My Favorite Has Started A Live Broadcast!

***
Choi Gayoung POV

“It’s just, something about it feels amazing. It feels like seeing a celebrity.”

I was being sincere. I don’t usually enjoy watching other people’s broadcasts. I only occasionally tune in when I’m really bored or when they’re streaming a game I’m interested in. I never felt like, I must watch this person’s broadcast. But now, that had changed.

I had developed a feeling that I must watch this person’s broadcasts.

I tried to keep up with as many of her streams as I could. No matter what game she was playing or what kind of broadcast it was. When the stream was live during school hours, I’d watch with my juniors. During other times, I’d just leave it on in the background while I did other things or focused on the broadcast itself.

Seeing this person in real life was even more fascinating than watching her on stream. Thanks to her small stature, her pure white hair stood out from root to tip, and her eyes were a bit more pinkish than they appeared on screen. Her small hands seemed like they hadn’t been through any hardships—smaller than mine even—yet they were so warm when I held them, both soft and firm.

She was someone whose every detail was eye-catching.

Her pretty, well-proportioned face, the dialect that slipped out occasionally, her personality that seemed to light up the surroundings—all of it was fascinating.

“…..”

Baraa averted her gaze, her face flushed, but I kept watching her profile as we walked into the restaurant.

“Isn’t this… a bit much?”

“No! You can have more if you want!”

Before Baraa poured the drinks, she took over the tongs from Yoon Gae, who had burnt the meat before even serving the alcohol. The result was serious favoritism. She evenly distributed well-grilled meat to others but stacked my plate high. Gunkoo just picked at a few side dishes, and Ninima ate without any reaction. Yoon Gae seemed like she wanted to say something, but it got cut off by Ninima proposing a toast.

‘Clink’

The sound of clinking glasses filled my ears, resonating through my mind with a nostalgic feeling as the bright yellow draft beer glasses clinked together.

It was when my glass was half-empty. I’d been nodding along to the others’ conversations while slowly working through the mountain of untouched meat on my plate. Then, I noticed Baraa’s empty plate beside me and the water glass filled with clean water in front of her.

Maybe she doesn’t drink.

Before I could think further, I remembered her last drinking stream.

“…Want some?”

It was an out-of-season prank.

“Don’t you want it?”

I pushed my glass slightly closer, teasing her, and although she hesitated, her hand trembled as she reached for it. Since I didn’t want to pressure her, I started to pull my glass back. But for some reason, her small hand held tightly onto the beer glass, refusing to let go.

“…..”

Baraa looked at me with a trembling gaze before seeming to make up her mind and took a gulp. The beer glass now bore a faint red lipstick mark, just like her water cup.

***
Lee Suyeon POV

The first thing that came to my mind was the term indirect kiss.

An indirect kiss is something that can happen unexpectedly. Sometimes, my sister would drink water from my glass when she came home, or she’d taste the food I was eating using my spoon. But this felt different.

Unlike those unaware incidents with my sister, this was an indirect kiss I was consciously aware of.

Is it weird to be aware of it? Or is Chocoa like this with everyone?

That would be a bit disappointing… No, that’s not it!

I kept thinking that it was strange to be so conscious of it. Chocoa was just offering me a drink because she didn’t know I couldn’t handle alcohol, so it was odd of me to interpret this gesture as an indirect kiss due to my own delusions and desires. Yet, those words kept ringing in my head.

When Chocoa reached to take the glass back with a slightly disappointed expression, I immediately stopped her.

I was holding the beer glass, which had a faint lipstick mark from Chocoa, and she was smiling as she looked at me. I almost lost myself in her smile but quickly regained my focus and took the glass.

I was just given some alcohol, and I’m just drinking it… That’s all.

I’m just drinking it… I’m just drinking it… I’m just drinking it…

Repeating it in my head, I brought the glass to my lips. Amid the clean taste of the beer, an unusual flavor lingered on my lips.

***
Choi Gayoung POV

“H-heh… heh… u-unn… ieee….!”

Baraa clung to my arm, rubbing her head against me over and over.

I thought she was putting on a bit of an act, but I hadn’t expected this level of attachment. Really.

She kept calling me, and whenever I responded, she’d just laugh and call me even more.

“Wow, that’s so cute, it’s insane,” Ninima said, and she was right; she really was adorable. She seemed like an older sister on stream and around others but sometimes acted like a cute younger sister.

I don’t have any sisters, older or younger, but if I did, I wonder if they’d be like her. The thought ended with the realization that there was only one person like her.

“Want some?”

I brought a piece of meat to her lips, and she bit it directly off my chopsticks, gently shaking her head as she did.

She seemed oblivious to the live broadcast, just calling my name and moving even closer.

lowtensi0n – The yuri boom is here…!

“……”

An hour had passed quickly, and half a glass of beer was still enough to keep Baraa’s drunkenness burning brightly. The viewer count was noticeably higher than usual, and the chat was flooded with messages. As it neared 10 p.m., everyone started preparing to leave.

“It looks like we’re done eating. Should we get going?”

“Yesh, let’s go~”

Ninima, who seemed tipsy with rosy cheeks, responded with her usual tone. Gunkoo said farewell and ended the broadcast on behalf of the two drunken friends and Baraa.

“Today’s donations will be distributed fairly. Thank you all for attending the after-party. No one’s up for a second round, right?”

“I think I’ll head home. I told my mom I wouldn’t be out too late… and Baraa seems a bit unsteady.”

I’d already received a few messages from my mom, but taking care of a drunken Baraa was the real issue. Yoon Gae and Ninima, whose houses were in the same direction, took a taxi together, and I got one as well.

– Oh, Gisang, long time no see…

As Gunkoo was walking off, talking on the phone, I waved goodbye and tried to get Baraa into the taxi with me.

“Uhh… nooo…”

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like going home?”

Baraa weakly gripped the taxi door, refusing to get in. Her grip was so faint, but perhaps due to the bit of alcohol I had, I closed the taxi door and led her back to the sidewalk.

“Should I give you a piggyback ride?”

Baraa clung tightly to my hand, staggering slightly. Her focus was already blurry, and she hummed a familiar tune while leaning into me.

“Lay me a bed… with a sleep… Carrying me isn’t cool. It’s something a guy should do…”

“But you’re not a guy… if you can’t walk well, just get on my back.”

“…Fine… just for a bit…”

I crouched slightly, and after a moment’s hesitation, I felt a light weight on my back.

“Why?”

Baraa, now on my back, buried her face into my shoulder. Her breath brushed against my back as she spoke.

“It’s… embarrassing…”

“Hmm… Baraa, the moon is pretty tonight.”

Baraa lifted her head, her voice now a soft whisper in my ear.

“Su-yeon… It’s Lee Su-yeon… not Baraa.”

“Alright, Su-yeon.”

“I… don’t like that either. It’s too personal… I think I’d like it better if you spoke casually.”

“…Su-yeon.”

“Hehe… Unnie… But I can’t see the moon.”

“This is Seoul, and it’s cloudy tonight… Are we heading in the right direction?”

“Ahhh…”

“Sorry…”

After walking for a while, a sigh escaped my lips, and Su-yeon quickly apologized. I shook my head and saw her safely into her home.

“…My house password is… your birthday. Come visit next time…”

“Alright. Now go in, wash up, and get some sleep.”

Thunk.

The door closed softly as Su-yeon entered her home.

For some reason, I felt a gaze from one of the nearby houses, but I brushed it off as my imagination and answered my mom’s call.

“…Oh, Mom, I just walked someone home. Don’t worry,

I’m heading back soon…”

Right as I was about to tell her I’d be home soon, Su-yeon opened the door again.

“…Would you like… to stay over? It’s dark outside and… umm…”

“…Mom, would it be alright if I stayed over at a friend’s house tonight?”

“…The bed’s a bit small.”

Su-yeon’s bed was definitely a single. The house was dim, so I couldn’t see much, but it felt like there were signs of living alone all around.

“Purrr…”

“Good night.”

I was lying in bed between a small and a big cat. She wasn’t wearing cat pajamas, but she might as well have been.

The blanket was small, but since they both clung to me, it was enough to cover all of us.

In a room filled with a pleasant scent that covered the faint smell of alcohol, I drifted off to sleep, feeling a sense of calm.

“…Noona…”

A small murmuring echoed from beside me.