I gained a week’s worth of time.
Today is the first day of that week, and since I won’t be practicing anymore, I have quite a bit of free time.
Thus, my vacation, which I had planned to spend rolling around in bed, began with comforting my sulking younger sibling.
“Don’t you know how I feel? I’m trying to keep up with your broadcasts and watch whenever I can.”
“I know.”
“Just today, while you were playing, severe comments were flying up in the chat. What is the manager doing? Not managing those kinds of comments.”
“There are too many people. It would be tough to manage all that chat alone.”
“We need to hire more managers. Or give me the authority.”
“You should be focusing on your studies. You’re a student.”
Actually, I wanted to say she was being overly worried, but I knew that saying such a thing would only make the atmosphere worse.
Seeing me in a submissive posture, Ji-yeon suggested, “There’s a festival happening near the university. Let’s go check it out together.”
She probably just wanted to hang out with me. She had been texting me for a while to come out.
Most of the time, I had declined because of my flipped day-night schedule or just plain laziness.
The timing seemed fine, and checking out a festival wouldn’t be difficult. As an older sister, could I not take care of my playful younger sibling?
“No, I think you should focus today since you must be tired. Let’s go another time.”
“Is there another festival?”
“Um, there might be? They seem to have a lot of festivals these days.”
Worried that I might be annoying her, Ji-yeon cautiously grabbed my shoulder and urged me up.
She brightened at the sight of me putting on my cardigan.
I thought that smiling looked better than sulking as I stepped out of the house.
“The Gaon Festival is heating up even more! We’ve come to light up the stage today! Invited singer, Leon!”
“Have a drink! The first one is a free tasting!”
“We have pancakes and makgeolli. Pancakes and makgeolli~”
A lively and energetic space.
Just being in this place made me feel young.
I felt like I was getting younger too.
Though I am young, I might say my mind feels old.
That was the contradiction I felt.
“Heh.”
Ji-yeon was staring at a male singer who came up on stage, holding a chicken skewer in her hand.
She looked utterly mesmerized.
From my objective perspective, I had to admit he was good-looking.
He sang well, not poorly at all.
I was seeing him for the first time, but judging by the reactions around me, he seemed to be quite famous.
When he came up on stage as introduced by the host, the cheers nearly deafened me.
However, unlike other women, seeing a handsome man didn’t stir up much in me.
Hmm, looks like a pretty boy, how annoying, was a sentiment I might have felt if I were younger. Now, it was just a neutral observation that he looked good.
There was a change in recognition, but that was it.
Would I ever like men?
In this state, it seemed impossible.
If I continue living in this body, it will be a dilemma I have to face someday.
“Unnie, what are you doing?”
I was lost in thought when Ji-yeon approached me.
The chicken skewer she had was gone, and the singer had already stepped down.
The performance was heading toward its finale.
Ji-yeon looked at me with concern in her eyes.
“Are you okay? Should we go somewhere else? It’s too crowded.”
Thinking my moment of silence was due to panic, Ji-yeon fussed and tried to lead me away.
“I’m fine,” I reassured her, looking around.
I should probably move. It was too loud, and I had seen enough of the performance.
Well, wouldn’t there be something fun to do?
Soju, beer, makgeolli, cocktails… from the most common pubs to fortune-telling and free hugs.
There seemed to be plenty of options.
Worried if Ji-yeon might take an interest in alcohol too soon, I was relieved she hadn’t noticed that avenue.
We only picked up a few flyers handed out by students.
As we passed by pubs and food cafés, we stumbled upon a new area.
What is this… a game room?
The dimly lit space leading inside was lined with various game booths.
Darts, bowling, shooting…
Shooting?
Feeling intrigued, I moved closer.
“Is this a real gun?”
“Uh? No, it’s not a real gun; it’s a BB gun for kids.”
“Unnie… it couldn’t possibly be a real gun.”
The college student who had been yawning changed his expression at my question.
Following behind me, Ji-yeon whispered, seeming shy.
I guess even kids’ toy guns are made quite realistically these days.
Well, they surely couldn’t set up a live firing range at a school festival.
It’s only common sense to think that way.
“Would you like to try shooting? If you hit the target over there, you’ll win a prize.”
There were targets lined up.
The further back, the better the prize system, with the last target looking quite faded.
“Sounds fun, Unnie. Let’s give it a shot.”
“Should we?”
I shouldered the black toy gun, which felt quite hefty.
I should get Ji-yeon a teddy bear or something to send her home.
It’s time to show off my marksmanship.
“Wow, so many people! It truly is a festival. What? Leon was here? Ah, I arrived too late. He must have already left after the performance.”
People were leaving the performance hall.
Some students were tidying up a bit.
A man who fixed his phone on a selfie stick asked the camera, “Where do we go now? Is there anyone from Gaon University here?”
[Pubs?
Let’s head to the pubs.]
[Maid café]
[Are there pretty girls?]
[Gaon University is unexpectedly big.]
[It’s technically in Seoul.]
“I’ll go around the pubs first. Pancakes and makgeolli. This booth is a solid, classic choice for something like rice soup. I’ve done it a few times—”
People’s attention turned toward the guy rambling away.
Some seemed to recognize him and began whispering to each other.
“Isn’t that Kim Eun-ho?”
“Looks like it. He’s at Gaon University too.”
Kim Eun-ho, the broadcaster.
He’s known for primarily doing outdoor broadcasts, exploring hot places.
Seems he came to check out the Gaon Festival today.
Someone approached him amid the crowd.
A girl who claimed to be a fan made his face light up.
After taking a commemorative photo and parting warmly, he looked confidently at the camera, saying,
“Did you just see that? I have a surprisingly large number of female fans!”
[How much did she give you? Be honest.]
[Why does this guy like someone so pretty?]
[What a jerk.]
[Kim Eun-ho isn’t dead! Lol.]
“A fan just told me that if you go behind the pub, there’s a general indoor game room. They even have a bowling alley.”
[The scale is massive.]
[The school seems to have money.]
[Not a bad reaction.]
It wasn’t bad at all.
Having done countless location shoots for outdoor broadcasts, many places have turned out to be underwhelming once visited.
This time seemed different.
I felt I was lucky to have found content for a video to upload to YouTube today as I began to stroll through the pubs one by one.
“Wow, they even sell cocktails. Is there a bartender? Oh? Just a taste? Thank you!”
[The world has gotten better.]
[Eun-ho, you’ve become quite the old-timer…]
[If you’re from the class of 16, you’re practically a fossil!]
[But that cocktail is impressive; it doesn’t look like a makeshift one.]
As I enjoyed a drink or a bite of meat, chatting with students I met along the way, I arrived at the game room.
“They set this up well, wow, bowling, billiards, darts… and shooting too? Why are there so many people over there? Is there something special?”
I sensed a good angle for a video.
Kim Eun-ho thought to himself as he moved forward.
People were evenly spread across the various sections, but there was a noticeable crowd concentrated around the shooting range.
He made his way through the crowd and found a girl in front of the shooting area.
Tick-
A small sound rang out.
From the gun set up in the shooting range, a BB bullet whizzed out.
At the same time, the target ahead toppled over, and cheers erupted from the crowd.
“How many in a row is that? She shoots really well.”
“She’s got skills, even with a BB gun.”
“I think this is the last round.”
Peering closer, he saw an orderly line of fallen targets from the nearby ones.
He couldn’t tell how many shots she had, but it was clear just by watching that the girl in position had never missed a shot till now.
While her skill was notable, there was another reason people were drawn to her.
“That back view is killing me…”
A low voice was heard from someone.
As people suddenly turned to look, the one who spoke coughed awkwardly and turned their gaze away.
The voice had been loud.
Kim Eun-ho agreed with the observer’s comment.
There were two women who looked more like sisters than friends.
One woman held a bunch of prizes in her arms, and from a quick glance, she was much prettier than most female streamers.
And then there was “that mysterious sharpshooter” who had been facing away since arriving.
Without sparing even a glance or losing posture, she was quietly aiming the gun.
Yet, her silhouette was incredibly captivating.
Just seeing her had something that drew the male gaze.
Gulp—
Kim Eun-ho forgot he was broadcasting and swallowed hard.
Then the notification from his phone about a donation startled him back to reality.
<Shibdeokyuksu-mulsso sent a donation of 1,000 won!>
-We want to see too, why is it only you?
“Just a moment… let me adjust the angle.”
Kim Eun-ho made sure to show the shooting range without letting anyone’s faces be seen, briefly displaying someone aiming their gun and then shifting the camera to the remaining targets.
With viewers intrigued and excited by the situation now mostly understood, another small click echoed.
And just as expected, the last target fell.
“Alright, that’s a wrap! Please wait a moment; I will bring the prizes over.”
Once the student worker, who had been munching popcorn, stepped away from her post, the girl finally lowered her gun and turned her head.
As she swung her long hair, Kim Eun-ho stood with his mouth agape and stepped forward.
“I’m Kim Eun-ho, a broadcaster. Do you have a moment?”
He thought to himself that this was definitely going to make good content for YouTube.
