Chapter 111
Chapter 111
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Pork Belly and Soju with Tenshi-san
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The recording was over.
The rehearsal and the main take—naturally, neither had any NG moments.
For top star Han Hye-jin, singing twice on stage was far too easy.
Well, truthfully, it was thanks to the grueling practice that there were no mistakes even with just the image overlay.
If thinking of myself as a top star actually improved my skills, that’d be the realm of hypnosis, right?
It just loosened my tension and boosted my confidence a bit.
Honestly, that alone was plenty effective.
“Uh… Suhyun, you’re really strong in the actual performance…?”
After the recording ended, Tenshi-san asked in a puzzled tone, and I burst out laughing.
“Ahaha! It’s not like that.”
“No, it was so different from practice…?”
Yeah, yeah, she was pretty surprised, huh?
This is the devil’s talent.
Something angelic Tenshi-san wouldn’t understand at all.
“You seemed like a completely different person!”
At that, I gave an awkward smile.
Well, my acting does land pretty well.
More than that, lately I’ve been wondering if I’ve got some serious talent as an actress.
Way more than in singing or drawing.
“Still, it’s a relief we wrapped up the recording in just one day.”
“Right! So, shall we hang out now?”
“Hmm…”
Tenshi-san said that, but the sky was already… a bit dark.
“We’d probably just make it to dinner before it’s night.”
“Ah… Um… Then tomorrow?”
“Sure. I’ve got no schedule tomorrow.”
I’d cleared it out completely.
Well, I don’t really have much of a schedule to begin with.
“Tomorrow it is!”
“Got it. Shall we grab dinner first, then?”
“Yes! I’ve been wanting to try pork belly!”
Pork belly, huh…
Truthfully, I don’t know much about hot spots, but there’s a decent place near my house.
Since Tenshi-san showed me a great local spot earlier, now it’s my turn?
But my place is on the outskirts of Seoul… Not the best route for a tourist.
“Where are you staying, Tenshi-san?”
Come to think of it, where’d she book the hotel? She’s a popular VTuber, so probably somewhere nice…
“Huh? Oh, no? I still need to book it!”
…She came on a trip without booking a hotel in advance?
Is she a P-type?
Well, I guess I’m kinda that way too…
Anyway, if she hasn’t booked one, that’s great.
No hesitation in inviting her along, then.
“Want to stay at my place?”
“Huh?”
“We’ve got plans anyway… Or would a hotel be more comfortable?”
“No! I’d love that!”
“Oh, but my parents are there—is that okay?”
“P-Parents…”
She probably wants to relax on her trip, so bringing her to a house with parents might be overkill?
I said it with that in mind, but Tenshi-san shook her head vigorously instead.
“No problem!”
“Really?”
Dad—Kim Bu Jang—probably won’t care, but Mom—Mrs. Jang—might get all fussy.
She’ll dote and fuss over everything…
“Yes!”
Well… if she’s fine with it.
And so, for now, Tenshi-san and I headed back to my neighborhood.
“Oh… This place has its own vibe.”
We’d come from the skyscraper-packed city center to the outskirts of Seoul, but Tenshi-san seemed satisfied with the atmosphere.
Well, I’d wanted to taste the local flavor in Japan too, so for Tenshi-san, who loves Korea, this must be a fresh experience.
“Is this Suhyun’s hometown?”
“Huh? Kinda? I went to elementary, middle, and high school here.”
“Hee….”
Tenshi-san looked at me with a subtly odd expression.
“Why are you staring like that?”
“Oh, no, I just thought, ‘Suhyun was an elementary schooler once too—’”
“What kind of obvious thing is that…?”
Do I seem that weird?
…A little? In other ways, yeah.
“What were you like in school? It would’ve been fun if we’d gone together!”
School days?
She’s obviously asking about this female version of me…
Hmm… Girl Suhyun’s school life…
“Probably not much fun? I didn’t talk much.”
“Eh… Really? You seem like you would’ve been popular.”
Popularity… Well, yeah, obviously.
“I was popular.”
“But why didn’t you talk? You’re so chatty now.”
Why didn’t girl Suhyun have any social skills—
Thinking back now, the answer comes right away.
“Why talk when I was already max popularity without it?”
“Eek—So cocky!”
Pretty people like me get beautified no matter what we do.
Rude becomes aloof.
Quiet becomes elegant.
Lively becomes cute and sociable.
Look even now—Tenshi-san frowned for a sec, then looked at my face and nodded like she got it.
“Life is unfair…”
Unfair, huh… But can Tenshi-san really say that?
I glanced at Tenshi-san walking beside me.
Her well-proportioned light purple hair, petite build, and pretty face—it’s gotta have stolen plenty of guys’ hearts.
“Ah, we’re here.”
“That place?”
“Yeah.”
The barbecue joint we arrived at wasn’t anything special.
Just your typical bustling neighborhood meat spot.
“Oh…”
In other words, oozing with local flavor.
We headed straight inside, grabbed a table, and checked the menu to order.
“Hmm… Want some booze?”
It’s common sense in Korea to drink at a barbecue place, so I asked, and she nodded right away.
“Yes! I wanna try soju!”
“Got it, then…”
I picked some stuff off the menu and ordered. As we sat back relaxed, the meat arrived.
“I’ll grill.”
“Oh… You’re good at it?”
“Eh, good enough to eat?”
Truthfully, girl Suhyun didn’t know how to grill meat.
She’d never done it.
But guy Suhyun was different.
He was the type to roll up his sleeves at a barbecue joint.
Sizzle—
The well-heated grill sizzled as the meat cooked.
The pink meat gradually browned. I cut it into bite-sized pieces with scissors, flipped it, and made sure it cooked evenly.
“Wow…”
Tenshi-san watched the process in a daze.
…Don’t they do a lot of yakiniku in Japan?
Grilling meat shouldn’t be that novel.
“Alright, ready to eat.”
“Eh— Thank you!”
I put the perfectly grilled meat on Tenshi-san’s plate, and she smiled brightly, dipped it in sauce, and ate.
“Eh— Yum—.”
“Tasty?”
“Yes!”
Good, glad it’s tasty.
I moved some meat to my plate too and cracked open the soju we’d just ordered.
“Then let’s try the booze.”
“Hee— You’re pouring for me?”
“Feel honored.”
“Yup.”
I poured into her shyly extended glass, then filled mine up too.
How long’s it been since I last drank?
Uh… Japan trip?
Never mind, I’m living a super healthy life.
“Cheers?”
I raised my glass, and Tenshi-san lifted hers right away.
Our glasses clinked lightly.
“Cheers—.”
“Hee….”
Tenshi-san, who’d been grinning nonstop, downed her drink in one go and winced a little.
“Urk—.”
“Bitter?”
“A bit?”
Well… soju is bitter.
Truthfully, I still don’t get why adults call it tasty.
“Eat some side dishes quick.”
“Ah, yes!”
At my words, she finally picked up some meat and ate.
Is it ‘cause she’s petite? She looks like a hamster.
Seeing that makes you wanna feed her more, y’know?
I grabbed a lettuce leaf, made a ssam, and secretly slipped in two garlic cloves before handing it over. She opened her mouth with an “ah—.”
“Gotta feed you too?”
“Eh?”
“Kidding.”
I popped the ssam into Tenshi-san’s mouth, then picked up lettuce to make my own.
“Eea—.”
But then Tenshi-san, mouth stuffed full and unable to talk properly, snatched the lettuce from my hand and started making one herself.
A ssam made by Murasaki Tenshi with 1.6 million subscribers… Pretty rare.
“Ah— Aah.”
“Say ‘ah—’?”
“Eh.”
Her ssam, still chewing on hers, looked… kinda big.
Will that fit in one bite?
Rookie move… How much meat did she put in?
But it’s the first ssam—can’t refuse. I took it, figuring I’d just try.
“Aah.”
Tenshi-san seemed a bit panicked seeing my mouth and the ssam.
But it was already in.
I covered my mouth in case of escape attempts and chewed the mouthful furiously, which made me chuckle.
How much meat did she shove in?
“Ehehe.”
Did my face amuse her?
Tenshi-san laughed, pulled out her phone, and pointed the camera at me.
Wanna take a pic?
I nodded, getting the gist, and sure enough, she snapped one.
Then she showed me—it was definitely…
“Super cute.”
“Eh? Narcissism?”
My cheeks puffed out, hand over mouth, eating the ssam… It looked pretty good.
…Should I go Insta?
If I collected pics like this and posted daily, I could be an influencer.
Lost in such random thoughts, I finally chewed through the meat-packed ssam and swallowed.
By then, Tenshi-san was holding out a freshly poured glass.
“Cheers now?”
Her look made me laugh again.
She’s fully Korean now.
“Sure. Cheers.”
We clinked glasses and downed our drinks.
“Gulp.”
The booze tasted a tad less bitter than before. I grabbed more side dishes.
And after that, as the night deepened,
Tenshi-san and I kept clinking glasses.
Getting totally wasted before heading home and getting smacked on the back by Mrs. Jang came a bit later.