189 - I Unknowingly Rejected My Favorite

EP.189 #189. Further Away. Unlike the days when both of us were unemployed, we have now become like any other couple who cherish the weekends. Even though Doa still streamed in the evenings, my life had begun to mirror that of a typical salaryman heading to work on weekdays. “Oppa! Hurry!” Doa waved me over impatiently. I quickened my pace and sat down beside her. Being the weekend, the internet cafe was quite crowded. There were plenty of high school and middle school students, as well as couples like us on dates. “What? The game isn’t over yet?” “Hurry and help me out here.” She asked for advice, but if I were skilled enough to guide a Bronze-level player, wouldn’t I not be in Bronze myself? “There might be enemies in this bush, so proceed with caution.” “Okay.” Doa replied affirmatively but proceeded straight ahead. Her actions were the epitome of straightforwardness. As expected, the enemies were lying in wait, and Doa's character got hit by a barrage of enemy skills and perished. “Aw.” Feeling sheepish, she looked up at me with a playful pout. “Come sit next to me. Let’s play together.” “No, no. The weather's nice today—let's go outside.” “Don't you want to play games, Oppa?” “Honestly, I'm more impressed that you can play off-stream after all that broadcasting.” A date at a PC cafe wasn’t bad, but today just didn’t feel right. “Alright, I'll finish this up quickly, and then we can go. I should be done soon.” “If you die the same way one more time, you’re out, aren’t you?” “Tsk, no negative predictions, okay?” Despite her forbidding it, my words came true like a prophecy, and Doa found herself in danger of being demoted again. “...I’m done.” Pouting after her defeat, Doa looked a bit miffed. “Why did you even play this insidious game?” I offered her my hand to help her up, signaling it was time to go. “Ah, but I thought today was going to be a good day.” “You say that every time you stream.” “There are days when I play well, aren’t there?” “Not that many, though.” As we bantered up the stairs, the sweltering weather awaited us. “Ugh... The weather’s nice, but it’s too hot.” The asphalt seemed to be sizzling. But there was a reason we came all the way here today. “You’re the one who wanted to come.” “That’s true.” “Have you seen what you wanted to see? Well?” “No! I saved it for us to see together.” Braving the sweat trickling down, we arrived at the subway station. “Ta-da!” In front of us was a board filled with countless notes. “Wow, this is world-class. Is this what being an idol is like?” Approaching the display board, we meticulously read each sticky note. “Let’s write ours too. Quickly.” “Me too...?” I didn’t really have much to say. “Come on, Oppa, you've seen Muring several times. You can at least leave a happy birthday message.” “I suppose…” Handing me a sticky note from her bag, Doa plastered herself against the wall and started writing a message in her distinctively neat handwriting. “What did you write?” “To our recording fairy, always love you~” The term “recording” wasn’t someone else’s affair anymore. Back during Summer Records, I had no choice but to leave Muring there to do post-recording work. She kind of felt like a student taking make-up classes. Yet she stayed, striving to meet my requests as best as she could. “Muring said she’d come by next week, take some proof shots, and read all these.” “Oh, she hasn’t come by yet?” “Yeah, she said she wanted to visit when it was all filled up.” “Then I should write something properly too.” Opening the pen cap, I hesitated briefly before leaving my message for her. [You worked so hard on the recordings. I hope only good things continue to happen for you! Closer fighting! Happy Birthday~^^] …This should be okay, right? Beside me, Doa was reading over my shoulder and suddenly poked me at the waist with her index finger. “...What?” “...I don't like that little smiley face.” “Hey, it’s not like I’m actually smiling; it’s just an emoji.” “I’ll let it slide since I didn't bring an eraser today, but you know you shouldn’t next time, right?” I raised both hands in surrender, accepting her terms. “So what’s next on our agenda?” Since we were already downtown in Seoul, it seemed a waste to just head home. “Hmm... Do you want to get coffee?” “That works for me.” “Or maybe the arcade?” While Doa was an arcade enthusiast, it seemed she often went alone when I was out. “You can do that at home.” “Aww, even when I suggest it, you never go.” “You go during the day, Kim Doa.” How could I join if I'm not home? Eventually, we found ourselves at a cafe that suited the aesthetic for Instagram photoshoots. “Oppa, look over here.” Doa aimed her camera at me, ready to snap a picture. Normally, I wouldn’t be up for it, but since we both dressed nicely today, it seemed like a good time to capture a memory. “V~” Our images appeared on the screen. Satisfied with her photo, Doa held her phone with both hands, gazing at it intently. “What? Not good?” I thought it turned out well. “No, it’s just that your face is too small.” “...Are you criticizing my mom?” “No, no, no! I wasn’t saying that about Oppa’s mom! I just thought you looked cool with such a small face.” As soon as her comment turned to my parents, Doa quickly retracted her words. “So what should we do?” “Let’s take it like this.” Placing me further ahead to adjust the perspective, Doa stood at a distance, trying to match our face sizes. Doa didn't exactly have a big head, either. "Hey, standing that far back makes us look too distant." "Our hearts are still connected," she whispered sweet lies in Luca’s distinct accent. "Ah, hurry up and take the picture like this." "I can't win with you." There was no way to win against Doa. Reluctantly, I took the somewhat eccentric shot she wanted, and she seemed pleased, smiling cheerfully. "Ahh~ An iced tea is perfect for this heat." Doa eagerly sipped what is arguably the least cost-effective beverage, claiming it was delicious. "But iced tea is too sweet." "That’s because you’re an old man." "Are you dating an old man?" "If he's as cool as you, then sure!" Typical Kim Doa, hopelessly infatuated. "Do you have anything special planned for next week?" "Uh, oh! We’ve been invited to a variety talk show!" "Wow... the entire group?" "Yep. Ah, but this is a secret, so you know you can’t tell anyone, right?" "Doa, don’t you have any faith in me?" And always telling me these little secrets isn’t really keeping them secret. At this point, anything without a "secret" label felt lackluster. "Oppa, I remember everything clearly, you know?" "What do you mean?" "You spilled the beans about Lea’s collab schedule to your teacher! It got leaked beforehand, and we ended up playing Mafia because of it!" Since this was relatively recent, I clamped my mouth shut. Ugh. I'm never telling that person anything again. "Ah... right... Okay, I won’t tell the teacher." "Nobody else either." "Who else?" "...Like Yoonjae oppa, maybe." She just seemed to name whoever came to mind. "So, has the variety talk show already been filmed? Is it going to air soon?" "We’re filming next week, and it’ll be on national TV the week after." ...National TV? "Yeah! It’s a metaverse special!" It really seems like the whole world’s revolving around Closer now. Thinking of Luca-ttang appearing on TV made me happy yet dizzy. "Oh... that's something." "You probably know the show, right? Do you?" Doa fumbled with her phone and showed me a video. "Oh? I know this." "Right? I'm going on this show!" It felt surreal hearing that she was appearing on a show hosted by such a famous MC. "It’s great that you’re going, but how will it be conducted?" "Oh, we aren’t going offline. They said they’ll set up a large monitor in the studio for us." Like a beam projector, then. "Must be nerve-wracking." "Yeah, it’s really nerve-wracking, but exciting too." "Wow. You’ve really made it. I remember when you had an audience of just 50 viewers." "Right? I can hardly believe it myself. Every time the manager brings news, I’m amazed." "At this rate, you’ll be an international star." "That would be great. Let’s go for it, Birubo!" The dream-like hope she harbored was manifested in their final album—the album produced by the Bittam Producer Team, which I was part of.