The True Identity of 'RateMyTuber' Is Incredibly Huge...!?
The true identity of RateMyTuber is something incredibly massive...!? ...And just as a long, purple mass was about to spread across the screen...
Whoosh. A lightning-fast hand snatched the smartphone right in front of my eyes.
"O-Outer God, what are you looking at!?"
It's Han Min-seo. His face completely flushed red, he clutched Yeom Hana's smartphone tight against his chest.
What else? It was a personal message from RateMyTuber to Yeom Hana. Thanks to Han Min-seo swiping it away before it even finished loading, I didn't get a proper look. Just barely caught a glimpse of the end.
But it definitely wasn't a skewer or a chick. It was a long, bumpy purple lump.
Hmm. Doesn't seem right. To me, it looks like a sweet potato. Purple and all bumpy.
Right? Definitely a sweet potato. Well, Han Min-seo already took the photo, and now we know it's a sweet potato, so that's that. Not all that exciting.
The bespectacled little accident and the one in the doctor's coat both let out sighs of relief at the same time. Such needless worrying. Stress isn't good for your health. Or do they have a sweet potato phobia or something?
Anyway, good. Sweet potato talk is over. I waved my hand dismissively, and the little accidents scattered back to their tasks.
But why is Han Min-seo here? Tilting my head, I eyed my favorite snack provider. Behind him stood Jenica, the blonde twintail alien girl in the agency's gray tracksuit.
With his flushed face somewhat calmed, Han Min-seo hid the smartphone behind his back and muttered, "Hmm, is Hana inside training...? I came to relay some news about the alien girl."
News? What did he get up to with Jenica? No answer came from Han Min-seo's mouth.
Screeech—The partition wall of the Awakener-exclusive training ground split open to either side right on cue. A blast of hot wind poured out through the gap.
Oof, ozone smell. The spacetime curvature is returning to normal.
As the dust cleared, two figures emerged from inside the training ground. First, Yeom Hana looked wrecked. Cracks spiderwebbed across the gauntlets of her Neutronium Suit, and scratches marred the skin beneath the mesh. Ouch, her leg's limping a bit too. She can't put full weight on one knee.
But her eyes burned sharper than before the sparring session. Guess the 2400x time dilation in the training ground paid off.
Dr. Stein, meanwhile, had nary a wrinkle on his lab coat. Aside from his bomb-struck hair standing even more skyward, nothing had changed.
"Well, now."
Spotting Han Min-seo and Jenica outside, Dr. Stein lightly raised an eyebrow. Han Min-seo flinched and stiffened.
He recognized Dr. Stein. Makes sense—normal humans react that way to seeing a Tower of Reason intellectual in the flesh.
"If word gets out that I've been teaching a mortal, it could be a bit problematic."
Dr. Stein winked at Han Min-seo. "Keep it secret, please. Magical girl boy."
"Uh... yes!?"
Han Min-seo's face went white, then red, then white again. Like a traffic light.
"N-no, wait! How did you—"
Before Han Min-seo could protest, Dr. Stein's form blurred like a heat haze. A vanishing so silent, not even the air stirred.
He bolted at near-lightspeed. Must've been in a hurry.
The little accident in the doctor's coat scribbled something on the chalkboard by way of explanation, then froze solid upon seeing the equations she'd written.
She's turned into a thinking statue.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Jenica—who'd been standing behind Han Min-seo—spotted Yeom Hana and went rigid as a corpse.
Like a real corpse. Kepler-442b folks lose all color from their faces like that, huh.
She slyly. Slipped behind Han Min-seo. Hunched over to make herself as small as possible, only her twintails poking out.
This organic alien really fears Yeom Hana. Some bad history? Or just timid by nature?
Yeom Hana wiped sweat from her brow and asked, "Hey, Min-seo, you here to train too?"
"N-no. I have something to tell you about this alien girl."
As Han Min-seo started to reply, Yeom Hana's gaze suddenly froze. Right on the smartphone clutched in his hand.
"Hey, that's my phone."
Yeom Hana stuck out her hand. "Hand it over."
"Ah, sure."
Han Min-seo handed it over in a daze, then three seconds later gasped sharply. "Wait, Hana, that's—"
Too late. Yeom Hana had already unlocked the screen and was staring at it. Eyes wide as ping-pong balls.
"Min-seo, you, you, you, you... what the hell did you see on my phone...?"
What else? A sweet potato photo. Purple and bumpy.
But thinking about it, it's kinda weird. Why send Yeom Hana a photo of a purple sweet potato and ask for a rating? Some Earthling farm produce sharing culture?
I nodded at the little accidents' deduction. Yeah, could be. Humans exchange fruits and meats during holidays.
Meanwhile, Han Min-seo's complexion went beyond traffic light to full blank paper.
Hmm. His actual emotions have gone blank too. Overwhelmed with panic, everything bleached out.
"—No! It's a misunderstanding! I wasn't trying to look at that photo—"
But Yeom Hana's emotions had already crossed the point of no return. She gave Han Min-seo a strangely cold look. Scanned his delicate face, slim waist, down to his legs, then back up.
"Well, whatever... I don't discriminate based on sexual orientation, so relax. Your secret's safe."
Hmm, she's trying to understand. Don't know the details, but mutual understanding matters. Good job, attachment human.
Han Min-seo, meanwhile, was opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish.
Whoa, now his pale face is exploding red again. Starting to worry about his blood pressure.
"That's not it!!"
............
A bit later. After some hushed back-and-forth, Han Min-seo and Yeom Hana's flushed faces calmed, and a semblance of peace returned.
Getting that worked up over a sweet potato photo. Who knew she was so into farming?
Now we're at the vending machine near the training ground. Yeom Hana swiped her card and pulled out drinks.
Clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk. Four cans. One for Yeom Hana, one for Han Min-seo. Looks like one's for me. And the last...
Ah, for Jenica too. A cola can was handed to the blonde alien girl, half-hiding behind Han Min-seo with her twintails sticking out.
Jenica took it warily, shooting Yeom Hana a mix of faint gratitude and terror.
Yeom Hana blithely ignored the stare.
"So."
Leaning back against the vending machine, Yeom Hana spoke. "They're sending her back out? You already talked to Dr. Stein, so business is done, right?"
Huh? She means Jenica? Kicking her out?
The little accidents in my mental world started buzzing.
No, she'll handle bathing herself, right? She already seems to know how to use the shower.
But that's not the point now. I puffed out my cheeks full of air. No way. I brought her here. If you're kicking her out, kick me out too.
I wedged myself between Han Min-seo and Yeom Hana, cheeks ballooned out. The little accidents popped up with picket signs, protesting.
Pat pat pat. I smacked Yeom Hana's palm hard, and she looked baffled.
"Wh-what? What's your problem now?"
Han Min-seo glanced at me, sighed, and fixed his gaze back on Yeom Hana. "...Figured she'd hate it this much, so we're just keeping her."
Huh? For real?
Beams spread across the little accidents' faces. One's even spinning in celebratory circles.
"...Director Shin Chang-seok really said that?"
"Yes. Director's orders. Since the Outer God brought her, kicking her out would just mean the Outer God brings her back."
As expected of my pal Chang-seok. Knew I could count on him. Guess directly injecting melatonin to force 120 hours of sweet sleep helped big time.
Hee hee.
Popping open her can, Han Min-seo continued. "Director had a rough time last time with that 5-day unauthorized absence... Almost had to attend a hearing. VIP pulled strings to block it, though."
5-day no-show. Why would such a diligent guy like Shin Chang-seok do that? Wanna ask.
"Overwork, what else. But after sleeping it off, he's looking healthier lately. Anyway..."
Yeom Hana glanced at Jenica. My new neighbor, the organic-alien girl, was still sipping cola from behind Han Min-seo.
"They really okay with us feeding and housing her for free forever? Agency isn't a homeless shelter."
"...I can hear you. And I'm not homeless—I'm a Kepler-442b recon officer."
Jenica huffed indignantly. Her cheeks pinked; pride hurt, it seems.
Yeom Hana brushed it off lightly. "That all? I'm beat and wanna rest."
"One more thing. For future contingencies, they're requesting cooperation from Oseong Group too."
Yeom Hana's can dropped from her lips. "Oseong Group? For real?"
Oseong Group. Right, rival to Mirae Group. Mirae made the humanoid robots that helped raid Will Bates' airship; now Agency's tapping Oseong too.
"Yeah. But Chairman Lee..."
Han Min-seo trailed off. Doesn't wanna say it.
"What about Chairman Lee?"
"He wants to meet you and me..."
"...Oh?"
Yeom Hana's eyes narrowed. Hmm, something unfamiliar bubbling from the depths of Han Min-seo's emotions. What flavor is this?
The bespectacled little accident whispered softly.
Oseong Group's Chairman Lee wants to meet my attachment humans. And Han Min-seo feels uneasy about it. Why?