381. An Unexplainable Anxiety
381. An Unexplainable Anxiety
***
How long had the conversation gone on? Time that had seemed endless had, before she knew it, reached its end.
They had only met up because the raid settlement that should have been finished yesterday had been postponed, so none of them had time to spare.
Sua had a meeting scheduled with her editor today, and Yujeong also had a meeting about the song she had worked on. Serin, too, wasn't exactly free, considering she had a stream to start before long.
As the gathering slowly wound down, Yujeong openly showed her deep regret before leaving.
"Really... Rin. Let's do some kind of content together again, okay? Now that the raid's over, I feel like I won't get to see you often... Honestly, I'm so disappointed, you know?"
When she showed her disappointment so plainly, Serin smiled faintly and played along.
"Okay. I promise. Let's do something together next time. And Yujeong, if you message me sometimes, I'll reply too. So don't be too sad about it."
Serin, who felt this was a connection worth keeping, answered readily, and Yujeong beamed brightly, gazing at her with affection.
"Rin! Then can I message you every day instead of sometimes? I want to keep in touch with you often."
At that addition, Serin let out a small laugh and shook her head.
"Yujeong. Every day might be a bit much, don't you think? We're both busy."
"Tch... So cold. Fine, I'll message you sometimes then. It was so nice seeing you today. I'll be going now! You have to reply when I message you, okay?"
Yujeong, who had shown her disappointment at Serin's answer, gave a small wave and left the space.
Serin watched the spot where she had disappeared for a moment, thinking that she had gained yet another connection, then turned her head.
Where she turned, Sua was letting out a hollow laugh with a dumbfounded look.
"Seriously. I never thought Yujeong was like that."
As Sua reacted with disbelief to Yujeong leaving without even saying goodbye to her, Serin couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
From Serin's perspective, Yujeong had clearly glanced at Sua and winked before leaving, but that apparently wasn't enough to satisfy Sua.
'Sua has every right to feel slighted.'
The way Yujeong so blatantly singled me out for conversation, as if discriminating on purpose—and they'd only known each other for a few days. It was a little fascinating that she showed that kind of attitude.
It felt like receiving that particular kind of attention from a child who wants to monopolize a friend, back in childhood when friends felt precious.
'Still, since she expresses her feelings so directly, it doesn't feel bad.'
Yujeong carried herself with composure, and there was confidence in her every action. She consistently projected an attitude that anyone could see showed she was fond of me, so I didn't feel any dislike either.
Just as I was about to leave too.
"Rin. You have a stream today, right?"
Sua spoke first.
"Yeah. I've got to stream."
"Then... is your body doing okay?"
"...Why my body all of a sudden?"
"No, you seemed really tired yesterday. I was just wondering how you're feeling now."
At Sua's sudden question, I blinked for a moment, then shook my head. I wondered what her intention was in asking now, and thought she really did worry a lot.
"Of course I'm fine. What about you, Sua? Come to think of it, both you and Yujeong looked really tired today. Are you okay?"
I turned the question back on her.
It wasn't something I'd said out loud, but compared to how they'd looked over the past two days, today they clearly seemed off.
Since these were game characters, I couldn't fully gauge their physical condition, but still—should I say the fatigue showed in their gestures without them realizing? They definitely seemed low on energy.
Yujeong, who had just left, had put on a bright front, but the tiredness was visible.
"...Me? Um... I guess I didn't sleep well. That's why I'm a bit tired. Still, I'm glad you're okay."
Sua smiled faintly and said again that she was glad I was okay, which made me conscious of it for no reason.
"Sua. So are you going to stream today?"
I asked, subtly probing.
"Um... I don't know. After my meeting with the editors today, if my condition's really bad, honestly I'm thinking about taking a streaming hiatus."
When Sua calmly told me her schedule, there was no reason for her words to strike me as strange.
But I felt something like an eerie unease. So I found myself gazing steadily at Sua.
Maybe it was because she realized I'd noticed—the way she wasn't hiding her tiredness did seem a little strange.
Just looking at her face, the fatigue was so deep I almost wondered why a forced logout wasn't triggering.
But... she said she just hadn't slept well. That could happen, I supposed.
Sua's answer was perfectly ordinary, with nothing off about it.
She just wasn't feeling well. That was something anyone could say after a poor night's sleep.
Even thinking about it, it was nothing remarkable.
But... why did Sua's words suddenly sound so strange to me?
"Rin... what is it? You're suddenly staring holes into my face."
I must have been staring quite openly without realizing it, because Sua asked as if it were strange. I immediately shook my head as if it were nothing.
And with that, I shook off the thought too. I didn't know why I'd felt that way, but I couldn't call it strange.
Feeling awkward for no reason, I gave an embarrassed smile and continued.
"It's nothing. Yeah. Sua, you're probably tired too, so take care of your health. Don't try to do too much at once. When you rest, rest properly."
When I spoke with extra concern, Sua smiled brightly as if I were fascinating, said she'd be going, and left.
And so even Sua turned into light and vanished. I was left alone in the space.
Rather than logging out right away... I ran a hand through my hair and thought for a moment.
"Am I... being oversensitive?"
Why had I felt that unease while looking at Sua? Even now, I couldn't quite understand it.
After falling into this world, I had lost all the power I possessed. So I couldn't help but be conscious of feelings like intuition. The energy and stamina I'd built up in Black Ark—none of it existed in me now... but my mind hadn't reverted to the days when I had nothing, either.
Unconsciously, my lips moved.
"I should have dinner with her sometime within the next few days."
I thought that if I actually met Sua in person, the unease I'd felt earlier would disappear too.
...
And so, as she logged out, Serin too soon vanished from the space.
***
The beautiful woman with short black hair who had logged out slumped against the inside of the capsule as if drained.
Over her characteristically cynical expression, the signs of exhaustion were unmistakable.
Enough that anyone looking at her now would realize her condition wasn't normal.
"..."
Yujeong let out a deep sigh and blankly ran a hand over her face.
The moment she exited the game, the deep fatigue came crashing back without mercy, and every part of her body—arms, legs, all of it—felt heavy, as if weighted down with sandbags.
"Should I just... cancel the appointment?"
Yujeong's voice was feeble as she closed her eyes, still leaning against the capsule. Her vision instantly darkened to pitch black, yet her consciousness remained all too clear.
She slowly organized her thoughts.
Today's scheduled meeting was at 5 p.m.
It was a meeting with the person she was supposed to deliver the song she'd worked on to, so considering the location, she'd need to start getting ready now to avoid being late.
But she strangely didn't want to move.
She lifted a limp hand to her face and kept mulling over whether she should really go out.
As Yujeong continued debating whether to postpone the appointment, in an instant—she smiled brightly, a smile that didn't match her exhausted state.
"Still, I'm happy."
I suppose my efforts to hide my fatigue in Another World had paid off. Rin hadn't been hostile toward me or shown any aversion.
On top of that, today I'd even gotten a definite answer that Rin would accept my messages. Even if the project ended here, I'd be able to maintain the relationship. Just thinking about that made me feel like I'd gained a great deal.
Yujeong brought a hand to her lips for no reason and shook her head with a small laugh.
I could message her, and Rin wouldn't reject it.
How trivial and light a thing that was. And yet, over something so small, I was happier than I'd been over signing any decent contract.
She slowly opened her eyes and lowered the hand from her face. Closing her eyes wasn't going to bring sleep anyway.
Swish.
She rose from the capsule and checked the time—it was nearly 3 p.m.
Realizing she'd spent almost two hours talking with them, she thought time really did fly, and hurried herself along.
"I can't let myself get lazy."
Muttering words like a self-suggestion, Yujeong got ready to go out.
...
Press, press...
I pressed around my eyes as if massaging them, trying to erase even a little of the fatigue. When I opened them again, the full-length mirror showed my reflection, same as always.
Casual clothes, short black hair, a sharp expression that could cut.
Maybe because she'd applied her makeup a bit heavier than usual, the tiredness didn't show much on the surface.
"This is good enough."
Thinking it wasn't bad, she was about to leave the officetel when—
In an instant, her vision seemed to flip, and she desperately reached out.
Grab!
"...!"
Her eyes flew wide open as she gasped for breath.
Thankfully she'd caught the wall in time—otherwise she would have collapsed right there in the entryway. Then, feeling something trickling, she blankly raised her hand.
She saw something bright red clearly staining her hand. She immediately took off her heels, pulled out a tissue, and wiped the blood away, a chill running through her.
"Lately... I've been overdoing it, haven't I."
She muttered blankly, looking back over the past few days. Working on the song while also worrying about the Another World raid—she'd definitely pushed herself harder than usual.
Still, a nosebleed—how many years had it been? She let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity.
"Seriously. Now I have to redo my makeup."
She grumbled, and it hit her.
Staying awake for thirty hours straight was definitely... a problem.
But even so, after fixing her makeup, Yujeong headed straight to the meeting place.