PD Yang Jia (2)
I slumped in the cafe chair, sullen-faced, flicking my gaze back and forth between Baek Seol-yeon and Lee Ga-eun for a moment. It felt like I'd stumbled into some kind of trap. Baek Seol-yeon's sly grin only made it worse.
Dong— doong… dong.
Soft classical music drifted through the cafe interior. The vibe was bright and pleasant overall—lighting that was just dimly cozy, neither too harsh nor too dark, laced with a gentle chamomile scent that eased the tension.
Behind our table, plants crowded a lush display. Apparently the association president's taste. For a cafe that had popped up out of nowhere, it was surprisingly upscale.
"Drinks are here. Cafe mocha and americano… and this is the green grape ade, right?"
The server brought over the beverages, distributing them with a smile. He grinned right at me as he handed over my green grape ade, and for some reason, it soured my mood even more.
The guy looked mid-thirties, with a massive scar slashing across his face. Word was, the association hired retired hunters injured on the job as gatekeeper clerks for places like this.
Slurp—
The drinks tasted great. Way better than your average cafe. The problem was, staring at that face while sipping made even the flavor feel off somehow.
"Um…"
Lee Ga-eun broke the sharp silence first. She glanced awkwardly between me and Baek Seol-yeon, hesitating.
"It wasn't on purpose or anything, Jia. Sorry I didn't warn you ahead of time. But I ran into Seol-yeon by chance… and since we were headed the same way, I just got excited and… yeah."
Chance. Right, chance. "Chance" and Baek Seol-yeon were a total mismatch. This was probably meticulously planned.
Glare—
I shot Baek Seol-yeon a suspicious side-eye, and she flashed a natural smile, waving both hands innocently.
"It really was a coincidence, Jia. I came because I had something to tell you today anyway."
"Really?"
"Of course. And I figured Ga-eun could hear it too, so we all met up like this."
Fine… for now, I'll buy it. What else could I do? I kicked off the real talk.
"Ga-eun, what've you been up to since conquering that gate? You must've made some cash, so no scraping by yet, right?"
There'd been some friction during mana stone distribution thanks to government meddling, but I'd cut her in for about 30%—roughly 17 million won.
The monsters were mostly my kills, but without her, I'd have collapsed in there and quietly croaked. She said I passed out right after we exited, so she must've held out as long as she could from her end.
"Hmm… I quit the convenience store gig. Being there kept flashing me back to that scene… couldn't stick around the area anymore."
Makes sense after something like that. I was fine, but she wasn't a mage like me—just a regular elf.
"Now I'm just… grinding games like always. No real jobs lining up, nothing to do. Money's still good, so no worries on that front."
Jackpot. I hadn't known, but she was a fellow gamer. As a hardcore gemdol, I couldn't let this slide.
"Games? What're you playing?"
"Uh… well…"
"It's cool. I play pretty much everything."
I said it while sneaking a peek at Baek Seol-yeon. She was turned away, sipping her coffee. Then Ga-eun spoke up.
"…Eternal Survival. You know it?"
"I've played that one."
Baek Seol-yeon chimed in from the side. But then something totally unexpected dropped.
"Me too."
Two ibyeong-i right here? Never thought I'd run into fellow addicts. Honestly, given her vibe, I'd figured it'd be something mainstream or estrogen-drenched. This was way off-script.
But it brought her closer to my ideal streamer mold. Time for round two of vetting.
"If it's not rude, mind sharing your tier?"
Tier. Not a huge deal for girl streamers, but being good is an undeniable plus no one argues with.
How high? She said it was her usual game, so diamond? Plat? Talented, maybe moonlight tier.
But.
"…Eternal."
"Huh?"
"Eternal. Challenger in Legendary league terms."
She's better than me? What? My max was Miserable tier…
"…What's your nick?"
Her face flushed beet red. Embarrassed, clearly.
She probably worried it'd paint her as some tryhard gemchang. Plenty of cringey nicks in our game, though.
Mine's LoliElfBoobsRBest on my smurf. Nothing to blush about. After agonizing, she finally spilled.
"…'YouMustRespectMe'."
Hmm. Very… game-serious vibe. I whipped out my phone, hit the match history site, and dug through rankings till I found it.
"……"
818 games this season. Last season? A whopping 3,000. Total pyein. And that nick rang a bell.
"Oh…"
Infamous toxic ranker in the community. No flaming, but razor-sharp feedback from start to finish. Way more serious about the game than she looked.
"Haha…"
Ga-eun laughed awkwardly. I alternated between her face and my phone, then sipped my drink. The lightened mood grew heavy again.
Whatever. Her being a girl offsets it all. Girl ranker streamer? Solid title.
"You play a ton."
It slipped out casually. But her face went crimson again, words tumbling fast.
"I mean, after coming here, no friends, nothing to do, so I tried it for kicks and got hooked—went full tryhard, that's all! So…"
The calm, measured girl was gone. Just a babbling gemchang.
Baek Seol-yeon cut in.
"It's fine. Jia plays a ridiculous amount too, right?"
Couldn't deny it. She grinned slyly as she asked. I nodded.
"Yeah… uh, yeah. Like 2,000 games last season."
Ga-eun's flush eased a bit. Time to pitch for real.
"So, Ga-eun. Ever thought about game streaming? You're a ranker girl—people would tune in just for that. It sells big in this scene."
"I… haven't not thought about it. You mentioned streaming, and it got me curious, but showing my face scares me…"
"Plenty of ways around that. Know what a VTuber is?"
From there, I unloaded the full pitch. Scene rundown, her growth potential… Baek Seol-yeon smirked now and then as she listened.
"You were so dead-set against it before, now you're recruiting. Suits you, huh?"
"Well…"
Couldn't argue. Life post-streaming start had been pretty satisfying. Ga-eun pondered, then spoke.
"I'll think about it. Sounds like a solid idea."
Positive vibes. Unemployed and job-hunting, she saw the value in trying.
As our chat wrapped, Baek Seol-yeon jumped in.
"If business talk's done, can I share mine?"
I bolted up, teasing Ga-eun.
"Nah, boring. Ga-eun, let's grab food."
"I'll buy. Meat. Beef, not pork. Hanwoo."
I froze mid-stand, plopping back down like the politest kid ever—hands on knees, eyes sparkling at her.
Baek Seol-yeon sighed like it amused her, then got to it.
"Gate incident got me promoted—now I oversee all elves in the region. Just you two, though… so let's do it here."
She ran down the rules: no street magic, no harming civilians… all obvious stuff.
Similar to what she'd told me at first visit. But the last one nagged.
"Finally, no approaching gates without Bureau permission. Need clearance for Incheon area moves. New post-gate rule. I know it's weird, but I don't have details… that's it for now."
Ga-eun nodded. Traumatized, she'd avoid gates anyway. Not me.
"Wait, no—"
As I opened my mouth, she signaled with her eyes. Message clear:
'Talk alone later. Not now.'
Years together let me read her signals. She said plenty without words.
"Time for food?"
Baek Seol-yeon stood. Ga-eun suddenly clutched her stomach, bolting to the bathroom. Baek told her we'd wait outside.
Then it was just us in her car. Finally, I asked.
"What's up?"
Her tone shifted—dead serious.
"Prominent spatial magic prof in Korea, Kaiser Elf, got kidnapped. Culprit and motive unknown. State's not even investigating properly."
"…What?"
I knew the name. Vaguely. He'd hounded me briefly to teach spatial magic. Quit after under ten years, fleeing the Misty Forest.
Figured he'd be a prof here.
"Mass-producing spatial mana weapons and magitech… that's the state's goal, from what I see. Bought tech from China recently, too. And they're still watching you closely, Yang Jia. Suspicion not fully cleared. Be careful."
Ga-eun came running back from the bathroom. I fired off.
"Why tell me? You're half state-affiliated. This okay?"
Silence hung. Then:
"…Like I said before, I just want to keep seeing you, Yang Jia. So watch out."
Door opened as she finished. Ga-eun hopped in, all cheery.