Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: We've Started Living Together!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Park Chae-yoon.
She had her own complex.
Ever since she was little, people had often told her she was cool.
Maybe it was because of her bold personality and overflowing girl-crush vibes, but those compliments didn't exactly thrill her.
Basically, her tastes differed a lot from those of girls her age.
Cute dolls, dainty stickers, pretty clothes.
Compared to friends who universally loved that stuff, she couldn't care less.
She'd never collected stickers.
She preferred assembling plastic models over dolls.
She favored functional, comfortable outfits over frilly, delicate ones.
All these were fragments that defined the woman named Park Chae-yoon.
That didn't mean she hated cute things, though.
When friends showed her photos of their cats or dogs at home,
she'd think, "Cute," and nod along.
But if you asked if that was the typical reaction from girls her age? No.
So lately, Park Chae-yoon had one nagging worry.
With the maknae joining the group for Virtual YouTuber activities,
it was hard for her to match the other members' hype whenever they gushed over how adorable and lovable the kid was.
That didn't mean she disliked the maknae, Da-jeong, though.
On the contrary, she liked her a ton.
Any member who didn't cherish a colleague who cared for everyone more than anyone would have issues.
It just hit her one day:
Compared to the other super affectionate members, had she ever really shown Da-jeong much love?
That thought made her feel like she was the only one keeping distance from Da-jeong.
So when Da-jeong couldn't stay at the dorm,
Chae-yoon stepped up and offered to live together.
Maybe living together would let her figure out why the others melted over this kid.
And it was a chance to get closer to Da-jeong, too.
'I'm the big sister, so I should make the first move.'
She clenched her fist, steeling her resolve—
Ding-dong—
The sudden doorbell jolted her from the sofa. She headed to the front door.
She knew exactly who it would be.
Her mom sometimes dropped by with side dishes, but only one person was coming today.
Click—
"Come on in, Da-jeong."
"Ah, hi, unnie…."
Chae-yoon smiled at the petite girl politely bowing her head.
It was finally starting today.
Their short-yet-long cohabitation with the maknae.
Arriving at Chae-yoon unnie's place, I plopped on the sofa and blankly looked around.
I wasn't too familiar with normal households,
but this place seemed huge for one person.
And incredibly tidy.
To the point it didn't match the lazy Lilith I knew or Chae-yoon unnie's vibe.
Did she deep-clean just because I was coming?
If so, I felt bad for putting her out.
"The computer and essentials are coming tonight with staff, right?"
"Y-yes. That's right."
Chae-yoon unnie approached me as I fidgeted nervously.
She held two glass cups.
She handed me one and asked a question.
Ah, orange juice.
"I already set up the desk and bed. Wanna see?"
"Ah, sure. Sounds good."
I carefully stood, holding the juice-filled cup.
My room was right across from Chae-yoon unnie's.
With the living room and kitchen in between, it looked perfectly symmetrical from the center.
"Wow…!"
The firmly shut door swung open, and a gasp escaped me.
It was way bigger than my old room.
And spotless.
No mold on the walls or anything.
Could I really stay somewhere like this?
It felt too good for me.
I figured since she had an extra room, it'd be some storage space cleared out for me.
"Not bad, huh?"
"N-not bad? It's amazing. But really, can someone like me stay here, unnie?"
"Tsk, bad-mouthing again!"
Unnie tapped my lips, scolding my habitual slip.
Whoops!
I promised not to say stuff like that around members.
But it just slipped out.
This place was that overly generous.
"It's because it's you, Da-jeong. You think I'd lend my room to just anyone?"
"Unnie…."
Her touching words made my chest tighten unexpectedly.
Yeah. If Chae-yoon unnie was saying this much,
I shouldn't overthink it.
Just be good to her while staying here.
And don't be a burden!
"Thank the President more than me. She sent the desk and bed, right?"
"Yeah. That's what makes me feel so guilty…."
My computer survived, but the ceiling collapse wrecked the bed and desk.
That was my biggest worry moving here.
But the President knew someone with a furniture shop and sent a bed.
Even the motion desk I'd been eyeing for streams.
Luckily, I could afford to pay it back with my savings, but
she wouldn't take a dime.
She said if I was that grateful, just stream hard—that'd be payment enough.
I bawled my eyes out hearing that.
"Don't apologize. Be grateful and work hard. Our maknae can do it."
Maknae? Oh, maknae.
Come to think of it, Lilith slipped into dialect on streams sometimes.
Was Chae-yoon unnie from out of town?
I was curious but held back.
Plenty of time to learn.
Plus, I didn't want to bug her before her stream.
"Ugh…! Anyway, that's the house tour. Go do your stream, unnie. Text or Discord if you need anything. Use whatever's here freely."
"Got it, unnie."
After kindly showing me the bathroom and essentials,
Chae-yoon unnie stretched and headed to her room.
Left alone in the living room, I felt awkwardly out of place.
Being in someone else's house?
I couldn't sit still.
Find something to do.
I resolved and jumped up.
At least help out while freeloading.
Housework would be perfect.
'But what?'
Problem was, nothing needed doing.
The place was pristine, like freshly cleaned.
Even the bathroom gleamed like new.
"Ah!"
Searching for chores, I stopped in front of the kitchen with a gasp.
Oh yeah, Chae-yoon unnie hadn't eaten yet.
She usually ate mid-stream.
I'd grabbed food outside with Manager So-eun unnie on the way.
That sparked an idea.
Yeah, perfect.
Chae-yoon was streaming hard as usual.
Playing an FPS game she'd always loved, and the response was great.
Probably because it was popular everywhere.
Bang—!
Sniping a sudden enemy with quick reflexes,
the chat praised her peak condition today.
Chae-yoon smirked smugly. "Heh."
"Psh, on fire? This is just Lilith-nim's hidden skills finally shining through."
"That was a mistake! A mistake! This is skill!"
How was there never a normal compliment day?
Fighting evil viewers, Chae-yoon vented her injustice.
But really, the viewers were the aggrieved ones.
Search "Lilith dead movie" on Mityube, and clips galore.
She wasn't called Dead Artist for nothing after starting this game.
"Anyway, feeling great today. Might rack up a high score."
"Hmm, about six in a row?"
Tough, sure, but doable.
Strike while the iron's hot—she vowed to hit Platinum today.
After eating first, though.
As she pondered delivery and scrolled her phone app,
a donation pinged, making her blink.
(Black Moon Squad was the assassin group Lilith belonged to in her original world.)
"Lulu? She got here earlier. Probably chilling outside now."
"What voice cameo? She's already uncomfortable at someone else's place."
She'd considered a quick voice cameo for Da-jeong,
but timing wasn't right, so she scolded the suggester.
"Anyway, ordering food quick. Lulu ate with the manager, so just me?"
Scrolling for food,
Knock knock—
"…Huh?"
The door knock made her turn.
Living alone, knocks were rare—she startled a bit.
Remembering Da-jeong, she approached slowly.
Something urgent?
She'd said to text or Discord, but a knock meant otherwise.
"Yeah, Lulu? What's up…?"
Mic muted, but using avatar name just in case—
She blinked at the wooden tray Da-jeong held reverently in both hands.
A neatly served meal sat atop it.
"Unnie, you hadn't eaten, so I made this… Wanna try if it's okay?"
"Y-you made this yourself?"
"Y-yeah. Followed an internet recipe loosely…."
Da-jeong had little cooking experience despite living alone, due to her home life.
So she'd searched popular recipes, grabbed ingredients, and managed.
Her knife and fire skills were already top-notch, so it wasn't hard.
Chae-yoon was floored.
Da-jeong cooking was shocking enough,
but it was spicy pork stir-fry—her absolute favorite.
"How'd you know I love spicy pork?"
"Huh? Oh, uh… Just made it on a whim. Hehe…."
Da-jeong played it off, but she knew.
Lilith's manly tastes were famous among Pistas.
Not widely known in this world yet, though.
"Thanks so much. I've been craving home cooking. But my skills suck…."
Chae-yoon nearly teared up sincerely.
How long since proper home fare?
Cooking disaster, always delivery—her dream scene unfolded.
"Glad you like it. Ah, don't keep viewers waiting—take it in. I'll do dishes."
"N-no. You worked hard; I'll handle dishes. Leave it."
Grabbing the retreating Da-jeong with the tray,
Chae-yoon insisted—dishes after a full meal felt too guilty.
"Hehe, it's fine. Watching your stream makes it effortless."
"……."
"Fighting! You got this."
But to Chae-yoon, Da-jeong flashed cute fists of encouragement with heart-melting words, then zipped off.
Dazed, tray in hand, Chae-yoon returned and spoke to the mic.
"…Guys, isn't our maknae too cute and lovable? Like an angel, seriously."
Viewers griped, clueless,
but she just shook her head, lost in the afterglow.
What to say about the taste?
Hands down, the best spicy pork she'd ever had.