Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Raindrops
I separated the connected seats and sat down next to her.
For both of us, the space was narrower than usual.
But she spoke to me as if it didn’t matter.
"How is it? It’s not as uncomfortable as you thought, right?"
"Yeah, it’s fine. All I really need is space for my laptop anyway."
"Same here. I just need space for my laptop to watch lectures and my textbooks. I usually leave all my books out because it’s too much trouble to keep taking them out."
So that’s why she had everything spread out.
I could understand her mindset well enough.
It’s troublesome to take things out one by one whenever you need them.
"More importantly, you really are okay with this, right?"
"Yeah. You’re already sitting down, and now you’re asking that?"
She chuckled, noticing my cautiousness.
I couldn’t tell if she was acting on purpose, but her expression looked genuinely relaxed.
It didn’t seem like my presence was making her uncomfortable.
"Then shall we start? Studying."
"Yeah."
"Somehow, studying like this side by side feels like studying with a friend during exam season. It’s nice."
"As long as we don’t end up skipping class together, that’ll be good."
"Do you want to skip class with me?"
"Huh? No, that’s not what I meant. That’s just, you know, the usual thing during exam season…"
For a moment, I wondered if what I said had come across that way.
As I panicked slightly, she laughed and said,
"Just kidding. I’m kidding. Let’s just get back to studying."
With that, she put her earphones in and started studying.
Is she naturally like this? Or is she trying to flirt with me?
If I were back in my high school days not knowing anything, if a pretty girl like her said something like that to me, I probably would have taken it as a confession-level move.
I calmed my racing heart.
The fact that she could make someone feel like this, while acting completely normal and focusing on studying, felt a little annoying.
She seems like the playful type.
Back in school, she must have made several guys misunderstand her.
Thinking that, I turned my head and buried my face in my laptop screen.
Whether I felt excited or had a woman sitting next to me, that wasn’t what mattered right now.
The reason I came here in the first place was job hunting, so whether I was dating or hanging out with a friend, I had to do what I came here to do.
Steadying my scattered thoughts, I forced myself to focus on my routine.
After a few hours passed.
By the time I arrived late in the morning and it was nearing lunchtime,
I reached the limit of my concentration and pulled the earphones out of my ears.
...Let’s take a short break.
Even if I pushed myself all day, it wouldn’t magically resolve anything.
I knew that without taking breaks in between, it would actually become harder to concentrate properly.
So I decided to rest for a bit and closed my laptop.
"Uyaaa… huuuh…"
From beside me came a strangely cute sound.
I turned my head slightly, and she had removed her earphones and was stretching lightly.
Judging by her posture, it seemed she had just decided to take a break as well.
And perhaps noticing my gaze, she turned her head slightly, and our eyes met.
"Don’t tell me… you’re also taking a break, Lee Jun?"
"You too?"
"Yeah. What a coincidence."
She smiled a lot.
Watching her laugh like that again, my mood lifted without me realizing it.
Raviel also used to smile a lot.
That was one of the points I liked about her.
It wasn’t forced exaggeration, but rather a naturally bright personality that laughed often.
Seeing her smile at something trivial or even a simple chat message would make me feel happy too.
"By the way, what’s your name?"
"Huh?"
"I don’t think I can keep calling you ‘you’ forever."
"Ah, right. Come to think of it, I never told you my name. I’m Seo Rin."
"Seo Rin?"
"Doesn’t it sound a bit cold? My friends say it feels like a name that’s hard to approach when they first hear it."
"Really? But it actually matches your image quite well. Kind of cool."
"Do I look like that?"
"Yeah."
"I’m not cool at all. I guess I just look cool."
Her impression did seem cool.
Her hair, which was close to a pale purple shade, and her slightly upturned eyes like a cat.
Her appearance gave off a cold and aloof vibe.
Though it didn’t really match her personality.
"Yeah, your personality seems much brighter and more sociable than your name suggests. Letting a stranger sit next to you and all."
"That’s why I said—we’re not strangers. Or do you want to be strangers to me?"
"Heh. I’m joking. Then I’ll call you Seo Rin from now on?"
"Yes. I like that."
For some reason, talking with her felt comfortable, which made me more playful.
It was also because I could feel that she treated me with ease.
It’s not easy to talk so naturally with someone of the opposite gender you’ve just met.
Was it because of the conversation we had yesterday?
Or because she was someone who liked Raviel?
Our back-and-forth flowed smoothly, as if we had been talking for a long time.
She glanced at the earphones on my desk and casually brought up a topic.
"Did you listen to music today as well? Raviel songs, maybe?"
"Yeah. I was just repeating one song over and over earlier. When I get hooked on something, I usually listen to just that one song all day."
Depending on my mood for the day, if something felt right, I would listen to that one song nonstop.
I didn’t know when I started doing that, but it had become a natural way of listening for me.
"What song was it?"
"...Hmm. Raindrops."
"Oh—Raindrops? But that’s not a Raviel song, is it?"
The original composer wasn’t Raviel.
What I listened to was Raviel’s version, because it was her cover.
"That’s true. But to me, it’s Raviel’s song. I think her version is better than the original."
Saying that might be disrespectful to the original artist.
But it couldn’t be helped.
For someone like me, completely captivated by Raviel, it was natural that her version sounded better.
"Really?"
"Yeah. In fact, it’s one of my favorite songs among Raviel’s works. I listen to it very often."
I like all of Raviel’s songs.
But among them, there are a few that stand out as my absolute favorites.
Her cover song Raindrops is one of them.
The reason being—
"That’s interesting. Not an original song, but a cover being your favorite?"
"That’s probably because of this. It was actually the first song I heard from Raviel."
"The first?"
"Yeah. Did you watch her debut broadcast? It was so long ago that you might not have. That was the first song she sang there."
Four years ago.
Back when I hadn’t yet fallen for her, I used to drift through the world of streaming platforms like a wanderer.
That day was no different—I came home late after school and part-time work, unable to resist the quiet of the early morning, and logged onto a platform.
For some reason, the big mainstream streamers I usually watched didn’t appeal to me that day.
Perhaps it was because everything had gone wrong that day.
The exams for subjects I had studied hard for went terribly, and I even made a big mistake at my part-time job.
I took my frustration out on my parents when they called to ask how my exams went, and was left sinking into self-loathing.
On top of that, I had caught a bad cold when I got home, with a fever rising, my body aching, and negative thoughts about the future filling my mind.
At times like that, the big mainstream streamers who seemed to have everything going for them felt like people from a completely different world.
So, without realizing it, I had scrolled down to look for other broadcasts.
Maybe I was searching for people like me.
People who didn’t shine.
And there, by chance, I met her for the first time.
[Debut Broadcast, the healing fairy Raviel appears to soothe your tired day~]
Looking back now, it was a rough concept and not a very high-quality avatar.
But I was drawn to that phrase and clicked the stream without thinking.
And true to her role as a healing fairy, she said she would sing, and sang that very first song.
Raindrops.
"I know that one too. I watched her debut broadcast replay. But that song was a bit… you know?"
"What do you mean?"
"It’s not really the kind of song you’d expect for a debut broadcast. Most VTubers don’t sing something that somber for a debut."
"Ah."
Well, that perspective made sense.
Typically, debut streams feature upbeat or cute songs.
Or songs that showcase vocal ability.
In any case, the goal is to capture viewers’ attention.
Even though Raviel was a healing-themed VTuber, in hindsight it might have been a somewhat off-choice.
I even remembered Raviel herself saying something similar later.
That she had simply sung the song she was most confident in and liked the most, but looking back, it might not have been the best pick.
But still—
"Still, that’s why I liked it."
"Huh? Why?"
"It was a song you couldn’t see in other VTuber streams. That’s why I got drawn to Raviel back then."
As I spoke in a slightly wistful tone, recalling that day,
Seo Rin fell silent for a moment and quietly looked at my face.
"That day was one where nothing went right for me."
"Yeah."
"Everyone has days like that, don’t they? Days where nothing goes the way you want and you just feel worn out."
"Right."
"So when I randomly stumbled upon that stream and heard that song, it was really healing for me."
"…"
"I had such a hard day, but when Raviel sang that song, I couldn’t help but tear up."
"…"
"Raindrops is that kind of song. A song that says the hardships of today will be washed away like raindrops tomorrow."
A song that comforts you, telling you it’s okay.
A gentle song that tells you this moment will pass.
"So I like that this was her debut song. Without this song, Raviel and I never would have met."
After I said that, Seo Rin moved her lips slightly, then spoke in a tone filled with curiosity.
"It seems there really was someone who felt that way. I just thought Raviel picked the wrong song."
"I see. But I think most people probably felt that way. I guess I’m the unusual one."
"…"
"Then Seo Rin, which song do you like the most among Raviel’s songs?"
Thinking I had talked too much about myself, I handed the flow of the conversation back to her.
She looked at me with a warm smile and spoke softly.
"Honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing to say this after what I just said."
"Yeah."
"...Actually, I like that song the most too. Raindrops."
As expected of a Raviel fan.
You really do know your songs well, Seo Rin.