Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Beginner's Heart
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All the meetings had wrapped up, and Myth and I rode the elevator down to the company's underground parking lot where her car was parked.
"It ended sooner than I expected. I figured it'd take at least two more hours."
Yuuri was already there waiting for us, having gotten the heads-up in advance.
We all piled into the car.
Yuuri naturally took the wheel, while Myth and I settled into the back seat.
"It's all thanks to Seol pulling through for us."
"Really?"
"Yeah, when Seol showed off his skills in front of the president and Sua, they were both totally floored."
"I bet. I'm just an editor, so I don't know the industry inside out, but even I could tell cranking out an avatar like that in just twelve hours is insane."
"Right? Our Seol's amazing."
Myth started showering me with praise like a storm inside the car.
I was so embarrassed I covered my face with one hand and grabbed her shoulder.
"M-Myth. Enough."
"Aw, why? You've got so much praise coming your way from here on out—still not used to it?"
"I don't think I'll ever get used to it, even in a lifetime."
It was the honest truth.
Fine, whatever—time to admit it straight up.
My skills are abnormal, and I'm a top-tier modeler in this industry.
Even admitting that, praise never quite sinks in no matter how much I get.
Every time, my heart races, my breath quickens, and dopamine explodes in my brain like fireworks.
Myth smiled, looking genuinely delighted at my words.
"That's nice~."
Nice?
What exactly was nice about it?
Before I could ask, Myth spoke up first.
"People who can hold onto that beginner's heart are super rare in this industry."
Beginner's heart.
The mindset you have when you first start something.
Everyone in the world has a beginning.
But few can carry that initial feeling all the way to the end.
Sadly, humans are creatures of adaptation—over time, emotions dull, and stimuli become routine.
"Burnout, right? Tons of people lose that spark, go numb to everything, and bail from this scene."
Myth had been streaming for seven years, meeting and seeing off countless people along the way.
She couldn't even count how many debuted after her and quit in under a year, and she knew folks who'd started before her and were still going strong.
"So getting shy from praise isn't a bad thing at all. Honestly, I hope you hold onto that feeling forever."
Myth took Legend's hand.
Legend stared at it in a daze, utterly entranced.
In the midnight car, faint light filtering through the window.
For some reason, Myth looked breathtakingly beautiful.
Thump. Thump.
His heart pounded like a hammer on an anvil.
His mouth twitched, wanting to ask something, but then he remembered they weren't alone in the car and clamped it shut.
...Too embarrassing to ask in front of someone else.
Instead of speaking, Legend chuckled softly and leaned back against the seat.
"Yeah. Guess it's a good thing, huh."
"Of course. Guaranteed by this seven-year vet with five million subs, Myth herself? You can trust it."
"Yeah."
Beginner's heart, beginner's heart.
Legend mulled the word over in his mind.
Come to think of it, he'd jumped into this industry to earn his dad's approval,
but what really hooked him was the smile of one girl.
A broadcaster whose face and real name he didn't know, whose streams were sporadic but whose vibe just clicked perfectly.
Funny how it hits you now—you're really here.
Right in front of me.
That thought eased his embarrassment a bit.
"Uh, um, Seol-ah?"
Time to step up and fill that spot.
A resolve to try even harder.
The passion to give it everything he had.
He looked at her, heart full of that fire.
"Seol-ah...!"
As he steeled his resolve and snapped back to reality, there was Myth, face flushed beet red, hands covering it.
She'd left a slight gap between her fingers, at least not hiding her eyes.
Wait, what's up with her?
As I tilted my head, Myth mumbled in a voice thick with shyness.
"S-Staring like that makes me embarrassed..."
"Ah, oh! Sorry."
Realizing I'd been staring at her intensely for a while snapped me out of it, and a wave of my own embarrassment hit.
We both flushed crimson, trembling faintly with shyness.
All the while, never letting go of each other's hands, eyes locked.
"Pfft."
"Ahaha!"
And just like that, the absurdity of it all hit us, and we burst out laughing together.
"If you're that embarrassed, just turn away, dummy."
"What? Says the one whose face is all red."
"Nuh-uh? I'm totally fine."
"Pfft—. So childish, Seol-ah."
"...Hey. That's cheating in this mood."
"Is it?"
Myth tilted her head cutely.
Ugh, if she weren't so adorable, I'd bonk her one.
In the car heading home.
You and I etched each other into our eyes once more.
Grateful that even the everyday felt fresh every time.
"Haa... Life."
Guess I need a smoke or something.
No, where would I even get cigarette money?
But seriously, I need some kind of plan.
I don't wanna be the first person on Earth to die of diabetes from just sitting and driving.
Of course, the one woman who'd caught the whole back-seat drama while driving let out a sigh they never heard.
We kept gripping the wheel tight, fighting off the nicotine cravings.
▶
"Alright, see you later, unnie, Legend-ssi. I'll head out first."
"Yeah, good work, Yuuri. Take the car home—makes it easier. Or want me to call a cab?"
"Nah, driving's more comfy anyway."
"Cool. Use it however—don't worry about it. Just be super careful, no accidents."
"Got it, unnie. You be careful too."
After dropping us off at the apartment parking lot, Yuuri sighed as she spoke.
Be careful of accidents? Fair, but what accidents are we about to have walking into our homes?
Myth asked.
"We should be careful, sure... but what kind?"
"Speeding."
"Huh?"
"...Be serious about it."
With that, Yuuri hit the accelerator and peeled out of the underground lot.
Leaving behind a frozen Myth with her mouth agape.
...Sorry, Yuuri.
You had it rough because of us in the car.
Silently apologizing in my heart, I took Myth's hand.
"C'mon, let's go, Myth."
"Huh?! Oh?! R-Right. Yeah, let's!"
Wait, something's off with her.
Her face was super red—looks like Yuuri's counterpunch from earlier landed hard.
We quietly got into the elevator, saying nothing.
A slightly awkward vibe hung in the air.
Come on, Yuuri.
How could you drop a bomb like that and just leave?
-Ding
Luckily, the elevator in this high-rise was fast, opening before the awkwardness could fully settle.
Dark of night.
We walked side by side down the apartment hallway toward our doors.
"Ugh. What a tiring day."
"Tell me about it. First time in a place like that company, so I guess I was pretty tense. Suddenly feeling wiped."
"Heh heh. Seol trembling in front of the president was cute, though."
"What? Was I trembling?"
"What, you didn't notice? You were stumbling over words a bit, voice shaky."
"For real?!"
I hadn't noticed at all.
Was I that nervous?
As I panicked, Myth giggled and pinched my cheek.
"Kidding~. You were fine, don't sweat it."
"...For real?"
"Yeah. You handled it great."
Phew.
I let out a sigh of relief at her words.
I don't know how I actually came off, but Myth gazed at me happily before turning to her door.
"Good work today, Seol-ah. Sweet dreams, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah. Night."
-Beep beep beep
-Beep beep beep
The sounds of us punching in our passcodes overlapped.
...Somehow, letting it end like this felt unsatisfying.
I turned around.
"Myth—"
"Seol—"
Our voices overlapped.
There she was, waist twisted back, looking at me just like I was at her.
Our hearts in sync, maybe—we just stared for a moment.
Now might be the time to ask.
Tensing a little, I spoke to Myth.
"Myth."
"Yeah."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"That uh—."
Thump thump thump thump thump.
My heart felt like it might burst like a drum solo.
Enduring the tremors, I opened my mouth.
"What's the beginner's heart that kept you streaming all this time?"
Myth's eyes went wide.
She looked surprised I'd ask something like that.
She hesitated, mumbling a few words under her breath, then spoke.
"Two things."
"Two?"
"One's the feeling I've had since ten years ago—the desire to make my viewers happy."
Two things—so what's the other one?
I had a feeling I knew, and my heart raced.
Myth stepped closer without a word.
"...You already said the one from earlier today."
She came closer. A little. A lot.
Smack.
Something soft touched my cheek.
Frozen from the heart-exploding shock, I watched as Myth hurriedly ducked behind her door.
"And this is the one from seven years ago."
"...Huh."
"The beginner's heart that won't change going forward. Remember that."
With that, Myth bolted into her place.
-Beep beep.
The door shut, and only then did I slump to the floor.
My legs gave out—I wouldn't be moving for a while.
Haa.
I knew it already.
Even just reconfirming it had my heart going wild.
And it wasn't a bad feeling.
I sat there in the hallway long after the lights went out.