Chapter 36: His Place
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: His Place
[I like vanilla.]
I replied quickly, hoping she'd get back to the stream faster.
[I see. Got it!]
Doah sent it with a cute emoji.
If this wasn't during Luka's stream, I definitely would have asked why she was asking.
[Oh. Okay. I'm going to bed now.]
I had no intention of sleeping, but this was all for the greater good.
Stop texting and go finish the voice-over!
Seriously! The main character is on the verge of death, and you want to talk about vanilla with me? Huh?!
If it were after the stream, I would've been willing to text until morning, but not right now.
There were so many viewers waiting, and even I was going crazy here.
Deciding to contact her again after the stream, I sent a somewhat cold reply.
[Ah. Ah.]
Luka's stationary avatar started moving again.
[Alright. I've stretched and had some water, so let's get back to it!]
The sound of a spacebar clicking was heard, and the scene changed to a new screen.
[...I've been thinking about how I could make you suffer the most.]
The heroine extended a blood-stained white sleeve.
[Telling me to love even that horrifying past was just too cruel.]
The sound of shattering glass rang out as the scene transitioned to a flashback.
What is this?
As the truth was revealed one piece at a time, the viewers couldn't help but spam the chat with exclamations.
[???]
[Wait. Hold on. So the mastermind was the main character?]
[Ah... So that silhouette at the beginning was her.]
[Whoa. Fucking goosebumps... ㄷㄷ]
The dagger in the heroine's hand pierced the male lead's heart.
[I loved you. From the day you first saved me.]
[I guess those brilliant days are over now.]
[Goodbye. Cecil.]
As the screen grew blurrier, the cello music from the very beginning returned to mark the end, and the game concluded.
[Phew... Seriously. What an absolute masterpiece.]
Luka's avatar shivered.
[Wow. That twist at the end was insane. Right?]
Doah, too, seemed deeply affected by the story and continued to talk about the game.
[Anyone here who figured out Cecil was the mastermind from the start? Raise your hand.]
A flood of hand-raising emojis poured in.
Luka shook her head.
[You liars. Since when were you all so smart for this many hands to be up?]
She was right, actually.
I sent the emoji too, but I only really understood the story at the very end.
[The way they tied up all the foreshadowing was amazing. Props to the person who recommended it~]
After finishing a game, Luka usually had a segment where she gave it a star rating, and today, the viewers' opinions were fiercely divided.
[Personally, I think a 4 out of 5 would be good?]
The Pink Army immediately objected.
[Wait. Luka-tan, you gave that fucking boring game from last week a 4.3, and you're giving this a 4?]
[But honestly, the build-up in the first half was super boring, so I think a 4 is fine.]
[This is a 4.2, period. If you disagree, you're wrong.]
Hmm... As someone who finished the game from start to finish with Luka, I thought a 4.5 would have been fine.
I felt it was a high-quality game overall—the story, art, music, and everything.
And the high point of that final twist felt incredibly impactful.
I guess it just suited my tastes.
[Hmm~ Was I in a good mood last week? A 4.3 was pretty generous.]
For the record, the game she played last week really was boring.
I'm the type to finish almost any stream Luka does.
Ugh. But that day was just not it.
[Still, 4 points! Bang, bang, bang! By the law of Luka-land, this game is hereby rated a 4! Woohoo~]
A streamer needs that kind of resolve.
Luka closed the game with a "whatever you guys say~" kind of attitude.
[Mmm~ I'll take a short break and then play a game I want to play for an hour or two!]
And so, Doah played rhythm games until 4 AM before ending the stream.
Luka was a streamer who knew how to keep her promises.
Even though she must have been exhausted from the voice acting, she steadfastly streamed until the promised time.
I grabbed my phone, wondering if I should text him now, but I ended up just staring at the chat window with his name.
I'd been streaming for six hours straight; it seemed better to just get some sleep.
My class tomorrow was at 11 AM, but even if I went to bed now, I wouldn't get that much sleep.
If I texted him now, he might feel obligated to reply and lose sleep over it.
Tomorrow... I'll make sure to text him first thing when I wake up tomorrow.
My eyes started to feel heavy.
And just like that, I boarded the train to dreamland.
"That's all for today's class."
...Is it finally over?
Having listened to the lecture in a state resembling a zombie, I quickly walked out of the classroom.
I looked like a mess right now.
Probably because of last night's stream, I barely heard my alarm and only just managed to get to school on time.
I didn't wash my hair. Didn't put on any makeup.
Since things were already like this, my plan was to run my errands quickly and then go home to wash up. I stopped by the store I'd looked up last night before bed.
"Welcome~"
I gave a small bow at the clerk's cheerful voice and looked around for the diffuser I was planning to get as a gift.
"Are you looking for anything in particular?"
"Um. The. Vanilla scent."
"Ah. That would be this line here. This product is our most popular one."
Was it because it was such a famous product?
The clerk immediately showed me the one I had seen online.
"I'll take this one, then."
"Is it a gift?"
I paused for a moment at the word "gift" before nodding.
"Yes. Please wrap it for me."
I hesitated a little, worried that Oppa might feel burdened if it looked like I put too much thought into it, but well...
It was the first gift I was giving him, after all.
"Yes! Here you go!"
"Thank you."
I was thinking I should hurry home, wash up, and get ready to go to Oppa's place, but I stopped dead in my tracks at the entrance of the convenience store in front of my building.
Hanbit unnie's message replayed in my head.
[Make sure you bring condoms.]
...Really?
...Should I really bring them?
The angel and devil on my shoulders started arguing.
[Kim Doah! Get a grip! You're just going over to lend him a headset. Huh? Bring what?]
[No! What if you end up having a drink with Oppa and the mood gets... heated!]
[Hello? Taemin Oppa isn't like that. You texted him first yesterday and he was super cool about just going to bed.]
[Tsk, tsk. You'll only learn your lesson when you really need one and don't have it.]
Staring intently at the convenience store, I took a deep breath and pushed the glass door inward.
Condoms...
Where do they sell condoms...
I'd never come to a convenience store to buy condoms before, so I peeked around the aisles just like I did when buying the diffuser a moment ago.
Ah. Here they are.
I found the condoms in a section I usually just walked past, and stood there for a long time.
What should I buy?
Why are there so many kinds?
They seemed to be arranged by material and size, but honestly, my dominant thought was that I had no idea what I was looking at.
Well... since I don't know, I guess I should just buy the standard size?
Ah... well... if we happen to... use them... then we can figure out the size...
A sudden wave of reality hit me, and I slapped my forehead with my palm.
Kim Doah. You crazy bitch. What are you thinking?
Steam practically coming out of my ears, I just grabbed the one closest to the front and took it to the clerk.
"Yes. Please insert your card in the front."
Ugh. So embarrassing.
Why did the payment feel like it was taking forever today?
I hastily pulled out my card and dashed all the way home.
The cold wind stung my cheeks, but it was actually a good thing.
It felt like the perverted devil that had been messing with my head just a moment ago was finally retreating.
After showering and drying my hair, I checked my phone.
[But why the vanilla scent? - Taemin Oppa]
He sent that a while ago. I must have been too out of it to reply.
[It just popped into my head. lol What's your apartment number?]
About 10 minutes later, my phone vibrated.
[I'm in 304.]
[I'll be there at 5 on the dot, then?]
[You can come earlier if you want. I don't have anything going on today.]
[Okay. I'll head over in a bit then!]
[Okay!]
It was 3:30 now, was it too early to go...
I didn't have anything to do either, and to be honest, if I stayed home any longer, I'd probably just keep having wild fantasies by myself.
I held the box of condoms I'd bought from the convenience store, fidgeted with it for no reason, and then tore open the packaging.
Just one should be enough, right?
I slipped just one into my back pocket, then put the gift diffuser and the VR headset into a paper bag.
Phew. Let's go!
I was just visiting someone who lived nearby, why was this so hard?
Standing in front of Oppa's building, I slowly climbed the stairs.
In front of apartment 304.
I took a breath and knocked on the door.
My grip on the bag tightened.
There was no sound for a while, and just as I was about to knock again...
The sound of frantic footsteps echoed, and the door flew open.
"Ah. Sorry. You're a little early, huh?"
"Ah. Well..."
Seeing Oppa standing there in a comfy t-shirt, his hair still wet, made my heart start pounding like crazy.