Chapter 63

The meal appointment with the neighbor is at 7 PM.

And the current time upon arriving home is 3:30 PM.

There’s about 3 hours of leisure time ahead.

So, after resting a bit at home, I decided to visit the neighbor.

—

“Wow! Your house is huge!”

Balloon Gum, who got out of the car, exclaimed with her mouth wide open.

Her amazement didn’t stop as we entered the yard.

“Wow! Seeing it in person, it’s even more magnificent! A real mansion!”

“Balloon Gum.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you suddenly using the tone you use in the chat window?”

“Oh! The maid asked me to talk like this earlier!”

“…Aren’t you embarrassed doing this in real life?”

“Warkyarpa! Our maid asked for it, so this level of embarrassment is nothing!”

—

It was fine when I only saw it in chat.

But hearing it in real life with her voice was really awkward.

【Maid】—Warkyarpa!

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】—Warkyarpa!

【Reverse Rape Mania】—Warkyarpa!

【Drifting AI】—I will Warkyarpa! too.

“Why are they copying her like it’s fun…?”

—

Checking the chat window, the viewers had also been infected by Balloon Gum.

It seemed like Balloon Gum had poisoned my broadcast.

“Warkyarpa!”

“Stop it, you crazy girl.”

—

I lightly pressed Balloon Gum’s head with my palm.

I wanted to give her a knuckle sandwich, but her youthful appearance made me cautious about even small acts of violence.

“Okay, I won’t use that tone anymore. Hehe.”

“Don’t laugh like an idiot either.”

“Okay. Haha.”

—

We passed through the yard and entered the first floor of the house.

—

I sat Balloon Gum on the sofa on the first floor.

I handed her the camera and said, “Don’t go up to the second floor. The maid has severe social anxiety, and if she sees you, she might have a seizure and faint.”

“Okay! Too bad, but I’ll stay here!”

—

Balloon Gum had been looking for the maid as soon as she entered the house.

She wanted to meet her in person.

But I couldn’t just introduce her casually.

Because the maid isn’t human—she’s a yokai.

“Don’t wander around. Sit here and wait quietly. Chat with the viewers.”

“Okay! Got it!”

“Answer briefly and firmly, just once.”

“Ack!”

—

After firmly instructing Balloon Gum, I went up to the second floor and headed to the sub bedroom where the maid was.

—

After entering the sub bedroom, I handed a box of cola I bought on the way to Teddy Bear.

“Here. Take it.”

[Oh! Cola!]

—

Teddy Bear jumped off the chair.

With excitement in his eyes, he started tearing open the cola packaging.

[New cola! It’s gonna be delicious!]

“Is it that good?”

[Yes!]

—

By the way, there’s still plenty of cola left in the fridge.

But Teddy Bear had been throwing a tantrum, wanting to try cola from different brands, so I had no choice but to buy some.

The cola I bought today was a no-brand cola.

[It smells great too!]

—

Teddy Bear gulped down the cola.

I watched him fondly and asked, “Is it good?”

[Yes!]

“That’s good. Anyway, Teddy Bear. I’m going out again, so try not to come out of the room today, okay? Balloon Gum is on the first floor.”

[Got it! But I want to meet Balloon Gum!]

“You don’t want them to find out you’re a yokai, right?”

[True. Too bad…]

—

After warning Teddy Bear, I left the room.

—

I entered the main bedroom and immediately dialed Maehwa’s number.

I had gotten the number through a whisper earlier.

After dialing, a short ringtone sounded, and then a woman’s voice came through the phone.

“Hello? Is this Maehwa’s number?”

[No, it’s not.]

“Oh, sorry. I must’ve gotten the wrong number. Then I’ll just blacklist Maehwa for a year—”

[Wait! I’m Maehwa! Sorry!]

“You’re dead.”

[Sorry…]

—

This crazy girl was pulling some unfunny prank.

[So, why did you call? Did you fall for me back then…?]

“I wanted to ask about yokai.”

[…Yokai?]

—

Before Maehwa could spout nonsense, I got to the point.

I didn’t call to chit-chat.

I first explained what happened during lunch.

A man went missing in our area, and during the meal, everyone except me forgot about him.

Starting with this story.

From my perspective, it definitely seemed like the work of a yokai.

I’ve heard that if a yokai devours a soul, the person’s existence is erased.

I’ve also heard that only yokai and exorcists remember the disappeared humans.

But I’m curious why my memory wasn’t erased.

I poured out the same questions.

Maehwa answered each one sincerely.

[From what you’ve said, it does sound like a yokai’s doing.]

[Huh? Only yokai and exorcists remember? Who told you that? You only know half of it. Ordinary humans don’t necessarily lose their memories. If you’ve slept with a yokai or lived with one for a long time, you won’t lose your memories.]

[Remember that Teddy Bear you took from the abandoned house? Why do you think I didn’t exorcise it and just let it go?]

—

As expected.

Maehwa seemed to have known from the start that the maid was actually Teddy Bear.

Maehwa continued.

[I knew you’d take a liking to that Teddy Bear, and it seemed harmless to humans… But the biggest reason was for situations like this. If you live with that Teddy Bear, you won’t forget the existence of humans whose souls have been devoured by yokai. I thought that would be safer. If you don’t lose your memories, you can be cautious of the yokai around you.]

[Senior, stop making things up. You didn’t think that much back then.]

[You, shut up. Don’t interrupt during a call.]

—

Another voice chimed in from the side, but I ignored it.

Anyway.

Maehwa also corrected some misconceptions I had.

Being a current exorcist, she was very knowledgeable about yokai.

‘Teddy Bear had quite a few misunderstandings. Maybe because he only heard things secondhand?’

—

With this, all my questions were answered.

I also found out why my memory wasn’t erased.

I thought maybe I had a special constitution, but it was just because I lived with Teddy Bear.

“Thanks, Maehwa. I know you’re busy, but thanks for making time.”

[No, I’m not busy right now.]

[This person hasn’t been working lately!]

[Shut up!]

—

Someone else chimed in again.

Listening to the voice, it was probably the cat-eared woman who was with Maehwa before.

“…Anyway, thanks a lot. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”

[Really? When? I’ll set a date…]

“Then I’ll hang up. See you on the broadcast.”

—

Click.

With that, the call ended.

—

5:20 PM.

While Gye Se-hoon was working out in the stamina training room, Balloon Gum was still sitting on the first-floor sofa, chatting with viewers.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】—Gye Se-hoon abandoned us again as soon as he got home. ㅡㅡ

【Yoho】—ㅠㅠ

【Handsome Licker】—Lol, it’s routine now. Lick.

“Hehe.”

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】—What are you laughing at, you crazy girl.

【Maid】—Warkyarpa! Balloon Gum is cute!

“Thanks. Hehe.”

【Min Ji】—Hey. Stop laughing and tell us something interesting. The broadcast is getting boring. ㅡㅡ

【Reverse Rape Mania】—Lol, she’s flying around in the chat, but in real life, she’s just a mute who ate honey.

“Something interesting? Hmm. Then, how about a story from when I was a kid…?”

【Min Ji】—Never mind. Don’t bother. It’ll probably be boring. ㅎ

【Se-hoon Defense Team】—Lol, crazy girl.

“…Min Ji, why are you so grumpy today?”

【Qkrnfl892】—Min Ji is in her dark mode right now. Lol.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】—Min Ji, calm down.

【Yoho】—Min Ji, you’re being ugly.

【Min Ji】—ㅇ

【Big Girl】—By the way, the chat is noticeably quieter than before.

【Semen Thief】—I think some people went AFK since the host isn’t here.

—

Currently, the viewers who disappeared from the chat were:

Maehwa Tree.

Jujijoa.

Drifting AI.

These three.

And they had just arrived in the neighborhood where Gye Se-hoon lives.

—

A car parked a short distance from Gye Se-hoon’s house.

Inside, two women were watching Gye Se-hoon’s house, lying in wait.

“Senior, isn’t this stalking?”

“…Stalking? I’m just checking. Se-hoon might be lying about having dinner with the neighbor and actually eating with another viewer.”

“What about that Balloon Gum person? If he’s eating with another viewer, he’d tell us, right?”

“I only believe what I see with my own eyes.”

“You’re so suspicious… Are you just making excuses to stalk him?”

“……”

“I guess so. My senior is like this…”

—

It was Maehwa Tree, the exorcist, and her junior.

—

On the mountain behind Gye Se-hoon’s neighborhood.

A blonde woman in a black suit aimed a sniper rifle at a car while talking to someone through her wireless earpiece.

[Hey. Where are you? I tracked your location, and it says you’re in Gyeonggi-do xxx?]

“That’s right.”

[What? Why did you go there all of a sudden?]

“To protect Se-hoon.”

[Se-hoon? That handsome broadcaster? Why does he need protection?]

“Earlier, that Maehwa brat boldly said in the chat that she’d stalk him. If she does anything stupid, I’ll shoot her.”

[Are you crazy? Don’t kill civilians unless absolutely necessary!]

“Stop meddling. I won’t kill her unless she tries to rape someone. Anyway, did you get the info on that kid I asked about earlier?”

[Look at your tone. Are you giving orders now?]

“Get it for me.”

[…Sigh. I already got the info. Remember that request we got recently?]

[The one about raiding the biolab?]

“Oh, that? What about it?”

[The kid in the photo you sent is one of the test subjects from there. The most dangerous one, so they had no choice but to grant her freedom.]

[…A test subject? Was she also a target for elimination?]

[The request was to kill everyone involved, so of course, the test subject was a target too.]

“…Got it.”

—

It was Jujijoa, the hitwoman.

—

Near the blue-roofed house where the neighbor’s mother and daughter lived.

A mini drone, impossible to create with modern technology, flew around, carefully observing the inside of the house.

[…I’m reporting. There are five people inside.]

—

It was a drone sent by Drifting AI.

—

6:20 PM.

I headed out with Balloon Gum to visit the neighbor.

“Se-hoon, aren’t we taking the car?”

“No, we’ll walk.”

—

Since we might end up drinking, I decided not to drive.

The neighbor’s house isn’t that far anyway.

“How long will it take to walk?”

“If we walk slowly, about 30 minutes.”

“That’s close!”

—

We walked along the quiet countryside road toward the neighbor’s house.

With light hearts.

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