Chapter 31
Startled!
A faint knock on the door was followed by my sister’s voice.
Si-yoon checked the time in surprise.
It was already past 9 o’clock.
She hadn’t stayed up this late in a while, but she got too engrossed in chatting with her viewers during the stream.
Si-yoon quickly made an excuse and muted the microphone.
She hurriedly approached the door.
Creak—
Slowly, she opened the door just a crack and peeked out.
“I-I’ll be out soon!”
Si-yoon stuttered a bit but managed to speak as calmly as possible.
“Okay, I bought lots of delicious food, so hurry out!”
“Got it!”
As the door closed, Si-yoon leaned her back against it.
She let out a deep sigh of relief, placing a hand on her chest.
Her heart was racing wildly, pounding loudly.
She still didn’t have the courage to reveal that she was her sister’s favourite VTuber, Momobin.
‘This is no time for this!’
Si-yoon rushed back to the monitor.
What if her sister turned on the TV now?
What if she casually opened TriTube?
The live indicator for Momobin would glow red, tempting her sister.
And her sister wouldn’t be able to resist that temptation.
She’d definitely drop in on the stream, even if only for a moment.
Si-yoon needed to wrap up the stream before that happened.
She had already said she’d be out soon.
It was better to end the stream before her sister could watch it; that way, the abrupt end would only show up in the replay.
“Everyone! The late-night stream ends here for today!”
– Suddenly?
– What’s going on, what’s going on, what’s going on, what’s going on?
– Well, we had a late stream today, so it’s fine.
– No, don’t leave.
– No, no, no, no, no, no.
Viewers’ messages flooded in, trying to keep her on the stream.
“We had a late stream today! I’ll see you next time!”
– Alright, alright, I get it.
– Momoba
– Momoba
– No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
– Don’t go, don’t go.
Si-yoon calculated the timing and ended the stream.
She cautiously moved towards the door, glancing around.
In that brief moment, countless thoughts raced through Si-yoon’s mind.
What if her sister already turned on the TV?
Even though her sister hadn’t paid much attention to her freelance work until now.
What if she started to get suspicious? Would she have to confess then?
Just the thought of it made her dizzy.
Her sister liked Momobin so much that she even dug up all of her embarrassing old videos.
She wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.
Si-yoon opened the door slowly, very slowly.
Like a sloth, she poked her head out towards the living room to assess the situation.
…….
‘I’m safe…!’
It was a huge relief!
Her sister was leisurely setting up the food on the table.
It was quiet, which meant the TV hadn’t been turned on yet.
Si-yoon tried to act nonchalantly as she stepped out of the room and prepared some drinks.
And then, Si-hyun’s eagerly prepared late-night snacks were all set.
Si-hyun casually picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
As Si-yoon had expected, Si-hyun opened TriTube.
Naturally, since the stream had already ended, Momobin’s live wasn’t showing on the main page.
Si-hyun always kept the promises she made with Si-yoon.
When they watched TV together after work, it was always something other than VTubers.
And she never, ever entered her sister’s room.
She had never broken those promises.
After scrolling through the video list, she handed the remote to Si-yoon.
“Nothing catches my eye right now. You pick something to watch.”
“O-Okay!”
Si-yoon tried to maintain her composure, but the muscles in her face were trembling slightly.
She operated the remote and played a simple video.
Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief inwardly.
Now she felt a little more at ease.
Without knowing her sister’s feelings, Si-hyun smiled brightly and spoke.
“You know the mana stone the boss in the dungeon dropped today? It turns out it was just what Ji-a needed.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, yeah. So, I gave it to Ji-a. And I got a huge amount of money in my account! They said they’d transfer more after they process the by-products.”
“Wow… that’s great!”
When Si-yoon responded with a surprised expression, Si-hyun excitedly continued.
“There’s still a lot I lack, so I can’t do it right now. But after studying and saving up properly, let’s move to a new house!”
“A new house…”
It wasn’t a bad idea.
Considering Ji-a’s earnings and their current place, if she moved in with her sister, they would surely move to a nice, comfortable house.
But Si-yoon instinctively realized.
If they weren’t going to live separately.
The moment they moved into a new house, she’d at least have to reveal that she’s a streamer.
So that they could set up proper soundproofing.
Even now, she had done her best to arrange soundproofing within their means.
But it wasn’t perfect.
Better soundproofing, a comfortable and nice workspace.
It was one of Si-yoon’s dreams and goals.
In that moment, Si-yoon’s mind was racing.
‘…Could I hide the fact that I’m Momobin and just reveal that I’m a streamer?’
It might be possible, but once the connection was made, she’d be found out in an instant.
That didn’t seem like a good idea.
The thought, ‘Should I just confess everything?’ flashed through her mind again.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought.
She wasn’t ready for that yet.
Even though she worried every day, she didn’t want to shatter her sister’s happy illusions for such a reason.
No, she was just using her sister as an excuse because she herself felt too embarrassed.
‘What, what kind of excuse should I make…?’
Even though they weren’t moving right away, Si-yoon’s mind was tangled in confusion.
It was spring.
***
The next day, at lunchtime.
Si-hyun was relaxing on the sofa as usual.
There were still a few days left until the academy’s lecture day.
Since she was a part-time lecturer with few obligations but also fewer responsibilities.
Unless she had something specific to prepare or research, she had no reason to go to the academy.
After working all day yesterday, she just wanted to rest today.
That was Si-hyun’s thought.
“This protagonist really reminds me of myself…”
Si-hyun mumbled to herself as she continued reading a comic she’d been following.
Curious about a term that appeared in the story, she looked it up online.
Dried fish woman.
A woman who has a job and fulfils her duties as a member of society but usually lazes around at home.
A newly coined term referring to a woman whose dating interests have withered, like dried fish.
In other words, it’s the female counterpart of the term herbivore man.
The more Si-hyun read the comic, the more she found herself absorbed in it.
It wasn’t that she had no interest in dating.
But she felt different from others in many ways.
With complex circumstances and a unique background, she had simply given up on thinking too deeply about it.
When the word ‘romance’ came to mind, she would think of the hero and the party members first.
Now she knew that they weren’t normal.
But even so, it was inevitable that those memories would come to mind.
I’m still young, so there’s no need to rush with this kind of issue!
Someday, time will take care of it.
Si-hyun refocused on the comic.
Thanks to this recent obsession, she had even ordered new clothes.
Her wish list on the women’s clothing app, filled with recommendations from her sister Si-yoon.
She had ordered a few items from it.
A text message had come earlier in the morning saying the delivery would arrive today.
Si-hyun’s lips curled into a smile.
Buying new things is always exciting and makes her heart race.
It was then.
The screen on Si-hyun’s phone changed, and a call came in.
The caller was Moon Da-young. Si-hyun answered the phone.
“Hello?”
– Hello, Si-hyun, about the request you made earlier. Are you available to talk now?
“Of course.”
As Si-hyun agreed, Da-young continued with a brief explanation.
The tools that Si-hyun had requested for her lectures.
They had found a cooperating company and gathered all the materials.
All that was left was to start the work and for Si-hyun to make the payment.
– About the payment, I’ll only charge for the cost of the raw materials. I was hoping to get some help instead of labour costs.
“Help? With what?”
– Some of our kids got a bit hurt while returning from a C-rank dungeon this time.
“…Were they seriously injured?”
– No, no! It wasn’t a major injury, so don’t worry. They’ll recover soon.
“…That’s a relief.”
Si-hyun let out a sigh of relief.
If it’s a C-rank mission from the Wings Guild, it means it’s either Ji-han or Han-gyeol.
And since she referred to them as ‘the kids,’ it probably included Han-gyeol too.
It was fortunate that it wasn’t a serious incident.
– Actually, I was wondering if you could join us for a dungeon run?
“You want me to join a dungeon run?”
– Yeah, yeah. I want to help our D-rank kids get used to a C-rank dungeon. I thought about who to ask, and you seemed the most reliable, Si-hyun!
“…Heh.”
The most reliable, she said…
Si-hyun rubbed her cheek with her free hand.
Her face grew warm, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
– You can just watch from behind if you like! Let the kids handle the basics of combat, just make sure they don’t get hurt. How about it?
“You’re asking me to ensure their safety, right?”
– Exactly! That’s it! If they don’t meet your expectations, you can scold them too. How about it?
“Hmm…”
After Da-young finished explaining, Si-hyun paused to think.
In the end, the focus wasn’t on Ji-han and Han-gyeol but on the D-rank hunters who’d be joining them.
Ensuring their safety while tackling a C-rank dungeon.
‘Seems easy?’
From Si-hyun’s perspective, it wasn’t difficult at all.
Moreover, it was a chance to observe the skills of several active D-rank hunters.
She could find a good comparison for her students.
And since the requested tools weren’t cheap, saving on labour costs wasn’t a bad idea.
Si-hyun made up her mind.
“Alright. When would you like me to help?”
– Good decision! If you have a busy schedule, just send me a message, okay? I’ll arrange the dungeon reservation and let you know once it’s set.
They quickly coordinated their schedules.
And with that, the call ended.
As Si-hyun was reviewing her plans, pleased with the conversation.
A new message arrived on her phone.
Si-hyun instinctively glanced at the screen and hurriedly ran to the front door.
She opened the door and looked outside.
On the ground, there was a silver polybag with a delivery inside.
Quickly grabbing the bag, Si-hyun returned to the living room.
She plopped down on the floor and started unwrapping it.
“Oh…”
Pushing aside the handwritten thank-you note and candies.
Si-hyun opened the package and took out the clothes.
The faint smell of new clothes tickled her nose.
Black dolphin shorts.
Since she had bought several colors, she could choose what to wear!
Si-hyun changed into her new clothes, grinning to herself.
Until now, she had been wearing comfortable pants made of soft fabric around the house, except when sleeping.
She had always worn T-shirts, so that wasn’t much different.
Now she could stay even more comfortable at home.
After changing into the new pants, Si-hyun immediately stood in front of the mirror.
She turned her waist, observing her reflection in the mirror.
“It looks… pretty good, doesn’t it? Hehe…”
She giggled to herself, getting lost in admiration.
She even tried striking a pose she had seen in some photo online.
But soon, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she stepped away from the mirror.
“Ahem…!”
Next, it was time to test how they felt!
Si-hyun jumped onto the sofa.
Her bare legs, including her thighs, gently pressed against the sofa.
No matter how comfortable the fabric of her old pants was, they were still long pants.
Whenever she moved, they would get in the way.
Now, there was none of that. It was incredibly comfortable.
Si-hyun smiled with satisfaction as she picked up her phone.
She planned to continue reading the dried fish woman comic she had been following.
Lying on the sofa, Si-hyun got completely absorbed in the comic.
At that moment, as Si-hyun was deeply immersed in her fictional world.
Since it was a break day from streaming, Si-yoon, who had been lazing around on her bed, came out to the living room.
She thought it might be nice to watch TV with her sister out of boredom.
She naturally noticed the clothes scattered across the living room floor.
Then she glanced at her sister.
Wearing her new pants, Si-hyun seemed happy, lightly swinging her legs while engrossed in her phone.
Si-yoon’s lips curled into a playful smile.
—
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