After that, I played Crown Ring moderately and ended the broadcast.
Feeling the strength of Sena, I cleared the story somewhat.
Sena was a god, and I was invincible. The other 6-star characters were just nice to have or a bit disappointing if you didn’t.
Even without them, I could replace them with other slightly weaker characters, but Sena was an irreplaceable resource.
It seems like the character balance is a bit off. Perhaps the director, being my fan, designed Sena to be over-spec. At this rate, a nerf is almost guaranteed.
Thus, the broadcast ended while enjoying a healing game with Sena.
It was evening, and I had planned to lie down in bed and relieve the fatigue accumulated from broadcasting, but I found myself outside against my plans.
“So, does this even make sense…”
In front of me stood a familiar figure. She had her hair neatly tied back in a ponytail and a strangely melancholic look in her eyes.
It was Papijoa, who had made me fish cake soup the last time we met.
She was simply gulping down the beer foam in her hand, sighing as if something was wrong.
I had felt this way the last time I saw her; she was surprisingly a heavy drinker.
As I quietly watched her, someone next to me slammed the table and spoke up.
“Oh, you shouldn’t do that. You shouldn’t. Tex oppa, why like this? Should I say something to you?”
It was Ryu-a. With a slight blush on her face, she appeared to be more excited about Papijoa’s story than Papijoa herself.
It was probably the alcohol. Empty bottles surrounded Ryu-a, proving she had been drinking quite a bit.
This was a bar. The moment I arrived after receiving the contact, the situation was already like this.
Ryu-a and Papijoa were sharing drinks and chatting.
Why suddenly alcohol? As you might have guessed once Tex’s name came up, the reason the three of us were gathered here was due to Papijoa’s love life.
More precisely, Ryu-a had come to Seoul and met Papijoa, and as they talked, the conversation flowed in that direction.
In any case, the topic of conversation was Papijoa’s love life, and it seemed her romance wasn’t going smoothly.
I had thought they were enjoying a lovey-dovey time openly announcing their relationship from a secret romance, but something was wrong.
“I feel like oppa doesn’t like me as much as before. Am I getting bored with him?”
Could it be that they were going through a phase of disinterest? It seemed they were currently experiencing the common issues that arise between lovers.
Originally, a romantic relationship was like that. It’s impossible for a relationship where both parties laugh and adore each other endlessly to last forever.
Men and women have completely different thought processes to begin with. When something happens, women seek empathy, while men are fundamentally prone to offering solutions.
How do I know this when I’ve never been in a romantic relationship? I’ve got the theory down solid. I’ve acted as a sounding board for my friends’ complaints many times.
However, I rarely had a voice in those discussions. Given my status, I was often dismissed with comments like, “What would a lifelong single know?”
Because of this, I was currently keeping my silence. Prevented by Ryu-a from drinking, I quietly munched on peanuts while listening to their conversation.
Papijoa and Ryu-a seemed satisfied just with my presence. They didn’t seem to expect any advice or anything from me.
“Did you cool off your feelings, like, is it hard to communicate?”
“It’s not that we can’t communicate, but the frequency and responses… Well, oppa broadcasts from night till dawn, and I broadcast during the day…”
Ah, this was yet another sorrow of a streamer. It’s very difficult for streamers to break their established routine once they set their broadcast schedules.
Papijoa broadcasts in the evening and Tex goes live at night, finishing before dawn. Their time to communicate isn’t long to begin with. Sometimes, one of them might miss messages simply due to sleeping after their broadcast.
Moreover, they lived in different regions. Busan’s Kim Taek-soo and Suwon’s Jeong Soo-hee were physically far apart from each other.
This is why long-distance relationships are tough. They seem to be trying to embark on a challenging path.
“Is Tex quite blunt?”
What could possibly be the source of Papijoa’s anxieties? What made her feel Tex didn’t love her? Was it a lack of affection?
Even among my previous friends, there were those who wouldn’t express their feelings because they were embarrassed to say “I love you” or “I miss you” or to show concern.
I had asked such questions based on those assumptions, but I received an immediate denial.
“That’s not it. As you know, oppa is a bit… fidgety. He actually tends to say ‘I love you’ too much. When we communicate, he becomes a bit stiff compared to when we meet, but his typing is pretty slow. Well, that’s because of his age… I have to understand him.”
“Oh, this is why older people just can’t.”
Ryu-a shook her head disapprovingly. “Older people”? What kind of nonsense is that, you strange Ryu-a? Thirty isn’t old.
What was more concerning was that Papijoa didn’t refute Ryu-a’s words at all. Kids these days, do you think you won’t grow old? Thirty comes around in the blink of an eye.
Putting that aside, what was the issue then? My question was resolved with Papijoa’s next words.
“So when we meet, it’s okay. I’m not anxious, and there’s no problem at all. It’s nice to see oppa’s face, and if that’s the issue, then it’s a problem…”
“Are you trying to provoke jealousy?”
Ryu-a made a face as if her appetite had been ruined. Papijoa waved her hand and sighed deeply.
“No, no. It wasn’t intentional… So when we do meet, it’s really nice, but it’s a problem because we can’t meet.”
“How long has it been since you last met?”
“About 3 weeks… no, it’s been a month now.”
That was quite long. Especially for a couple in their prime, it must feel more severe. I miss him. Papijoa whispered briefly and continued.
“Both of us have things to do… It’s a hassle to travel since we live far apart. We can’t meet every day either.”
“Have you talked to Tex about it?”
“I couldn’t bring it up because I didn’t want to seem too immature… I’m sure oppa misses me too, but I worry it seems like I’m the only one whining. After all, when we started dating, oppa felt so burdened because of the age gap…”
A six-year difference isn’t that significant, though.
In summary, it meant she didn’t want to appear childish and couldn’t voice her feelings. I wondered if such a lack of communication could pile up and later cause problems.
I now clearly understood what the issue was. The problem was that they wanted to see each other but couldn’t meet often. If they could just meet more frequently, it would resolve the issue.
In fact, I immediately thought of a solution upon hearing this. Considering my inclination towards solutions rather than empathy, perhaps I shouldn’t see myself as a perfect woman after all.
Anyway, I did have a solution, but should I say it? Or not?
I didn’t know. For now, I thought it better to say something than to remain passive.
After all, the choice wasn’t mine to make, but Papijoa’s.
However, since it was a solution that might seem a tad aggressive, I laid the groundwork a bit.
“I have something that just came to mind. Would you like to hear it?”
“Did you come up with a good idea?”
To the sparkling eyes of Papijoa, I spoke gently.
“Well, it’s tough because you two can’t see each other, right? Tex and Papijoa.”
“Exactly, I wish I could see him every day—”
“That’s precisely it. We need to create an environment where you can see each other daily.”
Papijoa tilted her head, looking as if she was questioning how.
“It’s living together. Sharing a space. I’ve heard couples who can’t live without each other sometimes do that… I heard that Tex has a car in Busan.”
“Y-Yeah? Living together?”
Living together… the idea of it made Papijoa murmur repeatedly, her face turning red, while Ryu-a beside her looked impressed.
“Ji-eun is surprisingly open-minded in this regard. It’s unexpected.”
What’s the problem with two adults who all know everything deciding to live together because they like each other? In fact, when looking at the bigger picture leading to marriage, this might be better. Admittedly, this was a slightly radical suggestion for a couple who hadn’t been together long.
But was there any other way to resolve Papijoa’s concerns? In my view, no. This was the best option.
Ryu-a seemed to view me as a conservative and Confucian person, but I wasn’t that closed-minded.
And if I thought about it, it wasn’t a bad thing either.
Since both streamers had broadcasting equipment at Tex’s place, they could take some essentials with them or even set up a separate space. They could broadcast together, and when not broadcasting, spend time together. Everything would work out perfectly.
As I explained it well, Papijoa, who had looked flustered, seemed intrigued by the idea.
“I’ll think about it… living together…”
“Think it over. In my opinion, it’s not a bad idea.”
It was a Solomon-like verdict solving the dilemma.
