245. France, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Netherlands...?
245. France, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Netherlands...?
***
"...How about watching some TV?"
Serin, who had been slowly eating her porridge, moved her lips slightly as if embarrassed.
Sua, seated right in front of her, had been quietly watching her the entire time she ate, which made Serin feel awkward for no real reason.
"I haven't watched TV in ages, so I don't think there'd be anything to watch anyway."
Sua tossed the words out casually, as if it didn't matter, but Serin was the one who wasn't fine with it.
She felt a little uncomfortable, like her eating was being observed for no reason.
She'd never noticed it when they were eating or drinking together, but sitting there eating alone in front of someone felt surprisingly awkward.
Clink, clink.
Serin kept eating her porridge, accompanied by the small sounds of utensils moving back and forth.
To Sua's eyes, she looked strangely frail.
That was the biggest reason Sua had been staring at her.
'Can a person really change this much just from being sick?'
The sight of her right now fit the word "sickly" so perfectly that no other description came to mind.
She'd never gotten that impression when they met normally, but now she looked so delicate and unwell that Sua couldn't get used to the difference.
The person in front of her felt unfamiliar for no reason.
Her eyes had less strength than usual, and her mannerisms seemed fragile and delicate, like she was looking at someone else entirely. As if she hadn't managed to pull herself together properly, the soft expression on her face beneath her disheveled silver hair made her look utterly frail.
It made Sua wonder, 'Is this what she's normally like?' and she found herself looking again.
Normally, she spoke in a gentle but clear, purposeful tone, and while her movements and gestures were soft, they never felt weak. There was a sense of restraint in her natural movements that was hard to put into words.
With her mysterious appearance and the atmosphere her every gesture carried, she had an aura that was hard to approach.
But now, with so much of that gone, she seemed somehow fascinating.
As Sua quietly watched Serin eat her porridge, she murmured a thought aloud without realizing it.
"Serin, should I take today off from streaming too?"
"...?"
At Sua's casual words, Serin stopped eating and stared blankly at her.
"No, I just mean, I feel like I should pay a little more attention to you today. I thought taking one day off wouldn't hurt."
As Sua continued calmly, Serin quickly shook her head.
"No, seriously, don't do that. You already took a day off this week because of me, remember? You're going to take another one because of me?"
"Yes. So what? What's wrong with that?"
Sua answered so confidently that Serin was momentarily at a loss for words.
'What's wrong with that?'
Obviously it's weird.
She felt like Sua's viewers might think badly of her, and even from a streamer's perspective, that attitude didn't seem right.
It felt like she'd be treating her stream carelessly.
She appreciated Sua's kindness, but it still felt like something she shouldn't do.
"Do you think your viewers would understand that? You're a streamer who's always been diligent. And now you're suddenly going to take two days off in one week?"
She voiced her opinion carefully, but Sua just looked at her silently and then suddenly smiled for some unknown reason.
"Hmm..."
Then Sua rested her chin on the table and stared intently at Serin, moving her lips as if she found something fascinating.
"You know, sometimes when I listen to you talk, it's really kind of amazing? You seem way more serious about streaming than I expected... Like today, even while you're sick, you asked about the hiatus notice... You seem to focus on even the smallest details of your stream, so I think I understand why you're popular."
Serin stopped eating and blinked.
She'd only said something obvious, but it felt strange, like she was being praised for doing something remarkable.
That was exactly how Serin felt right now.
"Isn't that just what you're supposed to do?"
Sua shook her head.
"Well... You're right in principle, but most people don't actually stick to it. Once everyone gets bigger and, so to speak, successful, they tend to get a little lazy. There aren't many streamers who've made it like you and still think about their viewers."
"Coming from you, of all people... hearing that is really embarrassing."
Serin laughed softly, as if telling her to stop, and Sua answered with a small laugh of her own.
"Anyway, if I post a hiatus notice saying I'm taking care of you, don't you think the viewers would understand?"
And this time she said it like she meant it, not as a joke, so Serin didn't argue.
'She'll handle it herself.'
After all, it would be ridiculous for me, a streamer of barely a month, to lecture Sua, who's been streaming for nearly three years.
So instead of saying more, she spoke playfully.
"Sua, then won't I get hate from your viewers? Because you're taking a day off for me."
"Pfft... If any viewer gives you hate over something like this, seriously, tell me. I'll ban them all. And isn't being diligent with my streams all this time exactly for moments like this? I've streamed every single holiday for the past few years, so I think they'll let this slide."
She answered as if there was no problem at all, and Serin nodded.
Sua was speaking playfully, but it didn't feel like she was making things up or forcing the point.
'Now that I hear it, maybe it would be fine.'
More than anything, the fact that Sua was willing to take the day off and stay with her didn't feel bad.
Her head still felt floaty and her whole body felt heavy like waterlogged cotton, but having someone to talk to made her heart feel lighter.
Just being together like this made her feel at ease.
Before Sua arrived, the space had been wrapped in a silence like stillness, but now it felt warm, as if life had returned to it.
And maybe because Sua had said she'd join her in this sudden act of skipping a stream, Serin even felt a sense of kinship, which made her laugh for no reason.
"Pfft..."
Watching Serin, Sua couldn't help but feel amazed all over again.
'So truly pretty people are pretty even without trying.'
She'd known people like this existed, but actually seeing one in person was hard to believe.
They said celebrities gave off an aura just by being looked at, and the person in front of her now was exactly that.
She wasn't dressed up or putting on any kind of front, yet she was far from ordinary in every way.
It almost felt like a shame that she was the only one seeing this side of her.
Suddenly, she remembered the article she'd seen yesterday.
The article about how even a famous celebrity named Seo Eunwoo had shown interest in her. When she'd first seen it, she'd just thought it was amazing that she was acquainted with someone like that.
Now she suddenly understood why.
"Looking at you, really... I think even if you hadn't become a streamer, you would've done well for yourself."
So Sua found herself speaking from the heart without realizing it.
"What's that supposed to mean all of a sudden?"
"No, I just mean, your looks are totally unfair. No matter how I look at it, you don't even seem to wear makeup normally, so how do you look like that? What country are you even mixed with?"
At Sua's playful tone, Serin suddenly lifted the corners of her lips.
"Who knows? I'm not telling."
"Ugh... You're really going to be like that?"
"Try guessing."
As she said that, Serin suddenly wondered herself what she was mixed with.
'Han Serin.'
She murmured her own name inwardly, feeling a strange sensation.
It had already been over a month since I'd landed in this world, and I'd been keeping busy, but ridiculously enough, I still didn't know much about myself.
I didn't even know the basics, like exactly how "I" had lived, what job I'd had, or what my mixed heritage was.
It struck me anew that I needed to take more interest in myself.
Unaware of Serin's inner thoughts, Sua was deep in thought.
"France, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, the Netherlands...?"
Sua kept listing off the names of countries she knew, then tilted her head.
'Where on earth is she mixed from?'
Even after naming quite a few countries, she got no real reaction from Serin to any of them.
She could tell she was mixed, but she couldn't quite figure it out. Actually, she was even curious whether being mixed could even produce natural silver hair like hers.
Sua found herself staring quietly at Serin's silver hair.
At first, she'd wondered if it was dyed, but by now she half-believed it was natural.
"Serin, I've been curious for a while, but is your silver hair natural?"
"Yeah. It is."
At Serin's calm answer, Sua grew even more curious.
"Serin, can't you just tell me? I really can't figure it out."
"Later...? I'll tell you when I get the chance."
"Ugh. Seriously, you got me all curious and now you're being mean."
When Sua pouted, acting sulky, Serin laughed and started eating the rest of her porridge.
It had gone cold while they talked, but as she ate, she felt a little energy returning to her body.
The porridge was bland, but it was still edible.
Maybe because it was made with expensive ingredients, the varied textures kept her mouth from getting bored.
Clink.
When Serin finished all the porridge, Sua was inwardly pleased but kept up her sulky act on the outside.
Resting her chin on her hand, Sua looked at Serin with a sidelong glance.
"Seriously... sometimes when I look at you like this, you know the world feels really unfair?"
"What's unfair?"
Serin, who had been drinking water after finishing the porridge, answered with a brief smile, and Sua began listing things one by one.
"I mean, you have everything. Your mysterious mixed-race looks, living alone in a nice officetel like this... And on top of that, you're good at games and you have a nice figure. What don't you have?"
Sua was laying it on so thick it was like she was gilding her face, and Serin, who had been drinking water, felt like she might choke and stared blankly at her.
"Sua, are you making fun of me right now?"
She said it like she couldn't believe it, and Sua shook her head with an exaggerated expression.
"No, Serin! How could I make fun of you? I'm just stating facts."
"...Sua, you know everything you just said applies to you too, right?"
Serin set down her water glass, rested her chin on the table as if mimicking Sua, and looked at her meaningfully.
'Isn't Sua in the top one percent?'
The thought crossed her mind without thinking.
She remembered that Sua, still only in her early twenties, was living in a high-end officetel she'd gotten on her own.
She'd noticed it when she visited her officetel before too—the way she decorated and lived, even the smallest details were luxurious.
And there was nothing lacking in Sua's looks, personality, or abilities either.
'And on top of that... she has over a million NewTube subscribers.'
Thinking about how she was a million-subscriber NewTuber, she wondered how many people their age were actually better off than Sua.
"..."
"..."
Facing each other, both resting their chins on their hands in the exact same pose, they burst out laughing at the same time without either one starting first.
Then Sua suddenly moved her lips as if something had just occurred to her.
"Oh right, you said before that you have a younger sister."
"Yeah. I did."
"I'm curious what she looks like. Can't you at least show me a picture? I bet she's really pretty like you."
When Sua asked curiously, Serin had a good idea at just the right moment.
Since Sua had decided to take the day off anyway, and Seoyun was on her way over, she thought it might be nice to have them meet.
"Actually, Seoyun was already planning to come over today, so why don't you two just meet and say hi while you're both here?"
Sua blinked at the unexpected news.
"...Your younger sister's name is Seoyun?"
"Yeah, Han Seoyun. Pretty name, right?"
Serin said with a smile, and Sua nodded blankly.
'...Han Seoyun?'