Chapter 37: I am succeeding the main admin (3)

Kim Seoyun was a freelancer.

Her goal was to become a webtoon artist, earning royalties from a platform by winning contests and creating her manga.

But it wasn’t as easy as she thought.

She frequently failed in contests, and her original webtoons, often posted on online communities, remained unpopular.

Believing she was at an impasse, Seoyun’s second choice was becoming an illustrator.

A job where she’d be paid to draw for clients.

It wasn’t a carefully considered choice; she simply saw a tweet saying illustrators made a lot of money and jumped at the opportunity.

And she utterly failed.

For the past few months, Seoyun had received virtually no commissions.

Naturally, there was no income.

This could be considered the biggest crisis of her life.

Some might belittle her for not working hard enough, but Seoyun had her own difficulties.

Sweet romance stories have long been popular in the webtoon world.

The problem was that they became a mandatory element in the stories because they were too popular.

And Seoyun had never experienced love.

She hadn’t even experienced unrequited love.

Love, how does one do that?

Writing a love story without having ever experienced love was near impossible.

At least, that was true for her.

Seoyun ruffled her frizzy hair.

Her body felt heavy from staying up late on online communities.

She couldn’t stay still, so she got a part-time job at a convenience store, but she didn’t want to go.

Should I just call in sick…?

Thinking that she’d never recover if she continued like this, she quickly changed her clothes and left the house.

A community addict and unemployed—it felt like crossing a point of no return.

Resolving to pull herself together, she arrived at the convenience store where she worked.

Then she fell asleep.

It was a clear case of dereliction of duty, but Seoyun had an excuse. She’d finished organizing stock and cleaning, and exhaustion had hit her all at once.

Since there were no customers, she thought a short nap was acceptable and closed her eyes.

A few minutes later.

Seoyun, who had fallen into a deep sleep, was awakened by a sweet scent nearby.

The scent, which completely jolted her groggy mind, was getting stronger.

She wanted to smell it more. Instinctively, Seoyun raised her head to identify the scent.

As she raised her head, their eyes met.

“01…”

A beauty who tucked a strand of shiny brown hair behind her ear.

A small face with a straight nose.

Eyes that seemed full of mischief.

A captivating appearance that was impossible to look away from.

Even her blushing face, seemingly from embarrassment, seemed lovely.

Seoyun realized.

That she had fallen at first sight. It was an emotion she’d never experienced before, but she knew it clearly.

It turned out the beauty was a customer who had come to the convenience store to buy something.

Realizing this, she started regretting falling asleep and neglecting her work.

They say people change when they fall in love.

To win the beauty’s heart, Seoyun tried to be as friendly as possible.

However, the beauty quickly left after receiving her bag.

“Of…!”

She wanted to at least get her number.

It was her first time seeing this customer; would she come again?

Seoyun thought as she took out her phone from her pocket.

Then, she entered her frequently visited online gallery and wrote a post.

[Yuri Minor Gallery m]

<I had my first crush today.>

Author: Not_a_troll

I was working at a convenience store today when a really beautiful woman came in.

I think I understand what “love at first sight” means now.

00 :First love?

-Not_a_troll: Yes

-00 :First love is usually… not like this lol.

00 :What’s with this cringey way of speaking?

It was summer.

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment at Unni Juyeon saying nothing happened.

I scanned her face from top to bottom; she seemed completely normal, making it even more bewildering.

“Unni, you were crying and calling me!”

“Ah, about that…”

Upon my blunt statement, Unni made a realization sound.

There is no way nothing happened.

Would she finally tell me the truth? I listened intently.

“I thought you wouldn’t come to my house if I didn’t act like that?”

“…Huh?”

“You rushed here because you were worried about me? Jia, you’re amazing!”

Unni made a deflated sound and threw herself at me again.

I let myself be hugged by Unni and thought,

So, it was all an act…?

“Uh, Unni, I’m really fine, so you can tell me honestly…”

“Thank you! It feels better telling the truth about lying.”

“I-is this for real?”

“Hehe?”

Unni smiled innocently, as if she had done nothing wrong.

Seeing that, I got even angrier. Is this what they call a twist?

“…I’m going.”

“Why? Since you’re already here, have dinner at least.”

“No. It’s a relief that you seem okay, Unni.”

As I tried to leave, Unni grabbed my arm.

“I worked hard on this meal. Can’t you eat it before you go?”

“And my worries are real.”

I turned to look at Unni. Her eyes seemed genuine.

“Okay, then. But let go of my arm.”

“Really!? Jia is the best!”

“Mmph…!”

Unni threw herself at me again.

Burying my face in my sister’s embrace, I was in danger of suffocating from her large breasts.

They say doing this makes you feel good on the internet, but I could only breathe with difficulty.

It was just a fantasy for those who are single and virgin.

I finally managed to escape Unni’s embrace only after repeatedly tapping her many times, almost to the point of fainting.

“Phew…”

“Are you okay…?”

Seeing Unni’s worried expression, it seemed unintentional. I nodded, smiling.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It was all a joke.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

It’s the truth.

If it had continued even a little longer, I would have probably fainted from lack of oxygen.

But I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth, so I pretended to be fine.

“Anyway, Unni, did you make dinner?”

“Of course. I made it quickly when I heard Jia was coming!”

“Wow.”

This is quite touching.

Her lies and near-suffocation were almost forgivable.

“Come here.”

Unni grabbed my arm and pulled me. I followed obediently.

As we entered the living room, I saw a table laden with food.

Pasta and spare ribs were the main dishes, along with a generous array of fruits.

“Wow…”

“What do you think? Doesn’t it look delicious! I worked hard preparing it since Jia was coming. Praise me.”

“This is really well-made… Amazing!”

“Right?”

Unni chuckled, looking pleased.

“But isn’t this too much food?”

“It’s for two people; I prepared plenty.”

Sitting down at the dining table to eat dinner, the amount of food seemed enormous.

Can we finish this tonight…?

My worry was quickly replaced by the sight of Unni picking up her chopsticks first, and I decided to eat too.

If we can’t finish it, we’ll worry about it then.

Eating is important now.

I first put a spare rib on my plate and tasted it.

Whoa.

“This is so delicious!”

“Pfft. No one’s stealing your food, so eat slowly.”

“Mmm.”

I nodded at my sister, who was smiling at me, and diligently ate my food.

Once I was somewhat full, I spoke.

“So, Unni, what’s your worry?”

“Huh? Worry?”

“You said you had a worry a little while ago. It’s not a lie again, is it?”

I raised my fist. It was a sign that I wouldn’t let her off a second time.

At my display, Unni gasped and shook her head.

“This time it’s real. So please put down your fist…?”

“Let me hear it first.”

“Hmm…”

Silence fell over the living room as she gathered her thoughts.

After a few minutes, Unni spoke.

“I think I’m experiencing burnout.”

“Huh?”

What?

“Unni, did you have a boyfriend?”

“Boyfriend? What’s that supposed to mean? You should ask if I have a girlfriend.”

Oh, I forgot.

This world is surprisingly serious about yuri.

I should just gloss over it.

“Ahaha… I must’ve been sleepy. So, Unni, did you have a girlfriend?”

“No. I don’t.”

“…?”

Then what burnout?

“Ah, about that…”

Unni nonchalantly stirred her food with her chopsticks and said,

“Jia, you know I haven’t been managing the Yuri Gallery lately.”

“Right?”

Since Unni, the main moderator, neglected her duties, they all fell to me, the assistant moderator.

I know better than anyone how much I’ve suffered recently.

“I think I’ve experienced burnout. I don’t find looking at the gallery, managing it, or even the meetups fun anymore.”

“Oh…”

How should I respond to this?

I blinked.

“

Even the meetups were all for your benefit. I used to have fun with a few girls I liked.

“Wow…?”

“But now I’ve lost interest.”

Unni poked at the spare ribs with her chopsticks.

“Even when I see those girls, I don’t feel the same interest. I don’t want to hang out with them anymore. Why is that?”

As she spoke, Unni looked up and stared intently at me.