Chapter 20: Stop Teasing Me
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 20: Stop Teasing Me
Wednesday morning.
At some point, I’d developed a habit of waking up a little earlier than usual on the mornings I had my advertisement strategy class.
“Hey. Taemin.”
As I entered the classroom, looking around for my group members, I heard Junseok’s voice call out.
“Hey.”
“Oppa. Hello!”
Only Minji and Junseok were there; it seemed Doah hadn’t arrived yet.
“Thanks for going through all that trouble, traveling so far.”
“That’s right. Seriously, we should give Taemin oppa a free pass to skip one group meeting.”
“Should we really?”
Junseok and Minji showered me with so much praise it was almost embarrassing.
“Don’t worry about it. It was actually kind of fun.”
“But honestly, Oppa, you're carrying this project so hard, we should seriously give you a skip coupon.”
“...Am I really doing that much?”
“You did almost all the initial company analysis, and you went to the experience center. You did all the annoying stuff.”
Thinking back, it was true.
Everyone had their own reasons for not being able to participate at the time, but looking at the results, I was putting in an effort that went way beyond just being a grade-grubber.
Sigh... I’m not usually like this...
Luka-tan. You’d better be good to me.
“But, Taemin oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“You liked it, didn’t you? Honestly.”
Minji’s face was full of mischief.
“Huh? What?”
Not understanding what she meant, I tilted my head.
“Don’t you have feelings for Doah, Oppa?”
Feelings for her...
I knew what Minji was getting at, but I found it difficult to just say yes.
It was a complex, subtle emotion with a much more tangled narrative than a simple crush between a guy and a girl.
And even if, hypothetically, I did have romantic feelings for Doah, I had no intention of telling a social butterfly like Minji the truth.
“No, it’s not like that.”
Hating these kinds of conversations, I shook my head in annoyance.
“I don’t think so~ I started getting suspicious ever since you offered to do the research for Doah, Oppa.”
“I agree. Dude. It's so obvious.”
With Junseok joining in, my head started to ache.
No. I don't think I was that obvious about it.
I’d never had a crush on a real person before, so I had no idea how my actions were coming across.
Frankly, it’s not like I went out of my way to talk to her or ask her out or anything...
Oh, wait, I have?
Feeling like my shameful secret had been exposed, I could feel the blood rush to my face.
I decided that if they pushed me any further, I’d just bolt to the bathroom, but there was no need.
“Oh? It’s Doah.”
At Minji’s words, I turned my gaze toward the source of all this embarrassment.
Doah, wearing a black blouse and a beige skirt.
The moment Luka-tan made eye contact with me, she whipped her head away.
...I thought we’d gotten pretty close.
We even agreed to meet up this weekend to play games together!
Her avoiding me so openly stung a little.
And here I was, getting grilled about how I supposedly like you...
“Aww~ Doah-tti~ Sorry I couldn’t make it over the weekend~”
Minji hugged Doah, who sat down next to her.
“It’s fine. You said you couldn’t skip your tutoring session.”
Doah accepted the clingy Minji with perfect composure and took a tablet out of her bag.
“So, how was your date with Taemin oppa?”
It was obviously just a teasing remark she threw out there, but...
“N-No?”
At Doah’s voice-cracking reply, I buried my face in my hand.
Hey. If you act like that too, we're just going to be fresh meat for them.
When she streamed, she could say anything with a straight face, but it seemed real-life Doah wasn’t like that.
Then again, there was no way for Doah, who had no idea about the conversation that had just happened, to understand how I felt.
“I’ll take attendance now.”
What the. I didn’t even realize the professor had come in.
I’d been so busy fending off Minji and Junseok’s attack that I hadn’t even noticed. I breathed a sigh of relief, finally free.
“Shall we take a look at this group?”
About halfway through the class, when it was time for group check-ins, Junseok opened the presentation file.
“Based on what you mentioned last week, Professor, we visited the experience center ourselves to explore the connection with the metaverse and...”
Wow. He's explaining it better than I could, and I'm the one who actually went.
Being a good presenter was a truly enviable skill.
Based on the notes I’d organized, Junseok smoothly explained everything as if he’d gone there himself.
“Very interesting.”
The professor, seeming genuinely interested in the presentation’s content, nodded and stroked his chin.
How many weeks had it been since we’d heard a compliment?
At this gentle feedback, like rain in a drought, all the group members looked relieved.
“Now, it would be great if you could take these technologies you've experienced and properly apply them to the company's image to create something.”
“Pardon?”
At Junseok’s confused question, the professor kindly repeated himself.
“I’m saying it would be good to try producing a video using VR technology directly. That’s how all this research will result in a meaningful, groundbreaking final product.”
For our team, VR was only ever the subject matter, not the filming technique.
Even Junseok, a yes-man who would do anything for a good grade, couldn’t easily say “Okay” this time.
“For now, let’s spend this week exploring ways to make that happen, if you can.”
“If it proves difficult due to practical limitations or technical issues, then we can think of a plan B.”
“I've talked for too long. Let’s end it here for today.”
As the professor finished saying his piece and stood up from his chair, we all bowed our heads.
“Thank you.”
The warnings on the school community site about avoiding classes with bad reviews weren’t there for nothing.
“...We're screwed.”
Junseok’s single phrase perfectly summed up the current situation.
"What are we going to do?”
Minji, too, looked dumbfounded, wearing a half-dazed smile.
“Agh... I really...”
Junseok’s face was full of worry as he swept his hair back.
“It’s one thing after another. Just one hurdle after another.”
“But couldn’t we just go into that VRWorld we researched and film there? The thing that all those VTubers do.”
Since it was our topic, both Junseok and Minji had unintentionally become familiar with metaverse content.
“That’s true, but... sigh... I wonder if we can even do that with just a computer, without a headset?”
If this were a solo project, I would have just coolly wrapped it up next week by saying, “The filming equipment was too expensive.”
However, my group members seemed determined to at least try to follow the professor's advice, and the prevailing mood was to give it a shot.
“Okay, I have this one friend who's a huge otaku. I'll ask him if he has a device.”
At the words “huge otaku,” I, the incarnation of otaku-dom, flinched.
Hey! Just because someone's a huge otaku doesn't mean they have one of those!
Do you know how much those things cost!
The cost varied by device, but a basic, functional VR headset was priced too high to buy just for fun.
Even I, who was very interested, couldn't bring myself to buy one, thinking that I'd have to live on nothing but ramen for a while to afford it.
But I wasn't the only one who reacted to Junseok's remark.
“Achoo!”
An almost excessively cute sneeze escaped from Doah's mouth.
In truth, if we needed a VR device, or rather, needed to film with one, we didn't have to look far for the right person.
Right next to me was a pro.
And a pro acknowledged by a major corporation, at that.
“Um...”
Doah's eyes darted left and right, as if she were testing the waters.
“I think I can get the device.”
“Really?”
Junseok, who had been drooping lifelessly like a wilting plant, sat up straight.
“Doah, you know someone who has one?”
He asked with an almost burdensome amount of hope, and Doah nodded her head up and down.
“My cousin has one at their house, so I've tried it...”
I could only stand by and watch her tell this blatant lie.
Honestly, even if Doah had kept her mouth shut, no one would have blamed her.
I was the only one who knew she was a VTuber, and one wrong move could expose her identity.
Junseok and Minji had already come across articles about the newly formed virtual idol group.
It was unlikely they would go exploring the members' streams and trying them out, but you never knew.
Is this what they call a white lie?
“Oh, really? Then could you ask your cousin if we could possibly borrow it? If need be, tell them we'll pay a small rental fee.”
“Okay, okay. I'll talk to my cousin and let you all know in the group chat.”
I thought the conversation was ending there, but...
“But, by any chance, how much would the rental fee be...”
...You're not actually thinking of collecting money here, are you, Luka-tan?