Today's Chicken Mukbang W 45 - Hyacinth in Bloom

#45

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“Mmm, just… I feel disappointed. When I went to Korea this time, I couldn’t hang out with my friend much. He was really busy.”

“…I don’t think that’s the real reason.”

“It’s really nothing.” Grandmother turned off the TV silently after observing Hajun, who kept dropping hints but not fully explaining. When she shot him a look that said she wasn’t going to let this go easily, he sighed as if overwhelmed by her intensity.

“I guess I’m just more narrow-minded than I thought.”

“Why do you think that?”

“I feel a bit hurt… thinking my friend might be closer to someone else than to me.”

“Ah, so that’s why I said it’s nothing!” Hajun stood up abruptly as if he couldn’t bear the embarrassment. After quickly grabbing his hand to make him sit down, they wrestled briefly for a few seconds. Soon, as he gave up resisting and buried his face between his knees, she gently patted her grandson’s back.

“I should really thank that friend. Making Junchan worry about such things.”

Except for occasional outings for exercise, Hajun spent most of his time at home. Despite his streaming activities, his grandmother was always concerned about his notably insufficient experience with proper social life and friendships.

But today, seeing Hajun troubled over friendship issues, it seemed she could finally put her mind at ease a little.

“The desire to be important to someone is something everyone has. Especially if that person is precious to you. Regardless of gender, whether it’s a lover or a friend, feeling jealous is natural.”

“…Jealousy? You get jealous in friendships too? Grandmother, have you ever been jealous of a friend?”

“I think I did at your age. Now, well, we’re more worried about who’s going to die first.”

“Don’t say things like that. Live a long life, Grandmother.” Hajun grabbed her hand tightly with a stern face. Looking at her grandson who couldn’t take the joke, she laughed mischievously.

“Well, I need to see my great-grandchildren before I die. So, when are you bringing home a partner?”

“Oh, really!”

Hajun’s face turned as red as a radish as he swatted away his grandmother’s hand.

Close to midnight, his phone rang sharply. Squinting at the bright screen, Hajun drowsily checked KaTok.

[I don’t like that you’re really my hyung ㅎㅎ]

“What does that mean…”

After staring at the message for a while, he remembered the chat he had sent. With a pouting expression, he quickly replied.

What do you mean, why don’t you like it. While Mari was certainly a cute sister, they weren’t the kind of siblings who shared the intense brotherly love portrayed in dramas or movies. Feeling hurt by Imun’s outright rejection of even the fantasy, he asked for a reason, but Imun’s response was slow in coming.

While watching an On The Sky performance to clear his foggy mind, Imun’s message finally arrived.

[Because then I can’t tease you ㅠㅠ]

[If I were your brother, I think you’d keep me on a tight leash without mercy ㅎㅎ]

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why would I do that]

[If I was going to do that, I would have done it already]

He vaguely recalled Imun mentioning having an older sister by two years. Was he controlled by his sister? He tried to imagine a sophisticated woman resembling Imun, but could only picture Imun with long hair.

It seemed possible that Imun’s usually affectionate personality might have been developed through his family environment. Smiling slightly as he imagined Imun acting cute and spoiled with his sister.

[You should speak clearly;;]

[You can’t discipline me because I’m too pretty]

[Calling yourself pretty…;;]

[ㅎㅎ Did you just call me ‘jagi’ (honey/sweetheart)? Are you going that far now?]

[Sorry but I belong to Haneul fans ㅎㅎ]

It was astounding how Imun, unlike earlier, was now responding at the speed of light. Just faster when it comes to teasing. While contemplating how to respond, he suddenly found it amusing that he was even worrying about such things.

With a broad smile, Hajun repeatedly tapped the same keys on the keyboard.

[ㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗ] (middle finger emoji)

[That’s so mean… ㅠㅠ I’m hurt]

[ㄲㅈ] (f*ck off)

***

Another weekday evening arrived without fail. As usual, while conducting his stream, he moved his mouse busily.

‘Hyung, why do you keep looking at the camera,’ ‘If you’re going to do that, just quit the game and let’s chat instead’ It was amazing how viewers somehow caught his occasional glances at the camera.

After eyeing himself uncomfortably in the small corner of the broadcast screen, a chilling thought crossed his mind.

“I’m working so hard at this game, you’re not just watching my face, are you?”

When he spoke as if ready to turn off the face cam, viewers counterattacked as if they couldn’t lose this battle.

[10,000 won donation! Imun, please stop Gangha]

– Haa, are you watching the stream? ㅠㅠㅠ Gangha is trying to turn off the face cam!!!!

– Imun!!!!! Imun!!!!! Imun!!!!!

“Why are you suddenly bringing up Imun!”

Viewers often treated Imun as if he were Hajun’s friend, frequently bringing him up. Even knowing it was obvious provocation, he reacted instinctively, and as expected, the chat erupted in laughter.

‘As expected, Haa is the best at getting Gangha’s attention ㅋㅋㅋ’ He was staring incredulously at the viewers who seemed particularly sly today.

[20,000 won donation! But why don’t Haa’s fans come to the stream?]

– Right ㅠㅠㅠ They used to make fools of themselves for us too, which was nice ㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠ

– Imun hasn’t donated lately either, did you two fight?;;;

It was difficult to focus on the stream with topics he was secretly concerned about coming up one after another. He quickly finished the game and carefully read through the chat.

“Hmm… you’re right. Recently he started doing something, what was it called, some kind of live broadcast, so he seems busy.”

[5,000 won donation! Imun is doing A-Live right now ㅋㅋㅋ He’s been doing it almost every day lately]

“Every day? And he’s already so busy…”

So he was in the middle of a livestream. The KaTok chat that had stopped after his last message was now quite familiar. Perhaps because their activities were coming to an end, the agency seemed to be working Imun even harder.

He felt a groundless resentment toward Imun’s boss whom he’d never even met. As he frowned with concern for Imun, who must be working hard even now, a viewer delivered unexpected news.

– Breaking news! Sorit is secretly watching Gangha’s stream again ㅋㅋㅋ

– ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Sorit is so consistent, I acknowledge him as a true Gangha fan

– ■ Sorit: Oh!

– ■ Sorit: Everyone, I’m just a regular viewer too ㅠㅠ

– ■ Sorit: Why do you all keep making a big deal about me watching hyung’s stream ㅠㅠ

Sorit jumped into the chat, clearly startled. Despite being flustered by the viewers’ teasing, he was still desperately trying to appeal as a fan.

Maybe we should finish that collab. Though he didn’t appreciate the shamelessness with which Sorit stubbornly called him hyung, he definitely seemed to be a devoted viewer of his streams. Since they’d already encountered each other, he thought they might as well fulfill the promise they hadn’t completed.

“Sorit, you’re not streaming right now, are you? If you have time, would you like to duo with me?”

– ■ Sorit: Hyung is reaching out to me first! I could die without regret ㅜㅜㅜ

“Well, um, just… since I left unilaterally last time.”

He vaguely mumbled while watching Sorit pour out tears of joy. He could never admit that he had invited Sorit because he was feeling Imun’s absence particularly keenly today.

After checking his conversation history with Imun one more time, he entered Discodi. “I’ll do my best to support you, hyung!” He laughed off Sorit’s energetic declaration and started an impromptu duo stream.

He threw a support ping while exchanging damage with a suddenly appearing opponent. Sorit seemed to have been consistently map-reading, as he rushed to backup without delay.

Sorit’s champion’s movements were much quicker in confronting the enemy compared to before.

“Sorit, your skills have improved a lot?”

-After being… scolded by you, hyung, I practiced hard.

“What? When did I-“

-You asked me twice if my eyesight was bad-

“Okay, okay, let’s just play the game!”

It seemed true that Sorit was a famous streamer. Somehow news of the sudden duo had spread, and unfamiliar usernames were now flooding into the chat.

When Sorit proudly listed all his hard work, his viewers enthusiastically backed him up.

– Since that day, Sorit has been practicing Legend of Legend every time he streams ㅋㅋㅋ

– He said he was aiming to become Gangha’s regular duo partner ㅋㅋㅋ Making such a fuss all by himself ㅋㅋㅋ

“Haha, I see.” Hajun scratched his head while agreeing to what sounded like someone bragging about their child.

No streamer who was loved by fans seemed to be a bad person. Not only did he not get angry when plans were suddenly canceled, but he also readily accepted the abrupt duo request, suggesting he had a surprisingly good personality.

He felt a bit sorry for having treated Sorit with prejudice without even realizing it, all because their first meeting had been odd. Just as he finished winning several games while treating Sorit more kindly than usual, Sorit expressed his regret that he had to leave.

“Yes, it was a sudden collab… thank you for playing with me.”

-Argh, of course. Unfortunately I have plans today… Please call me again next time. I’ll come running whenever!

“Haha…”

It was hard to find any response other than laughter. Regardless of whether he was a good person or not, one thing was certain—his concept was strange.

After quickly bidding farewell to the excitable Sorit, just before pressing the matching button, he suddenly remembered what Mari had said.

‘I heard Imun also started doing A-Live recently, haven’t you watched it?’

She definitely said he started recently. These days, Imun was becoming increasingly clingy with each passing day. He had simply thought it was because of his busy schedule, but the hypothesis suddenly occurred to him that it might actually be because of the livestreaming.