Every Morning, You Have to Greet Me?
"Ryu I-se?"
I barely managed a reply, unable to hide my startled expression. Amused by my reaction, I-se leaned against the window, grinning from ear to ear.
"So RenaPpi was who you wanted to pull, huh? Hehe♡ I'm right here!"
The way she tilted her head made her overlap perfectly with the RenaPpi avatar from the stream, swaying side to side.
"No, that's not..."
I whipped my face away. For some reason, even without a mirror, I knew my cheeks were burning.
"...When the hell did you get here?"
"I've been knocking on the window for a bit! But you were too busy with your game!"
"Even so, suddenly opening the window like that... Ugh, never mind."
I figured it was my fault for being too focused on the gacha to hear her. I picked up my dropped phone to check what I'd pulled.
"Uh..."
RenaPpi beams brightly, waving with sparkling eyes!
"Ah! You got her. Congrats! You pulled me way faster than I expected!"
"..."
Having RenaPpi herself congratulate me right to my face on pulling RenaPpi was an utterly bizarre feeling. Feeling awkward, I quickly swiped past the gacha results screen.
I closed the game and finally looked at I-se.
"What's up?"
"Nothing much! My stream just ended, and I saw your light on. Wanted to check if you were doing okay and say hi."
"Me? Yeah... nothing much. I'm good."
Thanks to you, I don't have to motel-hop anymore. Appreciate you looking out for me. I'll get a job soon and pay proper rent starting next month—
I wanted to say it warmly with a smile, but the words wouldn't come. At least my tone wasn't as gruff as usual—progress, maybe?
Haa...
I hadn't realized how awkward I was around women who weren't my ex. Back when I didn't even register them, it wasn't an issue. I'd never been bad at talking to girls... but dating her for so long must've left deep scars on my habits and demeanor.
"Glad you're doing well. Hehe. Oh yeah! You watched my stream today!"
"You knew?"
She answered instantly.
"Of course! You were on the viewer list. Jit-leus."
.........
I needed to change that nickname, but laziness had kept me from it. Probably.
"No, wait. With 20,000 viewers, how'd you spot me?"
"It shows next to the names. I found you there."
"You checked every single one? That sounds tedious."
She flashed a grin.
"Not tedious at all! Seeing your name made me so happy. Hehe."
I started to say something snarky but stopped. If she said it wasn't a hassle, what was the point?
"I'm just so thrilled you watch my streams. It feels like a dream. I've been waiting for this forever. Days like today, face-to-face like this... I love it."
"Even so, we haven't actually met that many times... Doesn't it feel awkward?"
She beamed brightly.
"Nope! It's fine. This is the same voice that gave me strength during our phone dates—the one I've never forgotten. Just hearing it fills me with energy!"
"........."
That reminded me of her on stream, in front of thousands, snapping, [I can't tolerate anyone badmouthing a game recommended by someone precious!] Swallowing dryly, embarrassed, I mustered my resolve.
"...Lucky you."
"Huh?"
"I mean, it's good you're not awkward. Better than that, right? That's... what I think."
The sentence came out all jumbled. I'd meant to honestly thank her, but it twisted into nonsense. Still, her eyes widened in surprise, then she blushed and nodded.
"Ah, y-yeah... Th-thank you."
"........."
What? I'd aimed to soften the weird vibe, but it backfired spectacularly. To break the awkward silence, I shifted to my usual tone with her.
"Anyway, Legend of the War God: Hermenian. You sticking with that?"
"Ah! Yeah!"
Her eyes lit up at the mention.
"It's a total god game! Endorsed by Jit-leus himself!"
"...I swear, I just called it a niche game when I recommended it—not a god game."
"That's not all! I thought maybe you'd watch if I kept at it."
"..."
Every time she said she hoped I'd tune in, something deep inside stabbed at me—damp, suffocating. Like the riverbed when I threw myself in.
"And... I wanted to show everyone."
"Everyone?"
She nodded slowly.
"I wanted to succeed with the game Jit-leus—you—recommended. Prove it loud and clear."
Her tone was gentle, soft... but crystal clear. People like her never hesitated on their path.
"Didn't matter if reactions were meh or people told me to play something else. I was fine with that."
"I wanted to succeed with your recommendation. It can't be wrong—coming from you, of all people!"
I listened quietly. No room to say my advice wasn't foolproof.
"So... I wanted to prove to everyone Jit-leus wasn't wrong."
"And you did."
She grinned triumphantly. Yeah. She had. Reviving a dying game, boosting logins 20x—from a 340-member diehard squad on life support. That was proof sharper than any words. Not Korea's top game, sure, but no streamer pulls that off easily.
"You're amazing, Min-ho. Really."
Unable to hide my sheepishness, I mumbled,
"That was all you. I didn't do shit."
"What I did is what you did! You turned RenaP into RenaPpi!"
"...Sorry anyway. If I'd known it'd blow up, I'd have suggested something more stream-friendly."
"No way."
She grinned again.
"It was so fun. Cute characters, too. Introducing a gem like that feels great! And thanks to it, you pulled me. Now RenaPpi stays by your side forever...♡"
Another wave of embarrassment hit, but... probably just fan service. Cherishing her first donor, right? Overthinking it would be self-indulgent ego. Self-awareness protects confidence, sure, but at my age? Nah.
So I swallowed my feelings again.
"Anyway, I'm glad. Talking like this feels like a dream. Heehee."
She locked eyes with me again. Her light brown irises were so clear, beautiful. Tilting her head sent her asymmetric side locks cascading gracefully.
Pretty. She was... incredibly pretty.
"Even after so long... thank you for showing up now."
"It's nothing..."
She watched me fidget awkwardly, then perked up.
"Oh! Can I borrow your phone real quick?"
"My phone?"
"Yeah! Open the game."
She smiled innocently. Curious, but no suspicion, I launched it.
I handed her the phone in that state.
"Thanks."
I-se took it, her face suddenly hardening into a cold glare as she tapped rapidly.
...?
Shocked by the shift, but in a flash, she set something up and handed it back with a smile.
"There! All done!"
I took it and saw the change.
RenaPpi bounces energetically: "Mo-ha! Back for more fun? What'll we do with RenaPpi today?!"
"...?"
Staring in confusion, I looked at her. Still smiling beautifully, but her tone was firm.
"Way better now!"
"Huh...? Y-yeah?"
"Totally."
Maintaining that cute, lovable grin, she added,
"Every morning, you have to greet RenaPpi, okay?"
...Gulp.
I swallowed hard. Overwhelmed, I couldn't say I don't play much anymore. She had these resolute moments sometimes. Why?
"G-got it."
"Great. Hehe."
I had no idea what was up... but she was smiling, so it was fine, right? As I thought that, she snapped back to her hyper self.
"Oh! Min-ho! Dinner yet?"
"Not yet."
"Figured! I prepared some!"
"Huh? Stream just ended, didn't it? And... cooking? You sure?"
She was awful in the kitchen. Last time, her "invitation" nearly poisoned us both.
Still, she puffed up proudly like a kid showing treasure. "Ahem!"
"I got it! A legendary item even I can use to whip up tasty food for you fast!"
"What's that?"
"Meal! Kit!"
"..."
Her streamer-forced hype left me speechless—but meal kits were foolproof. Just stir-fry or boil. No disasters this time... right?
"So! Let's eat together! Dinner time!"
"Sure."
No reason to refuse free food. I'd seen her kitchen anyway. I left my room and entered hers.
......That night, I made the shocking discovery that even meal kits could be ruined.
In the end, I cooked with fridge leftovers. All through dinner, I-se's voice filled the table: "Sorry... I thought I'd nail it this time... Wuu... Nom. So good... "
This woman should never do cooking streams...