episode_0008

Upon arriving at the Hara Hotel concierge, surprisingly, there was a staff member waiting to greet me.

“Miss.”

It wasn’t a hotel staff member.

Upon closer inspection, she had no gold name tag, and her attire was very different from the other staff members.

‘A maid…?’

After putting on an apron, she looked like she could shout, “Victorian Maid, complete!” The mature beauty in a black long dress with a white collar suited her perfectly.

Indeed, she seemed to be a well-off young lady.

I don’t understand why I have this 8,180 won bankbook with me.

If there’s money in another account, I should transfer it to Jungsu immediately. I need to replenish the money I spent yesterday and today, even if just a little.

“Miss!”

“Oh, yes? Me?”

The maid with black horn-rimmed glasses ran over and hugged me tightly.

I thought she would start lecturing me right away.

Her demeanor and actions were unexpectedly different.

“Where on earth did you sleep last night? You left with your phone and wallet missing, so I thought you had gone missing! If you hadn’t come here this morning, I would have gone straight to the police to look for you!”

Her voice was trembling intensely.

She had been worrying about me to that extent.

Well, I understand that.

Even if I were Chaewon’s butler, I would have searched all night calling out her name.

“Oh… my phone?”

“Yes! I was really worried when you left without your things!”

That’s strange.

Then what is this rectangular object in my pocket right now?

Come to think of it, there are several oddities.

If there was such a maid, wouldn’t she have called me back a hundred, no, a thousand times asking why I didn’t return? But not a single call came through.

“Could it be two phones?”

Don’t business people or celebrities usually use two phones? One for personal use and one for business.

So, is the phone in my pocket Chaewon’s secret phone?

“That’s why she didn’t register her fingerprint.”

In this day and age where fingerprint locks are common, she must have deliberately avoided fingerprint or iris recognition locks for that reason.

But it’s strange.

There weren’t any special apps for business on it.

At most, wasn’t it just YouTube?

“Chaewon running a YouTube channel…? That doesn’t make any sense.”

A person who fits from head to toe with a grand piano in a classic hall running a YouTube channel? That’s unbelievable.

It seems more like a phone she wanted to use secretly when going out.

“Sorry, I wanted to go out quietly.”

“……”

“Why, what’s wrong? I’m an adult too. Can’t I go out and have fun as I please?”

Anyway, since it seems like she found me properly, I should act as Chaewon as much as possible to avoid suspicion from the maid.

Recalling the clear-eyed Kwangin as best as I can.

‘Please don’t say something like, “Are you our young lady?”‘

“Are you our young lady?”

That’s strange; just a moment ago, I was a perfect Min Chaewon.

What did I do wrong?

“Did you happen to drink some strange drink from a stranger because you were hungry?”

Chaewon in front of the maid seems different.

Is she a tsundere young lady?

“Hmph! I wouldn’t foolishly drink something like that.”

“Are you trying to play a role-play game?”

Or is she just an innocent young lady who doesn’t know anything?

“What’s role-playing? I don’t really understand.”

“Ugh….”

Oh, damn it. Nothing seems to be right.

Since I don’t understand, let’s just go with cheerful Chaewon.

Let’s use informal language with the maid.

“It’s a joke. Aren’t you acting a bit strange today? Hurry up and give me the key; I want to go up and rest.”

“……”

“Come on, quickly. I want to change my clothes.”

Reluctantly, the maid led the way to the room.

“Alright. Let’s go upstairs for now.”

It wasn’t a completely different appearance.

Maybe she didn’t show this bright side often.

I’m not entirely sure, but for now, I’ll assume that’s the case.

‘I shouldn’t pry into things like a detective…’

I felt relieved that Chaewon wasn’t alone, but…

At the same time, I started to worry about being alone.

First, let’s go up and secure Chaewon’s original phone.

If I dig through KakaoTalk, something should come up.

Even if Chaewon is a geek who doesn’t use KakaoTalk, she must have Discord.

***

“Alright, we’re done. You don’t have to take a bath separately?”

“Yeah. Uh… I just did.”

“Why do you look so flustered?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Princess.

She was a real princess.

Min Chaewon was indeed the princess of Austria that I knew.

“They say three maids rush in to change your clothes. Could such a thing really happen?”

I just experienced an experience that would be on someone’s dream list number one, a moment ago I was a man.

But hey, isn’t there a rule that only women should be happy?

Regardless of how they hired the maids, all of them were older sisters with above-average looks.

Those sisters tickled me, changed my clothes, gave me intense skin care to avoid any irritation, and even applied body lotion.

Suddenly, I feel like going on a rant on the community, saying, “You guys haven’t experienced this, right?”

“Aren’t you thirsty?”

“I’m fine.”

“Do you have any discomfort? Shall I give you a massage?”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

“If you need anything, just ring the bell over there.”

“Got it!”

My reactions were definitely different from usual.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for maids in the spacious suite to constantly approach me with mischievous smiles.

“Miss.”

“Miss!”

“Miss?”

“Oh, sorr—!”

I felt like I might end up becoming a real toy, so I had no choice but to grab Chaewon’s phone and head outside.

“I’ll be back!”

“You got your phone?!”

“I got it!”

I still haven’t found my wallet or passport.

But I’ve confirmed a place to stay, and since I have a key to return anytime, there’s nothing to worry about now.

What worries me most now is being left alone to suffer.

If I don’t give him living expenses soon, he might end up going to Obbligato with his aching body.

2,000 won for tteokbokki and breakfast.

To some, it might be the money they lack to buy a game, but for someone like me, a student living alone, it’s essential living expenses.

“…Oh boy.”

As I descended in the elevator and entered the lobby, the geometric fountain and sculptures unique to the Hanla Hotel greeted me.

I had only seen them in pictures before; seeing them in person was a first in my life.

It felt like suddenly becoming Alice in Wonderland.

I half expected the Queen of Hearts to pop out from somewhere and shout, “Off with his head!”

When I was at our house, I used to struggle with a profound sense of reality.

But here, an overwhelming sense of unreality filled the air.

Let’s go to a less crowded place for now.

There’s too much noise here, making it hard to concentrate.

Over there… is it a lounge?

The lighting is a bit dim, but it looks perfect for a brief stop.

As I approached, it turned out to be the hotel lobby’s restaurant.

Seeing that there were no staff around, it seemed like they weren’t open yet.

“Ugh.”

The sofa was so soft that my body sank into it.

I felt like I was buried in some kind of slime.

“Ugh, it’s so squishy.”

I managed to pull myself together, sat on the edge of the sofa, and quickly turned on my main phone.

“Fingerprint recognition!”

I was glad to see this feature.

I pressed my thumb firmly to unlock it, finding missed calls and unread messages on FaceTime and KakaoTalk.

Most of them were from the maid with the horn-rimmed glasses earlier.

Let’s check this and move on quickly.

“…Huh?”

Surprisingly, apart from the maid’s messages, there wasn’t a single person looking for Chaewon.

“Huh?”

Could this be possible?

That a perfect lady like Chaewon doesn’t have a single friend looking for her?

Normally, there should be a truckload of friends bothering her every day.

No matter how hard I looked, except for the maid, the most recent contact was on March 10th.

And that person wasn’t even a friend.

Austria Eunsa-nim was filled with incomprehensible German.

Holding the phone with both hands, she leaned back on the sofa.

It felt like she had stumbled upon Chaewon’s secret, something that shouldn’t have been known.

“If you don’t have friends, you won’t talk….”

Or could it be that she really had a lot of internet friends?

She had Hades and NewTube apps on her sub-phone.

It was really for business purposes.

I couldn’t believe that someone as full of positive energy as Chaewon could be a loner.

I quickly opened the NewTube app installed on the sub-phone.

“My channel… exists.”

There was a separate channel.

The channel name had even been mentioned in passing during conversations with classmates at university.

“Huh?!”

I exclaimed in surprise and looked around in a panic.

Fortunately, there was no one around where I was sitting, so I was relieved.

“Huh? Chaewon?”

The official channel name was Aklerts.

The fan nickname was simply “A,” a large music channel with around 1 million subscribers.

The name of the big dog she raised was Strelka, so the owner named the channel by reversing it, and piano performances were the main content of the channel.

Rather than classical music, they showcased game and anime music, sometimes with cosplay. Despite never revealing her face, statistics showed that 99% of her fans were male.

According to the owner’s story, some people offered huge sums of money to engage in OnlyFans activities, but A reportedly adamantly refused.

She easily brushed off requests to upload exclusive content for high-tier members, showing her strong beliefs.

“It had to be that way… because Chaewon is the channel owner….”

Of course, she would reject such requests.

She didn’t need to resort to shady dealings just to make money.

In fact, all the money that came in through channel sponsorship was donated to a foundation for nurturing young piano talents. There were three levels of regular sponsorship: $1, $2, and $3.

As the regular sponsorships accumulated, she would buy snacks from various countries and upload review videos.

By now, you might be quite puzzled as to why I know so much about this YouTuber named Aklerts, who was only briefly mentioned in passing.

But there’s a reason for everything.

“Oh, damn.”

I cursed under my breath.

I was one of the most expensive monthly sponsors of the Aklerts channel, paying 3,000 won.

In the layers of the Aklerts sponsorship management system, my embarrassing nickname and dark past were recorded countless times.

Nice to meet you. I created the nickname because I wanted to become a Korean mafia master.

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[K-Mafia]

Have you ever thought about playing a classical piece? I always listen to your performances and am amazed by your excellent expression and individuality.

I’d like to personally request a few songs that I love.

If it’s too much trouble, feel free to ignore it.

Thank you always. You’re the best.

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