32. A College Girl Who Even Sets Up the Stream
32. A College Girl Who Even Sets Up the Stream
***
Thud.
As she set the fairly heavy box down on the floor, she wondered what she was doing with herself.
"Ah, you can go now."
When the college girl with refined features said that, the woman who had been carrying boxes behind her gave a small bow and left.
Plea had called out a cleaning service worker at an odd hour just to help with her errands.
And now, two boxes sitting in front of someone's house.
Inside those boxes were a webcam, audio equipment, a microphone, a light pad, and spare items just in case.
...Thinking about it now, Sua wondered why she had brought all of this, then gave a small shake of her head.
"...Well, I already brought it."
Not only had she suddenly left her own house, but now she was visiting someone else's home.
It had been months—no, years—since she had done something like this.
And she couldn't even properly gauge how long those years had been.
That was how long it had been since she had gone out to meet someone.
"..."
Her heart was pounding for no reason.
Just as she was about to carefully press the doorbell in front of the house.
Click.
The door suddenly opened.
"Ah."
She flinched in surprise, but the woman looking at her spoke with perfect composure.
"...You got here really fast?"
There stood a woman who hadn't even bothered to fix her disheveled silver hair.
Even though she didn't look put together at all, Sua's gaze was drawn to her face without meaning to.
'With that face, she's unemployed...?'
They had exchanged whispers until yesterday, so she knew for certain that Serin currently had no job.
Hadn't she said the reason she wanted to become a streamer was simply because it looked easier than other jobs?
Thinking back, every word Serin had said was absurd, but seeing her in person made it seem strangely plausible.
She wondered if life really just worked out when you looked like that.
Then Sua snapped out of her reverie and spoke.
"Don't tell me, Serin... you just woke up, didn't you?"
***
About two days ago, she had met Plea in Another World and talked about streaming, and now somehow they had ended up meeting in reality like this.
When they had talked at the cafe, she had thought there would be no further business between them, but people really never know how things will turn out.
And it had all started with something so simple.
Her own words asking for help because she wanted to become a streamer.
Plea had said she could give her streaming equipment, so Serin had asked, just in case, if she could come over and even set it up herself.
Don't they say that when you're standing you want to sit, and when you're sitting you want to lie down?
And she was someone who knew how to make the most of that, and she also had a few other thoughts.
Part of her had hoped that attitude would make Plea keep her distance. If she had been in Plea's position, she definitely would have refused the request.
It was shameless—like being rescued from drowning and then demanding that the rescuer hand over money too.
—Hold on, let me... think about it.
Plea, who she had expected to refuse, had shown a whole range of expressions as she thought over her words.
After deliberating, she had set one condition and said that if Serin accepted it, she would come over and even set up the stream herself.
And Serin had accepted that condition.
That was how they had ended up facing each other in reality like this.
......
'She definitely said she'd come around 2 PM, so what's with arriving just past 1...'
Still half-asleep, I thought that blankly while quickly opening the door.
Click.
And there, right in front of me—
A college student with refined features stood there, a woman with long, straight black hair that sharply contrasted with her blonde character in Another World.
A kind impression that anyone would find likable.
Maybe she dressed up completely differently when she went out than she did on stream; just looking at her gave off a bright, radiant impression.
Looking at her, I spoke.
"...You got here really fast?"
Because I had gone to sleep a bit later yesterday, my voice was hoarse. A voice sunk so deep flowed out of my throat, and even I was a little surprised.
"..."
Staring blankly at me as I opened the door... Sua? Her real name was Yoon Sua, wasn't it? I was still groggy from sleep, but if my memory was right, that was probably it.
After a brief silence, she spoke.
"Don't tell me, Serin... you just woke up, didn't you?"
She asked as if hoping I would say no, but I slowly shattered that expectation.
I shook my head and answered slowly.
"I just... woke up."
"It's 1 PM right now...?"
"I sleep a lot."
"O-oh, I see."
Sua nodded with a bewildered expression, then belatedly greeted Serin.
"Ah, I should have greeted you first. Um, Serin... do you remember my name?"
"...Isn't it Sua?"
"You remembered?"
Sua nodded with an incredibly bright expression, delighted that Serin remembered her name, and for a moment Serin felt relieved.
Honestly, she had been unsure whether Sua was actually right.
Facing someone so bright like that, she suddenly felt like she was a real piece of trash.
She had asked someone so cheerful for equipment, asked her to come over and set it up. Honestly, she hadn't expected her to accept, so she was also a bit flustered right now.
"Um... would it be okay if I called you Serin—more like an older sister—from now on?"
...All of a sudden?
"How old are you, if you don't mind?"
Before answering, I asked her age first. Baby faces were more common in reality than people thought, so with that face she might actually be older than me.
"I'm twenty-three."
When I saw her last time, I had guessed around twenty-one. She's older than I thought. Thinking that, I nodded.
"Okay, so I am the older one. Just call me whatever you're comfortable with, Sua."
"Then I'll call you Serin like an older sister! And you can talk casually to me too, you know."
I was a little surprised that she adopted the familiar, older-sister-style address without even a second of hesitation, but I slowly shook my head.
"No, I'm more comfortable speaking this way."
I still needed a bit more time before I could feel comfortable speaking casually to someone.
Despite how I looked now, I had spent a long time living alone, so aside from Seoyun, speaking casually to someone still didn't feel natural.
"Ah, well, if that's what you're more comfortable with, I'll keep speaking politely too."
She was subtly hoping I would drop the formal speech, but unfortunately, I had no intention of doing that right now.
"Sure. Anyway, are those two boxes by the door the streaming equipment?"
As if changing the subject, I glanced at the boxes by the door.
When Serin answered differently from how she had expected, Sua, who had been looking at Serin with an awkward expression, carefully returned to polite speech.
"Ah... yes. That's right. There's more than you expected, isn't there?"
"Yes. More than I expected. Do you normally need this much preparation for streaming?"
I was pretty sure the streaming gear I knew about didn't require this much stuff.
As if reading my thoughts, the woman named Sua smiled softly and began to speak.
"No. Normally you don't need this much, but since I was coming to set it up myself, I tried to pick out decent equipment... and the number of items kept growing as I prepared."
"Uh... didn't I ask you to give me any equipment you weren't using?"
Had I somehow been shameless enough to ask her to buy brand-new gear without realizing it? And preparation? I had only casually asked her to give me whatever unused gear she had, so I had no idea how far Sua had taken things.
"Come on, it's a gift for you. How could I give you my used gear? I just bought new things that seemed decent."
Her next words were even more absurd.
Not used equipment—she had bought entirely new streaming equipment within a single day just to give it to me.
"...Oh."
I blinked and looked at the woman named Sua again.
A bright college girl in her early twenties with refined features.
And a big-name tweetie streamer.
Seeing how her name kept coming up in communities and on NewTube, she was famous enough to be called a celebrity.
In Another World she was Plea, and she streamed under the same name.
The name of the woman now in front of me was Yoon Sua.
But how could a person be like this? Even I, who had shamelessly made demands with a thick skin, couldn't believe it.
And then a certain type of person came to mind. There are people you meet truly rarely in life. The woman named Sua in front of me was one of them.
Someone who gave generously the moment she decided she wanted to get closer to someone.
A rare type of person, someone who literally gives everything away to make a person she likes one of her own.
So for a moment, I couldn't help but feel that this woman named Sua really wanted to become close with me.
Creeeak. Click.
Thinking that, I opened the door wide and fixed it so people could come in and out.
"Come in first."
"Okay, then. Serin, could you grab the other box next to you?"
Seeing Sua pick up one of the boxes in front of her, I nodded and moved to pick up the other one.
Compared to the size of the box, there wasn't much inside, so it felt lighter than expected.
Watching the back of the woman named Sua as she entered my house carrying the box, I finished sorting out my thoughts.
Honestly, I had said those words half intending to get help for streaming and half intending to create distance.
I never expected her to grant every single request.
"And the setup itself won't take long. I just need to install the streaming program, set up the equipment, and run a test, so it'll probably be over faster than you think."
"That's a relief. Honestly, while we've been talking... I wondered if I'd asked for too much."
Now that I knew the woman named Sua was the type to give endlessly, my attitude up until now had been weighing on me.
Honestly, half of it had been me deliberately acting shameless and overbearing so she would keep her distance and lose interest in me.
But now, far from keeping her distance, she had accepted all my demands and was trying to get even closer to me without hesitation.
Someone endlessly serious about the game, plus that pushover personality.
Now that I knew she was this type of person, I wondered if I should change my attitude from here on.
"Come on, don't say that! I get to watch your first stream, so at this point I feel like I'm the one getting the better deal. And it's refreshing to get out like this after so long, too."
The condition she had offered in exchange for coming over and helping set up my stream.
Watching my first stream right beside me.
That was all.
Then her last words sounded a bit strange, so I spoke up.
"Sua... has it really been that long since you went out?"
I was pretty sure I had seen her at a cafe just a few days ago.
"Ah, I meant it's been years since I've gone into someone else's home like this. And if you're inviting me into your home, doesn't that mean you're much more comfortable with me now?"
"Well... I suppose so."
At first, I had definitely intended to keep some distance from the woman named Sua, but somehow the distance had shrunk instead—a strange situation.
Even as I recognized it, I slowly nodded.
Her social position as a big-name streamer, that pushover mindset of purely giving to someone she wanted to be close to. And above all, the relief that she was a woman who wouldn't harbor ulterior motives toward me.
So now, at this moment, for the first time, Serin felt that the woman named Sua was someone she could genuinely become close with.