Ch.6767. Crossing Paths

All the urgent matters were finished.

A red diagonal line was drawn across the four characters spelling “regular performance” neatly written on the diary.

Now, the only major event left this semester was the final exam.

But that was only a task for Park Juyeon the student.

For Yeon the streamer, there was still plenty to do.

She wasn’t sure what the audience thought, but Juyeon believed her commentary skills had improved considerably.

At least compared to her freshman year, that was undeniably true.

[T-Then the next song is… Oh? I’m sorry!]

[Hahaha… Everyone… Have you… h-had lunch…?]

The memory of Juyeon’s first performance was truly traumatic.

That’s why her improvement in this recent performance felt even more brilliant.

It was all thanks to her constant efforts.

All those times mumbling to herself while streaming alone in her room had finally paid off.

“Great…!”

Juyeon clenched her tiny fist.

She had already prepared all the songs she would sing on today’s stream.

All the MR links were saved in one place.

All that remained was to hear the opinion of her manager, Suhyeok.

However, she hadn’t heard from him in a while.

He definitely promised to help her after the festival weekend…

Did he forget?

Fidgeting with her phone, Juyeon sent Suhyeok a message.

[Suhyeok]

The reply came surprisingly quickly.

[Yeah?]

[When are you coming?]

[??]

[You said you’d help with the stream. After exams…]

She felt a little disappointed that he seemed to have forgotten.

[Ah. But didn’t you just ask me to be your manager then?]

[Being a manager means helping plan how to run the stream too.]

[…Is that what it means?]

[Yes. I’ve prepared everything, so just come check it and you can go.]

Suhyeok wondered.

Why exactly this process had to take place at her home.

[Do I have to come to your house?]

[Yes.]

Streamer Yeon, extremely strict about security.

Suhyeok scratched his head at her request.

Still, she had helped him out…

It was Juyeon who helped Suhyeok when he was dealing with a drunk and out-of-control Hana.

From transportation to cleaning.

Even after bringing her home, Juyeon had handled almost the entire process.

“Well… it’s not that difficult…”

It was only a three-minute walk anyway.

He’d been there so often that he no longer felt nervous about entering a girl’s home.

Wearing just jeans and a white t-shirt, Suhyeok put on his slippers and left his apartment.

-Knock knock knock

When he knocked on the door, Juyeon peeked her face out.

“…Come in.”

“Hi.”

Juyeon could immediately tell that something was different about Suhyeok.

“Did something bad happen?”

“Hm?”

“Your expression. You look troubled.”

It wasn’t exactly bad, but Suhyeok did have something on his mind.

“Do I look that way?”

“Yes.”

Suhyeok was both her comrade and manager.

The model student Juyeon was ready to listen to his concerns.

“…You know.”

Suhyeok sat in his usual spot and leaned against the bed frame.

“Yes.”

Juyeon answered while pouring orange juice for her guest.

“I think I like someone.”

-Thud

The bottle slipped from Juyeon’s hand, spilling the drink.

“Oh? Are you okay?”

Suhyeok quickly got up to find a dishcloth.

Fortunately, the sink was right next to them, so no major accident occurred.

“Ah… yes… I’m fine…”

Juyeon just needed a moment to gather her thoughts.

“Ah… wait… so that means you shouldn’t be here? D-Don’t tell me you came here to say you can’t be my manager anymore?”

Having worried about this several times before, she had a clear protocol in mind.

“…No. That’s not it.”

“But… if you like someone, coming here is…”

To the conservative Juyeon, this seemed inappropriate.

“No. Well. Just because I like someone doesn’t mean I have to confess or become a couple.”

Suhyeok gave an awkward smile.

“Then what does it mean? That?”

“Hmm… if I had to put it into words, I guess it’s a one-sided crush?”

“One-sided crush…”

Juyeon found it strange to hear Suhyeok talk like this.

“Who is it?”

“That’s a secret.”

At the naturally flowing question, Suhyeok almost gave away the answer.

“I see.”

Juyeon had planned to talk about various things when Suhyeok arrived.

But now she couldn’t think of anything to say.

“So what are you going to do?”

She thought developing feelings for someone was understandable.

What mattered was what came next.

“I don’t know.”

“Why?”

“There’s no hope.”

If a passionate friend like Choegang had heard this, they would have smacked him on the back, but Juyeon was different.

…Because she understood exactly why he would say that.

“So you’re just giving up?”

“If I just leave it alone, won’t it pass eventually?”

It would be arrogant to give advice in an area where one lacks expertise.

Especially Juyeon, who was vulnerable when it came to human relationships, couldn’t decide what to say.

“…Maybe it will.”

This was the best she could do.

It was the best answer she could offer.

What Suhyeok shared was a sad story, but Juyeon found herself secretly relieved.

After all, she wouldn’t lose the streaming partner she had worked so hard to befriend.

Silence fell between them.

Realizing the atmosphere had become strange, Suhyeok gave an awkward smile.

“Haah… enough about my trivial complaints, let’s talk about your promising stream. How can I help?”

“Just a moment.”

Juyeon unfolded a small chair and placed it in front of Suhyeok.

The two sat side by side in front of the monitor.

What Juyeon had written down was a list of songs she would sing on today’s stream.

“How does it look?”

“Looks good.”

It felt like asking an unnecessary question.

No matter what Juyeon sang, she could easily surpass most cover song creators with her skills.

With songs she had carefully selected after researching various references, wasn’t success already guaranteed?

“Really? Then… I was thinking about… trying some games too, so I’ve been looking into that.”

Juyeon typically wanted to fulfill all her viewers’ requests.

Of course, she completely ignored requests for face reveals or personal information, but she tried her best to accommodate other stream-related requests.

In that context, if it was a game that wasn’t difficult to control, Juyeon might be willing to give it a try.

“Oh. What kind?”

When it came to games, Suhyeok could actually be helpful.

“First… people have been mentioning this one and…”

Juyeon showed him each game after searching for them.

Suhyeok knew all of them.

He hadn’t played them himself, but they were games that many streamers often played for one-off streams.

“My recommendation is… hmm… how about trying this one?”

Suhyeok’s pick was a game where you jump on obstacles and continuously climb upward.

“Is this fun?”

“It’s not exactly fun, but it’s easy.”

“But… won’t it be boring if I clear it too easily?”

Suhyeok smiled at Juyeon’s words.

“Once you actually try it, clearing it definitely won’t be easy.”

Simple rules didn’t necessarily mean easy completion.

Even a simple shooter game where you dodge incoming attacks can be incredibly difficult.

“Then… should we try it a bit now?”

Juyeon tilted her head slightly, as if asking if he had time.

“Sure.”

Suhyeok was also free today.

He had no schedule planned.

As they chatted, the installation was already complete.

“Ohhh…”

Juyeon clicked the arrow keys and moved the character around.

“So I just climb up like this…?”

“Yes. Right?”

“Okay.”

Model student Park Juyeon.

She thought a game that followed input commands precisely wouldn’t be difficult at all.

But.

“…I have to start from the beginning again?”

After several attempts, she had climbed quite high but then fell.

She stared blankly at the monitor with a look of despair.

How could a tower built with such effort collapse so miserably?

Doesn’t this game even have a basic save button?!

Seeing her dumbfounded face made Suhyeok laugh.

“Well… I guess that’s how it is…?”

“Streamers these days all play this and clear it? Really?”

Suhyeok nodded up and down at Juyeon’s incredulous voice.

“Ugh…”

Contemplating whether to climb again, Juyeon pressed the exit button.

“What? You’re stopping?”

“Yes. I’ll try to finish it when I start streaming.”

Indeed, if she cleared it now, there would be no satisfaction when playing it on stream.

“Alright. I’ll definitely watch you play this all the way through.”

Suhyeok smiled brightly.

“You might not be able to sleep.”

“Didn’t you say a manager has to watch the whole time?”

“W-Well, if it gets too long, you can leave in the middle…”

Juyeon was already feeling sorry for Suhyeok’s future suffering.

“Haah… But hanging out with you has definitely cleared my head a bit.”

Before Juyeon called him, Suhyeok had been writhing under his blanket, tormented by thoughts of Hana that kept surfacing.

Getting drunk and wasted.

Being hours late without saying anything.

All those behaviors should have looked bad, but in his mind, all he could see was her smiling face saying she had a good time.

Suhyeok was experiencing what people call “having your head messed up.”

“…Really?”

She was glad to have been of help somehow.

“Yes. To the point where I wouldn’t mind hanging out like this sometimes, even if it’s not for stream work.”

Juyeon’s eyes widened and then returned to their normal size.

“…T-Then will you call me first next time?”

She had always felt uncomfortable about being the one who always called him.