Infinite Noir and Me (2)
"Ah, hello."
"……Hello."
"Uuuu…… I-se sunbae…… uuuw…… hic."
Aside from the long-haired woman who looked mature and greeted me right away, everyone else seemed to be on guard against me somehow. The blonde in particular. Her expression alone made it clear she was a bit displeased with me. And the one in the flashy outfit was too busy crying to even manage a proper greeting.
In what could have turned awkward, I-se stepped in to shift the mood and take the lead.
With a bright smile, she introduced me to them. "This is the guy! The one who's been huge help to me ever since I started streaming. I don't think Infinite Noir would even exist without his advice."
Hmm…… really that big a deal? Honestly, I doubted it.
"Really…?"
"I see."
"Uuuu…… hic-hic."
The reactions came in order from the blonde, the long black-haired one, and the flashy dresser. What a bunch of strong personalities. Well, you probably needed that kind of individuality to survive the jungle that was the virtual streamer world and make a name for yourself.
The first to offer a handshake was the woman with the long black hair.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ju Na-yeon. I stream as Ayaka in Infinite Noir."
So this was Ayaka. I pictured her signature cool short-haired look with the eyepatch over one eye. In person, she had a more feminine vibe. Long hair, the kind of big-sister type who'd listen patiently to all your stories. People like her were popular even with other women. I recalled seeing that Ayaka had the most female fans among Infinite Noir members.
"Nice to meet you. Yoo Min-ho."
"Come on! Ga-ryeon too, chin up. Say hi."
I-se cooed at the flashy-outfitted girl clinging to her and sniffling, like she was soothing a baby.
"Uuuu…… Okay, since it's I-se sunbae…… hic…… sniff."
She finally stopped crying and approached me, extending her small, pale hand.
"I-I'm…… Minaero. You can call me Mina-ppi if you want. Not RenaPpi's copycat…… hic."
I'd gotten a hint of her real name from I-se just now, but better to hear it straight from her.
I took her tiny hand. "What's your name?"
"Lee Ga-ryeon…… But whatever, real names aren't that important…… I'm Minaero…… Wow, your hand's huge……"
She kept sniffling, barely getting the words out. She clearly didn't like saying her real name.
As we shook hands…… for some reason, I felt like I already had a rough idea of what kind of person she was.
Something about her…… obvious she's no ordinary girl.
I thought of Minaero's avatar. It was already decked out in a super niche, cute outfit…… but this girl was wearing something even more over-the-top. A girly mix of pink and black everywhere. And she even had a black choker around her neck, with a cute character charm dangling from the center.
Waltzing around the real world in such an excessively flashy dress. Makeup and hairstyle that made her look way cuter than her age. Dismissing real names as unimportant, like she wanted to escape reality altogether.
Minefield girl! Yeah, if I had to sum her up in one word, she was a total landmine type.
I was shocked Korea even had such a textbook example, but a year was plenty of time for things to change. Virtual streamers had gone fully mainstream, after all. A landmine girl or two wandering around wouldn't be that weird.
……Probably.
Better not get too tangled up with her. Could be dangerous.
And finally—I turned to the one who still hadn't introduced herself and spoke first. "Hey."
"……What?"
Her reply was a bit curt—but honestly, that suited me fine. I still found it hard to be sweet to women, so a cold response was easier to handle. I wasn't expecting anything anyway, no hard feelings about her attitude.
"We might be working together on this, so we should at least introduce ourselves."
"……….."
I-se sidled up to her with a gentle smile as she scowled. "Don't be like that, Ye-rin. Say hi?"
"Fine. I-se unnie……"
She blushed like she was embarrassed, then looked back at me. The flush faded fast.
"Kim Ye-rin."
"Yoo Min-ho. Nice to meet you."
No handshake, but we'd at least exchanged names. She didn't give her streamer alias, but that was easy enough to figure out. Of the people coming today, only one nickname was left unaccounted for.
Sena. The first streamer I'd checked out.
So this was Sena. I couldn't hide my surprise. On stream, she played up a cute lisp and image…… but she seemed so aloof and cold in person. Not that it was weird for a streamer's persona to differ from reality.
And the difference I couldn't voice aloud: her chest…… was flat. Slim if you were nice, scrawny if you weren't.
But Infinite Noir's Sena had an even bigger pair than RenaPpi, swinging around proudly.
……Had she poured all her dreams, hopes, and wishes into that avatar? Not that I was judging. Cases like RenaPpi—where the real body outdid the avatar—were rare anyway. I'd made handsome characters in games too.
"Alright! Everyone sit down! I'll grab drinks. Lemonade okay for all?"
"Oh, I'll get them."
I stood up on instinct, but I-se trotted over and whispered, "Stay seated! I'll handle it."
"No, I'm getting paid, so I can do the grunt work."
"It's fine! Sit, Min-ho."
She winked. Truth be told, I half volunteered to avoid awkwardness alone with them—but pushing back on her kindness felt wrong.
"Okay."
I sat back down. Once I-se trotted out of sight, I noticed Ye-rin glaring daggers at me for talking to her.
What the…? No clue what that was about, but since Sena wasn't the one I'd be helping, whatever.
As I averted my eyes, a voice called out. "Min-ho-ssi. Mind if I ask something?"
It was Ayaka—Na-yeon—the one who seemed most reasonable.
"Sure. Go ahead."
"I-se said you've been giving her streaming advice for a while?"
"Yeah."
Na-yeon pondered that, then slowly parted her soft lips. "Are you by any chance Subway-Old-Man-Denture-Stealer?"
"Pardon? No idea what you're talking about, but no."
I fired back with near-superhuman reflexes.
"I see."
Luckily, Na-yeon just nodded without pressing. Whew. Perfect deflection.
Truth be told, I nearly fumbled—"Huh?" or trailed off mumbling. That saying about superhuman feats in crises? I believed it now. I'd cut her off so smoothly.
Before they arrived, I'd made I-se promise to keep my Jit-leus identity secret. Nothing deep—just embarrassed by the nickname and seeing it framed huge in her living room.
She'd argued it was a shame no one appreciated my greatness, but she'd honored the request. If she'd spilled, Na-yeon wouldn't have asked.
Then Ye-rin, who'd been listening, jumped in. "Na-yeon unnie, no way that ordinary guy's Subway-Old-Man-Denture-Stealer-nim. He's I-se unnie's savior. You've heard her talk about him tons."
"Uuung…… hic. Exactly. Jit-leus-nim's amazing…… No way a plain ajusshi like Min-ho-ssi is him. He must be super handsome……?"
……
What the hell was Subway-Old-Man-Denture-Stealer to Infinite Noir members?
"But you heard I-se unnie too. Jit-leus-nim watched her stream."
She must've spilled the details to the members that day she found me. And if she'd kept talking about me, it made sense.
Plus, that massive 1.649 million won donation frame from Jit-leus hung right here. Anyone who'd visited once would know.
"True, but someone too busy to show up suddenly appearing to help us feels too contrived. Reality isn't a novel."
I agreed. Even I was baffled how I'd ended up here.
"And if he really was Jit-leus-nim, I-se unnie would've bragged nonstop. She always said he was the one she wanted to meet most, chanting like a mantra that the more Infinite Noir succeeded, the closer she'd get to him."
……
Hah. My face heated up again. I-se…… what exactly did you tell them about me?
Anyway—if they had this idealized image of Jit-leus, better not shatter it. Too much hassle.
"Yeah. I've got zero connection to whoever made that awful nickname…… Subway-something-Denture. Just gave I-se early advice, and we hit it off."
That instant, the air chilled.
"Hey."
Ye-rin suddenly glared fiercely and snapped at me.
"Yes?"
"Awful nickname? Apologize. I won't forgive anyone badmouthing I-se unnie's most precious person."
"…….."
What? This weird mix of not-bad-not-good feeling?
As Ye-rin finished, Na-yeon chimed in seriously too. "That rubbed me wrong too. Jit-leus-nim means a lot to Infinite Noir. Judging him 'awful' just by his nickname isn't fair."
No, it is awful—I made it that way! Got banned for telling him to change his trash nick. It even had the streamer's name at the end originally— I wanted to say, but Na-yeon's earnest face stopped me. I bowed my head.
"Sorry. My bad."
"Hmph."
Perfect timing—I-se trotted in beaming with a tray of drinks. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"
I watched her set them down, wondering. What had RenaPpi told the members about Jit-leus? To them, I-se was their benefactor, the leader who'd made them successful streamers. If she'd kept hyping Jit-leus, their fantasies weren't inexplicable……
But that wasn't important now. With everyone seated, I cut to the chase.
"Alright. Let's talk today's topic."
Never thought I'd discuss this so seriously. Life was unpredictable.
I said it dead serious. "Today's topic is Minaero-ssi's backside."