Chapter 55: The protagonist appears at the end.

I am a closed-off person.

Not only my mindset, but my lifestyle itself was like that.

I don’t form relationships with others unless something special happens, and I rarely go outside.

Even once a relationship is formed, I don’t keep in touch, and it naturally fades away.

It’s not that I’ve closed my heart, but I’m the type who doesn’t go out of my way to be overly friendly.

Because of that, my world was limited.

Would you call it mechanical? Whether it was relationships with others or work, I moved forward with whatever I planned and executed without hesitation.

I preferred jobs that allowed me to work from home, and I planned to join a company that offered that.

Fortunately, the game industry had many such options.

So what I’m trying to say is that I was a person who liked planning.

That was the case until I became the person I am now.

This body, so to speak, the woman I became, made me realize something.

Becoming Ji-eun, I learned that life doesn’t go according to plan.

Before that, I thought things went according to plan because I was lucky.

Perhaps it was because I wasn’t particularly greedy.

As I mentioned before, I was a planner.

The reason I didn’t live that way as Ji-eun is because I realized that planning is pointless.

When I transformed into Ji-eun, it was an event I never planned, so why would I plan anything?

Becoming a streamer, how it grew into what it is, and doing this kind of thing—I never expected any of it.

Even now, I don’t know.

When something unplanned happens, no matter how many simulations I run in my head, it becomes meaningless. Maybe that’s why I like games.

Not straying too far from the box gives a sense of security.

The introduction was long.

So now, I am lost.

I’m sure I’m somewhere near here, but where should I go?

I’ve always been bad with directions, but it’s gotten worse since becoming Ji-eun.

I don’t know what to do.

I should have listened to Papi Joah’s suggestion in the group Discord to go together.

But that thought disappears quickly.

After all, I have difficulty with relationships.

If the other person is talkative and sociable, I feel burdened. But if they’re quiet, I feel awkward in the silence, a contradictory person.

That’s why I prefer my own stream, where I can control everything.

There’s no way I could endure the time spent with someone I don’t know until we reach the meeting place.

I thought it would be easier if we all gathered together, and I could just join in.

But either way, it seems I’d still be facing an uncomfortable situation.

I looked around and checked the time on my phone.

19:54.

7:54 PM. The promise I made for 7:00 PM was now late.

It might be even later.

I should have contacted them to let them know I’d be late, but I didn’t.

I didn’t have their contact numbers.

I had received the team members’ contacts on Discord, but I forgot to save them.

I also forgot to leave my own contact number.

I can’t argue if I get scolded for that.

When I meet the team, I’ll make sure to apologize.

Being about an hour late already, being a bit later won’t make a difference.

It’s the same whether I’m late or not.

I try to calm my confused mind.

Alright, let’s think calmly.

Calm down, calm down.

Even so, I couldn’t calm my mind.

Because,

“Are you alone? It’s just the two of us, would you like to join us?”

“Where are you going? I’m local here. Do you want me to take you there?”

“Could I get your number…?”

There are too many interrupters.

Sunday evening, and of course, there were a lot of people in the busy district.

The population density was too high, it was dizzying.

Every few steps, men would approach me.

Some with nervous expressions, others with confident looks, some just casually indifferent.

They had different clothing and speech, but their goal was the same.

A struggle to win over an attractive person.

“Sorry.”

When I said this with a cold expression, most men flinched and backed off.

Then, they would go back to their friends, chatting with them or lowering their heads with disappointed looks.

I was tired.

It had become a familiar situation, but the fatigue it caused me hadn’t changed.

“Ha…”

It was all my fault that the path had become twisted, so there was no one else to blame.

I hated the stares and murmurs of the people around me while I was heading to the meeting place by bus.

I was listening to music with earphones when I misheard the bus announcement for the stop.

I had earned a lot of money, maybe I should have taken a taxi.

No, then it would have just been me and the taxi driver alone.

There’s nothing more suffocating than having to make small talk with them.

Indeed, going out is difficult.

I wanted to go home more than anything, but with my head buried in my phone, I kept searching for the route.

I couldn’t just turn back now after all the effort of coming out here.

“I found it…”

My hard work finally paid off.

Following the map app faithfully, I had arrived at the meeting place.

I compared the name of the restaurant Jackie had mentioned to the one in front of me, and after cross-checking the name on Naver,

I opened the door with a nervous heart.

“Shall we at least order some food first?”

A middle-aged man with a heavy presence spoke up.

It was Cheol-woo’s statement from the seat of honor in the room.

Being the oldest in the group, he was more or less forced to sit there, but he handled the role well.

Someone had to say it, and he was the one who took the initiative.

It wasn’t good for the dinner gathering to be delayed while waiting for someone who hadn’t arrived yet.

“Okay, then should we order Course B? It seems like everyone prefers this one.”

Tex pressed the call button while figuring out everyone’s preferences.

Everyone had gathered at the restaurant around 7:30, half an hour after the scheduled 7:00 meeting time.

Considering the common saying in the streaming world, “Don’t expect a streamer to keep their appointment time,” this was actually a relatively early arrival.

Tex and Ryu-a, who had gotten a bit lost, entered with awkward smiles as the last ones to arrive, and everyone else sat down.

Except for one person.

“Mollru is late…”

Papi Joah awkwardly mentioned.

At those words, everyone looked toward an empty spot at the table.

Ryu-a, who had left the seat next to her open because she wanted to get closer to Mollru, found that the space beside her was left empty, with dishes and utensils still without their owner.

“She said she would come, I’m sure she did.”

“Let’s just wait. Maybe something happened, and she’s running late.”

“Shouldn’t we at least try to contact her?”

“Well, she didn’t give me her contact.”

It would have been easy to blame the latecomer, but the people gathered at the table were all unusually considerate.

Jackie scratched his head, saying they should’ve gotten the contact information, and everyone else gave awkward smiles.

The food we ordered arrived soon after.

The staff member wheeled in a cart and began setting up the steaming dishes.

Ryu-a, who excitedly said we should take pictures, Cheol-woo, who grabbed the wine he had ordered because he couldn’t resist drinking at such a gathering, and Jackie and Tex, who chatted and laughed across from each other.

Papi Joah watched the scene before shifting her gaze to the window.

It was winter.

The shortened day had already covered the streets in darkness, and the city’s nightscape had long begun to shine.

The room was filled with classical music, and delicious-looking food was neatly arranged.

I understood why Jackie said it would be worth the wait.

Yet, something about it still felt unsatisfying.

Papi Joah sipped her wine and glanced at the empty seat.

It seemed she had unconsciously been expecting to meet Mollru.

“Ha.”

Thinking of Mollru, she smiled slightly.

After all, there was no one quite like her.

Perhaps it was the fact that she had never met anyone like her before that piqued her interest even more.

As she chewed the perfectly cooked steak, she thought again.

Maybe Mollru wouldn’t come today.

But then again, knowing Mollru, who often acted unpredictably, it wouldn’t be surprising if she did something unexpected. She nodded to herself.

Knock.

Someone knocked on the door from beyond the room.

Was it the staff?

“Yes, come in~”

Tex mumbled a reply as Papi Joah continued eating.

The others seemed to share her sentiment, not paying much attention.

-Excuse me.

The atmosphere shifted in an instant.

A voice that sounded somewhat familiar came from beyond the door, and when the door opened, a woman who didn’t look like a staff member stood there.

She looked distant and cold.

When she met Papi Joah’s gaze and frowned, Papi Joah felt like she would unconsciously look down.

However, there was something about the woman’s expressionless face that drew attention, and Papi Joah couldn’t tear her eyes away from the unfamiliar figure.

It seemed like the others felt the same way.

Jackie stuttered, repeating the same words, “Uh, uh,” like a broken clock.

Ryu-a covered her mouth with her palm and muttered in disbelief, “No way…”

The woman entered without saying a word, quickly scanning the room and glancing at everyone.

“Hello, I’m a bit late…”

After finishing her quick scan, the woman bowed her head and spoke, leaving everyone at the table speechless.