episode_0076

The next morning.

After Yujeong went to work,

I was wondering how I should contact Yuri.

Should I text or call?

What should I say first?

I’m a bit worried though… .

If you think about it, I’m also one of them.

Even though he knew that Gaon had a taste for netorase, he didn’t tell Yuri.

And Yuri probably already knows this fact.

“Even if I say that I called because I was worried about you… … it’s not convincing at all… ”

If I were Yuri, I would definitely think, ‘Oh, this kid. He doesn’t usually contact me, but he contacted me because he was afraid that he would be stuffed on the Internet too.’

“But I guess it’s right to apologize first and ask for forgiveness, right?”

At that moment, I pulled myself together again and was about to call Yuri.

A creaking sound was heard from the front door.

“What did Yujeong leave behind?”

I got up from my seat and headed toward the front door.

I naturally assumed it would be Yoo Jeong.

At this time, the only person who could enter the door lock password correctly was Yujeong.

But the person standing at the entrance wasn’t Yujeong.

There stood Yuri.

It reminded me of our first date… … .

“excuse me.”

“… … . ”

“Hmm. I guess the surprise was a success?”

Hair with natural waves.

A blue bolero knit cardigan with a body-hugging string underneath.

White tennis skirt and sneakers.

It was just like when we were on a date at the movie theater.

“You don’t have to be so flustered. I didn’t come here to eat you, oppa.”

Yuri took off her shoes and came into the house.

What were you thinking when you came here?

What do you want from me?

It seemed like there were some sort of clothes in the paper bag she was holding, but it was difficult to read Yuri’s intentions from that alone.

“Judging from the reaction, I guess you saw the article I posted on the internet.”

“Uh… … I saw it. Gaon told me about it last night… I saw it right before I went to bed.”

“Then you have nothing to say to me?”

Yuri came and stood right in front of me.

I took a small step back as the distance was close enough for our chests to touch, but Yuri took a step forward and closed the distance.

“Is that… okay?”

“… … . ”

Yuri’s expression turned cold at my words.

The once brightly smiling expression hardened and the eyes became much sharper.

“Are you okay? I got fooled again?”

“… … . ”

“Wow… I really can’t handle this. I tried my best to keep going until I reached the end, holding onto my venom… But they’re playing around with me like that.”

“… … . ”

“Excluding me. With that guy. With Garam oppa. With my sister. The three of us conspired. And you made me look like a fool.”

Gaon’s title had changed to ‘that man’.

＂Wow… Do you know how I felt back then? I was so shocked that I couldn’t even cry. I just laughed. The whole situation was funny… I felt so pathetic and miserable… Some of the questions that had been unanswered for a long time were all answered, and I felt relieved…＂

“Sorry…….”

“… … . ”

Yuri looked up at me for a long time without saying anything.

I met eyes that were filled with so many emotions that I wanted to avoid looking at them.

I didn’t avoid eye contact until the very end, thinking that it was the least I could do to fully accept these feelings.

“As expected… you’re different from that guy.”

“… … . ”

“That person immediately turned away.”

I mustered up my courage and hugged Yuri gently.

Although, it may actually have the opposite effect.

I don’t think I have the right to comfort Yuri.

However, Bang Yuri, who was suffering, felt that she couldn’t just leave it like this.

“What? Are you trying to cover up the situation with sex again?”

“… … . ”

“Be honest. Is there something else I don’t know? Is there something you three are planning to play with me again?”

“No. That kind of thing… … . ”

Luckily, Yuri didn’t push me away.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Then… tell me everything.”

“… … . ”

“Now that man too… . My sister too… . I can’t trust them anymore… … . So I’ll give Garam oppa one last chance.”

“… … . ”

“Tell me everything you know. Why you hugged me. What you talked about with that guy back then. Why you played with me. What you were thinking then. What you’re thinking now. Just tell me everything. Without lying.”

“……okay.”

I walked with Yuri towards the Terrace of the officetel.

What Yuri wanted from me now was the truth.

Instead, Gaon, the mastermind behind everything.

Instead of my older sister, with whom we had become estranged from each other.

As a last resort, he was holding me, who was practically an accomplice, and asking me to tell him the truth.

Perhaps, as Yuri said, this is the last chance.

This is my last chance to properly convey my mistake and ask for Yuri’s forgiveness.

.

.

.

A small garden on the terrace.

He sat down at the desk there, facing Yuri, and continued talking.

From the story of Gaon asking his girlfriend to sleep with him one day.

He said that there was a girl who had liked him since long ago, and that since he had just become an adult, he suggested that he try eating her.

How did you take those suggestions, how did those thoughts and feelings change, etc.

I laid out all the truth I could on the spot.

Yuri listened to my story while asking various questions.

And only when the once blue sky began to turn a little red did I end my story.

“As expected, Gaon oppa didn’t have any feelings for me whatsoever.”

“… … . ”

“After breaking up with my sister, the reason she called me… was because she needed a place to use instead of my sister… ”

“… … . ”

“I accepted the offer to date you… It wasn’t because I was afraid that the show would fail, it was just because I liked being eaten by Garam oppa… ”

Yuri looked up at the sky, smiling weakly.

“Actually, the whole time I was taking revenge… the whole time I was harassing Gaon oppa, I felt strange.”

“… … . ”

“I thought that if I bothered Gaon oppa, my suffocated feelings would go away… I thought that since I liked Gaon oppa so much, I would be so disappointed and despaired, and that this feeling would last for a long time…”

“… … . ”

“But that wasn’t the case. I didn’t feel any better. I felt like I was getting worse. And I started thinking, is this really the person I liked? Something feels off?”

Yuri kept her mouth shut, perhaps unable to express it well in words.

Still, I thought I had a rough idea of what Yuri was trying to say.

We don’t live our lives revealing our entire ‘true selves’.

The way you speak and the way you act are bound to change with each person you meet.

Depending on the situation and place, the way you speak and think may change.

Especially, the job of a streamer is one that requires being loved by viewers. Therefore, there is a strong tendency to hide the bad parts and emphasize the good and pretty parts.

Yuri must have liked the part that streamer Han Ga-on has packaged and brought out so well up until now. She gave up her dream of becoming a film director and, instead of her dream, she looked for something she could love, and what she found was ‘streamer Han Ga-on’.

And as you learn about ‘Human Han Ga-on’ through a series of events, you will probably be confused by the sense of disconnect between the streamer Han Ga-on and the human Han Ga-on.

“I posted a critical article about Gaon Oppa this time… After hearing all the stories, I feel more certain. Now, I don’t feel anything no matter what happens to that person, Gaon. I don’t think I’ll feel better even if I harass him more.”

“… … . ”

“So I think I’ll end it properly. If Gaon oppa really repents his wrongdoings during this broadcast… No, if he even pretends to… ”

That’s fortunate.

If Yuri could stop here, Gaon, Nana, and Yoojung would be able to rest easy.

“But, oppa. I strangely keep worrying about you.”

“uh……?”

“Today, I was more concerned about what my brother thought of me, what kind of feeling he had, and with what kind of heart he hugged me.”

The story seemed to be going in a slightly strange direction.

“That’s why I thought about it a lot while my brother was talking. Why was it that he could take revenge on a person named Han Ga-on, but couldn’t do anything to a person named Han Gar-ram?”

“… … . ”

“He tricked me into becoming a virgin, and then he ate me and abandoned me at the movie theater and at home… Why did I go to you on my own feet to bring up this unpleasant story of revenge, and why did I cling to you while seeing my sister, whom I don’t want to see?”

“… … . ”

“I could have shot Gaon oppa and sent him to hell with you… I could have visited you every day and harassed you… Why am I just watching you closely while sending you dirty pictures?”

“… … . ”

“Why don’t I feel bad when I see you wearing these clothes? Why do I feel so relieved just by your apology? ”

Bang Yuri turned her head and looked at my face.

And then he continued talking, laughing and snorting as if he too was dumbfounded.

“There was only one answer that came to mind.”

“… … . ”

“I guess she likes that guy.”