What Should We Do Today?
"What should we do for fun today?"
Asking Na Jia for advice had definitely been the right call.
After all, as the saying goes, two heads are better than one.
When you don't know something, discussing it with someone else is always the best approach.
It seemed so obvious when I actually thought about it.
Jia wasn't the type to find it annoying when asked for help, nor had she ever been cold to me.
I felt like a fool for hesitating, even though I knew she would kindly help me.
Would things be a bit better if my personality weren't like this?
I really wanted to overcome my social anxiety somehow.
Just as my worries cleared, Jia looked at me with a sly, knowing grin.
"But wait, you're not planning to just say, 'Okay, I got what I needed, bye!' and leave, are you?"
"Huh...?"
"I really went out of my way to come out today. If we just end it with 'I got my answers, see you later~' I'm going to be seriously upset."
Jia was an incredibly dedicated streamer.
I didn't just mean her mindset; she was the type to stream for extremely long hours.
But streams didn't just happen out of thin air.
Jia and I were in completely different positions.
Unlike me, whose sole purpose was just to try out streaming, Jia was a full-time streamer whose livelihood depended on it.
She couldn't just dump hours into it; she had to consistently keep her viewers entertained.
From what I had heard, streaming required an unexpected amount of effort.
While viewers only had to tune in from start to finish, streamers had a mountain of work before and after the broadcast.
They needed planning and preparation before going live, and once it ended, they had to prepare edited clips to upload to video platforms.
Jia, in particular, had to maintain her public image, so she meticulously managed every single piece of content.
As a result, her usual working hours were quite long.
Unless she had a specific schedule, she wouldn't take a single step outside her house.
Dragging someone like that out, only to ditch her after a single drink, felt like a terrible thing to do.
Great help demanded a great return.
I had a duty to keep Jia company today.
"O-O-Of course not. D-do I really look that shameless?"
"Hmm... Of course not!"
Her eyes scanned me with deep suspicion.
Fortunately, Jia let it slide without pressing further.
She clapped her hands together with a soft smack and asked me.
"Alright. So, what should we do for fun today?"
Uh... I have to decide that?
It goes without saying, but I had no idea what normal people did for fun.
My knowledge of the outside world was pretty much limited to what I had seen on TV.
Having spent most of my life confined to a hospital bed, it couldn't be helped.
And ever since becoming Yu Nabi, I had done nothing but play games.
In a way, I probably lived a very monotonous and boring life.
Well, there were many different ways to enjoy life.
The only thing that came to mind was the memory of being dragged around by Lee Seul-bi.
But I didn't dare try to match Seul-bi's energy, and Jia wasn't the type to tease me like that.
"Since I haven't been out in a while, I was thinking we could go shopping at a department store, but..."
"Ugh."
"You don't really like department stores, do you, Nabi? It's written all over your face."
"It's not that I... dislike them. I just don't really know how to enjoy them."
"Really? Then how about I teach you next time? It's not a great season to buy new clothes right now anyway. What a shame."
Fortunately, it seemed I wouldn't be dragged into shopping today.
It wasn't that I hated department stores—people actually tended to look after me when I went—but they strangely drained my energy.
It felt like there was a machine installed there designed specifically to suck away my life force.
Isn't it kind of like the Altar of the War God in the battlegrounds?
Just standing there drained your resources continuously.
If I stayed too long, I might wither away and die.
Anyway, after leaving the cafe with Jia, we walked along the street for a bit.
Since it was a busy district, the crowds were a little scary, but Jia took my hand.
The touch of her skin was soft.
Our fingers intertwined, and a gentle warmth spread from her hand to mine.
This warmth strangely resonated in my chest... leaving me no room to worry about the stares of the people around us.
When I unconsciously squeezed her hand, Jia squeezed back, holding onto me firmly.
"Are you good at singing, Nabi?"
"I think... I'm at least not terrible at it."
"Oh? You sound pretty confident, considering you didn't say you don't know."
My chest stung slightly.
It felt like she had caught onto my speech habits at an unexpected moment.
Maybe I was much worse at lying than I thought, and my true feelings were easily read.
"When I was young, I learned it for a little while."
"Singing? Can I ask what kind of singing you learned?"
"Classical vocal music. It wasn't anything serious, just... a brief taste of it."
I—or rather, Yu Nabi—had quite a few miscellaneous talents.
If the calculation skills I used in Infinity Realm were remnants of my days solving math puzzles while paralyzed, my sense of rhythm was entirely thanks to Yu Nabi.
And a natural sense of rhythm was a talent that could be applied anywhere in the art of music.
This was back when I was much younger.
A time when I had plenty of time and didn't yet know what potential I held.
Thrilled by the news that I had talent, my parents had excitedly hired tutors from various fields to teach me.
One of the things I learned back then was classical singing.
Although the piano was my favorite, I hadn't disliked that period of learning so many different things.
The days before I experienced failure and despair were still preserved like treasures in my heart.
Jia smiled warmly.
It looked as if a flicker of nostalgia had passed through her eyes as well.
"Wow, classical singing. That somehow suits you. I actually took vocal lessons before. I was in a band during middle and high school. I quit because I didn't think I was good enough to make a living out of it, though."
What's this? She reeks of being an insider.
I already knew she wasn't the same breed as me, but still.
My petty heart felt a strange sense of betrayal.
"I'm really looking forward to hearing you sing, Nabi. Your voice is so pretty, I bet you'd sound great doing anything. They say tone is everything in singing, right?"
"P-please don't expect too much. It's been a really long time. I've forgotten how to... use my voice properly."
At the end of our chatter, we arrived at a clean-looking coin karaoke booth.
I wasn't sure why they still called it a "coin" karaoke room when you didn't even pay with coins anymore, but the place served its purpose well.
While Jia bought a few bottles of water, I looked around the interior.
My heart fluttered slightly.
Having so little experience doing normal things, this was my very first time at a karaoke place.
In my head, I had imagined it as a somewhat sketchy place, but it wasn't like that at all.
It just felt like a place to have fun.
At a glance, there were plenty of people around my age, looking to be in their teens or twenties.
The room I followed Jia into was also quite pleasant and clean.
"I'll go first. It's still a bit awkward, right?"
The music was louder than I had braced myself for.
It made my ears sting a bit, but surprisingly, I got used to it quickly.
If anything, the music drowned out all other noises, making the room feel like a space just for the two of us.
I felt much more at ease when there were fewer people around.
A person who radiated comfort, and music that made me forget everything else.
Despite my worries, I was able to blend into the atmosphere in no time.
Singing after such a long time was fun.
At first, I trembled, missed the pitch, and even bit my tongue, which made my face turn bright red.
But I wasn't here for a competition.
We just giggled and enjoyed ourselves.
Still, had I gotten too swept up in the mood?
Or maybe it was because it had been so long since I last sang.
Since I had used vocal cords I rarely used, my voice quickly gave out.
Stepping out of the karaoke room, Jia stretched refreshingly.
"Mmmgh. Ah, it feels so good to hang out outside after so long. Did you have fun too, Nabi?"
"Yes. I liked it to—*cough, cough*."
"Oh dear, your voice is completely shot. We should get you something warm to drink."
After that, I followed Jia around.
Maybe because I was riding the high from earlier, even just walking together was fun.
We stopped by a cafe for a cup of warm tea, and then visited a street food stall.
We had street food like fish cakes and tteokbokki.
Jia was highly excited, mentioning how she used to eat this all the time.
I wasn't a picky eater either, and it tasted better than expected, so I ate quite a lot.
I had thought I would just be dragged around the whole time.
But surprisingly, I felt like I was enjoying myself even more than Jia.
Eventually, we arrived at a place she suggested we rest at.
"I've been cooped up at home lately. Since this was a sudden plan, I couldn't go to my usual spot, but I wanted to get a quick session in."
Jia took off her socks with practiced ease.
I followed her lead, neatly placing mine in the basket beside her.
This place was a foot massage parlor, a type of establishment that had been popping up more frequently lately.
A basin of water smelling of herbs and flowers was placed beneath the chair.
I carefully dipped my feet into the water.