Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Doing a Guerrilla Collab with Yuna!
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Upon returning home with Yuna, who'd agreed to my invitation...
Tofu poked its head out from the hallway to greet us.
As expected, Yuna charged at Tofu the moment she spotted it and scooped it up in a tight hug.
"You're Tofu...! Ugh, you're so cute! How can both the cat and the owner be this adorable?!"
"Nyaang...!"
Thankfully, our sweet Tofu didn't scratch or claw at her.
But it let out some truly pitiful dying-cat sounds from being squeezed so hard.
I couldn't stand watching anymore, so I rescued Tofu and offered Yuna a stick of churu.
"Yuna, wanna try giving Tofu some churu if that's okay?"
"Really? I can do it?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
"Yesss...!"
Yuna quickly released Tofu from her arms, snatched the churu stick, and snipped off the tip with some scissors from nearby.
She started squeezing out little bits of the contents.
Tofu, who had seemed ready to flee from Yuna, perked up at the word "churu" and came right back, staring intently at her before long.
Chomp— Chomp— Chomp—
"Whoa, it really eats it all up...!"
"Right? Tofu goes crazy for churu. Even if it's up on the cat tree, it'll come bolting the second it hears me opening a stick."
"No way, that much?"
Yeah, hard to believe, but no exaggeration—it's exactly like that.
Last time, I couldn't find Tofu anywhere, so I deliberately made the sound of opening churu.
It came rocketing out of the master bedroom like a bullet.
Totally a churu ghost. A ghost possessed by churu.
"Nyaang."
Anyway, thanks to that one stick of churu, the two of them got pretty close in no time.
Tofu, who had been turning its back on her in disgust just moments ago, finished eating and approached Yuna first.
It licked her fingertips.
Rubbed its head against the back of her hand.
And circled around her, pressing their bodies together to mark her with its scent.
Perfect. While they're bonding, I should boil some ramen for Yuna.
Stream starts at 8, so gotta hurry.
"I'll get the ramen going—watch Tofu for me, okay? Oh, eggs in it?"
"Duh!"
Fair enough. Ramen without an egg is kinda hard to imagine.
Except for a few specific ones, anyway.
Sizzle—
I set the water to boil and grabbed a pack of ramen from the pantry.
I'm not hungry yet, so no need for my share.
"Da-jeong! Mind if I peek around your room real quick?"
"Sure, go ahead."
In the meantime, Yuna apparently wanted to look around the house.
She asked permission and headed straight to the master bedroom.
Tofu toddled after her with quick little steps.
"Whoa, Da-jeong, you keep your place so tidy."
"R-Really? I think it's pretty average."
"Nah, if you saw my room, you'd never say that."
I felt a bit embarrassed by Yuna's first words after touring the room for a while.
But her self-deprecating way of complimenting my housekeeping made me burst out laughing.
Wonder just how messy Yuna's room really is.
"Tofu! Let's check over there next!"
"Nyaang!"
Man, they've gotten so close already.
Tofu is pretty friendly with people in general.
But from the vibe, they look like family who've always been together.
As I watched Tofu eagerly following Yuna's directions, I smiled warmly and plated the finished ramen nicely in a bowl.
I eat straight from the pot when it's just me, but for a guest, better serve it properly.
"Yuna! Ramen's ready!"
"Coming!"
I finished setting the table with kimchi too and called out.
Yuna and Tofu came dashing out of my workspace and back to the living room.
Then she pulled out her phone from her pocket and...
Click—
"Heehee, ramen hand-boiled by Da-jeong...! Gotta brag to the unnies."
"I-It'S JUST RAMEN THOUGH?"
"That's why it's great!"
"Uh, huh?"
She tossed out that incomprehensible line while snapping pics of the humble spread—just ramen and kimchi.
Then, as she sat and reached for her chopsticks, a delayed realization hit her, judging by her expression.
"Oh, right. Da-jeong, if it's cool, can I make a quick cameo on your stream later?"
"On stream? Fine by me, but... isn't today your day off?"
Maybe she felt bad lounging around on her rare day off because of me.
I asked if she was sure, and she clacked her chopsticks together as she replied.
"Psh, just my voice is fine. Like I'm visiting a friend's place."
"Ah... Yeah, I'd love that. The Cherries will be thrilled."
"Sweet! Hehehe..."
"...?"
For some reason, that last laugh sounded a tad sinister.
But I brushed it off as my imagination and forgot about it.
Slurp—
"Wow, but you really nail ramen, Da-jeong...! What's your secret?"
"J-Just followed the instructions?"
"Really? It's so good though? Hey, wanna be my bride?"
"Y-Your standards for a bride are way too low, aren't they...?!"
In the midst of things, I even scored a ramen-fueled proposal from Yuna.
Anyway, glad she enjoyed it.
Next time, I'll treat her to some proper cooking.
While Yuna handled the dishes, insisting she would...
I headed back to my workspace, booted up the computer, and finished stream prep.
An hour later than usual, so I gotta play extra hard with the Cherries today.
With that in mind, I went live and...
The waiting screen was still up, but complaints from the incoming Cherries kept pouring in.
Hey, hey, kids. Calm down first.
You gotta see the person before mouthing off.
I get you're mad, but I had my reasons too!
"Ch-Cherries, hi everyone...! I did announce it, but yeah, I'm a bit late. Sorry!"
No way, aegyo for being an hour late is too much!
I even announced it early, back when Yuna called me out!
"Aww, Cherries. Don't be so mad. As compensation, I've brought a super special guest today."
Phew, dodged a bullet.
Normally I'd have shown Tofu by now.
But today, there's a real special guest.
"Psh, you think I only ever bring Tofu? What do you take me for?!"
Ugh, you guys are all so harsh!
Anyway, today's guest is really special!
Don't be too shocked, okay!
Creeeak—
As I hyped it up in my head...
The door opened cautiously, and Yuna peeked in.
She shot me a 'Can I come in now?' look and nodded toward the computer.
I nodded back, and she slipped in carefully, then grabbed me from behind in a bear hug...
"Muahaha! I've kidnapped Ruru-chan! If you value Ruru-chan's life, wire 5 billion won to Yukimura Yukiko's account right now!"
And launched into a sudden kidnapping skit.
Of course, since they recognized Yuna's voice right away...
They quickly caught on and started playing along with the skit.
B-But 5 billion is kinda overkill, isn't it?
Even the Cherries might just bail at that price.
Anyway, thanks to Yuna's sensational surprise appearance, no need for intros.
I tried to pull her over to sit beside me and resume, but she shook her head no, still hugging me tight.
"Hehe, surprised, right? As you heard, today's guest is Yuki-chan!"
"Ehehe, conyuki everyone! I popped by Ruru-chan's place to hang out, so surprise cameo!"
Yeah, sure you did.
You were all scolding me until Yuna showed up.
Cherries sure switch attitudes fast.
"Ah, yeah. Spot on. Yuki-chan suddenly called me out for lunch, and the President was there too. So the three of us ate and hung out a bit."
"What'd we eat? Super fancy omakase! President treated us!"
"Yup. Then the three of us hit karaoke too—had a blast."
Yeah, our company's welfare is definitely top-notch.
A bit different from your typical big corp perks.
But I don't envy anyone else's.
"President was busy though, so she treated us to dinner and headed straight back to the office. Yuki-chan and I chatted at a cafe a bit, then came here together."
The Cherries felt the same as me, huh.
Yeah, I didn't say it, but it hit me kinda sad too.
Like, President's swamped while we're leisurely playing—felt guilty.
Of course, saying that to her face would just get me scolded for worrying over nothing. Hehe.
"Oh yeah! Guys, Ruru-chan flirted with me today? Jealous?"
"Huh?"
We were just casually chatting away.
Then Yuna dropped that baffling bomb, stunning me and the Cherries alike.
W-Wait! What're you talking about?!
Flirting? I never did that!
"No, so originally, we were gonna split after the cafe and I'd head home? But Ruru-chan suddenly grabs me. And goes, 'Wanna do ramen at my place?' That's not flirting, what is it?"
A-No, why's it being interpreted like that!
Yuna was the one who first mentioned wanting ramen!
I just brought it up casually since my place was close and it'd be fun to hang more!
I'm so wronged!!!
"And now here she is denying it like 'I never flirted.' Wouldn't that piss you off too if it were you? Right, Cherries?"
Wahh, you guys are too mean.
No matter how I think about it, I'm the victim here!
There was no special meaning behind it!
How does that even get twisted like this...!
"So, today we're gonna re-educate Ruru-chan. So she never lures someone in then plays dumb again!"
Setting aside why I'm the one getting re-educated...
I got curious too at the Cherries asking how, so I perked up my ears.
Wonder how she's gonna punish me.
"It's... a horror game!"
"......Huh?"
The instant I vowed not to flinch no matter what...
Yuna's mouth opened, and an utterly unexpected method popped out.
I blinked, feeling like time had frozen.
...Guess I can't just end the stream like this?