Dinner Plans with My Favorite Streamer

Yuna suddenly appeared right in front of me.

“Yes, I’m Kang Woohyuk…”

What on earth could she possibly want with me? Other than that one time we ran into each other at the drinking party, we were basically complete strangers. The fact that she’d come all the way here made it seem like she’d been waiting for me.

“Um… I have something I want to talk about. It’s a little awkward to say it here. Do you have time?”

“Ah. Yeah.”

Back then at the drinking party I’d spoken casually to avoid making things weird, but now using casual speech felt even more awkward. We weren’t exactly close or anything.

“That’s a relief. Then could you spare me a bit of your time?”

I nodded without really understanding what was going on. I followed Yuni into a café near the university.

We ordered some drinks at the kiosk and sat down. Maybe because it was still early afternoon, the café was pretty empty inside.

-Vrrrr.

When the pager buzzed, I jumped up first.

“I’ll get it.”

“Huh? I was going to go… Okay.”

There was no way I could make Yuni do something like that. I returned the pager at the counter, grabbed our drinks, and came back to the table.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

I set one drink down in front of Yuna and discreetly wiped my sweaty, nervous palms on my pants. How could I not be shaking? The person sitting across from me was who, after all.

But it would be weird if I looked nervous, so I took a few short breaths to calm myself. Act like I didn’t know anything. Like none of this was a big deal.

“Do you remember me?”

“Of course. We drank together last week, didn’t we?”

It would’ve been harder to forget. Her first impression had been pretty strong, after all.

“I’m really, really sorry… I was so drunk that day… Ha… Why did I do that…”

Yuna bowed her head deeply as she apologized to me. It seemed like she’d come all this way just to apologize for her drunken behavior that night. Honestly, anyone would’ve thought it was pretty bad.

“It’s fine. Really. I was the one who butted in where I wasn’t wanted.”

Seeing how genuinely sorry she looked, I waved my hands and reassured her. It might have been something she needed to apologize for, but for me… it might have actually been a good thing.

“Thank you for saying that… Ugh. Why did I do that…? I must’ve lost my mind.”

Even as she spoke, the memory must have come back to her because Yuna started lightly smacking her own head in self-reproach. She buried her face in the table and couldn’t even look at me. She must’ve been really embarrassed. If it had been me, I probably would’ve felt the same. Pouring out every bit of drunken nonsense to a total stranger? And on top of that, someone from the same school and same department? It was the kind of mortifying situation that made you seriously consider dropping out.

“You got dragged there and ended up drinking alone the whole time. That can happen.”

The so-called comforting words that came out of my mouth. But I knew exactly what happened when you got dragged to a drinking party. While everyone else was raising the mood and having fun, sitting there with your mouth shut made things incredibly boring. So you’d end up sipping drink after drink without realizing how much you’d had. And the place we went that night wasn’t exactly known for its good side dishes.

“…Huh? How did you know I got dragged there? Did I say something like that while I was drunk?”

“No. You just looked like it. You weren’t talking to anyone and just kept drinking by yourself. I got dragged there too, so I was drinking on my own.”

Even though we were in the same boat, I had a pretty high tolerance. I didn’t particularly like alcohol, but I could drink three or four bottles of soju without getting drunk.

“Ah… really? Yeah, that’s right. Honestly I’m really uncomfortable at those kinds of gatherings, but my friend asked me to fill a seat so I got dragged out against my will.”

Wow. How was she exactly like me? Even finding such a small thing in common made me think of that phrase—we really are the same.

“Ah. So that’s why you left right after the first round.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Yuna nodded like she finally understood. It seemed like she really hadn’t been paying much attention to other people at the drinking party.

Yuna took a long sip of her drink through the straw before continuing.

“And that’s why you took me all the way home…?”

She even remembered that part? I was surprised she recalled such specific details even though she’d been drunk. I’d assumed her memory would’ve been completely blacked out.

“Yeah, that’s right. You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were sitting on the side of the road, and it didn’t seem safe to leave you there alone. Things have been pretty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dangerous around here lately.”

“You’re such a kind person… Thank you so much.”

Please don’t look at me with those sparkling eyes. I’m not that good of a person, you know? It’s making me so nervous I can barely speak.

“By any chance… I didn’t say anything weird, did I?”

Yuna asked me in a worried voice.

“Weird? No, you didn’t say anything strange.”

I had a pretty good idea what she was worried about. She was probably afraid she’d said something about streaming… She didn’t seem to want people around her to find out she was a streamer. Even though I’d figured out she was Yuni, I just pretended not to know.

“That’s a relief. I was worried I might’ve slipped up and said something.”

“It’s fine. There wasn’t anything like that.”

“I’m glad the person who helped me is such a good person. I’m really sorry again. I don’t really have anything I can do to repay you…”

You really don’t have to do anything. If there’s one thing I want, it’s just for you to stream a little longer. Honestly, three hours a day is way too short. Couldn’t you do like… twenty-four hours a day…?

“If it’s okay with you, could I buy you a meal sometime?”

…A meal?

The moment I heard those words, my mind snapped back into focus. Eating together with Yuni? No matter how little greed I usually had, I was nowhere near saintly enough to turn down an offer like this.

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

The answer shot out of my mouth before I could stop it. Ah. Was that too obvious…? I checked to make sure the corners of my mouth weren’t lifting too high. I couldn’t let it show how excited I was.

I didn’t want to reveal that I was a fan. It was obvious Yuna would feel uncomfortable if she knew.

“Then should we exchange numbers? We’ll need to set up a time.”

“Numbers…? Sure, sure.”

“Okay. Can you give me your number? I’ll call you.”

With a trembling heart, I recited my number to Yuna. She listened to the whole thing, dialed me, then immediately hung up.

“That’s my number. It’ll probably be best to coordinate schedules over text. I have my next class soon.”

“Ah~. Okay. Got it.”

“Well then.”

Yuna picked up her drink, stood up, and left. I watched her back as she walked away, screaming silently inside my head.

How could I even describe this feeling? It was like picking up a random bag on the street and finding ten billion won inside. …Was I really allowed to be this happy?

The sudden rush of good fortune left me completely dazed. Exchanging numbers with my favorite streamer and even making plans to eat together? This was basically a private fan meeting. Seriously.

“I think I’m going to lose my mind. For real.”

I sat there at the table in a daze for a long time until reality finally started to sink in.

As soon as I opened the stream, viewers flooded in like a tidal wave. I couldn’t help but smile as I read the chat. Streaming really was something that brought me joy.

With the warm heat of the computer fan blowing against me, my mouth started moving. It was time to get to work.