Chapter 15
The morning after getting Jo Junseok's message, I was wrapped in a feeling too hard to put into words.
"...What should I do."
Truth be told, what I had to do was already set in stone. Just head downtown, try out the VR experience center, jot down some notes, snap a proof shot, and that was it.
But that wasn't the problem.
The issue born from Jo Junseok's sudden absence... was that I'd have to go with Taemin oppa, just the two of us.
Honestly, going as a trio with either Junseok oppa or Minji wouldn't have been a big deal. Junseok oppa was the type to keep droning on about the project, so there was no need to keep the conversation going. Minji, on the other hand, was a nonstop chatterbox. Taemin oppa and I mostly just sat there reacting or listening. If we were talking MBTI, we were definitely both Is.
After showering and drying my hair, I opened my closet. What to wear...
As I rummaged through my fall clothes, a pang of melancholy hit me.
...I feel just like a girl heading out on a date.
A guy and a girl meeting up outside on the weekend? To anyone watching, it'd look exactly like a date.
There had been a time when I'd dreamed of meeting up with oppa like this, just the two of us... but I'd never imagined it'd happen under these circumstances.
If I could turn back time, I'd cancel that confession in a heartbeat. If we'd gotten to know each other through a natural opportunity like this, wouldn't things be different between us?
Maybe I'd just rushed into confessing too soon and ruined everything.
Lately, watching how Taemin oppa treated me made it hard not to think that way. He wasn't aggressively flirting or anything, but he didn't seem to dislike me either. Who does extra work on a project for someone they hate?
If anything, maybe he liked me... I shook my head vigorously, chasing away the idle thoughts.
"Get it together! Kim Doa!"
I gave myself a pep talk and lightly slapped both cheeks with my hands.
I'm an idol now! A virtual idol, the epitome of otaku bait. No way Taemin oppa would like that.
Even if things started off okay, the moment he found out who I really was, it'd be game over.
That day, him seeing that stream was probably just a coincidence.
He would've been better off not seeing that scene. It was my fault for getting the wrong idea all on my own.
As I steadied my resolve, my hand still pulled out the new cardigan from my fall collection—the one I thought was the prettiest—to wear over everything.
The meeting spot with Doa was an open plaza in front of the subway exit. Being the weekend, people were pouring out in droves.
Makes sense—the weather was nice and crisp.
Stepping out after staring at my monitor all day at home felt strangely refreshing.
She should be here any minute now... We were right on time.
"...Hey. You go talk to him."
"What? You said you wanted him. Why make me do it, you crazy bitch."
...Chilly.
I perked up my invisible transparency antenna at the conversation from the two women standing by the tree across from me.
This was the downside of hot spots. Whether alone or with someone, if it wasn't with a girl, I could feel people glancing and whispering about me. It sucked.
Just mind your own business. Why do strangers always have to come talk to me?
As the presumed villains started closing in, I let out a deep sigh. Guess I'd have to handle it by the manual—arming myself with a rude expression...
"Hello."
It was a tone a bit more deflated than Luca's voice, but even so, no one was gladder to see Doa than me.
The women approaching froze, and I flashed a triumphant grin.
"What~ You're so late~"
I'm not the type to bare my teeth in a beaming smile like this... but it seemed to work against the villains. A sidelong glance showed them passing by with awkward looks.
Thanks, Doa. You save me in so many ways.
Once they were gone, I finally looked properly at Doa's face.
"...Hot?"
"Pardon? Oh, no?"
"Your face is red."
"Oh? Must be from walking fast. Haha..."
She ducked her head slightly, her hair curtaining off her face.
"Yeah? If you're tired, sit on that bench for a bit."
I nodded toward the one behind me, but Doa waved one hand side to side.
"No, no. I'm fine to go."
"Alright then."
I pulled out my phone, opened the map app, and led her in the direction of the arrow.
Doa wasn't that tall. Eyeballing it, probably under 160cm. Even walking at my normal pace, her legs looked busy as hell.
Or maybe I was speeding up because this silent walk felt awkward with no conversation.
Finally, I broke the vow of silence.
"Doa, you."
"Yes?"
Her voice jumped in surprise.
"Ah... Nothing much. You, uh... come around here a lot?"
"No. I'm not the type to go out much."
I already knew that.
[I don't really like running around outside that much.]
[Hey~ I have friends too~ Don't think I'm just like you guys!]
[But yeah, I don't usually head out first unless someone invites me.]
"Ah... yeah?"
Normally I'd follow up with "What do you do at home then?" but feeling oddly guilty, I shifted my gaze back to my phone screen.
"...Have you been here recently, oppa?"
"Me? Maybe a month ago? Something like that."
This time Doa asked first.
"Just for fun?"
Remembering the day Yunje dragged me to the club, I nodded reluctantly.
"Kinda happened that way. Yeah."
"...I see."
Doa made a subtle expression and fell silent after that.
The VR center was about 15 minutes from the station.
"We're here."
"Whoa."
I'd checked it out on a blog beforehand, but seeing it in person made it feel even more flashy.
"Have you tried VR before, oppa?"
"Nah. You?"
I've watched you do it tons of times, though.
"First time for me too, so I wondered if you were experienced."
I let her natural lie slide.
As we poked around unsure of the process, a staffer with a name tag approached.
"Come on in, make yourselves at home!"
"Thanks."
"Any particular machines you're interested in trying?"
The friendly young guy looked at us with bright eyes.
"Uh... we just wanna check out a bunch of them..."
Overwhelming. Man, this kind of thing stresses me out. Even shopping for clothes, I'm always the "please leave me alone" type.
"Ah~ Then come this way, I'll give you a quick guide!"
Following the staff deeper in, various corners came into view.
"This area's for indirect FPS experiences, and over there opposite is the sports series—ping-pong and skiing! And then..."
More spacious and varied than I'd thought, we thanked him after the tour and leaned against a wall.
"Might as well try everything since we're here, right?"
"Junseok oppa said to, so we should."
"What first?"
A bunch of the games were ones Luca had played on stream. VR sports content, and she'd done a rhythm game recently too.
"Uh... let's start with something easy..."
Doa glanced around and stopped in front of the rhythm game area.
"This one first. It's not too noisy."
"Sounds good."
As we stood in front of the machine, another staffer explained how to use it.
"Who wants to game..."
He went to hand over the headset, so I took it first.
"I'll go. Doa, take pics from behind."
"Okay."
Doa stepped back a few paces and pulled out her phone.
Phew... but damn, this setup. VR gear is fun to experience, but from afar, it looks ridiculous. Standing there in a helmet, flailing at empty air—obviously embarrassing...
Still, for the project. Thinking of it as making a fool of myself in front of Luca stung, but I slapped the headset on.
Pitch blackness greeted me. Then a grand beat thrummed in my ears, and a swirl of colorful stars burst into view.
So this is how you... I swung the controllers, and the song list shot out.
Pretty cool. So this is the vibe.
I picked a lively-looking track, hit start, and cubes marking the beat flew at me.
"Oof."
They came fast and aggressive. I swung my lightsabers every which way.
Why is this so hard? On stream, I'd thought [lol who can't do that?] but not anymore.
Miss sounds blared when I whiffed the timing. Half hits, half misses.
"Hoo..."
Game over not even 30 seconds in. I pulled off the headset and caught my breath.
I was gonna ask Doa to delete any video if she'd recorded, but...
Her small lips were twitching. Those round, kind eyes were glaring at me right now.
"Got something to say...?"
"I really wasn't gonna say anything, but..."
Looks like she did.
"No! Why are you holding the controllers like that and swinging them?!"
...Doa. Weren't we both pretending we knew jack about VR?
Her scolding left me flustered.