Chapter 187: I Want to See You Every Day.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 187: I Want to See You Every Day.
"...Live together?"
"You... you said we should move together."
"Well, yeah."
"Doesn't that mean you want to live together?"
"...I was thinking of moving next door? You know... to a bigger place next to you..."
Doah, who had been blinking with a dumbfounded look on her face, promptly kicked me hard in the shin.
"Ouch!"
"Jeez! Who says it like that!"
"What? It's true, though. Did I say something weird?"
"Yes! It was weird! Extremely! Very! Totally! Hontoni!"
Anyway, living together...
I'd never really thought about it.
Would much really change if we did?
We already came and went from each other's places and fell asleep there often enough.
I frequently went to Doah's house after work, and on holidays, there were days we'd just hole up in a room and watch movies.
"...Do you want to live together?"
Judging by her reaction, which seemed to be okay with the idea, it didn't look like she hated it.
"I don't know. I'm eating all the meat myself."
Pouting, Doah plunged her chopsticks deep into the pot and pulled out a huge clump of meat.
"Haha..."
Since I'd already declared I was paying, all I could do was chuckle like an old man.
She's just being grumpy. There's no way she can eat all that.
"Just make sure that when you get married, you live next door to your wife, okay?"
"Hey, come on, Doah. I'm sorry I said it in a misleading way."
"And I... I even said I'd cover the security deposit!"
Fuming, Doah lightly bonked herself on the head with her fists.
"So, if I asked you to, would you really move in with me?"
I asked her earnestly.
Moving was inevitable anyway.
If I was holding her back from a more comfortable life, I was more than willing to move.
"...Yeah."
She nodded, her lips still in a pout.
"...I want to see you every day."
The slight blush on her cheeks told me she was telling the truth.
"I want to see you."
They weren't exactly profound words. So why did she look so damn cute saying them?
It seemed my love-struck brain was beyond repair.
"Me too. I want to see you every day."
"...Really?"
"That's why I come to see you every day and watch all your streams."
Anyway, this was about moving, so we needed to come to a conclusion.
"About moving... let's think about it a bit more. We don't even know if there are any suitable places for us around here."
"So... you really mean... we could live together?"
"If all the conditions are right, why not?"
As if she'd never been pouting, a fresh smile spread across Doah's lips.
"I'd love that. I'll cook for you every day, Oppa."
"You don't have to. That's too much."
"Nononononono. I'm gonna do it because I want to. Don't you dare stop me."
I couldn't help but look forward to the thought of living with this adorable girlfriend of mine.
[Finally! The day has come to reveal it to you all~ Kyaaah~]
I stayed late at work.
Because today was like a festival for us.
I came back after microwaving some popcorn and gently placed the bag on the table.
"Teacher."
"Yeah?"
"Teacher, you don't type in chat when you watch streams?"
Who the hell watches a live stream on a projector?
"I'm satisfied with just watching."
"I see."
"What, do you jump in there and spam emotes like a kid?"
...A guy can type in chat sometimes. Why'd you have to say it like that?
I was used to watching on a monitor, so seeing it on such a big screen felt strange.
"I used to get really into it and typed a lot back in the day."
"Why get so worked up? You can just enjoy it peacefully."
What was I supposed to do when it was so good I felt like I'd go crazy if I didn't donate?
The teacher seemed to be a huge fan of Leah, but he was the type to enjoy it by himself.
Fandom has its different types. There are the active fans who participate in every event and type furiously in chat, but it's also not uncommon to find cases like him, who quietly build up a massive sense of personal connection on their own.
I was the former. The teacher was the latter.
Today, I decided to watch the collab stream with a reverent heart rather than typing in chat.
The blonde-haired Jennifer raised her hand high.
[Everyone! If you count down from three with us, we will immediately reveal the music video for 'I'll Cheer For You'!~]
At her signal, countless fans counted down along with them.
As Jennifer's shout faded with an echo, the screen faded to black.
"Hey, hey, it's starting. Hey."
The teacher next to me was making a fuss, a huge grin on his face.
Aah... I'm so jealous...
I wasn't about to go crazy with jealousy, but it was still a bit painful to see only the teacher's song get a music video.
I'm going to make it big and demand a music video too. Sob.
The concept for this music video seemed to be slice-of-life.
For the group choreography parts, their outfits were uniform, but otherwise, they were all in casual clothes for their solo shots.
My favorite, Luka-tan, was wearing a white coat, maybe for a pharmacist concept, while the teacher's favorite, Leah, appeared as a musical actress.
Ooh... Looks like that one reflects a bit of reality.
When I snapped out of it, the song was over, and the chat was filled with reactions that could be summed up as "insane" or "that was sick."
[How was it, everyone?!]
Luka was on screen in a solo close-up.
The Closer members had all changed into the signature outfits they'd worn.
Her white coat fluttering, she gave a bright smile and waved at us.
[Was Luka-tan a little cute?]
Agh. I love this so much.
I was crying tears of joy internally when the teacher saw my face and burst out laughing.
"Hey, Taemin. What are you doing? Ah, what's with that expression?"
"What? Why? Is it weird?"
"I can't believe such a handsome face can make such a perverted expression."
Ah, whatever. I can't help it if I'm happy.
I wasn't trying to pretend to be a normal person; there was no reason to hold back my smile.
"I'll be sure to take a picture of your face when Leah has her interview later."
"Hey, my face is already a mess, so it's fine."
"Hey, that's not fair. You have to suffer the same fate."
He took a sip of beer, and when Leah's turn actually came, his eyes went wide as if they were about to pop out.
[Thank you so much to Teacher Ash Block for creating such a wonderful song!]
"Hey! Did you see that? You saw it! Leah said she's thankful to me!"
Look who's talking.
The teacher, apparently thinking of me as his grunt, asked me to clip that part and send it to him.
I was tempted to say that the MZ generation doesn't work outside of office hours, but I owed him, so I readily agreed to his request.
[Now then, shall we listen to the rest of the B-side tracks together~? Woohoo~]
After Fumurin finished her interview about the music video, it was time to reveal the rest of the songs.
Ugh... I hope people have a good reaction to my song...
Most of the people watching this live were hardcore fans, so I wasn't too worried about malicious comments, but I wasn't completely free of anxiety either.
A comment like, 'It's not as good as I expected,' would probably crush my spirit.
[Ah! Would it be okay if I introduced this song?]
Finally, it was Summer Records' turn.
Luka naturally shot her hand up.
[A fan of mine made this, so I think it's only right that I introduce it!]
Han Taemin, the successful fan, rests here.
I felt like I could die happy now.
[It's a song from composer RKRO-nim that's just full of summer vibes! A cheerful melody and refreshing lyrics! Let's all go have a listen!]
I couldn't take my eyes off the chat while the song played.
As a stream of emotes from the Pink Army waving their lightsticks filled the chat, my heart pounded loudly in my chest.
[Unforgettable memories of that summer.]
The song ended with Luka's vocals decorating the finale, and another round of enthusiastic cheers followed.
[How was it, everyone? Great song, right?!]
Clover took over as the host.
[Summer Records was a very popular song among us members, too. Please give it lots and lots of love!]
Time was limited, so my turn passed in a flash. I remained slumped in my chair, unable to escape the lingering feeling.
"Hey, our part is over. Should we stop watching?"
As the teacher picked up the remote, I shook my head.
"No, I'm just going to watch the rest of it here."
"It's going to run late. Are you sure?"
"I'll just take a taxi."
Right now, I just wanted to bask in the high of feeling like a world-class producer.
The collab stream was scheduled to have a second part, but the teacher said he'd only watch the first part—the song reveals—and got up to leave.
Left alone in the studio, I watched the entire second part, the gaming collab.
Watching it on the big screen definitely seemed to double the emotional impact.
Maybe I should suggest getting a projector like this when we move.
The collab stream finally ended at midnight.
The last subway train was cutting it close.
Rather than run for it, I decided to just relax and take a taxi home.
-Bzzzzzzzt-
I was looking at my song and the album cover on a music site when I opened a message from Doah.
[Summer Records is the best!]
It was a picture of a cute thumbs-up and a tablet screen with my song playing on it.