Discharge Celebration Party
With a soft psshhh and a faint mechanical whir, the capsule began to open.
"Ahhh..."
My body felt a bit stiff after lying in the capsule for a solid ten hours. Beyond just the knowledge transfer, I'd already blown past the recommended daily playtime of seven hours, and both my body and mind were starting to feel the strain.
"Aqua."
I tried casting a spell to wet my throat, but it came out warm, which soured my mood.
"Ahhh... Why won't this work..."
I fiddled with my mana, but it failed. With a sigh, I headed to the living room to pour myself some cool water straight from the pitcher.
"Haa—"
As I savored the cool water and took a brief break, my messenger pinged. Ding-dong. I pulled out my phone.
I chuckled and fired back a reply right away.
"Guess I'll have to take tomorrow off-stream."
That night, a notice went up on Noel's fan cafe.
I was reading through the fan cafe comments while getting ready to head out.
"Lots of people worrying about me..."
A few toxic ones demanded I stream, but they got shut down quick by everyone else. The rest were all just fans showing concern.
"...This isn't so bad."
I smiled warmly, liking the comments from viewers who cared.
"...What to wear today..."
I was reminded once again just how much of a hassle going out could be.
Right now, I was walking through downtown toward the hospital where Ye-won had been staying.
The occasional stares I felt along the way still weren't totally normal, but I'd decided to just accept it.
"No clue why I keep ending up here when I'm not even sick... Sigh."
I muttered something silly like, Anyone'd think I was some frail beauty, and strode right into the hospital. Not sneaking like last time—this time, bold as brass.
"Unni!"
I smiled seeing Ye-won, now out of her patient gown and in regular clothes, rushing over. She barreled straight into a hug, with Ye-rim following behind, smiling.
"H-Hey, what's with you..."
I gently peeled Ye-won off my chest, then went over to greet Ye-rim.
"Unni, long time no see."
"Haha, yeah. Ye-won kept begging me to come hang out with you two... Sorry for dragging you out like this."
"Nah, no need. I'm grateful you came to something like this."
Ye-rim grinned at my words and grabbed my wrist, leading the way.
"Let's go! You haven't eaten yet, right?"
"Yeah, held off like you said."
"Ah! Unni, me too!"
We three linked hands in a chain and headed to the restaurant Ye-rim had reserved. A fancy steak place famous for being pricey and delicious—I was stepping foot in one for the first time in my life.
"Whoa... First time here for me."
"For real? I figured you'd been to places like this a ton, Juwon."
"Ahaha... My situation's not that cushy, turns out."
We settled in, ordered some decent-looking sets, and chatted while waiting for the food.
"Ahaha, Ye-won was dying to come here. She sang about it nonstop even while hospitalized."
"Ugh, unni!"
Seeing Ye-rim's brighter expression and Ye-won laughing naturally made me grin too.
Good thing I helped treat her.
Before we knew it, the food started arriving amid our laughter. The perfectly grilled steaks and tteokbokki pasta were more than enough to get our mouths watering.
"Mmmph... So spicy..!"
Ye-won, cheeks puffed out from stuffing her face, looked adorable reacting to the flavors. After years of bland hospital slop, this place must've hit like a revelation—times ten, no, a hundred!
I cut my steak small, dipped it in sauce, and took a bite. The juices bursting out were rich enough to fill my mouth, and the mildly spicy sauce cut right through any greasiness. No time to savor—I rolled up some tteokbokki pasta and shoved it in. The spicy twist set it apart from regular cream pasta; it was divine.
"Huaa... This is happiness..."
The Yi sisters burst out laughing at me, which was a bit embarrassing, but who cares when the food's this good?
I'd forgotten how great my new body's fuel efficiency was. A few bites of that fatty steak, and my stomach was already filling up.
"Ugh... Gotta eat more...!"
Even stuffed, I wanted to savor more of this. Quitting now would've wasted the money big time.
"Haa... No can do..."
In the end, I tapped out after half a steak out of two slabs and a third of one pasta bowl out of two. Side dishes untouched. For once, I kinda hated this changed body of mine.
"...You done already, Juwon unni?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"...Our Juwon needs feeding up.."
Ye-rim's creepy talk of force-feeding gave me chills. I pretended not to hear and sipped my cola.
In the end, we left without finishing everything.
After lunch, we three were strolling through a park.
"Wanna hit karaoke?"
"Yes! Been forever!"
Ahead of me, Ye-won beamed and dashed off, Ye-rim chasing after.
"..."
My opinion got ignored via majority rule, which irked me a tad, but I wasn't gonna say no—I hurried after them.
"The message I always wanted to send you—"
"Running to you—!!"
"Hehe... Missed this vibe..."
Ye-won seemed extra pumped. Ye-rim and I followed her into the room and unpacked our stuff.
"Can I go first?"
We nodded, and Ye-won grinned wide, picking a ballad. Her clear, pure voice matched the mood perfectly. When it ended, we clapped.
"Whoa, you sing great!"
"Like you never stopped!"
Blushing and scratching her head under our praise barrage, she said,
"Y-You two sing too! Time's wasting."
Next, Ye-rim picked a smooth R&B track, treating us to her pleasant voice.
"Unni slays as always?"
"So soothing... Amazing voice."
After more praise, their eyes turned to me. My turn.
I smiled, picking a song that'd helped me through tough times. One I always listened to. The one whose lyrics always motivated me.
Okay, total opposite vibe from my soft voice, but it'd be fine.
"Huh? This one?"
"First time hearing this at karaoke!"
"You always know, you're gonna be the best in the end."
"You're the one who worked hard until the end~"
"Even when I lose my way in the dark."
"I’ll keep moving forward with just my faith."
"One step more, I’ll find my strength~"
"Believing tomorrow will shine bright~"
Thanks to never giving up, I could live this better life now.
My English pronunciation was objectively solid. First time belting this out properly since my body changed.
"Whoa..."
They stared, entranced. I chuckled and finished strong.
"Whoa... Knew you were good, but damn..."
"Start a YouTube later and drop a cover, please... This'd blow up!"
A cover, huh. I was planning a channel soon—sounded pretty good.
Me and the Yi sisters kept singing for a while. By the time we left karaoke and hit a cafe for chats, the sun was setting.
"Juwon, wanna come to our place? We can drink some."
"Right, unni. Ye-rim unni promised to drink with me post-discharge... Join us?"
I'd planned to call it early and head home, but those puppy eyes from Ye-won? No resisting.
It's her discharge party—might as well hang all day.
I nodded, and we headed to Ye-rim and Ye-won's place.
Their place was even nicer than I'd imagined.
They seemed well-off, but an officetel? No way...
Spacious living room, three rooms. Compared to mine, my apartment felt kinda shabby.
After a quick tour, I spotted Ye-won lying alone on her bed, staring at the ceiling, blinking slowly.
Blink—blink—
"Ye-won."
"Ah, unni?"
She patted the bed, beckoning me over. I perched on the edge, and she beamed.
"...Thanks. If not for you... I couldn't even dream of this."
"Nah. Even without me... You'd have gotten better soon."
"...Hehe. You're too kind, unni."
Still lying down, she hugged my waist.
"Lie down too, unni. Bed's super comfy."
I chuckled and joined her.
"...Hehe. Nice."
She snuggled in. Hugging someone still felt weird, but the warmth in my heart was nice, so I patted her back.
Up and into the living room, where Ye-rim was mixing cocktails in the kitchen. Shaking bottles like a pro.
"First drinks should be tasty, right?"
She noticed my gaze, smiled, and handed me a glass. Pinkish liquid with a lemon wedge—pretty.
"Try it. Hope I mixed it right..."
A careful sip: sweet-tart bliss filled my mouth.
"Mmm~ Delicious. Tastes like juice, not booze."
Ye-rim beamed at the praise.
"Call Ye-won? All set."
"Sure."
Ye-won bounced out at my call.
"Whoa... Unni made these cocktails..."
The table was lined with colorful ones. We each grabbed a glass, clinked toward each other.
"To Ye-won's discharge. Cheers."
"Cheers."
Clink—the clear chime rang out, and we drank.
"What? Tasty! This is booze? Thought it'd be bitter... Won't even get me drunk."
Ye-won, thrilled, kept sipping.
...She's gonna crash hard.
Sure enough, by glass three, her cheeks flushed red.
...Lightweight, huh.
Oblivious, she giggled and drank on.
"Ugh... This one's bitter..."
The drinking went on for a while.
About an hour later, as night fully fell, the two besides me were out cold.
"Hehehe..."
Or more like drunk and rambling. I shook my head, carried them to bed, and watched the sisters cuddling, giggling in sleep. So close.
I smiled, set the fan low so they wouldn't overheat, and cleaned up alone.
Planned to tidy and head home, but...
Unni, sleep over! Plenty of rooms...
Ye-won's words echoed, so I decided to crash here.
Finished cleaning, used Clean magic to freshen up, and flopped on the living room sofa.
Guest crashing in bed felt wrong, and the sofa was comfy anyway.
Tossing in the unfamiliar spot for a while...
...The night deepened.