My Favorite Has Started A Live Broadcast!

“Waah…”

“…Hang in there.”

Hearing my younger sibling’s short words of comfort, I slowly lifted my body, which had melted into the sofa.

“But… why am I the only one being disliked?”

“I-It’s not like she dislikes you…”

“Is it because of my eyes?”

“Your eyes?”

Indeed, my eye color was quite unique. My eyes were a deep red, as if soaked in blood. Sometimes, I startled myself when I looked in the mirror because of how red they were. For young Seo-ha, it wouldn’t be surprising if she felt not just startled but actually scared.

“Hmm…”

I started searching for a way to hold Seo-ha. Mom had left Seo-ha with my younger sibling while she went to prepare a late lunch, and I roamed around the living room, looking for something to solve this situation.

“A hat? No… A mask? But it only covers the lower part… Sunglasses?”

I spotted a small pair of sunglasses in the corner of a drawer in the living room. I immediately picked them up to check their condition.

“Huh? Those are your dad’s. He hasn’t worn them in… a really long time.”

Mom, who was cooking, briefly smiled as she reminisced.

“Then, is it okay if I wear them?”

“Do as you like.”

Since I had received permission, I took the sunglasses and wiped them down with a lens cloth after they had been neglected for so long.

“Whoo… whoo…”

After wiping off all the dust, I brushed off the remaining specks and revealed a somewhat stylish pair of sunglasses. I admired them for a moment before putting them on.

“…It’s dark.”

“It’s still daytime, so… Does it feel alright?”

“Yeah… I think it’s fine. How do I look? Can you still see my eyes?”

The point wasn’t to look cool in these sunglasses. What mattered was whether I could cover my eye color enough to hold Seo-ha without scaring her.

“Um… it just looks like black. Seo-ha? Can you look over here?”

My younger sibling directed Seo-ha’s gaze towards me.

“…Oo…?”

“…! It worked!”

Seo-ha didn’t burst into tears after looking at me. Overwhelmed with joy, I approached my younger siblings.

“Me too…!”

“O-Okay, calm down, sis…”

With one hand supporting her head, and the other holding her body securely, I achieved a stable posture. I gazed at Seo-ha through my slightly darkened vision.

“…Unnie…?”

“Minyoung! Did she just call me ‘Unni’? Did I hear that right?!”

Even though the pronunciation was still a bit off, I was sure she meant to say “Unnie.” Eyes wide in excitement, I proudly told my younger sibling and also boasted to my mom.

“Mom!! Seo-ha called me Unni!!”

“Really? That’s great~”

“Dad!!!”

I ran as fast as I could, maintaining a steady pace, to tell my dad, who was in his room.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“Dad! Seo-ha…!”

Crash—

Ow ow ow!

“Haah…”

Choi In-hyuk, Lee Su-yeon’s caretaker, let out a troubled sigh. His sigh, of course, was about Lee Su-yeon.

“…Her mental state is still… quite unstable, but should I have spoken so lightly about it?”

“What does it matter? If she’s really changed, it’s something we’ll find out sooner or later.”

Kim Joo-won, a university friend who ran a counseling clinic as a psychiatrist, handed him two cans of coffee from a vending machine.

“Still…”

“Her body’s healthy, right? I heard she even tried streaming recently.”

“…Haa…”

As he sipped the coffee, still filled with concern, his phone rang.

“Hmm?”

The caller was Lee Min-young, Lee Su-yeon’s younger sister, who had come to the hospital without fail every day since the day her sister arrived in a coma. They had shared many conversations during that time.

“Hello?”

In Choi In-hyuk’s mind, all sorts of scenarios began to play out. He imagined Su-yeon, who couldn’t accept reality, losing her mind, or perhaps the “stream” they had mentioned being some strange or bizarre broadcast. A sinking feeling grew as he wondered if something serious had happened. With a slightly trembling voice, he asked:

“What’s the matter…?”

-Well, um… It’s…

Minyoung struggled to speak. Her usual confident tone was nowhere to be found, and this unusual hesitancy only made Choi In-hyuk more anxious.

“Should I call an ambulance?”

-No… it’s not that… It’s just that… my sister…

Gulp.

-My sister was running excitedly, and she stubbed her toe on the threshold and started crying.

“…”

Ow ow ow!

“Dad! Seo-ha…!”

I was rushing to tell everyone how happy I was that Seo-ha had called me “Unnie” when suddenly, I heard a suspicious sound from below and stumbled forward.

“…!!”

My dad, startled, tried to catch me, but it was too late. The floor was already in my view.

Thud—

The house echoed with the loud sound of physics in action, and I felt an intense pain shoot through my pinky toe.

“Owwww… Ugh…”

Like a grown adult, I lay sprawled on the floor, clutching my toe as tears welled up.

“Unnie…?!”

“It hurts… Waaah…”

It wasn’t just a simple stubbed toe. It felt as though I had been hit with a taser, my whole body twitching as I expressed my pain.

“Ugh… What about Seo-ha…?”

“I caught her… Is she alright?”

Lifting my head with effort, I saw that Seo-ha, her eyes wide in surprise, suddenly…

“Waaaah~~~!!”

Oh, right.

The sunglasses had flown off somewhere when I fell.

For a few minutes, I lay on the floor, motionless like a bug that had fallen on its back. Eventually, I slowly lifted myself up.

“…Hoo…”

“You okay? Can you walk now?”

“Yes…”

Fortunately, the pain had subsided a bit after some time had passed. I tried not to put too much weight on my right foot as I hobbled back to the living room.

“Aah… ah… yeah… okay…”

With Mom’s help, I made my way back to the living room. My younger sibling was already on the phone with someone.

“Yes… haha, thank you.”

“Who is it?”

“The doctor. Unnie, lie down here.”

“Why… why did you tell the doctor about this?”

I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me as I lay down on the sofa, realizing that my sister had told the doctor I had stubbed my toe while running excitedly and crying.

It was too humiliating to even be angry right now.

Lying on the sofa and staring at the white ceiling, time seemed to fly by. After about ten minutes, the pain in my toe had almost entirely disappeared.

“Time to eat!”

Hearing that familiar and dearly missed call, I jumped up from the sofa.

“Oh…”

“It’s been a while since you’ve eaten properly.”

As I sat down at the dining table, I shot my younger sister a glare after hearing her mumbling.

Flinch.

“T-That’s not what I meant! I-I just meant it’s been a while since I’ve eaten this much…”

“…Haa… Don’t eat too much ramen.”

“Okay…”

Even though I knew she was making an excuse, I had to admit it had been nearly a year since I ate a full meal like this. The small dining table was packed with rice and Mom’s homemade side dishes.

“Yum yum.”

“Mom, did you and Dad already eat?”

“Of course~ Seo-ha had lunch and took a nap, so we’ve already eaten.”

“…So, what about when you were working at the restaurant?”

“Oh, that… you remember the kindergarten you two used to go to?”

I nodded at Mom’s words, though my sister looked a bit confused as if she didn’t remember.

“I asked one of the teachers there to look after her.”

“Really?”

“Of course~ Since it’s Seo-ha’s first birthday, and both of my daughters are here, I had to take the day off.”

“…But I didn’t buy her a birthday present…”

I knew it was her birthday today, but I had planned to finish my schedule first before picking out a gift. However, I hadn’t found the time for it due to various reasons.

“Me neither…”

“Aww~ She’s only one year old! What does she need? As long as she has fun, that’s all that matters.”

“At least a cake…”

“Oh, your dad bought one yesterday. It’s in the fridge. We’ll have it after dinner.”

“Okay.”

We continued our peaceful meal.

“…Unnie.”

“Yeah?”

“About the move?”

“That… I’m planning to check out a place tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, after checking the place… I’ll probably go have drinks with some friends.”

“Hmm? Who with?”

“Sooyoung and Minho. You know them well.”

Since I was close to those two, my sister also knew them well. We did almost everything together, so naturally, they became familiar with my friends.

“Those guys… Just make sure to call if anything happens.”

“Alright.”

“Are you moving? Do you need help?”

Dad, who had just come out after calming Seo-ha, showed interest in my move.

“No? I don’t have much stuff, anyway.”

“Even so… aren’t you unable to lift heavy things now?”

“Oh…”

For a moment, I forgot about my strength.

“Um… I’ll figure it out.”

“If you can’t, just call me.”

“Got it.”

After finishing the meal, I lounged on my bed, killing time as the sky outside grew darker.

“Ugh… ah…!”

Stretching out with a pleasant groan, I noticed someone watching me.

“…”

“Uh… what?”

“Unnie… You said you’ve been streaming, right?”

“Huh? Yeah…”

My younger sibling stared directly at me and started to move closer.

“Where?”

“On… Twitch…”

“Username?”

“Baraa…”

“What kind of streams do you do?”

“I… just play games, talk with viewers… that’s it…”

“…Alright. At least it’s nothing weird.”

“What kind of person do you think I am?”

“Still… I worry.”

“…You should be the one worrying about yourself. School starts next week. Are you going to make friends?”

“Ugh…”

After that, I told my sister stories about things that had happened during my streams. Though she had already heard some of it during our last consultation, she still listened attentively.

“Let’s eat some cake!”

By then, the sun had completely set, and the whole family had gathered in the living room. I put on the sunglasses that had been lying in my room and came out.

“Wow~ I can’t see anything~”

“…Unnie…!”

As soon as Seo-ha came out to the living room, she toddled over to my sibling and me.

“Seo! Ha! Ya!”

My sister immediately jumped off the sofa and scooped Seo-ha up.

“Unnie…!”

Seo-ha stretched out her little finger towards me.

“Huff…!”

Holding my breath, I took Seo-ha into my arms.

“Tch…”

Amidst my sister’s tiny bout of jealousy, Seo-ha’s birthday party began.