Chapter 91: Why Are You Over There?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 91: Why Are You Over There?
Was it because I was only focused on his lips?
Unaware of where Oppa's hands were, I couldn't help but shudder at the unfamiliar sensation.
The feeling of skin against skin.
But this time, his hand was aiming for a slightly more intimate place.
A part of me that had almost never been touched in my entire life.
“Ugh... don't touch me...”
I pulled my lips away and pushed him off as if to say 'stop', but he just gave me a sly, foxy smile.
“Why? It's soft and feels nice.”
Oppa had slipped his hand inside my knit sweater.
His hand, which had been gently caressing my stomach, now moved past my waist, showing its intent to climb higher.
“...I said no.”
“I want to touch you.”
Even if he was drunk, how could he say something so embarrassing so clearly!
“No...! I mean...!”
As the hand holding him back gradually lost its strength, Oppa's fingers slowly traced their way up from my navel.
Just as my body was about to stiffen from the overwhelming tension...
-Vrrrrrrr-
My eyes, which had been closed, and Oppa's hand, which had been inside my sweater, both froze.
Both of our gazes turned to the desk.
Still... I should probably see who it is, right...?
“...Just a second.”
I gently removed Oppa's hand and got out of bed.
If it had been a friend or a spam call, I would have hung up immediately, but the name on the screen was Manager unnie.
I raised an index finger to signal for him to be quiet and pressed the answer button.
[Ah, hello.]
[Yes! Luka-ssi! Is now a good time to talk?]
[Ah, yes. Go ahead.]
[I'm calling to pass on the information about how to fix the VR error from the last stream...]
[Ah... I see...]
Honestly, I felt like I couldn't care less about some bug, but reality was different.
This wasn't some amateur broadcast, after all.
I was under a proper contract with a reputable company, so I couldn't just do whatever I wanted.
Thinking the call would take a while, I mouthed 'just a minute' to Oppa. But when I hung up and turned around, the moment had already passed.
Oppa was breathing softly, and he didn't wake up even when I poked his cheek.
“Haaah...”
Before leaving, I knelt in front of Oppa's bed, rested my chin on the mattress, and gazed at his face.
“What are you, really?”
They say alcohol is a mirror that reflects a person's desires.
Maybe Oppa is actually holding back a lot?
I wondered if he actually loves skinship and things like this more than anyone, but is just forcing himself to hold back.
But you'll remember today, right?
You said it yourself, that you'd never forget.
For a while, I stayed by his side, not leaving.
Just you try saying you don't remember. Seriously.
I don't care if I'm Luka or whatever, I'll never see your face again.
“I'm going to go stream now.”
After saying a goodbye he couldn't hear, I placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and stood up.
Maybe I knelt for too long.
Annoyed by the pins and needles in my legs, I slipped my shoes back on.
“Ah.”
My head throbbing, I grabbed my forehead as I sat up and reached for my phone.
The time was 11 PM.
The notification that Luka had started her stream was buried far down the list.
I opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and chugged it down like someone who'd found an oasis in the desert.
“Hoo...”
Taking a deep breath, I tapped the stream notification while trying to retrace my memories from before I fell asleep.
So...
Doah brought me home because I was drunk...
And then...
Clips flashed through my mind, one by one, like edited videos.
Me, stopping her when she said she had to go home.
On the bed with Doah...?
Her moist, light pink lips.
Touching them, wondering how they could be so soft...
“Aaaaaaaaargh!”
I knew it was the middle of the night, but I couldn't help but scream.
Ah, fuck. Han Taemin, what are you doing?
It looked like I'd gotten drunk and done something terrible to my girlfriend again.
Worse, I remembered it quite clearly this time, and an even stronger wave of self-loathing began to eat away at me.
What the hell kind of bastard are you, Han Taemin?
The more I replayed the memory, the more vivid it became.
[No matter what happens, I'll remember.]
Fuck! Are you some kind of manga protagonist?
Why are you spouting lines like a novel protagonist right before they regress in time!
It wouldn't be so bad if it was some cool situation.
But getting drunk, stealing a kiss, and then going, 'Hehe~ I'm gonna remember all of this~'
“Ughh...”
I banged my head against the wall, making a sound like a wounded animal.
I couldn't bring myself to contact Doah.
I really just want to ghost her.
Meanwhile, Luka's cute voice was still streaming from my phone.
[Ah! Everyone! You know we're doing a Christmas special, right?]
[O-of course. I'm sure you're all busy with your significant others, but... if you have time, won't you come see Luka-tan...?]
[The... the other members will be there too, so it'll definitely be fun!]
It was a stream just like any other.
Luka was maintaining her usual persona, encouraging the Pink Army to come watch the Christmas stream.
You really are a pro, Doah.
Here I am, reeling from the shame and losing my mind.
But Doah was steadily carrying on with her stream for hours.
I hit the back button and left Luka's stream.
I just couldn't focus.
I, who never missed a single one of Luka's live streams.
But today, no matter what Luka said, all I could think about were Doah's lips.
In my weakened state of mind and body, I started looking for something else to focus on, and surprisingly, the place I ended up was...
[A star floating in a place so far away]
I just zoned out and listened.
It wasn't even a song I knew.
But she was such a good singer that it didn't really matter.
[You, who falls asleep thinking of it.]
The place I'd escaped to, fleeing from Luka, wasn't far away—it was right next door.
It was the stream of Closer member, Leah.
Each member had a different style of stream, and Leah's was mainly focused on singing.
The viewers were all expressing their enjoyment with emotes rather than words.
When the song finally ended and the instrumental faded out completely, the chat exploded.
[Amazing!]
[I love you, Kim Leah!]
[Leah-nim, you're such a good singer T_T]
As if reading the chat, the green-haired avatar frowned and stared off to the left.
I thought the glasses suited her character perfectly.
[Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it today.]
[Alright, the next song is...]
As Leah tried to move straight on to the next song, the viewers cried out in protest to stop her.
[Please interact with us, Kim Leah!]
[Maybe take a little break...? lol]
[LMAO for real, this stream is nothing but singing to the extreme]
Unable to ignore the viewers' outcry, Leah took down the karaoke screen and returned to her waiting screen.
[Ah. But I still don't know what to talk about when I do these interactive segments.]
Tears welled up in Leah's eyes.
[You all said I was no fun...]
As she mumbled this with a hurt expression, her fans insisted it wasn't true and tried to keep her talking.
[But you know, I find the other members pretty amazing.]
[How can they talk so much every time they stream?]
[It's not like they're all going out and doing a ton of stuff.]
[I think being able to constantly tell interesting stories is a real talent.]
This was my first time properly watching Leah's stream, and it was incredibly calm.
It had a dry feel to it, almost completely lacking the over-the-top energy typical of streamers and VTubers.
In fact, the atmosphere was closer to a radio show than an internet broadcast.
It felt like some emotional, late-night indie broadcast with only a handful of listeners, but she had over 7,000 viewers.
[I-is it okay if I sing again now?]
The fans, starved for this rare chance to interact, flooded her with questions.
[Lucario: nonononononono]
Everyone was clamoring 'no,' so I sent one too, but...
[Wow! Luka! Thanks for the host!]
In an instant, about 5,000 members of the Pink Army crossed over from another world.
[Luka: Leah! Hurry up and sing~]
When Luka said she wanted to hear Leah sing, the Pink Army began to unleash their immense firepower in the chat to make her wish come true.
Seizing the opportunity, Leah immediately started the instrumental.
The gentle, ballad-like sound of a guitar filled the air, and the chat was once again filled with light stick emotes.
Luka ended her stream early today.
11:30.
That's three and a half hours of stream time.
Wondering if she might have contacted me, I checked my messenger and couldn't help but flinch.
[Why are you over there?]
...I seriously only typed in chat one time.
I couldn't believe my luck could be this bad.