298. First Meeting with the Editors - (3)
298. First Meeting with the Editors - (3)
***
The door opened and the server delivering the ordered food and wine entered, and the women paused their conversation for a moment.
"Excuse me."
The server, who spoke in a calm tone, began setting the food down on the table with practiced ease, and another server who had followed in began supporting them by handing over the food and wine in order, setting everything out with a certain elegance.
"Wait... why is there so much?"
"Right. Didn't you order way too much...?"
Soyul and Hayoon stared at Serin in surprise at the endless parade of dishes, and Serin smiled faintly and shook her head.
"Today's our first meeting, so I can't exactly treat you two carelessly, can I? I'd be happy if you just enjoyed it as a special occasion."
She said it as if it were nothing, with a deliberately composed air. But Soyul and Hayoon couldn't help being shocked as they looked over the spread of dishes.
And no wonder—every single dish set on the table was extraordinary.
A seafood platter with a large abalone. Hanwoo steak, fruit sorbet, cheesecake, and more—luxurious appetizers were lined up on the table with plating alone that screamed high-end, and as if that weren't enough, wine was placed to one side of the table, six bottles with various labels prepared, and that alone gave off a sense of class.
"Then, enjoy your evening."
The server who finished setting up unconsciously looked at Rin as they spoke, and Rin gave a light nod.
"Yes, thank you."
Her calm words.
Just that alone made the two servers momentarily stare as if entranced.
When Serin quietly met their gaze, the server quickly gathered themselves as if realizing their mistake and exited.
Slide.
The servers disappeared and the private room door closed again, and the table inside was now lavishly displayed with appetizers and wine at the peak of extravagance.
"Uh..."
Soyul stared blankly at the table as if she didn't know where to start, then looked at Serin with a flustered expression.
"Serin, are you really okay with this...? You're not overdoing it, right?"
"Gulp... no, but how are there this many different kinds of steak?"
Hayoon, who had gotten through tonight's dinner with cup ramen as usual in her small-time streamer life, swallowed hard at the feast of gorgeous food, and Serin found herself gazing at them.
The two women's surprised faces. It could certainly feel far removed from an ordinary situation.
But so what?
This was the first drinking gathering and first meeting with her two editors, so she wanted to leave only a good impression.
Maybe that was why she didn't feel the slightest bit of regret about spending this much.
"Don't worry. I'll cover the whole bill. And, well, I'm... more comfortable than you'd think?"
Serin made the bill clear as if she knew exactly what the two were worried about, and then even showed a relaxed attitude. The two nodded as if spellbound, staring at Serin.
"Shall we start with a glass of wine?"
"Yes! Let's do that!"
Soyul answered energetically, reassured by Rin's relaxed demeanor, and Hayoon moved her hands too.
Hayoon picked up a red wine with a gold label and then froze, not knowing what to do as she tried to peel the label off.
"Um... how do you open this?"
Hayoon, who had never opened a bottle of wine before, spoke awkwardly, and Soyul let out a dry laugh and reached out her hand.
"Really. You're older than me and all... give me the wine. I'll do it!"
Soyul took the wine and picked up the wine opener nearby, gesturing as if she knew what she was doing, and Hayoon's eyes sparkled as she watched Soyul.
Just as Hayoon's expectant gaze and Serin's curious gaze turned toward Soyul—
"...Huh, why isn't this working?"
Soyul, who had been clumsily fiddling with the wine opener, hesitated and made an awkward face.
Serin smiled and reached out her hand.
"Soyul, give it to me. I'll do it."
Soyul's face flushed bright red as she handed over the wine, and Serin began using the wine opener with practiced ease.
Before long, pop! The cork came out with a sound.
Clap clap clap!
"Wow~~ that's so cool!"
"Do you drink wine often? You opened it so smoothly."
Soyul and Hayoon clapped and praised her, and Serin stared at them, momentarily dumbfounded.
They were giving such exaggerated reactions to something so trivial that she felt strange and a laugh escaped her.
'Really, these two are adorable.'
Serin's lips moved.
"Would you both hold out your glasses? I'll pour for you."
At her soft tone, Hayoon and Soyul raised their glasses.
Like baby birds begging for food, glasses were extended from both sides at once, and Serin found even that adorable as she tilted the wine.
Glug.
After pouring wine into each glass, Serin looked at Hayoon and held out the wine.
"Could you pour mine?"
At her soft voice, Hayoon carefully raised her hand.
Grab.
Hayoon's hand trembled slightly as she took the wine and looked at Serin, and Serin naturally held out her glass.
"I've never done this before. I'm a little nervous."
Hayoon didn't hide her tense voice as she poured the wine, and Serin, who had been watching, burst into laughter.
"Pfft... Hayoon, aren't you just too cute?"
"I-I'm still older than you, you know."
Hayoon answered in a tiny voice and looked away awkwardly, and Serin found it fascinating.
'Is it that she's just pure-hearted?'
Among the three people here, Hayoon was the oldest, yet her outward appearance was so shy that she could pass for the youngest.
As she was newly marveling at how varied people's personalities were—
The wine in each glass was showing off its vivid color.
"Let's hurry up and toast!"
Soyul raised her glass as if she'd been waiting, and they all held their glasses toward the center.
Clink!
The clear sound of glasses meeting rang out, and as Serin brought her glass back, the other two slowly did the same.
Serin, who had been glancing at the two while sipping her wine, watched them with interest.
Hayoon tilted her glass awkwardly, as if she had almost no experience drinking wine. Soyul, on the other hand, held her glass differently from the start, as if she had comparatively more experience.
Even such small details were different, she thought.
Slide.
That brief observation passed, and Serin's lips parted. The wine slowly began to flow over her lips.
She frowned faintly for a moment, then her expression brightened.
The first taste seemed to carry acidity, but soon a rich flavor filled her mouth, and she liked it.
Clack.
Serin, who had been savoring the wine, set her glass down, and Soyul, who had been watching her, unconsciously admired her.
"How can you even look this pretty drinking wine?"
Soyul had been watching Serin tilt her wine glass with envious eyes, and when Serin unconsciously glanced at her, Hayoon also found herself looking at Serin.
"Really... you two are too much with the compliments..."
Serin let out a small laugh and speared a piece of fruit with her fork, and Hayoon spoke up too.
"...No, but seriously, even that little frown you made just now was really pretty?"
At her seemingly sincere words, Serin hesitated for a moment, then bit into a piece of melon with an embarrassed look.
Soyul, who had been watching as if entranced, looked at the table with a regretful expression.
"Really, if I'd known it would be like this, I wouldn't have eaten dinner."
She cut a piece of steak and brought it to her mouth, and Hayoon swallowed hard too.
"...Right, I didn't expect it would be such a luxurious drinking party either."
Just as Hayoon said that, Soyul savored the meat with a happy expression.
Chew chew.
After swallowing all the meat, Soyul's lips moved as if in admiration.
"...Wow, what is this? It just melts in my mouth."
She seemed genuinely impressed, and Hayoon also picked up her knife and took some steak, and Serin unconsciously watched the two as she picked up a piece of abalone nearby.
Grab.
She was savoring the savory seasoning and the abalone's distinctive texture.
Even though the drinking party had half turned into a meal, she felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
'This kind of drinking party has a different feel too.'
After falling into this world, she'd wondered how time would pass, and before she knew it, she had become famous and risen to a position she'd never imagined.
The money she earned from streaming grew by the day, and the money she received from scrims and content had also reached an amount too large to ignore.
In the process, she'd become close with celebrities like Sua and Jeanne d'Arc, and she'd also gotten to know the two editors she was looking at now.
'It's strange... I don't feel like I've changed much.'
The version of herself who had found solitude comfortable in Black Ark was now mingling with others like this before she knew it.
The 2.7 billion won sleeping in her bank account—she hadn't even had a chance to touch it, and it felt bizarre, as if she'd simply grasped success naturally.
And sometimes I couldn't really feel how much money I was actually making.
Because she only earned money and didn't really spend it.
But now, she was spending a considerable amount for the sake of treating the editors she'd finally met.
Just that alone gave her a kind of satisfaction.
For people I knew,
For people close to me.
Spending time and money like this felt quite meaningful.
"...Seriously, this steak is so good."
Hayoon, who had eaten the Hanwoo steak, was radiating happiness all over her face. Her expression unconsciously caught Serin's eye.
'I should have met them sooner.'
She hadn't had the time or personal leisure until now, so they'd ended up meeting late, and she felt regret for no reason. If they'd met earlier, they probably would have spent even better times together.
"Right. Every single dish is just delicious, isn't it?"
Soyul, taking a piece of lamb, spoke in a marveling tone, and I let out a small laugh and spoke.
"Well, it'd better be worth the price, wouldn't it?"
She'd deliberately picked a good place and made a reservation, after all.
If the food had been bad, that would have made even less sense.
"Ah, Serin. This place is really expensive, right?"
Soyul, who had been tasting various dishes little by little, asked awkwardly, and I smiled faintly and tilted my wine glass.
"Who knows? Oh, and aren't you all eating too much without drinking?"
Serin raised her glass as she said that, and the two raised their glasses as well.
Clink!
They clinked glasses once more, and savoring the wine was brief.
"Hoo... I'm so glad I ate a light dinner."
As Hayoon ate the meat with a happy expression, Serin thought she should arrange gatherings like this more often.
It was only a few days until payday now. Actually, she'd thought she'd given them a fairly generous bonus before.
So she'd assumed the two would be living comfortably. But now that she'd actually met them, that wasn't the impression she got.
Slide.
As Serin was having these thoughts and scooped up a spoonful of cheesecake, Soyul looked at Serin and smiled.
"Oh, right. Now that I think about it, Serin, you did a collab stream with Seo Eunwoo today. I was so jealous of you the whole time I watched. How do you talk so naturally with a celebrity... no, not just any celebrity, but Seo Eunwoo?"
"I was watching the stream live today too and it was so fascinating. Seo Eunwoo is Seo Eunwoo, but should I say you looked like a celebrity too, Serin? Now that I'm seeing you in person, it's even more like that. I'd really believe it if you said you'd worked as a celebrity overseas."
As Hayoon chimed in as if agreeing, Soyul added a word.
"Now that you mention it, your looks really are exotic. Are you sure you didn't work as a celebrity overseas? Seriously, if you'd been a celebrity overseas, I bet you would've been insanely popular."
The two spoke energetically as if playing off each other, and Serin tilted her head, pausing mid-scoop of cheesecake.
"What celebrity would I be?"
It was a ridiculous thing to say.
But even at Serin's words, Soyul and Hayoon shook their heads simultaneously.
"Seriously, someone like you could be a celebrity right now if you wanted, couldn't you? I bet you'd pass an audition immediately. I've honestly never seen anyone as pretty in person as you."
"Right. Your voice is really nice too, and even now, looking at you, there's this aura? A mysterious atmosphere about you?"
Serin let out a dry laugh at the editors' increasingly absurd comments and shook her head repeatedly, and Soyul's eyes lit up.
"So, could you tell us how it felt meeting Seo Eunwoo today? I'm a real fan of Seo Eunwoo, so I watched the stream with this vicarious satisfaction? That kind of feeling."
"Right. I'm curious too."
Hayoon added on as well, and Serin tilted her wine and naturally moved her lips.
"He just seemed like a nice person? Even if he's a celebrity, he's still a person like anyone else. How different could he be?"
She answered so nonchalantly that Soyul and Hayoon, who had been expecting something, blinked blankly.
"..."
"...?"
Seo Eunwoo was a celebrity nicknamed "face genius."
He was a celebrity whose name appeared in every survey about appearance without fail.
Yet Serin, who had spent time with such a celebrity, called him just another person, and the two were momentarily speechless.
It was such an unexpected reaction.
And at the two's reaction, Serin tilted her head as well.
"Why are you both reacting like that? Did I say something weird?"