121 - I Unknowingly Rejected My Favorite

EP.121 #121. Sneeze I believe that everyone has their unique way of calculating the days of the week, and when I reminisce about my high school days, for me, it seemed to align with the webtoons I was reading. I loved shonen manga webtoons on Mondays. On Tuesdays, I preferred those set against the backdrop of martial arts. By rotating through them each day, I would pass the week with anticipation, and now my sense of time was anchored by Luca. The morning after the regular Saturday joint broadcast. Waking up so early on a weekend probably meant I was feeling a certain unease. Having risen from bed, the first thing I did was check my phone. The chaotic group chat with my high school classmates was still there untouched. [No vtuber talk. No geek talk. Please behave normally.] Despite my warnings, I knew at least one or two would overstep the boundary in front of Doa, so I had already sent them all ice cream gift coupons. “Sigh…” Ah... why do I still feel so uneasy? They’re decent guys, surely they won't say anything weird, right? Even though part of me wanted to cancel, I couldn’t disregard Doa, who insisted on meeting them. And to be honest, they were genuinely good guys. They hardly drank or smoked. They didn’t have any delinquent histories. Just harmless, quiet kids who stayed in and watched their favorite anime. Most of the friends I maintained were this type. We had planned to eat and grab coffee, so as long as they watched their words, we should be fine. Even contemplating a drinking session turned out to be unnecessary as they didn’t drink. After showering and drying my hair, I checked my phone notifications. One was from Doa, and the other from the guys' group chat. I called my soon-to-meet girlfriend. [Hello?] Was she brushing her teeth? Her muffled words came through the line. [Brushing your teeth?] [Yeah.] [Should I hang up?] I didn't have much to say, really. [Nooo?] Instead of saying no, Doa raised her voice. After the sound of water, she began speaking clearly. [You're up early?] [The meeting's at 1, right?] [But didn’t you stay up late watching the stream last night?] Since Luca's stream ended at 3 AM, it wasn’t unusual. [Still, I need to get ready too.] [Oh, right... usually, you just wash up 20 minutes before heading out to see me.] Explaining my unease required divulging too many potential catastrophes. [It’s a bit far today.] We planned to meet near the area where the VR experience place was, as everyone lived quite far apart, and it made sense to target a more accessible urban area. [I'm almost done with makeup; do you want to come over?] [No, I have things to do too. Let’s meet at the place at the promised time.] [Ugh... alright. Then, I’ll finish up and see you there!] [Okay, got it.] After ending the call, I switched the message I had sent in the group chat to an announcement. [No vtuber talk. No geek talk. Please behave normally.] As the unread messages decreased, the chat filled with laughter. [Taemin-kun~ you scared?] Gyuho, the biggest troublemaker among the three I was meeting, taunted. [Yeah, totally scared.] [Lol, you should’ve handled it better usually.] What did they mean, I hadn’t done anything wrong usually? [If you just behave today, seriously...] [Man, I'm just so bitter your girlfriend doesn’t realize who you really are.] She knows! She already knows I’m a hardcore otaku, so there’s no need to bring it up! [Please, man...] [Lol, but come on, once we're in front of people, neither of us will say much.] That was true. This group, this otaku haven was known for its notoriously poor communication skills. On the surface, we may seem normal, but we didn’t particularly enjoy socializing offline with others. We were the embodiment of the so-called 'keyboard warriors.' A group that preferred darkness to light, and 2D over 3D. [Ah, I’m excited. Bring it on, Han Taemin.] As Seongjin added fuel to the fire, I sighed, thinking these guys were hopeless. Sigh... this is really exhausting... Is it harder to go on a double date with Humo's crew, or is it harder to have a meal with these guys and Doa? Caught in a tug-of-war with no easy answer, I grabbed my coat and headed out. * * * “One last check.” In front of me, Doa spun around on one foot. “Is anything off?” “I said no.” Even when we met in front of my house earlier, she demanded reassurance. “Really?” “Yeah, really.” I reached out to ruffle her hair, but Doa waved my hand away to prevent any damage. “You’ll mess it up.” “...Aren’t you trying too hard because it’s my friends you’re seeing?” Realizing any more jabs could lead to hurtful words, we decided to hold hands and leave the subway station. “Will they be on time?” “Yeah, they’re really punctual.” Strangely enough, they had good manners in this aspect, so there were no worries about a no-show. As we took the escalator up and looked around, familiar silhouettes glanced our way. “Hey!” I waved to signal "what are you doing?" but they huddled, whispering amongst themselves, before approaching with exaggerated motions. “Ah... hello.” Why do I find their shyness so annoying? Gyuho, who had declared he’d ruin me through the chat, nods shyly like a guy on a first date. “Hello.” I felt Doa's fingers twitch slightly in my grasp. Sungjin and Hyunsoo, often called the "Odd Couple Duo," still hadn’t said anything, nor even managed a proper greeting. Finally, unable to bear the awkwardness any longer, I stepped in. “Well... as I mentioned, these are all my high school friends. This is Sungjin.” “Hello.” Realizing this was his cue, Sungjin lowered his head in a slight bow. “And this is Hyunsoo.” “Oh, I've heard a lot about you from Taemin.” “...About me?” Doa looked up at me with wide, questioning eyes. I quickly shook my head, signaling that it wasn’t true. “Don’t talk nonsense, man.” “Ah! I'm Lee Gyuho! Nice to meet you, Doa!” With the somewhat sociable Gyuho making his introduction, we headed into the restaurant I had picked out. Sigh... I never thought I’d end up coming to a place like this with them. Nevertheless, connecting Doa with my friends meant avoiding any overly masculine dining choices, so here we were, at a place serving pasta and pizza. A sunlit table. The guys clad in black puffer jackets sat down in a cluster. Though we had known each other for years, this was uncharted territory, leading to a palpable awkwardness. Anticipating difficulty even in ordering, I hastily asked the staff to bring a selection of recommended dishes, bypassing a moment of crisis. “Uh... so...” In a situation where no one was likely an E in MBTI terms, being the host demanded that I smile broadly and guide the conversation. “So, Doa, what do you think of seeing my friends in person?” Since you were the one curious to meet them, surely you can at least answer that. “Oh! Everyone seems really nice!” Hey, isn’t that a bit too much in broadcast mode? Her tone, adopted to avoid awkwardness, ironically made me tense. I had informed them ahead of time about Closer and Luca’s existence, hoping for no blunders. Yet, Doa herself didn’t seem to realize her demeanor might be raising suspicions. I had a gut feeling things might get dangerous if she continued like this. These guys weren’t particularly perceptive but were remarkably knowledgeable about otaku culture, perhaps even more than me. And I had to protect my girlfriend from them. “What about you guys? What do you think of Doa?” “I think you two seem perfect for each other, Taemin.” “Yeah, you’re quite the couple ~ a pair of beauties ~” Thanks for at least flattering her... Silence crept back in. Just as I struggled with the stunted conversation, Gyuho came to my rescue. “So... how did you two meet?” “Well, we...” Since Doa and I had roughly scripted our story, it wasn’t an issue. We talked about how we met during a team project and fell for each other. Listening quietly, Sungjin tilted his head. “So, Taemin, what did you find so appealing about Doa?” “...Huh?” “I mean, the way you usually act, it seemed like you’d never get into a relationship.” Come on, if it was just like that, let it be. Why scrutinize it so much? “Well... even I’m human, I can change my mind, right?” “Really... well. Anyway, you two look good together. Our poor Luca though, left out.” Ah, damn it. I clearly said no Luca talk! “...Achoo!” A sneeze suddenly burst out from Doa.