“Teacher Jiwoo smiled until the end. She said she lived a life she wasn’t ashamed of, and then she peacefully closed her eyes.”
“…That’s a relief.”
After hearing a bit from Auntie, I got up from my seat.
As I listened to the story, time passed quickly and it was already pointing to 11:30.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yes… I’ve heard enough of the story…”
Honestly, I never expected I would hear such detailed accounts.
My original goal was just to check if Mom and Ha Yeon were doing well.
Fortunately, hearing that Ha Yeon was doing fine meant my purpose had been sufficiently fulfilled.
“I hope we can meet again someday. If you ever come to Korea again, come visit anytime. Teacher Jiwoo would surely welcome you.”
“Haha….”
Well, I guess that’s unlikely.
Of course, I’m in this situation now, but even if I relied on my past life’s connections, I don’t have any lingering attachments.
As long as Mom was happy in the end and Ha Yeon was doing well, that was enough for me.
This is just an exception; I won’t be chasing after the past again.
“Well then, g-goodbye…”
“Oh my! I’ll walk you to the front gate, so let’s go together.”
“N-no, it’s really okay, hehe…”
I bowed my head one last time to the Auntie who was tidying up the room.
And as I turned my back to open the door…
“…Mr. Chae Won? You’re really here… huh?”
“…Huh?”
“Oh my! Ha Yeon is here? It’s been a while.”
Ha Yeon was standing there with a smile.
“It hasn’t even been a month, so it’s not really a long time. Oh, and I came with Seola. But who is this? I feel like I’ve never seen her before.”
“She’s Mina. A student from Japan who came on a school trip. She said she visited Teacher Jiwoo when she traveled to Korea before and came alone to see her.”
“Hee… that’s impressive.”
“Right? Mina, this is the Auntie I mentioned earlier, Ha Yeon.”
“Ah, yes…”
Her navy blue hair looked a bit longer than when she was younger, and she still had that bright smile paired with soft, light brown eyes.
Calculating her age, she must be in her forties, yet there wasn’t even a hint of wrinkles on Ha Yeon’s skin.
“If Ha Yeon had come just a little earlier, we could have talked. But now it says it’s time to go back.”
“How unfortunate. Your name is Mina, right?”
“Yes… K-Kayanoh Mina…”
“Auntie’s name is Yoo Ha Yeon. I hope we can meet again someday.”
Ha Yeon… still shined brightly and beautifully.
That sentiment was probably genuine, not just flattery.
“Well then, take care.”
Ha Yeon waved goodbye to me. What should I reply to that?
…The answer had been clear from the start.
I was able to change thanks to you.
If I ever get to meet you again, there’s one last thing I want to say.
“Th-thank you!”
“…Huh?”
As I said that with a smile, I left the room.
“Teacher. Did I do something to deserve gratitude?”
“You said you came from Japan, right? It must have been a slip of the tongue.”
“Is that so… It didn’t feel that way…”
I moved on, leaving that conversation behind, quietly thinking once again how grateful I was.
…Now, it was really time to go back.
★
[Virtual OnTuber Minor Gallery]
[Title: Mei-chan’s Nator Finally Appeared!!!]
[Written by: Maker]
[@KainoIzumi☆Star’s Flow · 5 minutes ago]
I wasn’t on vacation, but I took a 5-day break and returned! /╲/\( •̀ ω •́ )/\╱\
I’m really sorry I couldn’t animate! I was busy with various things… (シ_ _)シ
[@KainoIzumi☆Star’s Flow · 2 minutes ago]
>> Right after returning, we’re having an offline collaboration! <<
The opponents are Suzuha and Tsurusaki! Plus, a special guest from Atlas arrives?!
This sounds pretty dangerous… so expect it with that vibe!
It’s scheduled to start at 8 PM today!
https://ontu.be/XXXXXXX
This freaking girl said she’d keep animating before taking a whole 5 days off.
But I’m glad she’s back…
Speaking of which, having an offline collab right after returning is exhilarating!
[Recommended: 51 / Not Recommended: 3]
ㅇㅇ: What on earth could have kept her so busy that she didn’t animate even once in 5 days?
└ㅇㅇ: Life was really hard without Mei-chan…
Oyaqung🔸: Oh
I love Mei-chan: I love Mei-chan I love Mei-chan I love Mei-chan I love Mei-chan I love Mei-chan
uwu: Welcome back, my drug.
– Comment deleted by the author.
└- Comment deleted by the author.
└- Comment deleted by the author.
└I love Mei-chan: Down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down.
Winged Angel: Having an offline collab right after a break…
└Winged Angel: Is this the same nerd I knew…?
└I love Mei-chan: Don’t slander our Mei-chan, you bastard.
Suzuizu: Suzuizu exists…!
└ㅇㅇ: There seems to be Izukasa…
Middle School Disease Master: Is this the first collab with Aoba and Izumi?
└Mizukiri Mei-chan: ㅇㅇ That’s right.
★
“…What should I bring back?”
I pondered while looking around the mart.
Today was the first broadcast after the school trip ended, which means it’s been 5 days.
This was an offline collaboration with Suzuha, Tsurusaki, and Kaguya, who is in charge of RP for Atlas’s head among the third-year students.
Moreover, the offline collaboration’s theme was a takoyaki party, or ‘takopa’ (タコパ).
I can’t believe I get to do a takopa that I wouldn’t even attempt if I weren’t social…
Of course, in my case, I’m only doing it for work, but still, wouldn’t this let me feel like an insider to some extent?
“Hmmm….”
The time we agreed to meet at my house is 7:30 PM. The broadcast starts at 8 PM.
There’s still enough time, so I could think slowly.
…Though honestly, this felt a bit sudden.
This offline collaboration didn’t originally fit into my plans, and I wasn’t the one who organized it.
The plan for today was just to read MyCarrot or something.
But then Suzuha mentioned she’d come to get the gifts I brought back from the school trip, and Tsurusaki called me after hearing that we were having dinner together.
[Tsurusaki Tsukasa: I heard you’re having dinner with Suzuha on Monday?]
[Tsurusaki Tsukasa: Is it okay if I join? I’m going to collect my gift too…]
Of course, I hadn’t forgotten to buy Tsurusaki’s gift. I brought gifts for all three-year students, after all.
But since Suzuha, who explicitly said she would come to pick up her gift, and Utsumi, who could be entrusted to Suzuha, were the only exceptions, I didn’t plan to deliver the rest to the company…
However, if Tsurusaki spoke up like that, I had no valid reason to refuse.
So I asked Suzuha, and she replied:
[Hee… Well, I don’t mind. Do whatever you like. Since it’s at Izumi’s house.]
…Frankly, I hoped Suzuha would refuse, but she acted like it didn’t concern her whatsoever…
Anyway, this led to Tsurusaki joining our gathering.
And Kaguya, who joined last, said…
[Kaguya Aoba: I heard that Suzuha and Tsukasa are gathering at Izumi’s house!]
[Kaguya Aoba: Can I join too? Let’s have a takopa together!]
She just asked to join without any justification about receiving gifts.
And since Tsurusaki was already involved, of course I had no reason to refuse Kaguya either.
Thus, a spontaneous gathering of me, Suzuha, Tsurusaki, and Kaguya for a takopa unfolded.
The original plan was for me and Suzuha to have a simple dinner, but when Suzuha suggested turning it into an offline collaboration, Tsurusaki and Kaguya instantly agreed without hesitation.
…Huh?
This is supposed to be an offline collaboration at my house, yet none of what I wanted is happening here…
Is this really okay?
While I thought about this, I gathered the ingredients for the takopa.
After returning home, I prepared everything so that we could start the takopa as soon as everyone arrived.
Even though this takopa didn’t start because I wanted it to… still, just the fact that we were all gathering together for a takopa made me excited.
Of course, I had gathered with the members many times before to eat together, but there’s something special about the significance just the name ‘takopa’ holds.
“Ugh….”
Once I finished preparing, glancing at the clock, it was already showing 6:00 PM.
Since everyone wouldn’t arrive for about another 1 hour and 30 minutes, should I rest a bit?
Thinking that, I lay on my bed and accessed OnTube on my phone.
Recently, personal VTube creators have started to increase again, so there were many enjoyable broadcasts I could watch during this break time.
Of course, my favorite will always be Natsune Nanase.
That’s something that will never change… it’s a truth, after all…
★
“Zumi…! Izumi! Wake up!”
“Huh?”
“It’s already 7:40….”
Suddenly waking up, I saw Suzuha smiling at me in disbelief.
Behind her was Tsurusaki, and next to Tsurusaki was a woman I hadn’t seen before, who was probably Kaguya.
“…Huh?”
But this is… my room, isn’t it?
“W-wait?!”
“Izumi-senpai, you really sleep a lot. You’re like a sleeping beauty.”
Of course it was my fault for falling asleep.
I thought I was just going to watch OnTube… but I’d dozed off somewhere along the line.
But… then how did the three of them get in here?
I don’t remember opening the door for them!
“W-what’s happening?!”
“Hmm? Oh… your mom gave me an emergency electronic key last time. Didn’t you know?”
“…Huh?”
I obviously didn’t know.
Why on earth did Mom give Suzuha the emergency electronic key?
“Maybe she did it in case of situations like this?”
If you put it that way, I have nothing to say…
★
[【Offline Collaboration】They say the best way to get closer is through a takoyaki party! #KainoIzumi#KogaSuzuha#TsurusakiTsukasa#KaguyaAoba#StarsFlow]
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