The Truth Confirmed by Jae-min Oppa
It was official now, thanks to what Jae-min oppa had said. Oppa was Uni_clip. Sure, the names were different, so there was a slim chance I’d gotten it mixed up. But thinking that way was nothing more than denial. I’d seen it with my own two eyes—the limited-edition merch he owned. With evidence this clear, it was impossible to deny.
“Ah. Oppa, I’m sorry.”
Jae-min oppa must have been outside; I could hear the noisy background. Then came the voice of a girl calling his name and asking who he was talking to on the phone.
The call ended. I dropped my phone onto the bed with a thud. Seeing him like this, Jae-min oppa really was a good person. He didn’t show it on the surface, but you could tell he cared about his friend.
...Take good care of oppa? Hearing those words only made me feel more empty inside. I really had been completely blind. The person I’d tried so hard to meet was right in front of me the whole time, and I never realized it. Instead, I’d convinced myself that he liked me. My heart was a mess.
The fact that I had finally met Uni_clip and the fact that it was oppa kept swirling together, only adding to the confusion. Then again, if he was going to be that openly nice to me, who wouldn’t misunderstand? A small part of me even felt a little resentful toward him.
“I wonder how he figured it out...”
How had oppa realized I was Uni? Did he recognize my voice, like the people at the PC room?
“I should at least say thank you...”
If oppa really was Uni_clip, I wanted to tell him how grateful I was. Thank you for liking me this much. Thank you for still liking me even now. Thanks to you, I didn’t have to give up on my dream. Because that dream was still something I wanted more than anything.
But what about all the pink-tinted moments we’d shared until now? The atmosphere I’d thought was our first-ever flirtation? Was that really all just my imagination?
Once I met oppa and thanked him, I’d probably end up asking. Whether he’d been nice because he liked me… or because he liked Uni. That was what scared me even more. If he’d only treated me well because he was Uni_clip and saw me as Uni—if our whole relationship had only continued because I was Uni—then it really would have been nothing but my own delusion. The thought of that hurt.
“Haa...”
A sigh slipped out before I could stop it. No matter what, the feelings I had for oppa were real. Whatever he thought of me or how he’d treated me, those warm, fresh, fluttering emotions—the first crush I’d ever felt toward the opposite sex, the feelings that might even be my first love—hadn’t disappeared.
“Just pretending I don’t know… that wouldn’t work, would it?”
The temptation crossed my mind: what if I just acted like I didn’t know and kept things exactly as they were? Our relationship probably wouldn’t fall apart. But that wouldn’t be easy either. If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to accept oppa’s kindness at face value anymore. Even if we grew closer from here, doubt would always linger in my heart. The suspicion that maybe he didn’t actually like me. That would clearly be far more painful.
If it was going to be like that, it would be better not to end up with him at all.
“Aah… my head hurts.”
I’d overthought everything so much that my head was throbbing. I just wanted to forget it all and run away somewhere. What was I supposed to do when I saw oppa at school? How was I supposed to act around him? Just thinking about it already gave me a headache.
“...I could really go for a drink right now.”
It was one of those days when I wanted alcohol even though I didn’t even like it. I grabbed my wallet and headed to the convenience store, wanting to forget everything. I wanted to put off making a decision. The responsibility that would come with it felt too scary.
“Whatever. Tonight I’m just gonna drink until I drop.”
I opened the fridge and grabbed as many green bottles as my hands could hold. The clinking of the soju bottles rang out with a refreshing sound. When I lined them all up on the counter, the part-timer looked visibly startled.
“...Ah. Could I see your ID, please?”
“Here.”
I pulled my ID out of my wallet and handed it over. That was the escape I had chosen.
In my room with the lights off, I sat in front of the computer in the dark, watching a stream. I did this a lot when the broadcast focused on story content. You had to be fully immersed for it to be fun.
A man and woman embracing and sharing a kiss against a pure white background.
The subtitles faded, and emotional background music played. The screen faded to white, and the game logo appeared.
Sua, who started working at the convenience store because of her friends. In the end, after all her friends left, she kept working there for the protagonist. Hmm. Not bad. Honestly, it wasn’t an incredibly moving story, but the plot itself wasn’t bad. Visual novels weren’t exactly known for rock-solid storytelling anyway.
There had been collabs and other content in between, so even though the game wasn’t that long, it had taken several days to finish. Uni’s short streaming hours probably played a big part too.
As far as I knew, Sua wasn’t a particularly popular character. Most other streams probably focused on the other characters’ endings.
Sua did feel a bit more realistic compared to the other two remaining characters. That was probably why the others were way more popular.
Uni closed the game screen.
She clicked her mouse and brought up this week’s streaming schedule. It was packed far tighter than usual. Even I, who had been watching her schedule for a long time, was a little shocked.
Normally there were some gaps here and there, but this week was completely jam-packed. The main reason was the upcoming tournament. The entire schedule was filled with team practice and scrim sessions.
Despite Uni’s worried tone, the chat was in full festival mode.
A streamer’s suffering is a viewer’s happiness. Someone has to grind for there to be more content. It was an unavoidable truth.
Uni let out another deep sigh and delivered an additional announcement.
Right on cue, a donation flew in.
ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 won!
Can't you just stream like this forever?
Yeah. That would be amazing. The extreme sympathy made me laugh without realizing it. The chat exploded with comments about canned food and frozen dumplings.
The broadcast ended amid a flood of emoticons. Only after seeing the black screen with the words “Broadcast has ended” did I turn off my computer.
“Today’s stream was packed.”
I finally turned the lights on and, feeling thirsty, chugged the Pocari I’d bought yesterday straight from the bottle. Looking at the Pocari made me think of Yuna for some reason. I wondered what urgent business she had yesterday that made her leave in such a hurry. She could have at least had a sip before going.
I took another refreshing gulp from the bottle and set it down on the desk.
“Come to think of it, I never took the mug out.”
After putting it in the cupboard, I’d completely forgotten to take it out again. When you live alone, drinking straight from the bottle is fine anyway. I guess I forgot quickly. I walked over to the sink, reached up, and opened the cupboard.
Then I started looking for the mug I had hidden.
“Huh? Was it always like this?”
I was sure I had tucked it away carefully. The fan-goods mug was sticking out slightly from behind the dishes.
...It definitely looked like someone had touched it. There hadn’t been an earthquake or anything, so there was no way the cup would have slid out on its own. That meant someone had moved it…
“...No way. Was it Yuna?”
My expression darkened as I remembered how Yuna had rushed back home with a dark face. A chill suddenly ran down my spine.