Chapter 20
The day after Moon Ihyeon and Song Chaeyeon parted ways.
Song Chaeyeon was staring at her phone with a silly grin.
On the screen was a photo of Song Chaeyeon and a gray-haired girl who looked a good ten centimeters shorter than her.
It was a photo of her and Moon Ihyeon.
'So cute...'
She'd taken the photo on a whim because she wanted to remember just how cute Ihyeon was.
'And she's this cute even though I took it by surprise.'
Song Chaeyeon kept zooming in and out, admiring Ihyeon's face.
Her long eyelashes, her soft-looking cheeks, and a face that was cute without looking childish.
Since Song Chaeyeon mistakenly thought Ihyeon was underage, Ihyeon even stirred up the protective instincts unique to her.
'She's really cute, like a little animal.'
Song Chaeyeon thought as she continued to gaze at the photo.
'...Have I always liked cute things this much?'
Song Chaeyeon briefly wondered at her own reaction.
But that moment passed quickly.
A long shadow fell behind her.
"You're going to put a hole in the screen. What are you looking at?"
"Hm? Oh, Chaerin."
It was Song Chaerin.
She must have showered after Song Chaeyeon, because she was dressed casually with a towel around her neck.
"Look at this. What do you think of her?"
Song Chaeyeon showed her the picture as if she were proudly showing off a pet.
"What is it?"
Song Chaerin bent over beside Song Chaeyeon to take a closer look.
"Oh... Who is she? A celebrity? Did you take a picture together?"
"Ah, haha. She's cute and pretty enough to be one, right? But no, she's just the younger sibling of a classmate of mine."
"...What?"
Song Chaerin had naturally assumed she was a celebrity, so she was a little taken aback.
"Let me see."
Song Chaerin studied the girl's face for a moment.
"...She's pretty. Is her hair dyed and her eye color contacts?"
Song Chaerin held the phone for a moment and admired Moon Ihyeon's face.
As if glad to have found someone who shared her opinion, Song Chaeyeon began rambling on about Ihyeon.
"No, it's natural. Isn't that amazing? And she has such a lovely voice, too. She's quiet and calm, but still so cute..."
Song Chaerin only half-listened to Song Chaeyeon's enthusiastic praise as she kept examining the picture.
'Hmm. She is pretty.'
The kind of face that made you feel good just by looking at it.
'...But.'
...She pressed a finger to her lips and thought for a moment.
'I'm sure I've seen her somewhere before.'
'Does she look like a celebrity?'
'No. It's not like you see celebrities with eyes and hair that color every day.'
...Then,
an image came to mind.
"...No way."
"Hm?"
Ignoring Song Chaeyeon's puzzled look, Song Chaerin handed the phone back and headed to her room.
She turned on the phone she'd tossed on the bed before showering, opened Twitch, the livestreaming platform, and
went to the livestream archives.
There she was: the gray-haired, gray-eyed streamer Song Chaerin had been watching so often lately.
Song Chaerin's pupils trembled as she watched.
"Unni, let me see your phone again."
"Huh? O-Okay."
Song Chaeyeon had been staring blankly at Song Chaerin's flustered behavior, but came to her senses and handed her the phone.
Song Chaerin looked back and forth between her own phone and Song Chaeyeon's.
"...Unni. Does she, by any chance, stream?"
* *
Song Chaeyeon stared blankly at the video playing in front of her.
On the screen, someone who looked uncannily like Moon Ihyeon was gaming while cursing in a voice uncannily like hers.
She was wearing a mask, but her beautiful eyes were the same.
...And, more than anything, she was wearing the clothes Song Chaeyeon had bought her.
Honestly, the swearing was a little shocking.
She seemed rather awkward at it, though.
- Sh-shit...
- F-fucking...
There were clear signs of hesitation.
'Maybe it's a persona or something...'
Song Chaeyeon didn't know much about streaming, but she'd vaguely heard that streamers sometimes adopted certain personas to make their broadcasts more entertaining.
The swearing was shocking, but she could understand it to some extent.
After all, she'd gone through a rebellious phase herself around that age.
And Moon Ihyeon seemed to have suffered a lot of emotional pain, so Song Chaeyeon even felt sorry for her, cursing in a way that didn't seem to suit her at all.
But what really bothered her was...
---
I want to fondle her boobs
But what cup size is she? She's skinny, but not flat
So how many people has she been with?
I'm guessing at least 50 lol
---
There were so many comments like that.
'Is internet chat always this disgusting?'
Just seeing the comments made her frown.
And every time one appeared, Moon Ihyeon flinched.
Her eyes even looked like they were welling up with tears.
Each time Song Chaeyeon saw that, she felt a pain in her chest, as if her heart were being squeezed.
'She's all alone, with no one to protect her, and no money. She must be trying hard to adapt to the internet.'
Having reached that conclusion, Song Chaeyeon thought,
'I have to help her.'
She opened Moon Ihyeon's contact and was about to call when
'...'
she hesitated for a moment.
Was it okay for her to expose Moon Ihyeon's private life like this?
They hadn't known each other long, but surely there was a reason Ihyeon hadn't told her.
What if streaming was something Ihyeon was ashamed of?
Thinking of it that way,
she felt a little reluctant to call.
'...It hurts to watch.'
I'll just keep an eye on her a little longer.
That was what she decided.
But...
- Are you streaming?
It was only a few days after she'd agonized over it alone that she asked Ihyeon that.
* *
"N-No, I'm not?"
Cold sweat ran down my back.
My voice was trembling.
What?
How did she know?
Did she like watching streams, by any chance?
She hadn't seemed like the type.
- ......
Song Chaeyeon fell silent for a moment, then said,
-
Unemployed High School Graduate, Loser, Never Dated, Virgin, Pretty...
"Aaaah!!!"
How—how did she know?
My face flushed red.
- Is that right...?
"......"
After reacting like that, I had no choice but to admit it.
I calmed my pounding heart and answered,
"H-How did you know?"
- My younger sister told me.
"Ah..."
I let out a sigh.
So that's what had come of her saying she wanted to show the picture to her siblings.
It was probably her younger brother, right?
That little shit...
As I was cursing him, Song Chaeyeon spoke in a heavy voice.
- Would it be okay if I stopped by for a bit today?
I couldn't say no... Her voice sounded so serious.
"...Yes..."
And so, I let her come over.
* *
Song Chaeyeon arrived before long.
Unlike last time, she rang the doorbell to let me know she was there.
- Creak
I cautiously opened the door for her.
Song Chaeyeon came into view as the door slowly swung open.
But then,
!?
Song Chaeyeon suddenly threw her arms around me.
She rushed over and hugged me, holding me tightly in her arms.
I bent backward as she leaned down to hug me.
I couldn't move in that position.
"...You must have had a hard time."
Her gentle, husky voice tickled my ear.
"Ah, ah?"
Memories came to mind of when she'd protected me from those men and of the baseball stadium, and my face grew a little hot.
I stammered for a while, then was finally able to breathe again when Song Chaeyeon let go.
My heart was pounding.
My breathing had grown a little ragged.
Maybe it was because I'd been a little smothered in her embrace, or maybe for another reason.
Song Chaeyeon pulled away and looked at me sadly.
"F-For now, come on in."
I made my slightly unsteady legs carry me inside.
* *
Song Chaeyeon and I sat facing each other in the middle of my room.
Once my breathing had calmed a little, the mood turned heavy.
She looked down at me with a somber expression.
...Was it really that upsetting to her to find out I streamed?
It wasn't like my broadcasts were all that inappropriate.
I usually just chatted and played Bell.
Just as I was thinking that, she spoke.
"Ihyeon."
"Y-Yes."
Her low voice made me stumble over my words.
"Could you stop streaming?"
"Pardon?"
Her sudden request left me flustered.
"I understand why you swear, Ihyeon. It's not even that bad. But the viewers there are really toxic."
"Ah..."
So that was the problem.
"...You're still at an age when you're growing up, and I don't think it's good for you to be exposed to the internet so easily."
"......"
But I'm a known name on DC Inside...
I'm probably already grown up.
But there was no way for her to know that, and it felt awkward to say, so I could only move my mouth soundlessly.
"There really are a lot of awful people. I looked up your username, and I'd never even heard of something called DC before. But..."
Song Chaeyeon stopped speaking and pressed her lips together.
I fell silent, too.
Sometimes, out of curiosity, I checked out streamer forums myself. I always came away feeling awful, just like before.
The quality of my stream's viewers wasn't great. If you compared it to water, it was only a little better than a mud puddle.
But I could accept that. I had brought it on myself, and streaming was my choice.
Still, it must have been pretty shocking for an ordinary person like Song Chaeyeon to see.
It must have looked like too much for a young girl like me to handle.
And there were times when it really did get to me mentally.
"...I'm grateful that you're worried about me."
I carefully opened my mouth.
"But I don't have any money. I was having trouble even paying rent..."
Though I hadn't managed to pay it with my own money.
At my words, Song Chaeyeon looked a little sad.
"And honestly, it's not all bad. I feel good when people call me pretty or cute, too..."
"......Even so..."
We fell silent for a moment after she spoke.
She was kind.
She could have impatiently raised her voice and insisted that I quit, but knowing my circumstances, she was suffering in my place because I couldn't just stop.
...That made me feel a little warm inside.
Did I even deserve to feel this way?
"...Unni."
"Hm?"
Song Chaeyeon lifted her head when I broke the silence.
The word unni had become second nature to me by now.
So maybe it was okay to act a little like her younger sister.
I practically crawled over on my arms and legs and hugged Song Chaeyeon.
I rested my chin on her shoulder, slid my arms under hers, and hugged her.
It was very comfortable there.
"Ihyeon...?"
"...Unni. Thank you."
There, I whispered to her.
"Thank you for being so good to me. But I'm really okay. Not everyone there is a bad person."
"......"
Without saying a word, Song Chaeyeon stroked my back with one hand and my head with the other.
Her hands felt so big against my back and head.
"I feel a little sad that there's nothing I can do to help."
"......"
I really did think she was so kind.
Even though I was a complete stranger to her.
Without a word, I stroked her back with my small hand.
"...Ah."
Then a good idea came to me.
"Unni, could you help me out with something?"
"Hm?"
"Could I borrow your phone for a moment?"
"Huh? Sure."
She handed it to me with a bewildered look.
"Sorry, just a second."
I said as I searched for Twitch in the app store.
But maybe because she wanted to watch my stream, it was already installed.
And for the same reason, she already had an account.
I took out my own phone and entered her username into the command field.
- dlgusdl123
...That's my name.
I chuckled quietly, gave her manager privileges, and handed her phone back.
"What did you do?"
Song Chaeyeon asked.
"I made you a moderator. You can kick out malicious users and time them out in chat."
"Oh..."
A glint appeared in Song Chaeyeon's eyes.
"If you're worried, you can moderate the chat whenever you have free time. That should put your mind at ease, right?"
At that, Song Chaeyeon smiled.
Then she stroked my head and said,
Her touch was warm.
"I guess so. I'll come by often. Thanks for thinking about how I feel."
"Hehe."
We smiled at each other, then Song Chaeyeon stood up.
"Well, I guess we got that sorted out. I'd better get going."
"Already?"
I said, feeling a little sad.
"I'd like to stay a little longer, too, but I have a lecture soon."
"I guess it can't be helped..."
I said as I followed Song Chaeyeon toward the shoe cabinet.
"I'll come by again, Ihyeon. You don't have to see me out. I'll chase away all those bad people for you, so don't worry!"
She said, striking a pose that made her look strong.
I smiled and replied.
"Hehe, okay. See you next time!"
Song Chaeyeon left with a brighter expression, saying goodbye as she opened the door.
Come to think of it, she was on the student discipline committee back in middle school, too.
I remember she often got into conflicts because she called out even her seniors without hesitation.
She never once backed down.
Maybe it really suited her.
I watched the room she'd left behind, feeling strangely relieved.
...No.
Wait a minute.
Does she not know I was reported for online sexual harassment?
Knowing her personality, she might actually give me a serious scolding.
But since she hadn't said anything, it seemed like she didn't know.
...Well, the whole thing was starting to die down by now. She probably hadn't found it.
And it'll keep dying down as time goes on.
Besides, maybe she didn't believe it because there was so much fabrication mixed into the 'not-a-virgin' rumors.
...Then that's a real relief...
Maybe her younger brother hadn't told her, either.
Or maybe he didn't know.
...For now, I'll quietly add any related words to the banned-word list.
I'd tried not to censor that sort of thing if I could help it.
But this... I really have no choice.
* *
After that, I lay down and played with my phone.
- ♩♪♬
My phone rang.
- Yoo Jieun
Yoo Jieun?
Was there a reason she was calling all of a sudden?
It wasn't even evening yet.
Puzzled, I answered.
Right away, I heard a cold voice.
[Who is this?]
"Y-Yes...?"
[Who is this new manager? Ihyeon123.]