Cha Jinyoung's Outing, Ready for Death
Whoa. This is actually happening...?
Livepia had agreed to send someone with me.
And not just anyone — the department head herself.
I was genuinely, overwhelmingly grateful... but the pressure was real, too.
A regular staff member would have been more than enough. Instead, I was getting a department head from a major corporation...
In my past life, entertaining VIPs had been routine, so it wasn't that I was scared of her. Once you start talking, even people like that turn out to be ordinary human beings, and if they're human, there's always some corner of common ground to find.
...That said, I still grabbed my trembling hands and held them still.
Maybe I should practice opening the door and walking a little farther each day.
Either way, the preparations for meeting my editor were complete.
I messaged her that I intended to meet, and that I'd be bringing someone along. Better to give her a heads-up than have her flip out about it later.
A short while later, a reply arrived — nothing else, just a single line telling me to meet at the address she'd already sent.
The thought that I really had no choice now settled over me, so I looked up the place she'd given me.
"Huh...?"
Street view showed a seriously rundown commercial building.
She wanted to meet here? Didn't people usually meet at cafés or something?
"Does she have some kind of situation going on?"
What a high-maintenance person.
I sent the department head the meeting spot my editor had given me... along with a rendezvous point a little ways from my actual home address, over MyCode chat.
It wasn't that I didn't trust a department head who'd already gone this far for me. I just still wasn't ready to hand over my home address.
Hoo... My first outing in a million years.
The day of the appointment.
A small but monumental leap by one human being into a harsh world was about to begin.
Black brimmed hat. Oversized mask. And a pair of wide-lensed sunglasses ordered online — full facial armament, complete.
On top of that, an oversized hoodie one size too big and roomy pants for a spoonful of ordinary, finished off with sneakers.
In the mirror, not a single patch of bare skin was visible.
I'd shoved every last strand of eye-catching hair up under the hat.
Perfect!
Drip.
There was just one problem.
It was summer.
"Uwaaah... I'm gonna die of heat."
I was already sweating before I'd even stepped outside.
But I had to cover as much of my body and face as possible. I was about to expose myself to other people, after all.
"L-Let's go..."
Click.
I opened the front door and carefully set one foot outside.
All that practice expanding my range of activity bit by bit leading up to today had paid off. Getting as far as the automatic lobby doors of my officetel was no trouble at all.
But the real problem was the world beyond those doors... From here on out, every single moment was a new personal record.
"Taxi, taxi..."
Since I hadn't called the department head to my doorstep, the plan was to take a taxi to the rendezvous point a short distance away.
I called a cab on my phone.
My officetel sat on a narrow alley, but I believed in the driving skills of Korea's taxi drivers...!
A short while later, a taxi with its hazard lights on pulled up in front of the building.
I bolted out and dove straight into the back seat.
"You made a reservation, right?"
"Ah, yes..."
I kept my head bowed low and answered the driver's question in a tiny voice.
I'd already entered the destination when I called, so all I had to do was sit like this.
It wasn't far. As long as the driver didn't try to strike up a conversation, I'd be fine.
"Whew, it's really hot out today~ You look like you're roasting. Aren't you hot?"
Kyaaaaah! Of course I get the chatty type of taxi driver!
"...I'm fine."
"Well, the destination's right up ahead anyway, but I'll blast the A/C for you so you can cool off a bit."
"..."
Thankfully, he didn't say anything after that.
The taxi dropped me on the main road near where I was supposed to meet the department head.
I got out and scanned the area.
Haa... It was insanely hot.
Long sleeves and long pants in the middle of summer. The inside of my clothes was a flood of sweat.
I'd arrived with a little time to spare... Did I really have to wait like this?
I was looking around for some shade when a black sedan pulled up right in front of me.
From the driver's seat stepped a woman in a sharp business suit.
Shoulder-length hair with a soft wave. Calm, composed eyes.
A leather wristwatch visible where her sleeve was rolled up.
She looked like a successful career woman character who'd walked straight out of a drama.
An incredibly beautiful person...
"Don't tell me that's her?"
As I carefully approached, she turned her gaze toward me first.
"...Are you Cha Jinyoung?"
I checked our surroundings, then gave a small nod.
"Ah. Yes, hello."
The department head looked thoroughly startled by my appearance.
"Uh... you, uh, really covered up without a single gap, huh?"
"...I have my reasons."
She looked like she wanted to say more, then gave me another once-over and opened the rear door of the sedan for me.
"Get in for now and cool off in the A/C. You must be dying out here."
"Th-Thank you..."
"I've got cold water. Want some?"
"...Yes."
I pulled down my mask and drank from the bottle she handed me.
Gulp, gulp... gulp!
Ahh... I drained the whole bottle in one shot.
Water tasted completely different when you drank it outside!
"Haha, you really enjoy your water."
"Ah."
They say the subconscious is terrifying — did she see my face?
I'd yanked my mask clean off without thinking.
And somehow it was so much more embarrassing than drinking on stream...
I ducked my head and hurriedly fixed the mask back in place.
The department head waited until I looked up again.
"I'm really only here to help you today, so I'll do my best to match your pace."
"If anything's uncomfortable or you need something, just say so right away."
"I'll be in your care for the day."
"I-I'll be in yours as well...!"
I'd fretted the whole way about what I'd do if she started asking questions in the car, but she truly focused on nothing but driving.
My hunched shoulders gradually eased, and I was able to lean back against the seat and ride in relative comfort.
I used to have my own car, too... I miss that.
"Honestly, there's so much I'd love to talk about, but looking at you, it doesn't seem like you have the bandwidth for it. I almost feel bad even bringing anything up."
If I just kept my mouth shut, we'd arrive quietly at the meeting place with the editor... but I felt like I ought to give her something in return for her kindness.
"...As long as it isn't about my personal information, I can answer."
"Oh my, really?"
She lit up with delight and launched into a rapid-fire stream of conversation.
She walked me through the current status of the partner streamer process we'd discussed earlier over MyCode, explaining everything in a way that was easy to follow.
"We're going to respect your opinions as much as possible, so please make sure to tell us about anything that bothers you, okay?"
"I hereby swear my loyalty to Livepia."
"Haha, I'd be grateful if you did, but you don't need to go that far. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, after all."
As we talked, I felt the tension slowly draining out of me.
Before I knew it, we'd arrived at the meeting place.
The department head and I got out of the car and walked toward the address the editor had left.
And the place we arrived at was...
Uri Maeul Gongbang
Our Village Workshop
"...?"
Had I misread it? Had I punched in the wrong address? I checked again, but this was the place.
The department head looked at me with a puzzled expression, but all I could say was that this was correct...
As we hovered in front of the door, someone came out from inside.
An elderly person in something resembling a hanbok.
"What brings you folks here?"
"W-We're supposed to meet a video editor..."
"A video editor?"
The elder tilted their head.
"Ain't nobody here who does that kind of work..."
"Sir, what kind of place is this?"
"This here's where the old folks in the neighborhood gather to pass the time. You wanna give it a try too?"
There was no reason for the elder to lie... and when we went inside for a look around at their invitation, the place was packed with nothing but more elderly people.
I emailed the editor that we'd arrived at the location, but no reply came.
"So it was a prank."
The department head's brow furrowed.
"...Seems that way."
"Dragging someone out in this weather wasn't enough — they had to pull a stunt like this..."
She looked genuinely angry at the absurdity of the prank.
I, on the other hand, was left wondering what on earth my editor had been thinking.
"Why would she do something like this?"
"To mess with you, obviously."
"Do you think she did this because she hates me...?"
"That's a possibility, too."
But why? She was a fan who'd sought out my streams on purpose and made videos of them. Had I completely misread her?
More importantly, the editor wasn't here.
"Find a different editor. This person's weird."
Contracts are built on trust. I'd come all this way believing what my editor told me...
And I'd put the department head through all this trouble for nothing.
"I'm so sorry, Department Head. You took time out of your day for this..."
"This isn't your fault, Jinyoung."
"Even so..."
Ugh... Now what? Was I just supposed to give up like this?
At the same time.
Ju Eunseo leaned back in her chair, fiddling with her hair as she stared at the email Cha Jinyoung had sent.
"...She actually came?"
The address she'd given Cha Jinyoung had been a fake.
A random spot she'd picked somewhere nearby, just far enough away.
She'd never had the slightest intention of meeting a Satan who might do who-knows-what to her.
By now, Jinyoung would be heading home empty-handed.
If she sent an angry email about it, that would be pretty funny in its own right.
And then.
BANG BANG BANG!
Someone pounded on the door of Ju Eunseo's apartment — a door no one should ever have been knocking on.