Seoul Sightseeing [Girl Confirmed, Holy Shit]
The chat exploded with messages scrolling up at breakneck speed.
But it wasn't blowing up that much. "I'm a girl, but it's not like I'm in the same room with a guy or anything."
Thinking about it again, Suihwa must've been in a real bind. Her streams were what you'd call "thirst traps"—not exactly, but the nature of internet streaming meant some fans might dip out over this.
'I get it, but still.'
People watch streams for fun, right? Anyway, I wasn't about to trash those folks. They had their reasons.
"I'm just visiting for a bit, like I said earlier. I'm watching the stream from the side, so cut the weird comments, yeah?"
"Just friends, I told you. Stop with the creepy questions."
It felt like they were baiting me to say "girlfriend." If she actually was my girlfriend and we were hiding it, fine—but pushing like this when she wasn't? Frustrating as hell.
Then.
It was a hefty donation—hard to refuse.
"He's not a streamer, so maybe not."
The amount gave me pause, but I didn't want to exploit anyone for cash, so I politely declined.
—Temporarily banned.
Maybe because I'd hammered home the stream rules over time, the viewers were self-moderating now without me saying a word. Solid reactions all around.
I was pretty satisfied with the vibe when...
"Nice to meet youuu!"
Yuu chimed in energetically. Of course, it went out live.
—Temporarily banned.
'Her accent's subtle, but they clocked it off one line.'
I figured a few words would fly under the radar since Yuu spoke great Korean.
Nope.
"Ah, she's a friend from Japan. Another hardcore anime fan."
Yuu pondered for a sec beside me—
"A no Ibuki..!"
She spat out some incomprehensible Japanese.
Oh right—anime titles differ if not in English.
I was about to ask what it was when.
The viewers got it without translation.
"...What? How do you guys even know? I said it in Japanese."
Ah. Felt like the one two-eyed guy in a one-eyed village. Nostalgic.
"Minasan, nihongo dekimasu ka?"
I zoned out for a second, and Yuu was already chatting with the viewers—in Japanese.
"Wait, hold up. Stop stop. Why talk Japanese without me?"
"We use translators when talking, so getting close is fine. No, this is ridiculous."
This was my stream, and I felt sidelined. Time to pull it together.
"Alright, that's it for now. Catch you later."
> Stream ended.
It absolutely wasn't because I hated being the odd one out who couldn't speak Japanese that I ended the stream in a panic.
Really.
Anyway.
"So fun. Hehe."
Yuu seemed to be loving this. Maybe getting a kick out of my misery.
Either way, not a normal taste, I thought as I said,
"Wanna grab food?"
Dinner time was approaching. Figured I'd take her to a local spot since she was in Seoul.
'Neighborhood's noisy as hell, but the eats are sneaky good.'
Great for food, trash for living.
"What kind...?"
Yuu was still lounging in that awkward chair like it was comfy.
"Samgyeopsal?"
"Yesss..!!"
*Sniff.* Her pronunciation sharpened the second I mentioned meat. Imagination, probably.
I headed out with a beaming Yuu, having thrown one of my shirts on her.
'...Can't go out like that.'
It still hugged her curves, but this covered decently. Self-satisfied, I led her to the spot.
"Can't wait.."
With super expectant Yuu in tow.
And when we got to the samgyeopsal joint.
"Oh, hey. You here too."
Our department—Seo Haneul, the one we'd gone hard on otaku debates with last time.