Chapter 38: “Anyway, A Win”

So, I really didn’t know. I didn’t expect it to rain at this time.

I thought it would rain after Yeram came back—

Thunder rumbling!

Bang!

The sound of thunder could be heard from all directions as the rain continued to pour.

“No, wait a minute. This isn’t good.”

[Omniscient Cthulhu: I was just trying to send my younger sibling on an errand, and now it’s become a big deal, lol]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: What should I do?]

[It’s raining a lot outside, lol]

[Seoul people, tsk tsk]

[Hwanhee: It’s suddenly raining a lot]

[Is this really okay?]

[Shouldn’t I go pick up my younger sibling?]

[Mangming: You should go pick up your younger sibling]

[Mangming: It could be dangerous]

The chat was filled with concerns about my younger sibling.

I was deeply flustered.

I hadn’t predicted any of this from start to finish.

But just as I was feeling flustered for a moment—

“Hmm… Then I guess I should go out for a bit. Chicken tastes bad if it gets wet.”

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Oof]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: That’s trash]

[But yeah, chicken does taste bad when it gets wet, lol…]

[That’s a valid point]

[The fact is, while people can come back, cold chicken can’t.]

[Hwanhee: Yeah, hurry up and end the stream and go]

[It’s Kang Hoomin: Wishing for a bloodless entry for the chicken]

[Bloodless entry, lol]

It seemed best to go quickly.

I didn’t want the chicken to get wet, and thinking about Yeram getting soaked in the rain didn’t make me feel good either.

‘Guess I’ll take a taxi.’

Walking wouldn’t be bad, but I really didn’t want to get wet, so it seemed better to invest a little money in taking a taxi.

Thinking that way, I called Yeram.

Ringing…

I heard the sound of the call connecting for a moment—

A moment later.

“Uh, why?”

I heard Yeram’s voice on the phone, sounding like nothing was wrong.

It seemed she didn’t know about the situation outside yet.

“It’s raining outside, and I’m thinking of picking you up.”

“Do you really have to?”

“Did you not see outside? It’s pouring.”

“I see it, but it doesn’t look like it’s raining that much.”

After saying that, a moment later…

I heard the sound of Yeram stepping out of the shop, and a moment later—
Swaaah!!!
The sound of raindrops pounding the ground echoed through the phone.

• “What the heck, it’s pouring!”
  Finally, Yeram panicked.

It seemed she understood the urgency of the situation.

“I’m taking a taxi, so send me a message with a place to stand. I’ll come get you.”

• “…Okay.”

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Why can I hear the rain through the phone, lololol]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: It must really be raining a lot.]

[Do I live in Jeju Island? Is it raining a lot in Seoul?]

[Stupid jerks subtly bragging about living in Seoul]

You have been temporarily removed from the chat!

[Why is that guy angry?]

[Mangming: It suddenly started raining for me today too.]

[Mangming: I was thinking of not streaming and taking a break.]

[You bastard, Mangming, you need to stream!]

[That jerk!]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: No cursing, lol]

[Harin: Then maybe I won’t stream today either.]

[Harin: I’m feeling lazy.]

[What the heck…]

[Is this for real?]

[Learning something new, learning something new, learning something new…]

Suddenly, two other streamers in the chat started scheming to skip their streams.

I was flustered.

All of a sudden, they were saying they wouldn’t stream today.

Doesn’t this make it seem like I’m the one encouraging them not to stream?

“I didn’t tell anyone to stop streaming, so don’t blame me.”

I spoke up first.

This way, their fanbases wouldn’t come after me for anything weird.

Well, Mangming’s fans might still try something, though.

Thinking that, I continued speaking.

“The taxi’s here, so I’m going to end the stream. Everyone, go do what you need to do.”

[Omniscient Cthulhu: But I’m unemployed, so what do I do?]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: crying]

[If you’re unemployed, having fun is your job, lol]

[Just act like you normally do.]

[If you’re unemployed, just enjoy yourself.]

[Mangming: Then I guess I’ll have a drink alone and head to bed early today.]

[Harin: Mangming, let’s drink together.]

[Harin: It’s boring to drink alone.]

[Mangming: Oh, should we?]

[You jerks, just turn on the stream while you eat!]

[Please stream, please stream, please stream, please stream, please stream!]

I ended the stream while watching Mangming and Harin make plans in the chat.

The stream has ended!

As soon as the stream ended, I quickly threw on some clothes and headed outside.

I saw a taxi waiting in front of the entrance to my studio apartment building.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes~”

And so, we set off toward the place where Yeram was.

It didn’t take long to get there.

It was a 20-minute walk, so naturally, it was much faster by car.

Rumble, rumble.

When we arrived at the spot Yeram had mentioned, I saw several people huddled under the eaves.

They seemed to be waiting for the rain to stop.

‘This rain doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon.’

Wouldn’t it be better to quickly grab a taxi and head home?

With those random thoughts in mind, we pulled up to where Yeram was standing.

Yeram was crouching and fiddling with her phone.

Rrrr.

I rolled down the window and shouted loudly.

“Get in!”

Yeram glanced in my direction, stood up, and got into the back seat, carrying the chicken I had asked her to buy.

“Why is it raining so much? I was so shocked.”

“Right? I was surprised too.”

“You didn’t know it would rain like this, right?”

“What are you talking about? I came to pick you up, didn’t I?”

“My bad, sorry.”

With that, I safely brought Yeram back home.

“No way, what is this?”

But I didn’t expect what would happen next.

Yeram wasn’t exactly weak, so I thought she’d be able to carry the stuff for a short distance.

“Aww, crap…”

I had never imagined a future where the chicken would be dropped on the ground.

If it had been raining less, it might have been fine.

But the ground was completely muddy now.

Dropping the chicken box into the mud meant it was beyond saving.

Click.

I took a picture of the fallen chicken box and slipped my phone back into my pocket.

Sad as it was, there were still things that needed to be done.

“I’ll cook us a nice meal. Just forget about that.”

It was better to forget about something like that.

There’s nothing more foolish than dwelling on something that’s already in the past, regretting it, or getting angry.

“Sigh… yeah.”

Fortunately, Yeram seemed to accept reality.

The reality that the chicken she had walked 20 minutes to get had fallen on the ground and been thoroughly “black-washed.”

And so, we went inside.

Since we had closed the windows before leaving, no rain had come into the house.

Feeling relieved, we decided to cook with the ingredients we had at home and the ones Yeram had bought.

But before that—

[Post by: UncoveringLondon’sSecret]
[Title: What the heck is this?!]

[Content: (Photo) Brought the chicken but ugh]

I uploaded the picture to the gallery.

Shortly after,

Ding! Ding!

I got notifications that comments were coming in, but I flipped my phone over, deciding to check them later while making food.

Anyway,

‘What should I make?’

There weren’t any shortages of ingredients, but I hadn’t decided on a dish yet.

There wasn’t anything I particularly wanted to eat, either.

While I was pondering for a moment,

a good idea popped into my head.

Kimchi fried rice.

We had kimchi in the fridge, and there was plenty of rice, so kimchi fried rice seemed like the perfect choice.

With that thought, I took out the kimchi and grabbed the precious Spam I’d been saving.

‘Spam is a bit of a luxury.’

Though it’s just canned food, its price was a bit steep, so I didn’t eat it often.

Just occasionally.

Today was the day I would use it.

Since we couldn’t eat the chicken, I had to console myself somehow.

I started stir-frying the ingredients, checking the comments on the post with one hand as I cooked.

[Post by: UncoveringLondon’sSecret]

[Title: What the heck is this?!]

[Content: (Photo) Brought the chicken but ugh]

L: Serves you right, lolol.

L: Refreshing~ Refreshing~ Refreshing~ Refreshing~ Refreshing~ Refreshing~ Refreshing~

L: This is it, lolol.

L: Because of this, both Harin and Mangming aren’t streaming. Explain yourself.

N: Stop whining, you brat.

N: If they don’t stream, they don’t stream. Why are you whining so much, lolol?

N: He’s been ranting since earlier.

L: Wow, that’s such a waste, damn.

L: Kang Hoomin: It’s such a waste.

N: Kang Hoomin: Wash it and eat it.

N: As expected, survival at its finest, lolol.

N: What the heck, are you telling him to eat something that fell in muddy water, lolololol?

The comments were, of course, full of mockery.

But instead of getting annoyed, seeing those comments actually made me feel better.

To be precise, it was because my post had become a “concept post.”

‘If it made it to the concept section, that’s a win.’

I had already lost the chicken, but posting the photo had earned me a spot in the concept section.

A huge win.

Thinking that way, I finished stir-frying the rice.

And soon after,

“The fried rice is done.”

The fried rice was ready.

Hopefully, it tastes good.