It was hard to breathe.
Would I see that scene from a moment ago again if I were to open my eyes?
I buried my face deeper into Oppa’s embrace.
He gently patted my back without saying a word.
I knew that the stream was still on and I had to return to my seat.
So, I lifted my face and saw Oppa’s dark eyes, his gaze locked at my face.
Without making a sound, he said something to me by moving his lips.
-Are you okay?
I shook my head side to side while sniffling.
No! I wasn’t okay! How could I be after seeing that?!I wanted to shout, let out my anger, but that could wait for after the stream.
Reluctantly, I pulled myself together and returned to my seat. Then, I noticed the chat was going wild.
[ex]
[plain]
[what’s w oppa?]
[plain]
[Are you with your boyfriend right now?]
[ex]
Ah… Right, I was so surprised that I called for Oppa without realizing it.
I had a strong feeling things were ruined, but for now I took a long sip of water.
「Ah. Ah. Everyone.」
When they heard my voice again, the chat went even crazier than before.
「Explain? Huh? What do you mean by that?! I was about to faint from fear just now!」
「What Oppa? I said Appa!」
「Are you kidding me? Look at the time, who’s gonna be awake at this hour? Also, I’m streaming alone in my studio right now!」
I needed to deal with the situation as calmly as possible.
Also, it wasn’t like they could prove that Oppa was here with me.
How could they when they couldn’t even see him?
This wasn’t an irl stream where I had a camera turned on.
But, some toxic chatters kept on going even after I explained.
No other choice. If I wanted to continue the game, I’d need to draw my sword. And I did exactly that.
「Chat, should I just stop? It doesn’t seem like you guys want to watch me play anyway.」
「Like, seriously! I’m trying my best to play something scary because everyone said they wanted to watch me.」
「Are you guys actually malding that I screamed for my appa? And you can’t watch the stream just because of that, huh?」
While I said that, I paused the game. Only then did the chat show signs of slowing down.
[stop, just watch like a normal person.]
[she said appa, so why do u guys keep going on abt this? sigh]
[I was having a good time watching, why are y’all ruining the fun?]
Honestly, now that the mood was completely ruined, I didn’t feel like playing anymore. But I knew more than anyone that ending it here would only give birth to a bigger controversy.
Wait, if I continued playing, wouldn’t I need to deal with that ghost mom again?
I turned my head slightly to check Oppa’s face, only to see him focusing intently while tapping on something.
[Lucario: Quit witchhuntingggg]
I looked to see what he was doing and it seemed like he was busy defending me.
After that, I made up my mind to continue the game no matter what. While I screamed, I just called out mom, dad, god, whatever, in turns for the hell out of it. Just like that, the seemingly never-ending horror game finally came to an end.
「Phew...」
As I pressed the exit game button, I let out a deep sigh.
I can’t, I just can’t.
Playing a horror game was stressful enough, then this controversy over something that I said broke out, leaving me distraught.
「Did everyone have fun watching?」
As I asked in a wilted voice, the chat was flooded with PArmyThumbsUp emotes.
There were still some people parroting and demanding an explanation about the oppa thing, but I knew that those guys weren’t the type to listen even if I said anything.
「I’m... never playing a horror game again in the future even if I promise... Ugh...」
「My heart can’t take it. Oh, my poor heart...」
「Anyway.」
Knowing it wouldn’t befit an idol’s dignity to end while whining, I expressed my gratitude to wrap things up.
「I guess it just means everyone loves CLOSER that much.」
「That horror game scared me to death, but at least you enjoyed that, huh, chat?」
As I saw the warm messages increasing in the chat, it finally felt like I could relax a little.
「Haa... What can I even do with you rotten apples…?」
「Let’s meet again next stream everyone? Lubai lubai lubai~ Lubai all of you~」
Like that, I ended the stream with a smile.
After confirming the stream was completely off, I walked over to Oppa's side with heavy steps.
“Doah.”
Oppa got up from his chair and approached me.
“Ah… I’m so...”
Just a moment ago, it felt like I had so many things to say.
But, when he embraced me, no words came to mind.
“It’s okay.”
A gentle pat followed his soft voice.
“You did well.”
Why did those words of acknowledgment feel so touching?
I felt a lump in my throat, but I didn’t want to cry. So I just hugged his waist even tighter.
“Let’s go home.”
That day as well, I grabbed Oppa’s hand that reached out to me.
And asked him to stay with me until I fell asleep.
* * *
Next morning.
“Oh, man...”
A deep sigh automatically escaped my lips.
We were fucked. Actually fucked.
Honestly, I already realized how bad the situation was when it happened. As expected, the clip of Luka’s Eoppa was setting the internet ablaze.
Their reactions were diverse.
There were those who took her words at face value and genuinely thought that she said appa. And there were also those who insisted that she was calling for her boyfriend.
[LOL you guys still cant get it together even after getting fucked like that, simps.]
[nah is it actually that big of a deal for her to call for her dad while playing a horror game? literally listen again, i clearly hear appa.]
[Lmao the popcorn tastes good.]
Scrolling through my phone, watching how her channel was on fire, I called Doah right away.
Was she okay…?
She was a timid one, it wouldn’t be strange if she was bawling her eyes out right now.
After the call rang a few times, a gloomy voice answered.
「Hello.」
「Hey, Doah.」
「Oppaaa...」
After hearing my voice, she seemed to unleash all the sadness she had been holding back. Sobs began to mix into her voice.
「Are you okay?」
「Yes...」
「For now, don’t look at the comments and stuff, wait until the company gives you instructions on what to do.」
「I already finished talking with Manager-nim earlier.」
Feeling embarrassed after finding out that she had already spoken to them, I asked her about their response.
Instead of giving me an answer, she told me that we should go out instead.
「...I want ice cream.」
「...Should I buy some for you?」
「No, let’s go eat together.」
「Alright, I’ll be there in 10..」
I quickly got dressed before heading down the stairs to Doah’s house.
She was wearing a long padded coat and a backwards cap.
The padding was so long, she looked like a young girl wearing her dad’s clothes.
“Ready to go?”
“...Yes.”
“Let’s go.”
When I held my hand out, she grabbed it without saying anything. We went down the alley and entered our go-to ice cream chain store.
“Here.”
As I handed her the ice cream I ordered, Doah reached out with both hands to hold the cup.
She took a big scoop, smacking her lips together vigorously as if she didn’t feel the cold.
Meanwhile I was just sitting there, watching, thinking if I should ask what happened, when…
“...I got scolded.”
Doah brought up the matter first, as if knowing what I was thinking.
“You got scolded?”
“Yeah.”
Seeing me wiggling my eyebrows, as if demanding her to elaborate, she puffed out her cheeks for a moment before opening her mouth.
“They didn’t directly scold me or anything, but I did receive a stern warning. Also, they said that it would be very problematic if this kind of thing happened again on stream in the future.”
“Ah, I see… Is that all?”
“No. They asked if I really have a boyfriend, so I told them the truth.”
Surprised by her answer, I couldn’t help but raise my voice instinctively.
“What?! Is it really okay to tell them that?”
“Actually, I didn’t really want to tell them... But I was just being honest. There’s no clause in my CLOSER contract that says I can’t be in a relationship anyways.”
“I see...”
I didn’t know what to say. Should I say thank goodness, here?
Or should I ask her what the hell she was thinking?
In the end, I decided to spare her the unnecessary remarks and just held her hand instead.
“I’m sorry, I won’t stay around you whenever you’re streaming again.”
“No, it’s not Oppa’s fault.”
Doah shook her head vigorously.
“You know, in that situation… it felt like I would have screamed something like that even if you weren’t around, Oppa…”
“Doah...”
“And honestly, what’s making me more depressed is what happened next...”
Her gaze, which had been fixed on our tightly clasped hands, wandered outside the window.
A green town shuttle bus departed, its noise passed through the glass, reaching us.
“Jennifer unnie… said to me...”
For a while, she couldn’t continue talking.
***
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