154 - I Unknowingly Rejected My Favorite

EP.154 #154. A Little World "The others are pretty curious about what you've been up to." The cheese stretches long from the pizza, having been ordered just a short while ago. “Ha ha ha. It’s not like there’s much to be curious about.” Doah smiled shyly, seemingly embarrassed by Yoonjae's question about her recent activities. "Everyone at school knows Taemin's trying to be an actor, so they were curious about what you, who also took a break from school, have been doing." "But lately, he hasn't been very active in that field..." Doah seemed to gauge my reaction, but I had already laid everything bare. “I just heard this myself, but rumors were swirling that the two of you might have broken up for a while.” “There's no way I would break up with Doah.” It seems people have an excessive interest in what others are doing. It wasn’t that having interest was a problem, but it was unpleasant when untruths started to spread. “Anyway, so what have you been up to lately, Doah?” “Well… um…” As Doah hesitated and fidgeted with her response, I decided to step in and succinctly explain as her representative. “Doah’s been preparing to study abroad lately.” “Study abroad...?” Doah looked at me blankly, as if to ask what I was talking about. Oh, come on. Studying in the metaverse can count as studying abroad, right? Isn’t she like a full scholarship international student in another world at this rate? “Where?” I hadn’t thought about the nationality, so I just named the first country that popped into my head. “America.” “Wow, that’s unexpected!” More amusing than Yoonjae’s reaction was Doah’s expression. If I had to describe it in a line, it felt like ‘what are you doing right now?’. “Ah, but it’s not confirmed yet. I’m just looking into things while working a bit.” Doah chuckled to cover it up and answered Yoonjae. “I see. If you go, Taemin will be so disappointed.” “Oppa, would you be disappointed?” An unimaginable ‘what if’ directed its sting at me. “Sure, I might go crazy from missing you too much.” “Ugh…” Watching us, Yoonjae shook his head with an expression like he was fed up. “Save that kind of thing for when you’re alone together.” “Originally, this was our private time; oppa, you came over, remember?” Doah retorted cheekily, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “No, today I invited him.” “You, invited a guest to the house?” She stared at me as if I had committed some forbidden act. Given my usual habits, that seemed like a fair reaction. “Yes, I asked him to help me with music.” “Ah... I see... So you brought that guitar?” “That’s right. Want to hear what we worked on?” What would have been too much pizza for the two of us was gone quickly with three. After neatly folding and disposing of the pizza box, Yoonjae took out his guitar and told me to play the accompaniment. “Wow...!” The sound of the guitar Yoonjae played harmonized with the sound file I had been working on as it came through the speakers. Even hearing just the first verse, Doah started clapping excitedly when the song ended. “Amazing! It’s seriously impressive!” “Oh, this is the level required for a central club, you know. I got in with a 7:2 acceptance ratio.” I wondered if getting in was really that hard, opposing 7 candidates for 2 spots, but I chose not to dampen the mood. “Wow, it’s so good! As expected, I always said the stuff you created was cool, didn’t I?” As Doah went on about how she always had faith in me, Yoonjae casually delivered a teasing remark. “Hey, Doah, while it's true Taemin is handsome, you’ve got a great personality too. You're cool with your boyfriend spending all day with other girls and ignore it?” I told you before. That “other girl” is just her. The person in question was sweating bullets despite my explanation. “Well, you know, people can enjoy different things.” “True, but I couldn't handle my girlfriend getting wild over male characters.” I finally intervened, unable to hold back. “Who cares? If Doah doesn't mind.” “Yeah, who cares?” Doah clung to me in agreement, and Yoonjae raised both hands in mock defeat. “Okay, let’s start with the basics like this, and I’ll develop it a bit more before bringing it back.” “Are you sure that's okay?” I was intending to learn this myself and add the guitar. “Hey, there’s only a month left. How do you plan to learn and complete it by then?” “Well, yeah... but I feel bad.” Accepting help without compensation seemed unfairly burdensome. “No worries. Isn’t that what friends are for?” I was unexpectedly moved. For someone who always seemed eager to shake me off, such words prompted a moment of self-reflection. “Thanks, Yoonjae.” “No problem. But in exchange…” At this point, I felt ready to grant any request he might make. “Could I get a few autographs from you?” “It’s not hard, but what will you use them for?” “I figured it’d be cool to give one to some girls and say, ‘I’m friends with him’.” ...Give me my sentiment back, you scoundrel. --- The lively Closer group chat. Not going to school these days, I found myself spending more time here than with any other chat group. [Agh, my solo concert was ruined because of Kim Luka.] Clover’s sister inevitably kicked things off. I wasn't about to let that slide easily. [No way. I’m the one ruined. Everyone loved you so much they might say Luka was nothing compared to Clover.] [Fight! Fight! Whoever wins! Can I share this spat on broadcast, sisters?] The youngest, Murin, instead of stopping us, seemed to enjoy instigating further. [Aah, my concert is just next month, and I haven’t even selected a song yet!!! Seriously, what song should I do?] [Just stick to what you're good at! It's better to perform something you've practiced rather than risk messing up during a live performance.] Leah, who had been silently observing the conversation, smoothly sent a message. [But if you don't try something new now, when will you?] Gah... that's frustrating! Ah! That was something only Leah could say. Sure, Clover was a slightly better singer than I was, but compared to Leah, we were all just small potatoes. [No humblebragging, Leah] I sent my message, and Murin quickly agreed with me. [I bet Leah's never even had to worry about this stuff, right? Everyone who thinks the same, like this!] As thumbs-up emojis started flooding in, I couldn’t help but chuckle in real life. [It might be good to include a few fan favorites, too.] Jennifer, the closest to a good student among us, diligently offered her advice. Ugh. That’s a bit much. Time to do something else. Since it wasn’t directly my issue, I closed out of the chat room for a moment and dealt with my other tasks. I’d sent all the video resources over, and the second album... Sigh... The second album recording is coming up soon, too. A change in seasons meant prep for a new album. With the first album and solo concert raising expectations sky-high, I wondered if I could satisfy our fans. -Vvzzzz I had muted the group chat notifications, so it seemed unlikely that a new message was coming from there. Maybe my boyfriend? He typically didn’t send messages at this time. Surprisingly, the personal message was from someone I hadn’t anticipated. [Luka.] [Huh? What's up, unnie?] Even if we needed to discuss something, we usually used the group chat. Did I do something wrong to her...? [Are you free on the 12th or 13th?] [Hang on a sec...] While they were weekdays, the lines between weekdays and weekends had become indistinct ever since I took a break from school. [I have a broadcast on the 12th, but that’s it. Why?] [Well, that day. I was wondering if you could meet me.] [Whoa! Really? Are you coming to Seoul? Should we gather everyone in Seoul then?] Our members were scattered far and wide, making it nearly impossible to spontaneously set a date for a meetup. [No, no, no. I’ll mostly be with my boyfriend.] [Ah, gotcha.] Clover had mentioned her long-time boyfriend since before her days as a streamer or virtual YouTuber. If I recalled correctly, they were entering their fifth year together. [So are you okay meeting with me?] [My boyfriend's curious about who I work with, so...] I finally understood why she hadn’t used the group chat. [Hmm~ So you’d like me to meet up?] [Yeah. If you're uncomfortable going alone, we could even make it a double date.] Hearing the word ‘double date’ reminded me of less-than-ideal memories, and I reflexively thought of my boyfriend. Remembering how we got drained during Murin's double date still occasionally made me feel bad. [I’ll ask my boyfriend. If he’s not keen, I can come alone.] [Oh~ Okay! Then, I’ll definitely treat you to a meal! Heh, Luka, just let me know what you'd like to eat~] [In that case, Luka wants~] Seizing the opportunity, we stretched out a list of all the foods we'd been craving, leading us into a happy dilemma. I thought this virtual YouTuber gig was so enjoyable, fun, and fulfilling. But our world is truly small. A world hard for others to understand.