“I almost didn’t recognize you with the mask and hat~ But who’s this lady beside you…”
“Well, that’s…”
Se-na’s uncle turned his eyes toward me.
He stared at me intently, then turned back to Yeonhee. He stared at her intently as well. Then he gave a brief glance at Yeonhee’s manager who was standing there.
And then his gaze returned to me again.
His stare, heavier than a thousand words, was exactly what you’d expect from a gym owner – the kind of stare that forcibly made sweat run down your spine.
“…Come here for a moment.”
“…Um… please spare me…”
Even though I looked at Yeonhee like a lamb being led to slaughter, having noticed that Se-na’s uncle and I were acquainted, she just gave a small wave telling me to go ahead.
I was trembling.
Not because I was shy, but because I was genuinely scared.
Actually, there was no reason to be scared.
I hadn’t done anything wrong, but when a gym rat pulls you aside, it’s scary regardless of innocence. Like how you sometimes act extra politely when you see a police car even without reason, I had nothing to be guilty about, but I became extremely polite.
“Is it… this?”
Se-na’s uncle wiggled his pinky finger suggestively.
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Is she your girl, girlfriend, future wife, baby factory!”
“…”
At least the first three were similar, but that last one definitely wasn’t right. This guy has a screw loose.
Maybe he hit his head while doing bench press.
“It’s not like that. We’re just looking at houses together. Since I don’t know much about it…”
“Then what’s your relationship?”
“We work together…”
“Ah, work colleagues?”
My desperate explanation worked.
Se-na’s uncle seemed to think Yeonhee and I were workplace colleagues.
It wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Then that lady is…?”
“Ah, her too”
“Hmm~ Sorry if this is rude, but she looks really strict.”
That was really rude.
“Then this isn’t it?”
“No… not that”
When I denied it as he wiggled his pinky finger again, he nodded in understanding.
“Phew, I almost had to fold someone.”
“…That’s a joke, right?”
“Hahaha”
He didn’t particularly answer my question, just laughed.
My waist might have bent like a bow. And then folded like those flip phones that are trending again these days. Maybe folded like a Z Flip.
This person seemed capable of it.
“Right, that makes sense. Our Se-na has a bigger chest anyway”
In Se-na’s uncle’s mind, the criterion for choosing women was clearly breast size.
Of course, I wouldn’t deny that charm, but wouldn’t the most important thing be the heart? When two people tenderly love each otherㅡ
“Listen well, what’s important isn’t the size of the heart but the size of the chest… Remember that…”
I looked at Se-na’s uncle as he decisively denied my thoughts.
The way he looked at me with somewhat sorrowful eyes was convincing. I don’t know what kind of experience he had, but captivated by that gaze, I found myself nodding without realizing.
That expression contained a sadness that I dared not deny.
It was like seeing the expression of a martial arts master who found their precious secret technique circulating on internet forums.
And not just circulating, but becoming the most upvoted post where clueless internet users occasionally criticize it saying the secret technique is trash.
“And that lady, look at those shoes”
“The shoes?”
Looking at Yeonhee’s shoes that the uncle mentioned, they were a bit unique. More colorful than other shoes.
They looked casual and lively, just normal shoes. If my fashion sense wasn’t wrong, they looked normally pretty.
What’s wrong with them?
“Is there something wrong with them?”
“Those cost 800,000 won.”
“What?! Those?”
“It’s Balenciaga or Ballet Mother-in-law or something, such a young thing already being so wasteful…”
800,000 won.
Just one pair of shoes easily exceeded two months of rent for my one-room apartment.
Wearing 800,000 won shoes?
In my mind, shoes that expensive should be preciously stored away and occasionally admired with satisfaction. What if they get damaged from puddles or scratches while walking… But at the same time, I understood. My income these days was quite good too. Then for Yeonhee, who had more than twice the subscribers and viewers than me in both YouTube and live streaming, wouldn’t this level of luxury be okay?
Se-na’s uncle got heated up saying such luxury would ruin a household.
“What’s more important than money?”
“…Breasts?”
“Kid, you may descend the mountain!”
How predictable.
“Well, now that you understand, let me show you around the house.”
After finishing his lecture, when we returned to where Yeonhee was waiting with Se-na’s uncle, Yeonhee had turned on her broadcast and was waving at her phone.
For reference, since there was some risk of my face being exposed, Yeonhee decided to do the broadcast. However, since Yeonhee didn’t have much experience with outdoor broadcasting, even though she turned it on, she was acting as if she hadn’t, without saying a word.
Seeing this behavior, Se-na’s uncle looked at Yeonhee like he was seeing a black unicorn.
“What’s she doing? Waving at her phone?”
“…It’s… a thing.”
Then his phone made a cute “kakao!” notification sound.
It was a sound that didn’t match his body at all, but he didn’t seem to mind as he took out his phone. His hands were so big that the large phone looked like a child’s toy.
As he concentrated on that small phone, his expression gradually hardened.
His face, which had looked friendly from frequent smiling, became like a goblin when it hardened. A really scary goblin. Not the one with a sword in his chest.
“Ah shit, I had PT this morning too. Sorry, let’s make this quick!”
“What?”
Apparently, he had forgotten about a client who was supposed to have PT today. Se-na’s uncle strode into the house. We ended up following behind him uncertainly. Following him was painful as he took three, sometimes four steps at a time up the stairs.
“Here! First room! Everything here is included!”
When we followed him while panting heavily, he had already opened all the room doors.
The first room seemed to have been used as a dressing room with one wardrobe, and inside there was a connected veranda with a washing machine.
“Second room! Empty!”
“Yeah, we can see that…”
Maybe because it was empty, the room looked bigger than expected.
“This is the master bedroom! I’m going! The unopened door in the middle is the bathroom!”
“What, where are you going?”
“Take your time looking around! Stay for a week if you want! I’ll give you a good price! Sign the contract! Everything’s renovated!”
And then he really left.
Opening the unopened middle door, it was indeed the bathroom.
The tiles were clean.
“Really?”
“Why did I even come.”
“..Well, it’s good for broadcasting.”
I laughed dryly while hearing Se-na’s uncle going down the stairs, and Yeonhee’s manager, who had made the difficult trip to help us, wondered why she came.
Right.
Yeonhee laughed awkwardly and finally confidently held up her phone to start broadcasting properly.
I also accessed Yeonhee’s broadcast on my phone, wanting to see how it was going and look at the house while checking out the public reaction.
[Daeha]
[Did Daeju come in?]
[Why is this bastard making Yeonhee broadcast when it’s his house, now we have to see this girl’s face because of him]
[Looks like they just entered the house, show us the house instead of Yeonhee’s face]
Is this my broadcast or Yeonhee’s broadcast.
I read the chat contents with a bitter smile. And took screenshots.
You’re all banned for cursing in someone else’s room.
After the noisy Se-na’s uncle left, silence returned.
Even the manager said she could leave now that we were broadcasting, and returned to where the car was parked while cheering us on.
That’s how we ended up just the two of us in this spacious house.
Still, I felt less tense. I seemed to feel less nervous with 2 people than 4. And as I’d felt before, having someone who’s more nervous than me makes me less nervous. This broadcaster in front of me was extremely nervous. As evidence, she seemed like she wanted to say something but only her lips twitched slightly before giving up on speaking.
“…I guess we don’t need to look at other houses anymore”
“Right..? Since he seems to be an acquaintances.”
“Ah should we greet first? Hello~”
[Yeah]
[Whatever, show us the house]
[We Daeju fans aren’t really interested in Daeju.]
[???]
“It’s a three-room, and this is a closet room with a veranda and washing machine.”
[Isn’t it annoying how she calls it a three-room but won’t call the closet room a dressing room?]
[You get annoyed at everything]
[I’m always… angry]
[That’s anger management issues, you need treatment]
[Eh…]
“Um… my room’s chat is weird”
“I’m sorry…”
[hahahahahaha]
[Daeju is apologizing because of the viewers hahahaha]
[They might not be viewers you chose but hang in there with evil persistence]
[Isn’t Yeonhee’s room usually pretty dirty too?]
[Is a pigsty room the same as a pigsty?]
Though I had become desensitized, it seems my room’s viewers were weird even compared to Yeonhee’s.
Since starting broadcasts, I hadn’t watched other broadcasts because just watching felt like work. But seeing Yeonhee’s reaction confirmed it.
My room is weird.
“From now on, breaking chat rules will result in immediate ban.”
[We don’t raise that kind of thing.]
[Female streamer special) Only lesbians read rules]
[??? Doesn’t Daeju’s room have rules?]
[Even if there are rules, doesn’t matter]
[*Shiver*]
Still with a strange expression, Yeonhee looked at the chat once and then looked at me with a pitying expression.
I wish she wouldn’t look at me with those eyes…
“I’m fine…”
“…If you say so..”
While looking around the closet room, Yeonhee was helpful from early on.
She did things I would never have done like lifting the flooring to check underneath, opening the washing machine to check every corner. She even checked the energy efficiency rating.
“It’s completely clean!”
[If it’s that clean then lick it]
[Oh that last chat was kind of hot, wish Daeju would read it]
[?? Do Daeju fans hate Daeju? Hearing things like that would make someone want to retire]
[Daeju can’t do anything so he definitely! Won’t quit!]
[Seems they really do hate him]
But there wasn’t a single flaw.
Suddenly I remembered reading such a post in the past.
A gym rat who isn’t a roider never cheats.
Weirdly getting the feeling of a great martial arts master, I thought of Se-na’s uncle. He who shouted that everything was renovated… didn’t lie.
He wasn’t a roider.
* * *
(End of chapter)
