Sushi Umai!
A quiet room, left all alone after the stream ended. Before I knew it, midnight had arrived.
"I'm hungry."
I had skipped dinner to start the stream right away, so my stomach was growling. Is there anything to eat in the house? Let's open the fridge!
Creak—
"Hmm."
Nothing. I can't believe there's absolutely nothing to eat in the fridge. It's completely empty.
"Ahhh. Going to the convenience store is such a drag."
I guess I'll just order delivery tonight and stock up on groceries tomorrow. What should I get? Something good to eat at this hour... Chicken? Pizza? A burger?
Greasy food is a bit much.
If this were my old body, I would have devoured any of those without a second thought. But trying to stuff myself like that in this current body somehow makes me feel guilty. It's like a deep-seated desire to manage my weight has taken root in the depths of my heart. The urge to stay in shape is stronger than my immediate appetite. So, I want to eat something that feels a bit lighter.
Ding!
While I was agonizing over the menu, a Discord notification chimed.
"Is that the President?"
The message was a warm note thanking me for today's stream and telling me not to push myself too hard. He must have been watching. It was a short stream, but I did push myself a bit. Maybe because I concentrated so hard, my head was throbbing slightly. Still, everyone enjoyed it, so I'm satisfied!
Ding!
"It's Seowoo."
Ding!
"And Jihae Eonni too."
It seemed Seowoo and Jihae Eonni had also heard the news. Since Jihae Eonni knew about Prtherna, her message was congratulating me on becoming the 32nd challenger. Seowoo, on the other hand, was showering me with endless praise, saying I was incredibly cool. Both of them had been streaming themselves, yet they still found time to watch my broadcast. I'm so grateful.
And here I was, not even paying attention to them.
Now that my stream was over, I had their broadcasts playing in the background, but while I was fighting Lowen, I couldn't spare a single thought for either of them. I was in a state of absolute, hyper-focus.
"Hehe. Thanks for caring, everyone."
In my past life, there was no one who cared about me or worried over me like this. Even when I was hurt or sick, I would just suffer alone before dragging myself to the pharmacy to buy medicine. I didn't even keep in touch with my family. I didn't really have friends either. In a way, I was the kind of person who could have vanished overnight without anyone ever noticing. Even Miyo, my last connection to the world...
"*Sniff*."
Tears. Actual tears are welling up! This is too sad!
"It's fine. This life is different. I have friends. I have family. And I have fans. Get a grip, Choi Minseo. Let's shake off those gloomy memories of my past life."
After defeating Lowen today, my follower count shot up like crazy! I received tons of donations! And the Bangsaengis were completely satisfied. So, today is a happy day.
"I want raw fish. I'm craving sushi!"
I suddenly wanted sushi more than anything.
"Sushi it is."
Since it was midnight, only a few sushi places were still open. I ordered from the one with the most reviews. Mouth-watering flatfish, salmon, and various other pieces. It couldn't compare to the high-end Japanese restaurant the President treated us to yesterday, but it was still a hefty sum of money to spend on a single meal. But hey, I received a ton of donations from the Bangsaengis today, so surely I can afford this little luxury?
"This looks amazing!"
By the time I finished a quick shower and stepped out, the sushi set had arrived. Oh, yes. This is it. Look at those beautiful colors.
"Thank you for the food!"
I dipped a piece of flatfish sushi into the soy sauce mixed with wasabi and popped it into my mouth. Oh, man. This is the life.
"Sushi umai!"
This is way too delicious! I can't keep this to myself. I need to take a picture and post it on Twitter.
"Perfect. Hehe. Lots of hearts. Hehe. They're going to love this, right?"
Comments were pouring in, and the likes and retweets were climbing endlessly. The Bangsaengis' reaction was fantastic. I decided to read the replies later.
I should post one more.
It wasn't just empty words; I really did read them.
They write them with so much care.
Reading them actually touched my heart. I could feel their deep affection for me radiating from the screen. Of course, I knew that almost all of them were men. I also had a pretty good idea of what they looked like and how they acted. After all, I was once in their exact position. But even so—or perhaps because of that—I could accept their love exactly as it was. Because I could empathize. Because I knew.
They didn't just think of me as some faceless girl; they truly saw me as Riu, and I was nothing but grateful to them...
Ring, ring, ring~
"Huh? The President? Why is he calling out of the blue at this hour?"
While I was eating my sushi, overwhelmed with joy and happiness as I read the Bangsaengis' reviews, my phone rang. It was the President.
"Hello?"
"Minseo! Emergency!"
"Huh? An emergency?"
"The photo you just posted on Twitter! You need to take it down immediately!"
"What? Oh, the sushi photo?"
"Yes! Your face is visible in the reflection of the spoon next to the sushi!"
Clatter.
In an instant, the strength drained from my hand, and the phone slipped, clattering onto the floor.
What did he just say?
"M-My face? My bare face?"
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump—!
"Ah. Ah... Ahhhhh!"
My face? A spoon? A reflection? There, in the metal spoon I had brought out to eat the soup, was a tiny, distorted reflection of my face. Why on earth didn't I use a disposable spoon? Why did I suddenly care so much about the environment? Oh, Greenpeace. Oh, God.
Thump-thump.
"Ah. Ahhhhh!"
I immediately deleted the tweet. I couldn't believe it. How could this happen? My mind went completely blank. I was going out of my mind. No, what do I do?! Surely, the photo hasn't already spread... right? Please, no. Let's check the community first. Oh, God.
[Image Link]
What is this? Is she serious?
No, but if her bare face is that good, isn't she gorgeous? Honestly, she's totally my type. She looks so cute.
Upvote this so others get fooled too.
As expected, the community was in absolute chaos. At least the official Starlight website and fan cafe were fine, since any red pill posts were banned in real-time. But there was no way to stop the photos spreading across the community forums.
"Ah. I'm really in deep trouble."
My heart was pounding like crazy. Cold sweat was pouring down my back. I was certain my contract explicitly prohibited revealing my red pill. First, I picked up my dropped phone... and called the President back.
"Hello... President..."
"Riu."
"I'm so sorry."
"Well, for now... sigh. Since your face has been leaked, what should we do?"
"Am... Am I going to have to... g-graduate?"
"Huh? No, why would you graduate? It's not like you did it on purpose."
"I really, really didn't do it on purpose! I swear! It was a complete accident! A mistake!"
"Alright, alright, I get it. Don't yell. You have a loud voice, my ears are ringing."
"Ah. Sorry."
"At least you weren't caught with a guy. It's just a tiny glimpse of your face, so we'll just have to gloss over it. It's already spread, so there's no stopping it anyway."
"Right."
"But now that your face is out there, you might get contacted by old acquaintances or classmates. If anyone tries to blackmail you by threatening to leak more photos or demands money, absolutely do not give them a single cent. Got it? If you get any messages like that, take screenshots immediately and send them to the company. We'll handle it legally."
"Yes, sir. I'm really, really sorry."
"Don't worry about it. You worked hard today, so go get some rest. That sushi looked delicious, by the way."
"Hehe... Thank you. Goodnight, President."
"Yeah. Rest up. I'm hanging up now."
With that, the President hung up.
Wow. That was a close call. I never imagined my face would be revealed like this. The thought of old classmates or acquaintances contacting me is a bit terrifying.
But then again, I don't have any past memories to speak of.
That was the biggest issue. I hadn't inherited Choi Minseo's memories. While our physical abilities had merged into one, the only memories I possessed were from my past life. I had no idea what kind of life Choi Minseo had lived, what kind of person she was, or what her friendships were like.
Still, she didn't seem to have many friends anyway.
It didn't look like she had a boyfriend either. She hadn't gone to college. And her family history...
She didn't get along with her father, but it wasn't like they completely cut ties.
She hadn't done anything shady. There was no dark past waiting to be unearthed, and she was far from being involved in school violence.
"I've got nothing to hide, right?"
And above all...
My follower count is skyrocketing.
Well, I guess the Bangsaengis now know what I look like.
"Whatever! Let's just eat!"
Yeah. For now, let's just finish this sushi! Yum, yum!