4. Let's Do a Job (1)
“……”
A heavy silence hung over the interior of the seolleongtang restaurant. I kept my head bowed low, meticulously analyzing the pattern on the table. Across from me sat Baek Seol-yeon, who alternated between glaring down at me with a furious expression and checking her documents.
Finally, she broke the silence first.
“…So? What's the reason? Why'd you call at 4 a.m. and wake someone up?”
Having holed up in my room for so long, I'd momentarily forgotten. By modern human standards, the day starts at 8 a.m., and Baek Seol-yeon was no exception.
But honestly, I felt a bit wronged too. Back when I was an elf, I was nocturnal. 8 a.m. was when my day ended. I'd lived like that for over 300 years. Can't a guy get confused?
I straightened up immediately to counter her question.
“No—”
“What?”
Baek Seol-yeon snapped at me, her anger flaring. I instantly shrank back into coward mode, mumbling my response like a tiny ant.
“S-sorry…”
Apology first, as always. She let out a deep sigh. Just then, our ordered seolleongtang arrived.
“…Haa. I told you, you hadn't eaten. Eat first. We'll talk details at the café.”
I glanced at Baek Seol-yeon's face and took a spoonful of seolleongtang. Truth be told, due to my finances, I'd been surviving on a single small cup ramen a day. In that moment, the hot broth felt like holy water.
“Ahh…”
Tteokbokki's great and all, but for a real man, nothing beats seolleongtang. The satisfying fullness filling my gut brought me pure bliss.
Baek Seol-yeon quickly finished her bowl and dragged me to a café. She covered the bill again this time. It wasn't fancy coffee, but I was grateful.
“Uh, thanks.”
“No big deal. If something happens to you, Yang Jia, it affects me too. Managing you is my job.”
“Affects you? Like… a pay cut?”
She slurped her coffee and scanned me up and down at my question. Then she spoke.
“That's part of it, but the real issue is my charge turning into a wrinkly old grandpa elf. I'm lucky compared to my colleagues dealing with that crap.”
“Mm… yeah, that'd be a big problem.”
I'd heard somewhere that women like pretty women too. Well, who doesn't like cute and pretty things?
“So, spill it. What was so urgent you called at 4 a.m.?”
The moment of truth had arrived.
“Well, I did a stream recently.”
Thud.
Her throat stopped mid-swallow. Baek Seol-yeon slowly set down her coffee cup and fixed me with that sharp gaze.
I froze mid-story, gauging her reaction. Noticing, she spoke up.
“Keep going.”
With that, I continued. I explained what had happened lately.
“My keyboard broke, and I had no money for a new one. So I streamed playing with magic. You see that kind of stuff a lot these days, right?”
“Yeah, tons. Even lecture-style streams.”
“Right. That's what I was going for. It went okay at first. But then some asshole provoked me, and I got pissed and…”
I laid out the whole sequence after that. How I fell for the bait and cast Aguar Donia, and how that exposed my face.
Baek Seol-yeon, who had been staring into my eyes as I spoke, opened her mouth first.
“Yang Jia.”
“Y-yeah?”
She sipped her coffee and called my name. Then, with a pitying look, she said,
“Were you always this easygoing?”
“Wh-what do you mean…”
Her intent threw me off, and I hesitated. She elaborated.
“No, I mean, it's been about five years since I took over as your manager. You weren't like this back then.”
“W-was I not? Hmm.”
Honestly, I didn't remember much from that time.
It was when I was crying every day from the shock of becoming a woman and losing all my magic research.
Vaguely, I recalled bristling at every bit of attention, responding sharply to everything.
“When was it? About a year ago? Yeah. Right after you got that computer. You've been… what should I say…”
She propped her chin up, tapping her finger as if pondering. After a moment, she said,
“Cuter, maybe?”
“Y-you…”
With people around, I couldn't yell. She'd always been dead serious about teasing me subtly.
“Kidding. But your mood swings got worse around then. Elves aren't like that, especially the men. Always cool-headed, no matter if people die around them… That's why most gate-diving mages are guys.”
“Y-yeah.”
It was true. Magic draws mana from inside the body and projects it outward. Big emotional swings disrupt mana control.
Back when I was a guy, I didn't have much emotional fluctuation. Just minor joys and sorrows. I hadn't felt real anger in centuries.
“I wouldn't know since I wasn't a guy who turned girl, but… maybe the body change is gradually affecting you. After centuries in a male body, it takes time for the body to override the mind. The internet probably sped it up.”
“I-is that it…?”
I had no way to know for sure. Our world had no biotech, genes, or hormones. Magic couldn't explain it.
“Can't be helped. In my line of work, I see female elves sometimes, and they're just like human women—moody. All of them. You're changing too, Yang Jia.”
This felt shitty, but I couldn't put it into words. Frustrating.
“…Guess I need to work on staying calm now. Hormones or whatever. Mind over matter.”
“Give it a shot. I'll cheer you on. If you win, share the secret with me.”
Our chat seemed to wrap up there. But we hadn't touched the most important part.
“Uh, but what about the stream? My face getting out there?”
“Oh, that?”
Her reaction was lukewarm, like it was no big deal.
“Isn't it good? You got famous. Why not go full streamer? Pays well.”
“St-still scary. The association might come grab me for using magic as a girl.”
“Nah, don't worry. We got a complaint yesterday anyway.”
She pulled out her phone, turned it on, and shoved it in my face. What she showed me was a messenger chat with someone.
Apparently, the government was already aware of the incident.
“Anyway, our side doesn't care what you do as long as you fulfill the requests. The Magic Association's HQ is in Yggdrasil anyway—no real influence here. At worst, they troll online?”
She'd already handled the Magic Association angle too.
“And… they can't touch you anyway, right?”
“Tr-true.”
Still scary though. We were never on good terms. During big disputes, they'd even send assassins. Back in Yggdrasil, I got dragged in over some nitpick, banned from magic tomes for a week—pure torture. What if they mess with me now? I didn't want the hassle.
“Hmm… so what's exactly scaring you? Face reveal? Or getting outed as a mage?”
“Mm… both combined, I guess. But mainly, attention on me freaks me out.”
Even as a guy, I'd been a total recluse. I invented era-shifting spatial magic but never announced it—too scared of the spotlight.
“…Oh? You've got some shut-in vibes too. Kinda figured.”
“……”
I didn't argue. Not because it was true, but… I had no energy. I'd lose any argument 100%.
“Anyway, bottom line: you need money, right?”
“Y-yeah.”
She seemed about to offer an allowance. As an elf, I didn't show it, but if I were a beastkin with a tail, it'd be wagging like crazy.
Jackpot. Was Baek Seol-yeon gonna bail me out?
“…Can't just hand you cash. I'm tight too—rent, savings.”
Dang, so close. I slumped, sipping my drink. Strawberry chocolate slushie. Sweet and tasty.
“Don't look so disappointed. I do have a job for you.”
“Job?”
The word grabbed my attention. No matter how ruthless Baek Seol-yeon was, she wouldn't give me something impossible.
I gave her a curious look, and she continued.
“Someone who was gonna stream a gate raid backed out due to circumstances. Need a sub. Wanna try?”
“G-gate?”
“Yeah. Solo clear, low difficulty. Mana stones dropped during the run get priced and paid separately.”
Honestly, it tempted me. From streams I'd seen, gate clears didn't look that hard.
As I pondered, she added,
“Wanna give it a shot? Pays well.”
“H-how much?”
She held up two fingers.
“Twenty. Just for the shoot day.”
I almost grabbed her hand… but no. I'm not that dumb.
Slurp—
“I'll do it. Schedule?”