Chapter 95: Are We Really Doing That?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: Are We Really Doing That?
Christmas being over meant I was about to get another year older.
The thought that I was already halfway through college was more than enough to make me feel pretty down.
The internet was flooded with clips from various award shows and end-of-year music programs.
So this is how another year ends.
I buried my face in my pillow, saddened by the fact that I was getting older.
I hadn't grown at all.
Even though I was turning twenty-four, I still loved manga.
And my favorite thing to do was still watching videos of my favorite VTuber.
I fumbled for my phone and grabbed it.
I wonder if Doah texted.
Still, there was one new thing Han Taemin had now that he didn't have around this time last year.
And that was an incredibly cute and lovely girlfriend.
Doah must have completely passed out after streaming late into the night and then calling me before bed.
Usually, I would've gotten a message from her by now.
I opened the fridge, chugged some water, then opened the cupboard and took out a pot.
A peaceful Saturday lunch.
The menu: ramen.
Right. If there was one thing I'd improved on, it would have to be my ramen-making skills.
I must have made over a hundred packs of ramen during my year of living alone.
I could probably measure the water with my eyes closed now, and I figured my timing for taking it off the heat was near perfect.
-Slurp, slurp-
Eating with anyone other than Doah was still an awkward affair.
I guess I was still most comfortable eating in front of my monitor.
I put on an edited clip of a CLOSER group collab and watched my girlfriend's avatar with a fond smile.
[You perverted Pink Army members!]
Luka was swinging her fists at the camera.
Even though they were clearly the ones getting hit, the viewers were praising her, calling it a reward.
[Ugh... I swear. I can't with you guys.]
The sight of Luka shaking her head had become something of a classic, I thought.
-Bzzzzzt-
Just as I was debating whether or not to drink the leftover broth, my phone rang.
As expected, it was my girlfriend, Doah.
[Hello?]
[Hewwo?]
Her sleepy voice made me chuckle.
[You just woke up?]
[Yeah...]
Moments like this really made me think how different Doah and I were.
I usually don't want to do anything right after waking up.
If I'm going to be on the phone, I prefer to be fully awake.
But Doah, on the other hand, was like this.
[Hnnngh...]
Hey. Why'd you say hello just to fall back asleep?
Doah had gone to the trouble of calling me, only to fall asleep again.
It sounded like she was really asleep, so I called her name softly.
[Hey. Kim Doah.]
[Hnng?]
She still answers, though...
A girlfriend who only responds without starting a conversation was a truly difficult being to deal with.
[Doah. Should you just sleep more and call me later?]
[Nooo...]
[You're not sleepy? You sound really sleepy.]
[Not sleepy...]
After she said she wasn't sleepy, I stayed quiet for about thirty seconds, and soon I could hear the soft sound of her breathing again.
Figuring it was best to let her sleep, I quietly ended the call.
I figured she'd call back when she woke up on her own.
Besides, there was something I'd wanted to do if she hadn't called.
And that was...
-Beep!-
I slipped the headset over my head and fumbled around on my desk for the controllers.
The VR headset Doah had bought me for Christmas.
I was dying to try all the games I couldn't play before because I didn't have one.
There were tons of games I wanted to play, not just the ones Doah had played on stream, but also ones she hadn't.
The game I was going to try today was one of them—a VR FPS game with a futuristic city concept.
The moment I logged in, my room was no longer an ordinary studio apartment.
A dreary rain fell from the dark sky of a slum, and I had become the youngest member of a special ops team.
I ran with a gun in my hand, following the captain's orders, and took down enemies.
The scenery unfolding before my eyes looked so real that I couldn't help but marvel the entire time I played.
The sound of turning a metal wheel and the motion controls felt more real than reality itself.
The story itself was fun, too, so I was playing without any sense of time passing...
After dying once, I took off the headset and felt a strange sense of unease at the shifted direction of the shadows in my room.
...What time is it?
I was really immersed, but I thought maybe an hour had passed at most.
I picked up my phone to check the time, and my expression began to crumble.
[3 missed calls]
[10 unread messages.]
There was only one person who would try to reach me this desperately.
The idol who lives next door.
My girlfriend.
I swallowed hard and opened the messenger app.
[Oppa. Why'd you hang up on me?]
[What are you doing?]
[You know we were supposed to meet this afternoon, right?]
[...Are you sleeping?]
[Oppa. Call me when you see this!]
[...Is that you showing up as 'in-game'?]
[Wow. I can't believe this;;;]
I was so screwed.
That was my honest, unfiltered diagnosis.
Realizing Doah's patience was running thin, I knew I had to call her right away.
-Riiing, riiing-
My mouth went dry with every ring.
Ah. I'm going to get an earful.
It felt like being a kid again, getting caught playing games behind my mom's back.
A feeling I hadn't experienced since middle school.
[...Hello.]
I wondered if a chill could travel through the airwaves these days.
Her voice was unbelievably cold, and I cleared my throat.
[Ah. Sleep well?]
[Yes.]
I have to... I have to keep the conversation going...
Deciding it was best not to make any excuses, I immediately groveled.
[I'm sorry!]
[Why don't you go finish your game?]
[No! I'm on my way to see you right now!]
[Oppa. Do you have any idea what time it is?]
[...Three o'clock.]
[What did we agree on before we went to sleep last night?]
That question, asking if I knew what I did wrong.
It was so similar to what my mom used to say, right down to the nuance, that it gave me chills.
[You said you wanted to go to the arcade this afternoon, Doah-ssi.]
[And after that?]
[You said you wanted to get malatang together...]
[And a person who knows that does this?!]
She suddenly shrieked, and I almost dropped my phone.
[No! Oppa! Do you know what's really infuriating about this?]
[Please, tell me.]
[That's the VR set I gave you! How could you be late for our plans because you were playing with something I gave you?!]
I had nothing to say, even if I had ten mouths.
But... but isn't the real problem that the developers made the game too well?
I came up with my own excuse in my head, but I couldn't say it out loud.
Doah... she seems to be getting fiercer lately...
To be more precise, it wasn't that she was getting fiercer, but that I was seeing more of Luka's reactions from her.
When I saw her at school, I thought she was the type who barely spoke at all.
[Aish...]
Unable to contain her anger, Doah clicked her tongue and delivered an extreme sentence.
[Give the headset back.]
[What...?]
Hey. I haven't even owned this thing for a full day, and you want me to give it back?
Her words struck me like a bolt from the blue, and I groveled even more intensely.
[Respected Idol Luka-nim! Please forgive this unworthy Pink Army member and have mercy!]
[No! I won't change my mind! Go away!]
My mind went blank at Doah's line, which was imitating a clip of a famous judge.
[A-Are you really confiscating it?]
I'm sorry, Doah.
Please don't do this.
I wasn't mentally prepared for such a sudden separation.
[Agh... seriously...]
As I put on my most pathetic act, Doah let out a deep sigh.
[Have you showered?]
[Yeah. I was all ready to go. I just got caught up in the game for a second and didn't check my phone.]
[Then can you be out in ten minutes?]
[Oh. Of course.]
Of course, I hadn't showered.
But I, Han Taemin, had honorably completed my mandatory service in the Republic of Korea Army.
Five minutes was more than enough time to get clean.
[Okay. I'll see you in front of your place then.]
[Okay~ Sorry~]
The second the call ended, I bolted to the bathroom, washing my hair with one hand and brushing my teeth with the other.
So busy, so busy.
I quickly threw on the first clothes I saw and slipped on my sneakers, crushing the heels as I rushed outside.
Even though I got ready as fast as I could, thirteen minutes had passed.
Doah was waiting with her arms crossed, looking at me with narrowed eyes.
“Ah, sorry. I’m a little late.”
“...You could have at least dried your hair before coming out.”
“My hair?”
I reached up and touched my hair, only then realizing I hadn't dried it.
“Sigh.”
Doah's blunt reaction stabbed me in the heart like a dagger.
So my lie about being ready was totally exposed, huh?
I wanted to crumble into dust and disappear.
“Let's go.”
Despite my pathetic state, Doah held out her hand to me. I held it tightly as we walked down the alley.
“What on earth were you playing that made you so late?”
I sensed this was my chance.
“Ah... well. There’s this new game, Cybernetic Cross. It’s set in a futuristic city...”
I launched into a lengthy explanation of what a masterpiece the game was, but Doah's reaction was less than favorable.
“So you abandoned Luka-tan for that oh-so-great game?”
“No! That’s not it! How did you even reach that conclusion? I’m telling you, everyone would love it if you played this on your stream!”
As I twisted my body to show her that wasn't what I meant, Doah gave a resigned laugh.
“Just don't talk, Oppa. Seriously. You're coolest when you're not talking.”
...But you were the one who asked what game I was playing.
Drip.
A single tear fell inside my heart.
“Oppa. Anyway, Fumurin wants to meet up next Tuesday. Are you free?”
A question mark popped up over my head at the sudden change of topic.
“Murin? You mean Fumurin?”
“I told you before, didn't I? Fumurin said she wanted to go on a double date.”
Are we really doing that?
We were actually going to do that?
For a loner like me, it was an event with an incredibly high hurdle.