Chapter 19

Sponsorship? Could she possibly be talking about the sponsorship feature on my stream?

As I blinked in confusion and fidgeted awkwardly, I hesitantly spoke to Han Arin.

“Sponsorships are kinda unnecessary. Plenty of people give during streams, so if anything, I should be giving back.”

When I first came to the association, I had no abilities or strength whatsoever. I briefly considered making money through streaming…

“But that was assuming I’d entertain people or give them vicarious satisfaction.”

Now, though, I wasn’t doing anything—no, I was actually receiving help instead. It didn’t feel right to accept sponsorships in this situation. Feeling apologetic already, I shook my head vigorously.

“Hae-un?”

A calm yet warm voice reached my ears. Without realizing it, I looked up and instinctively replied.

“…Yes?”

Han Arin smiled faintly, her tone teasing as she said, “Big sisters don’t listen to weaker ones. That’s why even our grad students can’t escape her.”

Grad students? Was Han Arin a professor all along? Was she the one advertising for graduate recruits in the chat sometimes? My tail perked up at the thought, but—

“Hehe, just kidding. But seriously, I think you should keep the sponsorship option open. There might be people who genuinely want to support you—even if you don’t think you deserve it.”

Despite my lingering guilt, Han Arin gently patted my head and continued.

“If you still feel bad, how about thanking your sponsors? You might not know much about it, but when you receive donations, you’re supposed to react with gratitude.”

“React…?”

“For example, calling them ‘sister’ or sending kisses on screen, or maybe dancing.”

“…?”

Though her examples seemed a bit odd, I nodded anyway, thinking the world had changed, and people’s expectations might’ve shifted too. After pondering for a moment, I remembered something I’d seen before and asked cautiously.

“I saw on TV… Do we really have to pour soy sauce on our faces? Can we skip that part…?”

At this, Han Arin appeared thoroughly flustered, repeating back in disbelief.

“Soy sauce?”

“Yes! Like this… lifting it up and showering with soy sauce!”

“Uh… Hmm…”

Realizing she didn’t know how to respond, Han Arin quickly composed herself and advised firmly.

“Absolutely not. Got it?”

“Why not…?”

“It just… doesn’t suit Hae-un. Let’s try something else.”

Not entirely sure what “not suiting” meant, I still agreed since I definitely didn’t want soy sauce on my face either. Watching Han Arin muse aloud about keeping an eye on me during streams, I decided not to interrupt her thoughts and turned away.

‘Then I should think about what kind of thank-you gesture to use…’

Of course, there might not be any sponsors at all, so it could all be for nothing. Still, better to prepare ahead, I reasoned, shuffling off the bed when—

My gaze fell on a stuffed animal carefully placed nearby.

The dog plushie, patched up temporarily with bandages to prevent further tearing. I’d meant to ask the counselor to fix it, but got sidetracked.

‘Ahh.’

Remembering it was a gift from Han Arin made me tense up slightly. Trying to hide it from her view, I awkwardly shifted my body to cover the plushie—but its size made it impossible to conceal completely.

‘Too big!’

Struggling to shield the most torn parts, I panicked when Han Arin noticed and smiled kindly.

“Oh, so Hae-un likes the plushie I gave her?”

“Y-yes…”

My tongue tripped over itself. To hide my embarrassment, I nervously wiggled my toes while nodding. Han Arin chuckled softly, approaching me.

“I’m glad you treasure it. I picked it out especially for Hae-un.”

Just then, more stuffing popped out of the plushie, likely due to me pressing against it.

‘Oh no, what do I do?’

Seeing the beloved plushie in such a sorry state, I feared Han Arin would be incredibly disappointed—or worse, sad or angry. Attempting to push the stuffing back inside discreetly only resulted in it escaping like rebellious high schoolers, spilling everywhere.

Panicking, I knelt down and clasped my hands together.

“Pl-please forgive me…”

Simply clasping my hands felt insufficient, so I rubbed them together earnestly as I apologized. Han Arin froze momentarily, alarmed.

“H-Hae-un? What’s wrong? Did I do something?”

Her usual calm demeanor vanished, replaced by urgency. As I hesitated to explain, voices drifted in from outside.

“Thank you so much for helping Hae-un last time.”

“Heh, assisting fellow Spirit Masters is an unspoken rule, so of course I helped.”

Judging by the voices, it sounded like Seorin and an older Spirit Master. Realizing my current position might cause misunderstandings, I tried to stand—but froze mid-motion as Seorin walked in.

Our eyes met.

An eerie silence filled the room. Seorin’s hand trembled as she pointed at me, then suddenly glared furiously at Han Arin.

“What are you doing?”

Seorin, who normally addressed Han Arin respectfully, now used casual speech, clearly driven by anger. Recognizing her rage, I gulped and attempted to intervene—but—

“Seorin’s here? Why don’t you sit down?”

The counselor, observing the chaos, chuckled lightly and calmed Seorin down. Her tranquil voice seemed to snap Seorin out of it, causing her to blink rapidly before softening her expression significantly.

“Eh…?”

Realizing it was a misunderstanding, I sighed in relief. Meanwhile, Han Arin, still processing everything, turned to me with a baffled look.

“So why were you kneeling, Hae-un?”

Reluctantly, I pulled out the hidden plushie and explained shyly.

“It… It tore, so…”

Han Arin gazed at the plushie, now covered in fluffy stuffing, then let out a long sigh of relief before speaking kindly.

“You shouldn’t kneel and beg next time, okay?”

“Y-yes… And I’m sorry for ruining the plushie…”

“No worries, it’s easy to repair.”

With a flick of her finger, Han Arin effortlessly mended the plushie. Staring at its pristine condition, I marveled silently. Nearby, Seorin, having witnessed the entire scene, hesitated before bowing deeply to Han Arin in apology.

“I’m sorry!”

Her loud apology echoed through the room, prompting Han Arin to wave it off casually.

“It’s fine. This was about Hae-un, so anyone would’ve reacted similarly. I probably would’ve done the same.”

Still feeling guilty, Seorin kept bowing repeatedly until Han Arin redirected her attention to me.

“How about we talk for a bit, Hae-un?”

Worried she might scold me privately, I prepared to apologize profusely. However, Han Arin simply hugged me and began stroking my hair affectionately.

“You already apologized to me earlier, didn’t you?”

Nodding, I listened as she grinned playfully.

“If you’re truly sorry, will you do me a favor?”

“A favor…?”

Could I handle whatever she asked? If it was too difficult or unreasonable, how would I deal with it? As I hesitated, Han Arin pointed toward a neatly folded ‘animal pajama’ on a nearby bookshelf.

“Could you wear these animal pajamas for me?”

“…”

I stared blankly at the shark-patterned blue pajamas. They were undeniably adorable, but also extremely embarrassing to wear.

“Hae-un wearing them would make me really happy. It’d erase the sadness from the plushie incident.”

Unable to refuse after hearing her repeat herself, I blushed furiously, contemplating a quick escape—but—

“Han Arin Hunter.”

Seorin called out in a serious tone. Everyone turned their attention as Seorin addressed Han Arin brightly.

“Could I call you sister too?”

“Sure, go ahead. Oh, by the way, didn’t you pick out these pajamas? Great choice, as always.”

“Thank you.”

Within moments, they were exchanging compliments as if their earlier quarrel never happened. Feeling out of place, I fidgeted awkwardly as Seorin handed me the pajamas casually.

“In that case, let’s have Hae-un do a little fashion show. We went through all the trouble of buying them, after all.”

Gulp.

Overwhelmed by indescribable dread, I shivered involuntarily.

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