The Director's Unexpected Request
Damn, people can be petty. Yongho would never bring up looks when describing his ideal type. To him, appearance was always third place at best—personality had always been number one. Of course, most people who say that sort of thing would still pick the gorgeous girl with a terrible personality over the kind but plain one without a second thought. But Yongho was different. The girl who had received his "grand confession," the one Minji still loved to tease him about, had been closer to average than stunning. Even she had eventually dumped him, which was a shame.
Of course, Yongho's indifference to women's looks didn't come from some grand philosophy. There was only one reason, simple and cruel: he was just prettier than they were. If anyone else heard that, they'd probably float a giant question mark over their head and ask what kind of nonsense he was spouting. Weren't they talking about a guy? How pretty could a guy possibly be to outshine actual women? Well, if they ever saw Yongho's face even once, they'd shut up real fast. Not that Yongho himself would ever willingly show it.
As a result, Yongho had developed an extremely strong immunity to female beauty. Having a stunning older sister who clung to him every single day probably helped; at this point, ordinary good looks barely registered. Emphasis on ordinary.
"Uh, well… um…"
Honestly, he hadn't expected much. The general assumption about streamers who never showed their faces was that they were hiding because they lacked confidence in their looks. Sure, there were exceptions—people who were genuinely attractive but still chose to stay hidden—but Minji? Probably not one of them.
"Why are you staring like that?"
Yongho realized his own arrogance. It wasn't that he didn't care about looks; he simply had never met anyone truly beautiful until now. The difference was so stark that he even wondered if he himself looked like a man in comparison. (He didn't.)
Minji let out a long "phew" the moment she took off the helmet. She must have been suffocating. Her face was flushed, and her breathing carried a strangely alluring rhythm. A single strand of hair stuck to the corner of her lips, radiating an almost violently sensual aura. It was the kind of captivating sight that would ensnare any man. Even Suha, standing right beside Yongho, was staring blankly. It was an unconscious, all-directional charm that transcended gender.
Fortunately, there was one saving grace—
"Bleh. Hair in my mouth."
The one casting that charm was Minji. She spat out the strand and made a series of disgusted spitting noises at the floor.
"Ah."
"Ahem…"
Both Yongho and Suha snapped back to their senses at the sight. What the hell had they been thinking? They must have gone crazy. They'd only just met today, yet somehow these two clicked strangely well.
"Let's get going then. Oh, right, Ryong-gak, your phone."
"Huh?"
Why did he suddenly want the phone? If Yongho had any friends, he might have realized that asking for someone's phone usually meant exchanging numbers. Unfortunately, he didn't have that kind of experience. Still, he trusted Minji enough to hand it over.
"Here, take Noona's number."
"Don't call me Noona— Wait, number? All of a sudden?"
"What, you were planning to meet like this and not even exchange numbers?"
Minji's eyes narrowed as she looked at Yongho.
"N-no, that's not it…"
"You should feel honored. You're only the second person to receive Saint Naise's phone number."
"What? So you're basically saying you don't have friends either."
Come to think of it, if he was the second… the first one was probably… Yeah, no need to ask. Yongho felt oddly uncomfortable knowing he wasn't the first, but at the same time wondered why he even cared about something so trivial. Ah, competitiveness. Now that he thought about it, he'd always been the competitive type. Maybe this was the same thing. Yongho was busy spinning grand delusions, but no one here was going to correct him.
"Tsk, that's not important. We need to hurry or we'll be late."
Two minutes had already been wasted on small talk. Yongho, who had a regular ticket, would probably be late even if he ran.
"Ah, I'm going ahead! See you next time! Suha, see you later too!"
"Yeah, see you again."
"Bye-bye."
After watching Yongho's retreating back for a moment, Minji and Suha also started walking. The second half of the showcase was basically just a low-stakes talk show, so there wasn't much to look forward to. Still, as streamers attending the event, they at least had to show basic courtesy by being present.
As the two walked side by side, Suha suddenly spoke up.
"Minji."
"Yeah?"
"Um… never mind."
"What? Why'd you stop? Is this one of those 'how to piss someone off' tricks?"
There were two classic ways to anger someone. One was to start saying something and then stop—
"No, it's fine."
"Ugh."
Minji pounded her own chest with her fists, eyes narrowing. Of course, because of the massive lumps attached to said chest, it sounded more like a soft "squish" than a solid "thump." Suha's mouth fell open. Wow. Even her shape was pretty. This was cheating. Actual cheating.
"Ah, seriously… just say it. If you're not trying to drive me crazy from curiosity, then spit it out right now."
Thanks to Minji stopping dead in her tracks with a clear "I'm not moving until you tell me" stance, Suha finally voiced her concern.
"Um… what's your relationship with Baek Ryong-gak…?"
"Ryong-gak?"
The unexpected question made a giant question mark pop up over Minji's head. Yeah, what exactly were they to each other? She thought of him as a friend, but today was the first time she'd properly seen his face and learned his gender. She still didn't know his age, and he probably still thought she was twenty-six. Since she'd never properly clarified her age, it made sense he'd think that.
"Just a game friend?"
After mulling over a few words, Minji settled on what she thought was the most appropriate term. Thinking about it, that really was the most accurate description. Suha's face lit up.
"Really? Just friends?"
"Is there such a thing as 'not just' friends…?"
"Right?"
A moment ago she'd seemed kind of down, but now she suddenly perked up?
"Hehe, let's hurry."
Whatever it was, if she was in a better mood, that was probably a good thing. Minji, with her shallow and empty brain that never thought too deeply about anything, simply accepted it.
——
Even though the showcase was divided into two parts, the second half was less than half the length of the first. At this point, it might have made more sense to split it into the main event and an epilogue rather than Part 1 and Part 2. Well, naming it was Ias's decision anyway, so a mere user like Minji had no right to complain.
"Yes, the boss that killed the most users in the first half of this year is…"
Even though it was called a talk show, streamer participation wasn't really required. Because of that, Minji was…
"…Kororong."
…dozing off right in the middle of the audience. Suha glanced around nervously before finally poking Minji's side with her index finger.
"Eek…!"
With a stupid yelp, Minji jolted awake and glared at Suha, but Suha deliberately ignored the look. This was a moment when she really needed to stay awake. Because—
"With that, we conclude the Ias Revive showcase—"
The showcase was already over. It would look pretty bad if she was still sitting there sleeping after it ended.
"Once again, thank you to all the users who traveled so far to join us. We hope this winter will be the season Ias takes flight once more alongside all of you. Thank you!"
At the sound of applause erupting around her, Minji's mind slowly returned. Ah, it's over. Still half-asleep, she clapped along with everyone else before leaning toward Suha.
'Thanks for waking me up!'
'Don't mention it.'
By now, the two of them could practically read each other's minds just from eye contact. (Even though the helmet made it impossible to actually see.)
"Let's get out of here. I'm dying from the heat."
Minji wanted to hurry outside. She desperately wanted to throw off the annoying helmet and feel the ride of that blue cutie Porsche again. Just as she stood up, Suha grabbed her arm.
"No, we should wait a bit before leaving."
"Huh? Why?"
"We're streamers. It won't do us any good to leave with everyone else."
Hmm, fair point. Even if everyone here was a user who played Ias, streamers were still streamers. Among the massive crowd, there were bound to be fans of specific streamers. Running into them in the middle of everything could cause safety issues.
"Ugh… I really want to leave now…"
In the end, as streamers in the minority, it was better to wait until most of the crowd had left. It was painful for Minji, but this was the minority's sacrifice for the happiness of the majority. Utilitarianism at its finest. Thank you as always, Ias.
While lost in that empty-headed thought, Minji eventually flopped forward onto the desk. She couldn't find a comfortable position because of the helmet, so she kept fidgeting pitifully.
"Excuse me, Saint Naise."
Someone called out to Minji as she was still trying to find a comfortable pose.
"Huh?"
"Hello, I'm Lee Soo-min, the planning team leader for Ias."
A middle-aged man in a sharp suit with a name tag approached. Minji had guessed he was an Ias employee, but team leader? That was a pretty high position. Why would someone like that come all the way over here?
"Oh, um… hello. I'm Saint Naise."
Surprisingly, Minji was quite respectful toward adults. The pastor at the orphanage had drilled that into her thoroughly. It was the finest collaborative work between the pastor's fists and Minji's empty head.
When Minji suddenly stood up and bowed, the planning team leader looked momentarily startled. Rumor had it she was an extreme egoist and hedonist who tormented everyone regardless of age or gender just for her own pleasure. But seeing her standing so politely like this… she seemed normal. Maybe the rumors were a bit off. Then his gaze drifted toward her head—toward the helmet—and he thought, Hmm… maybe the rumors were true after all.
"Haha, no need to be so nervous."
The team leader quickly composed his expression and smiled again, extending his hand for a handshake. Minji fell into deep contemplation. Should she shake with one hand or both? Since he was an adult, maybe both hands? But if this was a business thing, one hand might be more appropriate. Wait, the showcase was already over, so what business could this be? Maybe he was just here out of personal curiosity? Come to think of it, in the military they always shook with one hand, but this wasn't the military, it was civilian society. As Minji's tiny, empty brain spun at full speed, planning team leader Lee Soo-min's brain was also working overtime.
What? Why isn't she taking it? I want to shake hands and get to the main point already. Is this some kind of power struggle? But why with me? Just as both heads were spinning like tops in a standoff, Minji finally made up her mind and grabbed his hand with both of hers. Lee Soo-min figured she must have been thinking about something else and was now doing the two-handed shake out of apology. Since Minji didn't look upset, she must have made the right choice! And then—
Planning team leader Lee Soo-min spoke.
"Um, do you have a moment?"
"Huh? Well… I guess I do."
"The thing is… our director would like to meet with you briefly…"
"Eh?"
Who? The director? You mean Jeon Gangseop?
"Um… why…?"
Surely this wasn't about the balance patch. No way. People aren't that petty, right? Right…?