Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Dream of Me After Seeing This
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I got home, took a shower, and was lounging around in bed when my phone suddenly pinged with a KakaoTalk notification.
Curious who it was, I checked and sure enough, it was Ye-jin.
[Uploaded the video we shot today]
[Check out the link]
Normally, you'd expect at least a greeting for a first message, but true to form, Ye-jin skipped all pleasantries and jumped straight to the point.
"Somehow that feels a bit off... Makes us seem like we're really just business partners... Well, we are, but still."
Judging from how she'd treated me all day, it was clear she didn't see me as anything more than a business partner.
'Was I the only one excited to see her again after so long... Damn.'
I smacked my lips bitterly, then pulled myself together and clicked the link she'd sent.
Suddenly, my face filled the screen—stiff with tension, practically convulsing.
"Hello! Starting today, we're 'Cotton' and—"
"—'Spring'...! Um... Hi!"
Before the applause even finished, I frantically paused the video.
It was so embarrassing that not just my face but my whole body felt like it was burning up.
I couldn't sit still. I jumped out of bed and spun in circles, muttering to myself.
"Arghhh... I must be crazy. What was I thinking doing this? If any friends or acquaintances see it, how am I supposed to show my face at school...?"
I clutched my head and flopped back onto the bed, mumbling.
"...Maybe I should quit... This isn't for a chicken like me..."
But even though I desperately wanted to quit, I'd already signed the contract, so that was impossible.
I briefly considered ghosting her and going dark, but even that wouldn't work. Knowing Ye-jin's personality, she'd hunt me down to the ends of the earth.
One small comfort was that OO Fans was an overseas platform barely known to Koreans.
The main audience was Americans and Europeans, with Japanese users being the most numerous in Asia.
That's why our video had auto-translated English subtitles underneath.
'...Yeah, at most a dozen people will see it anyway. And they'll all be foreigners, so no worries about anyone I know spotting it...'
I tried to console myself with that thought, let out a deep sigh, and picked up my phone again.
But even mustering the courage to watch, my awful acting was so cringeworthy I could barely make it through.
'What the hell is with that awkward smile? It's like the forced grin I make when Mom makes me pose for family photos... Foreigners will think I look like an idiot too!'
Meanwhile, Ye-jin was incredibly natural, like she'd taken lessons somewhere. Even though her lines didn't match her personality at all, nothing felt off.
'She's amazing... It's not easy for a regular person to act that smooth on camera. How long has she been practicing for this?'
I must have replayed and paused it a hundred times. It took a full thirty minutes to get through a video under a minute long.
Exhausted, I collapsed onto the bed and thought.
'Man, this road's gonna be rough... I wonder if I can really pull this off...'
Just then, my phone rang again. To my surprise, it was a call from Ye-jin.
"Whoa... suddenly...? Well, she did say we'd talk before bed..."
I cleared my throat nervously, then cautiously answered.
"H-Hello...?"
"What'd you think?"
She cut straight to the chase. I hemmed and hawed before mumbling.
"What'd I think about what...?"
"The video. How'd it look to you?"
Her tone was so serious, I couldn't find any room to dodge.
I hung my head like a criminal and replied in a deflated voice.
"I... I was terrible at acting... Sorry..."
"What? No, your acting was fine compared to what I expected. What I want to know is if we have a shot at succeeding. What do you think?"
She spoke quickly, biting her nails anxiously. I scratched my head in confusion, thinking.
'...Her expectations must've been rock bottom if my acting beat them... Ugh.'
I stayed quiet, lost in thought, so Ye-jin blurted out impatiently.
"Look, it's been an hour since we uploaded, and views are still at 4. Minus you and me, that's basically two people. No likes, no subs. Should we reshoot and reupload? Change the background or outfits? What do you think?"
"Uh... but we've only uploaded one video under a minute long... If it got hundreds of views already, that'd be weird, right...?"
I carefully shared my thoughts to calm her down.
I got why she was more desperate for money than me and already fidgeting, but it still felt too early to worry.
Ye-jin sighed deeply and grumbled curtly.
"Must be nice being so carefree. Like I'm the only one who cares. You're so unreliable..."
"No, that's not it! Think about it—if you saw an account with just one one-minute video, would you bother checking it out? Foreigners aren't any different!"
But my desperate explanation didn't ease her anxiety. It took a long while of coaxing and reassuring her before she finally calmed down.
Soon, her voice steadied as she let out a deep sigh and muttered.
"...Sigh... Okay, like you said, let's wait a bit. If we work hard, people will come..."
"Yeah, exactly. No need to worry so soon."
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and thought to myself.
'...Phew, calming down a whiny girl is tough... Felt like soothing a crying baby...'
Suddenly, I chuckled, and Ye-jin snapped grumpily.
"Why're you laughing all of a sudden? What's so funny...?"
"Nah, this just reminds me of the old days. Remember? You were such a crybaby back then—I was always the one comforting you."
"...Tch, ancient history..."
She grumbled softly, and I giggled again.
But despite her words, she didn't seem upset. Recalling the past seemed to lift her mood; her tone softened as she continued.
"...Half the times I cried were because of you, dummy. Giving me grief then playing nurse..."
"Haha, true. You always fell for my pranks, so it was too fun to stop. You were so innocent back then.
Remember when I said I was from the moon, and you begged me to spare you, crying your eyes out? That was hilarious."
"Y-You think I'd remember crap like that? And you—when I said we were moving, you bawled your eyes out, wailing for me not to go, practically flooding the neighborhood. Remember? I was kinda embarrassed and wanted to leave quick."
"Hey... that's harsh..."
I muttered pretending to be hurt, and Ye-jin chuckled softly before adding gently.
"Well, I was happy too. No one's been that sad to see me go since. ...No one."
An awkward silence fell. I hesitated, then lightened the mood with a playful tone.
"Hmph, so you were secretly embarrassed by me? That's ungrateful. Shouldn't have cried so much."
"Hehe, too late now. Can't take it back, crybaby."
"Wha...? That's a hit to my pride... Getting called a crybaby by the queen of tears..."
We burst into laughter, chatting away, and for a moment, it felt like we'd gone back in time. My heart warmed.
Even Ye-jin, who'd been cold and stiff all day, was giggling like the innocent girl in my memories.
Before we knew it, it was nearing midnight.
Mid-conversation, I let out a big yawn, and Ye-jin snapped back to her curt tone.
"Go to sleep. Don't forget condition management is part of the business. Sleep deprivation messes with male hormones—leads to erectile dysfunction or low libido. Got it?"
"Y-Yeah... Got it. You sleep too."
"...Yeah."
I rubbed my sleepy eyes as I replied, and she answered shortly.
But she didn't hang up. I panicked and spoke into the phone cautiously.
"H-Hello...? Ye-jin? What're you doing?"
No matter how much I called, only quiet breathing came from the other end. I broke into a cold sweat, wondering if I'd said something wrong.
After a while, Ye-jin finally spoke slowly.
"...Kim Su-hyuk."
"Y-Yeah? What?"
"You know."
"Yeah."
"After we broke up... did you ever dream of me?"
"Huh...? D-Dream...?"
Her unexpected question threw me off, and I stammered.
I rarely dream, and even if I do, I forget them. Even if Ye-jin appeared in a few, no way I'd remember.
I hesitated, then answered honestly.
"Well, I don't dream much... And if I do, I forget. So I don't really remember..."
"...Really?"
She said quietly, and I felt uneasy, mumbling an apology.
"S-Sorry..."
"Nah, it's fine. Hanging up."
"O-Okay."
The call ended abruptly. I fiddled with my phone, feeling uneasy.
'What was that about at the end...? Leaves a weird aftertaste. Should've lied...'
Just then, a KakaoTalk from Ye-jin popped up. I opened it curiously.
And I jolted in shock at what I saw.
"Wh-What...? Th-This...?!"
It was a selfie Ye-jin had just taken—of her pulling down her top with her teeth, fully exposing her bare breasts.
I had no idea what had changed her mind, but here she was, blatantly showing off the tits she'd desperately hidden earlier, right up close.
I could even count the tiny bumps on her large areolas.
Her face was half-cut off, but her cheeks were surely beet red.
I stared wide-eyed, blinking furiously, shoving the phone right up to my face.
Then another message came.
[Dream of me after seeing this]
[Good night]
"Ugh... How am I supposed to sleep after this...?"
I grimaced, scratching my flushed cheek and muttering.
In the end, using the photo Ye-jin sent as fap material, I barely managed to fall asleep at dawn after one round.