Chapter 127
To escape the scorching sun, people descended underground one by one on the escalators.
Amid the crowd, Name walked through the underground passage, grumbling inwardly that it was far too hot for April.
Her long hair, braided into two plaits, now nearly brushed the floor.
People occasionally sneaked glances at the girl, whose looks rivaled those of a child model and whose hairstyle was extraordinarily rare, but Name paid them no mind and focused solely on her phone screen.
After opening the map app and memorizing the station where she needed to get off and the exit, Name squeezed into an empty seat in a corner of the subway.
The subway began moving quietly, without a single rattling sound, and reached the next station in an instant.
As though it wasn't time to get off yet, Name closed her eyes and used the softly humming white noise as a lullaby, easing her lingering fatigue.
[The train will depart shortly.]
Even after the announcement, the subway doors did not close. Since it was a transfer station, many passengers were still entering and exiting.
People claimed seats one by one, and before long, someone sat down beside Name.
“Excuse me...”
Name opened her eyes at the young man's troubled voice. He was pointing at the seat beside Name.
“Sorry.”
“No, thank you.”
Name rolled up her hair, which had been boldly occupying the seat beside her, and held it in her arms.
The young man barely managed to suppress a laugh at her doll-like cuteness, then hurriedly sat down before anyone could take the seat and placed the luggage he had been carrying on the floor.
Name tried to fall asleep again with the white noise in the background, but her attempt was soon thwarted by an unwelcome visitor from the next car.
“Goddamn it, you xx xx! All of you xxx, get the hell out of here, you xx!”
An old man who looked as though he had not washed or groomed himself in ages, with a scraggly beard and clothes so worn they might as well have been layered rags, shouted as he forced his way through the crowd.
The subway passengers avoided eye contact and scowled deeply, as if they wanted nothing to do with him.
“What the hell, is he mentally ill?”
“Shh, just ignore him.”
Staggering as though he were drunk, the man looked around and hurled more curses at the people watching him.
It seemed as though he would pass by without incident, but unfortunately, the man locked eyes with Name and came to a stop.
“What are you staring at, you xx? Think I'm funny too? I'll gouge your eyes out!”
“...”
“You're a bitch the North sent to spy on me, aren't you? We need to round up and beat the shit out of all these xx spy bastards, lower than dogs and pigs—”
“Hey, mister! What the hell are you doing to a child? Get out of here, now, before I call the police!”
The young man beside Name suddenly stood up and stopped the man who was threatening her.
“You little fresh-faced punks, the pair of you...!”
“If you keep this up, I won't stand by either.”
The old man raised his arm as if he meant to hit him, but the young man immediately seized his wrist roughly. As the muscles in his forearm tensed, the old man's body began to tremble.
Clatter—
In the meantime, the file binders the young man had been carrying fell to the floor and scattered.
A brief scuffle seemed about to break out, but apparently the old man couldn't bring himself to challenge the broad-shouldered young man. As he left with a displeased look, the crowd applauded inwardly.
“Line 2 really has all kinds of villains. Hey, kid, you okay?”
Name, who had already gathered the file binders, stacked them neatly and returned them to him.
“Yeah, well, thanks.”
“Oh, you didn't have to pick those up, but thank you! Seriously, I wonder if that guy even tagged in properly before getting on.”
“You're heading to a protest...?”
“Oh, this?”
Looking at one of the file binders whose cover had become visible, the young man gave an awkward smile.
“It's nothing special. To put it simply, there was a food I liked, so I ordered it, but the restaurant didn't make it properly. So I'm going to let them know that we're all angry about it. Do you know a game called WoA? Maybe you're too young to know it?”
“I do. I know it well.”
“Oh, you do? This is actually my first time attending something like this, so I'm a little nervous. I don't even know if I wrote this script well; I put it together in a hurry...”
“In the end, isn't showing your sincerity what matters most?”
“Huh?”
“You said you liked that game. I think if you just speak honestly, you'll do fine. I have to get off here, so I'd better go. Good luck.”
“Ah, I see...! Thank you so much, buddy!”
The subway came to a stop. There was a slight sway as it braked, but everyone handled it with practiced ease.
When the subway doors opened, hundreds of people got out, and hundreds more got in.
Though it was the same space, it filled with new people as if it had become another world. Then a woman in baggy clothes suddenly raised her hand and called out to the seated young man, making it feel familiar again.
“Oh, I found car 7-2! Hi-hi. I wonder if our protest leader managed to get everything ready? I heard you stayed up all night!”
“Don't even ask. Until just now, I was seriously thinking about killing myself.”
“Hahahaha. And how about now?”
“A ridiculously cute little kid just cheered me on for the protest, and it gave me a boost. Didn't you happen to see her on your way here? She looked about like a first grader.”
“I guess not. I was staring at my phone the whole way here.”
“You really should have seen her. What a shame. It was like watching an actor! Ah, could she have been a real child actress? She spoke so crisply, too. I should've gotten her autograph.”
“You don't even watch movies or dramas, so what would you do with an autograph? Let's just stan our cute Name-chan together.”
“That kid was way cuter, though?”
For a moment, the young man lamented his poor powers of expression and thumped his frustrated chest.
“You probably don't know because you never watch NoName's livestreams and only watch them on VTube, but their main avatar is insanely cute too. What if NoName is even cuter? Want to bet?”
“Even so, it's just an avatar. What I saw was a real person. You can't compare them like that.”
“People who spend more of their lives in virtual reality sure are picky...”
“What?”
“Anyway, I'll show you. Don't just sit there—come take a look.”
“But the station is still ages away...!”
* * *
“There was no way I had come to the wrong place.”
The location of ‘Gamgol Cafe’ that Seomaru had sent me in a chat was definitely this place.
But all I could see was an empty building and stacks of cement bags.
After walking all the way around the building, I finally realized the cafe had recently moved elsewhere.
But I couldn't find any information at all about where it had moved, as though that detail had been carried off by the wind, and I was at a loss.
I contacted Seomaru once more and decided to start walking again rather than stand there staring blankly.
“Excuse me, unnie, oppa.”
I stopped a passing couple and held out my phone.
“How do I get to Gamgol Cafe? I think it moved recently, but it isn't on the map, so I don't know where to go.”
“Oh my...! Wait, where did Gamgol Cafe move to again... Oppa, do you remember?”
“No? I heard they were remodeling, but when did it move?”
“You told us last time, too! Let's call those Seonwoos. Hurry and give them a call.”
“Kim Seonwoo? Ah, no, Park Seonwoo? Right, we went there with them.”
“Could you wait a moment, friend? I'll ask my friend right away!”
Maybe she was so excited because I'd called her unnie; she clapped her hands and earnestly set about helping me.
While the call connected, the three of us stood awkwardly under the sun.
“What's your name, kid?”
While the man talked on the phone, the woman in a black long skirt crouched down and asked me.
“I'm Name.”
“Wow, even your name is beautiful! How old are you, Name?”
“I'll be eight soon.”
“Ooh, you're eight and you came here alone? Where do you live?”
“It's not far. About two or three stops.”
“Name, you're amazing! You even know how to ride the subway alone.”
“They're not answering? Should I call Yubom? Name, can you wait just a little longer?”
Waiting for Seomaru to contact me would probably take longer anyway, so I gave a small nod.
The unnie beside me seemed to be grinning as she stared intently at me, as if she found everything about this amusing.
“Her eyelashes are really long. Don't you think so, oppa?”
“Name, this unnie says you're incredibly pretty.”
“Ahaha...”
“You must be sick of hearing that you're pretty?”
“Can't you tell just by looking? Name looks like she'd be incredibly popular! Do you have a boyfriend?”
“I don't have a boyfriend.”
“Why? I bet lots of people like you, Name.”
“That's a little...”
“Aaaah! What do I do? You're too cute!”
Fortunately, the couple's over-the-top doting didn't last long.
After saving the location information she'd given me to my phone, I bowed my head in thanks.
It wasn't as far as I'd expected; it was just on the next block.
The area was filled with apartment buildings under construction, all of them looking identical, so I wandered on foot as if trying to escape a maze.
[Gamgol Cafe]
When I finally found the cafe and opened its door, a blast of cold air-conditioning brushed my forehead and cooled the beads of sweat forming there.
“Welcome!”
“Yes, hello.”
I returned the young female clerk's cheerful greeting and took a seat in the farthest corner.
My body was weak, and even though I'd pared down my luggage as much as possible, my shoulders were still stiff.
I put my bag on the chair beside me, then took out the file binders and several memory capsules containing recordings and laid them on the table in advance.
Just then, Seomaru contacted me as well.
[Right, Gamgol Cafe hasn't been updated on the map yet, so the location listed will be wrong! I'll pin it and send it right away. I should arrive in about five minutes!]
He was quick to send it.
Regardless, I took paper and a pen out of the file binder and arranged them at the perfect angle beneath the perfect lighting.
[VTube Joint Business Agreement]
“Would you like to place an order?”
The clerk looking down at me was way too tall. The menu board was even higher.
I had to lean my upper body far forward and crane my head way up before I could take in the entire menu at a glance.
After thinking it over, I placed my order first while the clerk waited with a smile.
“I'd like a caramel Frappuccino with extra whole Java chips. Please give me lots of espresso whipped cream, along with mocha syrup and caramel drizzle. I'll order the rest when my companion arrives.”
“Ah, yes? Y-yes, I got it! J-just a moment!”
“Take your time. No rush.”
I craved something sweet on days like this. Then again, I craved it even on days that weren't like this.