Chapter 69: Photo
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: Photo
For a moment, the scent of shampoo from Doah's hair tickled my nose.
But that moment was fleeting. I had to get a definite answer from her right away.
"...What day?"
I had been so disappointed I was on the verge of despair.
But my ever-so-considerate girlfriend threw me a lifeline.
"Uh... I don't know...? Just a day I don't have a stream?"
"Then on the weekend? Sunday?"
I turned my chair completely around to face Doah and held her hand tightly.
"Ah. Seriously, I was so sad just a moment ago thinking about how I didn't even get a single screenshot."
I had just steeled myself to start editing.
But the moment she gave me an opening, my true feelings as a fan burst through.
"...Hmph."
It was a reaction that showed she was displeased with something.
Doah's eyes narrowed.
"But Oppa. You don't have a single picture with me."
Her words made me search my memory.
Is that true?
I thought we'd spent a lot of time together, but I couldn't recall ever taking a picture with Doah.
When I thought about why, the reason was simple.
I don't really like taking pictures.
I'm sure I would have if Doah had asked, but I would never have suggested it myself.
The only thing related to photos was when Doah changed my messenger profile picture to a picture of herself.
"Oh... is that so...?"
"But you do want to keep a record of you playing with Luka inside a monitor, huh?"
The rising inflection in her voice made my back straighten reflexively.
"...Wanna take a picture?"
I thought it was already too late, but no brilliant solution came to mind.
This is because I want to take pictures with Luka but not with her, isn't it?
"Nope. You're not interested in me, Oppa."
The air grew cold.
Doah pulled her hand from my grasp and went back to the bed.
"Get to work."
Doah took her phone out of her pocket.
Like a pouting squirrel, she sat with her knees drawn up and fiddled with her phone.
Watching her, I quietly stood up and opened the camera app on my phone.
"Look here. One, two, three!"
I stood up from my chair as if to get her attention, raising my voice cheerfully like a photographer on graduation day.
-Click
At the sound of the shutter, Doah shot up in a hurry.
"Hey! What are you doing!"
"You said you wanted to take a picture together."
Getting the sulking girl to her feet was easier than I thought.
"No! When did I say that! And delete that!"
"I'll delete it if you take a proper picture with me."
Doah jumped up and down, trying to snatch the phone from me, but it was no use.
She might have had a chance if she stood on the bed.
Unfortunately, her feeble jumping power wasn't enough to grab the phone.
"Grrr..."
The way her small nostrils flared was so cute.
"...Fine. Then come here and let's take a proper one."
"Okay."
Having dramatically reached a compromise, I sighed in relief internally.
Haa... If this hadn't worked, I feel like Doah would have gotten even more stern.
"Where are we going to take it?"
I'd suggested we take a picture together, but I hadn't given any thought to how we'd actually do it.
"...Here?"
When I roughly aimed the phone camera to frame a shot, Doah gave me a look that said, 'Are you serious?'
"...Oppa. I know this is just your studio apartment, but isn't this a bit much?"
I turned to look at the background and could see her point.
The bookshelf was a bit... No, not a bit. It was very messy.
"Then where should we take it?"
"Haa..."
Sighing, Doah patted the spot next to her on the bed a couple of times, beckoning me over.
"Sit here and let's take it together."
Following my girlfriend's instructions, I sat down next to her, wanting only to get this ordeal over with quickly.
"Okay. I'm taking it. One, two, three!"
I pressed the button right away, but the dark expression on Doah's face showed no sign of lifting.
"...Excuse me."
"Yes?"
"Oppa. If you take it like that, my face will look huge!"
"It's normal for the person in front to look bigger."
Since Doah was in front, it was only natural that she looked bigger.
"Hah..."
Doah stared at me in disbelief.
"...This isn't how you do it?"
Sensing I'd chosen the wrong option again, I asked for confirmation, and Doah pinched the bridge of her nose as if she had a headache.
"No... that's not it..."
No matter how much anime I watched or how many novels I read, none of them taught me what camera filters to use or how to frame a shot.
Is this something you learn from looking at Instagram or something?
Rather than keep trying to do it myself and making things worse, it seemed better to just admit defeat and ask for help.
"Teach me."
I took Doah's small hand.
"I... I've never really taken pictures with other people, so I don't know how."
"I don't know how girls like their pictures taken."
"I don't even know what camera apps to use."
I continued calmly.
"So I want you to teach me."
"Once I learn, I can take good pictures for you next time, right?"
Not knowing how to end, I gave her an apologetic smile.
Doah, who had been listening quietly, looked into my eyes for a moment before slowly opening her mouth.
"...Come closer."
We were already practically stuck together, but I moved even closer to her.
"A little more."
As I leaned my body against hers, she shifted slightly, then gently sat on my right thigh.
"Now, hold the phone out that way and take the picture from a slightly high angle, looking down."
"...And you know you have to smile, right?"
Following her instructions, I stretched out my arm and only pressed the home button after getting the okay sign from Doah.
"...Here."
I handed her the phone. She got off my thigh and this time, she went all the way to the far wall to check the picture.
After fiddling with the screen for a moment, she handed the phone back to me.
"It came out nice."
On the screen was me, smiling a little awkwardly, and Doah, smiling brightly.
"...Next time, let's take one outside, too."
Doah pulled the computer chair over again and sat me down in front of the desk.
[No way. Luka! This unnie is so disappointed in you.]
Hanbit unnie scoffed at Sungdang unnie's message.
[Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[See? Who told you to go to work during the day?]
[If you were unemployed, you could've been here for the idol's relationship counseling session.]
When I showed up in the Voicecord chatroom for the first time in a while, all the unnies except Hanbit pounced on me like they'd found delicious prey.
[Ah. But I didn't talk to Hanbit unnie for that long either!]
[Still! How could you! We have a bond!]
[That's right~ Luka-tan~ Wow~ You're gonna abandon us just because you became an idol? Is that it?]
Abandon them? I hadn't gone anywhere.
At my unnies' antics, all I could do was give an awkward smile.
[So, Luka, how's the relationship going these days?]
Hanbit unnie's question made me hesitate for a moment, thinking about how to answer.
Should I say it's going well?
It was a bit far from the dreamy, 100% sugar-sweet romance I'd imagined.
Oppa's personality was also a little different from what I'd expected.
[It's not bad.]
Yeah. That sounded about right.
[Hey. When you first start dating, you're supposed to be the happiest, dripping with honey. If you're just saying 'it's not bad,' doesn't that mean there's a problem?]
[No! We're doing fine!]
It wasn't like our relationship was on the rocks or we were totally incompatible.
Ah. Well, there was that pork versus beef debate.
Other than raising my voice a little then, I don't think there was anything else.
[Well, that's a relief.]
[But Luka. This unnie heard that your boyfriend is sooo handsome.]
I was so annoyed with Hanbit unnie.
Seriously. Is it okay for you to leak the contents of our counseling session like this?
[Can you share just one picture?]
...What should I do?
It wasn't that I didn't trust my unnies.
I'd known them for over two years, and they were the ones who had steadfastly kept my secret when I told them I was becoming a virtual streamer.
But a picture of Oppa's face... hmm...
[Ah. Seriously, if you're being like this, I'm just so curious how handsome he must be.]
[But honestly, I'm curious too, Luka-tan.]
With even Hanbit unnie, who had contributed so much to my relationship's success, joining in, I finally raised the white flag.
[I'll post it for a second and then delete it.]
Ini unnie, who might miss it, could be upset later, but oh well.
I scrolled through my gallery, found the picture we took at Oppa's house, and gulped.
It felt a bit embarrassing to show the whole thing, so I put a sticker over my face.
And I added a small sticker to cover the lower part of Oppa's face.
You could tell he was handsome enough just from his eyes and the shape of his face.
[I'll show it for exactly 3 seconds!]
I have to post it and delete it super fast so they can't screenshot it.
I hit the send button, and exactly 3 seconds later, I deleted it.
But it seemed the unnies hadn't missed their chance, as their reactions poured in.
[Luka. How much did you say one of those VTuber avatars costs?]
...It seemed I had given them the wrong idea.