Virtual Date

The gist of what Clemoomoo had prepared for today was simple enough.

A week ago, the moment I said yes, he ran a selection contest among the viewers entirely on his own. The glorious name of the thing was The Heart-Pounding Date with Hani Selection Contest.

Who gave him permission to slap a name like that on it... Anyway, after a brutal round of judging, three people were chosen. All of them owned VR gear, of course, and all of them were definitely free on the day of the broadcast.

The content we'd be running with those three was A Heart-Pounding Date with Hani. His sense for naming things, I swear... The reactions were good, so I had nothing to say. All I had to do was play along with each of the three date courses they'd prepared and, at the end, pick the one I liked best.

There was a rough script through the opening, but I had zero information about the courses the three of them had planned, so I was genuinely curious myself.

That was when Clemoomoo, with an easy wave of his hand, told me to choose whoever I wanted to date first. Order didn't matter, he said. Just go with whoever my heart leaned toward.

I snuck a look at the viewers.

One look at the chat and I had a pretty good idea who ought to go first. I put on a brief show of deliberating, then beckoned Clemoomoo closer.

"Hahaha, Miss Hani's getting shy on us. Just a moment, everyone."

His avatar leaned an ear toward mine.

"If I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠send this Leo guy up as the first batter, the chat's going to go up in flames, right?"

"Your instincts are as sharp as ever."

"Then that's what we'll do."

"Okey-dokey."

The moment the whisper ended, I turned the other way and played dumb. Clemoomoo brought the three of them forward, pointing this way and that and drawing it out, before he finally indicated Leo.

"My lady, today I shall escort you along a perfect course."

"Oh my!"

Just as I'd expected, the chat erupted like a volcano. Water Balloons were bursting in real time along with it. We'd already agreed to split those down the middle after the broadcast.

Clemoomoo, wearing a thoroughly satisfied smile, stepped back for a moment with the other two. Leo worked the program and opened a portal into a new space.

"Shall we, my lady?"

"Yes."

Playing the demure act made my whole body feel like it was breaking out in hives, but what was I supposed to do? I'm a pro streamer. Even today, I was giving it everything I had to rack up points.

"A movie's all right with you?"

What waited on the other side of Leo's portal was a movie theater. We stepped into the building to pick a film. Three choices in all. No titles were listed—only a notice telling us to choose among action, romance, and horror.

I glanced into the ticket booth, and there sat Clemoomoo's avatar, beaming. He'd even changed into a theater-staff uniform in that short a time.

......

The man really did live a busy life.

Leo had left the choice to me, and I was still weighing what to watch when Clemoomoo subtly recommended action. I took the ticket and checked it. The contents were truly something else.

"...... No. This is a bit much."

"Then I'll switch you to romance, ma'am."

"Pass."

"Picky, aren't we. Last one."

"I'll just take the first one."

"An excellent choice."

Tickets in hand, I was about to head into the theater when my hands felt oddly empty, avatar or not. Leo pointed off to one side. Right—of course. Popcorn and a drink before you go in are essential. I hurried that way, and once again a familiar face was there to greet me.

"Would you like the couple's honey combo?"

"And a pack of honey-butter squid, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too."

Snacks in hand, we went in. With no customers but the two of us, we took the center seats in the very front. A huge screen. We waited a moment, and then it lit up and started rolling commercials—and the products actually being sponsored and pitched by Clemoomoo himself appeared on it. You could feel the weight of a man in his early thirties, a father of two, carrying a household on his back.

"Shall we share?"

Leo set the popcorn in the middle of the armrest and dipped his head toward the straw. I let out a small sigh at the sight. This guy had called it a couple's combo, but the menu was a little off. There was only one drink, with two straws stuck in it.

"Sure. Whatever."

It wasn't real anyway. Just avatars. I lowered my head without a fuss and drank with him. The chat, naturally, went up in flames.

I drank a little, lifted my head, and the movie started. Not a movie at all—it really was footage of Clemoomoo's Legend of League mad movie. A dry laugh escaped me. Fine. I'd watch it halfheartedly and eat popcorn.

I reached for the bucket in that spirit, and the chat exploded all over again.

Had he aimed for that? I glanced toward Leo, and his avatar put on a wide grin. Oh? So this one had some experience under his belt.

Clemoomoo's mad movie ended quickly. We dumped the finished popcorn and drinks in the trash and left the theater, through a new portal Leo had made. This time it was a restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere, soft classical music drifting through the room.

"I'll take your order."

......

The employee was Clemoomoo again. Before I sat, Leo pulled the chair out for me. Back when I used to date, that had been my job, and having it done for me felt surprisingly fresh. We ordered the basic course and traded small talk until the food arrived. Twenty-seven, lives in Seoul, office worker. A profile almost identical to mine before I became a woman.

The food came. I couldn't taste it, but with the quiet music and the beautiful sunset light beyond the restaurant window, that alone felt like enough.

When the meal was over and I offered a word that today had been nice, Leo stepped in, dropped to one knee, and kissed the back of my hand. A wave of goosebumps ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit me so hard I almost kicked him without thinking, but I held it in. He'd planned the whole thing himself and probably practiced for today. As thanks for the effort, I gave him a small smile.

The chat was still a crucible of chaos. We passed back through the portal and returned to the bar where we'd first met. Clemoomoo, now dressed as a bartender, and the other two contestants welcomed us.

"Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, well... it was fine."

I went through the motions of drinking what Clemoomoo handed me while we made a little small talk. Then the second date began. This time I picked TastyLand, the one in casual clothes.

"Why don't you change into something comfortable? Where we're headed from here is a bit more active."

"All right."

I swapped the wedding dress, which had felt a little cumbersome for a while now, for jeans and a white tee, and stepped into the portal. What appeared this time was a zoo. As if it were only natural, Clemoomoo in a zoo-staff uniform was manning the ticket booth.

"Two adults."

"Oh, you two are on a date? What a well-matched couple."

......

Clemoomoo, possessed by an overly nosy employee, tossed all sorts of questions our way. I brushed past them, took the tickets, and went through the entrance.

"Whoa!"

"Better than you expected, right?"

"Yeah. Definitely!"

I could tell at a glance that far more care had gone into this than the world Leo had taken me to. From the entrance, flowers of every color bloomed fresh and green, and trees thick with leaves cut the hot midsummer sun. Walking beside TastyLand, I started taking all of it in with a willing heart.

"Ah, a tiger."

"Do you like tigers?"

"Yes. A tiger over a lion, any day."

Was this my own local color showing through? A lion had never even existed in East Asia. A tiger, which had lived alongside our people since long ago, felt far more familiar. Inside the enclosure, one was taking a leisurely afternoon nap. We passed an elephant twirling its trunk and penguins out for a swim, then a long-necked giraffe and a rhinoceros in the middle of its meal.

"We've walked a lot. You must be tired. Want to rest a minute?"

"Huh? Ah, well... sure."

I was only moving an avatar, so I wasn't particularly tired, but if I wanted the viewers to feel immersed, I had to stay faithful to the bit myself. We'd just sat down on a nearby bench when TastyLand called, "Just a second!" and took off running, toward a little concession stand in the distance. It was far enough that I couldn't be sure, but the clerk inside was probably Clemoomoo. Relentless. Absolutely relentless.

"Here."

"Oh, cotton candy. It's been forever."

"Do you like it?"

"This one... I might actually like a little."

I grinned and took a big bite. When I was little and we went to amusement parks or fairgrounds, I always pestered my parents for cotton candy and ice cream. But since when? Once I got older, started dating, and visited those same places with a girlfriend, cotton candy was something I had no desire to touch. Why? Because it looked like a snack for little kids? Because I was conscious of the eyes around me? Either way, right now I was eating it without a second thought.

I couldn't taste a thing... but the memory was sweet.