Chapter 17: The Idol Next Door
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 17: The Idol Next Door
“...Do you have a girlfriend now?”
I just had to ask.
Today’s memories felt a lot like a one-day date. If Taemin Oppa had a girlfriend, then what I did today was definitely wrong. It was bad enough that I clung to him because I was so scared, but I even asked him to hold my hand after we left the booth.
That was no way to act around someone who was already taken.
So this gentle flutter in my heart, which I could still feel, was lost, waiting only for his answer.
Was it a difficult question to answer?
Taemin Oppa rested his chin on his hand and gazed at some distant point beyond the window.
“...No.”
His expression was truly puzzling. He looked somewhat pathetic, yet also bitter.
What could he be thinking?
-Bzzzzzzzt-
“I'll get it.”
When the call button buzzed, he shot up from his seat to get our hamburgers, as if he wanted to avoid my curiosity.
Before I could even say anything, he picked up a knife and cut each hamburger precisely in half.
“Here.”
He pushed the half with a cross-section full of mushrooms toward me. The savory aroma tickled my nose.
“Thank you.”
I had been planning to do the cutting myself, but I accepted the half-hamburger. I was actually starving, so I took a huge bite.
“Oh.”
A gasp of delight escaped me. It wasn't hyped up online for nothing. The meat was juicy, and the bun had a flavor you couldn't find at any chain restaurant.
I glanced over to see if he was enjoying his food too, but...
“...You're already done?”
“Ah. I was hungry too.”
It seemed his earlier claim about not being very hungry was a lie. I'd only had a few bites, but he was already finishing his second half.
“You can have more of the fries, Oppa.”
I have a small appetite anyway, so finishing the hamburger would be more than enough to fill me up. I could at least give him that much after all he'd been through today.
“No, it's fine.”
His words said one thing, but his body was honest. His hand dipped a fry generously in cheese and brought it to his mouth.
“This place is good, right?”
Feeling a little more at ease now that I knew I wasn't doing this with someone who was taken, I asked him.
“Yeah. It's delicious.”
“Which of the two burgers did you like more?”
Personally, I liked them both, but I thought the one with mushrooms was slightly better.
“I'd say the original? The mushroom one wasn't bad, but I think you can taste the meat better in the original.”
“Really?”
If he'd said he liked the mushroom one, I would have smiled and agreed with him. I guess people who aren't meant to be just don't match up, even on things like this.
“What about you?”
“I liked the mushroom one.”
“...You have no taste.”
Sigh...
I'd noticed it when we were playing games earlier, but Taemin Oppa had a strange knack for getting on my nerves with his blunt remarks.
“What do you mean, I have no taste?”
“There's always a reason why the signature, the original, becomes a restaurant's flagship menu item.”
Wow. To spout such nonsense with that handsome face. It seemed like superior looks had the effect of making someone appear even more shameless.
“Taste is subjective, you know.”
“The chef objectively thinks it's the most delicious and it sells the best, so what can you do?”
This feels incredibly familiar...
Even that shoulder shrug... it's exactly...
It felt like I was dealing with an offline version of one of those super-annoying Pink Army members. I never thought I'd feel the same emotions toward Taemin Oppa that I feel when I'm streaming. It was a familiar yet irritating feeling.
But on the other hand, I was a pro at handling this kind of attitude. I've dealt with hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of them in a single day. This was nothing.
“Ah~ yes~ I see~”
My streamer voice naturally kicked in. This would be the perfect moment to slap him with a 10-minute temp ban. Unfortunately, such a convenient feature didn't exist in real life.
“That's possible, I suppose~”
But for some reason, he was just staring at me with a blank, surprised expression.
What's wrong? Did I say something I shouldn't have? I suppose it could have sounded a bit rude depending on how you heard it, but he's the one who started it, right...?
“Why... why are you staring at me like that?”
He was staring so intently that I couldn't meet his gaze and had to ask.
“Ah... uh... huh...?”
If anything, he was the one who was flustered. The sudden awkwardness in the air was too much, so I shot up from my seat.
“You brought the food, so I'll clean up!”
There was really nothing left but some fry crumbs, so it was fine to clear the table. I quickly took the tray to the return station, threw away the trash, and came back to our table.
“You're not forgetting anything?”
He was already ready to leave and held out my phone to me.
“I don't think so.”
I patted my pockets, confirmed my wallet and earphones were there, and nodded.
We left the restaurant and walked toward the bus stop in silence.
“I catch my bus on the other side. What about you?”
“Me too.”
“Which one do you take?”
“The 8765.”
“You take the same one I do.”
It seemed we lived near the university, so our destinations were similar.
The bus was about 10 minutes away.
“Doah.”
“Yes?”
I had been lost in thought, feeling sad that the day was ending, when his voice snapped me back to reality.
“Well... we came out here for the assignment, but...”
“Yes.”
“Today was... kind of fun, wasn't it?”
...That's cheap.
How could he say that? I couldn't understand the signals he was sending at all. Why was he talking like a guy on a blind date asking for a second one? From my perspective, as the one who got rejected, it felt like he was just trying to piss me off.
“It was fun.”
I couldn't cry, so I forced a smile and agreed with him.
But there won't be a next time, will there? You said someone like me isn't your type.
“That's a relief, then.”
Taemin Oppa beamed. He really was ridiculously handsome. For any girl, wouldn't it be impossible not to feel your heart flutter at a smile that looked like it came straight out of a comic book?
If this were a stream, I would've said something like, "I think that guy's using cheats."
Soon, the bus arrived, and we sat next to each other, each putting in our earphones.
I thought the day was finally coming to an end...
While we were on the bus, I couldn't move a muscle, like a statue hit by a petrification spell.
It wasn't my fault.
It was just Doah, sitting next to me...
I didn't think it was a very comfortable environment to fall asleep in, but Doah was dozing off just fine. It would have been fine if she'd just dozed off on her own, but the moment her head lost its balance and landed on my shoulder, my shoulder was no longer entirely my own.
She must be tired.
Having heard Luka talk on stream about how exhausted she gets after going out, I could understand her behavior. On top of that, the horror experience must have drained a lot of her mental energy. Leaning on me to sleep was fine, but the problem was that I didn't know where I was supposed to wake her up.
As we got closer to the university, I gently shook her shoulder.
“Doah. Doah.”
Her brow furrowed as if she didn't want to wake up.
“We're almost at the school.”
“Ah. Already?”
Doah opened her eyes blearily and rubbed them with her small hands.
“Where do you get off?”
“I get off in front of Sina Middle School.”
“Me too.”
Surprisingly, it seemed Doah lived near my place. If I'd known, I would've just told her to meet at the bus stop.
When "Sina Middle School" appeared on the electronic display, we got off the bus and stepped onto the street.
“Oof...”
Doah stretched her arms out wide.
“You worked hard today.”
“Nah. It was for an assignment, but it just felt like we were hanging out and playing games.”
“Well, I'll be heading in first, then.”
Doah bowed her head, and I nodded to acknowledge her.
“Alright. See you at school.”
“Okay!”
I thought we were parting ways...
But embarrassingly, after saying our goodbyes, we were walking in the same direction.
“Uh... you're going this way too?”
“Yeah.”
Doah also seemed embarrassed and gave an awkward laugh.
“Where are you headed?”
“Down that alley and to the left.”
“...Me too.”
It turned out Luka-tan really did live nearby. We walked straight up the path she mentioned, and...
“You live there, Oppa?”
“You live there?”
It wasn't some ridiculous rom-com anime plot where we miraculously lived next door to each other, but Doah lived in the studio apartment building right next to mine.
It's amazing we've never run into each other. Or maybe not. Since we're in different buildings, the chances are probably low. After thinking it over, a lightbulb went off in my head.
...Neither of us ever leaves the house!
That's it! You have to go outside often to have a chance of running into someone. I don't even know who lives in the room next to mine, so the probability of running into Doah from a different building was extremely low.
“Well then, I'm really going in now.”
I watched until Doah opened the door and went inside her building, then stood there for a moment.
...So Luka-tan, you were this close all along.
It was a moment that made me truly understand the phrase "so close, yet so far."