“Teacher…?”
Aro’s small question, filled with confusion, made us even more bewildered as we remained unable to say anything, but Eun-ah unnie blinked a few times before hurriedly snatching my phone.
I could have avoided it, but if I dodged further, it felt like bigger trouble would arise, so I obediently let her take the phone.
“Ummm… Haah.”
Eun-ah unnie straightened herself and scrolled down the phone screen for a few seconds, then sighed and set it down.
As she straightened up earlier, her hair brushing against my nose made it itch.
“Just as I expected… Hey, don’t watch NewTube or start a broadcast today.”
“What?”
“Just do as I say for now. Go home and spend a normal day. We’ll let you know when things are okay.”
Not broadcast, not watch? I couldn’t understand what she meant at all.
When I reached out to grab my phone, Eun-ah unnie made a hissing sound and lightly hit the back of my hand.
“Since it’s about the broadcast, leave it to the manager for now.”
After that, I couldn’t even say goodbye to Aro and ended up leaving the house like I was being chased.
“…Should I just cook or something…”
***
Eun-ah POV
Even though I gave a warning and sent Su-yeon away, I wasn’t sure if she would really refrain from watching or starting a broadcast.
Her phone was here, but there was also a computer and Min-young.
Considering that Su-yeon’s sister knew nearly everything about her, there was a high chance they would talk.
But telling her not to say anything would only raise more suspicion, and I couldn’t possibly monitor Su-yeon all day to ensure she stayed off the internet.
“What was that about earlier?”
Aro asked in a hesitant voice, pulling me out of my deep thoughts.
“Earlier? I got super aroused and attacked. Why?”
“…”
When I joked, Aro sighed softly and naturally sat down in a chair.
“So, why did you call me?”
“No matter what, it’s a meeting. Don’t you think we should do it face-to-face?”
The reason Aro came to my house at this time was for a meeting.
The topic was, of course, the sudden flood of attacks aimed at Su-yeon.
We concluded the discussion about yesterday’s events, agreeing it was impossible to handle all the attacks.
But this meeting wasn’t about that.
“So… since it’s impossible to stop them, and difficult to stop Su-yeon, today’s meeting will discuss what to do if Su-yeon sees the malicious comments. Let’s begin.”
It was highly likely that Su-yeon would see the hate comments.
No matter how hard we worked to delete the comments and issue warnings on the videos, Su-yeon would eventually come across the ugly jealousy and malice-filled humans, whether in a few days at most or within a few hours at least.
Even though she had a strong mentality built up from dealing with numerous part-time jobs and troublemakers, such experiences and maturity couldn’t withstand madness.
Knowing this, I didn’t want to imagine Su-yeon facing it all.
“…What about your class?”
“Free period.”
After kicking an empty beer can into the corner, I started the hopeless meeting with Aro.
***
Lee Su-yeon POV
“Meow!”
When I entered the house, Strawberry came running with food crumbs stuck to her mouth.
As her soft, warm fur brushed against my bare skin, I felt a wave of warmth.
With my thin clothes, her cozy body felt like being wrapped in a thick microfiber blanket under an air conditioner on an early summer night.
Hugging Strawberry close, I began my chores.
“What did you eat to get so messy? So sloppy.”
First, I cleaned up the food around Strawberry’s mouth and then brushed her fur—a daily ritual.
Using the small brush I had bought for her last time, I gently combed her fur from head to tail.
Strawberry seemed to enjoy the brushing, purring and rolling her body to show where she wanted to be brushed.
“Oh… furball…”
After a few minutes of brushing, I ended up with a small pile of soft white fur, forming a little furball.
She was still young, so I worried briefly about early hair loss, but rolling the fur together made it smaller than her ear, so I decided I didn’t need to worry about such sad thoughts.
“This… Min-young might like it.”
For some reason, I felt She would like it, so I casually placed the furball on the desk and resumed my chores, still holding Strawberry.
As always, the routine unfolded as a simple yet oddly nostalgic day.
I woke my sister, organized scattered books and the messy house, and cleaned the place up.
After finishing the cleaning, I started preparing food.
I washed the rice, put it in a small rice cooker, and pressed the button.
In the past, I used to make rice in a cauldron with my grandmother, but things are much more convenient these days.
“Times have really changed…”
“Unnie, you sound like Grandma.”
“But cauldron-cooked scorched rice was delicious.”
“That’s true.”
While waiting for the rice to cook, Min-young didn’t do much.
She just sat at the dining table, playing with Strawberry in one hand and the furball in the other, while I attended to other chores.
When the noisy washing machine beeped, I hurried to hang the laundry.
“All set~”
While I did some simple cooking, Min-young set the table with utensils, basic side dishes, and plates.
Using a kitchen towel as a pot holder, I placed the steaming soybean paste soup on the table.
“You look really busy today.”
“I’m not exactly busy… it’s just that a lot of bad things have already happened.”
“Like what?”
I explained the series of unfortunate events I had been through since waking up.
My sister listened while stuffing food into her mouth.
“This morning, I thought I was late, so I spaced out until the afternoon and only got out of bed… I went to wake Eun-ah unnie and got chased out…”
I also talked about how carrying wet laundry with my weak arms took forever or how I forgot to turn on the boiler last time and ended up showering in cold water.
During the meal, I continued my little tirade of self-pity.
The younger sibling finished eating, took Strawberry along with her toy, and returned to her place.
Although she had taken on the most physically demanding task, Min-young wasn’t aware of the restriction on my phone and broadcasting.
The cleaning at home was done.
There was no café I needed to visit.
There was still a long time until evening, and I had no plans left.
“…I’m bored.”
To kill time, I lay on the bed and rolled around.
It was something many people dream of, but for me, it felt incredibly awkward.
“Is this what they call being a workaholic?”
Maybe not.
It was just that, having worked for such a long time without rest, the sudden leisure created an odd sense of unfamiliarity.
What do normal people do at times like this?
Maybe they’d watch Chocoa’s stream, replays, or NewTube clips.
“Hmm… If I started a stream, it might feel better.”
If I were streaming, I could communicate with someone, and the time would fly by.
Watching clips sent by viewers—like animals such as cats—would also make the hours disappear quickly.
But Eun-ah unnie had told me not to stream.
“Ughhhhh…!”
In this situation, with no clear solution in sight, I flailed my arms and stared at the ceiling.
“…Should I just go out?”
I grabbed some clothes, changed my pants, and put on a hat to cover my unkempt hair before opening the door.
“I’m going out for a bit,”
I sent a short message to Min-young and stepped out aimlessly.
The warm breeze and pleasant sunlight greeted me.
Although it was a bit hot, being the warmest time of the day, it still felt like a pleasant early summer.
“It’s been a while.”
It didn’t seem like I had ever wandered around outside without a reason.
Maybe when I was a kid.
Back then, my sister and I used to climb mountains, walk along fields and dikes, and watch insects for no particular reason.
It was fun then, and maybe it would still be fun now.
But here, there were no mountains to freely climb, no fields, and not many of the games I enjoyed.
So, I simply kept walking.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do; in the city, I should learn the city’s ways of fun.
My aimless steps led me to the most familiar place.
“…..”
The café was dark, its doors firmly shut.
A notice on the door read, ‘We’ll return refreshed and renewed.’
I moved on and headed for a new destination.
I wandered around downtown, filled with movie theaters, restaurants, photo studios, and various entertainments, mentally noting places I’d like to visit with Ga-young unnie later.
“Ah, should I head home now?”
While wandering the streets, I noticed a surprising number of soldiers.
Suddenly, I remembered Sooyoung and Minho’s visitation day and decided to plan it once I got home.
With a task now on my to-do list, my steps quickened slightly as I continued walking.
“Is this… a university?”
As I walked until my legs began to ache, I eventually reached an area crowded with young people.
Judging by the layout of the nearby shops and the outfits people wore, it seemed I had ended up near a university.
“Would it be okay… to go in? Study in the library, maybe… hold hands with Chocoa during lectures… Chocoa and…”
Standing at the entrance to the university, I saw a large campus spread out before me.
Imagining the campus life I had once dreamed of, I found myself lingering at the entrance, sneaking peeks inside.
“…Su-yeon?”
The voice that called out to me was enough to sweep away the boredom I had been feeling just moments ago.
“Huh? Unnie…?”
The owner of the voice was, as expected, Chocoa.
The problem was the unfamiliar man standing next to her.