Chapter 207 - Chapter 203: IF Side Story - Still Getting Devoured (5)
Yu-rin sat there, her elegant face etched with exhaustion.
Perched on a small rock, sword in one hand and wearing light armor, she spoke quietly.
"Ha... to think I'll be discharged once this mission is over. Time really flies."
It wasn't a mutter to herself, but a low-voiced remark to her colleague, Haein, who was sitting right next to her.
"Yu-rin-ah, if the kids over there hear you, they'll get pissed, you know?"
Haein, who had been keeping a sharp eye on the soldiers guarding the front of the Gate, turned her head to speak to Yu-rin.
Yu-rin glanced toward the soldiers and let out a short, sharp laugh.
"Duty Hunters work on a performance-based system, so our service period gets shortened every time we clear a Gate. We're different from the regular grunts over there, so... they'll probably just envy us. But what can you do? Awakening is a matter of talent, and being a Duty Hunter is way more dangerous than being a regular soldier. Isn't it just buying back our time by risking our lives?"
"That's true, too."
Having crossed the line between life and death countless times in Gates while working as Duty Hunters, both of them understood exactly what Yu-rin meant.
The faces of the two darkened as they recalled the dangerous incidents that were enough to trigger PTSD, and silence descended for a while.
Then, a moment later, Haein spoke up again to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
"Yu-rin-ah, how are things going with Seon-ah?"
"No... I think he got sulky during the first viewer participation stream, so things are a bit awkward now... Plus, it's been hard to stay in touch properly."
It had been two months since she participated in the stream and humiliated Seon-ah.
Seon-ah must have been deeply offended during that first stream; after that, their relationship slowly drifted apart, and now it had regressed to that of distant friends.
She figured that being in the military and unable to contact Seon-ah on time had also played a part.
Haein, hearing Yu-rin's words and fearing the conversation would turn dark again, hurriedly brought up a different topic.
"Ahem... I should bring up something a bit brighter, right? Yu-rin-ah, what are you going to do after you're discharged?"
Yu-rin knew Haein was trying to change the mood, but the state of her relationship with Seon-ah kept coming to mind, and her depressed mood wouldn't lift.
"Who knows?... I haven't thought of anything at all."
"Nothing you're interested in? You're good at everything you do. That's why I'm curious about what you're planning to do before you get out."
Haein stared at Yu-rin intently as she spoke.
In reality, Yu-rin was attractive, and since her mother was an executive-level official at the Hwaryong Guild, her family background was also quite good, so she was curious about Yu-rin's dreams.
"Something I'm interested in?..."
However, Yu-rin responded to Haein's words with a question, as if such a thing didn't exist.
"What you want to do. Don't tell me you have absolutely no plans after discharge? Someone like you?"
"Someone like me... Aren't you overestimating me too much?"
"It's not an overestimation. Despite being a Duty Hunter, you enlisted as a C-rank ability user, and now you're a B-rank acceleration ability user, plus your family background is loaded. Honestly, I'm curious about what kind of amazing things you'll do after you're discharged. I'm sure the other team members and the team leader think the same."
Haein looked at her with wide, sparkling eyes.
Yu-rin knew that her words weren't just flattery but were sincere, yet she couldn't think of what to do after her discharge.
"There's nothing... like that..."
And when she confessed her true feelings to Haein, that hollow feeling filled her heart.
"Wow... that's unexpected. I thought you'd be full of plans, like trying for a high-speed promotion by staying at the Hwaryong Guild, or starting a new guild after discharge, or maybe becoming a manager to seduce the Seon-ah you like, or becoming a streamer yourself to stand side-by-side with him, and so on. I guess your desires don't keep up with your abilities."
Haein listed the things she thought Yu-rin might do based on the image she had of her, along with the comment that it was unexpected.
"What?... Say that again!"
Then, Yu-rin suddenly shouted loudly at Haein in an excited state.
Startled, Haein covered her mouth, her face turning pale as she thought she had made a slip of the tongue.
Seeing Haein's reaction, Yu-rin realized she had shouted too loudly and lowered her voice to speak to Haein quietly again.
"I'm not trying to get angry... what did you say I could do to seduce Seon-ah?"
"Be... become a manager, or become a streamer just like him?..."
"That's it..."
Yu-rin, who had been sighing deeply with a dark expression for a while, smiled brightly as if she had finally found a breakthrough.
Haein looked at Yu-rin with a face full of questions.
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Evening, not long after finishing today's broadcast.
The smartphone left on the desk started to vibrate with a notification sound that a message had arrived.
Seon-ah picked up the smartphone and checked the message.
- Seon-ah. It's been a week. I couldn't contact you because I was busy with Gate appearances. I'm discharged in 3 days now!
- I see. Yu-rin-ah, congratulations on your discharge. You've worked hard all this time.
- Hard work, what... I'm a Duty Hunter, so I only did it for about a year.
- Enduring the duty of national defense isn't an easy task, is it?... Besides, I heard serving as a hunter is tough work. Thinking about that, finishing your service as a Duty Hunter is really an amazing accomplishment.
- Oh... our Seon-ah, you're a man of principle, huh?
When Yu-rin said something embarrassing like "man of principle," Seon-ah's hand, which was typing a message, suddenly stopped out of embarrassment. Then, he just sent a sticker of a cat character looking shy instead of a message.
"Yu-rin got discharged?... I'd like to meet her and congratulate her, but..."
Yu-rin, his only friend.
However, he hesitated to meet her.
Because of the lingering resentment from the last viewer participation stream, that moment came to mind every time he contacted her, and he couldn't easily say "let's meet."
He had lost to viewers during streams quite a few times, but it was the first time in his life he had been so miserably crushed under the same conditions.
'I'm the one who's too narrow-minded... It wasn't like this in my previous life... Since I don't meet people often, I've become increasingly timid...'
While Seon-ah was hesitating, another message arrived from Yu-rin.
- Seon-ah... I want to start broadcasting in earnest after I'm discharged. You're the only person I know around here... so, if you have time, could you help me out a bit?
Reading the message, the pupils of Seon-ah's eyes dilated significantly, and he couldn't take his eyes off the smartphone.
Because his conflicted heart became even more anxious at that message, which seemed to pierce through the hesitation he was feeling.
"Hmm... what should I do..."
As Seon-ah was thinking deeply, he recalled that he had been contacting Yu-rin infrequently.
As those moments when he had taken out his frustration on her because he lost to a friend came to mind, his face flushed, and he felt sorry for Yu-rin.
Thinking about it properly, it was he who had invited her to the viewer participation, and it was also because of him that he had underestimated Yu-rin's skills and then lost to her in skill.
"It was my fault... why did I take my frustration out on Yu-rin... I shouldn't have done that when I was the one who performed poorly... She's a friend, but... she supported and helped me until I could become a proper streamer, didn't she?..."
After much deliberation, a few minutes passed, and Seon-ah picked up his smartphone and sent a message to Yu-rin.
- What should I help you with? Broadcasting software?... Or gathering viewer traffic?
- Um... could you look at my computer first?... It's funny for a woman to ask a man, but... I don't know how to look at computers...
"Ah... it started from there... so she was computer-illiterate..."
Yu-rin, who always looked confident and self-assured.
Unlike her image as the ultimate social butterfly who was even good at games, it was somewhat surprising to learn that Yu-rin was computer-illiterate.
'Hmm... I'll get a quote from a site... and I guess I'll have to teach her all the broadcast settings... Considering I have to connect everything from program settings to microphones and other devices... it would be better to go there and do it myself...'
- No... that can happen. Just because you're a woman doesn't mean you're necessarily good at handling machines. First, I'll send you a quote for everything from the computer and microphone to the camera. Buy them first. Once you receive them by delivery, I'll go over and set them up for you myself.
- Thank you, Seon-ah.
Seon-ah stopped typing the message and his hand froze.
"..."
Seeing Yu-rin's message, where she spoke as calmly as if she didn't even know he had been contacting her infrequently, the guilt for avoiding her all this time grew even larger.
'I have to apologize... it would be better to talk about things like this in person...'
- Then, congratulations on your discharge, and next time we meet, I'll set everything up and treat you to a meal!
However, Seon-ah, who couldn't find the courage to apologize, eventually sent the message to Yu-rin while hiding his true feelings.
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A few days later, upon hearing the news that the computer and broadcasting equipment had all arrived by delivery, Seon-ah headed to the address Yu-rin had sent.
And what appeared in Seon-ah's eyes when he arrived at the destination was a large mansion.
This detached house, which had a large garden in the middle of Seoul, was not a place where an ordinary person could live.
"I should have known from when she was donating heavily... she was a friend whose parents had quite a bit of money... I wonder if her parents are at home too..."
Seon-ah pressed the doorbell on the front door outside the garden and waited.
Then, a moment later, a familiar voice came out of the intercom and gave Seon-ah a welcoming remark.
"Seon-ah, it's been a while. You arrived earlier than I thought?... You worked hard coming from far away. First, come inside and let's talk."
'Far away?... Did I tell Yu-rin where my house is?...'
Seon-ah had a slight question, but he thought it was just something she said out of courtesy.
"No, I just arrived. Then I'll come in."
As the front door opened, Seon-ah walked inside and looked at the garden.
She hadn't decorated the garden with anything, but it looked neat, seeing as the lawn was well-maintained.
Since it was a space that looked like an outdoor studio, he thought that if she were to broadcast in a place like this, it would produce quite good footage, so he also felt a bit envious of Yu-rin.
And as he walked slowly and opened the door attached to the building, Yu-rin greeted Seon-ah with a smile.
"It's been a really long time. Two months since the viewer participation... has it been nearly three months since we actually saw each other? It's small, but come on in."
'Small?... This house?'
Yu-rin's words were somewhat absurd, but the atmosphere between them was awkward, so Seon-ah, not wanting to pick a fight over it, just nodded without a word and followed Yu-rin's lead.
"Okay. Excuse me."
Seon-ah was quite surprised when he saw the state of the house.
It was as neat inside as it was clean outside.
There weren't many items placed around, as if she had just moved in, and there was the smell of paste from when the wallpaper had been newly applied.
"Yu-rin-ah, are your parents not home?"
"Huh?... My parents aren't here. This is my place for living alone."
"Oh?..."
Cognitive dissonance suddenly struck Seon-ah's mind.
'To think that a house that would easily be worth billions just in official land value is a place for living alone... I guess places like this can be rented for living alone these days...'
"Are detached houses available for monthly rent these days too?... That's incredible..."
"No... Seon-ah..."
Then Yu-rin waved her hands and said to Seon-ah.
Yu-rin, who was the same age.
He was curious inside about how much the deposit and monthly rent were for this house she had found to live alone, but it was hard to easily bring up such topics with others.
Seeing Yu-rin looking embarrassed, Seon-ah, perhaps feeling a bit playful, said to her with a smile.
"Cringe... Yu-rin-nim, you were a diamond spoon... no, a diamond spooner."
Yu-rin, who was watching Seon-ah joke around, made an embarrassed expression and said.
"I told you no... Seon-ah... I bought this to use as a studio. If you're going to do internet broadcasting in earnest, it's better to have a place that's spacious, has no noise worries, and where you live alone."
"Huh?..."
Due to the cognitive dissonance that returned, Seon-ah's brain stopped thinking for a moment.
"Hey, Seon-ah?..."
Yu-rin spread her palm and waved it in front of Seon-ah's face as he just blinked his eyes and stayed still.
In the eyes of Seon-ah, who had regained his senses, Yu-rin looked like she was holding a diamond spoon in both hands.
"Why are you suddenly like this, Seon-ah. Even so, the first floor is just a studio apartment with no rooms."
'Studio apartment isn't a word used for a place like this...'
However, Yu-rin, who was born a gold spoon, seemed not to know that fact, perhaps because her sense of money was skewed.
Seon-ah, who had been flustered several times, spoke to Yu-rin in a trembling voice about the reason he had come today and the work he had to do.
"S... shall we start with the computer and broadcast settings first?"
"It's okay. You must be tired from coming a long way, so it's fine to rest a bit before doing it. First, let's have a cup of tea and talk. It's been so long, so there's a lot I want to talk about."
"Uh... huh? Okay..."
As Seon-ah nodded with a bewildered voice, Yu-rin gestured to the sofa in the living room.
"Sit down and rest first. I'll go make some tea for a moment."
Seon-ah watched Yu-rin go to the kitchen with a flustered expression.
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Yu-rin, who was in the kitchen, took out two teacup sets and started boiling water in the electric kettle.
And then she was rummaging through the cupboard to take out the tea.
"To think Seon-ah actually came... He came without even knowing that a woman calling him to a place she lives alone... He seems to lack a bit of crisis awareness for a man... He's not a slut, is he?..."
It was a remark she had let out without realizing it, but her mind became confused.
"It wouldn't be... no... there's no way... How could such a pure-looking boy be like that?... Right?"
The voice of Yu-rin, who had started muttering to herself, began to tremble increasingly.
And then the hand holding the tea began to tremble little by little.
"If... what if Seon-ah has another woman?... What if... he's not a virgin?..."
Yu-rin's eyes, with her muttering becoming more severe, were dilated as she stared at the electric kettle boiling and bubbling for a long time.
The steam reflected in Yu-rin's eyes, who had been staring at the electric kettle for a long time.
Inside it, the day she first saw Seon-ah's broadcast came to mind.
Risking her life while crossing Gates in her Duty Hunter life was not an easy task.
Monsters that took the form of humans, and comrades who were injured or, in severe cases, died.
Her heart was dying from mental trauma amidst that intensity where life and death were at stake.
However, she was saved by the appearance of Seon-ah, who looked like an angel, on the smartphone that her colleague Haein had been staring at intently by chance.
No, she felt a pull like fate that it had to be that man.
She still gets stressed when she thinks about the moments that happened in the Gate, but every time she thinks of Seon-ah's face, the memories of those painful moments fly away cleanly.
If this isn't love, what is?
The angel who came to me, Lee Seon-ah.
However, what should she do if he belongs to another woman?
"Ah, hot..."
Yu-rin had been reaching out to the steam without realizing it.
As the heat of that hot steam still remained on her hand, her hand, which had lost its way for no reason, felt awkward, so she put it into the pocket of her pants.
And what she grabbed in her hand was.
It contained the sleeping pills she usually took because she couldn't sleep comfortably due to the mental aftereffects she had gained while living as a Duty Hunter.
And seeing the unopened tea held in her other hand, something flashed through Yu-rin's mind.
"Ah..."
This tea she enjoyed drinking also sometimes had defective products due to improper storage.
But that fact couldn't be known until she opened it.
Then, only one thing remained.
When Yu-rin took her burned hand out of her pocket, something was held in her hand.
She crushed that very small, white, round thing with her fingers and started shaking it into one of the empty teacups.
"Defective products... you just have to check them... it'll be fine, right?... I... have also been a lot of help to you all this time... then you should help me too... that's only natural..."
Yu-rin, who had been muttering to herself, started heading back to the living room after she had finished making all the tea.