#4
He was quite a decent person. Contrary to his outstanding skills, he was always overflowing with humility. Being good at games and having a great personality too—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a unicorn in the gaming world.
The gaming friend he’d made after several years was pleasing in many ways. The more he got to know him, the more he wanted to become closer.
I guess he won’t be coming online right now. Just as he was taking a breather after easily winning a match, THATMOON’s account icon suddenly changed to green in front of his eyes.
The clock still indicated it was late afternoon. With wide eyes and a dazed expression, he sent a whisper.
– Ganghaa: hey hey
– THATMOON: Hello
– Ganghaa: What brings you online at this hour? lol
– THATMOON: Gangha-nim seems to be online almost every day haha
– Ganghaa: lol???? Are you introducing yourself???
– Ganghaa: You’re not skipping lectures to play games, right? lol
He couldn’t be more satisfied with how they were now playfully teasing each other. He waited for a reply with a grin on his face for several minutes. THATMOON remained silent long enough to make his messages feel awkward.
So this is what one-sided internal closeness feels like. Though it hurt his pride to seem like he was always clinging to him, the one who wanted more had to bend first. Finally, unable to restrain his temperament, Hajun typed on the keyboard.
– Ganghaa: Well, I’m not online almost every day
– Ganghaa: Just literally every day lol
– THATMOON: Wow haha Are you perhaps aspiring to be a professional?
– Ganghaa: lolol… This is the first time I’ve heard that;;;
– Ganghaa: What do you want? I’ll buy you anything lol
– THATMOON: lol
If someone else had said it, he would have dismissed it as mere courtesy, but coming from him, it felt sincere. If this could be considered a talent, it certainly was one.
– Ganghaa: By the way, THATMOON
– Ganghaa: Why is your login schedule so irregular?
– THATMOON: Because it’s vacation
– THATMOON: What about you, Gangha-nim? Aren’t you in your final semester?
– THATMOON: Sorry if you’re not a college student
Wait, is he asking me a question? He momentarily covered his mouth and drew in a sharp breath. Despite their many conversations so far, this was the first time he’d received a personal question.
It felt like being greeted first by a cautious stray cat. Feeling a lump of emotion in his chest, he excitedly replied with a smooth message.
– Ganghaa: haha no I don’t go to college, I’m a freelancer lol Fully committed to the gaming life
– THATMOON: Ah I see lol But you’re always gone on weekday evenings
He couldn’t be entirely happy about the follow-up question. It was because this was a question he couldn’t easily answer. He slowly typed and stared blankly at the monitor.
– Ganghaa: I’m a developer so I’m not restricted by time when gaming
– Ganghaa: But in the evenings I do a short part-time job haha
– Ganghaa: It’s not like I’m some impressive developer though
– Ganghaa: Just… an ordinary citizen? lolol
Once he revealed his identity, people would change. In the virtual space of gaming, as if it was perfectly acceptable, inappropriate questions and awkward requests would pour in without hesitation. The more recognition he gained, the worse it got.
Partly by choice and partly by circumstance, he’d spent several years without interacting with other gamers. Though he’d exceptionally grown close to THATMOON, that didn’t mean he needed to reveal his occupation.
Just like how people reacted when they found out he was a streamer, no one knew how THATMOON would react either.
After all, he was just an anonymous person behind a monitor. He probably hadn’t been entirely truthful with him either. While repeating excuses for his lie to soothe his complicated feelings, it happened.
– THATMOON: What’s so great about being ordinary?
– THATMOON: There’s no need to be so modest haha
He didn’t expect to hear such words. For a moment, he felt a lump in his throat. He stared at the chat for a while, unconsciously furrowing his brows.
***
It was a pleasantly cool day, perfect for exercise. After about an hour of jogging slowly while admiring the colorful autumn foliage on the street trees, he returned home exhausted and drenched in sweat.
As he gulped down ice-cold water that made his head throb while feeling the chill from the refrigerator, his grandmother called out for him to eat some ice cream she’d taken out.
“What ice cream?”
“Mari bought it. I sent her on a quick errand, but she’ll be back soon.”
Mari was his cousin who lived nearby. She was a cute high school senior girl who was especially fond of him. They were so close that she often came over without notice, and today seemed to be one of those days.
That must be “it” again. Guessing why Mari had come to the house, he rubbed his sticky forearm. It seemed best to quickly shower and come out before she returned.
*
After finishing his shower in about five minutes, he headed to the living room. The house was quiet, so it seemed Mari hadn’t returned yet. While vigorously drying his hair with a towel, someone slapped his back with a loud “Wha!”
“It’s been a while.”
“Junnie, it’s been a while too!”
When he turned around with an indifferent expression, Mari puffed her cheeks sulkily. “Ah, no fun.” “Try changing your pattern.” Even though she knew he wouldn’t be surprised by this much, Mari kept trying to play pranks. He tousled her smooth medium-length hair and grinned.
“What is it today?”
“How could you ask why I came, Junnie, I’m disappointed!” After huffing with exaggerated indignation, she quickly changed her attitude and took out her phone. After tapping on the screen for a while, she seemed to find what she wanted as her face brightened.
“What does this mean? I looked it up in the dictionary but couldn’t figure it out.”
As expected, the phone screen showed a young man with green hair smiling. He must be the K-POP idol she liked.
In recent years, it seemed that Korean Wave was trending among teenagers. When he saw it on TV news, he just accepted it as a fact, but now that even Mari said she liked Korean idols, the popularity became more tangible.
The idol Mari had been a fan of for several months was quite active on social media. She liked that he valued communicating with fans, but for him, it was rather annoying in many ways.
———————————–
ONTHESKY SAHA Saha ⓥ @sahahahahaha · 1 day ago
I appeared on “Radio Waves Date at 8” on Bora after a long time!!!
A group shot with members at the broadcasting station! > <
(photo.jpg)
———————————–
Are these people in the same group? As he was listlessly scanning the three men behind the green-haired one who was making a V-sign, Mari pointed at a word with her finger, her eyes sparkling.
“Here, here, what’s ‘bora’?”
The longer he lived in Japan, the more awkward his Korean became. He was especially terrible with technical terms and abbreviations. His brow unconsciously furrowed as he suddenly encountered one of the reasons he had decided to do live streaming.
“…Probably means ‘visible radio’.”
As he gave an uncertain answer based on context and the photo, Mari clapped her hands as if her question was finally resolved. “Bora, what a cute word!” After muttering the same word several times as if to memorize it, she held out her phone again.
“Anyway, look, isn’t Saha cute today too!”
He continued drying his hair without any particular response. Mari was the type to spread what she liked to people around her. The ice cream in the refrigerator would definitely be her taste too.
As much as he wanted to go along with his cute cousin’s affectionate words, he really wasn’t attracted to male idols. Moreover, an overseas idol who couldn’t even be seen on TV was completely outside his interest.
“Now that you’re here, you should study.”
“Argh, don’t change the subject!”
After maintaining silence with just a smile for a few seconds, she dramatically sulked and disappeared into the living room.
*
Mari proudly showed her notebook, boasting that she had finished all her homework. Since she had been begging to understand her favorite idol’s words without translation, he had been teaching her Korean for the past few months. He praised her heartily as she smiled brightly, and began the formal tutoring.
“Let’s see how well you’ve memorized.” While checking her homework by calling out vocabulary words, Mari stopped writing and suddenly looked up. Her serious expression was quite suspicious, making Hajun unconsciously tense up.
“So, when I become an adult next year, you’ll go to Korea with me, right?”
“What’s with that all of a sudden?”
When he was taken aback by the unexpected question, she narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice.
“We agreed on that when you forgot my birthday two years ago.”
“Huh? When did I…?”
I can’t believe she still hasn’t forgotten about two years ago. The memory of having to give her a separate gift because she wouldn’t forgive him even after he promised to go to Korea came rushing back.
“Did I… really?” As he pretended not to remember and smiled brightly, Mari excitedly continued.
“I knew you’d act like this! I’m definitely going to Korea next year! Aren’t you worried about sending me to a foreign country alone? If you come to Korea with me after so long, it’ll be killing two birds with one stone-“
“Maaaaaaari!”
Interrupting the endless whining, his grandmother rushed into the living room. Holding a ladle covered in curry, his grandmother looked much more threatening than usual.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
