Chapter 16: Girlfriend
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 16: Girlfriend
Doah's hands were so small.
I didn't think my own hands were particularly large, but hers were even smaller. It felt like I was holding a child's hand.
As I felt her warmth, the sound of me swallowing seemed unusually loud.
I considered asking if I could let go, but I figured she'd release her grip when she was ready, so I kept quiet.
About ten minutes passed like that.
"...Thank you."
Her hand, which had been gripping mine tightly, slipped powerlessly from my grasp.
"Are you okay now?"
When I asked with concern, Doah nodded twice.
"...I'm sorry."
"No. What's there to be sorry about? I'm the one who should be sorry for dragging you into something scary when you can't handle it."
If I didn't know what Luka was like, I would've felt less guilty, but as it was, I felt like a passive observer.
There's no way she was just acting during her streams... Sigh...
It was my lack of consideration.
"Should we get something cold to drink?"
In this awkward atmosphere, I wished we could just call it a day, but we still had a few more things to experience.
"But my legs feel a little weak right now. I'd like to rest a bit more."
Luka-tan.
I'm so, so sorry.
"Ah! Then I'll go to that cafe over there and get something. You wait here."
"Oh... you don't have to do all that..."
"No, no. I'll be right back!"
Rejecting her refusal, I walked quickly into the cafe.
"Are you ready to order?"
At the employee's question, I looked at the menu.
I was getting an Iced Americano anyway, so that was fine, but for Doah...
"An Iced Americano and a strawberry yogurt, please."
I'll just use a cheat this one time.
If I really didn't know her taste in drinks, I would have just bought her an Americano, but that wasn't the case.
[An Americano? I don't drink that, it tastes bad.]
I thought it was wrong to buy a drink she couldn't even stomach for someone who was already worn out from a horror experience.
"Your drinks are ready~"
Carrying the two to-go cups, I walked back to the bench where Doah was sitting.
"Here."
I held out the drink to Doah, who was so dazed she hadn't even noticed my return.
"...Ah. Thank you."
A little startled, Doah flinched at my voice and took the cup with both hands.
The light pink liquid defied gravity, traveling up the straw.
She must have been thirsty. The way she eagerly sipped with both hands reminded me of a hamster.
But her expression...
Watching her face, I let out a small chuckle.
The difference before and after the drink was so stark.
Just moments ago, she looked as if she'd lost the whole world, but now she was happily sipping her yogurt through the straw.
"Ah. Was I being a little too... obvious...?" Doah asked sheepishly, noticing my gaze.
"No? I was just thinking, I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I bought something sweet. I'm glad you're enjoying it."
"I like strawberries," she said, a smile forming on her lips.
And with it came a strange sensation.
It felt like someone was gently tickling my heart.
"Should we get going now?"
Her strength and spirit seemingly returned, Doah brushed herself off and stood up.
"Are you sure you don't need to rest more?"
"Ah, yes. But that thing earlier was really, really scary."
I bet it'll show up in her dreams.
[When I watch something scary, it keeps popping into my head when I'm alone at night.]
[Ah... That's why I didn't want to spin this damn roulette wheel...]
[Well, no sleep for me tonight~ Luka is so screwed~ Peace out~ I'm taking tomorrow off~]
Recalling the things Luka had said on stream, I thought it would be better to quickly move on to another experience to shake off the lingering horror.
"So, what should we try next?"
"Let's do that one."
"That shooting game?"
"Yes."
The words, 'But you suck at that,' almost slipped out, but I managed to keep my mouth shut.
People who are good at games tend to be good at any game you throw at them, but Luka wasn't that type.
The only games she was decent at were rhythm games.
Her skills in other genres like FPS or MOBAs were disastrous.
Despite that, Luka loved playing games.
And the fact that she gave her all in every single match was probably a big plus for her viewers.
There was even a time she went on a five-game losing streak and suddenly decided she needed a drink, starting an impromptu alcohol mukbang with soju.
"...You don't want to?"
Seeing my lukewarm reaction, Doah asked again, and I shook my head.
"No, no. Let's go try it."
After listening to the instructions again, we put on the headsets and picked up the model guns.
"Easy? Or Hard?"
Know your limits, Luka-tan.
You'll die in less than thirty seconds on Hard.
"Let's do Easy. It'll be a pain if it's too hard from the start."
The VR FPS game was incredibly realistic.
The effect of a bomb dropping in front of us looked so real it made me squeeze my eyes shut.
"Oppa. Above you!"
"Got it."
Among the games I've played, it seemed very similar to Call of Duty, but holding an actual model gun and firing it made the playstyle feel different.
We cleared the first phase without any trouble.
"Oppa, you're pretty good."
Doah's voice was a pitch higher, clearly happy that we'd cleared it.
"I've just played a lot of shooting games on the computer."
And most people are probably better than you.
"Then the next stage should be fine too..."
Not even twenty seconds after she said that, Doah's character was killed, and I died about ten seconds later.
"We died because you jinxed it by talking about the next stage."
Feeling awkward, I shifted the blame, and Doah looked up at me in disbelief.
"...You're blaming me for this?"
"Well, you did die first."
"But that's because a sniper shot me from up there...!"
"I told you to be careful of that at the beginning."
"I might not have seen it! And you didn't tell me which direction it was coming from."
"How would I know? I've never gotten that far either! You think this is my second time playing or something?"
Even after taking off the headset, Doah was still pouting, feeling it was unfair.
This attitude. This reaction.
It felt incredibly familiar, and as I wondered why, I came to a conclusion.
...This is exactly like Luka, isn't it?
Of course, Doah was Luka, but I'd thought her real-life self might be a little different.
The feeling that Luka was alive and breathing right next to me made me suddenly tense up.
"I think we've seen almost everything..."
After trying this and that—sports, rhythm games, FPS, the horror experience—and finishing our notes, the sun was already setting.
"Let's go. I think this is enough."
"Okay."
When we left the Experience Center, the outside was still bustling with people.
Everyone's busy having fun.
"How are you getting home?"
"I'm taking the bus."
"What about dinner..."
No, wait. Is it weird for me to bring it up first?
I felt like we'd gotten a little closer while playing the games, but the wall between us hadn't completely crumbled.
The fact that I'd rejected Doah wouldn't just disappear.
As I trailed off, Doah finished my sentence for me.
"...Oppa, are you hungry?"
"Ah. No, I think I'm fine."
If I said I was hungry, it would sound like I was asking her to eat with me.
I tried to brush it off and head home.
"You bought me a drink earlier, so I was thinking of buying you dinner..."
"Hey, it was nothing. Don't worry about paying me back."
"I've been wanting to try that famous hamburger joint right over there."
"...Really?"
If she has something specific she wants to eat...
"If you're busy, Oppa, you can go ahead."
"No, no. Let's eat."
She's the one who suggested it first.
I definitely wasn't the one who asked first.
And so, I followed Doah into the hamburger joint.
The interior was spotless, maybe because it was a new place.
"Hmmmm..."
Doah was standing in front of the menu as if performing a ritual.
"...Didn't you come here because there was something you wanted to eat?"
"Well, yes, but..."
It wasn't like the menu was huge.
There were five types of burgers at most.
"I want to try the mushroom burger, but I also feel like I should try the signature."
A reasonable dilemma.
"Then you order the mushroom one, and I'll get the signature. We can share."
"Can we do that?"
If you could replicate an avatar's eyes lighting up with stars in real life, it would probably look like Doah's expression right now.
"Yeah. We'll get a knife and split them in half."
"Thank you."
After ordering and getting a buzzer, we sat side-by-side at a window seat.
Even after I'd organized and uploaded all the photos we took to the group chat, there was still no sign of our food.
I was looking at my phone, wondering if they were backed up with orders because it was the weekend, when...
"Oppa."
"Hm?"
I turned my head at Doah's call.
"...Do you have a girlfriend now?"