“No, it’s fine. Please use the cancellation fee to cover the athlete’s medical expenses. Yes, yes. I’ll contact you again later.”
The athlete who was hospitalized due to dislocation, fractures, and ligament tears.
If things had gone wrong, they could have lived their whole life paralyzed from the waist down, but thankfully, it seems the treatment was done in time.
“Wow, that’s so sad. So they can’t participate in the National Exchange Tournament? What, did they get into a car accident?”
“Looks like they were hit by a truck driven by someone under the influence. They must have disabled the autopilot while speeding.”
Life can get pretty tough sometimes.
It’s not easy to overcome those moments when you start to resent God.
But as long as humans are alive, they are always beings that can look forward to the next thing.
[▶ Please send my regards. I’ll visit the hospital next week.]
I calmly set down my serious feelings with my phone.
“Hmm? Hey, the meat’s burning!”
“Ahhh, meat meat!”
“Come out. I’ll pull it out.”
I calmed the flames and used tongs to pull up the charred bits.
“I swear what I grilled was meat…”
“Not anymore.”
“Hey, Nureong, do you want to eat?”
Grrr….
“Guys, I’ll grill the rest. Is that okay?”
Eventually, Professor Cheon, unable to bear it any longer, put on an apron and switch places with us.
Ruri was setting up new plates.
“Thank you!”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Her movement was as elegant as a butterfly landing on a flower.
Clank-
“Put it down gently.”
“You’re not gonna eat the plate too.”
She was still merciless to Saetbyeol.
Cheon Saetbyeol moved close to me, squishing into the camping chair beside me.
“Okay, Ruri, go over there. Sisters need to broadcast together.”
“Hmph.”
The broadcast had been on standby for 40 minutes already.
NoName Enter staff must’ve been anxiously watching, afraid that something might happen during the broadcast.
“Phew, I’m nervous.”
My heart was racing, which wasn’t like me.
I tidied my bangs one last time and kept an eye on the countdown message for the broadcast.
[NoName | V-tube · Twish · Wiiverse simultaneous broadcast]
[Just Chatting – Happy NoName Day]
[Broadcasting Time – 1:03:36]
[Number of Viewers – 8,579,445]
‘Ah, I could really use a drink.’
*
“Can you see my face well, everyone? It’s a bit dark outside right now.”
Messages wishing me a happy birthday poured in by the thousands, tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands, creating a great rush.
I kept looking forward, worried that if I closed my eyes, I would miss some chats.
“Ugh.”
Blink-
Before I knew it, I rubbed my eyes less than 30 seconds in.
“Hello, I am NoName. Nice to meet you all. It’s so heartwarming to see so many people come to celebrate my birthday. Yes, it’s very new.”
– Happy birthday, Name-yah!
– We’re living in the year 11 after Christ.
– Hurry up and turn 35 so you can become the President of the United States.
– In France, the age limit is 18.
– Name, you look so cute today!!!!!
– Everyone in the world loves Name.
“Umm.”
I didn’t know what to say first.
It felt like my four years of broadcasting experience had been reset.
Reading the chat was fun by itself.
Meanwhile, bits of meat steadily piled up on the plate.
A breeze blew by and the aroma of meat tickled my nostrils.
Ehh-choo…!
– May you be blessed by God.
– I waited for this broadcast for 20 hoursㅠㅠ
– Camping site?
– The sound of insects is so nice.
– Name’s eyes are like jewels.
“Yes, that’s right. I came to the camping site with my family. Mmm, the smell of meat is so good. Let’s give it a try.”
Nom-
A brown chunk, whether it was sirloin or ribeye, rolled around in my mouth.
Chomp-chomp-
“Hmm? Wow…! Hehe. It’s really well grilled. It has a nice charcoal flavor. It’s already melted in my mouth.”
After a busy afternoon, I was feeling quite hungry.
For a while, I captured every bite of the carefully grilled meat my dad made on camera, making the viewers crave it.
“For my birthday this year, people from all over the world prepared so many things for me. I’m really grateful. On the way to the camping site, I kept checking for updates. The PD and the manager kept informing me frequently, too.”
There were so many topics to talk about.
From the global donation relay that has been ongoing.
To the hologram advertisements celebrating my birthday airing at major cultural tourist spots around the world.
I also regularly checked the congratulatory messages coming from countless people and organizations on social media.
“Thank you so much, everyone. I’ll think of it as if I’ve visited every place you congratulated me. And…”
Saetbyeol quietly pushed a birthday cake into the screen beside me.
An expanding field of view.
My birthday felt more like a lingering scar from my mother’s body rather than a footprint I made in this world…
As the words of congratulations piled up, I slowly traced back the heaviness of the moment when Seol-ah first held me.
I carefully wrapped my hand around the candle to avoid it getting blown out by the wind.
It hit me just then—my parents had always wrapped me in their care like this.
I realized this, so very quietly and so very late.
“And on this birthday, I want to thank my mom for giving birth to me and my dad for raising me well. Dad, I love you!”
Professor Cheon lifted his head and looked at me.
A smile, reminiscent of a children’s pool, appeared on his face, which often seemed deep with the gravity of life.
“Hehe, Dad seems a bit shy. Will you sing a birthday song for me?”
“Happy Birthday—”
“One, two—”
The two of them mixed up, my dad and Saetbyeol.
“Let’s start when I say three.”
“One, two, three.”
“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!”
I swayed my head sideways, enjoying the refreshing melody.
[ᛚᛁᚾᚷᚨᛋᚺ ᛁᛗᛖᚱᚱᚨ]
Ruri sang a verse of “My Dearest Mother” in musical terms.
-⋆⸜⊹₊ 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 ¨̮⑅*⸝⋆
( ॑꒳ ॑)ﾉ”┌iiii┐ヾ( ॑꒳ ॑ )
– Name-yah, being 11 years old is moving.
– 😢 Please stay healthy and be happy foreverㅠㅠㅠ
– Name-yah, happy birthday, I love you ❤❤❤
– The cutest and coolest person on Earth!
“Happy Birthday!”
“Phew.”
I stuck in all 11 candles.
That was definitely cooler that way.
But the candle that should have gone out all at once, was precariously flickering with only one left.
The flame, which had lowered itself as if about to extinguish…
Whooosh-
A sudden gust of wind quietly blew it out.
I laughed softly, recalling the warm and gentle air that brushed past my cheek.
‘This is how I live.’
[NoName | V-tube · Twish · Wiiverse simultaneous broadcast]
[Just Chatting – Happy NoName Day]
[Broadcasting Time – 1:21:07]
[Number of Viewers –11,713,568]
*
“In the morning, I had seaweed soup. Haha, is it surprising that I eat vegetables? Personally, I place great importance on the texture of vegetables. So usually, I eat seaweed soup with just the rice and skip the seaweed.”
“You’ve really crossed the line, NoName.”
Saetbyeol, who had joined the broadcast.
I patted her belly.
“Eek!”
“Still not full yet? You can eat more cake, can’t you?”
“Actually, even if I’m full, I can manage… I don’t know! Let me take a bite too.”
While everyone was sinking into the sweetness of the cake.
I spent time admiring the photos of the electronic bulletin board posted on the fan cafe.
“When was this taken, Name unnie?”
“When was it again? Ah, it’s the poster taken before I battled with Love Kim unnie.”
“You have to reveal the photo taken at the swimming pool today as well.”
“Ah, come on, that’s shy…”
“Let me check the public opinion here. Yes or no?”
– Quick progression, lol.
– Yes! Yes! Yes!
– As expected, the big event is the cat!
– Wow, that’s awesome, lol.
– Name, why did you lose weight?ㅠㅠ
– Did you not eat good food?
Saetbyeol projected the hologram and revealed the photo.
I moved over and poked my head in.
“I’ll check where everyone’s looking. Don’t look left, look right.”
“Hehe, this is way more fun from my view of the Name unnie picture, right? Name unnie isn’t as funny as you’d expect.”
– But the face is a cheat key, right?
– 👀👀👀👀
– 👀
– Huh? It’s just cute, lol.
– 👀👀👀
– She’s a bit too skinny, though.
– Is she taller, so she looks thinner?
– 👀👀👀👀👀
I sighed.
It was time to pull out my ace.
I went into the tent and fetched my instrument bag.
“Where did you get that?”
“This? I borrowed it from the camping site owner earlier. I said I’d use it later for the campfire.”
What I pulled out was a guitar.
It took a while to find a comfortable position since it was somewhat big compared to my body.
Ding-dong-
As soon as my fingertips touched the guitar strings, the air grew silent.
“I’ll sing what I want first. You think of the next song in the meantime.”
The sound flowing from the guitar wove in with the light and vibrated.
I moistened my lips with my tongue and rubbed my vocal cords gently against the night air.
“Barnoque Drinkarul Lebontur Mehko
Karshielus Veraz Hentuk Turintrebul
Perriasca Hakalron Brontir
Barnoque Ihnashun Aradshutaf.”
“The ship that set sail to find a continent,
Carrying the dreams of 32 passengers.
When a fierce storm swallowed the ship’s head,
The ship broke in two.”
– I don’t think this is translatable!
– 🎶🎶🎶🎶
– Hey, I’ve heard this somewhere!
– Isn’t it the children’s song Namé made?
– Oh, yes! That sounds right!
– Namé is the absolute MVP of this broadcast!ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Please let it be like this every day!
– It feels smoother and oddly beautiful than when sung in Korean.
– NoName + guitar combo is legendary…
Thanks for the chappies!