Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Mounting Misunderstandings
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I gathered my hazy consciousness and slowly opened my eyes.
The moment I did, a splitting headache crashed over me.
"Ugh..."
I groaned as I came to my senses, and an unfamiliar sight greeted me.
A thick, fluffy blanket and a spotless room.
The completely alien scene jolted my half-asleep mind fully awake.
Huh? Where am I?
I was definitely eating chicken with the members yesterday.
After that...
"...!"
As I slowly pieced together my memories, my eyes shot wide open.
Come to think of it, I drank beer yesterday.
I remembered chugging the apple beer that Chae-yoon unnie ordered like it was juice because it tasted so good.
I had no idea what I did after that, though.
"Ah, Da-jeong. You're awake?"
"J-Ji-ah unnie...?!"
I'd been frozen in place for a while when...
The door opened, and the familiar face that appeared startled me. I reflexively pulled back.
What's going on? Why is Ji-ah unnie here?
Where the heck am I?
"You were so drunk yesterday that I brought you to my place. Must've been a shock, huh?"
"Ah... So this is Ji-ah unnie's house?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Seeing Ji-ah unnie nod with a smile helped everything click into place.
She must've brought me here to her house because I was wasted.
"S-Sorry, unnie. I hate that I caused you so much trouble..."
I endured the throbbing headaches hitting me intermittently and hurriedly apologized.
If my memory cut out like that, how embarrassing must I have been?
The members must've thought I was a total mess.
Ugh, it would've been less humiliating if they'd just left me there.
I can't even face unnie now.
"No, it's fine. This was only your second time drinking, right?"
"Y-Yeah... That's right."
"Then it's natural to overdo it a bit. You have to drink a few times to figure out your limit."
Ji-ah unnie waved it off as if she didn't mind my disgraceful state at all.
Then, in her usual kind tone, she added some advice: 'Just drink in moderation next time, okay?'
It was like an angel had descended.
Everything was fine up to her accepting my apology.
But there was one thing nagging at me.
My memories from yesterday had completely vanished from my head.
I had no idea what happened in between, and that scared me.
"U-Unnie. Did I do anything stupid yesterday by any chance?"
"S-Stupid?"
"Yeah. Like, did I hit you guys or cause a scene or anything...?"
In anime and stuff, drunk people often turn into total different people.
I didn't think that was likely, but I worried some evil alter ego inside me had emerged.
With a heavy heart, I asked. Ji-ah unnie blinked at me as she watched quietly, then...
"N-No, nothing like that."
Something seemed to pop into her head. Her eyes went wide like a rabbit's, and she shook her head vigorously enough to feel the breeze.
That reaction definitely looked suspicious.
"Really? You're stuttering like something happened..."
"I-I'm telling you...! Really."
"If you're just saying that to spare my feelings..."
"No. Our Da-jeong would never do anything bad to her unnies, no matter how drunk."
Is that true?
Doubt crept in seeing her flustered, but...
Without evidence, it was hard to press further.
Maybe it's best to assume nothing happened for both our sakes.
She doesn't seem eager to bring it up either.
"Good, then I'm relieved. I was worried I'd passed out in the street and caused a ruckus or something."
"...Da-jeong's knowledge is weirdly biased."
"I thought that's what happens when everyone gets really drunk."
"Yeah, usually not. Some people even fall asleep when they drink."
I see.
I'd never drunk with people before, so I didn't know.
Some get quieter instead.
The world of drunks is fascinating.
"Anyway, come out and eat now that you're up. I made bean sprout soup."
"Wow, I love bean sprout soup."
It's cheap and has that refreshing taste I adore.
Ji-ah unnie made it herself.
My stomach wasn't even hungry, but my mouth was watering already.
Click-
Hehe.
I grinned like an idiot as I got out of bed and tottered after unnie out of the room.
The kitchen came into view right away, with a neatly laid-out table and...
"You're up? Food's ready, so come eat."
"...Eh?"
A strange lady was standing there.
W-Who is she?
"Oh, I didn't mention? This is my mom. Dad's working overseas right now, so it's just us two."
"Y-Your mother...?!"
Gasp.
I accidentally swallowed air hearing Ji-ah unnie casually introduce her mom.
It wasn't the surprise of her mom being home.
She'd said before when we talked about living situations that she lived with her parents.
What shocked me was that her mom must know I came home blackout drunk yesterday.
"You're Da-jeong, right? I've heard a lot about you from Ji-ah. She said you're such a cute friend, and I wanted to meet you. Nice to finally see you."
The kind lady waved warmly in greeting.
But I wasn't ready to respond.
"Ah, uh, ahh, ahhh..."
Like a broken doll with a recorder, I just repeated the start over and over.
My vision spun, and I couldn't grasp what to say.
Sh-Should I apologize first?
Or greet her back since she greeted me?
"H-Hello... I'm Jeong Da-jeong. Sorry for the trouble yesterday..."
I agonized between the options and settled on greeting first.
I bowed as politely as I could, and the lady smiled at me like a mom.
"Aigoo, your voice and every little movement is so cute. Total opposite of our daughter."
"Wh-What did I do...!"
Then she suddenly unleashed on Ji-ah unnie, who was just standing there.
Unnie protested with a wronged look, but it seemed useless against parents.
The lady clicked her tongue and frowned, not listening at all.
"Look at her. Talks back the second mom says anything. Aish... Instead of that, go eat with Da-jeong."
"It's not just me..."
Whoa, this is kinda fresh.
Ji-ah unnie was always the eldest sister figure in our group.
Reliable, mature, calm eldest sister.
But she could whine and get mad like a kid too.
It felt a bit different from her streaming persona too, which made it even more intriguing.
I remembered the Virtual YouTuber 'Ellin' throwing tantrums, but not like this.
How to put it... Adorably.
"Da-jeong, let's eat first. You must be hungry."
"Yes, unnie."
I sat side by side with Ji-ah unnie, inwardly musing.
"Wow..."
The neatly arranged breakfast spread before me drew out an exclamation.
I don't think I'd ever seen a breakfast with so many side dishes.
This could last a week.
"Well, let's eat..."
"Yeah, eat lots."
I carefully said grace and picked up my spoon.
The warm gazes from the lady and unnie felt a tad burdensome, but...
Sharing breakfast with others was so novel and joyful, I couldn't care.
A sip of bean sprout soup.
A bite of freshly grilled mackerel, bones neatly picked.
A spicy-sweet stir-fried fish cake with onions.
Everything was too good to miss.
Or maybe it tasted better because I was eating with others.
"Uu..."
"Hm? Da-jeong, what's wrong? Bone stuck?"
"N-No... Just, it's so good."
Feeling a sudden swell of emotion, I picked up my spoon again.
Yeah, delicious.
After breakfast, I took the subway home.
Ji-ah unnie said I could stay longer, but...
Nope, can't impose more on someone else's house.
If it were a proper visit, maybe, but as an uninvited drunk guest? No way.
Hmm, hmmm~.
The moment I got home, I hummed and turned on my computer.
Not to prep a stream.
Just to check my Clip Channel real quick.
"Hehe, it's grown a lot."
Subscribers were just over 4,000 yesterday, now past 5,000 in a day.
I felt so proud, I grinned without realizing.
Wow, tons of comments too.
Last check yesterday, the latest video had just over 100.
Now over 200.
Does that mean everyone's interest in our Blues is that hot?
"Gotta heart them."
When subs are low, every little interaction counts.
So I sorted by newest, starting hearting unread ones.
Of course, malicious Blue LUV hate gets insta-blocked and deleted.
"...Huh?"
Excited for Blue LUV praise, I read comments until...
Some made my eyes go wide.
This is what they said.
- Comment got deleted, wtf?
- Asked for Lulu-chan clips and it got deleted?
- Didn't even post anything weird, why delete?
- Owner explain plz
Eh? What's this?
Me deleting comments?
I've never done that.
Well, I have deleted some.
But only Blue LUV hate or toxic ones.
I swear on my life, I left everything else.
Even polite ones like 'I want Lucrezia to step on me!'
So what happened?
"Trolls...?"
After agonizing, a reasonable suspicion hit.
Are these jerks making stuff up to stir trouble?
But too many for that.
No way this many coordinated on my small Clip Channel.
No orders from above or anything.
ㄴ I didn't do that...
I replied to one eye-catching comment with my grievance and opened the editor.
Ugh, no time to waste on this.
Gotta edit our Blues' debut first stream quick.
Tap tap-
I hammered the keyboard and kept working.
I don't know why they're mad, but once today's edit goes up, they'll love it, right?