Chapter 19: Denial Phase
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 19: Denial Phase
[Oppa. Are you sleeping?]
Should I take those words at face value?
Doah couldn't possibly be asking just because she was curious if I was asleep or not.
It was past one in the morning. While some were already fast asleep and others were just getting started, for me, it was undeniably late.
[No. Why?]
I decided to hold back from getting worked up and see where this was going.
[Hey, you know those pictures we took the day we went to the experience center?]
[Yeah.]
Normally, I would've just sent a casual 'yup', but since it was Doah, I typed out a complete word.
[Could I get the other photos that you didn't upload to the group chat?]
I hadn't uploaded all the photos to the group chat.
I had only picked out the ones that looked the best or seemed useful for our project. The rest were still on my phone.
[Yeah. I'll send them. One sec.]
I opened my gallery and tapped the folder, revealing the traces of Doah from that day.
Doah wearing a headset, swinging her arms around to play a rhythm game.
Doah holding a model gun, standing in front of the experience center entrance.
What's this? When did I take this?
A video I hadn't properly checked that day, since I was in a rush to send the photos, caught my eye.
The thumbnail was just a pitch-black background, so I'd skipped over it, thinking it was unrelated to the assignment.
The video was 13 seconds long.
I figured I'd see what it was before deleting it, so I pressed play...
[Kyaaaaaaak! Oppa!]
“Whoa, shit. That scared me.”
My volume was turned up pretty high, so I was ambushed by the ghost's shriek and Doah's scream.
Ah... this was from back then. When we did the horror experience.
I lowered the volume and resumed the paused video.
[Doah. It's okay!]
I always feel this way, but my own voice sounds so cringey when I hear it.
It was already cringey enough, but the words I was saying sounded like something out of a weeb anime, which only added to the disgust.
[I'm right here.]
Seriously, Han Taemin. What are you doing?
At the time, I was so flustered that I must have said it to reassure her, but watching the video now made me want to crawl into a hole and die.
If Luka-tan had heard this while she was sober, wouldn't she have fainted?
[Ugh~ You otaku bastard~ You think a girl would like it if you said that to her?~]
[Everyone~ Life isn't 2D, you know?~]
I was sure she would've reacted like that.
So damn cringey...
A wave of cringe washed over me, but I gathered all the photos of Doah and sent them over in one go.
[That seems to be all of them?]
[Thank you!]
But did Doah really just contact me to get these photos?
It's not like I was expecting anything grand, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the ending was a bit anticlimactic for such an opening line.
It was the legendary 'Are you sleeping?'. And this is it?
[Doah.]
[Yes?]
I called out to her because it felt a bit disappointing to end the conversation there, but...
Her reply came back so fast that my brain couldn't keep up.
When I didn't respond, another question mark popped up.
Unable to withstand the psychological pressure, I just typed whatever came to mind.
[Do you like rhythm games?]
Fuck. What kind of question is that?
I felt like an idiot the moment I sent it and wanted to delete it, but the option to unsend had already disappeared.
Doah must have been taken aback too, because the 'read' receipt was there, but a reply wasn't coming.
Putting aside the fact that she's Luka, from her perspective, wouldn't she be thinking, 'What's with this guy?'
But still, a girl.
And not just any girl, but my favorite VTuber. It would be weird if I could talk to her smoothly.
If you watch videos of idol fan signs, you see people who just burst into tears the moment they see their idol's face.
[Yes. Do you like rhythm games too, Oppa?]
Wait. She's actually going with this? This?
I thought it was a question so stupid I wanted to tear my hair out, but Doah gave me a proper answer.
Wait, wait. Then I can't just leave it at that.
[You looked like you were really good at it that day.]
[It was my first time, but it was so fun I'm thinking of getting into it.]
That was a lie.
It's not that I'd never played rhythm games, but I just never found them that fun.
What great sense of accomplishment was there in moving your fingers to a beat?
[Which one are you thinking of playing?]
Doah's enthusiastic reply forced me to use my brain in the middle of the night, something I rarely did.
[To be honest, I don't really know what's out there, so I was hoping you could recommend one if you play.]
Does that even make sense?
I rambled on and managed to send a reply, but I had no idea if it was the right move.
[One moment.]
Doah told me to wait, but even after about 10 minutes, there was no reply.
...Did she just go to sleep?
She told me to wait, so I did, but I wouldn't have blamed her if she had gone to bed.
I was just chilling in my room, laughing and typing in chat while watching streams, but Doah had just come back from her actual job.
Of course she'd be tired.
Talking non-stop with viewers for hours on end is no easy task.
Sigh. I should probably just brush my teeth and go to sleep...
[You have a new message!]
[You have a new message!]
[You have a new message!]
[You have a new message!]
[You have a new message!]
The barrage of notifications made me sit back down on my bed, my eyes widening.
The flood of messages each had a video link, followed by a description like a footnote.
[This one is a game called DJ Tech. The mechanics are a bit different from the one we played that day, but...]
[This one is called Jubeat, where you tap squares in time with the beat. It's not too hard for beginners...]
I could tell at a glance that she hadn't just copied and pasted this from some blog.
She had included her own personal thoughts on what she found fun about each one.
I read through all the descriptions, but the problem was how to reply.
Bombarded by such a thoughtful response, I felt I had to give a serious answer, so I reread her explanations carefully.
[Hmm... Jubeat looks the most fun, based on the video.]
As soon as I picked the one that seemed most decent, Doah replied instantly again.
[The thing about Jubeat, though, is that you have to play it at an arcade unless you own the machine.]
Ah. Then I guess I can't play it.
I was about to reply that it was a shame and I'd try another one, but...
[There's one near my neighborhood!]
An arcade...
I liked games, but I mostly played PC games, so I wasn't really familiar with arcades.
[If you want to learn, Oppa, I could go with you.]
↳[This message has been deleted.]
Unfortunately for her, she had failed to execute the 'delete before reading' skill that I had so desperately wanted to use just moments before.
Unaware that I had already seen it, Doah stubbornly continued.
[Here's the address for the arcade. You should go try it out!]
Doah sent a map link.
I hesitated, wondering how to reply, then moved my fingers, basing my response on the message she had accidentally sent.
[If you're going sometime, how about I tag along and learn from you?]
That's not too bad, right? This should be fine.
It sounds more like I just want to tag along, rather than making it seem like she was the one who hit on me first.
I thought it was a pretty brilliant reply, but once again, it seemed I had chosen the wrong option. The 'read' receipt had been there for a while, but no reply came.
[How about this weekend?]
[Weekend sounds good. Saturday? Or Sunday?]
[I have work on Saturday, so Sunday would be better.]
Ah. Right.
I had just heard about it, but I'd already forgotten about Luka's showcase schedule.
[See you then!]
[Okay! I think I need to sleep now, so see you at school! Oppa!]
Doah sent a cat emoji that was falling asleep while holding its phone.
I sent back a dog emoji waving goodbye, and an indescribable feeling washed over me.
I was wide awake now.
Before we started texting, all I wanted to do was sleep, but now my eyes were sparkling.
My heart was beating a little faster.
I knew these symptoms well.
Not because I'd experienced them firsthand.
On the contrary, I never imagined I would ever experience something like this.
I thought it would never happen to me, and I was fine with the idea of living alone like this forever.
However, my sixth sense, honed by consuming countless rom-com anime, shoujo manga, and romance webnovels, was pointing in one direction.
Wow... Is this really happening to me...?
A dry laugh escaped my lips.
The name of Han Taemin's condition.
It was none other than the 'Denial Phase'.