A Call I Never Dared Imagine
Over the two days of the weekend, I cleared my daily quests and stacked on every point I'd earned from editing videos, bringing my total to nine. Five went into Editing. Four went into Speed.
I was planning to leave Planning and Charm alone until I'd pushed Editing and Speed to 30 first. The pitifully low numbers still needled at me, but I did my best to look the other way.
Anyway, the moment my Speed stat crossed 15, the difference was night and day. I'd gotten faster at 12, sure, but it hadn't been a dramatic leap. Looking at it now, it seemed like the real jumps happened in increments of five.
"Still not quite enough, though. Not yet."
Editing had crossed 25 as well, so I could genuinely produce higher-quality videos than before. That much was true. But if you asked why I still didn't feel any real confidence about becoming Dayeon nuna's editor...
Well. I'd sent her a portfolio of videos I'd made before the stats had climbed this high, hadn't I?
"Hahh..."
There was no telling how high the stats could even go. And when I'd edited that first long video, I'd received four points — but the second time, only three. Putting it all together, the reasonable conclusion was that the points I'd earn going forward would keep shrinking.
"Isn't there... some other way?"
Achievement completions seemed to give the most points, and the amount appeared to scale with difficulty.
And as for other methods...
There was this quest that had suddenly floated up in front of my eyes today. I'd started to think that maybe daily quests were all there was, since nothing else had appeared through the weekend. And then this one showed up, right on cue.
But the quest itself...
Even one-off editing jobs are acceptable.
Five points for a single quest was genuinely solid. The problem was — could I just decide I wanted editing work and actually get it?
There was no deadline, so it didn't seem like I had to do it immediately... but if I didn't complete this quest, there was a high chance no other quests would spawn.
"So my growth would stall."
Honestly, becoming Dayeon nuna's editor this time around and quitting the convenience store felt like the best possible outcome. I couldn't help thinking that.
Which is exactly why people say it, isn't it.
That you couldn't let go of your attachments.
Bzzzt. Bzzzzzt.
I was just telling myself to focus on work for now when my phone — which was quiet on a good day — suddenly started buzzing like it had something to prove.
"Who's calling at this hour?"
I pulled it out and checked the number on the screen. Completely unknown.
These days even regular mobile numbers got used for spam and voice-phishing scams. I sat there debating whether answering was just asking for trouble — and then I picked up anyway.
"Hello? Who is this?"
I only had about twenty bucks sitting in my account anyway. Even if they drained it, it wasn't like the damage would be catastrophic.
"Ah, hello."
The voice on the other end was a woman's — and strangely, frustratingly familiar, like I'd heard it somewhere a hundred times before.
"Is this Choi Dohyun?"
"Yes, it is... who am I speaking with?"
Familiar or not, it wasn't like I actually knew any women. No face came to mind, so I asked who she was with a slightly wary edge in my voice.
"Hello, this is Lee Dayeon — I run Dayeon TV. I saw your editor application and wanted to reach out."
What came back after I asked for her identity was...
Even more unbelievable than a voice-phishing scam.
"What? Wait, Dayeon nuna... I-I mean, uh, you're Dayeon?"
I'd thought something was off from the start. A familiar woman's voice, when I didn't know a single woman. I'd known it was weird. I just never — not in a million years — imagined that voice would belong to Dayeon nuna.
Honestly, I still didn't believe it.
"Yes! I looked over the portfolio and resume you submitted. I'd like to do an interview so I can also walk you through the work — when would you be available?"
But the voice, now that I'd recognized it as hers, was more Dayeon nuna than anything else in the world.
"...Th-this isn't a scam, right? Like an AI voice, or something..."
"Huh? Pfft— n-no. I'm really Lee Dayeon. Dohyun... I mean, Sense."
At the end of that laughter-tinged voice, the name she called me wasn't my real one. It was Sense. My face went up in flames.
This. This is real.
If it were a scam, they wouldn't know my nickname...!
Okay, they might...!
No. They wouldn't. They definitely wouldn't...!
"H-hello...! I-I'm a f-fan...! Wait, that's not— the, uh, the interview...! Would evening work? I have a part-time job until six...!"
If I'd followed my heart, I would have thrown the job aside, bolted out the door, and told her I could meet her right now. But a person has a conscience. I couldn't just walk out on a shift like that.
Besides, she was only calling me in for an interview. What if I quit after getting my hopes up and then bombed it? You were supposed to consider the worst-case scenario before you did anything stupid.
"Oh, of course! Your place is pretty close to my streaming studio, actually. I was thinking we could meet at a cafe nearby — would that work for you?"
"Yes, anywhere is fine...!"
You could've said you were coming over to my apartment and I would've been fine with it. I've been keeping that place spotless for a day just like this...!
"Alright. Then, um, shall we meet at A Twosome Place at eight?"
"Y-yes...!"
"See you later, then. Give it your all at work!"
"Th-thank you...!"
Today felt like a day I could really give everything I had. Hearing "you've got this" directly from Dayeon nuna herself. It felt like a dream.
Was this right? Was this actually happening? Was this real?
I set the phone down and pinched my cheek as hard as I could, just in case.
"Aaagh...!"
It just hurt. But what if it was one of those dreams where you could feel pain? That was a thing, wasn't it?
Getting a call for an editor interview off that portfolio was already unbelievable enough. Having a one-on-one conversation with Dayeon nuna somewhere that wasn't a livestream...
Wait. Wait, wait, wait.
That number that just called. That number...!
That was Dayeon nuna's number?! Was I losing my mind? This was insane. This was actually, genuinely insane.
"Hahh... hah..."
I snatched the phone back up and carefully, reverently saved Dayeon nuna's number.
The first woman's contact in my phone — and it was Dayeon nuna's number?
The odds of winning the lottery had to be higher than this. Right?
That day, I finished my shift in such a complete daze I barely remembered how the hours passed.
I got off work at six, went home, took a thorough bath, and put on cologne. I changed into the cleanest, most put-together outfit I owned, left the house far earlier than I needed to, and arrived at A Twosome Place first.
"Hahh..."
There were still thirty minutes left. So why was my heart trying to kick its way out of my chest? It was pounding so hard I wondered if I was having some kind of episode. I couldn't calm down no matter what I did.
"Do I look okay?"
I'd picked my clothes as carefully as I could, given that this was an interview and the first time I would meet Dayeon nuna in person... but I didn't own that many clothes to begin with, and years of only buying things that were comfortable had left me with nothing decent. At least I had a white shirt and a pair of slacks I'd bought for future job interviews. I wore those.
I'd had them dry-cleaned and put them away still in the plastic wrapping. I never thought that would come in handy like this.
"Hoo... haah... hoo, ha, hooha..."
Should I go inside first, or wait for her out here? I turned the question over and over and couldn't land on an answer, so I just paced in front of the door. A few people glanced over like I was some kind of weirdo, but I couldn't have cared less. I was too tense to register anyone's stares.
"I-I'll just go inside."
Looking this flustered wouldn't do me any favors — not for interview points, and not for fan points, either. Honestly, I hadn't come here thinking I would actually get the job. Someone at Dayeon nuna's level would have gotten applications from editors far better than me. I'd just come to see her face and make my case as far as I could.
"C-come on. You've got this...!"
I steeled myself to give it everything I had until the end, and just as I reached for the cafe door—
At the voice behind me, every movement stopped cold.
No. It felt like the whole world had stopped.
That was really Dayeon nuna's voice. Not through a stream. Not through a phone. Her voice, landing directly in my ears.
If I turned around, she would be standing there. But my body... wouldn't listen to me at all.