Hangover Soup and a Strange Diagnosis
The morning after the health checkup. Ring ring ring!!! Ring ring ring!!! I woke up to the alarm I'd set. '...What's this about.' For someone who usually snapped awake on her own or got up late from hearing Night Rain's cries at night, this was pretty surprising. I shook Yerim, who was sleeping soundly next to me, to wake her up.
"Unnie, get up. Don't you have to go to work?"
"Mmm... What time is it...?"
"Eight."
"Got it..."
I got out of bed first, leaving Yerim fumbling around behind me. In the living room, the other three were still fast asleep. '...Should I make some hangover soup?' I headed to the kitchen and rummaged through Serin's fridge. Sure, I felt a bit guilty doing it, but it was all for them, so I figured they'd understand. Luckily, there were bean sprouts left—perfect for hangover soup. I decided to make kongnamul guk.
Chop chop chop chop— The cheerful sound of slicing green onions. First, I washed the bean sprouts thoroughly and boiled them with water. Bubble bubble bubble— Once it started boiling, I added minced garlic and soy sauce, then simmered for another five minutes. By then, Yerim had tied her hair back and was washing her face in the bathroom. After boiling, I seasoned with salt and pepper, adding chili powder to taste. 'Hangover cure definitely needs that chili powder.' The soup took on a nice red hue, and Yerim was already at the table.
"Unnie, how's the hangover?"
"Hmm... My head hurts a bit."
I ladled some kongnamul guk into a bowl and handed it to her, along with rice. "Ahhh... That's better." I naturally ladled some for myself and sat across from her.
"...Juwon-ah."
"Yeah?"
"Wanna come with me for the health checkup? Yewon too."
"...Sure. Let's go together."
She looked like she'd be really sad if I said no, so I had no choice but to accept. Besides, I didn't have any aches or pains anyway—this was a good chance to prove I was healthy.
"This weekend work?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
As Yerim and I were finishing up, Chaeyeon woke up.
"Ugh..."
She clutched her head and looked around.
"You're up?"
"Yeah... Pfft."
Chaeyeon burst out laughing at the sight of Serin and Ayoung hugging each other in their sleep.
"Come eat. We've almost finished."
"Oh, sure. Thanks."
I ladled some soup for Chaeyeon and cleared my bowl.
"Heading out now?"
"Yeah, gotta go to work."
"See you later, unnie."
"Yep. Tell Serin and Ayoung I headed out first, and take care, Chaeyeon. Had fun today!"
"Yeah. Drive safe."
Yerim left for work, and soon after, Serin and Ayoung woke up.
"Urgh... My stomach feels off..."
"Come eat quick."
As Serin and Ayoung nursed their hangovers with the soup, I slipped into Serin's room alone. I picked up the rabbit plush Danbi from the bed and stroked it vigorously.
"Mweeng..!"
Watching Danbi nuzzle my hand happily made my heart ache even more. "...I'm sorry."
"Mweeng..."
Danbi perked up her ears as if telling me to stop apologizing. Feeling even more fond of her, I gently pinched and stroked her ear.
"Muuuing..."
I spent time with Danbi until it was time to head home. Around noon, I grabbed my bag and got ready to leave.
"I'm heading out now."
"Yeah. Thanks so much for yesterday and today—it was a blast!"
"Unnie, you'll listen to our group's debut song when it drops, right?"
"Of course. I'll make sure to. Take care, Chaeyeon."
"Sure. Let's hang out again sometime."
I smiled and waved back at tiny-armed Danbi waving from behind, then left Serin's place. First things first, I'd catch up on leveling at home. And drop by to see Asella while I was at it.
You've reached level 83.
Acquired 10 additional stat points.
That evening, I logged into Lost World and was in the middle of leveling up.
"Must be the better gear—leveling's going super fast."
At this rate, I could probably tackle the main quest by next weekend. Leveling wasn't an issue, but the real problem was elsewhere.
"...It's stuck."
Asella's affinity had flatlined at 95%. No matter if I hugged her tight, pinched her cheeks, or attended lessons—it wouldn't budge up or down.
"...Does it need some special trigger?"
It made sense. In Season 1, NPCs with affection levels had specific quests to reach the love stage, but Asella showed no signs of anything like that.
"...No idea. Guess that's it for today."
Whoosh— After exiting the capsule, I naturally checked my phone.
Ding—!
Seo-hyun had messaged that part 3 was edited—only three or four days after uploading part 2. I was inwardly shocked.
These two had no intention of slacking off despite my advice. Once this video went up, they'd dive straight into the Non-Heaven arc editing.
'Can't let that happen.' I'd look like some exploitative boss otherwise. After this upload, I'd mandate a short break.
Usually bosses giving vacation time makes employees happy, right? Their enthusiasm was over the top. 'We want a family-like atmosphere at Nel Studios.' Ignoring their protests, I sent each a 300,000 won bonus. With YouTube revenue, shoving the Non-Heaven main quest, and donations, we'd make more than last month. They both messaged that it wasn't necessary, but I issued a three-day mandatory rest order anyway.
...Their complaints were fiercer than expected, so I relented—if they really wanted to edit, they could take it easy on some casual streams.
These days, my routine was pretty regimented. Mornings: simple breakfast, petting Night Rain like crazy, checking my phone, killing time till noon. Afternoons: log into Lost World, start streaming, raise life skill proficiency, chill with Asella, then level up. Chatting with viewers along the way until evening.
...Folks called it the "eat-shit-log" routine, but it fit, so I didn't argue. Two days later, the health checkup day with Yerim arrived.
"...How many times am I gonna come here?"
The place Yerim called me to was none other than the big hospital where Yewon had been admitted.
"...Eh, nothing wrong, probably?"
I headed inside. Yerim and Yewon greeted me right away.
"Unnie! Long time no see..."
Yewon ran up, looking much livelier than before, and hugged me.
"Yeah, yeah. Been a while."
I gave her a casual hug, then approached Yerim.
"Unnie, what time's the appointment?"
"Mmm, noon. Just a bit longer."
We sat side by side on the hospital chairs, waiting our turn. After a while, the nurse called our names.
"Lee Yerim, Lee Yewon, Kim Juwon."
The full checkup would take about an hour. "Wait, unnie, why do I need an extra fMRI?"
"You keep force-logging out of the capsule. What if it's your brain..."
"Nah, that's overkill..."
In the end, Yewon and I got extra tests. Mine for precaution, hers because she'd been sick once. The standard checkup covered a ton: basic vitals, vision, blood pressure, urine test, and more for kidney issues or chronic conditions. By the time we did the fMRI and everything, it was well over an hour.
"Whew... Drained."
"Tell me about it... Even after years in hospitals, these checkups still feel weird."
The extra test results would be ready tomorrow; general health ones were same-day. After all tests and an hour wait, we got our results.
"All three of you are in good shape overall. Yerim, your liver enzymes are a tad high. Big drinker, huh?"
Yerim blushed and bowed her head at the doctor's words.
"Yes... Cut back on the booze. Yewon, impressive. Hard to believe you were a patient a month ago—super healthy now."
Yewon shrugged and glanced slyly at me.
"Juwon, no issues with physical health. Come back tomorrow for your fMRI and Yewon's neuro results. Let us know a good time, and we'll book it."
"Yep."
"If tomorrow's a hassle, wait a week and we'll mail them home. Your call?"
"Nah, we'll come tomorrow."
We left the hospital. Yewon and I teased Yerim a bit.
"What~ You said we might be unhealthy, but the only problem's unnie's liver~"
"Haha, yeah. Time to ease up on the drinks, unnie."
"Ugh... Keep teasing and I'll punch you!"
Yerim's face turned beet red as she swung harmless fists at us. Of course, they didn't hurt a bit.
And the next day, we returned to the hospital.
"...This is odd?"
Juwon started breaking into a cold sweat at the doctor's words.