Chapter 13: “I’m used to confessions”

There’s a great way to wake up Lee Yeram.

It’s playing a sound that any ‘woman’ from another world couldn’t help but respond to.

“Ba~ Ba babababa~ babarabababa~.”

Memories of hearing it in the training camp came back, but I ignored it and kept playing it.

Then Yeram immediately woke up.

“Ugh… I told you not to play that.”

“If I don’t play it, you won’t wake up.”

“You’re right, but…”

With much difficulty, I managed to get Yeram fully awake and started preparing breakfast.

I usually made a simple breakfast, but lately, I’d only been giving her frozen food since I was a bit out of it.

‘Guess I should make something better today.’

Ssshhh—

While Yeram took her time in the shower, I started cooking with the basic utensils we had in the small studio apartment.

Today’s menu was kimchi fried rice.

The building owner often gave us kimchi out of pity, so we’d been making good use of it.

I chopped the kimchi, fried it with rice, and added a few other ingredients.

Surprisingly, it turned out looking quite appetizing.

“Hmm, this looks good.”

I wasn’t much of a cook, but this seemed decent enough.

As I was setting the table, Yeram came out of the shower.

“Oh, what’s this? It smells good.”

“I made some kimchi fried rice. Eat this before you head to school.”

“Oh, thanks!”

Yeram sat down excitedly and started devouring the kimchi fried rice.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected yesterday’s stream to go so well.

I thought it would be nice if it just created some small buzz on the gallery.

That’s why I was so surprised now.

[Turn on Dama’s stream, turn on Dama’s stream, turn on Dama’s stream, turn on Dama’s stream, turn on Dama’s stream][3]

[Dama <<< This guy’s been lazing around all day, if you’re mad, like this post lol][2]

[But who is Dama anyway? Why is everyone talking about him?][6]

[The stream was fun last night, but was it really that good?][1]

[Hah, viral for no reason lol, please leave the gallery, we want some real content][9]

The Efreet Gallery was completely filled with posts about me.

It was overwhelming.

I had expected some buzz, but… not like this.

Starting my stream turned out to be a good decision.

As my audience grows, browsing the gallery will only become more fun.

“Ahem.”

After checking my phone briefly, I flipped it back over.

“I’ll take your order.”

I was still working part-time after all.

This job paid a little above minimum wage, so I couldn’t afford to lose it.

“Well, I’m not really sure… Can you recommend something?”

A recommendation, huh.

I wasn’t sure either.

But I couldn’t just refuse, so I suggested one of the more expensive coffee options.

“The Frappuccino is really good these days. You might want to give it a try.”

“Okay!”

The customer said that and handed me her card, and I absentmindedly processed the payment.

But then—

“Excuse me…!”

A female customer handed me a small white piece of paper.

“What is this—”

Before I could even ask, she quickly rejoined her friends, leaving me stunned.

I was taken aback. Did she just throw trash at me?

Sure, they say the customer is always right, but that doesn’t mean a part-time worker is a trash bin.

Annoyed, I glanced at the paper—

[You’re totally my type. Please contact me at @grilvodp__20!]

“Huh.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise.

To be honest, ever since realizing I was in a gender-reversed world, I’d imagined women constantly confessing their love to me.

After all, this is a gender-reversed world.

In my understanding, men in this world were supposed to be fragile, and women were supposed to be driven by their desires.

But as I experienced it, reality was quite different.

No matter how handsome a guy was, women didn’t follow him around like they were crazed with lust. Instead, they often approached cautiously.

Not that I’m saying I’m particularly handsome.

So this situation was pretty unexpected.

“Hmmm.”

It’s been a while since something like this happened.

Actually, this might be the first time.

I wasn’t used to someone showing interest in me.

Unless you count that one boy in middle school who kept trying to touch me. If you consider that ‘interest,’ then maybe this isn’t the first time.

But anyway—

The important thing here wasn’t that.

What mattered was that I’d just been confessed to.

“Whew…”

I took a moment to calm my rapidly beating heart, then posted on the gallery.

I didn’t have anyone around to ask for advice, but the Efreet Gallery usually gave pretty good answers.

[Poster: UncoveringLondon’sSecret] [Title: I just got confessed to at a café… What’s going on?] [Body: (Photo) This has never happened to me before. How should I react…?]

I guess I wanted to brag a little.

After all, getting a confession for the first time in my life was something worth boasting about.

Just as I was staring at the note again, the door chime rang.

With the familiar sound of the door shaking, a familiar face appeared.

“Hey there.”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Yeram came to the café today with her friends, as usual.

By now, I was used to it, so I didn’t think much of it.

It was nice to see a familiar face.

Just as I acknowledged her presence, she asked, “What’s that in your hand?”

“Oh, this? It’s a long story—”

“If it’s long, don’t bother.”

“I’ll explain it later, just don’t leave, okay?”

“…Is that necessary?”

With a somewhat reluctant expression, Yeram ordered her coffee and sat at a nearby table.

“Five iced Americanos, please.”

“Got it.”

Thanks to my coworker Yehwa, who seemed to handle everything single-handedly, I had a bit of extra time.

Even when I tried to help, she insisted on doing it herself, so there wasn’t much I could do to stop her.

Once the iced Americanos were quickly made, I carried them over to Yeram’s table and handed out the drinks.

“Thank you.”

“Wow, oppa is personally delivering drinks today.”

“Even when you come alone, just order. I’ll make sure they know to have me bring it over.”

“Yeram, stop talking nonsense, please.”

Listening to the lively chatter of the group of girls, I grabbed a chair and sat down for a moment.

Then, I cautiously spoke to Yeram.

“Hey, sis.”

“What?”

“Your oppa finally got one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

It seemed like Yeram had no idea what I was talking about, so I handed her the piece of paper in my hand.

I couldn’t bring myself to explain it verbally—it was too embarrassing.

“Ahem.”

Trying to act as natural as possible, I sat back and pretended to be nonchalant.

And after a brief moment—

“Ew, what kind of confession would someone give to you? This looks like a pyramid scheme.”

“No way, with a face like mine, it’s totally believable.”

“Ugh!”

Yeram made a gagging motion, and her friends, who had been curious, turned to look at me.

So, I had no choice but to hand over the paper.

“Oh…”

“Who would confess to our oppa?”

“It’s actually surprising you haven’t received any until now.”

Unlike Yeram, her other friends seemed to appreciate my value.

This was the kind of society we lived in—a society that recognized people’s worth.

“So, you got a confession. Why are you showing this to us?”

“Uh, just thought you might be curious, that’s all.”

“I’m curious.”

“There’s no need to be so embarrassed.”

“This is ridiculous.”

Since Yeram seemed determined to deny her feelings, I decided to step aside for a while.

After all, it can be hard for someone to immediately accept their own emotions.

I walked away and stood at the counter, checking my phone.

Ding—

Notifications were still coming in.

It seemed like the post I made on the gallery was becoming a hot topic.

I cautiously opened the gallery and checked the comments.

[Author: UncoveringLondon’sSecret]

[Title: I just got confessed to at a café… What’s going on?]

[Body: (Photo) This has never happened to me before. How should I react…?]

L: No way, this is nonsense.

L: How did you even get confessed to? Lol.

L: We need to spread the word that this guy’s on the gallery.

L: 2033.

ᄂ: If only we knew who you were, we’d spread it right away. Too bad.

ᄂ: If your friends find out you’re on this gallery, you’ll be hanging by a rope from the ceiling in no time.

L Hwanhee: Forget the confession—when are you streaming again?

ᄂ Hwanhee: I’m bored.

ᄂ: Rn, I’m bored to death.

ᄂ: I need a dopamine fix.

L: How good-looking are you to be getting confessed to?

ᄂ: No way you actually got confessed to. This is clearly made up.

ᄂ: Can’t believe people are buying this. Lol.

Of course, no one believed me.

It was infuriating.

“What the…?”

The confession was real.

Feeling wronged, I left a message in the gallery.

It was almost time for my shift to end, and I planned to start streaming as soon as I got home.

[Author: UncoveringLondon’sSecret]

[Title: Streaming soon@@@@@@@@]

[Body: Everyone get ready.]