Everyday Life
"Ugghhh... nngh..."
I dragged myself out of bed, every inch of me marinated in muscle soreness. Four-plus hours of King Fit yesterday had done this to me.
"Guhhh..."
My whole body throbbed.
"Today's stream is... ah, right. Off day anyway."
Two days off a week is just common sense, isn't it?
I dropped back onto the bed.
"Back to sleep..."
I tossed onto my side. Rolled. Flopped the other way.
"Ugghhh..."
...Damn it. I couldn't sleep.
I turned on my phone and checked the time.
2 PM...
Yeah, I'd definitely slept enough. I considered getting up, then just kept scrolling instead.
"Let's take a look at the reactions..."
I opened the Streamer Gallery.
It was from when I'd been completely wiped, just sitting there breathing hard. Not that I particularly stopped people from posting this kind of thing, but saving it outright was a little embarrassing... nah. I'd already come this far — what was left to be embarrassed about?
Huh. Getting used to this.
The fact that I was already getting used to it sent a faint flicker of alarm through me, but it probably didn't matter. I switched off my phone. The reaction seemed good, as expected.
"Ah... what do I even do..."
I rolled around on the bed, genuinely out of things to occupy myself with. Streaming didn't appeal, and even games or videos felt strangely like too much effort. Not sleepy, just drained. That particular flavor of exhausted-but-awake.
"Well, I can't just burn the day like this."
"Maybe I'll hit the hospital."
Time to go make some money.
I threw on some clothes, already thinking about what video I'd watch once I got there. I'd showered yesterday, so that was fine.
Click.
"Hyeek!"
I'd finished getting ready, and when I opened the door, the woman from downstairs — the one I'd seen yesterday — was right there.
"Ah, h-hellooo...?"
She greeted me from a full sprawl on the floor. If anyone had walked by, they'd have sworn I'd knocked her over.
"Hello? What brings you up here, though..."
"Huh? Ah, a-ah, that's... um..."
At this rate it really looks like I'm threatening her or something.
I held out a hand.
"H-huh?"
"Why don't we talk once you're on your feet?"
She glanced left and right, then slowly closed her fingers around mine. With both hands, no less.
That's suspicious.
She stood, then bent to pick something up off the floor, and only then did I get a look at what she'd been holding.
A letter? No — it was heart-shaped.
The instant my eyes went to it, she whipped whatever it was behind her back.
"Ah, it's nothing... n-no, I mean..."
"Did you come by because of last night?"
"Huh? Ah, y-yes? Probably..."
I gave her an awkward smile and offered a rough apology.
"Sorry about that. I didn't think about how late it was and ended up working out a bit..."
"Hweht... a-ah, no, it's fine..."
She kept her head down, fidgeting, rubbing one ankle against the other.
"Come to think of it, we live in the same building and never even introduced ourselves. I'm Kim Chaeho."
"Ah, Kim Chaeho..."
She looked up at me, a little shy. I looked right back. Her face went redder and redder, and she snapped her gaze away.
"W-what is... eh, ah!"
She muttered something under her breath, then seemed to finally catch on and turned back to me.
"M-my name is Lee Jiyeon."
Exchanging names sure is a struggle.
"Well, Jiyeon. Let's get along as neighbors."
I held out my hand. She seized it in both of hers like she'd just spotted a lump of gold.
"Yes, yes!"
And then she just stared at my hand. If I left her like that, she looked ready to eat it.
"So, any idea when you might let go..."
"Ah, ah! I'm so sorry!"
She dropped my hand at once. Whatever she'd been holding was still hidden behind her back.
"Ah, um, but where are you going? It's the weekend..."
Was it the weekend today? Streaming had completely wrecked my sense of the days of the week.
"Ah... well, you see..."
Was this even something I should say? Telling someone I'd just exchanged names with I'm off to donate sperm felt like a bit of a stretch.
"I'm... going to the hospital."
"H-huh? The hospital? Are you sick?"
Worry flooded her face, and she inched closer.
No, I'm just going to donate sperm.
"I'm... not actually sick..."
"What? If you're not sick, then why would you go to the hospital..."
She slowly trailed off. Then she went quiet, as if something had occurred to her.
"Um..."
She eased back from me.
"I—"
"I'm so sorry!!!"
And then she ran.
No, hey — this makes me look like the weird one.
"Hah... so why did she actually come up here?"
That letter she'd been holding niggled at me a little, but she hadn't even given it to me, so what was I supposed to do about it? I gave a rough stretch and headed out for the hospital.
"Ah, you're here again?"
The nurse's previously bored face lit up the moment she saw me. I gave her a small smile and followed her into that room once more.
A reassuring place, as always. I sat down on the sofa.
"Ah... yes, you're in excellent health, as always..."
I was being publicly executed in front of photographs of my own sperm swimming around. And yet the doctor seemed several times more embarrassed than I was. I didn't think it had been this bad last time.
She explained without lifting her face, one hand shoved between her thighs. The glimpses I caught of her were a deep, lingering red.
I listened through the explanation, filed away the precautions, and stepped back out. In the hallway, the nurses were whispering among themselves.
"Ah, a-all done? Please confirm the one million won deposit."
I checked my phone. One million won had, in fact, gone through. Together with the last visit, that made two million won total.
The first time I'd received this, I'd looked up why the per-visit rate was so high. It turned out that the vast majority of that million won was effectively a government subsidy, which made a lot more sense. The government couldn't just hand out millions without a plausible justification or any real return, so they'd gone with this method instead. Pretty clever, all things considered.
Anyway, all I had to do was take advantage of it.
I left the hospital and headed home. I'd come into a little money, so maybe I'd eat something nice.
I went to the cafe I always went to. Truth be told, the place was a fairly high-end coffee shop. I just happened to receive an absurd amount of complimentary extras and discounts.
"Ah, hello! The usual coffee, right? If you'll just take a seat, it'll be out shortly..."
She had my order predicted before I'd even opened my mouth. Wasn't that the kind of thing you did for a regular who'd been coming in once or twice a week for a year or two?
"No, I'll take it to go today."
"Okaaay... wait, what?"
I held out my card.
"One cafe latte."
I headed home at a leisurely pace, sipping my latte. The muscle soreness seemed to have faded, too. Maybe it was because I'd gotten some... exercise(?).
"Hah... hah... hah..."
On the way back, I happened to spot Kang Hyojin. I tried to catch up with her, but her pace plus my leftover soreness made me give up almost immediately. It was a circular track anyway — she'd loop back around soon enough.
She was really going at it, though. I wondered if there was a reason.
"...Hah... hah..."
Fast. She'd already nearly completed a full lap and came up behind me.
"Hyojin~"
I waved.
"C-Chaeho?"
She came running over with a look of genuine surprise.
"Ah, hello!"
She greeted me without the slightest sign of fatigue.
"Hey. They gave me this as a complimentary drink at the cafe, and I thought you might want it."
I held out a strawberry smoothie. They'd pressed it on me as the shop's signature creation, but I wasn't particularly fond of strawberries or smoothies.
"Thank you! I really love these — I can't have too many or I'll gain weight, but..."
"Ah, so I brought it for nothing, then...?"
"N-no, not at all! I was just craving something like this, and it's about time for a cheat day anyway."
"That's a relief, then."
I handed her the drink. She took it, drew a long sip through the straw, and broke into a bright smile.
"It's delicious! Thank you so much again...!"
I told her I was glad and laughed.
"If you're not busy, want to sit over there and talk for a bit?"
I pointed at a bench. I had nothing waiting for me at home anyway, so I figured we might as well talk.
And she froze solid.
"Hyojin?"
"Ah, around six children should do it..."