Chapter 19
I sat at home, staring blankly at the money that had been deposited into my account.
- 1,041,000 won
"... Huh..."
- I can't accept this much money. I'll send it back.
I said, sweating coldly as I thought about that enormous sum.
- No, just keep it. If you haven't spent it by next week, I'll file the lawsuit~
With that, she hung up.
......
- Do you like me?
I typed the words out on my keyboard, then hurriedly deleted them.
For a moment, I really did wonder if she liked me.
Objectively speaking, I was... well, you know.
In this day and age, homosexuality wasn't exactly an unfamiliar concept.
But if she said no, wouldn't that just give me one more reason I couldn't look Yoo Jieun in the eye?
...
I don't know.
Was it just maternal affection, like I'd said before?
Wasn't this beyond what maternal affection alone could explain?
Wasn't that too much money to spend out of maternal affection?
... Or maybe that was too much money even for romantic love.
... At this point, the lawsuit didn't even feel like a serious threat anymore.
Either way, I guess she wanted me to spend it.
Let's just assume she's an incredibly generous person.
... Honestly, I didn't think she seemed like a bad person anymore.
How strong did her altruism have to be for her to treat me this well?
She bought me delicious meals and nice clothes.
... And petted me, too.
She'd done so much for me.
... I didn't dislike her anymore.
Even that petting that had felt unsettling then—I only avoided it on instinct, but maybe it had just been maternal affection after all.
Thinking of it that way, I felt a little bad for avoiding her touch.
In fact, just thinking of her even made me feel warm inside.
Right. Maybe we'd gotten off on the wrong foot, but you never know what might happen next.
Anyway, as I shook off my stray thoughts, the numbers came back into view.
- 1,041,000 won
If she'd given me this huge sum out of some kind of affection...
Then... could I spend it?
It had been so sudden that I'd been taken aback and felt resistant, but honestly, I had no reason to turn down that much money.
One million won.
At minimum wage, that was roughly a hundred hours of work.
Honestly, to me, she was an angel sent down from heaven.
I just couldn't tell what she was thinking, so I wondered if she might be something else disguised as an angel.
...
I don't know.
Let's just believe there are all kinds of people in the world.
If there were people who spent tens of thousands of won out of maternal affection,
then there could be people who spent several million won a day out of maternal affection.
... No, was that really possible?
"... Ah, screw it."
I tossed my phone aside and sprawled out on the mattress.
I'll just accept it gratefully.
Is this really the time to worry about it?
Rent is due in two days now.
... But other than rent, what should I spend it on?
I'd just wanted to make money, but now that it had actually come in, I had no idea what to do with it.
If I set aside 400,000 won for rent, I'd have about 600,000 left.
After phone and internet bills, I'd have 500,000...
I really did realize all over again what an enormous sum it was.
... Ms. Yoo Jieun. Thank you so much...
I said a quick prayer, then started thinking again.
So what should I buy?
Something in-game I hadn't been able to buy in ages? Or clothes?
After thinking it over, I decided to invest in my stream.
It was about time I moved on from using my phone as a webcam and my headset mic.
My average viewership was easily hitting 300 now, so it was probably okay to start investing.
I set my budget at around 200,000 won and searched for information on DC Inside.
... Sometimes, when a post caught my eye, I'd even stir up trouble.
The setup I put together based on various recommendation posts came to 150,000 won for a webcam, 70,000 for a mic... and 30,000 for a light.
I'd looked it up, and apparently I needed a light, too.
It was 50,000 won over the budget I'd set, but that was fine.
I was rich now.
Originally, I'd planned to spend about the same on the mic and the webcam.
Honestly... it seemed like more people came to see my face than hear my voice.
It wasn't like I had a bad voice, though.
Then, a chat window appeared in my imagination.
---
Oh, what, did she change her cam?
The picture's so clear now
Noona, I'm dying...
She's even prettier with the better picture quality
For real
Facts lol
---
"Hmph..."
Just imagining it put me in a good mood, and I kicked my feet against the mattress.
Yeah, let's splurge.
This is definitely worth the money.
* *
'Unemployed High School Graduate, Loser, Never Dated, Virgin, Pretty Girl! has started streaming.'
I streamed in a shirt and skirt.
I got a lot of compliments about how pretty I looked when I wore these.
Seeing chat messages like 'pretty' every now and then while gaming made me feel really good.
That word had to have some kind of magic in it.
---
Why didn't you stream yesterday?
Getting spoiled, huh
Boyfriend? Damn
---
I'll put that one on timeout for now.
Don't they get tired of this?
Maybe I should just ban them now...
Actually, I understood their psychology pretty well.
Deep down, they were hoping I didn't have a boyfriend.
They were making a big fuss to prompt me to answer.
This was the insight into human nature I'd gained from five years of using DC.
Anyway, I should answer the question about why I hadn't streamed yesterday.
"I went to meet the person who filed a complaint against me for online sexual harassment."
It should be okay to say that much, right?
It wasn't like anyone who knew Yoo Jieun was watching.
---
Wait, that was real?
Legendary lol
---
The chat heated up again.
I looked at it, then said what I'd been wanting to say all along.
"Hey, I have good news."
---
?
What is it
---
I'm going to buy a new webcam and mic.
I was about to just say it, but then I thought that might be kind of boring.
"It's a secret."
I enjoyed the viewers' grumbling—"Then why even bring it up? I can't sleep tonight," and so on—as I continued the stream.
* *
"That's it for today's stream."
I said goodbye to the viewers and turned it off.
... Actually, for a while now, my attention had been focused on one thing.
Yoo Jieun wasn't chatting.
Yoo Jieun had been there since the moment I started streaming, but she hadn't typed a single message the whole time.
Last time, she'd chatted every now and then, but this time she'd joined and hadn't said a word, which was kind of scary.
Did she have the stream on while doing something else?
But then Yoo Jieun suddenly called me.
"...That startled me..."
Did she know I was thinking about her and call me?
This is scary...
I picked up my phone with slightly trembling hands.
"H-Hello?"
[Ms. Moon.]
"Eek..."
A very cold voice came through the phone.
What was this?
Had I done something wrong?
I'd cut down on swearing, too.
Was she saying I had to cut down even more?
I swallowed hard and answered.
"Y-Yes."
Then there was a brief silence.
[Why aren't you wearing the clothes I bought you?]
"Pardon?"
I gave a dumbfounded answer, completely caught off guard.
But Yoo Jieun continued, unperturbed.
[Why are you wearing that instead of what I bought you? You said the things I bought you were prettier.]
"Ah..."
... Did she have to say it in such a scary voice?
I hadn't worn them because they felt like too much.
Besides, I'd been whining about being broke. What would she think if I showed up wearing designer clothes next time?
"Um... They were too expensive, so I didn't wear them. I don't think they suit me... And I told you I had no money, so what would you think if I came out wearing them?"
[......]
There was a brief silence.
[They look really good on you, so wear them next time. And tell your stream that I bought them for you.]
"Ah, okay, I understa—"
Click.
The call ended.
What was that?
Was she really upset?
... Why...?
Was that something to get so upset about...?
I stared blankly at the dark phone for a moment.
Then, out of nowhere, a KakaoTalk message came in.
11:30 AM [Ms. Ihyeon, could you arrange for me to meet that unni?]
11:31 AM Huh...? Why...?
11:31 AM [I'd like to meet someone you know. I want to treat her to a meal.]
11:31 AM Ah, that might be a little...
11:32 AM [You'll have to arrange it somehow, okay? Any weekday works for me.]
What?
Song Chaeyeon and Yoo Jieun were going to meet?
11:32 AM Ms. Jieun
11:33 AM Absolutely not
11:33 AM How am I supposed to explain our relationship?
I couldn't exactly say, "We're acquaintances because she filed a complaint against me for online sexual harassment," if she asked what our relationship was...
As I sent those messages in a panic,
11:34 AM [Just tell her I'm an acquaintance of yours~]
She said that casually, and
no matter how many messages I sent, she didn't reply again.
...
Seriously, I always think this, but she really does whatever she wants.
When I first met her, I thought she was such a demure person.
But what could I do?
If she told me to jump, I'd jump.
... That's what I say, anyway.
Honestly, even if they met, I was the only one who'd be in an awkward position. It didn't seem like anything bad would happen.
Yoo Jieun didn't seem like a bad person, either. It really seemed like she just wanted to invite her to meet.
I opened Song Chaeyeon's chat and typed.
11:39 AM Unni
11:39 AM Are you free to talk on the phone?
Not long after, a KakaoTalk message came in.
11:45 AM [Yeah, I am. What's up?]
After reading it, I called her.
The ringing stopped after only a few rings.
"Hello? Unni."
- Mmm? Oh. Ihyeon...
... What?
Her tone sounded a little awkward.
The thought crossed my mind, but I didn't pay it much attention and spoke.
"Would you be interested in meeting someone I know?"
- Huh? Someone you know? Why all of a sudden?
"Well... I told her you were someone I knew, and she said she'd like to treat you to a meal."
- Hmm, really? Sure.
... Something felt off.
Her usual tone was missing, and she sounded a little uncomfortable.
- ...By the way, is this person a man?
"Ah, no. She's a woman."
- Oh, I see.
Her voice seemed to brighten a little. Just a little.
It was still a bit subdued.
"...Unni, is something wrong?"
- N-No! Nothing's wrong.
Song Chaeyeon immediately brushed off my question.
... What was that?
I thought about it, then asked again.
"Would any weekday work for you? She said you could pick the day."
- Hmm, Thursday's the day I don't have classes... Would that work?
"Yes, I think so. I'll call you again later."
- Okay... Thanks.
... Her voice was still low.
It was bothering me. A lot.
Was she dealing with some kind of problem?
Since she'd helped me so much, I wanted to be able to help her, too.
So I said,
"Unni, is something bothering you?"
- Hmm?
She sounded startled.
She definitely wasn't acting like herself.
"If something's bothering you, please tell me. I want to help."
I chose my words carefully and spoke sincerely.
Then there was a brief silence.
- ...Ihyeon.
Her voice came through, serious.
"Y-Yes?"
I stammered, a little flustered.
- Um... I might be wrong, and I'm sorry if I am, but I just wanted to ask. Are you, by any chance...
What?
What was she going to ask? I couldn't guess.
......
Ah, no way.
Just as that thought crossed my mind,
- Are you streaming?
"Ah."
Ah.
I miss that old man.