My Favorite Has Started A Live Broadcast!

The room, once in complete chaos, was now transformed into the calm space of a streamer, and Yoon Gae began his show like a pro.

“First of all, today is a day with many things to celebrate… but! Before that, let me address a mistake I made a few days ago….”

Yoon Gae was talking animatedly while looking at the camera, then suddenly got up from his chair and headed toward the wall. Chocoa and I glanced at each other, our hearts racing… anyway, knowing Yoon Gae well, Ninima covered her face with her hands and turned away from him.

“I’m sorry!!”

Yoon Gae shouted loudly, raising his arms high before turning around and sticking to the wall. He bent his arms slightly and held that awkward position while trembling.

“Oh… that crazy guy….”

It dawned on me too late that Ninima covered her face out of embarrassment.

“Ahem….”

– “Yoon Gae, you crazy guy, what are you doing to the vibe?”

– “This reminds me of my time in Siberia….”

Ninima dashed out of the room, probably more to escape the unbearable atmosphere than to change it, but I wished she wouldn’t leave as I nervously tapped my foot.

“Wow…!”

Soon after, the door opened, and Ninima and Si-ha entered, carrying a chocolate cake.

“Happy birthday….”

A slightly awkward birthday celebration began, with Chocoa leading the way. The candles were lit, people clapped, and a song was sung. For the first time in a long while, I enjoyed a celebration for myself, instead of one I’d arranged for someone else.

“And now, for our first celebration, it’s Baraa’s birthday….”

As the frozen atmosphere started to melt away, Yoon Gae quickly resumed the show, and Chocoa tapped her finger on my thigh, out of the camera’s view. She must have had a reason for not calling me out loud, so I turned my head slightly to look at her.

“Look at this.”

Chocoa showed me her phone. My own stream, which had sent me an alert earlier, was playing on her phone. It seemed the camera had been tilted multiple times, as the view was slightly askew.

“This, here.”

– “Happy birthday!”

– “Unnie, happy birthday!!”

Though faint, I clearly heard my little sister and Eunah unnie’s voices. Thinking they might be watching the stream, I waved at the camera.

“Now, it’s time for gifts!”

As soon as Yoon Gae finished his sentence, Ninima shouted and handed me a paper bag that seemed to belong to her. Though it wasn’t large, it felt quite weighty.

“It’s a mug and a mousepad! Limited edition, so it’s rare.”

“Oh… thank you, I’ll use it well.”

Since streaming meant sitting in my chair for hours, I always prepared water in advance as part of my pre-streaming routine, so having a new mug seemed like it’d be handy. And for the mousepad, I’d been using a freebie that came with my headset, so even though I hadn’t opened it yet, I could see from a small gap that it was quite large.

“Next, here’s my gift!”

Yoon Gae typed quickly on his keyboard and entered my stream. My sister and Eunah unnie were still there on the screen, joined now by Strawberrry cuddled up with my sister.

“And, our second big news!! My NewTube channel recently hit 400,000 subscribers!!! So! In! Celebration!”

*Baam ba-da-ba-da-baam!*

‘HandsomeYoonGae has donated 1,000,000 KRW!!!’

– “Huh?!”

– “!!!!!!!!!!!!”

– “One million won???!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?”

– “This is practically like getting hit by a Gatling gun!”

“Ah…!”

Thankfully, I didn’t need to respond with the kind of grand bow Yoon Gae did before…? Even though my hands were shaking wildly as I tried to do something, Yoon Gae simply gave me a large sum as a birthday gift with no strings attached. I thanked him several times.

*Knock, knock.*

“Why? Do you have something to give too?”

“Oh, happy birthday, Senior.”

Si-ha handed me a slightly larger paper bag and quickly disappeared. Judging by the weight and the bag, it seemed to be clothes. I told Yoon Gae to pass on my thanks later and looked over at Chocoa. Though I appreciated everyone’s gifts, I was most excited for Chocoa’s. She rummaged through her clothes for a moment, then pulled out a small wallet.

“Isn’t… that Chocoa’s wallet?”

The wallet Chocoa pulled out was a small, neat-looking wallet, but it was definitely hers. I’d seen it a few times when we went on dates recently, so I knew for sure it was Chocoa’s wallet.

When I asked her, Chocoa gave a little laugh and took an identical wallet from her pocket.

“I noticed your wallet looked a bit old last time, so I got the same one as mine… it has everything you need, and it’s nice…. You don’t dislike it, do you…?”

Chocoa tilted her head slightly, her expression a bit concerned. I just stretched out my trembling hand. I wasn’t sure if my hands were shaking because of Yoon Gae’s million-won gift earlier or because Chocoa was using the same wallet, but I could definitely feel the tremor.

“Um… can I… use this…?”

I took Chocoa’s wallet.

It was a pretty loaded question, honestly. If Chocoa had been using it, it would have a lot of personal touches, and if she used the same one as me, I wanted her to use something a little better than mine.

“…You really want to?”

“Um… yes….”

Chocoa looked at me for a moment, then quietly transferred the contents of her wallet into the new one. This meant she was giving me permission, and I couldn’t help but grin with joy. Ninima, beside me, shouted, “You never show that face to me!” but my focus was completely on the wallet and Chocoa. Before I knew it, everything had been moved, and Chocoa handed me her old wallet. Maybe because it had been in her pocket, the warmth lingered at my fingertips.

Despite starting off on an awkward note, the broadcast ended quite successfully. We exchanged gifts, shared updates, and had various conversations, blending the stream and our chat. Though I left earlier than expected, since I had to feed two hungry pets at home, it didn’t matter much as I could continue streaming from there. Playing with my new wallet, I stared out the taxi window, noticing the curious look from the driver. The buildings that towered higher than the night sky shone brightly with countless lights and sounds. Just as I was thinking about dinner, my phone rang.

“…Hello?”

“Ah… it’s Mom… happy birthday.”

“…Thanks. Are you doing well?”

“Of course! With all the money you’ve been sending lately, I couldn’t be better.”

She laughed as she said it, and I could hear the genuine cheer in her voice. My lips curled up without me having to hide it—there were no embarrassed viewers here, no Chocoa to see my expression.

“How’s Seo-ha?”

“She’s doing great! Eunah unnie’s fine too. She’s sleeping now, so I can’t put her on the phone, but I’ll make sure to get her to talk to you next time you come down.”

“Alright, make sure you’re doing well too. If anything happens, reach out anytime… I’m going to get you out of that countryside eventually. Then, I’ll open a big restaurant and get you a big house. I’ll do my duty as your child.”

“Oh, come on… you’re already doing plenty… anyway, let me know when you’re coming next time. Your dad’s got something to say, too!”

“Me? Uh… right… happy birthday… and stay healthy….”

“…Got it. I’ll hang up now. Goodnight.”

*Click.*

Many wonderful things happen on birthdays.

“I’m home.”

When I entered my apartment after entering the familiar code, the lights were already on. Inside, Eunah unnie was chasing Strawberry, who was running around, while my little sister watched. As soon as Strawberry saw me, she ran over, and I tried to hold her without disturbing the cake and bag I was holding.

“…What happened…?”

“Nothing! She only dislikes me!”

“Hissss…!”

“Hah… hah… anyway… I’m off. I already checked the monitor, so confirm it, and I’m leaving….”

Eunah unnie brushed past me, exhausted, as she returned home. I was about to ask her to stay for some cake, but her betrayed, weary expression stopped me. I handed the cake to my sister and headed to my room. The stream still seemed to be on.

“Whoa… what a huge monitor…!”

The computer now had a monitor about 1.5 times the size of my old one, with the smaller monitor set up as a secondary screen beside it.

“Why did you bring it?”

My sister asked as she handed me a piece of cake.

“No one else was eating it, so I figured I’d bring it for you. You love sweets.”

“True, hmm… so, are you going to keep streaming?”

“What, streaming?”

With my question, my sister nodded, a fork in her mouth.

“Well… yeah? Honestly, I don’t have anything special planned just because it’s my birthday….”

“Oh, right. Do you know how much donation you got during the stream today?”

“Huh? No? I didn’t check after the beginning.”

“Three hundred.”

“…Hrk.”