Chapter 54: Late Dinner

Jacky_: Is this weekend okay for our team dinner?

Cheolwoo: I’m good with it.

Papi Joah: I’m fine too.

Jacky_: The restaurant is in Seoul, so can Ryuah and Tex come up?

Tex: Let’s take a trip to Seoul. Since the viewers are from outside, if we say we’re having a team dinner in Seoul, maybe they’ll give us two days off?

Cheolwoo: Ryuah is from Busan and Tex is from Ulsan, so that’s why.

Tex: Yes, we’re planning to come up together.

Cheolwoo: If we come up together, there’s no chance we’ll get lost.

Jacky_: So, you two are meeting and coming up together…

Papi Joah: Oh boy…

Cheolwoo: I didn’t realize. Kids these days are quick, huh? Haha.

Tex: What are you guys thinking?

Ryuah: That’s not what’s happening!

Tex: Ryuah said it’s her first time going to Seoul, so we’re just going together as a side thing.

Jacky_: A trustworthy older brother position…

Papi Joah ^^

Tex: Looks like the director is a couple-goal type, huh?

Ryuah: —^ Are we going to turn on the broadcast during our team dinner?

Cheolwoo: Live broadcast? I’ve never done it. Anyone know how?

Papi Joah: If we turn it on, we might choke on our food.

Cheolwoo: It’s supposed to be a break, so there’s no need to turn it on.

Tex: If we do, we’ll just show a bit of the gathering and turn it off. I don’t think anyone wants to watch us eating.

Jacky_: A lot of people don’t even turn it on. Tex usually just briefly shows his face and then turns it off.

Cheolwoo: Let’s do it like that then.

Ryuah: What’s the menu for our dinner?? (Emoji of a cute dog drooling)

Jacky_: I’ve arranged a highly-rated, upscale restaurant with a course meal.

Cheolwoo: The director must’ve used some influence.

Tex: It’s been a long time… How long has it been since our last team dinner?

Papi Joah: Tex, are you throwing shade at the director now?

Jacky_: Sorry, sorry, the schedule…

Tex: No, why are you suddenly being harsh? No, director!;

Cheolwoo: It’s tough to match schedules with everyone since we’re all busy. Tex and Ryuah are coming from far away. That’s why we need to plan ahead like this.

Ryuah: I’m so excited, it sounds delicious…

Jacky_: You can look forward to it.

Tex: Molru’s being quiet, is he sleeping?

Papi Joah: I’ll contact him separately.

Cheolwoo: Alright, unless there are any special circumstances, let’s meet up this weekend.

“Yes, so this weekend there will be no broadcast. Hey, don’t make a fuss in the chat. You guys have been subtly asking if we’re having a team dinner. What happened to all the prize money? Why are we doing this so late? Well, the person who’s mainly planning is the director. Everyone’s busy, so it’s hard to match schedules.”

“As for how we’re getting there, we’re taking the train. Subway? How can you take the subway from Busan to Seoul? That’s ridiculous… Who are these people coming in here? What? You heard it from Ryuah? What? Oh, we’re going together… She shouldn’t be saying things like that. Maybe it’s because we’ve only recently started broadcasting. Look, look. This isn’t a big deal but it’s drawing unnecessary attention. You can’t say things like that, it’s risky. I’m just going with her because it’s her first time in Seoul. I’m worried she’ll get lost.”

<Molru’s Fansub donated 1000 won!>

Are you raising Tex and Ryuah?

“Raising? The director’s the one being all couple-goal-like. Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be. After we get back, are we doing a review broadcast? That’s the norm, but I’m not really good at telling those kinds of stories. I never really have anything to say. ‘The main event is ranking the girls’ appearances. Haha, that’s enough.’ Want to chat like that? I’m fine if you tease me, but if it’s about the team, you know the drill. Don’t do that, or you’ll be banned. But honestly, I’m more curious to meet them in person than care about their looks. They’re all great people. We got really close during practice. Our team used to be weak. We started as a weak team, so maybe that’s why we have such a strong bond?”

Ryuah: Watching it, I’m getting all nervous.

Tex: It was easy to get too absorbed in.

Ryuah: Haha, it’s not that I want to see the team members, I just want to see Ryuah.

Tex: The person you want to see…

Ryuah: Oh?

Tex: Up to here~

Tex: Your serve is an art, haha.

Tex: Does everyone live in Seoul except for Tex and Ryuah?

Cheolwoo: Be careful, bro, you might fall into a drum barrel if you’re not careful.

Tex: I’m curious about meeting everyone.

Tex: Are you going to turn on the broadcast?

Tex: Broadcast? I don’t think we’ll turn it on unless necessary. It’d be uncomfortable while we’re eating. If we do, it’ll just be a quick greeting and then off, right? Loyalty to the viewers? Nah~~ Seriously, do we need to be uncomfortable even at a dinner gathering? It’s going to be awkward for us too, we’ll need time to warm up. Plus, if we turn on the broadcast, we won’t get to show our real selves. Some people don’t even turn on their cameras.

Oh, wait.

Tex realized his mistake after the last comment. The person who doesn’t turn on their camera is obviously Molru.

There’s a lot of curiosity about Molru’s face since they’re a no-cam streamer, and that’s why there’s a lot of attention focused on this team dinner.

Tex unknowingly gave them a bait, and they didn’t miss the chance.

Molru’s Fan: Donated 100,000 won!

Please take good care of our Molru…

They’re a hikikomori and don’t know how to deal with people.

Tex: Oh, I see, you’re a fan of Molru. 100,000 won, thank you so much. Molru, do I need to take care of anything? You seem like someone who handles things on their own. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.

Tex: “Handling things on your own” = “doing whatever you want.”

Tex: What’s this iron wall defense, Tex? You don’t even look at other women, huh?

Tex: Can you hear Ryuah’s mouth corners lifting?

Tex: Let’s hold back on the obsession.

Tex: Molru, everyone else is going to the dinner, but why are you so quiet?

Tex: Yup~ You’ll find out on the day, no notice~

Tex: How pitiful that we hear about it from others… Is this NTR?

Tex: That’s not the right word to use for that.

Tex: Turns out you’re not going to the dinner after all? You didn’t say anything.

Tex: Molru’s the type to stay home, but since it’s a team dinner, I’m sure they’ll go.

Tex: They’re not that socially awkward.

Tex: Did you get in touch?

Papi Joah: I’m going to contact Molru separately. It seems like they’re sleeping. Looks like their schedule’s really messed up. Did they broadcast too much during Dragon Road? Isn’t that a bit much? They say they’re still dealing with the aftereffects? Hmm… 10 hours? That’s a lot. But is that the issue? Ah, their health isn’t good to begin with. I see…

Papi Joah: Molru, are you sleeping?

Papi Joah: If you’re awake, can you check Discord? We’ve set the dinner date.

Papi Joah: There’s no option for not attending! (Angry duck holding a mallet emoji)

Papi Joah: Just kidding, if there’s anything going on, let us know, we’re all understanding.

Mornings are always hard.

Calling 11 a.m. morning is even embarrassing.

Maybe I should just call it “waking up” instead of morning.

I only recently realized that if I sleep too long, my head feels fuzzy.

I went from living a regular, structured life as a working adult to becoming an author, and eventually, almost by force, a person without a job.

There was no longer a need to wake up early in the morning.

Which means, there was no longer any need to force myself to close my eyes at night.

Once the limits were removed, I began sleeping whenever I felt sleepy.

As a result, my daily routine became completely messed up.

I didn’t force myself to stay up all night or anything.

It was just that the time I went to sleep got pushed back an hour every day.

From 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., 3 a.m. to 4 a.m…

In the end, I found myself in a situation where I couldn’t wake up early in the morning anymore.

At first, I celebrated being able to sleep and wake up whenever I wanted, but who would have thought I’d end up longing for mornings?

The saddest part was that the later I went to sleep, the more sleep I ended up needing.

I don’t even know why that is.

Even if I wanted to go to sleep early, my body clock was already set, and sleep wouldn’t come.

Actually, maybe I was the kind of person who was set to a 25-hour cycle in this 24-hour world.

But nothing would change just because of that.

In a one-eyed village, a normal person with two eyes is just a monster.

And the monster had to figure out how to live like a normal person.

I sought answers from the wise people of the all-knowing internet world, but all I heard was to either stay up all night or join the military.

The first option was impossible with my terrible stamina, and the second was something I really didn’t want to experience again.

In the end, the only solution left was to keep pushing my sleep time back by an hour every day until I fixed my sleep schedule around 10 p.m., 11 p.m., or midnight.

Just yesterday, I slept at 8 a.m.

In two weeks, I should be able to sleep at 10 p.m.

And in the middle of all this, the topic of the team dinner came up.

A team dinner, I have to go. I should go.

But considering that I went to sleep at 8 a.m. today and woke up at 7 p.m., will I even make it?

Recently, I began to understand what people mean when they say they don’t even hear their alarm.

I was worried that I might end up saying I’m coming but then no-showing, so I sent a message to Papi Joah.

Mollru: Is the dinner at lunchtime?

Not long after, a reply came immediately.

Papi Joah: The exact time hasn’t been confirmed yet, why?

Mollru: I was wondering if it could be in the evening, like around 7 p.m.? Is that too late?

Papi Joah: I don’t mind, but Tex and Ryuah are coming from far away, so I’m not sure if that will work. But why the evening?

Mollru: The real party always starts at night.

Papi Joah is typing…

Papi Joah: Is that so?

I thought to myself as I saw Papi Joah, who can’t lie, awkwardly agreeing with my nonsense.

I couldn’t exactly say, “I won’t be able to wake up for lunch.”