Afterparty (1)
Yeona kept singing. Even though the crowd had made me want to run away, I was glad I’d stayed. She must have been through so much. She really must have. She’d seen me at my worst, and she’d lost her own father on top of everything. The fact that she’d still endured and shared her story with everyone filled me with gratitude. Nothing about her had changed. Even if her outward appearance and daily habits had shifted a little, she was still the Yeona I knew. Her true nature was exactly the same as it had been back then.
“…It feels like it’s just the two of us now.”
The avatar said it with an utterly blank expression. Behind it, though, I kept wiping away tears.
“I’m not crying… I’m really not… I’m just… just happy.”
I said it while frantically wiping my tears and trying to steady my voice, but the words kept coming out in sobs anyway.
“Haa… whew, I’m not crying.”
The chat window tried to comfort me. I thanked them, smiled, and swayed side to side to the rest of Yeona’s lyrics. Beautiful words flowed into my ears. Her voice was truly lovely.
Sniffling, I nodded at the three of them. She really was singing beautifully, and I was so grateful. My chest felt tight with emotion. It was like seeing the Yeona from the festival all over again—except this time I wasn’t watching from some dark corner. I was right there in the middle of the crowd, openly watching her.
[…I hope we meet again someday… Whew, thank you! This was Tachibana Kitsu!]
Yeona bowed and quickly left the stage. I clapped as hard as I could.
The Jireongi begged me to yell like before. I shook my head.
“…If I do it again I’ll die of embarrassment… My face is already bright red…”
I pressed the blush key and felt my cheeks flush even hotter.
I smiled awkwardly and looked around at the lively crowd, lost in thought for a while. It didn’t bother me. Being in such a noisy place really didn’t bother me anymore. There was still a little discomfort, but I didn’t feel the urge to run or get sick. I placed a small hand over my small chest and slowly closed my eyes.
I’ve grown.
It was the moment I realized both Yeona and I had grown.
Even after Yeona joined us, plenty of other performances followed. Everyone sang well and put on great shows, but none of them moved me the way Yeona’s had. Still, I enjoyed them. Memories from the server kept surfacing. Feeling like we’d been invited to a real party, we opened a group Discord and sang along together. Before we knew it, the village chief’s thank-you speech began. We listened quietly and spent the server’s final moments together.
[Ahem… Can everyone hear me, residents?]
Kei addressed the whole server. We answered with a loud “Yes!” and he nodded, satisfied.
[Good. I’m glad everyone seems to have had fun. Once again, let’s give a round of applause to the streamers who performed for us!]
The viewers joined in with their own reactions as the closing ceremony continued.
[We took down the Ender Dragon together… hunted the monsters we prepared… went looking for elytra… It was a lot of hard work, wasn’t it?]
Kei’s voice grew sentimental. I nodded without thinking, completely focused on his words.
[Thank you all for your hard work and for enjoying yourselves. I hope you made some new connections. Our server needs a little rest now.]
Kei smiled and said it was time to rest. Everyone laughed and agreed. I smiled too. It felt bittersweet. People with ordinary memories might be thinking of the end of a school trip or festival right now. A mix of regret and satisfaction.
“It’s a shame……”
The Jireongi said we should extend the server. Startled, I tried to calm them down. Just then, Giseong’s voice came through Discord.
[You’re disappointed?]
“Ah… yeah… a little.”
I answered awkwardly. He chuckled.
[If you’re disappointed, how about we just gather the guild members separately?]
[Afterparty at a beef restaurant]
“Afterparty……”
[Giseong, our SnekSnek can’t drink. She can’t even stand the smell.]
[Oh, really? Then… we just won’t drink.]
After hearing Yeona, Giseong said we could just skip the alcohol. He was right.
“Uh… y-yeah, that’s true……”
[Will you be okay? You’re not pushing yourself?]
[If Unni’s fine with it, I’ll go too……]
Yeona sounded worried. Haram said she’d go if I was okay. Honestly, I was disappointed too. I also wanted to see our guild members in real life. Most of all, meeting in person might reduce Yuna’s burden with the rumor video. It would probably be easier to edit.
“Uh… th-then should we go? Have you talked to Kei yet…?”
[Yeah, I already spoke with hyung. He asked what I thought.]
“Aha……”
So it really just depended on whether I was okay. I nodded.
“Yeowu, you’re coming too, right……?”
[Of course. I have to meet Snek in person and give her a big hug.]
The Jireongi started guessing the real-life meetup date. I was about to set one when—
[Don’t say dangerous things like that. You’ll cause trouble, SnekSnek.]
[Oh my……]
[You’ll get stalked if you keep that up…!!]
[Honestly, just mentioning the afterparty is already risky.]
Giseong and Haram both tried to stop me. If the information leaked, stalkers might appear.
“I-I’m not a baby… I’m twenty-three… Stop it, seriously……”
The moment I said that, both Discord and chat erupted in laughter.
[Pfft…!]
“D-don’t laugh, Joo Yeona…!”
[Puhaha…! Sorry, it’s just too funny!]
Of course, the loudest laugh came from Yeona. My face burning, I sighed and listened to Kei’s speech. In front of the huge crowd, he showed various statistics and adventure records, bringing back our memories.
[…So many things happened. I think meeting our guild members was a huge stroke of luck for me… I hope all of you made precious memories too.]
He bowed his head. Fireworks exploded, signaling the end of the server.
[This was Kei, chief of the friendship server. Thank you!!]
Fireworks shot into the sky. As they kept bursting, people began saying their goodbyes and logging off one by one.