Chemistry (2) — Unexpected
The chemistry was unexpected.
=Ah... hello... I'm Do Doyun, the streamer broadcasting on Naty at 6 PM...
His appearance was completely different from the first impression Arine had of him. She had assumed he was the type who wouldn't get nervous even on a big stage. It was a natural assumption. After all, an ad broadcast was the kind of thing that would make anyone tense, especially when paired with a large streamer like her. Yet back then, he hadn't shown even the slightest hint of nervousness. If anything, he had been the one leading the broadcast in her direction. So she had unconsciously decided he would be completely fine in a collab like this too.
=How could I not be nervous? It's a collab with large streamers, and this is my first time doing a group collab like this.
But Do Doyun was trembling quite a bit. Before the broadcast started, he had joined the Discord voice chat fifteen minutes early and had been taking deep breaths all by himself. If someone asked whether she was disappointed in him, Arine would have said no. Setting aside her personal feelings about him and looking at the situation objectively, it was perfectly understandable for him to be nervous from his position. If she had been in his shoes, she would have been incredibly tense too.
Rather...
...He has this surprisingly human side?
The way he looked scared and anxious somehow reminded her of her old self — the girl who used to get frightened over the smallest things. It was kind of cute. On the surface he had seemed like a broadcasting machine, but seeing this made her realize he was actually a person. That realization was what made her want to help him relax as kindly as possible.
Of course, part of it was because if he messed up and ruined the broadcast, it would hurt her own image. But setting aside those practical reasons, she simply wanted to cheer on a fellow streamer she was collaborating with. Don't be nervous. You can do this. Just do what you always do. Other people might not know it, but she had already experienced firsthand just how entertaining a streamer Do Doyun could be. That was why she had told him she believed in him.
And as if to repay that trust, the timid version of Do Doyun who had been shrinking during the introductions was nowhere to be seen.
Hyunah — [So, Doyun, have you never played a spy game like this before?]
Doyun — [I really wanted to... The problem was that no one would play with me...]
His voice was so dejected that laughter erupted from all around.
Yuns — [Pffft—]
Jirasoni — [We'll play with you a lot. Heh. If we have any collabs in the future, we'll invite you. Heh heh.]
Doyun — [...Really? Are you guys becoming friends with me?]
Jerry — [Why does Doyun remind me of Amumu? Hehe.]
Hyunah — [Whoa, I was literally just thinking the same thing.]
Somehow, even though Arine had stayed quiet, he had become the center of the conversation. Watching him, she couldn't help but smile faintly to herself. It felt like watching a daughter who was exceptionally good at presentations performing at her school recital. Yeah, I knew it. I knew you'd be this good.
Seeing him do well filled her with an indescribable sense of pride. The talent she alone had recognized in him was now being acknowledged by others, and the pleasure she felt was almost like it was her own achievement. The thrill of a gemstone discoverer, perhaps. Or the feeling a producer gets when watching an idol trainee they discovered successfully debut.
It seemed strange to feel this way about someone she'd only known for a short time, but Arine couldn't stop the emotion from rising. For some reason, just looking at him made her want to cheer him on without any particular reason.
What was causing this feeling?
As Arine was pondering that question, someone spoke to her.
Jirasoni — [So why is our Arine being so quiet? What are you up to?]
It was Jirasoni, who had just been talking about Doyun. He was giving her consideration because she had been silent for too long and he didn't want her to fall behind on screen time. On the outside he acted gruff, but he was actually a very attentive man. Knowing that about him was exactly why Arine had collaborated with him multiple times before.
Arine — [Did I get assigned the role of the nervous one and actually get nervous? Sorry about that. Where were we in the conversation?]
Hyunah — [We were asking how you two met. It was at an indie game showcase, right?]
Arine — [Oh, that?]
Hyunah — [Yeah. But it's surprising. You're not the type who brings random people into collabs just because you did one collab with them, Arine. You're not exactly a social butterfly.]
Jerry — [True. Even though Arine looks like that, she's actually pretty timid.]
Arine — [What are you saying right now? I'm, I'm, I'm not that timid, okay? Don't give me weird labels.]
When she pretended to stutter, both the streamers and the viewers burst into laughter. To some extent, it was true. On the outside she gave off the image of a club goddess you'd run into on the streets of Hongdae, but on the inside she was just a timid homebody.
Then, as if he'd found an interesting piece of bait, Jirasoni asked in a sly voice.
Jirasoni — [Ah, could it be? Did this guy catch your eye so much that you brought him in right away?]
The words could be interpreted in multiple ways, but his intention was obvious. After all, he was the crazy virtual marriage fanatic who tried to pair up any couple he could find. The nickname "Virtual Marriage Uncle" suited him perfectly.
Still, knowing it wasn't serious and was just him playing up his broadcast character, Arine answered without much thought.
Arine — [Ugh. This Virtual Marriage Uncle is at it again. Shoo, shoo. Go pair up some other couples. Not me.]
Jirasoni — [Who else is there to pair up here? Hyunah and Yuns?]
Hyunah — [Ah, why do you keep trying to ship me with that idiot? It's so annoying.]
Yuns — [Hey, Hyunah. Don't you know I like it? Man, this is ridiculous.]
And as usual in this collab, the ones getting teased were Hyunah and Yuns. The two of them acted like bitter enemies who couldn't stand each other, and their constant bickering seemed to greatly amuse Jirasoni. When the pair got irritated, he cackled loudly, clearly enjoying their reactions. Then he changed targets and spoke to Doyun.
Jirasoni — [So what about you, Doyun? When you first saw Arine, you thought she was pretty, right? I mean, look at her.]
It was a terrible question that would be difficult no matter how he answered. If he said yes, people would push the romantic angle. If he said no, it would get awkward with Arine. This kind of sneaky question was Jirasoni's specialty. Of course, he never crossed the line, so right when things were about to overheat, he would always flip the mood completely.
Hyunah — [What? I'm kinda curious too now.]
Yuns — [I've been watching a lot of virtual marriage streams lately. I have a good sense for this stuff.]
Jerry — [Yeah, yeah. Our Arine is insanely pretty, after all.]
The streamers swarmed like bees, all wanting to see Doyun's flustered reaction. Yeah, a normal streamer would probably be at a loss here. He'd clearly panic and give them exactly the reaction they wanted.
But.
Doyun — [Hmm. Arine? I don't dislike her, but my type is actually someone more like Jirasoni rather than Arine.]
A sudden silence fell. No one had expected that answer. All the voices stopped at once, and in the middle of that silence, only Doyun was smiling softly.
Pfft.
Arine, whose sense of humor had been perfectly sniped by his joke, burst out laughing first.
Jirasoni — [W-wait a second. Was our newbie this dangerous? Arine, what the hell did you bring here?]
Doyun — [I watch your streams a lot, Sony. I like that cave-deep voice of yours. Hehe.]
Jirasoni — [Ugh, get away from me. You dirty gay bastard. Please.]
Jirasoni's reaction sounded genuinely angry. The other streamers started laughing their heads off, and Arine joined in, bursting into loud laughter as well.
The viewers' reactions were just as heated. She felt good knowing her judgment was being acknowledged, and at the same time, she felt relieved. Everyone was praising him. And Doyun hadn't said a single word about her being pretty.
......It really seemed like he had zero romantic interest in her as a woman.
A variant of the mafia game, this game begins with only one spy (mafia) not knowing the keyword. Players take turns giving descriptions of the keyword. Naturally, the spy has no idea what it is, so they can only give strange explanations. The citizens then vote to execute the spy who gave the weird hint during the night phase. However, if the spy manages to figure out the keyword from the citizens' hints or gives vague enough descriptions to survive, they win. It's a simple game.
[You are the spy.]
And unfortunately, I ended up being the spy in the very first, most burdensome round.
Jirasoni — [Whoa, who got spy in the first round? They're gonna be really good at this, right?]
Arine — [Right. The first round is the most important for setting the mood.]
Ugh. This is so much pressure. I pretended not to feel the pressure they were putting on me and played along with their words.
"Let's see just how quick-witted you all are, shall we?"
The game began like that. The keyword was revealed, but as the spy, I naturally had no idea what it was. Plus I was in seat number three, which meant I could only hear two hints. In front of me were only Yuns and Arine.
I kept my expression calm, pretending not to be nervous, and let out a mental sigh as I waited for their explanations. Please, someone say something stupid. Something really obvious, just once. Please.
As I prayed desperately, Yuns spoke first. The time limit was thirty seconds.
Yuns — [Um... mold.]
Mold? It was a description of the keyword, but it had to be this vague. If citizens gave hints that were too obvious, the spy would catch on too easily. The key was to give hints that were just barely enough for fellow citizens to understand.
Jirasoni — [Mold? Hmm. Not bad.]
Jerry — [Guess it's not Yuns then?]
The natural reactions. Of course, since I was the spy. But I still had no clue. What does mold have to do with anything? Is it a cleaning tool? Or a semi-basement apartment?
Thirty seconds passed, and the turn moved to Arine. She seemed to think for a moment.
Arine — [Ummm... convenience store jackpot?]
She let out a small hum before giving that strange answer. The others immediately reacted with impressed "Ohhh"s.
Jirasoni — [Whoa, that's really smart.]
Hyunah — [This is why Arine has such a good brain.]
Jerry — [If the spy actually figures this out, they're either a genius or they have telepathy with Arine.]
They were praising Arine while saying there was no way I'd know. I thought deeply about the words she had used. The keyword category was "season." A period of time. Mold and... convenience store jackpot?
At that moment, something flashed in my mind. I got it. I finally understood what Arine meant by "convenience store jackpot." It had been a complicated, twisted hint, but to me it felt as clear as the correct answer.
[It is your turn. Please describe the keyword within 30 seconds.]
For some reason, I felt completely certain. I hadn't gotten any sense from Yuns's hint alone, but that one strange explanation from Arine had filled me with confidence.
"People don't go outside much these days."
When I said it with a soft smile, the other streamers' reactions were priceless.
Hyunah — [Looks like Doyun isn't the spy either?]
Yuns — [Yeah. Then who is it? Jirasoni, is it you?]
Jerry — [Those three definitely aren't it, right? There's no way anyone could guess it from just that.]
Yes. From the "convenience store jackpot," I had figured out the keyword for this game.
It was the rainy season.