Chapter 129

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**Muscle Pain.**

Lately, Yeoreum’s been acting strange.

I felt a little bad that she kept sticking to me when we came to the office together—but this was going way too far.

Every time we arrived, she’d separate from me immediately to go do her own thing. But when we met again later, she’d be half-dead from exhaustion.

I didn’t know what exactly she was doing, but it felt like Yeoreum, who had seemed to be getting healthier lately, was now looking even more worn out than before. It worried me.

“Yeoreum, are you okay?”

“…Mm, yeah. I’m fine.”

“Really? You’re really okay? Hmm?”

“…Yeah.”

Her lifeless answer had no energy to it at all.

A faint smile, like she might disappear at any moment.

The way she looked at me still felt like before—no, maybe even deeper than before—but more than that, I just wanted her to be healthy again.

What’s going on, Yeoreum…? Are you really okay?

I held back the urge to press her for answers and let out a long sigh instead.

“…Sorry, Toya. I’m gonna go to sleep first again tonight.”

“…Rest well, Yeoreum.”

It wasn’t just her condition that bothered me.

The fact that she came home, showered, and then went straight to bed—it just didn’t sit right with me.

What on earth was she doing at work that she’d come home this exhausted?

I tried running through all the possibilities in my head, but nothing specific came to mind.

Of course, the most obvious assumption was that she was exercising. But Yeoreum was the type to pace herself. There’s no way she’d work out so hard she’d collapse like this.

“I really want to know what Yeoreum’s been doing lately.”

I muttered quietly as I looked over at her, already fast asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

This person who’d come to occupy so much of my heart…

How could I not be worried, seeing her like this?

Honestly, her condition was affecting my focus during practice. Even streams.

“I feel more anxious now than when Yeoreum was hospitalized. Because the way she looks now… it’s like she could vanish at any moment.”

When I gently held her hand, her fingers curled around mine in a sleepy twitch, chasing warmth. It was so adorable.

If it were up to me, I’d take her to the hospital right now—but knowing Yeoreum, she’d speak up if something was really wrong. So I decided to give her a little more time.

I was sure there was something she couldn’t talk about yet. And eventually, she’d open up to me about it.

I just hoped that time would come soon.

“I want Yeoreum to be healthy. So we can be together for a long, long time.”

After pouring out my heart for a while, I finally stood up.

I still had a stream to do. And if I stayed by her side any longer, I felt like I’d just turn into a helpless wreck.

Goodnight, Yeoreum. I hope you have sweet dreams.

—

**[Online Community Threads]**

[Is there something going on with Toya and the streamer lately?]

[Feels like they’ve barely been seen together lately—any reason why?]

ㄴ[Is it the start of a rough patch?]

ㄴ[Lol what rough patch are you talking about 😂]

ㄴ[Did they fight or something?]

ㄴ[If they did, Toya sure talks about Natsu a lot for someone who fought.]

ㄴ[You don’t think Toya did something to Natsu, right?]

ㄴ[Lol no way, c’mon.]

ㄴ[Maybe it’s just ‘cause people kept pestering them about always being together?]

ㄴ[This one’s real.]

ㄴ[It was cute seeing them together, but the overly obsessed fans—Totomo and Summer-dan folks—blew it up and ruined it.]

ㄴ[Straight-up facts.]

ㄴ[So when are we getting a collab again…]

ㄴ[No more collabs coming.]

ㄴ[Toya × Natsu content is dead…]

[Isn’t the streamer really low-energy lately?]

[(Video: Natsu ending stream with a tired voice.MVI)

Is she sick again? She’s been ending streams after just an hour lately too;;]

ㄴ[She got a taste of money and now she’s just phoning it in lol]

ㄴ[You clearly don’t know Han Yeoreum.]

ㄴ[Time to filter out the fake fans.]

ㄴ[Don’t speak if you don’t know Han Yeoreum. She’s always taken streaming seriously.]

ㄴ[Maybe you just don’t know ‘cause she’s not a ‘he’ anymore?]

ㄴ[(Natsu, I’m sorry for being sick. Kon~)]

ㄴ[Shouldn’t she take a break if she’s really that unwell?]

ㄴ[Fr…]

ㄴ[If she ends up hospitalized again, it’s gonna break people.]

ㄴ[You sure there’s nothing going on with Toya and her?]

ㄴ[Toya × Natsu conflict arc incoming?]

ㄴ[She still talks about Toya on stream, so that can’t be it.]

ㄴ[They gotta act close for the public, duh.]

[Something really seems wrong with the streamer.]

[(Clip: Thud sound after Natsu says she’s going to get water.MVI)

Right after she says she’s going to get water, you hear this loud thud. Turns out she collapsed getting off her chair and was just lying there for like 20 minutes before barely getting up again to get that water…]

ㄴ[Streamer, please don’t be sick again…]

ㄴ[Last time it was her lungs, now it’s her legs?]

ㄴ[Doesn’t that mean her health is seriously declining?]

ㄴ[I’m saying this because I’m genuinely worried;;]

ㄴ[It’s okay to rest from streaming. Just take care of yourself.]

ㄴ[If this keeps up—]

ㄴ[(Han Yeoreum transforms into a Kamen Rider! Kon~)]

ㄴ[LOL]

ㄴ[She’s been a Kamen Rider this whole time?! 😂]

ㄴ[Don’t get sick, Han Yeoreum.]

ㄴ[Back when she streamed before, she was never this fragile. It feels weird.]

—

“Agh…”

The groan slipped out the moment I opened my eyes.

Ugh, everything hurts. There’s not a single part of my body that _doesn’t_ ache.

I sighed deeply as I massaged my weak legs.

All I did was push a little harder over the weekend, and now look at me.

Well, technically it wasn’t me pushing hard—it was thanks to Nozomi’s hellish training sessions.

“Nozomi-san… you were terrifying.”

We were working out in the company gym, and every time I tried to rest, she’d push me harder.

Apparently the reps you squeeze out when you’re tired are the ones that really build muscle—or so she claimed.

Honestly, the first time was even worse than now.

I was completely wiped out, and even Nozomi was panicking a bit.

I still remember the look on her face—like she couldn’t believe a human being could be that weak.

—

“Yeoreum, are you awake?”

“Mm…”

“Feeling any better today? Want me to massage your legs?”

My relationship with Toya had gotten a little awkward lately.

I mean, I was doing this for my health, so why would it feel awkward between us?

No… that’s not quite right.

It wasn’t _us_ that were awkward—it was me being weird around _her_.

There wasn’t a particular reason. It’s just… seeing how worried she got when I was groaning all day made me feel so guilty.

I did consider stopping, but after coming this far, it just felt too wasteful to give up now.

—

“Hnn, heehee… Haaa…”

“You like it that much?”

“So goood…”

Every time Toya’s hands worked into my legs, I let out a little groan.

The sensation of muscle tension melting away…

My whole body felt like it was melting into relaxation.

It never felt like this when I did it myself. Why did it feel so good when Toya did it?

I tilted my head in thought, remembering the first time Nozomi-san massaged my legs.

“Ow! Nozomi-san, that hurts!”

“E-Even that hurts?!”

“Ow?!”

She _said_ she was going easy, but no matter how gently she tried, my legs just _hurt_.

So after that, I started doing it myself—but I could never get satisfying results, which left me disappointed.

Then one day, Toya started massaging me, and somehow it didn’t hurt at all.

I guess people who work out just… know how to do it right.

Not to mention, she’d been living with me for a while now, so she probably had a good sense of how fragile this body was and adjusted accordingly.

—

“Seriously, I told you to pace yourself, but you just won’t listen.”

“But I want to get healthy as quickly as I can…”

“And end up bedridden with the flu?”

“It’s okay, because Toya massages me every day~”

I told Toya I’d been working out not long after I started.

Even if I couldn’t tell her what I was preparing for, I didn’t want to hide the fact that I was exercising.

Besides, I was coming home half-dead every day—there was no hiding it for long.

She was shocked at first, but once she accepted it, she took over the role of soothing my aching muscles.

—

“Yeoreum’s squishy-squishy~”

“Eek?! That tickles! Pfft!!”

…Of course, sometimes she’d mess around, so it wasn’t always safe to relax.