Celebrity Encounters
I once said something like that on stream. “Everyone. Being a celebrity is exhausting, you know? Always worrying if someone’s going to recognize me. I’m so careful about it.” Viewers revolted, asking what kind of nobody streamer thought she was a celebrity, but Yuni stubbornly insisted. And now, I finally understood a little why she kept calling herself one.
“W-what did you just say?”
“Um… I thought you might be the streamer Yuni…”
The moment she ran into one of her Uniz in real life, Yuna froze solid. Her brain must have short-circuited because she stayed rigid for a second before frantically checking my reaction. No point watching my face, Yuna. I already know you’re Yuni.
I could practically hear her eyes spinning in their sockets.
“Ah, no! You must have mistaken me for someone else.”
“Oh. Really? Sorry about that!”
With that, the shaggy-haired guy and the one with glasses hurried off together at a brisk pace.
“Ugh~! I told you it wasn’t me. This is so freaking embarrassing.”
“Wait, it could’ve been. Her voice was literally identical.”
“No way. She was clearly with her boyfriend. Didn’t Yuni say she doesn’t have one?”
“Dude, that could’ve been a lie. There are tons of guys thirsting after her.”
The two Uniz bickered as they disappeared into the distance. The way they talked made it feel exactly like watching her stream. I couldn’t hold back the laughter bubbling inside me.
It’s actually true, though. You walked right past her and still left. Poor souls.
Of course, there was no real way to confirm it with a no-cam streamer. People might think the voice sounded similar, but without solid proof, it stayed just a guess. So this was what real-life Uniz were like. I’d only ever chatted with them in the stream. I’d never seen any in person before.
Yuni had really blown up. I was surprised that even people at the local PC room recognized her. The Yuni I remembered still carried that strong underdog image from her early days.
Yuna kept sneaking glances at me, clearly still on edge. What was she so nervous about?
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Huh? No, nothing at all.”
She looked completely flustered no matter how you sliced it, but I pretended not to notice. After all, it was only natural for the thief to feel guilty.
“I don’t know who she is, but her voice must have been really similar if they asked like that.”
“Ahaha. Yeah, I guess. A streamer, out of nowhere? I was totally shocked.”
Yuna laughed awkwardly to smooth things over. Not that I had any intention of making things difficult for her. I had plenty of my own secrets, so I understood exactly how she felt.
“My voice is pretty distinctive, huh?”
“It’s completely unique. I was a little surprised the first time I heard it too.”
“What was it like?”
“Like my ears were melting?”
“…I see.”
When I answered so honestly, Yuna quickly looked away again. It felt like that awkward atmosphere from earlier was about to come back. I really didn’t want that.
This wouldn’t do. I stood up from my seat.
“Should we head out now?”
“Ah. Yeah, we should.”
We’d already played quite a bit, and we couldn’t stay in the PC room forever. Yuna and I left and headed back toward the bus stop. And I’d had a good idea in the back of my mind the whole time. I didn’t want to say goodbye to her just yet.
Hmm. Would this seem too obvious…?
“Yuna.”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you a little hungry? We didn’t really eat much earlier.”
“…A little, yeah?”
Perfect. The buildup was solid. Now I just needed to follow through with the invitation. You can do this, Kang Woohyuk. This is your chance to get closer to Yuni!
“If you’re still hungry, want to grab dessert at a cafe? There’s a franchise nearby.”
“Oh. You mean Coosome?”
“Yeah, that one. Girls seem to like it.”
Truthfully, I didn’t know much about it. I’d just seen a lot of people online saying the desserts there were good.
“Hmm…”
What was she thinking? Was she trying to figure out how to turn me down without hurting my feelings? Or maybe she just didn’t like dessert that much?
Yuna took a few slow steps, then turned her head toward me.
“Oppa, hearing you say that suddenly made me want cake.”
“Then should we go?”
Nice. I felt like giving myself a high-five. At my words, Yuna smiled brightly and nodded.
*
A franchise dessert cafe. Honestly, I didn’t come here often. The prices were pretty steep, and since I could just order delivery, I rarely bothered going out. A slice of cake and a coffee cost about as much as a full meal. Unless it was for a group project or meeting someone, there wasn’t much reason to visit.
But I could see right through Oppa’s intentions. He clearly wanted to spend even a little more time with me. To be honest, I felt the same way, Oppa. I hadn’t really been craving cake, but that’s why I said it anyway.
“Oppa, what do you want?”
“Uh…”
Oppa looked completely overwhelmed by the endless rows of drinks and cakes. He froze up just like I had earlier. Seeing him like that reminded me of what happened before. That had been a close call.
To think I’d run into one of my fans right in front of him. I knew my voice was pretty unique. My fans always said they loved it. But the sound that came through the mic on stream was a bit different from my real voice. And my streaming tone was slightly different from my normal one too. Though I guess that’s true for most streamers.
…Still, I never imagined someone would recognize me that quickly. I hadn’t expected it at all. Maybe I really was becoming world-class now.
I’d been a little worried because I’d once done the “Do You Know Yuni” bit in front of him, but he didn’t seem to have any idea.
“Oppa, do you not come to places like this often?”
“…Yeah. I really don’t.”
He looked a bit embarrassed. That made sense. He was the one who suggested it, but if he didn’t know the menu, it would feel awkward. To ease his discomfort, I recommended something. I didn’t know much either, but I’d heard things from the girls around me.
“I’ll have the strawberry chocolate whipped cream one.”
“Okay.”
“If you can’t decide, should I help you pick?”
“…Yeah. Please.”
Oppa covered his face with his hand in a dry wash, clearly mortified. For some reason, it looked kind of cute.
“Try this one. The Icebox. I heard guys like it.”
“Really? Thanks. I’ll go with that.”
It was a cake with cream cheese and black cookies. Honestly, it was the kind of flavor anyone who liked desserts would enjoy, regardless of gender.
“Excuse me. We’d like to order.”
“Yes~! Just a moment~!”
I called over the part-timer who was busy making drinks. She wiped her hands and hurried to the counter.
“One strawberry chocolate whipped cream and one Icebox, please.”
“Got it. That’ll be ready soon.”
I naturally pulled out my card and paid.
“I’ll get this. You bought me food at the PC room, Oppa.”
“…Ah. Okay.”
I smiled sweetly as I told him. But Oppa still looked a little uncomfortable.
“Is that okay? This place is more expensive than the PC room.”
“Come on. It’s basically the same. If you count the drinks, they’re pretty similar.”
Both were in the four-to-five-thousand-won range anyway. And honestly, I had more financial breathing room than he did. No matter what, my monthly streaming income was pretty decent. My wallet was definitely in better shape than a broke college student’s.
“Here are your cakes~!”
“Thank you.”
We took the cakes the employee brought out from the display case on a tray and headed to our seats.
“Let’s sit over there.”
“Okay.”
We picked a table with hardly anyone around. I sat down and put a piece of cake with a strawberry into my mouth. The sharp sweetness hit me and my mood instantly lifted. Mmm~! This was it.
While I was eating my cake, Oppa just stared at me blankly.
“Oppa, eat yours too. Hurry.”
“Yeah. I should.”
At my urging, he finally picked up his fork. He scooped up some of his cake and took a bite. After rolling it around in his mouth a few times, his expression brightened completely.
“Whoa! This is seriously good.”
He looked genuinely impressed by the cake I’d recommended. It made me feel like I was babysitting a younger cousin, and I let out a small laugh.
“It’s good, right? Expensive places earn their price.”
“They really do. Wow.”
We started chatting while taking bites of our cake. It began with talk about the game, but quickly drifted to other topics.
“Oppa, do you like animals?”
“Animals? Yeah, I do.”
“Are you a dog person or a cat person?”
This was a seriously important question. I was a hardcore cat person, after all. King Cat, Emperor Cat, God Cat. My dream was to live as a servant to a majestic feline. Our current place was honestly too small to raise a cat. I planned to move to a bigger apartment once the lease was up and finally get one.
“If I had to choose, I’d say cat person. Dogs are cute too, but they seem like a lot of work to take care of.”
“Really? I subscribed to a new cat channel yesterday. The babies are so adorable.”
When I showed Oppa the cat channel, his eyes started sparkling too. See? Cats really are the best.
“Wow, they’re seriously cute. But watching this reminds me of something. I got chosen the day before yesterday.”
“…What? By who?”
Was he talking about the same “chosen” I was thinking of? The great blessing and honor of being selected as a servant?
“It rained a few days ago, right?”
“Yeah.”
“After my part-time shift, I was walking home and there was a little kitten getting soaked near my place.”
“And then?”
I perked up, completely absorbed in the story.
“I felt bad, so I brought it inside for a bit. But now it won’t leave. Even if I open the door, it just stays and keeps rubbing its head on my leg.”
Hng. My heart was going to explode. I could picture a tiny kitten rubbing its head against Oppa’s leg.
“So it’s still at your house right now?”
“Yeah. That’s why my spending has been crazy lately. I bought food and took it to the vet.”
Pets really do cost a lot of money. Oppa looked at his wallet with a bitter expression. That’s when a great idea popped into my head.
“Then can I come over to your place to see the cat sometime?”
“…Huh? My house?”
Oppa’s face froze in panic. Why are you so surprised…? For a moment, I was completely bewildered by his reaction.