Mending Floors and Making Friends
Giseong stood before my sobbing self, flustered and doing his best to calm me down. Only after facing him like that did I realize he didn’t particularly dislike me. But that realization didn’t stop the tears from pouring out.
“Ah, I finally felt relieved… b-but the tears won’t stop… hic!”
[Aigoo……]
Relieved that he didn’t hate me, tears streamed down my face as I managed to say thank you.
“Thank you……”
[I… I didn’t mean for this to happen. The troll suddenly donated, so… I’m really sorry.]
Unlike before, Giseong sounded completely deflated, and I felt my own heart slowly soften.
‘H-he’s not a scary person.’
Once that thought crossed my mind, my surroundings finally came into focus.
Giseong’s own viewers had come all the way to my stream. I didn’t have any intention of scolding him harshly either. After all, it wasn’t intentional, and even if I had been bullied, it would’ve been my own fault anyway.
“I-it’s fine… Even if it was bullying, it would’ve been my fault.”
[Ah… I don’t think that’s necessarily true.]
“…Ah.”
The air grew slightly awkward. Giseong let out a dry laugh and moved.
[First, I should fill in the ground… It’ll look ugly if the surrounding dirt stays dug up….]
“I-it’s okay to leave the ground dug up… I was planning to make a basement anyway… It’s just the floor of the house.”
When I trailed off, he said he understood and offered to cover it with planks. Then he picked up planks and began neatly filling the floor.
[I’m really sorry… I’m not usually like this. I just wanted to get closer to you.]
“Ah, yes……”
[…You don’t believe me.]
I was just a little awkward and couldn’t speak warmly, yet Giseong grew gloomy. When I panicked, he silently continued filling the floor.
‘What do I do?’
I had no idea how to handle this. Glancing at the chat for a hint—
Some viewers sent Giseong cold looks, while others looked at him with pity. I didn’t want to speak badly of him. Honestly, if he were a bad person, he would’ve half-assed the work or brushed it off and left. So I turned off my Minecraft mic and whispered to my Jireongis.
“E-everyone… please don’t say too many bad things about him.”
After my words, the chat quickly turned to cursing the troll instead. Honestly, this was the kind of situation where I should’ve done damage control, but…
‘It feels nice… having them sympathize and curse together… ugh.’
It felt like I was being comforted and patted on the back, so it felt good.
“E-everyone… don’t be like that. L-let’s do damage control together. Damage control.”
The Jireongis were delighted, saying I’d grown. I smiled awkwardly and slowly began filling the hole outside the house’s foundation. Before long, the floor looked mostly restored. The house floor was fully laid, and the sinkhole beneath was hidden so well that no one would ever know.
Now the problem was the ceiling, still covered in countless glass panes, and the wooden walls.
“……”
[I’ve done most of it, so I’ll help you finish.]
“…Thank you.”
I bowed my head and started setting up the wooden walls while Giseong said he had some spare glass and sand at his place and offered to give them to me.
“Eh… don’t you need them?”
[It’s fine. I can just gather more.]
The viewers’ reactions were positive, so I figured it was okay to accept.
“Th-thank you……”
[I’ll make the furnaces here. Do you have coal?]
“No… I don’t.”
[I mined a lot, so I’ll give you some.]
He took out a box and put fifty coal into it for me. I thanked him and stuffed the coal into my inventory.
[How about eight furnaces?]
“That’s too many……”
[How many did you have originally?]
“F-four.”
[Ah, four? Then this is fine. Since I feel bad, I’ll give you double.]
With a bright smile, Giseong left. Watching him go, I continued building the house with no particular emotion.
‘Being upset doesn’t solve anything.’
If I had only been upset about being hit by Dad, I wouldn’t be here right now. So even if I was sad, I moved my body.
* * *
After ending the stream, Yeon-a grabbed a beer and munched on shrimp crackers while watching Suhyun’s broadcast. Lately, this had become her greatest joy in life. It was the perfect moment to see her dearest friend’s adorable side up close. Plus, she felt a little uneasy if she didn’t watch.
Just like when those dozen Creepers exploded earlier. When Suhyun burst into tears right after, Yeon-a had been so shocked she seriously considered turning the stream off. But Giseong quickly returned and calmed Suhyun down, so she could relax and keep watching.
“What do I do… they’re both so pitiful. The aunt and Suhyun too.”
They really were a pitiful family. Of course, pitying them too much would be rude to Suhyun. Yeon-a simply resolved to treat her friend without prejudice and took a swig of beer.
“Heheh, I quit soju, vodka, and whiskey… Hehe, now you’re the only one left.”
It had been about seven weeks since alcohol last touched her lips. After chugging it down, Yeon-a went limp and stared at the screen—at Suhyun, at Vam.
“You live so diligently, my friend… If I were you… ugh… ha, I’d already be gone.”
Watching her friend improve filled Yeon-a with pride and admiration. After reuniting with Suhyun, she too had gradually regained her old self—though she hadn’t noticed it yet.
“Maybe I should suggest partying together tomorrow… That sounds nice.”
Just as Yeon-a muttered that, Giseong arrived carrying a ton of glass and instantly fixed the ceiling.
[Use the rest of the glass for repairs.]
[…Ah, yes…! Thank you.]
“…Cute.”
Yeon-a smiled warmly as she watched Suhyun bow and thank him. Feeling like she needed another drink, she lifted the beer to her lips again—
[Since we’ve come this far, how about we party up and do some raids?]
“Kehak?!”
The words that came out of Giseong’s mouth were completely unexpected. Party. A system created purely for socializing on Kay’s server. You could party with whoever you wanted and go on raids together… Though a guild system was planned, it hadn’t been updated yet. Giseong was suggesting the only system that could foster a sense of connection.
Suhyun looked a little flustered too, but the most flustered person was—
“P-p-p-p-party?! Aack! My keyboard!!”
Yeon-a had spat beer all over her keyboard. Panicking, she yanked out tissues and frantically wiped it down.
“…Ah, it’s dead.”
Staring at the unresponsive keyboard, Yeon-a felt a twinge of gloom before snapping back to attention and looking at the screen. Suhyun looked slightly flustered, then glanced at the chat. Messages flooded in, urging her to accept immediately. After all, whether she liked it or not, Vam was still a small streamer… while the other side had hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Following along was the right move.
Honestly, part of her wanted to interfere, but—
“…It’ll be a good experience. Aaaack…! But a guy? She’s doing it with a guy? Uuugh! I’m so anxious!!”
She couldn’t let Suhyun miss out on a good experience, so she just tapped the beer can with her finger, voicing her anxiety. Then—
Suhyun, while accepting, said something incredibly touching.
[U-um…!]
[Yes, go ahead.]
[W-well… I-I’m really shy around new people… um… I heard parties can have up to s-s-six people…]
[That’s right.]
[…Th-then, would it be okay if I filled the other two spots with my friends……?]
Suhyun asked if she could bring two friends. It was obvious who she meant—Kits and Akari. At that single question—
“Hic…! That’s my real bestie……”
Yeon-a’s eyes welled up with tears.