ate the fried rice I'd made, grinning from ear to ear like a kid. Her expressions were so varied and readable. Come to think of it, RenaPpi's streams showed unusually expressive faces for a virtual streamer. Sure, avatar expressions were controlled by keys... but that range probably came from real-life habits.

"So... delicious... today's rice... sniff sniff."

A bit embarrassed by her rave reviews, I grumbled casually.

"No big deal. It's just fried rice."

"But still! It's been forever since I had real home cooking. I'm always so busy, just eating out or takeout..."

In a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠normal household, surviving on delivery for every meal would skyrocket your food budget—but for a mega-corporate streamer like RenaPpi, even all takeout wouldn't dent it.

I watched her face as she devoured my simple fried rice like it was the world's finest cuisine, lost in idle thoughts.

"Seriously so good... I'm gonna cry. Hing. It can taste this amazing. Guys, I'm sorry..."

'...'

That instant, a memory of my ex-girlfriend flashed up. She'd once gobbled my fried rice eagerly, but eventually said she never wanted it again. Understandable ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after eating it nonstop. I'd wanted to make something else, but with no money, what could I do? Why was that popping into my head now?

"You'll get sick of it if you eat it every day."

I regretted the pointless remark immediately, but she took it in stride.

"Really? Then make it for me every day!"

"Huh?"

"I'll show you I can eat it every meal and love it!"

She beamed proudly. Adorably straightforward, putting that aside—

[Every day?]

"...What do you mean by that?"

"Huh? What do you mean, what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do I mean?"

She tilted her head, then realized what she'd said. Her face flushed crimson. She bowed her head and mumbled.

"N-no, I mean! Not like that! It's... a challenge! Fried rice challenge! Yeah! I can totally do fried rice three times a day! Your fried rice? Super safe, totally doable! Yup!"

She rushed through it and buried herself in her meal, embarrassed. ...At this point, I had to admit it.

'This girl really knows how to boil simps to perfection.'

If she knew exactly what tugged heartstrings, that was talent. If it came naturally, it was divine gift.

'Gotta watch out. I might end up as the simp.'

I didn't want to become my own student's guinea pig after teaching simp theory, so I just chuckled it off. Yeah. I could laugh it off. From now on, thinking of fried rice wouldn't bring up her ex's bored face—it'd be I-se's ecstatic one right here.

Little by little, without me noticing, my bad memories were being thoroughly overwritten by ones with her smiles.

This was my room. After eating, RenaPpi had a packed schedule as usual. Her stream was in the evening, but first she had business at some company. We parted right after, and now I was back, scrolling job listings.

'Hmm. Want something nearby if possible.'

Surprisingly, no gigs within 3km. I just needed anything to apply for! But expanding the radius meant over an hour by subway. Why? This area was packed with commercial buildings. No way jobs were this scarce.

I checked other sites, but still nothing. A crazy sense of wrongness hit me—like the world was actively blocking me from working.

'...'

...A cringey thought, but seriously. Anyway, no point digging more today. I gave up and hopped on Sprout Wiki, typing her name again.

Someone had edited it just 10 minutes ago. Not surprising for a mega-streamer. I'd worried the donation meltdown might spawn a [RenaPpi/Controversy/Broadcast Attitude] page, but nope. Safe.

Curious about her group, I searched Infinite Noir.

Now I got it. 1st gen all Korean, plus Minaero in 2nd. The other three Japanese.

'They act like a Korean idol unit for albums, but stream Japanese-style with gens... smart hybrid.'

Whoever designed it, it worked. Korean music shows favored group branding over gens. Active members: six, minus Ayano Mui—the Japanese ones were 2nd gen only, no activities listed. Fans preferred the gen system, so a balanced compromise. Complicated, but successful.

Inspired by Infinite Noir, a new group Milky Way Horizon launched recently. Both names new to me.

'Sigh.'

One year felt longer than I'd thought. Just a gap, and the streaming world I'd followed had flipped.

'Is this okay...?'

Anxiety about wasted time surged, but dwelling wouldn't help. Time to clear my head with other content. I fired up Nertube—the ultimate distraction machine. Swiping shorts melted my brain like cyber drugs.

One video caught my eye in real-time trending #4. A RenaPpi clipper upload.

Inside: her sobbing over my donation, blaming a cockroach. Best comment:

'Ha...'

Mind-blowing that excuse worked. Her quirky lines usually sounded like bits anyway. Good for me—no controversy page.

A few more videos eased my cluttered head; drowsiness hit. I flopped onto bed.

'Just nap.'

Nightmares had wrecked my sleep; body still ached. Thought of strolling out, but not fully recovered. Eyes shut easily.

I woke as the sun dipped low. Ate breakfast, surfed till 2-3 PM, slept ~3 hours.

Phone check: RenaPpi stream started 5 mins ago.

'Already I-se's stream time?'

She'd come home and gone live; notification pinged.

'Might as well watch.'

Last time was just the Sena apology. First proper watch since 100-day milestone.

Stream title first:

Otak game collab? I glanced at the game name—

'Huh?'

Froze. Demon God Legend: Hermenian. The mobile game no streamer touched, my absolute favorite.