Chapter 214
Later, steeling myself, I glanced to the side. Yoo Seol-ah was rubbing her face against the duvet lining like some kind of cat. ...Sure, the duvet was super fluffy with an amazing texture, but the way she was acting was no different from Shabu lately. The way she bakes herself in sunbeams makes me wonder if she's really a cat. Anyway, while setting the delivery address for the red ginseng, I lightly poked her soft, squishy thigh.
"...Yuna noona sent some red ginseng?"
"Red ginseng? Out of nowhere?"
"Yeah. Four boxes just dropped in the group chat."
"Oh, one for each of us...?"
I nodded, and Yoo Seol-ah's eyes sparkled as she immediately sat up straight and pulled out her phone. Was she gonna message her directly? True to her self-proclaimed Yuna stan status, even the way she searched for the contact screamed excitement. It was probably pinned, since it didn't take long to dial.
"Unnie, whatcha up to?"
"I've been brainstorming the early story lately. What about you, Seol-ah?"
"Ah, just rolling around in bed. Heard you sent red ginseng? Thanks a ton... I'll make sure to take it regularly."
"Yeah. I'm on it too—definitely less tired in the mornings."
"For real? But why'd you send it all of a sudden?"
Wanting to chat comfortably, Yoo Seol-ah had switched to speakerphone right away. Yuna noona paused like she was thinking, then spoke in a slightly cautious tone.
"...Just felt like you might need it? After hearing your story last time, I've been thinking about a lot..."
"Uh, unnie, hold on a sec!?"
Yoo Seol-ah, who had been all smiles moments ago, freaked out and fumbled with her phone, frantically turning off speaker mode. ...What now? What did she tell Yuna noona to get this reaction?
"What was that?"
"N-nothing!..."
Her super suspicious dodge made me pry, but she clearly had no intention of spilling. Instead, Yuna noona's voice came through the phone. Even without speaker, it was loud enough up close.
"Is Sion there too?"
"...Yeah, we're living together."
"We'll eat the ginseng well."
I chimed in with thanks since she knew now. In our current situation, tonic foods like red ginseng were an absolute godsend.
Yoo Seol-ah didn't seem embarrassed about me being there, but Yuna noona paused before replying with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Didn't you say bed earlier?"
"...Ugh, no, we're just chilling!... The bed here's huge, plenty of room for two...? You saw the one at Seo-yeon's place, right? King size...!"
Having gotten the reaction she wanted, Yuna noona let out a chuckle over the line. If she were the type to just say 'Yeah, it's a bed?' she wouldn't be such prime teasing material.
"I was gonna send it to you guys originally. Let me know if you need more."
"...Unnie, isn't ginseng pretty pricey?"
"Nah. I get it cheap. No pressure."
"What, are you some chaebol heir too?"
"Pfft, no way."
Yuna noona laughed it off lightly, chatting a bit more before lowering her voice.
"...Anyway, I sent the ginseng just 'cause I wanted to, but there's one thing I wanna ask..."
"Ah, sure. I'll do anything for you, unnie."
"Not why I sent it—feel free to say no!"
"...What're you asking for?"
"Can I use that illustration you drew for me in the community?"
"Huh?"
Yoo Seol-ah looked utterly dumbfounded. Snapping out of it, she started with a tone like why beat around the bush?
"...Worried about leaks or something?"
"Kinda... felt like it might cause issues. Plus, you put so much work into it, didn't wanna use it without asking."
Yuna noona had this oddly timid side sometimes. Our game wouldn't see daylight for at least a year, so leaks weren't an issue. If anything, getting caught as Yuki-nyang would happen way sooner. She was huge in Yuna noona's mobile games and subculture communities. Even without mobile game collabs, that mystery made people curious. Most probably thought she was Japanese.
Yoo Seol-ah was about to agree readily but hesitated.
"...But thinking about it, it looks just like you— you cool with that, unnie?"
"Huh? Totally fine...? Oh, and people think I'm a dude."
Yoo Seol-ah blanked again but seemed to recall Yuna noona's nickname and nodded to herself. Honestly, with a community ghost like her whose nick was LuluMalangChewyArmpitDDrang, it'd be weirder if anyone assumed female. Her posts screamed veteran internet troll. I'd seen one after a lucky gacha pull: [This is sex... yeah] or something.
"...Fair enough."
"...Seol-ah. Don't buy into it so quick, kinda hurts..."
"No, I've seen your posts too, and it tracks..."
"Wh-what? Why'd you look?!"
"I'm into gacha games now too? Your stuff just pops up."
Once the nick's exposed, ignoring it takes effort. I check communities for other game users sometimes and sigh at her bait titles after spotting the name. Her troll post frequency screams bad-apple user. No wonder she crumbles on community topics.
"Anyway, I'm cool with it. Almost done with mine anyway, planning to post on Yuki-nyang soon. That okay?"
"Duh, go for it! Don't worry—even swimsuit version's fine."
"...Got it."
Yoo Seol-ah smirked suspiciously, pulling the phone away with a heh heh, then cleared her throat and raised it again. Astrologer Ruwen wasn't playable—couldn't get a skin...? But I could totally see her squeezing a swimsuit into a summer event story if needed.
"Doubt it'll come up, but if anyone knows my style, just say we're acquaintances."
"Gotcha. Have fun, you two~ Lemme know if you need more ginseng!"
"...W-we're eating dinner...!"
Yoo Seol-ah panicked a bit, but Yuna noona had already hung up.
"...Even I gotta say, that illust turned out killer. Best one's I've done."
"You were tweaking it nonstop. Insane quality."
Despite her speed, personal faves got extra love—Yuna noona's took forever, with constant tweaks mid-other work. Her accessory game was god-tier. Yuna noona probably wore just a necklace, but Yoo Seol-ah invented earrings, rings, fabric patterns—pure illustrator genius. Perfect flashy-yet-subtle vibe.
As she hopped off the bed, inspiration striking again, I grabbed her.
"We gotta eat dinner. Even if you're absorbing other stuff..."
"Ooh, what's on the menu tonight?"
She cut me off quick. Tonight: curry loaded with beef, her fave.
As usual after classes, we headed to the club room. Pushing open the bustling door, there was Yuna noona, casually settled in.
"Unnie, you actually came?"
"...Am I intruding...?"
"Stop. I'm just happy."
Yoo Seol-ah shut down Yuna noona's budding timidity and plopped right beside her.
"So whatcha all looking at?"
"...Kinda feel bad about something with you, Seol-ah..."
Yoo Seol-ah froze at Yuna noona's guilty-grinning tone. Lee Seo-yeon and Do-yoon hyung were smirking too—no big deal, thankfully.
"...What?"
"Yesterday I posted something casual... and shit hit the fan."
"Shit? What kinda...?"
Knowing community dangers vaguely, Yoo Seol-ah's eyes trembled like it was dire.
"TL;DR: Yuki-nyang gay rumors are floating around..."
"......?"
"Just minor chatter here. No worries."
"......."
Yoo Seol-ah looked lost, struggling to follow. She knew subculture but not community depths.
"Everyone assumed it was your art when I posted. Said you're an acquaintance I commissioned randomly. No game talk."
"...Okay. And...?"
Her face screamed how'd it go there? I could guess.
"Simple: I'm 'a guy,' they thought you were too—Japanese dude? Then I slipped and called it cute..."
Yuna noona showed a comment thread instead of explaining.
Yoo Seol-ah clutched her forehead mid-scroll, head dropping. Her shoulders shook—was she crying or laughing?
"...Community kids just spew nonsense following the vibe. No biggie, they're not mean."
She knew that much. More gay rumors than "how do they know each other?" proved the place was unhinged. Kinda funny, judging by her leaking giggles. But soon, she raised her voice in disbelief.
"...Unnie, just clarify. Say you're a girl?"
"...That'd be friendship bait now. Rule one: no girl vibes. Calling it cute was a slip—deleted quick, but..."
"Then say I'm a girl?"
"...That'd be fine now. But over-explaining looks sus too..."
Lee Seo-yeon, chuckling beside us, clapped like she'd figured it out.
"Seol-ah likes guys anyway—half-true, right?"
"What the hell, Seo-yeon!... Me being guy vs girl is worlds apart...!"
Community bait refreshes hourly anyway. Yuna noona was teasing knowing that. Suddenly gender-swapped Yuki-nyang's real body glared at her.
"...Unnie, prepare yourself."
"...F-for what?"
She panicked, but with Yuna noona "male" too, no instant revenge. Probably plotting some wild costume in-game later.