Ice Cream Tastes Sweeter
Yeoni had only started streaming quite recently. It was on January 1st of this year. After successfully making it through her first year in the band club without incident, Juyeon had mustered up the courage to try something new. She decided to start singing on the internet. Both the band and the streaming were projects she had begun in hopes of fixing her introverted personality. Juyeon, who had been far too passive since childhood, felt a growing sense of crisis as she got older. She could somehow manage school life, but she had a bad feeling that social life would be impossible. In that sense, the band she had joined with Seoeun had been a huge help. She could now voice her opinions about songs. She even had reasons to text people first. But that change only existed within the small circle of Spirit. Outside that fence, Juyeon was still like a trembling lamb. Still, if no one could see her face, maybe she could speak a little more boldly… That was why she chose internet broadcasting, and singing—the thing she was most confident in—became the main content.
Surprisingly, her New Year’s resolution seemed to be lasting… until now.
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
The first real-life person to learn Yeoni’s true identity was Lee Suhyun. He stared at Juyeon with a look of utter confusion.
“Being from a big company and having a banner aren’t related at all.”
“Even Luca probably didn’t make his own character, right?”
From a streamer’s perspective, she was basically a third-generation chaebol receiving full support. There was no way she made her own banner either! The company must have handled everything. Comparing herself to someone like that felt like cheating.
“Well… maybe. But I still think you should reference it and make something similar.”
Suhyun held out his phone, showing a window with Luca’s character on it.
“…Wouldn’t something like this have to be commissioned from a professional?”
The sparkling, flashy pink effects were far beyond Juyeon’s current capabilities.
“Even if it’s not that elaborate, it’d be better if you at least took down what’s there now.”
Juyeon looked up at Suhyun, who was still staring at the phone. Her long bangs completely hid her eyes. Even so, couldn’t he at least say something nice? Why did he have to be so strict?
“…Besides that.”
Since things had come to this, Juyeon figured she might as well ask outright.
“Yeah?”
“Was there anything else that looked weird or bothered you?”
“Well… there were a ton of things, but…”
The tiny spark of hope that he might say something positive vanished like smoke. Juyeon’s soul seemed to leave her body at his answer. She grabbed the nearby streetlamp with one hand, feeling dizzy.
“…I see.”
She was suddenly tempted to quit streaming altogether. Meanwhile, Suhyun was relieved he hadn’t listed the problems right away. If this was her reaction to him simply saying there were issues, it was probably better not to say anything at all.
“Uh… I mean, yeah, but your singing is still really good?”
“No… you don’t have to force yourself to say that…”
Juyeon’s mental state had already shattered like a broken cookie.
“I’m serious.”
Suhyun grabbed her wrist. At the same time, Juyeon’s eyes widened.
“The other members always say it too. That you’re good at singing.”
He genuinely hoped she would gain some confidence from this, because it wasn’t empty praise.
“…Really?”
“Yeah. At least among the people I actually know, you’re the best singer.”
The fact that his sample size was tiny made him feel a bit guilty, but it wasn’t a lie.
“I see…”
Praise makes even whales dance. And loners who rarely receive compliments were twice as happy to hear them. Juyeon’s lips twitched upward as if she had never been sulking at all.
“So, Juyeon.”
“Yeah?”
“You really don’t know what Hana likes?”
Chatting about the stream was fine, but they had come all this way to buy a gift in the first place.
“Hmm…”
Juyeon scratched her cheek and tried to remember what she had given Hana for her birthday last year.
“…A cake?”
It had been a white cream cake topped with strawberries. Hana had thought it was so pretty that she even took pictures of it.
“Not a cake.”
Suhyun’s expression darkened instantly.
“Why?”
“I already gave her one.”
“…You did?”
It was the same day they had gone to see a movie at Hana’s house—he had already ruined that cake by eating it messily.
“So, something other than that.”
“Um… I think it’d be better if we went inside first.”
Standing outside and thinking wasn’t going to help. The two of them walked side by side into the shopping complex. Stores selling cosmetics and accessories lined the hallway, but they only looked from the corridor, not daring to enter. They were afraid of being approached by salespeople. After circling back to the entrance, Suhyun spoke with a tense face.
“Nothing caught your eye?”
“Well… cosmetics and accessories are really dependent on personal taste.”
Who didn’t know that? She was supposed to be the specialist who could figure out that taste! Suhyun let out a deep sigh, giving up on relying on Juyeon. This wasn’t a helper—it was just Lee Suhyun #2. Ah, he should have just gone to Seoeun noona instead.
“Then let’s go up to the second floor. There are other stores there too.”
The two stepped onto the escalator. They stopped in front of a chain store selling all kinds of miscellaneous goods. Until now, Suhyun had been considering a mug or a Yankee Candle—affordable and practical. He had thought one of those would be the final choice…
“…Suhyun.”
A thin fingernail poked his back.
“Yeah?”
“Come here.”
Juyeon had found something. She pulled him toward the display.
“This is…”
“Cute, right?”
It was a nano block set with an even more sadistically difficult assembly level than Lego. Honestly, if it had been any other shape, Hana probably wouldn’t have liked it—but this was different.
“Here.”
Juyeon picked up the box and placed it in Suhyun’s hands. On the cover was an adorably tiny SG guitar—the exact same model as Hana’s.
“She’ll probably love it, right?”
“Yeah. I think she will.”
Suhyun and Juyeon smiled at each other. From a distance, they looked exactly like a couple.
“Then let’s go with this.”
“You don’t want to look around more…?”
“Nah. This should be fine.”
After paying, Suhyun walked out of the store with a small bag in hand, feeling refreshed as if a weight had been lifted. As he stepped off the escalator, he stopped.
“Juyeon.”
“Yeah?”
“Want some ice cream?”
His finger pointed toward a soft-serve ice cream shop. Juyeon, who couldn’t resist anything sweet, nodded eagerly.
“I’ll buy.”
After all, she had come all this way to help him. Suhyun pulled out his card without hesitation. A white milky smudge remained on Juyeon’s lips after she took a big bite. She kept devouring the ice cream without a word. Today really had been an unusual day. It was the first time she had talked with a guy alone for so long. It was also the first time she had discussed her streaming offline. She had wondered if such a day would ever come for her, but it had arrived surprisingly naturally. Juyeon glanced sideways at Suhyun. For some reason, the ice cream she ate today tasted especially sweet.
* * *
A precious free period on a Tuesday. Hana was having a staring contest with the pedalboard bag on her floor. Normally, she would have packed it up to show Suhyun, but today she didn’t feel like it. She didn’t want to go to school either. Why should she? She had asked, but he hadn’t answered. He went out to play with just Juyeon, leaving her behind. Why did she have to carry this heavy thing up to the fifth floor on her day off? Maybe she should just skip class today. Hana rolled over on her bed and hugged a pillow.
“Ah… what am I doing?”
She felt petty for even having these thoughts. He could go somewhere without answering—it wasn’t like there was a rule against it. She understood that her behavior was ugly, but she couldn’t figure out why she felt this way. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated her chest became.
“Aish.”
Hana threw on her hoodie and shoved her feet into her sneakers. Staying home really was making her feel suffocated. Of course, her hand was already gripping the handle of the pedalboard bag.