Hired from the Start

"Ah—hello."

In the end, I couldn't even turn around. All I managed was a greeting, squeezed out for fear she'd think I wasn't the person she was looking for. I had no idea what kind of face Dayeon-noona was making behind me.

She's probably wondering why I'm saying hello without even looking at her. She might think I'm a total lunatic. Ugh, but I can't help being nervous...! The second I see her face, I feel like I'm going to start crying...!

"That's you! You're early! But why are you standing like that? If you just keep holding the door, nobody else can get in~"

The same bright, energetic voice she used on stream. That floral scent that had drifted in with her arrival grew closer and closer, and then I saw her open the door beside me and step inside first.

Long pink hair with a gentle wave to it. A pale face, cute puppy-like eyes sparkling with mischief, and those lovely red lips curved into a smile.

"Wow..."

That was all that came out. Pure awe. I couldn't think of anything else. Just that Dayeon-noona was so, so pretty. That single thought took over my entire brain, and I ended up making an even dumber face than before.

"Come on in. What would you like to drink?"

"Ah, I'll, uh... a-anything is fine...!"

I forced myself to remember that I hadn't come here for a fan meeting—I'd come for a job interview—and managed to keep my expression under control enough to give a proper answer this time.

"Aww, 'anything' is the hardest order in the world, you know?"

"Th-that's true...! Um, then I'll have an Americano."

"Coffee in the evening? You sure?"

Honestly, I'd barely ever drunk coffee, so I didn't even really know what an Americano tasted like. I'd just picked the cheapest thing I could see on the menu. Was evening coffee a bad idea?

"I haven't drunk much coffee, so I don't really know..."

It was embarrassing, but I told her honestly, and she made a face like she was thinking it over.

"Do you like sweet things?"

"Ah, yes. I like sweet stuff. Chocolate and things like that."

"Then how about a choco latte?"

A choco latte. Chocolate and latte... wasn't that just chocolate milk? But looking at how much more expensive it was than the stuff they sold at the convenience store, maybe not. Not that I'd know. I'd never even been to a cafe.

"Um, yes. That sounds fine."

I gave a vaguely agreeable answer and started to pull out my wallet.

"Aww, I'll get the drinks. I can't make you pay when you came here for an interview."

Dayeon-noona gave my hand a light tap, telling me to put it away.

Holy shit, she touched my hand... huff, huff... m-my heart can't take this...

"Then a choco latte ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for Dohyun, and I'll have... a yogurt smoothie, I think."

Once she finished ordering, she took the buzzer and we headed inside.

"Let's sit over here."

Dayeon-noona headed for a corner seat first, and I scrambled after her to sit across from her.

God, she was even prettier in person. And her voice... it was like a songbird. I'd seen that face and heard that voice every day through the stream. But seeing her like this, right in front of me, was a completely different feeling.

"So, hmm, where should we start?"

She crossed her legs, pulled out the resume I'd sent, and sat there thinking it over. The whole picture was incredibly charming.

Oh, wait... does that mean I can see Dayeon-noona's status window now?

I'd been curious, honestly. I'd tried over and over through the screen, but I could never see it. I never imagined I'd get to look at it this soon.

I swallowed. I couldn't believe I could hear my own gulp this loudly in a cafe this noisy. I really was nervous. Not that anyone could blame me, given the situation.

I let out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a quiet breath so the noona seriously studying my resume wouldn't hear, then quickly opened the status window. Of course, opening it didn't require any special gesture, so I didn't actually need to be this tense about it. She wouldn't have noticed either way.

The status window that unfolded before my eyes was... well. Even among every status window I'd seen so far, these stats and talents were in the upper ranks. Six talents was a first, and most of them were sitting at forty.

I supposed you needed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Charm this high to look and carry yourself the way she did. It was starting to make sense how she'd climbed to mid-tier streamer so quickly. Gaming skill, Charm, the kind of charisma that could hold a room—and Eloquence on top of that. Of course she had.

Though those talent names... I'd thought this before, but they were kind of cute. Nom Nom? What even was that?

Wait. More importantly—this noona had talent in singing and mukbang? Singing at thirty, mukbang at twenty. Considering my Editing had started at fifteen, those were talents that outclassed what I'd begun with. But I'd never seen her stream singing or eating content...

I found myself thinking it might be worth trying those out later.

Ah. So this is why I need Planning?

I could tell for sure that it would be a good idea, but I couldn't quite picture what kind of content it should actually be. If I'd put points into my Planning Stat, something might have just clicked into place.

"Hmm, Dohyun, you're still pretty young, but you've already completed your military service?"

I'd been so absorbed in the status window that Dayeon-noona's gaze and voice started filtering through from the other side of it.

"Ah, yes...! I went right after graduating high school."

As an orphan with no parents and no relatives, I actually qualified for an exemption. I went anyway. I didn't want it becoming a problem later when I tried to get a job.

"Hmm, is there a reason you didn't go to college?"

"I didn't have the money. I don't have parents, and I had to figure out how to feed myself..."

I hadn't expected to be talking about this the first time we met. But it wasn't something I felt I needed to hide, so I just told her honestly.

"Ah, I'm sorry. That was my mistake."

Dayeon-noona looked flustered and apologized, but I really was fine. I was past the age of getting hurt just from saying I didn't have parents.

"It's alright. It's not like it's something I need to hide."

"You're so young, but you're incredibly mature."

Huh? Was I?

Come to think of it, the store manager had said something similar once—after I'd taken every kind of abuse from a difficult customer and just stayed calm about it. You just sat there and took that? You should've at least called me.Eh, it's fine. People like that wear themselves out if you let them talk, then they leave.You're way too mature, you know that? Not like someone your age. I'd brushed it off then, thinking I wasn't particularly mature. I never expected to hear it from someone else.

"Um, I don't think that's really true. Ah, I think our drinks are ready—I'll go grab them!"

I was fumbling for a response, not sure how to react, when the buzzer started going off to say the drinks were ready. I snatched it up and hurried to the counter.

I brought the drinks back to the table, and noona set down ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the resume she'd been looking at and took hers.

"Thank you."

"Noona... ah, no. Y-you bought them, Dayeon-nim."

"Noona" was a name I only used in my own head, and this was a job interview, so I caught myself and switched. She'd been calling me Dohyun-nim this whole time, so maybe it was okay for me to call her Dayeon-nim?

"You can call me noona, you know."

"H-huh, b-but this is a job interview..."

I wanted to make the best impression I possibly could, and I'd already made a mountain of mistakes from the very start. I wanted to be more careful now.

"Aww, it's an interview in name only. I just called you here to see your face and explain the work."

"What? What do you mean..."

I couldn't help jumping at the sudden announcement that I'd passed.

Wait. Wait a second. I got the job? That didn't make any sense.

"Uh, were there... no other applicants?"

Ah. Right. That had to be it. If nobody else applied, that would explain it. No, wait—even if there weren't many applicants, there were still two weeks left in the posting. She was just going to hire me on the spot?

"Hmm? There were tons of applicants."

Hearing there were tons of applicants only made me more confused.

"Then why did you pick me...? I'm not even that good at editing..."

Of course I was going to get better, and it wasn't like I was unhappy about getting the job. Honestly, I was so happy I wanted to get up and dance right then and there. But I couldn't just accept it with pure joy. My skills weren't amazing yet, and if there were a lot of applicants, there were definitely people way better than me. The question of why she'd hired me still hadn't been answered at all.

"There's no grand reason or anything. I just liked your portfolio."

"Uh, um..."

"You answered everything honestly, so I'll be honest with you too. I've been watching your fan videos, but if it was just fan-video-level editing skill, I wouldn't have hired you."