Chapter 4: Goal! It's a Goal!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 4: Goal! It's a Goal!
“Alright, let's begin the class. I'll call attendance first.”
The professor was the one who put us in this awkward group, but he was also the one who had saved me from the frozen atmosphere just a moment ago.
I could have seen it as him causing a problem just to solve it, but if Doah was really Luka, then what I'd received wasn't just a remedy—it might as well have been a miracle cure.
“Na Sunghoon.”
“Bae Yooncheol.”
The professor called out the names one by one.
Doah's last name was Kim, so she had already answered.
Anyway, that banana milk... So she really does only drink the low-fat kind. Hmm...
The class was about two and a half hours long, including a break. The professor said he would lecture for the first hour, and then give us the remaining hour to work with our groups.
This was a common setup, but few teams actually spent the entire hour discussing the project.
Groups of close friends would start chatting away as soon as they could, while awkward groups would quickly say what they needed to and then just stare at their phones.
That's why I decided I had to find the right moment to bring up the prosecutor show after our meeting.
“Alright. Let's take a short break now, and then you can have time to meet with your group members.”
“Taemin. Want to go grab some coffee?”
As soon as the break started, Junseok nudged my elbow.
“Sure, why not.”
“You guys want to come too?”
When Junseok asked the girls in our group, they came along with us.
“Ah, but I don't think we have enough to talk about for a whole hour.”
Junseok muttered, sounding annoyed, and Minji, who was next to him, chimed in.
“Come on. It's better than sitting through a two-hour lecture, right?”
“I guess, but it's a pain to pretend we're working. Maybe I should just sneak in some work on my major assignment.”
“It's better to just chat than to get caught and on the professor's bad side, Oppa.”
Junseok and Minji walked ahead.
And Doah and I followed behind them.
Doah seemed to be avoiding eye contact with me, keeping her gaze fixed on her phone screen.
I glanced over, thinking she might be texting, but she was playing a very classic Brick Breaker game.
I'd played it for a little while myself. It was really just something to kill time.
Not a game you could play for long.
“What do you want to drink?”
When we got to the cafe, Junseok took out his card, saying he'd pay for everyone.
“I'll have an Iced Americano!”
Minji answered first, and I, having no strong preference, followed suit.
“Me too.”
Then I remembered hearing Luka's story about cafes, and I watched with great interest to see what Doah would choose.
“I'll have... um... a Green tea latte.”
That’s ambiguous.
That was my diagnosis after recalling what Luka had said on her stream.
[I usually get stuff like strawberry yogurt, you know? But some days I'm just not craving something that sweet. You know what I mean, right? Right?]
[On those days, I get a Green tea latte. Not many people order it, you know? But I'm telling you, it's a solid choice, you can't really go wrong with it.]
[Wow. You guys have no taste. I feel so sorry for my Pink Army, not knowing the greatness of green tea~]
Luka had stood her ground firmly against the jeers that flooded the chat.
And I, who was there in the chat, had also vehemently protested as Luka tried to convince us about green tea lattes.
“Here.”
As Junseok handed her the drink, Doah reached out with both hands to take the plastic cup.
“Thank you.”
“Let's head back now. We'll be late.”
On the way back to the classroom.
I slowed my pace a little, watching Doah's back as she walked ahead of me.
[Guys. You'd never be able to recognize me if you met me in real life.]
[I'm a total wallflower, super shy around strangers, and I don't talk much.]
[Aww~ This is just because it's a stream~ That's why I can talk so comfortably and all.]
On stream, Luka was the epitome of an extrovert.
She was eloquent, and her skill at handling her viewers was off the charts.
If you asked me to list the reasons I liked Luka, I could probably give you over a hundred, but it all boiled down to one sentence.
[Luka is an incredibly charming person.]
For VTubers who use virtual avatars, no matter how beautifully designed their character is, the person behind it ultimately has to be charming.
After all, in the virtual world, everyone is on a level playing field when it comes to looks.
If you wanted, you could make your eyes bigger or your nose sharper with just a single click.
That's why you had to be even more charming than someone who showed their face to survive, and Luka had proven that magnificently.
“Alright. You can start your meetings now.”
The chatter died down, and at the professor's words, we began our perfunctory meeting.
“First, should we all take a look at the materials we brought?”
Junseok had already compiled the materials we'd brought before class, so he suggested we go over them together on his tablet.
“This is the stuff I brought...”
Just as you'd expect from a model student, Junseok had prepared exactly the right materials for the topic.
“So, I was thinking that they seem to use this kind of technique a lot?”
“Ooh... that seems pretty good.”
“I think it's good too?”
“Okay, next let's look at what Doah brought.”
[The Expansion of the Metaverse Market.]
The moment I saw the title, I couldn't hold back a cough.
-Cough, cough, cough.
“Hey, Taemin? You okay?”
“Ah. Yeah. Let's see it.”
Was this some kind of personal attack on me, who sits in front of a monitor all day looking at this exact stuff?
The article Doah brought made me feel like she'd hit a little too close to home.
“It's true that these kinds of new technologies are getting a lot of attention these days.”
Unlike me, who was overreacting and practically coughing up blood, Junseok read Doah's article with a very academic eye.
“But I'm not sure how much of this we can actually incorporate into the final video we'll be making.”
“Is that so?”
Doah looked like a dejected puppy, disappointed that her research wasn't well-received.
“It's not that it's bad or anything, it's just that at this stage, I can't really picture the final product. Let's go through everyone else's stuff first and then talk more.”
Next, we went over the materials Minji and I had prepared, and in the end, we came back around to agreeing to base our project on Junseok's research.
“So, let's go with my idea for now, and I think it would be good to mix in some of the ideas you guys brought along the way.”
“Sounds good!”
Eager to start chatting as soon as possible, I helped Junseok organize everything like a loyal assistant.
“If we find an angle to include the metaverse stuff Doah brought, I think that would be good too.”
“Okay.”
“Great. Then I'll write up the proposal saying we'll proceed this way.”
“So, we're done with the meeting for today, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
The moment our group leader gave his permission, I immediately cast my line like a fisherman.
“So, uh... guys. That prosecutor show that's popular these days. Have you seen it?”
“Oh, Oppa, you watch that?”
Minji, who seemed to be the biggest social butterfly of the group, answered right away.
“I heard it's really popular. I haven't seen it yet, though.”
Everyone else chimed in, but Doah, the one I was most curious about, kept her lips sealed and said nothing.
“What about you, Doah?”
Unable to wait any longer, I asked her directly.
“Ah... I enjoyed it.”
“All the way to the latest episode?”
“Yes.”
If she said yes to this, then the next question was the crucial one.
“Out of all the characters, who did you like the most?”
“I think... I liked the female lead the best.”
Her answer matched what Luka had said, so I was about to ask a more in-depth question, but I didn't get the chance.
“So, is this group doing well?”
The professor, making his rounds, approached our table. Junseok immediately sat up straight and explained our group's concept to him.
“The topic itself is good, but... hmm. For now, just proceed with it. Next week, I'll check your progress again and tell you whether you should continue with it or not.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
“Thank you~”
Aish... Why did the professor have to come over at a time like this?
I thought I'd managed to steer the conversation so naturally, but I had to let the fish I'd almost caught go.
What other questions should I use to play twenty questions with Doah next time...
I hadn't asked many questions, but based on what I had, I judged the probability of Doah being Luka to be quite high.
Doah's answers matched the personal preferences Luka had talked about on her streams.
Just when I was thinking it was still too ambiguous to be certain without a finishing blow...
“Doah. It's my birthday tomorrow, so I'm going out for drinks with friends. Want to come?”
“Tomorrow might be difficult. I have something I need to do.”
“Aw, too bad. Hyunji and Jisun are coming too.”
“Really? Ah... but I'm just so busy this week...”
I had been straining my ears to listen to Minji and Doah's conversation, and my eyes shot open at what came next.
“Come on. We can just get everyone together for your birthday. Doah, when did you say your birthday was?”
“It's still a long way off.”
“So when is it?”
“Me? October 25th.”
...Goal!
It's a goal!!!
My jaw dropped, and all I could do was stare at Doah with a dumbfounded expression.