They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 28
Beyond The Dimension – 2We were walking out of the convenience store.
A sign on the door read “Out of Office.”
Suddenly, Ayoung looked back.
The convenience store was getting farther away.
She waved toward it and spoke in a voice that sounded like she was talking to a crying child.
“Take care, okay? Don’t cry! I’ll be back soon! I’ll never forget you—!”
“…”
I watched her from the side.
Ayoung’s expression was playful and cheerful.
Even so.
For some reason, it felt like a joke born from a painful past.
‘She’s probably half-talking to herself.’
Regardless of what I thought, Ayoung’s farewell became more intense.
She eventually grabbed my arm and started waving it.
Her strong grip played with my arm.
Wave.
Wave.
“Manager, you have to wave too so it won’t feel lonely!”
“Alright.”
Ayoung and I waved at the convenience store.
“…”
“…”
Two people waving at an empty building.
It somehow looked like a suspicious religious ritual.
But I didn’t ask what it meant.
If it was something she wanted to do in the moment, that was enough.
“…”
“…”
Ayoung suddenly burst out laughing.
“Pfft…”
“?”
Seriously,
She started it and now she’s laughing.
‘And I stayed still, too.’
Ayoung giggled uncontrollably.
“Pffft, hehe…! Ahahaha!”
“…”
“Ahahaha—!”
She clutched her stomach and laughed out loud.
For a second, it felt like I had tickled her.
After a long laugh,
Ayoung wiped the tears from her eyes and said,
“It’s kind of funny.”
“What part?”
“Hehe, like how we silently kept that convenience store no one came to. And waving at it even though it’s empty. No one’s watching. It’s weird and strange.”
“…”
“It’s strange, right?”
“No.”
“Huh?”
I shook my head.
“That’s what sincerity is.”
“Excuse me?”
“Believing you must guard your place, even when no one comes. Saying goodbye to your space, even when no one sees. It’s inefficient, but it’s all real. Human sincerity is never efficient.”
“…”
“It’s something worth cherishing. I support that.”
“…”
Ayoung murmured blankly.
“…I’m not weird?”
“What part?”
“I mean, the store is technically yours, Manager.”
“I decided it was your space. Nothing weird about that.”
“…”
Even if I were to reset—
If this world continued and Ayoung still wished for that place… it would be hers.
But I didn’t bother saying that much.
‘Time loops and all that… she wouldn’t believe me anyway.’
Ayoung didn’t respond.
“…”
She fidgeted with her baseball cap and kicked at the ground softly.
Tap
Tap—
Then she spoke.
“How long can I stay? Until my part-time shift ends?”
“…”
She was asking slowly, as if trying to confirm something inside.
I answered.
“Until you want to leave.”
“!”
Ayoung’s eyes widened.
She moved her lips silently for a moment.
“…”
But she didn’t say anything.
Her expression was hidden under the shadow of her cap.
“…”
“…”
Suddenly, she lowered her head and slapped me on the back.
A stinging pain like capsaicin shot through me.
Smack!
It hurt more than expected.
“That hurts.”
“Eek!”
Ayoung mumbled,
“D-Don’t say stuff like that! Seriously! So full of meaning—! I-I mean, it makes me happy! I am happy! But it’s like emotional torture—! Stop saying things like that! Emotional torture is bad—!”
“…”
Such a complicated emotion.
I didn’t know exactly what had happened.
But I could tell she was resisting.
‘It’s good that she’s able to express her boundaries honestly.’
That was a line I shouldn’t cross.
Respecting her words,
I decided not to use grand, heavy phrases anymore.
“Understood. And it really did hurt more than expected.”
“D-Did it hurt a lot?”
Ayoung gently rubbed the spot she hit, checking if she’d hurt me.
To ease her concern, I told her the truth.
“It’s fine. But rubbing a bruise can make it worse.”
“Ugh, seriously!”
She gave me another light smack on the back.
But it wasn’t as forceful this time.
We walked in silence again.
“…”
“…”
Ayoung spoke up.
“Why? Why are you so nice to me?”
“?”
“Why do you treat me so well?”
“…”
I answered honestly.
“That day, when we first met, you gave me ten thousand won.”
“…?”
“It’s just returning the favor.”
“…”
Ayoung tilted her head, trying to remember our first meeting.
After a moment, she recalled something from weeks ago.
“Oh…! When you came and ate ramen alone.”
“Yes.”
“W-Wait, ten thousand won? Did I give you something? All I remember is you wearing sparkly hair clips….”
“…”
‘…She forgot.’
A familiar feeling.
I waved it off.
“It’s fine. It wasn’t important.”
“…”
“Though I’m not sure if this answers your question.”
“…”
Ayoung lowered her head again and fumbled with her words.
But this time, she spoke with confidence.
“I’ll believe you.”
“…”
“Like you did for me, I’ll…”
“Is that so.”
“And.”
“?”
She smiled and said,
“Next time, I’ll remember for sure.”
“…”
“I won’t ever forget.”
“…”
“I’ll treasure it.”
The setting sun was scorching.
This walk, meant to collect ideas for a broadcast,
Barely made it a few steps from where it started.
“…”
I nodded.
But I couldn’t answer.
A promise made while looking at different timelines holds no real weight.
Rustle—
Only the ten-thousand-won bill in my pocket responded quietly.
*
Under an unusually long-cast shadow,
the two of them walked, chatting quietly.
Aki was chattering away about what had happened on Sunday afternoon.
The topic was how, thanks to Clara’s planning, the company’s revenue structure had finally stabilized.
“So, the CEO said he’ll definitely repay the 100 million won this time. He said thank you, and that he’ll try his best to make the stage I want…”
“Is that so? That was a wise decision.”
“Huh?”
Aki turned her head.
Seonwoo Taek spoke calmly.
Even as he talked, he kept looking around, quietly observing the people nearby.
“The interest-free loan method. On the surface, it might seem like there’s nothing to gain, but actually, it’s one of the safest forms of investment. Reviving the company means securing personal profits too. And it naturally preserves one’s reputation.”
“R-Really?”
He nodded.
“If Ms. Ahyoung had asked for company shares in exchange for the investment, the debt process would’ve become really complicated. She would’ve had to manage both her broadcasting career and control over shares and company management. That’s not how you win people’s hearts.”
“I-I don’t really know much about investments…”
“….”
Seonwoo Taek explained more clearly.
“Just the fact that Ms. Ahyoung moved the money without asking for anything in return—that alone earned the CEO’s trust. That’s something money can’t buy. It’s trust in the truest sense.”
“Trust?”
“You can’t gain that kind of trust with a mindset of squeezing out more than you lent. It’s the kind of belief that says, ‘This is someone who’ll stick with me through hard times.’”
“….”
“She earned the trust of people who’ll stay with her for the long run. And on top of that, the money revived the company and came back as profit.”
“…I see.”
“It was a very impressive investment.”
“…Right.”
Aki stopped walking.
Just a month ago, she had watched ten billion won get halved—then halved again—and had fallen into despair.
But in the midst of that, she had made an “inefficient” choice.
She saved the company.
She asked for nothing in return.
Instead,
she earned people’s trust.
“….”
Seonwoo Taek had called that a wise choice.
Because of that praise,
a corner of the gloom inside her seemed to lift.
—Was it a foolish choice I made?
That kind of gloom.
“….”
Aki nodded to herself.
‘I was right. This path wasn’t wrong.’
She could believe that now.
“Thangk you.”
“For what?”
The two of them started walking again.
Before they knew it, they had wandered quite far from the convenience store.
The quiet had vanished,
and the lively heat of the Han River Park could be felt.
– Wahaha—!
– This is delicious….
– Delivery here!
Amidst the crowd, they walked quietly.
“…”
“…”
Aki looked at Seonwoo Taek.
He had been turning his head this way and that, observing the people around them.
Laughter, chatter, eating and drinking — the park was full of people enjoying themselves.
‘Does he like people-watching?’
That’s unexpected…
He seems like someone who’d live by his own beliefs no matter what people say.
At that moment,
Seonwoo Taek paused.
His gaze had stopped at a single spot.
“?”
Aki naturally followed his gaze.
“…”
In one corner of the Han River Park were some elementary school kids.
They were holding their phones with both hands, playing a game.
They let out loud bursts of laughter.
– Hey! You can’t go there!
– Ugh, shit!
– Haha, loser~ bye bye~
The losing team sighed, while the winners had smug expressions.
One of the winners stepped forward and wiggled their butt to tease the others.
‘Dodam does that too sometimes when he wins in front of the computer…’
Aki muttered,
“They’re playing a game.”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Seonwoo Taek asked an unexpected question.
“…If you play together like that, is it more fun?”
“Huh?”
“You can play games online too. But is it still more fun when you play in person?”
“Umm…”
Aki hadn’t played many games, except rhythm ones. Whenever she saw things being sliced or people getting hurt in games, she’d break into a cold sweat and hide under the covers.
‘Dodam would know the answer to that better than me…’
Still,
somehow, she felt like she understood.
“If you go to an arcade and watch people play… there’s a fun in being together, right? Seeing each other’s faces over the screen — it might feel more exciting in a different way.”
“Hm…”
Seonwoo Taek scratched his chin and said,
“PC bangs and arcades are on a decline, so I thought people didn’t like those kinds of things anymore. But when you look at friends hanging out like that… those scenes haven’t disappeared.”
“Ahh…”
Aki scratched her head.
Then she said what felt like the most plausible reason she could come up with.
“Umm, maybe because we are being together? Is it fun?”
She pointed at Seonwoo Taek.
“We’re walking together like this too. We could just walk alone. But it’s more fun together, right?”
“!”
“Maybe it’s like that? The sales are going down… maybe people just don’t have money?”
“…”
“And games, um… might just be an excuse. Maybe people just need a place to hang out…?”
“…”
Seonwoo Taek slowly nodded.
“As I thought.”
“Sorry?”
“You’re wise, Ms. Ayoung.”
“?”
“Let’s head back to the convenience store.”
“??”
Aki tilted her head in confusion.
*
The next morning.
Aki, who had dozed off in the break room, greeted Seon Woo-taek and stepped out.
It was too comfortable of a shift to really be called a part-time job.
‘Still, I think I gave the manager the answer he was looking for…’
Aki headed back to the dorm.
She hurried through the alleys of Sinchon and entered the building where her officetel was located.
Then she punched in the familiar door code.
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep-beep-beep-beep—!
“I’m home…”
She greeted softly,
And just as she was about to take a shower…
There was someone in the living room placing money on a small altar and bowing.
She looked like a cultist worshipping capitalism.
—Oh Bigman, grant me your holy gospel…
Her hair was so greasy it was hard to tell who it was,
But no matter how she looked at it,
It had to be the youngest one, Kang Dodam.
“?”
Aki approached her.
“Dodam, what are you doing so early in the morning?”
“Big… I can’t think of a Big idea for the project! The planning meeting is soon…!”
Dodam clutched her head.
And like a chicken on a grill, she stomped her feet in every direction.
“Just playing an online game together isn’t enough to be a Big idea…! Gaaah—! Bigman!”
“…”
“Kkkyyaaaah—! I’ll never be a smart ningen like Ye-seo unni—! Bigman!”
Hmm.
The usual nonsense.
Aki smiled brightly.
‘So it’s just normal Dodam.’
But still, a planning idea, huh…
She remembered what she’d said during yesterday’s walk.
—We’re walking together like this, right? You could just walk alone. But it’s more fun this way.
‘People’s hearts probably work the same way…’
She said it without thinking.
“How about… the game’s just a pretext, and what you’re really making is a place for people to hang out together?”
“!”
Kang Dodam suddenly froze.
Then, with bloodshot eyes, she looked at Aki.
“…That’s it!”
“?”
*
The Big Plan meeting is back.
With a face that looked like it had been through a war, Dodam shouted,
“Let’s rent out an entire PC bang and turn it into a theme park—!”
“….”
“….”
“….”