I Have a Reason to Hate Streamers

Indeed, the moments of joy seem to pass in an instant.

I briefly closed my eyes, and it felt like it was all over.

“I’ll wash it off now. Close your eyes tight for a sec~”

It’d be a lie to say I didn’t feel a bit reluctant, but I couldn’t just sit there getting my hair washed forever.

In reality, it probably wasn’t such a short time after all.

Elderin must have spent quite a while massaging my head.

I was just hooked on the strange pleasure of it all.

For some reason, she was exceptionally skilled, and I still loved warmth, after all.

There was no reason to dislike her gentle touch.

With my eyes closed as instructed, bubbles were washed away by the flowing water.

My head felt the cool sensation of the shampoo.

Clear and refreshing feeling. I turned on the water to wash away the remaining bubbles on my body.

“Good girl, our Da-eun.”

“Stop treating me like a child…”

“Right, right, my bad.”

Her voice carried no real sense of regret.

From the way she gently patted my head, it was clear she wasn’t listening at all.

Well, for now, Elderin looked happy, so I figured I could accept this much.

“Da-eun, what if I wash your body too?”

“No way! I’ll wash my body myself.”

Even so, I had no plans to allow her to wash my body.

There was a significant difference between letting her touch my hair and letting her touch my body.

I wasn’t that easy of a person.

No matter how she looked at me… Ah, I feel like I’m about to weaken!

Should I just let it go?

There wasn’t really anything special about my body.

I hesitated for a bit, but my decision didn’t change.

If I allowed that, I felt my head would overheat before even stepping into the bath.

Fortunately, Elderin took a step back.

“Alright. Got it. Let’s wash up quickly and get into the tub.”

The simple shower was over, and now it was really time to get into the water.

With San-sae’s support, I perched myself on the edge of the bathtub.

I was growing up, after all.

People learn from their mistakes, and those mistakes are experiences.

If I’ve been through a lot, it was about time I avoided some of it.

When I was tough, I’d just jump right in without a care, but now, that would probably be too much.

This weak and sensitive body had no tolerance for hot water.

Besides, when I showered at home, I had to control the water temperature too.

Even then, I was careful as I wet my palm.

So, carefully dipping in my right toes…

“Eek…”

I could hold on just enough not to let out a shriek.

It didn’t seem that hot when I touched it with my hands.

But if I endured the burning sensation for a bit, I soon got accustomed to it, gradually increasing the submerged area.

San-sae was smiling brightly next to me, and even as Elderin stepped in boldly, I was slow.

I needed ample time just to submerge below my neck.

…It was a bit embarrassing, but it was all part of my struggle to survive.

But they say sweet the fruit of hard labor, right?

The reward that comes after hardship is indeed quite sweet.

“Huuhhh… this feels nice.”

Once I entered the warm water, my body relaxed.

I foolishly submerged my face, taking a dive down and splashed water onto my face with both hands.

The bath additive created a scent I couldn’t quite identify, be it herbs or flowers.

Thanks to that, I liked the faint color the water took on too.

In here, I couldn’t see everyone’s bodies.

It was like they’d solved my biggest worry!

All I had left to do was to thoroughly enjoy this blissful time.

The gently rippling waves felt nice.

My body was heating up, and I felt a bit drowsy.

I caught a glimpse of fluffy steam around me, feeling like I was nestled in the clouds.

As I enjoyed a rare hot bath, the girls began to chat.

“So, where are you going this summer, sis?”

“Me? Well, I don’t have any plans yet. No particular places in mind.”

“Surprising. I thought you had a lot of friends. You know, the popular girl vibe.”

“Not really. I only got my piercings because I wanted to change my image. I’ve always been a homebody.”

It was a conversation between San-sae and Elderin.

It seems the topic of summer vacation was the initial subject.

It was a tricky topic to jump into.

If I started to chime in, wouldn’t it seem like I was trying too hard to get involved?

Pretending not to notice, I let out a bloop-bloop from underwater.

My social skills were by no means commendable.

I was incredibly shy and had trouble gauging the distance with others.

Honestly, it felt more convenient not to approach first.

If someone approached me, I’d greet them, but… in that case, I had a tendency to overdo it.

I shouldn’t annoy those who’ve graciously reached out to me.

To act as I pleased, the people around me needed to stay by my side forever.

But that would only bring doom to both of us.

Fortunately, I had slightly trained myself.

Understanding I was abnormal made it somewhat possible to rein in my behavior.

A bit of loneliness or alienation was easier to swallow alone.

Well, if worse came to worst… I could always look for potential targets from the game.

The breath I exhaled created bubbles right in front of my eyes, bursting away.

‘This is more fun than I expected.’

They say men are just big kids.

A grown man can get away with acting childish to some extent.

As I took in another breath and began blowing bubbles again, the voices of the two girls paused.

Their gazes fixated on me.

What is it? Since when have they been staring at me?

I peeked sideways, cautiously withdrawing my head from the water.

“…What’s up? Continue your conversation.”

“We were asking if places like Jeju Island or Japan came to mind, Da-eun.”

“Oh. Well… uhm… I’m not too sure. When are you planning to go?”

This might be a bit difficult to answer, though.

I wasn’t trying to dodge the question.

I did have many commitments now.

By the time Prelude wrapped up, the temporary license for the Connection Device would end.

Assuming everything goes well, I’d be adding my name to the roster starting this summer League.

From then on, I’d have to move in accordance with my team’s schedule.

Up until then, it was indeed somewhat laid-back, but this time, the broadcast was holding me back.

My streaming had just begun to take off.

Taking a break for several days could be disastrous for my growth.

To hold the number one rank, I needed to invest a lot of playtime.

But it seemed the girls’ conversation had already progressed beyond that point.

“So, we decided to align our plans with yours.”

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that. I was lost in thought.”

“Hehe, it really looked like you were. Remember, the sooner you give an answer, the better, right? The earlier you book a trip, the better places you can go.”

“I’ll think it over until this week.”

So, they were thinking of incorporating me after all.

It felt a bit awkward discussing plans to go somewhere while leaving me out.

Even so, I was a bit scared to bring it up.

People like me tend to have traits that make them a hassle to deal with.

As I soaked in the warm water, warmth spread through my mind as well.

I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from curling up, so I submerged my face again.

This was a malicious hand moment.

“By the way, what were you thinking about?”

“Uhm, last time, Da-eun decided to cosplay for the broadcast, right? You still haven’t chosen your character, have you? Were you thinking about that?”

“Pfft… cough, choke. Ugh!”

Getting choked underwater is super uncomfortable.

Elderin patted my back softly from behind.

“You okay? You don’t have to feel pressured. You’d look good in anything, and you’re pretty no matter what.”

That wasn’t the issue here.

Was she really clueless, or was San-sae just smiling non-stop?

She had a glow about her that was almost blinding.

I had never seen someone’s eyes shine that brightly before.

“If you’re having trouble choosing, how about I decide for you? I can help make the outfit too. In the game, you’re an assassin, right? Let’s totally flip the vibe and go for a magical girl or something! Or we could even take it to the edge…”

“No sexy outfits for me, thanks! I’m not wearing anything revealing.”

“Da-eun, you don’t quite grasp it yet. You don’t need to be naked to be sexy. Especially you, it’s totally possible.”

“…?”

San-sae nodded with a proud expression, like she’d said something spot on.

Elderin even seemed to agree, but I had no idea what they were talking about.

Clearly, they’d formed some sort of consensus.

Why was I the only one left in the dark?

Regardless, a promise is a promise. I had no intention of brushing off cosplay just because I didn’t like it.

A streamer is ultimately a profession where you earn money from people. In other words, it’s a pro job.

The words I said must be honored.

“Well, actually, I do have some ideas already.”

“Really? Just let us in on it.”

“It’s a secret…”

Not yet, the timing isn’t right.

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