Chapter 128: So, Did You Like It?

Most people said that they looked forward to weekends.

But for VTubers, weekends were pretty much the same as weekdays.

This was my second year as a streamer.

Well, if we were being technical about it, I hadn’t quite hit the two-year mark yet, but if we were counting by years passed, it was my second year.

I thought I had grown more experienced by now, so I picked up my phone to check the time, but…

“He’s late…”

He said he’d contact me when his filming was over.

It was cold out there. Could he still be filming outside?

Worried about Oppa for no reason, I clicked on the [Love Rides the Waves] link and checked the comments section.

Episodes 4, 5, and 6 didn’t feature Oppa at all.

But in the comments, people kept asking them to bring back Kim Eojin.

[ughh… eojin oppa. u make me go this crazy for u and then just disappear?]

It wasn’t the top comment, but it still had over 30 likes.

My thumb instinctively moved toward the dislike button, but my rational mind stopped it.

“…Eojin oppa is mine, though?”

Well…

I guess I still wasn’t adapting well to this.

The number of people recognizing Oppa at school and other places would keep increasing from now on.

If I got upset every single time that happened, there was no way our relationship would work out.

Though, if that really happened, Oppa would’ve vented to me first.

Even when the Pink Army said they wanted to lick Luka-tan’s feet, Oppa would just nod and say he understood that feeling.

While I thought that reaction of his was too much, if he were to express his displeasure over it, it’d definitely be stressful for me.

I hadn’t seen many people around me complaining about their partner’s excessive possessiveness, but I’d read about it online frequently.

Like, they’d make their partners not go anywhere…

Monitor their phone 24/7…

And kept on asking why they were being neglected.

If Oppa were to tell me that he hated it seeing me stream for a mostly male audience, I would…

Feeling down from these somewhat depressing thoughts, I shook my head.

That hadn’t happened. Our relationship had been going smoothly, so there was no need to worry about that.

-Buzz

At that moment, my phone rang.

The person I’d been waiting for called me.

「Hello?」

「Yeah, hello.」

The momentary depression that had befallen me vanished completely.

「I just finished and I think I’ll be heading out in Manager-nim’s car soon.」

「You’re going to stop by my place, right?」

For a moment there, Oppa went silent.

「…So? Are you?」

「Um…」

Instead of answering me after I asked that question again, Oppa trailed off as if something was bothering him.

「What’s wrong? Do you have something urgent to do?」

「No, that’s not it.」

「Then?」

What could be the problem then?

「No, it’s nothing. I’ll be there, just wait for me. See you in 30.」

「Have you eaten yet?」

「Nope. I’m starving. If you haven’t too, why don’t we eat together?」

「Okay! I’ll make some food and wait for you!」

Oh, wow. Was he so busy that he didn’t get to eat until this hour?

Didn’t he leave pretty early in the morning too?

Suddenly, I felt bad for him. He worked so hard.

After hanging up, I considered ordering delivery but decided it would be better to just quickly go to the supermarket, so I squeezed into my clothes.

I mean, he came back from working, so I should at least personally prepare a meal for him.

He wouldn’t watch what he’d eat if he were alone.

Honestly, his perpetually empty fridge worried me a lot.

After quickly throwing some ingredients into my basket, I decided that today’s menu would be kimchi stew.

Since he worked in the cold, I believed that he’d appreciate a warm meal.

I had some leftover rice from yesterday too, so this should work.

After grabbing a pack of pork shoulder, I quickly fired up the induction stove.

When steam filled with heat began rising from the bubbling stew…

Oppa entered my room.

“It’s cold.”

“Right? I’m freezing.”

He came back without removing his makeup, so he looked very much like an idol even when he was doing a simple thing like hanging his padded jacket on the coat hanger.

“Hm? You’re cooking?”

“Yep! Since Oppa worked hard today, I figured I’d make this meal special! You get to taste this Luka-tan’s homemade kimchi stew~”

Though his makeup made his face whiter than usual, his face looked especially lifeless, so I acted extra cute for him.

But, for some reason, he…

…Looked really uncomfortable.

“You know, ordering a delivery would’ve been fine…”

“No way. I wanted to cook for you.”

When our eyes met, Oppa quickly looked away.

“What? Do you not want to eat what I made?”

If this was really the reason, I’d actually feel hurt.

Because this implied that all the dishes I had made until now tasted bad.

“No! That’s not it at all!”

“Then what’s wrong? Did people at the set give you a hard time today?”

The longer I watched him, the more his reaction seemed strange. So, I moved away from the stove and approached him.

“That’s not it either…”

“Look at me.”

I reached out with both hands to fix his face toward mine.

He reluctantly looked at my face.

What was it that made such shadows cast on his face?

I could feel him trying to avoid my eyes, so I slowly stroked his face.

“Something happened today, hm?”

That was a statement, not a question.

If I didn’t do this, I felt like he wouldn’t ever tell me what was going on.

“Tell me. It’s okay.”

Unlike before when he was trying to avoid my eyes, Oppa now stared directly into mine.

Then, from his mouth, words seeking for my confirmation flowed out.

“Will you really be okay?”

“This is about your work, no? What could I not be okay with?”

When I conveyed those words of trust, telling him not to worry, my depressed boyfriend’s mouth slowly began to move.

“Today…”

“Yes.”

“The… Filming went fine…”

“Yes.”

Stumbling over his words, like a child afraid of getting scolded by his mom, he continued.

“But, the director suddenly asked me… No, not me, but the other female actress behind me…”

At that, my spine went cold.

The moment he mentioned ‘female actress’, my whole body flinched.

“What did she do?”

Sensing my reaction, Oppa shrank back again, but I pressed him for an answer.

“He told her to link arms…”

I didn’t need to ask him the rest, I could already tell.

“Ah~ That’s what this is all about? I thought it was something super serious”

I playfully hit Oppa’s arm, putting on an act.

“Seriously, you scared me! You even set such a serious mood too!”

“R-Really…? I-I thought you’d hate it…”

…I hated it, though.

But he was just doing his job.

I wasn’t a great adult or anything, but I still thought that we needed to separate work from personal life.

But still, if he were to continue with this line of work, eventually he’d move to holding hands… Hugs… Kisses…

When my thoughts reached that point, it became increasingly difficult to control my expression.

“…Doah?”

“Oppa, just go sit over there, okay? The food’s almost ready, I just need to set the table.”

“I’ll help you out…”

“No need~ Just wait there.”

My facial muscles refused to move the way I wanted them to.

I could tell without even looking in a mirror.

That I looked pretty ugly right now.

Haa… Still, I had to get this through my brain…

It wasn’t like Oppa cheated on me.

In the first place, it wasn’t even his fault.

The director was the one who told him to do it. He was just a newcomer, what could he do?

Like, I’d also do whatever Manager-nim told me to do, it should be the same with him too.

By the time the kimchi stew had boiled enough to need water added or else it would burn, I was able to regain my composure.

“Come, put down the spoons!”

“Okay, got it!”

Oppa got up and came over to take care of the bowls and utensils.

After safely placing the kimchi stew on a pot holder, we began our meal.

“Hoo… Hoo…”

The stew was really hot, so every time Oppa blew on it, white steam rose from his spoon.

“So, Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“That actress you linked arms with, who is she?”

“Uh… Her name was…Ara? I think?”

Ara? Who?

I casually turned around to grab my phone and immediately typed the web drama’s name into the search bar.

Ah, this person…

Since I had binge-watched everything that had aired so far, I recognized her face immediately.

When I clicked on her profile, the grinning face of a woman with really distinct features and a slender figure was shown.

“So what was the scene where you linked arms?”

“That one… The one I practiced with you before.”

“The one where you tell the loser not to act up?”

“Not that. The next scene, where the bullies gather for a meeting.”

I couldn’t remember if there was a scene like that, but I nodded anyway.

“Honestly, we didn’t need to link arms in that scene, but the director suddenly suggested doing it that way…”

This felt like an interrogation more than a meal.

Watching Oppa barely touching his food, I thought I should stop talking about this.

I mean it was just linking arms…

Linking arms…

Oppa’s arm…

At that thought, my appetite completely disappeared and I put down my chopsticks.

“…Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

Regardless, I felt that I had the right to confirm this one thing.

“Did you like it?”

Oppa shook his head left and right repeatedly, as if there was a motor attached to it.