It’s already the end of the year.
Outside, carols are playing alongside the illuminated Christmas trees, and every day, white snow is pouring down from the sky.
Despite the subzero temperatures, it seems that the unique atmosphere of the year-end causes people to busily go about their own activities.
It is a festival for everyone, as friends meet those they haven’t seen, and local governments hold various events.
For me, it was nothing different from any other time.
The only change is that I observe it from a slight distance this time.
Sipping a warm cup of coffee while gazing out the window of my newly moved-in apartment.
I slightly open the window, allowing a bit of cold air to come into the warm room.
It feels charming and nice.
With just this much, I could probably say that I’ve enjoyed the year-end well enough.
With no one to meet or any promises, I planned to just enjoy some tangerines on my warm electric blanket.
That was before the phone call came.
“Party?”
– Yeah! It would be great if Ji-eun could come too, what do you think?
It was Ryu-a’s call inviting me to a party.
I wondered what party it could be, and when I asked, she said it was a year-end party hosted by Switch.
A festival for broadcasters, mainly for streamers.
Just hearing about it gives off a strong vibe of being an “in-crowd.”
– Our team members are all planning to come too!
“Really?”
Looking into the group chat that I had silenced, I found that indeed, such messages were written there.
Ryu-a and Tex, who live in the provinces, seemed to have already decided when to leave, when to arrive, and when to head back.
“But are you okay with taking so many breaks?”
I’ve recently noticed that Ryu-a has been taking more breaks.
I feel like I’ve seen her board occasionally catch fire with complaints.
– Ugh, Ji-eun, you take breaks too often.
“Me, well…”
I’ve always streamed irregularly.
People have grown accustomed to it.
Now it’s a matter of gratitude if I leave an announcement before the stream.
In Ryu-a’s case, it’s the opposite.
She has always been a very diligent streamer.
Since she started streaming, she has never had a single day where her streaming time fell below eight hours.
That was Ryu-a, but she was criticized for becoming quite lazy after participating in the Eo War tournament as part of my team.
From my perspective, she has indeed become more careless than before.
But isn’t that still considered relatively diligent?
This is why one’s usual behavior is important.
The one who usually excels gets cursed if they falter even a little, while the one who typically performs poorly gets praised for doing a bit better.
It seems Ryu-a has finally realized this truth.
– I don’t know, it’s year-end. I’m going to take a break too. People who understand will understand.
“Hmm… okay.”
I recall those who would occasionally email Ryu-a, saying things like, “Ryu-a, you’ve been colorized by Mollu, take responsibility.”
It wasn’t completely false, after all.
– So Ji-eun, you. You will come, right? You have to come, okay?
I silently sipped my coffee without saying anything.
To be honest, it was annoying.
I even find it bothersome to go out to take out the recycling and various trash.
In this weather, where my nose would turn red just from being outside for a moment, is there really a reason to go out?
I can’t even trust the weather forecast, and if it snows on the day I go out, I could easily freeze to d*ath on the spot.
Being around a lot of people is really not for me, and receiving the gaze of an unspecified multitude adds pressure.
Who knows, there might be someone like at the last company dinner, prying into my story and digging deep into my personal life.
With those thoughts in mind, I was about to refuse Ryu-a’s offer.
– …Don’t you want to see me?
Oh no, I’ve been caught in a bind.
It’s been about a month since I last saw Ryu-a.
I didn’t think it was that long, but apparently, Ryu-a did.
She actually has a somewhat lonely personality, hidden underneath her external composure.
“…I want to see you. It’s been a while since we’ve met.”
– Your response was slow, Ji-eun.
She huffed, sounding somewhat sulky, but her voice contained a laugh that couldn’t be concealed.
She knew that if I said this much, she would most likely agree.
Si-young, Ji-yeon, Ryu-a, they all know me too well now.
I, who am indecisive and wishy-washy, easily get pushed around when someone nudges me from behind.
“Where is the venue?”
– You’re coming, right? No? Should we go together then? I’ll come to your place.
You’re terrible with directions.
I couldn’t refute Ryu-a’s teasing, and it stung because I was indeed late last time because I got lost.
Plus, if I’m going to a party, it’s much better to go with someone than to go alone.
I could easily predict what would happen if I were alone with such an appearance that catches people’s attention.
If I had Ryu-a by my side, the chances of someone approaching me would decrease significantly.
And when it comes to parties, isn’t there a certain image associated?
Every time a stranger enters, the curious gazes that wonder who that person is.
I might have a distorted image because I’ve never been in such places, but that’s how I see parties in my mind.
There’s probably nothing more embarrassing than stepping into such a venue alone.
Wait, then maybe…
“Is there, um, a dress code for the party?”
– Huh?
“A dress code.”
I had read somewhere that if you go without matching the dress code, you’ll look out of place and like you don’t have any social awareness.
When I asked, filled with these worries, Ryu-a responded in a somewhat restrained tone.
– Uhm… there is. Dr, dress code.
“…I’ll need to prepare that too.”
I almost overlooked a big issue.
I thought I would just meet people I know and quietly leave, but my attention would have attracted too much.
As for the outfit… I guess I should stop by Eun-ha’s clothing store one more time.
She should be able to suggest something that would suit me just right.
– Let’s prepare that together. Match the dress code with me. I’ll go early.
“Should I?”
Seeing Ryu-a speak so confidently, it seems she’s familiar with these situations.
Indeed, going alone might make things difficult, while having an expert by my side will make it much easier.
Since she suggested going together, I decided to straightforwardly accept Ryu-a’s kindness.
“Oh my, Ji-eun, your friend is so pretty. It seems like you both belong together, doesn’t it?”
I visited Eun-ha’s clothing store again.
Ryu-a suggested that if her clothes fit her, then we should just go with those, and she brought several outfits.
However, the clothes she brought didn’t suit me in many ways.
They fit, but in a way that felt extremely inappropriate.
Wearing something that accentuated my chest and hips, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to take three steps outside wearing this.
Ryu-a, who sighed at me, looked at my wardrobe and suggested we should just go buy something new since it seemed lacking.
Eun-ha welcomed us warmly.
Though for some reason, Eun-ha sounded a bit like an ajumma, I decided to keep that thought to myself.
I instinctively felt that saying it would lead to trouble.
“Ji-eun used to model, didn’t she?”
“Yes, of course. Everything Ji-eun wore is sold out, you know. Even though we keep getting stock, they’re so popular.”
Eun-ha showed Ryu-a the photo book in which I appeared.
Ryu-a scanned each photo in surprise.
It seems that coming here to look at that has turned into a regular course of action.
“All the clothes are pretty, and Ji-eun wouldn’t have modeled for no reason, would she? She’s not the type to put herself out there.”
“Thanks to that, the store has grown bigger, and we have a lot more clothes now.”
So the store got bigger.
It seemed it wasn’t just my feelings; it indeed looked more grand than before.
“To get that year-end feel, this style is the most straightforward and commonly sought after.”
Eun-ha pointed to a collection of clothes clustered on one side.
Red, black, white, gray… various colors lined up.
However, I felt an underlying resistance as most of them were somewhat revealing.
While they weren’t too excessive, there were pieces that exposed the shoulders as a basic and skirts that came up above the knees.
“Just looking at it, it seems to match you well?”
“That’s true…”
Ryu-a quickly scanned me after taking a look at the hung clothes.
She nodded slightly as if she understood just from looking.
Hmm… it feels like just like last time, they’ll decide on my outfit without me needing to do anything.
“How about combining this with that to give a moderately sophisticated feel?”
“Honestly, you’d look pretty no matter what you wear… But since it’s cold, that would be better.”
While I was awkwardly dawdling, she concluded her conversation with Eun-ha and handed me some outfits.
“How about we go with this one?”
It didn’t seem overly burdensome to me.
With black as the main color I adored, it didn’t reveal much of my figure, and the lining was thick enough that it shouldn’t be too cold.
I nodded, showing my satisfaction.
“Come again anytime, we’re always open.”
Exiting Eun-ha’s clothing store, it seemed like a flash to get to the party venue.
Since it wasn’t very far, while chatting with Ryu-a as we took a taxi, we soon arrived at our destination.
The party venue exuded a subtle atmosphere reminiscent of entertainment facilities right from the entrance.
Because of that, I felt a bit intimidated, but Ryu-a seemed unfazed.
“Your identification has been confirmed.”
We confirmed our identities at the entrance and walked in.
The staff who checked our IDs widened their eyes for a moment but then let us in without a second thought.
Contrary to my nerves, the inside felt unexpectedly cozy.
It seemed like just a regular store that had been remodeled to serve as a party venue.
People gathered, chatting, and drinking from various corners.
Even without making any sign of popularity, I felt the gazes of the crowd turn toward me, and I thought to myself.
People are really interested in who enters the party venue.
