episode_0037

“Are you broadcasting?”

A strange man approached, holding a bottle of soju.

What the heck? With that thought in mind, I decided to go along with the man’s words for now.

Even if I ran away, right now, I’m a woman disguised as a man.

No matter how much I run, I could easily get caught.

“No, I’m not.”

Of course, I didn’t tell the truth.

How did he know I was broadcasting?

He might be suspicious, so for now, I said I wasn’t broadcasting and just looked at the man.

“Don’t bullshit me!!! Your voice matches! Why… why are you lying!”

I was taken aback by the man’s words.

Should I run away immediately? Even if I do, will I be able to escape?

Taking steps back, I closed the distance between the man and me.

As the gap narrowed, I thought about running when the time was right.

“Why… why are you running away! Do you hate me or something!!”

The man slowly approached me, starting to vent his anger.

“No… it’s not that… I’m just scared.”

When I honestly said I was scared and tried to run, the man asked what was frightening about him and started getting angry again.

I don’t even know what he’s up to. If I run now, can I escape?

Since the distance has been sufficiently reduced, it seems possible now.

After reconsidering, I took a step back once more.

And the moment I dashed backward!

“Where are you going!!! Trying to escape!!!!”

The man quickly rushed towards me and grabbed my hair.

“Ahh!!!”

The pain felt like my scalp was being torn off.

He’s not just grabbing; he’s pulling hard.

It hurts. It’s so painful that tears are welling up.

“Do you… do you not recognize me! How many times have I donated to your broadcast!”

Was he one of my viewers?

Is he really upset about something I did?

I just did a regular broadcast; I don’t understand why this is happening.

How did he find our house surroundings?

And why is he doing this?

Only one thing comes to mind now.

“Help!!! Help, Jihoo!!!”

All I could think of was Jihoo.

Even if shouting won’t make Jihoo hear me from here.

Still, I kept calling Jihoo’s name, asking for help.

Then, I heard footsteps approaching.

“Hey… What the hell are you doing?”

Jihoo’s voice came through.

“Jihoo… Jihoo.”

I looked at Jihoo as if on the verge of tears.

But Jihoo, unlike his usual self, was staring at me with a fierce look.

“What the hell are you doing, you bastard.”

**

Jiwon left her wallet behind.

She only took the cash I gave her, and since there wasn’t much money in the wallet, I thought it would be fine to leave it there.

Kim Jiwon is the person we’re talking about.

Thinking she might not notice if she dropped some loose change, I felt uneasy and decided to take the wallet and follow Jiwon.

It hadn’t been long since she left, so she couldn’t have gone too far, I thought.

But where I followed Jiwon to…

“Jihoo!! Help!!”

I started hearing Jiwon’s voice.

I ran like crazy towards the direction of the voice asking for help.

When I arrived, a man was grabbing Jiwon by the hair.

I have no idea what’s going on.

My current thought is…

“What the hell are you doing?”

I approached angrily and went to Jiwon’s side.

“Who are you! Just go away!!”

The man was furious, telling me to just go away.

Approaching him, I stared at the man.

“What… who are you! What are you looking at…”

Grr–!!

Maybe because I was angry, my body moved before my thoughts did.

Pummeling the man’s face with a fist, I watched him writhe in pain.

As he fell to the ground, I let go of Jiwon’s head. Jiwon ran towards me and embraced me.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

“Uh… yeah, I’m fine.”

Inspecting Jiwon’s face as it seemed devoid of any marks from the hit, I breathed a sigh of relief for a moment and stared at the man as if I wanted to kill him.

“Eek!”

The man got up and fled.

Even though he wasn’t running too fast, it seemed like I could catch him if I chased.

Jiwon’s hands were trembling like crazy.

I should chase after the man.

Worried about Jiwon, I eventually gave up on pursuing him.

**

“Are you feeling better now?”

Sitting him down on the bed, I handed him a warm cup of tea.

“Uh… thanks…”

Jiwon expressed his gratitude, took the cup, and sipped the tea.

“So, do you really not know who that guy is?”

“Yeah… out of nowhere, he asked if I was broadcasting, then chased me, grabbed my hair when I tried to escape.”

I see.

I don’t know how he found out Jiwon was broadcasting and located his address.

I had told him not to broadcast because I was worried such things might happen.

Still, I felt relieved that nothing worse had occurred.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I gently stroked Jiwon’s head.

“But for today, don’t worry about anything and just rest.”

Because he might be scared due to what happened, I assured him that I would take care of security tonight and told him to sleep well.

Jiwon acknowledged and seemed ready to fall asleep right away.

This is why I said I didn’t want to do broadcasts.

Although there was no room for me to be angry here, it seemed like getting upset wouldn’t solve anything in the current situation.

After contemplating for a while, I sighed and pondered over reporting the incident while looking at my phone outside the door.

What if that person falsely accuses me of something?

He didn’t seem like someone who would go that far, but it was still unsettling.

I even started to doubt my own actions.

My head is starting to ache for real.

After thinking about my actions for a while, I sighed and continued to contemplate.

“Jihoo…?”

The door opened, and Jiwon began calling me.

“What’s wrong?”

Is there somewhere that hurts? I asked, thinking about what might be happening.

Jiwon said he was a little scared.

Did the recent events traumatize him?

“Just… can we sleep together tonight?”

He started making a request that he never did before.

I didn’t understand why he suddenly made this request, but I agreed for now.

Yes, the earlier incident must have been scary for him.

Thinking so, I entered the room to lay down a blanket on the floor.

“No… I mean, sleep next to me.”

Saying that, Jiwon opened the blanket he was covering himself with and patted the space beside him.

Ah… asking to sleep next to each other means that.

Understanding the meaning, I pondered on what to do.

In the end, I agreed and decided to lie down next to Jiwon.

As I lay beside him, I started to feel Jiwon’s breath gradually.

It felt different from the night before, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

After staring at Jiwon for a while, he soon nestled into my arms and spoke.

“Hey… I was really scared today.”

I understand that perfectly.

Even I would have been scared in such a situation.

Perhaps it became a trauma for life, and he might never want to go out again.

Should I be grateful just for being able to comfort him with words like this?

Thankfully, there weren’t any major issues, but I was still grateful.

“I was really, really scared.”

Continuing to speak in that manner, there was nothing but a response of ‘yes.’

As I replied like that, Ji-won continued to repeat the same words in my arms.

I began to feel like she wanted to hear something.

I gently patted Ji-won’s head and praised her.

Soon, Ji-won’s hand pulled me closer even more forcefully.

“Because it’s scary… you have to stay by my side today.”

Ji-won asked me not to leave her side.

I agreed and decided to protect Ji-won.

“Instead, stop the broadcast now. I’m scared of what might happen next.”

“I can’t mess up twice like that. I don’t want to get involved in such incidents anymore.”

Saying that, Ji-won declared that she would stop the broadcast in a semi-crying state.

Well… I feel a little relieved now.

While patting Ji-won’s head like that, I had one thought.

I think… I need some rest.

For mental health… maybe going on a trip would be good?

After contemplating for a while, I heard Ji-won sleep-talking.

“Don’t let go… don’t abandon…”

I sighed at Ji-won’s sleep talk and covered her with a blanket.

“Don’t abandon, you idiot. Stop babbling and just go to sleep.”

At my words, Ji-won quieted down again and began to fall asleep.

… I really want to relieve this fatigue.

I should set aside time for it next time.

Thinking like that, pondering where to go to relax and unwind.

One idea came to mind.

“Hot springs. Shall we go check it out?”