Chapter 32: A Chance Encounter

“I don’t feel a great sense of pride in being the first to start the Efreet gallery.

There can definitely be new people coming in.

But…

‘All the ones coming in now are just troublemakers.’

There hadn’t been many people joining the Efreet gallery until now.

But suddenly, a bunch of people were flooding in at this time?

It was definitely troublemakers.

So, I decided to take “action.”

[Author: UncoveringLondon’sSecret]

[Title: Why are there so many newcomers in the gallery right now?]

[Content: Don’t the newcomers know they can’t have a high-profile account for a month?]

I subtly threw in a jab.

In reality, such a rule doesn’t exist.

It wasn’t even in the community regulations of “Red.”

I just made up the rule because I wanted to.

After writing the post, a little while later…

L: ????

L: Is this real??

L: I’ve never heard of this in my life..

L Kang Hoomin: It’s been 2 weeks since I started using the gallery, do I have to go back to a low-profile account? ㅠㅠ

N: It’s been well over 2 years since I’ve been in the gallery, what is this nonsense?

N: It’s ridiculous how they’re pretending to be newcomers, seriously lol.

N: Newbie (13,000 comments)

N: My concept of a newbie has changed…

L: The words of London Secret’s high-profile account are all right! lol

N: Of course, the sarcasm is from a drifter lol.

N: Oh my, look at the sarcasm, just give it up.

Comments started pouring in quickly.

It seemed like many people had been waiting for me to write a post.

While I was browsing the gallery for a bit,

“Oppa, what are you doing tomorrow?”

It was Lee Yeram asking about tomorrow’s plans.

‘Tomorrow…’

I didn’t really have any plans other than going to a café.

Lately, I didn’t have anything else going on besides that.

“I have to go to work tomorrow, why?”

As I said that, Yeram hesitated, trying to say something but then stopping repeatedly—

“Uh… Can we go somewhere together tomorrow?”

She unexpectedly made that suggestion.

“Where to?”

If it was a moderately far distance, I could take a day off from the café, but if it was too far, I’d have to take two days off, which would be a bit difficult.

“There’s a delicious place in Seongsu-dong… I did well on my exams this time, can you treat me…?”

Hearing the word “Seongsu-dong” made me a little uneasy.

Isn’t it notorious for being expensive?

The prices of the food sold there are all high.

So, I felt a bit anxious.

“Let’s check it out first.”

It would be good to find out what kind of food the restaurant sells.

I needed to see the prices to decide whether to go or not.

Here’s the translation of the provided text:

“Ah, here it is.”

Lee Yeram cautiously handed me her phone, where she had saved the information.

I looked at the details of the restaurant.

[Galbijjim (braised short ribs) small portion for 2–3 people: 45,000 won]

For a moment, I wondered if I was seeing it correctly.

Galbijjim for 45,000 won?

Of course, I know that galbijjim is generally an expensive dish.

But I never imagined it would be this expensive.

“Hold on a second.”

I needed to check my bank balance before I could make a decision.

How much was left, I wondered.

I calmed my nervousness as I opened my banking app to check my balance.

[Balance: 43,302,130 won]

It might seem like a lot, but it’s not that much.

This was all I had.

Since I was living in a one-room apartment, I had to be very careful with my spending.

If that money ran out, there was no immediate source of income.

Normally, I’d have turned down such a suggestion immediately, but…

‘I’ve received some donations from my broadcasts.’

The broadcast I started with Lee Yeram’s help had brought in some donations.

Quite a decent amount too.

Even though I didn’t start the broadcast to make money, it felt too inhuman to save every bit of the unexpected earnings.

It was important to de-stress from time to time.

So, I made up my mind.

“Okay.”

I decided to treat her to the galbijjim without holding back.

The next day arrived.

It was a slightly nerve-wracking day.

Since my school was in the Sinchon area, I’d often been to Sinchon, but Seongsu-dong was different.

I hadn’t seen it in person, but that’s what I’d heard.

They say Seongsu-dong has a more upscale atmosphere.

‘It might not be true, though.’

Anyway, that’s what I’d been told.

So, I chose the cleanest outfit from my wardrobe.

My face wasn’t exactly handsome, but my proportions weren’t bad, so I could look decent just by dressing up a bit.

While I was putting on my clothes,

“Hoo…”

I saw Lee Yeram rummaging through the wardrobe with me.

She seemed to be looking for some pretty clothes.

But she didn’t have many pretty clothes.

After all, she was always wearing her school uniform.

On weekends, she wore her gym clothes.

‘I’ll have to buy her some clothes later.’

It seemed like it would be better to buy her something.

She was my only sister, and seeing her live like that made me feel a bit sorry for her.

As I was thinking that,

“I’m all dressed. Are you done too, oppa?”

“Yeah.”

Lee Yeram’s outfit was simple.

She dressed just like a typical student her age.

I wasn’t much different either.

Jeans, a white T-shirt, and a cardigan on top.

It was the classic, clean look.

“So, are we taking the subway or the bus?”

“We’re taking the subway, of course. Why would we take the bus?”

Taking the bus would ruin my back.

There was that one time when I tried to save money by taking the bus, and my back hurt so bad I thought I was going to die.

And anyway, the subway is usually cheaper.

‘Though it depends on the situation.’

For me, the subway was more comfortable and cheaper.

Thinking about that, I grabbed my phone.

It was about time to head out.

“Let’s go. If we’re late, it’ll be a hassle.”

I didn’t have to go to my part-time job, but since I planned to do a broadcast in the afternoon, it was better to leave early.

“We’re eating galbijjim thanks to your broadcast, after all.”

Thankfully, Lee Yeram seemed to understand.

By the way,

‘She seems really excited.’

She looked incredibly thrilled.

Is going out to eat galbijjim that exciting?

Personally, I don’t really care much about food, so I couldn’t quite understand, but as long as it cheered her up, it was worth it.

And so, we headed to Seongsu-dong.

Rattle, rattle.

We traveled for a while on the subway, which had a pretty decent ride quality.

Finally, we arrived at Seongsu-dong.

‘But just eating and leaving feels a bit lacking.’

There’s no way Lee Yeram asked to come all the way to Seongsu-dong just to eat.

It might be good to look around and see what else there was.

And in situations like this,

There’s a great place to ask for recommendations.

The place was—

[Efreet Gallery]

Efreet Gallery had a lot of people with various types of knowledge, making it convenient to ask these kinds of random questions.

[Author: UncoveringLondon’sSecret]

[Title: First time in Seongsu-dong, anything to see?]

[Content: Coming here for the first time, any recommendations on what to check out?]

After posting the message, I waited for the comments to roll in.

I put my phone in my pocket and started walking towards the place Lee Yeram had marked on the map.

Soon, I saw a restaurant come into view.

“Oh, the exterior looks pretty clean.”

“Well, for the price, it better be clean.”

She had a point.

Since we were paying a high price for the meal, the exterior better be clean.

With that thought, I opened the door and entered the restaurant.

“Welcome.”

There were staff members greeting us.

It had been a while since I received such hospitality, so it felt a bit overwhelming.

“Um, there are two of us. Where should we sit?”

“I’ll show you to your seat.”

After a brief greeting, the staff guided us to our table.

“Please call me when you’re ready to order.”

With a bow, the staff stepped back for a moment.

“Just one order of galbijjim?”

“Ordering more feels a bit much.”

Yeah, the price was a bit intimidating, so we ordered a small portion of galbijjim.

They’d probably serve rice with it, right?

With that thought, we engaged in some light conversation.

“By the way, why did you suddenly want to come here?”

I still hadn’t heard the reason.

Of course, I knew that Lee Yeram enjoyed eating, but I was curious about why she specifically wanted to come all the way to Seongsu-dong.

There must be another reason.

“Oh… well, the streamer I watch often eats here. It looked really tasty, so I wanted to try it.”

“You said you don’t watch livestreams.”

“I watch them sometimes.”

“Seems like you watch them more than just sometimes.”

“Hey, stop making stuff up.”

Though my suspicions grew, what could I do but believe her?

After all, it’s not me but Lee Yeram who’s taking the college entrance exam.

I just had to hope she was managing herself well.

As I was thinking that—

“Ugh, I’m so tired…”

“But it was fun, right?”

“Yeah, I guess it was.”

From the entrance of the restaurant, I heard a voice that sounded familiar.

Where had I heard it before?

Looking toward the entrance—

“Huh, what’s this?”

A blonde woman with an exotic appearance stood there.

She looked quite tired.

‘I didn’t expect to see Harin here.’

There was another woman standing next to her, someone I didn’t recognize.

As I was thinking about the coincidence of running into her in such a random place and was about to grab some kimchi—

“Qt…”

I saw Lee Yeram’s eyes light up with excitement.

Her eyes were shining more brightly than I’d ever seen before.