The Fireworks Tale
I opened my eyes. But the sight spread out before me felt a little off. "Mom and Jiwoo…?" Mom and Jiwoo were still fast asleep on the floor of my room, blankets spread out beneath them. "Huh…?" Startled, I rubbed my eyes a couple of times to check if what I was seeing was a dream. I even closed and opened them again, but the scene in front of me remained the same.
"Sweetie… you’re up…? What time is it… 8 o’clock… I should make breakfast……." "Mom?" Mom answered in a sleepy voice, stretching as she sat up. She smiled and asked if I’d slept well. I just sat there, unable to fully process the situation.
"So… you and Jiwoo came all the way to our house yesterday, but it was too late so you just stayed over…?" "That’s right. I hope it wasn’t too inconvenient that we didn’t say anything…?" Mom said, carefully watching my reaction. I shook my head vigorously. The last thing I wanted was for her to misunderstand and think I disliked her.
"No…! I mean, no! I don’t think that at all…!" "At all? Are you okay? Did you bite your tongue?" Mom sat beside me, checking on me with concern. Even as tears welled up from biting my tongue, I waved my hand to reassure her. "I’mh fine." "Really…?" "Yesh." "Your pronunciation’s off, sweetie." Mom chuckled. I smiled brightly and leaned into her embrace. It wasn’t the kind of thing a twenty-three-year-old should do, but it felt nice. Being held by Mom was happiness in itself.
"I’ll go make breakfast now. Just wait a bit." "Okay……." I sent Mom off to the kitchen, confident there were plenty of ingredients at home. My thoughts slowly organized themselves. ‘So I fell asleep right after watching the fireworks.’ It had definitely been exhausting. My legs even had a bit of muscle soreness now. It hurt, but there was a strange sense of accomplishment. This wasn’t the pain of overworking until my body broke down—this was the satisfying ache that came after achieving something. It left me feeling content and reminded me that last night’s fireworks hadn’t been a dream. The beautiful blossoms that had painted the sky, and the emotions I’d felt watching them, were real. That single fact brought me immense joy. Memories of yesterday still bloomed vividly in my mind.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I swung my legs absentmindedly while staring into space. Looking up at the dark ceiling, it almost felt like the fireworks were playing again. Lost in the memory, I quietly opened my mouth and mimicked the sounds. "…Piyooooong… poong." "What are you doing, unnie…?" "…!!" I thought Jiwoo was still asleep, but she’d caught me sitting on the bed, swinging my legs while reliving yesterday. "Cute." "Hic…!" I’d been found out by Jiwoo, who had just woken up. ‘I tried to keep it as quiet as possible…!!’ Apparently, it had been louder than I thought.
After Mom and Jiwoo finished breakfast and left, I sat down at my computer and started streaming right away. I wanted to tell the Jireongi about the wonderful experience I’d had.
[Title: I went to see the fireworks with Mom and my little sister!]
Her avatar was already out, mic muted. Viewers started commenting on the smile her avatar was faithfully reproducing.
"Ahem…! Hello…! Good morning……."
"One-year ice age…? That doesn’t even make sense." She chuckled and began recounting the fireworks story, starting from the grueling physical therapy. "You all know, right…? You know I did physical therapy…"
"Anyway, I remember seeing them from far away before… but today I got to watch them holding hands with Mom and my little sister. Hehe, they were really pretty." She shared the precious memory with the Jireongi, who gathered around and applauded.
"Eh… I’m not pretty… S-should I refund you?"
"Uhehe… I-I won’t be able to show my face later if you keep this up… Th-that’s my final goal." When she hiccuped, the Jireongi backed off, saying they understood. It probably wouldn’t change much anyway—her avatar already looked quite similar, just a bit younger.
Realizing she’d forgotten, Suhyun quickly shared her rehab story too. "Um… I really worked hard at rehab…!"
"Um… I walked back and forth between Mom and my sister, going slowly. Thirty minutes walking, one hour resting, then another thirty minutes walking…!" When she said she’d almost collapsed from exhaustion, the Jireongi praised her for working so hard. Knowing how serious her leg condition was, they were especially supportive. Pleased, she nodded and thanked them. "Thank you for the compliments…!"
"Ah…! Today I’m going to play on the Minecraft server…! I’m planning to do some raids today!"
Smiling at their enthusiasm, she quickly launched Minecraft.
While Suhyun streamed happily, elsewhere, rumors about her were spreading rapidly.
The post about Suhyun’s photo that had appeared by chance sparked heated debate—whether it was a crime or not—and eyewitness accounts kept the rumor alive.
The hot potato slowly cooled into coal. Meanwhile, Suhyun continued streaming happily, and fortunately the rumor died down before she ended her stream.
Serious comments like these flooded the community, and the posts gradually disappeared. It seemed the Bamhwang red pill incident had resolved itself. After all, Suhyun’s appearance wasn’t lacking. But they didn’t know that their actions would become the starting point for an enormous backlash to come… and that it would influence the event that would soon turn Suhyun’s life upside down.