Chapter 83: Casting
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 83: Casting
Why does everything busy always seem to pile up at once?
After writing the notice about my break from streaming, I sighed deeply at the mountain of tasks on my to-do list.
First, I had to focus on my exams as much as possible this week.
Now that I had a legitimate reason to skip a stream, I had to make the most of my time.
Bzzzzzt—
My phone vibrated.
If it had been Taemin Oppa, I would've planned to talk for just a moment before hanging up, but unfortunately, it wasn't my boyfriend on the line.
[Hello?]
[Ah, yes. Luka-ssi. Is now a good time to talk?]
[Ah, yes, yes.]
I'd spoken with my manager on Voicecord many times, but this was our first actual phone call.
The thought of talking to her one-on-one made me a little nervous.
[I'm calling to confirm a few things about the studio.]
[Yes, yes.]
[We've finalized the contract on our end. I'll be there with you to check the place out and move your things. You said Thursday at 2 PM, right?]
[Yes, that's right. That should be about the time I get there after my classes.]
[Got it. Well, study hard for your exam, and I'll call you again on the day.]
[Okay. Thank you!]
[Yep!]
After hanging up, I put my phone down and stretched my arms out wide.
Since I'd decided to move my entire desktop setup over there and just use my laptop at home, I knew I'd have a lot to move.
The one silver lining was that the company was providing a desk and chair.
If not for that, I would've been stuck sitting on a rock-hard chair for hours until a new one arrived.
But if you were to ask if I hated this troublesome process, the answer was not at all.
My own office at twenty-one.
Of course, it was just a rental from the company, but who else has their own office at this age!
I couldn't help but feel proud.
Bzzzzzt—
My phone vibrated once more.
When I answered, I was greeted by the voice I’d been waiting for.
[Who were you on the phone with?]
[Ah, my manager.]
[Manager?]
[You know, the one who's helping with the CLOSER project.]
[...Is it a guy?]
[Come on. I've told you so many times she's a woman.]
I'd told him before, but it seemed he'd already forgotten.
[Ah. Sorry.]
A sheepish apology.
But I didn't feel too bad about it.
[Why? Would you have been upset if I'd said it was a man?]
I asked playfully with a smile, but for some reason, he didn't answer.
[...Hello?]
[Well, the thought of you not picking up my call because you were talking to another guy... yeah, I wouldn't like that.]
...He had called?
I pulled the phone away from my face, switched to speaker mode, and tapped the notification bar.
[1 Missed Call]
Ah... so he did call.
The call must have come right as my other one ended, so I hadn't had a chance to see it.
[Well. It's fine since she's a woman.]
Since he trailed off as if it didn't matter, I decided not to press the issue.
[Anyway. I'm moving this Thursday, are you free?]
[What time?]
[2 PM.]
[That's right after my Advertising Management exam. Yeah, I can make it.]
[Thank you.]
Now that I'd said what I needed to, it was time to go.
Since I hadn't planned on a long call in the first place, I gently tried to wrap things up.
[Well... I should probably get going now...?]
[What?]
[I mean, we have to study. You too.]
[We've only been talking for ten minutes.]
He must think he's the only one who's disappointed.
I want to have fun too! I want to chat and laugh with you too!
[We promised to hang out a lot after the semester ends, remember?]
I was planning to have all the fun I wanted during winter break.
I'd ask him out on a date every day outside of my streaming hours.
If... if it's possible, I want to go on a trip together too...
But honestly, suggesting that myself still felt like too high of a hurdle.
[...Aegyo.]
[Huh?]
For a second, I thought I'd misheard him and asked again.
[Do some aegyo for me instead. Kim Doah.]
A question mark popped up in my head.
[What kind of aegyo?]
[What? I'm letting you go this easily, and you won't even do a little aegyo for me?]
It was the kind of twisted logic I'd expect from a member of the Pink Army, but I was still curious what he wanted.
[What do you want?]
[Hold on.]
I heard the sound of him putting his phone down, followed by a messenger notification.
I clicked the mysterious link he sent, and it led to the clip I'd flat-out refused to do on stream, saying there was no way I could pull it off.
[Do this, and I'll back off.]
Which was more embarrassing? Doing this in front of my first-ever boyfriend?
Or doing it in front of thousands of strangers?
I wasn't sure which was worse, but in the end, I couldn't win against him.
They say you lose when you fall in love.
I played the clip one more time and squeezed my eyes shut.
Alright... Doah... let's just do it...
He wants to see it this badly, so I can show him.
I don't even have my streaming avatar on right now, so whatever.
At least he's not asking me to do it to his face.
[Y-You know... Doah~]
Ughhhhh...
As I did it, I remembered.
I remembered why I had turned down such a huge dono.
No, seriously, isn't this too much even for me, and I have a high resistance to cringe?
[...wikes getting her head patted~]
My whole body cringed, and I didn't know where to look.
The only saving grace was that I couldn't hear a single sound from his end.
If I had heard even a hint of a mocking laugh, I would have stopped immediately and thrown my phone.
[You gotta give Doah wots and wots of wuv from now on~ Okay!]
All I wanted was to end the phone call.
I was trying to appease my boyfriend, but I was the one who ended up emotionally scarred.
The moment the aegyo was over, a disgustingly perverted laugh erupted from the phone.
[Hahahahahaheheheh.]
I'd done it with good intentions, but now I was so annoyed I wanted to smack his butt.
[Recording complete.]
...He recorded it? He recorded that?
[Hey! Han Taemin! Delete that! Now!]
That, I could not tolerate.
I can't believe he saved it to keep forever!
[Doah~ Study hard for your exam~]
I stomped my feet in frustration at his smug voice, but he had already hung up.
"Ugh! So annoying!"
I couldn't tell if he was my boyfriend or my biggest anti-fan.
*
The Advertising Management exam was reasonable.
The questions were mostly from the sections the professor had highlighted, with only a couple of curveballs to separate the scores.
When I handed in my exam and walked out, my girlfriend, Doah, was waiting for me.
"You left really early."
Doah had escaped the classroom just twenty minutes after the exam started.
I never imagined she'd finish that fast.
"Ah... I just answered what I could and left."
"You didn't even touch the ones you didn't know?"
"Nope. You know how it is with these exams. Agonizing over them doesn't magically give you the answers."
Memorization-heavy subjects tended to be like that, but still, twenty minutes seemed way too fast.
"So, what grade are you expecting in Advertising Management?"
"Umm... A B, please?"
"Not a B-plus, just a B?"
"Yep."
So her actual grade was probably closer to a C.
I was about to say something, but I swallowed the words.
I figured she'd be stressed if her boyfriend started nagging her about her grades.
Besides, I knew better than anyone how busy she'd been.
"So, we can just go straight to your place now, right?"
"Yep. If we leave now, I think we can get there right at 2."
Today was the day Doah was moving into her studio.
We had packed up her computer yesterday, so everything was ready to just pick up and go.
"Oppa, should I call a taxi now?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
I nodded, holding the computer case in my arms.
When the taxi arrived, we loaded all our stuff inside. The ride was so short it was just the base fare.
"Ah, maybe we should have just walked."
It felt like a waste of money for the base fare.
"Come on. How could we walk up that hill carrying a monitor?"
As we approached the entrance of the building that would become Doah's studio, a woman with a short bob was waiting for us.
"Are you Luka-ssi?"
She had a friendly face.
I put down the things I was carrying and stood a little behind Doah.
"Ah! Yes! Manager-nim! It's nice to meet you!"
The two exchanged cheerful greetings.
Considering she'd said this was their first time meeting in person, her social skills were impressive.
"Ah, this is..."
The manager's gaze shifted to me, and Doah delivered her prepared line.
"Ah, he's a friend from my year at school who's helping me move today!"
I bowed my head and gave an awkward smile.
"Hello."
I thought that would be the end of it.
But the manager stared at my face, scrutinizing it.
Her gaze was so intense it made me uncomfortable, and just as I was about to look away, she said something I never expected.
"Are you signed with an agency, by any chance?"
...Excuse me?