Churros, and More Churros!
I hadn't been thinking about much of anything. The stream had been live for less than ten minutes.
More people were watching than I'd expected. Some of them were already at Ronde World for a day out. Others, like me, had come on a school field trip.
I stood there with Tsuki and Lee Yuwol on either side of me, trying to decide what to eat first.
Churros. Yeah. You've got to start with churros.
An amusement park without churros wasn't an amusement park. I dug through my pocket for my wallet, just to check how much cash I'd brought.
That was when it happened.
"Huh? Found her!"
A shout cracked out right in front of me, a finger jabbing my way.
"It's Lee Jiwoo!"
I looked toward the voice. A man in casual street clothes stood there with a phone in one hand, staring straight at me.
Did he just... call my name?
Lee Jiwoo isn't exactly a rare name. You hear it often enough if you go looking. But the finger was pointed at me, and that was enough to startle me a little.
I'd figured someone might come find me. I just hadn't figured it would happen the second I went live.
It didn't bother me. If anything, it felt like a good sign. The drama had only aired two episodes so far. Episode three was tonight; episode four tomorrow. It was way too early to be feeling famous.
Which left only one explanation for someone recognizing me.
The gaming stream.
That broadcast had pulled around four thousand viewers, and afterward the communities and other game streamers had kept mentioning me. My name had gotten around. I'd known something like this was possible.
Still. A couple of drama episodes and one gaming stream. That was the whole résumé. The second I'd set foot in the park I'd been looking forward to, I'd completely forgotten what I did for a living.
Kids at school came by to gawk sometimes, but the teachers always headed them off before anyone got close. A few snuck pictures. That was about it.
He seems like a fan. I should say hello first, right?
I lifted a hand and gave a small wave.
"Hello."
A light smile. An easy little sway of the arm. The picture of someone who was not, in any way, rattled. Or so I hoped it looked.
He clearly hadn't expected me to answer. The pointing finger drifted down.
"Holy shit... she's an actual celebrity..."
His whole body started to tremble.
What?
Had the greeting been that awful? Or was he not a fan at all?
I let my hand fall, turning that over, and then I saw his eyes. They were shining with something close to rapture.
"I—I'm a fan! I started watching because of the gaming stream, and then I found out you were in a drama, and I—could I please have your autograph? But also... wow. How is a person even allowed to be this pretty?"
From his side of things, a celebrity he'd only ever seen on a screen had just popped into existence in front of him. The awe was too big for his mouth. The words kept tripping over themselves.
"Take a breath first. I can do the autograph. But I didn't come here today to sign things. I'm on a field trip too."
"Ah... right. Of course."
"I'll make an exception this once, though. You cannot tell anyone."
"Y-yes! A real man keeps his word!"
I had no idea what being a man had to do with a promise, but I signed the back of his phone case anyway.
Good thing I'd packed a pen.
Kang Hoyeon had drilled it into me before we left: you might run into fans, so bring a pen. I just hadn't expected to use it this fast.
"Here you go."
"Th-thank you... um. A photo is... probably too much, huh?"
"It's fine. Want to take one together?"
"Y-yes! Thank you so much!"
He pressed his palms together and lifted them toward me like he was saying a prayer.
I had no idea what that gesture was supposed to be. While I was still blinking at it, people who'd heard the commotion started drifting in, one after another.
I finished the photo and glanced at chat.
What was with the goddess bit.
That kind of thing made my skin crawl. All I wanted was to make a lot of money and live comfortably when I got old. Everything I was doing was just an investment in that future.
"Jiwoo. We need to get out of here. If this crowd gets any bigger, we're stuck."
"Jiwoo-chan! Tsuki will be your bodyguard! Just trust Tsuki!"
Tsuki and Lee Yuwol had snapped back to themselves. They hooked their arms through mine and started shouldering a path through the people pressing in.
"Sorry! Coming through! We are not here for fan signings!"
"Make way! Make way! Jiwoo-chan coming through!"
We shoved forward a little at a time, punching a hole through the crush. And then a familiar face caught my eye.
That girl...
A few months back. The idol audition. We'd tried out together.
Her name was... right. Jina.
I'd taken her for an adult back then, but the clothes she had on now were a school uniform.
Or were they? There was a uniform rental shop near Ronde World. She could have just put one on with friends for the bit.
Ignore her, or not.
I hesitated for a second. Then I saw her face. A little dark around the edges.
That expression...
I used to wear that same one. The look you get when you work yourself raw and watch everyone around you climb anyway — frustration and defeat stirred into the same pot.
I couldn't pretend I hadn't seen a face like that.
"Huh? Jina unnie?"
I walked over and acted like we'd just bumped into each other.
"Oh... uh. J-Jiwoo. Didn't think I'd run into you here... I watched the drama. Your acting was really good. But—"
"This is not the time for that! Tsuki! Yuwol! Grab her. We're taking her with us!"
"If it's a request from Jiwoo-chan!"
"I have no idea what's going on, but all right."
They each caught one of Jina's arms and bolted for anywhere the crowd hadn't followed.
"W-wait! St-stoooooop!!"
Jina's wretched scream trailed after us.
"Just ignore her and run!"
"Hack! ...Hah... hack, hack!"
My side was killing me from all that running.
I never should have run. Humans are walking animals. Who even invented the hardware that lets us sprint? I will never understand it.
"Jiwoo-chan, you okay? Water!"
"Thanks... but are you okay, Tsuki?"
As far as I knew, Tsuki's stamina was about as tragic as mine.
She just grinned, wide and silly, and made a show of wiping around her mouth with her sleeve.
"Hehe... Tsuki's fine! Seeing Jiwoo-chan all worn out makes Tsuki's energy go sproing, sproing!"
I was pretty sure I'd just seen her drool.
And sproing, sproing?
Sproing from looking at what, exactly?
I took a step back and put some space between us.
Tsuki's eyes had just wandered somewhere they absolutely should not have. A woman's instinct was ringing every alarm it had.
"So. Why did you drag me along?"
"Ah... well. The thing is."
You had the same eyes I used to have, so I brought you because I wanted to be in your corner!
Yeah. I can't say that.
Even without my help, she was going to become a massive idol. I'd reincarnated after that, so I'd never seen how her story ended — but with the way she worked, she would have kicked down every railing in her path and walked straight through.
"I just wanted to get closer to you, unnie. And, well... I didn't see any friends around."
"That's..."
The no-friends comment must have landed. She bit down on her lower lip and shot me a little glare.
Not scary in the slightest. In my last life I'd stared down clients who could make a grown adult shake with a look alone. Jina's version registered as a sulking cat, at best.
"We're already here, so let's hang out together! You guys are good with that, right? We just gained one more pretty unnie!"
Chat was all in. I turned the phone so Jina could see the reactions.
"Well... guess I don't have a choice. If this is how they're reacting... I'm just going along with the room. It is absolutely not because I want to."
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
She could say she had no choice all she wanted. The corner of her mouth kept twitching upward, and she was fighting it on instinct.
She liked it. She just wouldn't admit it.
I had never met a more textbook tsundere in my life.
I grabbed Jina's hand in one of mine and Tsuki's in the other and took off toward the rides. Lee Yuwol fell in behind us, quietly scanning the crowd, slipping into guardian mode without a word.
First target: Atlantis, the biggest ride in Ronde World.
I checked the map that came with the Super Pass and headed that way. The regular line was already so long you couldn't see the end of it.
"Let's go! We've got Super Passes!"
Tsuki was right. With a Super Pass, you skipped the line entirely.
We followed a staff member's directions and came out somewhere completely separate from the regular queue.
"Right this way. Party of four?"
"Yes."
"Then please board here."
Eight seats to a car. I got on, then Tsuki, then Lee Yuwol, then Kim Jina.
"The safety bar will now come down. If you are unable to ride, please raise both hands above your head."
My heart kicked at the staff member's words.
Finally. The ride I'd been waiting for. I'd loved this kind of thing in my last life. My hands were shaking with how ready I was.
"We will now depart."
And with that, we were off.
"Yahoo!"
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
"Hwaaaaaah!!"
"...."
Screams of every flavor dropped with us from the top of the drop.
F... fuuuuuuck!!
This was terrifying!
The sensation of falling from a height — that was new. My last life hadn't come with it. This body had acrophobia.
My hands and feet went pins-and-needles. My heart floated up into empty air. My head spun. Throwing up right then would not have been surprising in the slightest.
I didn't even have time to look sideways. I poured every ounce of strength I had into the safety bar and hung on so I wouldn't go flying out of the car.
"Hahaha! That was so fun! Jiwoo-chan had fun too, right?!"
"Y-yeah. It. Was. Really fun... ahaha..."
"Jiwoo-chan...? Are you okay?"
Tsuki's face folded into worry. I could fake being fine all I wanted; apparently there was no hiding a face that had gone that pale.
"We're taking a break! Anyone want something to eat? I'll go grab it fast!"
"Something to eat..."
No matter how wrecked I felt, no matter how close I was to throwing up — a person still had to eat. Humans ran on food. That was just biology.
"Then... churros."
"Mm-hmm!"
"A hot dog... fries, a slushie, ice cream, chicken, cake..."
"Uh... Jiwoo-chan?"
"So-tteok skewers, a pretzel, sausage..."
The list just kept growing. Jina looked faintly stunned.
"Does she always eat this much? No... she's picking one of those, right?"
"Ahaha... you'll see."
"Popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream pearls..."
"Did she just say ice cream twice?"
"Jina. Shh."
I was in the middle of dictating a menu. A voice from the side was not helpful. I covered Jina's mouth.
"She wants regular ice cream and the little ice cream pearls. Got it."
"Fish cakes, buttered corn..."
The viewers who were already fans knew I ate a lot. A newly launched wiki even listed my daily intake at ninety pieces of sushi. Anyone curious could look it up in seconds.
Which meant I didn't have to hide it. That was a relief.
"And last... churros."
This one mattered.
So I said it twice.