Chapter 19: Affectionate Complications

I stared blankly at the money that had entered my account at home. – 1,041,000 won

“Uh…”

“I can’t accept this money. I’ll give it back.”

I said this while sweating, thinking about that huge sum.

“No, just take it. If you don’t spend it by next week, I’ll file a complaint~”

With that, she hung up.

“Do you like me?”

I typed that on the keyboard but quickly deleted it.

I suddenly wondered if she really liked me.

Even objectively… well, maybe.

In today’s world, homosexuality isn’t an unfamiliar topic.

But if she said no, it would just give me one more reason not to hold my head up in front of Yoo Ji-eun.

I don’t know.

Could it be that, as I said before, it’s just simple maternal love?

This doesn’t seem like something that can be explained solely by maternal love, does it?

Isn’t the amount of money too much for that?

…

Or maybe it’s too much to call it a crush.

Now, the talk of a complaint doesn’t even feel sincere.

Anyway, I guess it means she wants me to spend it.

Let’s just think that she’s a really nice person.

…

Honestly, I really don’t think she’s a bad person anymore.

How strong must her altruism be to treat me this well?

She buys me delicious meals, good clothes, and… even pets my head.

She does so much for me.

…

I’ve come to not dislike her.

That moment when she patted my head, which felt a bit uncomfortable then, was probably just my instinct to avoid her, but wasn’t it maternal love after all?

Thinking like that, I felt a bit sorry for avoiding her touch.

Instead, I even felt a warm feeling when I thought of her.

Yeah. It might have been a bad connection at first, but next time, who knows?

Anyway, shaking off my distractions, I looked again at the numbers before me.

• 1,041,000 won

If this money was given to me out of a type of affection.

Then… can I spend it?

It was so sudden that I felt a sense of rejection, but honestly, there was no reason for me to turn down such a large sum.

1 million won.

At minimum wage, that’s roughly 100 hours of work.

Honestly, to me, it’s like an angel descending from the sky.

It’s just that I don’t understand her intentions, and that makes me suspicious of whether it’s something disguised as an angel.

I don’t know.

Let’s think that there are various kinds of people in the world.

If there are people who spend tens of thousands of won out of maternal love,

Then there are also people who spend hundreds of thousands of won a day out of maternal love.

But can that really happen?

“Ah, screw it.”

I threw my phone and lay flat on the mattress.

Just accept it gratefully.

What am I worrying about right now?

The rent payment date is just two days away now.

But aside from rent, where should I spend it?

I thought I just wanted to make money, but now that it has come in, I have nothing to do.

If I take out the 400,000 won for rent, that leaves me about 600,000 won.

After deducting my phone and internet bills, I’ll have about 500,000 won left…

It’s really a large sum.

…

Yoo Ji-eun, thank you so much…

After a brief prayer, I pondered again.

So what should I buy?

In-game purchases that I haven’t done in a while? Or maybe clothes?

After thinking, I decided to invest in my broadcasts.

It’s about time to upgrade my phone camera and headset mic.

Now that my average viewer count is easily hitting 300, it should be okay to invest a bit.

I set a budget of around 200,000 won and started gathering information from various sources.

Sometimes, I’d spot a noticeable post and cause some chaos.

The estimates I made from various recommendation posts were: 150,000 won for a webcam, 70,000 won for a mic… and 30,000 won for lighting.

I found out that I needed lighting as well.

It went over my set budget by 50,000 won, but this much was okay.

I’m rich now.

Originally, I planned to keep the prices of the mic and webcam equal.

But honestly… it seems like more people come to see my face than to hear my voice.

It’s not that my voice is bad, but…

At that moment, I imagined the chat window in my mind.

“Oh, what? Did you change the cam?”

“The quality improved.”

“Sister, I’m dying…”

“You look even prettier with the better quality.”

“Ugh…”

Just imagining it made me feel good, and I started bouncing my feet on the mat.

Yeah, let’s go for it.

This is worth the splurge.

‘The high school graduate, unemployed, forever single, cute girl has started her stream.’

I began my broadcast dressed in a shirt and a skirt.

When I wear this, I get a lot of compliments about being pretty.

The occasional chats like ‘You’re so pretty!’ during gameplay always lifted my spirits.

That word definitely has some magic to it.

Why didn’t you stream yesterday?

I was full.

Boyfriend…

Block that one for now.

Doesn’t he get tired of it?

Should I just ban him now…?

Honestly, I kind of understand that psychology.

Deep down, he probably hopes I don’t have a boyfriend.

By causing such a ruckus, he’s just trying to prompt a response.

It’s a human observation built on five years of experience on the DC forums.

Anyway, let me answer the question about why I didn’t stream yesterday.

“I just met up with someone who filed a lawsuit against me for harassment.”

That should be okay to say, right?

It’s not like anyone I know other than Yoo Ji-eun is watching.

Wait, was that for real?

LOL, seriously?

The chat started heating up again.

I stared at it and finally said what I had been wanting to say.

“Hey, I have some good news.”

?

What is it?

“I’m going to buy a new camera and microphone.”

I was going to say it casually, but then I thought it might sound boring.

“It’s a secret.”

Then why did you say it? I slightly enjoyed the viewers’ grumbling about me not being able to sleep today as I continued the broadcast.

“I’ll wrap up today’s stream here.”

After saying that, I bid farewell to several viewers and ended the stream.

To be honest, since a while ago, my consciousness had been focused on one thing.

Yoo Ji-eun hadn’t typed anything in the chat.

She had been in the stream since the moment I started, but she hadn’t typed a single message.

She had occasionally chatted before, but this time she just logged in and stayed silent, which was a bit frightening.

Is she just watching something else?

Suddenly, I received a call from Yoo Ji-eun.

“Yikes…”

Did she know I was thinking about her?

This is scary…

I picked up my phone with slightly trembling hands.

“Y-Yes?”

[Ms. Moon I hyun.]

“Eep…”

A very cold voice came through the phone.

What is this?

Did I do something wrong?

I even toned down my swearing.

Should I tone it down even more?

I swallowed hard and replied.

“Y-Yes.”

Then, there was a brief silence before she continued.

[Why aren’t you wearing what I bought you?]

“W-What?”

I blurted out an unexpected response.

But Yoo Ji-eun continued without paying any mind.

[Why aren’t you wearing what I bought? You said the things I bought were prettier.]

“Ah…”

…

Is she really going to talk like that so intimidatingly?

I didn’t wear it because it was too much pressure.

And I had complained about being broke, so what would she think if I showed up in luxury items next time?

It was too expensive, so I didn’t wear it. I felt like it didn’t suit me… And since I mentioned being broke, what would she think if I wore that…

“I will.”

[……….]

For a moment, silence passed between us.

[You should wear it next time; it looks great on you. Just say it’s from me on the broadcast.]

“Ah, yes. I’ll—”

Click.

The call dropped.

What’s going on?

Did I really upset her?

Why…?

Is it really something to be that upset about…?

I stared blankly at my phone, which had gone silent.

Suddenly, a KakaoTalk message came in.

11:30 AM [Ms. Moon. Can I meet that sister of yours?]

11:31 AM Huh…? Why…?

11:31 AM [I’d like to meet her. I want to treat her to a meal.]

11:31 AM Ah, that’s a bit…

11:32 AM [You really need to arrange this? I’d appreciate it if you could do it any day during the week.]

What?

Are Song Chae-hyun and Yoo Ji-eun going to meet?

11:32 AM Ji-eun,

11:33 AM That’s absolutely not okay.

11:33 AM How do I explain our relationship?

What should I say when they ask what our relationship is? I can’t say we’re being sued for harassment…

I quickly typed in desperation.

11:34 AM Just say she’s an acquaintance~

She responded calmly.

No matter how many messages I sent, there was no reply after that.

Seriously, she always acts on her own terms.

When I first met her, I thought she was really demure.

But what can I do?

If she wants to meet, then I’ll have to go along with it.

Although I say that, honestly, I would be the only one in trouble if we met. It doesn’t seem like anything bad would happen.

Yoo Ji-eun doesn’t seem like a bad person; she genuinely just wants to invite me for a greeting.

—

I entered Song Chae-hyun’s chat room and typed away.

11:39 AM Sister,

11:39 AM Are you available for a call?

It didn’t take long for her to reply.

11:45 AM [Yes, I can. What’s up?]

After reading that, I called her.

The ringing sound ended quickly.

“Hello? noona.”

“Huh? Oh, I hyun…”

…

What is this?

It feels a bit awkward.

That thought crossed my mind, but I didn’t pay much attention and said,

“Do you have any plans to meet someone I know?”

—

“Huh? Someone you know? Why the sudden question?”

“Well, um, I’m introducing you to someone you know, and they want to treat you to a meal.”

— Oh, really? That sounds nice.

…

Something feels off.

Her usual tone was absent, replaced by a somewhat frustrating manner.

— … But is it a man?

“No, it’s a woman.”

— Oh, I see.

I could feel her voice brighten slightly. Just a little.

It still seemed a bit dark.

“Is something going on?” I asked.

— Oh, no! It’s nothing at all.

She immediately mumbled when I asked.

…

What’s going on?

I thought for a moment before asking again.

“Are you available today on a weekday? She said you can decide.”

— Hmm, my free day is Thursday… Is that okay?

It should be fine. I’ll call you back later.”

“Okay.”

—

Yeah… Thanks.

…

Her voice still sounded locked away.

I couldn’t help but worry a lot.

Does she have something on her mind?

Since she’s helped me, I want to help her as well.

So I said,

“Sister, do you have any worries?”

— Huh?

She responded with a flustered voice.

It’s definitely different from usual.

“If you have any concerns, please tell me. I want to help you.”

I tried to choose my words carefully and spoke sincerely.

Then, there was a brief silence before a serious voice came through.

“Ihyun.”

“Y-Yes?”

I got a bit flustered and stuttered.

Um… I’m sorry if this isn’t it, but I wanted to ask you something. Do you perhaps…

What is it?

What’s she trying to ask? I can’t guess.

Ah, could it be…

At that moment, the thought crossed my mind.

— Are you streaming?