Chapter 67: Want to Hang Out?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 67: Want to Hang Out?
My angry girlfriend.
She seemed to be trying her best to storm off, her legs moving furiously, but the sheer difference in our strides rendered her efforts pointless.
Clueless about how to comfort her, I could only walk alongside her.
"...I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
It felt like I was facing a huge wall.
"No. But I like your singing."
"Even so, I'm not as good as Leah. Whatever."
Her pouting lips showed just how upset she was.
"That's not true. You're good."
Damn it, Han Taemin.
Why couldn't you just tell Doah she was better without hesitating?
It was going to end up like this anyway, so why did I freeze up like that?
Doah stopped walking for a moment.
"Ha. Forget it, okay?"
Her voice was laced with irritation.
"Seriously... You know I'm not that confident about my singing, and yet in front of Junseok oppa..."
After sullenly scolding me, she marched forward again.
My apology having failed, I was at a loss for words and could only trail behind her.
Monday, the start of a leisurely week with only one class.
The path we had walked to school side-by-side, holding hands, we now returned on in a single file line, like soldiers.
I had to do something before she disappeared into her house.
Honestly, I felt it was a bit unfair.
To put it bluntly, it's not like I lied.
Objectively, Luka wasn't as good a singer as Leah.
This was an irrefutable fact, regardless of fandom.
Haa... But... it's not like I explicitly said she was worse than Leah... Ugh...
Past the bus stop, in front of the slope leading up the alley.
Having made up my mind, I stopped my girlfriend.
"I won't do it again."
"Won't do what again?"
"From now on, I'll only be on your side."
I bent down to meet her eyes.
"...Can you let it slide?"
My reflection was visible in her dark brown eyes.
One of Doah's eyebrows shot up before quickly returning to its place.
"Haaah..."
Her deep sigh was drowned out by the sound of a bus stopping.
"Then buy me ice cream."
"Ice cream?"
When I tilted my head, Doah nodded.
"Since I now know you're a truly clueless dork, I'll give you a pro tip."
Doah gently took my hand, her expression conflicted.
"Mr. Han Taemin."
"Yes."
"A girl is angry. No, wait. Correction. Again. Again."
Doah cleared her throat and continued.
"If the Luka-tan you daisuki so much seems to be in a bad mood..."
Her undeniable alias was brought up.
"Go feed her something sweet. Got it?"
I didn't feel great about being treated like a child, but I decided to take her advice to heart.
"Yep."
As a sign that I understood, I gave her hand a firm tug, and Doah looked up at me with a 'What are you doing?' expression.
"...This isn't right?"
"...Don't tell me you were going to the unattended ice cream shop again?"
But... the chain ice cream shops all taste pretty much the same...
I still didn't quite get it, even as I turned toward the main street.
Why is this so hard?
This whole dating thing.
*
[Ah. Ah. Can you hear me?]
[Yeah. I can hear you.]
[Whoa. This is so cool.]
I always thought group projects meant either meeting up in person, or if online, having a conference call with everyone's screens shared.
Surprisingly, our advertisement strategy team was currently gathered inside a VRWorld map modeled after a Chinese castle.
Of course, since I didn't have a VR headset, I was controlling my character on a PC.
Before the mid-term evaluation, everyone except Doah had been in the same boat, but luckily, Minji had managed to borrow a headset from a friend.
[Doah. This is a little dizzying, though.]
Minji's avatar looked around like a stranger in a new city.
[Ahh... I heard that some people never get over the dizziness, while others get used to it after a little while.]
Hey now, Ms. Kim Doah.
Giving such detailed feedback like that, you're going to get yourself exposed as a VTuber.
Helping out was a good thing, of course, but shouldn't she be a little more careful about herself?
I sighed, feeling the need to have a word with Doah after the group session.
[Guys!]
From a distance, Junseok's avatar came hopping and skipping over.
[I finished setting up the camera.]
The ever-diligent Junseok had messed around with the controls quite a bit, even on PC, and had become quite skilled at using the camera tool.
[I think all we need now is for the actors to do their part.]
Originally, Doah was supposed to do all the acting herself, but now that we had secured two headsets, that was no longer necessary.
Besides, having more avatars would naturally make for a richer video, so we came to the conclusion that we should revise the storyboard we had prepared.
[What were we originally supposed to do in the China scene?]
[The plan was for Doah to run over while waving, and I'd move the camera with her and finish with a close-up.]
[Hmm...]
As Minji's avatar shook her head, her hair fluttered.
It was an avatar with orange hair, something you wouldn't see in CLOSER.
[Since the theme is travel, um... how about we film it like we're taking pictures of each other?]
[Ah. I had thought of that, too.]
[Minji and I could take turns taking pictures of each other. Then, during editing, we could add a camera shutter sound and an image of the photo, as if it were a real print. I think that would look pretty good.]
Her instincts were definitely sharp.
As expected of an active idol!
Having filmed music videos before, Doah was giving off the aura of an experienced professional.
[Taemin, can you edit it like that?]
When Junseok asked if it was possible, I scoffed lightly.
[Of course, of course. Ah, if I couldn't even do that, I wouldn't have volunteered to edit.]
I, a member of the Pink Army for one year.
For me, who had not only made clips but also dabbled in editing to create short videos, that much was a piece of cake.
[Oh. Sounds good. Let's shoot it right now, then.]
Junseok moved in front of the camera, and I stood far off to the side, watching the two younger students' avatars giggle and laugh like a director.
How should I put this?
Maybe it was because this was a field I was very interested in, or maybe because I didn't have anything to do myself yet, but this whole process felt a bit like child's play to me.
[How is it? Did it come out well?]
After Junseok gave the cut sign, the girls came over to us.
[Um... It came out just like we planned, but do you guys want to take a look?]
Junseok shared the footage, and we meticulously reviewed it for any shortcomings, just like real idols monitoring their own stage performance.
[Minji. When you hold up the phone. Let's raise your arm a bit more. I think it'll be more visible that way.]
[Or how about shooting it while sitting down?]
[That could work too, but let's try shooting it standing up one more time, and if that looks weird, we can try it sitting down.]
[Okie-dokie.]
I'd never thought it would be easy, but the experience of actually creating an ad seemed to fuel my fear of joining an advertising company even more.
There are guidelines, but no right answers.
It wasn't about doing whatever you wanted, so it wasn't a work of art, either.
To demand novelty and uniqueness while imposing so many restrictions.
Isn't that the very definition of irony?
[Cut!]
Before we knew it, it was our seventh take on this map.
After monitoring it again, the others finally seemed satisfied.
[Nice. Nice. Doah, you look super pretty, don't you think?]
[Aww, come on. You can't even tell if it's you or me.]
Since the characters didn't reflect our real-life appearances, viewers wouldn't be able to tell who played which role.
Well, it's a bit funny to think about, but the result would have been the same even if Junseok had been the one doing it.
[Taemin, do you have time? For the editing?]
[Ayy. How long could this possibly take?]
The video was less than a minute long.
And the others' requests weren't that demanding either.
[Alright. Good work, everyone. Let's call it a day, and Taemin, please upload the finished edit to the group chat later.]
[Okie-dokie.]
[Oh! Then I'll get going first! I had plans to go drinking with a friend, but I told them I'd go after this.]
[Yeah, yeah. Go on ahead.]
Minji logged out as soon as the words were spoken.
Social butterflies are busy, I guess.
[I'm heading out too, then.]
After Junseok's avatar disappeared, only Doah and I were left on the map.
Doah's avatar—not Luka's—approached me.
It was a somewhat common-looking character with long, straight black hair.
[What now?]
[I should probably start editing.]
[I guess so.]
Doah raised her right hand and moved it as if operating something.
[Um... In that case...]
The blue loading screen that appears before an avatar change.
Surprised by her sudden action, I put down my mouse just as I was about to log out.
And then, the one who appeared before me was...
[Want to play for a little while?]
Neatly tied, light pink hair.
A gorgeous outfit that looked ready for the stage at any moment.
The virtual idol, Luka.
She had manifested before me.