Spreading Good Vibes

They say Koreans need to eat rice to get their energy back.

Maybe that saying means exactly what it says — not a meal in general, but a bowl of plain rice specifically.

Of course, rice itself digests more slowly than noodles or bread made from wheat, so the fullness lasting longer is a real thing. Still, even a cup of instant ramen fills me up just fine. And yet, after eating actual rice, there was this feeling of getting healthier somehow.

...Honestly, it might just be because I ate vegetables for the first time in a while. If you pointed out that it was only seaweed, kimchi, and braised black beans, I wouldn't have much of a comeback. Even so, the only vegetables I'd been eating until now were the dehydrated flakes that come sealed inside a cup ramen packet — chili powder, chopped green onion, that sort of thing.

So my mood lifted right along with it, and I came straight home and turned on the stream. I wanted to share this good feeling with my viewers as widely as possible. Anyway — benefit all mankind, as the saying goes.

Maybe it was because I'd gotten a bit of fame. Normally, if you go live early in the morning, people don't really show up. For some reason, a fair number of people came in the moment I started streaming.

"It's only eight o'clock, and you're all so diligent. Even starting at this hour I've already got fifty... and it's still climbing. Did everyone sleep well?"

The people who'd shown up the moment I started already outnumbered the crowd that used to gather mid-stream. Had I really gotten that famous?

Fame itself wasn't particularly a good thing, but a lively chat was nice in its own way. No reason to turn these people away.

Ah, right. It wasn't only people who'd woken up early. There were also people who simply hadn't gone to bed yet. Well, everyone's life pattern is different. Even I flip my days and nights whenever I get bored.

"Well, I actually went to sleep around eight last night and got up early myself. Normally I sleep during the day and wake up in the evening too. Anyway, that's beside the point. I woke up early and had some messages waiting, so I sent messages to people around me as well. And every single one of them replied — at six in the morning."

So I told them about what had happened that morning. Maybe it was only natural, but the viewers were impressed. Diligent people really were an astonishing species to the rest of us.

It wasn't just that they were morning people that was amazing. Waking up like that today meant they woke up that diligently every ordinary day. How could a human being live that regularly? Were they machines?

You could feel inferior about it, but we didn't. Those people were just impressive in their own way, and we were having fun living our own way.

In the middle of all that, some viewers kept asking me to turn the camera around because they were curious about my face. Thanks to the moderators I'd appointed yesterday working hard, those chats got deleted right away. Worth giving out those gift cards.

And there were people asking about today's stream content. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Honestly, they probably didn't even need to ask. The sooner I debuted as a pro gamer, the better for making money doing anything at all. The work was already decided.

"Of course I am. I was about to start queuing up. ...Ah, one moment. Someone's at the door."

For some reason, I heard a knock. As I'd thought earlier, calling or visiting outside the window of nine in the morning to ten at night was usually rude. At least the downstairs neighbor aunt, thinking I might still be asleep, had knocked very softly and spoken quietly. But if the sound was loud enough to reach all the way into my room like this, they were deliberately pounding to make me come out, weren't they?

Hmm, still — eight o'clock was maybe within the range of forgiveness. But what were they here for?

Ah, maybe someone I'd sued who wanted a late settlement had tracked down my contact info. That would put me in a foul mood.

But the person who'd come at this hour was calling not my name, but my father's. From the voice alone, it sounded like a middle-aged woman. What on earth could it be about?

Curious enough that I left the safety chain on and cracked the door open — and the person on the other side flinched the moment she saw me, clearly startled.

"Hah — is this not Jitae's place...? Did I come to the wrong address?"

"That's my father's name. Who are you, if I may ask?"

"Father...? Are you Noel, by any chance? I'm your aunt. Good heavens, I thought you were a boy. You're a girl?"

Not a stranger — my aunt. Her face was unfamiliar, but unless she was an impersonator, she knew my father's name and mine. She also resembled my father somewhat, so I opened the door with a slightly awkward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠feeling.

"One moment, I'll open up."