The Day Before Departure
The day before departure.
“You been talking to Suihwa?”
“Yeah... it's been a bit.”
Yujia wasn't particularly fond of Suihwa, so I hadn't been upfront about staying in touch. But now that she'd caught on, there was no hiding it. I had no choice but to own up to it boldly.
It's not like I'm committing a crime or anything.
I got why Yujia disliked her—Suihwa had done some embarrassing stuff to me back in the day. But it wasn't bad enough to cut ties completely. Especially since she hadn't pulled any of that crap since.
“Where are you two going? Why's she sending you hotel info?”
“Uh... she asked me to help with some work. And I had time anyway.”
“What kind of work?”
“There's an anime event in Japan this time around. Looks like Suihwa got an invite, so I'm tagging along to check it out and lend a hand with stuff.”
“Japan...”
Yujia drummed her fingers lightly on the desk, her expression unchanging. Then, after a pause, she stopped and slowly looked up at me.
“...But why's she tagging along?”
“She had an extra ticket. Said it'd be boring to go alone... invited me.”
I said it matter-of-factly, and Yujia's face twitched ever so slightly. Just for a split second, barely noticeable.
“Oh, so that's why you're going?”
Her tone was curt as always, but with a slight uptick at the end. Like a kid pretending not to care.
“Yeah. It came out of nowhere, caught me off guard too... but hey, it'd be a waste to let the ticket go.”
Yujia leaned back a bit, letting out a breath that was half sigh, half laugh.
“...Suihwa's the one inviting you along, huh. Hmm...”
There was definitely some bite to it, but she was trying so hard to play it cool.
“Yujia.”
I called her name, and she turned her head with a half-pouting look.
“What.”
“You're worried about me, right?”
“No?”
The denial came instantly. I chuckled.
“Suihwa's straightened up now, so don't worry too much.”
She stayed quiet for a long beat after that, then muttered, really quietly.
“...Sigh. Have a safe trip.”
*
The reason Suihwa and Yujia didn't get along was simple. Back when the three of us went to that art prep academy together, Suihwa pulled a ton of annoying stunts. Enough to justify Yujia's grudge.
“Ugh...”
Anyway. Dilemma time.
Should I switch back to the Sino account and check the backlog, or keep ghosting for a few more days?
How long did I agonize? Eventually...
I gotta check.
I decided to dive into the notifications. Part of me wanted to ignore them forever, but I couldn't let the account rot.
Switching to the Sino account, the follower count jumped out at me—nearly 100k more than last time.
Probably folks from the Komai Rito incident swarming in.
440k. Gotta be the most-followed Korean on here.
I felt a little smug checking the likes on the drawing where Komai Rito commented.
“...Whoa.”
Numbers I'd never dreamed of back when I was just doodling on X-Net. My likes topped out around 50k max.
Must've been all the retweets. 500k likes, 70k retweets—this wasn't just "nice drawing" territory.
First time seeing numbers like this.
Hard to believe. Followers exploding was dizzying enough, but 20k+ comments on one piece?
Scrolling the comments even a bit: foreign languages, emojis, gasps pouring like rain. Koreans and Japanese bickering here and there too.
“Ha... this is bad.”
Normally I'd freak and slam the phone shut. But staring at the nonstop notifications...
I'm such a total attention whore.
Had to face it again. Should be overwhelmed by the spotlight, but here I was refreshing, watching the numbers climb. Pathetic... yet thrilling.
Then it hit me.
I don't do paid subs or commissions—always politely declined requests.
Relief washed over me.
...Drawing smut should be fine then.
No obligations, no client accountability. Account ban risk? Nah.
Time for another one.
Hands moved on their own. Grabbed the pen, new canvas.
This time, the protagonist from that manga I'd been obsessed with lately. Girl with a chainsaw-like mech arm fused to her shoulder. Innocent eyes, but kinda vacant. Smiling yet empty. Body covered in scars she shrugs off. Spiky hair, blood-and-oil-stained work-shirt tee.
I poured her vibe into every stroke.
How long later?
“...Not bad.”
Solid by my standards. Quick check, then uploaded to X-Net.
Notifications off again. Best to let reactions marinate—that's the "liddul" way.
*
“Ah, finally tomorrow's the flight. Kinda nervous, tbh.”
“Guys, even if you went, the cosplayers probably wouldn't snap pics with you.”
Tomorrow was finally the big departure day. I'd been to Japan solo before, but this was my first official invite—heart pounding.
...And I'm not going alone.
With my bro, no less. Yujin bro.
Won't pull any of that old crap this time.
High school me was immature—cringe in hindsight. But now? After all the streaming trial-and-error, I was confident no repeats.
“Anyway, hit me with restaurant recs. Gonna stuff my face.”
I'd scouted some myself, but my food radar sucked—needed viewer power.
Ramen, tsukemen, all sorts popping up. Saving 'em to maps when...
...Can I just wear my usual stuff?
I don't fuss over clothes much—sudden worry. Solo? Fine. But with company? Sloppy might be rude.
How long pondering?
“...Guys, you know fashion?”
...Shouldn't have asked about outfits. Uneasy vibes, but started sorting recs anyway.
“...Clothes are pricey. How do you drop 100k won on one piece?”
Burning cash like that? Not me.
Amazed, browsing more when...
“...For real? This...?”
Viewers strongly pushed some super embarrassing outfit.