Chapter 134: Are You Ashamed of Luka?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 134: Are You Ashamed of Luka?
She said she needed help, so I peeked inside the fitting room.
Doah, dressed in a hanbok the same color as Luka’s, asked me to tie the ribbon on her top.
“Ugh… I don’t know how.”
Shit. The only knot I’d ever tied was on my shoelaces.
Asking me to tie a woman’s hanbok ribbon was like asking a child to grab a book from the highest shelf.
“Oh… really…?”
Doah stroked her pink jeogori.
I swallowed hard.
To be honest, I had no clue how to tie the ribbon, but I couldn’t deny the urge to touch it.
“Still, why not give it a try?”
Why do you keep smiling like that?
Doah smiled like a young lady, as if she were truly the daughter of a noble family from the Joseon Dynasty.
My head knew it was impossible, but my hands were honest with their desires.
I hesitantly took hold of Doah’s jeogori ties and just let my hands move as they pleased.
Every time the soft fabric brushed against the back of my hand, a strange, sensual feeling washed over me.
Han Taemin. You came here to help Doah. You shouldn’t be thinking things like this.
And, as expected…
“…Oppa.”
“…Yeah?”
“Am I some kind of Christmas present?”
You’re the one who asked me to tie it.
The only knot I knew how to tie was a ribbon bow.
Ah, I guess there was also the one for my combat boots.
When I let go as if to say I was done, Doah looked up at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Aigoo… My lord… I may be a flower, but to tie my ribbon like this…”
Doah mocked me in that annoying Luka tone.
As if to say that was enough, she gently pushed my back, ushering me out.
Before I could even fully register how awkward that was, I made eye contact with a staff member.
“…Ah.”
Ah. Seriously, why is the timing always like this?
The staff member seemed like she was about to just let it go, but I felt this was unfair.
“Excuse me. My girlfriend said she’s having trouble tying the ribbon.”
“Oh, is that so?”
With an awkward smile, she approached the fitting room.
“Excuse me, miss.”
“Yes?”
“If you need any help…”
-Click-
The lock unfastened, and Doah walked out.
And to my surprise, the girl who had asked for my help…
“Oh. I think I’m fine.”
…was like a young lady who had emerged with her clothes perfectly arranged.
*
“This humble girl has erred… my lord…”
Doah struggled to keep up with me, her short legs working hard.
Honestly, that alone was so cute I considered letting it go, but I didn’t dislike this feeling of being in charge, so I decided to keep up the act of being sulky for a little longer.
“This girl simply wished for my lord to… one more time…!”
I stopped walking and looked down at her.
“How dare you lie to me.”
Doah, seemingly unable to think of a witty comeback, blinked her bright eyes a couple of times.
“If what you say is true, then speak. Did you not tell me you could not tie the ribbon!”
“Th-that’s…!”
The corners of Doah’s mouth twitched.
“M-my lord, you were the one who seduced me first!”
Her cute little fists pounded against my chest.
Finally failing to hold back my laughter, I pulled her into a hug, and Doah buried her face in my jeogori.
“…I’m going to untie this.”
“If you untie that, I’ll have to walk around with it tied in a bow. Don’t do it.”
Holding hands, we walked toward a large gate that seemed to be the main entrance.
Around the tile-roofed wall, many women were already taking pictures.
“…Me too.”
Doah scurried over to the wall and struck a pose.
Taking her phone, I let out a small laugh and opened the camera app.
I tried for the kind of vibe you’d see all over Instagram.
I’d seen plenty of photos like that, but I could count on one hand the number of times I’d actually taken one, so my hands trembled as I took the picture.
“How is it? Did it come out pretty?”
“Hmm… Come and see for yourself.”
Doah snatched the phone from my hand, and her expression turned strange.
“Ssssp… Hmm…”
“What? Is it bad?”
“It’s just… a bit awkward.”
Doah asked me to take just one more and went back to the wall, striking the same pose.
I think I took it pretty much the same way this time, too.
After checking it again, Doah shook her head and then approached another couple nearby.
“Excuse me, could you please take a picture for us?”
“Oh, sure.”
The woman took the phone, and Doah pulled my arm to make me stand next to her.
“Okay, on three. One! Two! Three!”
“What pose should I do?”
“Just do whatever looks good.”
She tells me to ‘do whatever looks good,’ but the only thing I’m good at is doing whatever looks bad.
The instincts of someone terrible at photos made me stick out my index and middle fingers.
As I thrust a V-sign forward, Doah immediately went into damage control.
“Oppa. Give me your hand.”
“Like this?”
“No, the other one too.”
She took both of my hands in hers and instructed me to look at her.
“Okay, let’s try again!”
After taking about three more pictures in different poses, we bowed our heads repeatedly and thanked them.
Doah stared at her phone, her face beaming with happiness.
My girlfriend held the screen out toward me.
“It came out great, right!”
“It really did.”
It felt a little weird to think this, but in the photo, we really did look like a scene from a drama, facing each other.
“This is how you’re supposed to take it. Like this.”
“Ah, whatever. It’s too hard.”
We went inside, walked a large loop around the palace, and then came back to return the hanboks.
“What should we do now?”
There was still quite a bit of time left until Luka’s stream.
We decided to go into a nearby cafe to rest our tired legs.
“Oh, there’s a piano.”
It was a relatively secluded cafe, so it didn’t seem very crowded.
“You’re right. Doah, do you know how to play?”
“Nope. What about you, Oppa?”
“Me…”
Seeing the sign that said ‘Feel free to play,’ I cautiously sat down in front of it.
“Ooh… Oppa, you’re not going to sit down all cool like that and then just play ‘Chopsticks,’ are you?”
There she goes, poking my pride again. Kim Doah.
I interlaced my fingers, stretched, and got into position.
What should I play? It’s probably best to play a song I remember well.
I started to play a song that was impossible to forget, even if I tried.
Doah, who must not have expected me to know how to play such a classic piece, turned her head slightly to check and was now staring at me with wide eyes.
I played for about a minute, just up to the part I could remember.
When the song ended, Doah clapped beside me.
“What was that? Why are you so good?”
“But this is the only song I can play.”
“Liar.”
“I used to be able to play a few things, but I’ve forgotten them all now.”
The reason I can play the piano, despite being a terrible singer, is because my mom majored in piano.
Memories of practicing while getting my palms smacked came flooding back.
I remember getting spanked for checking off my practice log without actually practicing.
“Wow… But Oppa, I’m seeing you in a new light.”
“How did you see me normally?”
“Hmm… An otaku?”
It wasn’t exactly wrong, so I gave a bitter smile and stood up from the chair.
“Ah, play just one more song.”
“I have to get our drinks.”
Just then, the call button buzzed. I went to the counter, and after sitting down by the window, I took out the papers I’d received the other day from my bag.
[100 Questions Questionnaire]
“Can I look?”
“Yeah. It’s nothing special.”
Doah flipped through the pages, scanning the questions.
“Ssssp… Should I try this too?”
“On your stream? That’d be great! Everyone would love it!”
If Luka did a 100 Questions questionnaire, there would be plenty of guys who would memorize every single answer.
“No. I mean, I’ll try to guess your answers. Why would I do this on stream?”
“What do you mean, why? Because it looks fun.”
“I’ll think about it if I run out of content later.”
Doah took a sip of her Green tea latte and read a question aloud.
“Name and age… I’ll skip these, okay?”
“Yeah. Start with whichever one you want.”
Clearing her throat, Doah asked me in an interviewer’s tone.
“What are your current interests?”
“Luka-tan.”
There was zero hesitation. It was a fact, not even up for debate.
But my girlfriend’s reaction was incredibly cold.
“…Oppa. You have to be serious.”
Doah protested, puffing out her cheeks.
“What? I am being serious.”
“You’re really going to say that?”
“Why? Is there a problem? It’s 500 times more original than ‘My hobbies are reading and watching movies.’”
Doah’s eyebrows wriggled like worms.
“You’ll get in trouble with the company if you answer playfully like that.”
“Kim Doah. Is CLOSER a joke to you?”
How many fans do you have now? And you’re treating it like a joke!
In fact, based on pure popularity, I shouldn’t even be able to talk to Doah.
“No… It’s not that it’s a joke… but… you know! If you say you’re a VTuber fanboy, what will people think of you!”
“The company told me to be honest.”
“There’s a limit to honesty.”
“No! Why do you keep acting ashamed of Luka!”
I’m so proud of being in the Pink Army!
Besides, who do you think is the reason I’m getting dragged to an acting academy during my vacation, sweating my ass off!
“No… Ah… I don’t know… Just don’t… say things like that…”
“I’ll go and make your name known far and wide! Doah!”
“I don’t care… Do whatever you want…”
Doah swept her hair back as if she had a headache.