Chapter 42: Anyone But Him!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 42: Anyone But Him!
[I think Jennifer unnie is the mafia.]
Luka’s avatar pointed at Jennifer.
[What? Luka! It's not cool to just point fingers like that!]
Jennifer, being a Korean-American, vehemently argued why she wasn't the mafia, mixing English into her speech.
[Seriously, I think Fumurin is the mafia.]
[Whaaat?! I’m a citizen! What are you talking about!]
The members of CLOSER bickered amongst themselves, earnestly trying to find the mafia.
Sitting in front of my monitor, I watched the scene with a pleased smile.
Ah, collabs just have a special charm to them.
Seeing Luka, who always streamed alone, building chemistry with the other members felt like a huge step in the right direction.
It was like the content I could geek out over was just multiplying.
Luka’s cuteness needed to be spread far and wide to other channels.
Today’s collab was a game of Mafia with the members of CLOSER.
It was a game suggested by YM to help the members, who were still a bit awkward with each other, get closer, and it seemed to be quite effective.
[You know how it's always the quiet one who's the culprit.]
Fumurin said pointedly to Clover, who was smiling sheepishly.
[Clover unnie. You were talking so much last round, why are you so quiet now?]
[I'm a citizen, so I have nothing to say. If I had a role, I would've said something.]
…Was she telling the truth?
Since I was watching from Luka’s perspective, I joined the rest of the Pink Army in trying to deduce everyone’s identity.
[It's 100% Leah.]
[But from the way Fumurin is talking, she seems like the cop.]
[But why is Luka-nim's reasoning so baseless?]
[fr lolololololol]
Hmmm… In this round, I felt like Clover was the most likely suspect.
Leah was usually quiet, but I’d seen how talkative Clover could be when she was the cop in a previous round.
[Alright. It's time for everyone to point to one person.]
The host announced cheerfully that the time was up.
[It's you, Leah. One vote for Leah!]
[I vote for Fumurin.]
[I think it is Leah!]
[I'm going with Clover unnie!]
Luka was the last one to vote.
[I vote for!]
If she picked Fumurin, it would be a tie between Leah and Fumurin.
Leah shook her head back and forth, trying to signal to Luka that it wasn't her.
[Jennifer unnie!]
[Holy Shit! What the! Ah. Sorry.]
The chat was flooded with laughter.
Damn, her English is good.
The profanity that rolled off her tongue with a native accent was as satisfyingly sharp as Luka’s infamous swearing clip.
I could see why people watched Jennifer.
[Well~ unfortunately, it looks like this will be Leah’s last turn by verdict. Do you have any last words?]
[You all… will regret this.]
Hearing her say that in her husky voice made her sound like a character who had jumped right out of a manga.
[Ooh. I wonder what the result will be? Let's move on to the dead of night!]
Luka-tan’s vision went dark.
Only the host’s voice echoed in the darkness.
[Everyone in Closer. Unfortunately, Leah was the cop~]
[What! No way! Leah!]
Since she was muted in-game, Luka, who had been a citizen, vented her frustration to the viewers.
[Seriously. If she was the cop, she should've said something to protect herself. Why didn't she say anything?]
Luka-tan, who was taking the game very seriously, harshly criticized Leah, who was the same age as her.
[Aah… I should've just voted for Fumurin instead of Jennifer unnie.]
[I'm telling you, it's Jennifer unnie. My gut is telling me so!]
The chat happily accepted Luka’s baseless reasoning.
[Detective Luka-tan~]
[lolololol who plays mafia based on a gut feeling.]
[But Clover being so quiet is super suspicious.]
[Luka cuteee]
And so, another night passed, and morning came.
[Sadly, another brutal murder occurred last night.]
The host paused for dramatic effect, then continued.
[Luka-nim! You did great!]
Luka’s avatar collapsed.
No longer able to speak in the game, Luka started banging on her desk.
[Ah! No!! Ah! This is so unfair! Seriously!]
Luka had a masterful way of using “ani,” the time-honored Korean conversation starter that roughly translates to “No, but…” or “Seriously…”
[Seriously. How many times did I say I was a citizen? Ugyagyagyagyak!]
The thought of Doah banging on her desk with those tiny hands made me smile.
How could she make such a loud noise with such small hands?
[Ah… this was the last round… for it to end so emptily… heoeo…]
Now a spectator, Luka-tan watched the rest of the game with us as a ghost. Shockingly, the mafia for that round turned out to be Jennifer, just as Luka had first suspected.
[Guys! See! I told you my gut feeling was right!]
[Wow! I'm so frustrated I could burst!]
[Look how shameless Jennifer unnie is. Huh? Saying she was 'Seriously' wronged in English? That's so fucking ridiculous.]
Luka, who had vented her frustrations like a machine-gun rapper, was still upset about her elimination right up until the very end.
[Alright. That's all for today's collab stream~]
[Next time, I'll get my revenge. Jennifer.]
Luka’s avatar puffed up her cheeks.
[Everyone, have a great weekend, and I'll be back with a solo stream on Monday! Lubye~]
When the "Stream has ended" message appeared, I checked the time and flopped onto my bed.
[10:40 PM]
Collabs are definitely short.
Feeling disappointed that only two and a half hours had passed, I spent some time rewatching Luka's recent popular clips.
Ah, she’s so cute.
How can a person be this cute?
I ended up devouring her videos from before her CLOSER debut.
[Oppa, are you asleep? - Kim Doah]
A message from the star of the videos.
I replied to Doah immediately.
[No. Not yet.]
[Are you busy right now?]
I wasn’t busy, but I was in the middle of enjoying myself.
This was my version of clubbing.
[No. I was just watching videos on my phone.]
[What kind?]
You. You.
[Just... you know. This and that.]
[Then... Oppa.]
She called my name, but the rest of the sentence didn't follow, so I sent a quick “Yeah?”
[Do you want to talk on the phone?]
The word “phone” made me gulp.
I knew this wasn't a call with a specific purpose.
I wanted to, but my worries came first.
Could I do it?
If it were some otaku talk I was familiar with, maybe.
But I had no idea what I was supposed to say.
[...You don't want to?]
Doah sent another message when I hesitated to reply after reading her text.
[No, no. It's not that I don't want to.]
[Ah. I thought maybe you didn't like talking on the phone. ㅠ]
I should've just said I prefer texting!
Han Taemin! What are you doing!
But the water was already spilt.
With an "all the better" mindset, I changed my mind and decided to call her.
If we really became a couple, we'd be calling each other often anyway, right?
I applied so many times hoping for a phone date with Luka-tan, so isn't this great? Huh?
I tried my best to psych myself up, but I couldn't help but feel nervous as I pressed Doah’s name and hovered my finger over the call button.
-Trrrrring trrrrring
After about five seconds of ringing, her voice came through my phone.
[H... Hello?]
[Hello.]
Her voice had a new feel to it.
A languid tone, somewhere between Doah and Luka.
[Yeah. I can hear you.]
[Oppa. What were you doing?]
[I told you, watching videos. You?]
I tried to answer naturally, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I realized it was a blunder.
No. Doah was just streaming, you idiot.
Why would I ask her that?
But Doah lied as smoothly as flowing water, as if she had expected it.
[I was taking a nap and resting.]
[Oh yeah? Naps are nice.]
[Do you like taking naps too, Oppa?]
[Is there anyone who doesn't like naps?]
At least, I didn't know anyone like that.
[I'm the type who sleeps a lot. Heh.]
A sound like rustling blankets came from the phone, as if she were lying in bed.
[Are you lying down now?]
[Yeah. What about you, Oppa?]
[I'm lying down too.]
This is better than I thought.
The conversation was flowing so well that my earlier worries seemed pointless.
[I was planning to talk on the phone for a bit, watch some Netflix, and then go to sleep.]
[Oh. What are you gonna watch?]
[Um... Oppa... do you happen to know... Demon Slayer?]
[I know of it.]
Even though I knew it inside and out, I answered with a nuance of just being aware of it.
Demon Slayer.
It was an anime famous enough with the general public that you didn't have to be an otaku to know it.
[I started watching it but never finished.]
[Really? Do you have a favorite character or anything?]
It was just a casual question.
A question without any malice or ulterior motive.
[I think that guy, Giyu, is the coolest.]
Honestly, if she'd named any other character, I probably wouldn't have said anything, but…
Ah. I can't hold it in.
[But I think he's fucking frustrating.]
Sorry, Doah-tan. But come on, anyone but him, right?
There are so many other cool characters, why would you like him