Suika's 27 Kills

After lecturing my Earthworms for quite a while, I showed off the feat of racking up 27 kills with my neglected little Suika and flashed a bright smile. "S-so? How is it? Pretty good, right?" I really hoped they'd agree right away like usual. No, my Earthworms would definitely do that. After all, they'd just seen me trying so hard.

I waited with sparkling eyes for everyone to say Suika was great, but the replies that came back were...

Every single message was just praising my own skill. Disappointment welled up inside me. I sniffled and could only blankly close the game.

"No, I'm not sulking." I wasn't sulking. My pride would never allow something like that. Sulking over something this petty at my age? It was ridiculous, so I clenched my teeth and forced my pouting lips back in. "I'm really not sulking." I said it with an awkward smile. The chat only burst into louder giggles. I smiled awkwardly back at them. "D-don't laugh."

"…Hic! I'm disappointed in all of you……." Even after they praised me, I was sniffling like this. The people who made me feel this way had only said nice things. It was turning out to be a really annoying day.

[…Hic! I'm disappointed in all of you…….] Yeona, who had been preparing her stream with the lights off and curtains drawn, was startled by the voice coming from her phone and quickly picked it up. "W-what…!" Thinking something had happened to Suhyun, she skipped back through the stream and immediately spotted the cause. Suika. That trash champion nobody picked because it had no damage and weird mechanics. Twenty-seven kills with it. And when people praised her instead of the champion, she got all sulky. "…I-it's nothing serious after all." Yeona let out a sigh of relief. But she had to swallow that sigh right back down. Because she had just dismissed someone else's wound as nothing. "……." With an awkward expression, Yeona stared at Suhyun's avatar on screen. "I'm sorry, Suhyun……." Wondering if she even deserved to become close with her again, Yeona muttered the words and went back to preparing her stream. She decided to blow away this gloomy mood with a surprise singing stream. Even though she had failed to become an idol, internet streaming suited Yeona well. She had always been fairly interested in subculture, and she genuinely enjoyed playing games and receiving attention from people. When she streamed, Yeona felt like she was back to her old self. "It feels like I'm the bright middle-schooler Joo Yeona again." And with the mask of streaming, maybe she could become close with Suhyun once more. Thinking that, Yeona looked at Suhyun's stream with a tender expression. Just then—

She had created a Discord server and wanted to rehearse there tomorrow. 'R-rehearse? I thought we were just playing games together…?' Yeona had no idea that this "rehearsal" had been arranged without her input to help the two of them overcome their trauma. Thanks to that, Yeona's mind went blank. "Eek…? Huh? Eh? E? C-call with Suhyun?" She had to refuse right away. Yeona grabbed her keyboard to make up some excuse. But she felt like she'd been struck hard in the head again.

Because Suhyun had so casually agreed to meet her. "S-she doesn't know it's me, right?!" Yeona genuinely thought so. She had assumed Suhyun was avoiding her.

Hearing that reluctant voice, Yeona could only stare blankly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the monitor. 'Was she waiting for my answer? Holding her breath?' "……." Yeona was seized by the thought that maybe Suhyun didn't dislike her after all. That thought made her fingers move quickly.

Yeona chuckled and looked at the monitor with a slightly lighter heart. "…I think I'll sing better than I expected." With a genuinely relaxed smile for the first time in a while, Yeona patted her cheeks, loosened up, and cleared her throat. Then she started the stream and greeted the viewers brightly as they came in. "Helllooo!!"

"I greeted you and you're all so mean." The chat exploded with laughter.

"Hehe, something good happened, so I'm just gonna shout because I'm happy. Singing stream, let's go."

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm a heavy smoker."

Yeona chuckled at the teasing viewers and announced she'd quit smoking starting today, showing a photo of her trash can. "Tada."

"I'm really quitting. Watch me." Her voice, meant not just for the viewers but for someone else, traveled through the mic. It probably wouldn't reach Suhyun, but Yeona was okay with that. Because Suhyun might see this video someday. "Alright! Shall we sing?" Yeona gathered every bit of energy she had, played a trending idol song, and grabbed the mic. "Heading to the thousand-year fox karaoke!!" The excited viewers laughed along with Yeona, who was genuinely thrilled for the first time in a long while.

The morning after my daughter Suika got relentlessly trolled, I stood in front of the curtains with a tense expression. My arms trembled as I gripped the fabric. "Huuu……" It was 11:31 a.m. I wondered if even the bright morning sun would be too much for me to handle. Wanting to find out, I grabbed my shaking right arm with my left to pull the curtains open. The pain of my scars being pressed made me snap to attention. My morning drowsiness vanished completely as I started talking to myself. "Ugh… C-calm down, right hand's scar." I smiled at my now-steady right arm. "Let's do this, partner……" If I could overcome even the daylight, there would be no more pain. Thinking that, I held my breath and flung the window wide open.

—Shwaaaa!! "Ah……" The gray city sky came into view. —Shwaaaaaaaa. Pouring rain. Come to think of it, it was almost monsoon season. "…No wonder it felt a bit cool." I didn't mind rainy days. Even though it was the day I almost died, after I reported it, sunny days didn't feel any different. At least on rainy days, I had memories with Yeona. That made them one of the few days I could still reminisce about the past. "Now that I think about it, was it raining the first day I met Yeona?" I couldn't remember clearly. No matter how hard I tried to recall the hazy memory, only Yeona's bright smile came to mind. Satisfied, I let out a sigh and looked out the window, breathing in. The scent of rain-soaked earth filled my nose. It was nice—a refreshing smell that cleared my chest. "Phew……" A friend I lost contact with on a rainy day. No, a friend I cut contact with. Today I was going to meet her again. Just in case, I had called yesterday, but Yeona didn't answer. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠must have been streaming. "…She probably doesn't hate me." Thinking that, I half-closed the curtains and limped over to the window. "…Please, let nothing go wrong." I prayed that I could become close with Yeona again. With a nervous expression, I turned on Discord while sweating coldly. Two people were already on a call. Realizing I was late, I hurriedly pressed the call button to join.

—Trring! "Ah, hello…! I-I mean, hello… I'm S-Suh—Snake! Ack?!" I bit my tongue. I had bitten my tongue right in front of a friend I hadn't spoken to in so long.