The Neighbors' Quiet Resolution
“Thanks for watching today’s stream. It started as a quick Dodge penalty practice, but somehow it stretched all the way to the ending.”
“Honestly, I was about to jump straight into the next game after that,” Tti-hwak-jjit said with a grin. “Figured I’d just say I’d finish later and bail on League of Champions. You blew that plan right out of the water, lol.”
“Your boss again, SilverPantha!” the chat cheered. “You’re too strong, you finish anything in a flash!”
“?? When I watch NoGrudgeThief, it’s like he’s playing with the smartest guys in the world. Is that fair?” JGamsal wondered.
“Honestly, when he’s playing RioChamp, he seems to have every move pre-planned. But in Hotel Escape he actually looked smart, lol,” AbsolaC added.
“He memorized every single gimmick and just walked straight through the exit, lol!” AntamKenTti laughed.
“There were some physical pushes, sure, but overall it was all brain over brawn,” TTdomination agreed.
“Ah, I didn’t really do anything,” I answered calmly. “I just sat back and paid attention to every little mistake. If you all take the time to memorize the details like I did, you’ll be better than me in no time. Alright, how about we head back to League of Champions? I’ll turn the game on, grab some water, and be right back. Maybe the sake I had earlier dried my throat out.”
After clearing Hotel Escape, I let the broadcast mood settle before moving on to the one thing I’d been putting off for days.
It was time to sort things out with my neighbor sister.
Or at least, that’s what I’d been thinking.
……How did all these heavy words keep coming to mind?
Maybe my heart was just too unsettled.
Anyway.
I couldn’t talk to the viewers about my neighbor sister, so I used the excuse of going to get water. I turned the mic off, slipped away from the desk for a moment, and sat in front of the computer.
“??? Why did NoGrudgeThief disappear?” NoGrudgeThief asked.
“What the heck? She couldn’t have put the water under the desk and drank it without anyone noticing,” Zefuty guessed.
“Last time she said she hated making noise between floors and crawled around the house,” RexiaQueen pointed out.
“A super skinny person can’t make any noise just by walking around…” Fudis said.
“It’s because she only has one foot,” Tti-hwak-jjit explained. “She has to hop around like a kangaroo when she walks.”
“That’s kind of creepy, though. Even her face is super pale, she looks like a ghost at night,” MyungHoWa said.
“Those are some nasty thoughts…” Ddpqb muttered.
While the chat was still full of question marks, I had already come back and finished explaining.
Instead of going back right away to explain, I decided it was smarter to finish my business, queue up a ranked game, and explain everything in one go.
It was more efficient for everyone, and way less hassle for me.
……As always, when I go live I end up explaining things anyway.
I set that thought aside and stepped out of the room to wave at my neighbor sister.
“Sister, can I talk to you for a second?”
Somehow the words came out sounding exactly like that famous chef once said to his assistant.
I wondered if my neighbor sister might be offended by that comparison.
Fortunately she stood up from the corner of the bed without a word and walked over to me with light steps.
Even though I couldn’t quite meet her eyes the way I used to, I could see the smile on her lips.
“Um, I’m sorry I couldn’t answer you properly while I was live. Everyone said they couldn’t see you. So… sister, are you actually a ghost?”
“Hehe, were you scared?” she asked softly. “That’s why you didn’t answer me at all?”
“Not really. I just… answered a few times.”
“Hmm. The way you answered felt like you were being questioned by the viewers. Am I right?”
From the content alone it did sound like she was being questioned.
But her always gentle voice made it clear she was just playing with me.
That only made me more certain she cared about me.
I didn’t know why, though.
Maybe she felt sorry for me because she showed up when I needed her most.
Or maybe she was just lonely and wanted to spend time with me.
Or maybe she had some other reason.
Either way, she was my neighbor sister.
She never expected anything from me, and she didn’t ask me to do anything for her either.
She just offered kind words from the side.
She wasn’t just nice to listen to—she actively encouraged me in the right direction.
It didn’t matter whether she was a ghost or a hallucination.
The bond we’d built wasn’t going to break over something like that.
So I felt a little embarrassed.
I’d been avoiding looking back at the sister who’d been sitting quietly behind me for a moment.
I’d been scared to see her face.
So I lifted my head and met her eyes.
Her red eyes always sparkled so clearly.
When her lips curved into a smile, her eyes curved too.
That small detail helped me steady my voice.
“I don’t care if you’re a ghost or a hallucination,” I said. “The important thing is that I’m here alive because of you. You keep telling me I have to eat even when I don’t feel like it, and that I have to shower even when I don’t want to. You don’t even help me clean the room, though.”
“Ah, I was only saying that. It’s all because of you, Noel.”
“No, if I’d been alone I would’ve starved to death long ago. So I’m scared. What if you disappear one day? If you’re a ghost, people will take me to a shaman or a church to exorcise you. If you’re a hallucination, they’ll send me to the hospital. So I decided not to tell anyone else what you are. Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me anymore anyway.”
I kept smiling quietly and listening to everything I had to say.
There was no reason for her not to agree.
Still.
I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she would show.
Maybe she just wanted to meet people through me.
If that was her reason, then it was fine.
Even if she was a ghost who had regrets about this world, or if she had something she wanted to tell the people left behind, I was happy to listen.
But instead of saying I was fine with it or sharing her own thoughts, she asked me something unexpected.
“Noel, are you really okay with all that?”
“Yeah? Um… isn’t this something that concerns you more than me? I want to keep spending time with you in the future, too. So shouldn’t it be a secret from the viewers?”
“Hmm, that doesn’t really affect me. It’s only what you want to do for me. But I’d rather you did what you wanted than what I wanted. So what do you want?”
It sounded like she was reaching for clouds.
That was probably what she thought would be best for me.
But was that really what I wanted?
If I hadn’t wanted it, I wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.
Still, what was she really asking?
What were we even talking about?
Maybe what the viewers thought of me didn’t matter to her at all.
That made sense.
What I wanted was that she would never disappear.
Just like before, I wanted nothing more than to keep talking to her every day.
“……I just want to keep spending time with you like we have been. Is that not okay?”
“If that’s what you want, then of course. But isn’t that the only thing?”
“……During the broadcast, the viewers don’t know. They think you’re outside the screen. I want to keep talking to you. I don’t want to have to ignore you because of the stream.”
“Then just do that. It’s simple. Besides, no one can see you on screen or hear your voice anyway. It would be easier to just accept that someone’s talking beside you than to call you a ghost or hallucination.”
“You’re right. I think so too.”
The knot in my chest finally loosened.
I had been carrying everything inside my own head, but hearing that someone else felt the same way made me feel lighter.
But I still had more to say to my neighbor sister.
She seemed to sense it, because she stayed right where she was and just watched me quietly, her gentle smile in place.
Like she was waiting for me to speak.
“Sister, and something else. This is a little different from what we’ve talked about so far… um, well, I mean…”
“What could be so important that you’re hesitating like this?”
“……What’s your name?”
It was a little embarrassing that I hadn’t known until now.
She knew my name, but I hadn’t known hers. It felt awkward.
She had never once told me her name, but I never really pushed the issue.
I figured “sister” was fine for now, but later I thought I might tease her about not knowing or ask if she was still keeping it a secret.
But now I wanted to know.
Well, I might not even have her phone number or address.
But her name was at least something I could ask for.
So I took a deep breath and asked.
She suddenly started giggling.
“Aha ha. So you’ve never known my name? I guess you didn’t, since I never told you. Right?”
“……I didn’t want to know before either. I tried to ask before, but I always missed my chance.”
“That’s possible. But now that we’re here, I don’t feel like telling you right away. Hehe, how about I guess your name?”
“……”
She didn’t look particularly angry, but there was definitely a mischievous glint in her voice.
And she wanted me to guess?
With so many possible names, what were the odds I’d get it right?
She wasn’t going to tell me outright.
So I pouted.
She grinned and walked back toward the room.
“Then how about Yeseul? It’s kind of the opposite of Noel.”
“Yeseul? Noel’s opposite is dawn or sunrise. Why Yeseul?”
“Hehe, I’m not telling.”
Whether she was refusing her real name or just playing with me, the fact that she had told me her name at all meant we could keep doing this for a long time.
I could come over when I was bored, watch me play games, get scolded, or just play together.
That was enough.
So I felt much lighter as I followed Yeseul back to her seat.
Maybe that’s why the chat was asking why I’d been gone so long.
But thanks to the viewers who defended me by mentioning my leg, it didn’t become a real issue.
“Sorry I was late. I couldn’t exactly run around the house in the middle of the night. How about we play some League of Champions now? Oh, and I hope I don’t run into any weird people again.”
So now I could stream normally again.
I wouldn’t have to worry about my heart anymore.
Oh, Gabi had wanted to talk to me…
But since Gabi had accepted that I was a girl, it was fine to tell her about my neighbor sister.
That way I could keep streaming happily today.
Thinking about how lucky I was to have such wonderful people around me.