Streamer Crazy About Slaughter - Chapter 25
Ding!
As the café door opened, the bell rang.
Sua hurriedly looked around and soon spotted the silver-haired woman, chasing after her.
Serin was walking at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow, so when Sua picked up her speed a little, she was able to quickly close the distance.
While maintaining a distance just enough to not lose sight of Serin among the passing people, Sua fell into a thought.
‘What am I doing right now?’
The silver-haired woman walking ahead of her was undoubtedly a real person. That woman was not a character from Another World.
Yet here she was, following that person.
Suddenly, a news story she had casually seen a few days ago popped into her mind, about a woman who had been following someone and committed m*rder.
‘This is totally a crime…’
As that thought crossed her mind, Sua quickly shook her head. There was no way she would do something like that.
A few people walking nearby cast strange glances at her, but Sua didn’t notice.
“I’m just… going to ask her something.”
Sua murmured softly, barely audible even to the passersby, as she continued to follow Serin.
She wondered if she might ask if the woman knew a character named Lin from Another World, or if she was perhaps the user Lin herself.
It was far too uncanny to dismiss as coincidence.
The silver-haired woman ahead, wearing a cap, had her face partially hidden, but having observed her closely in the café for a while, Sua was partly convinced.
That woman must have some relation to the user Lin.
And right now, Sua was curious about that connection.
Yes, that was it.
Certainly not.
‘I’m not, not a stalker or anything.’
Though she was definitely following her with such thoughts in her head, Sua hesitated to approach Serin and strike up a conversation.
She could just walk faster and then say she wanted to have a quick chat with the silver-haired woman, and she wouldn’t need to trail behind suspiciously like this.
But.
The simplicity of that action suddenly terrified Sua.
She couldn’t forget the cold gaze directed at her in the café, plus the way her ‘acting’ had broken down under the silver-haired woman’s stare.
That was something Sua had never experienced before.
Acting around anyone was something she had confidence in. But the moment she met that silver-haired woman’s eyes, it felt as if she were standing n*ked in front of others, a bizarre sense of vulnerability washed over her.
Was it intuition…? It was such a weak basis that even Sua found it hard to judge clearly.
Yet, Sua was afraid that she might touch someone she shouldn’t, and was hesitant to approach.
That kind of fear and hesitation of not being able to face the silver-haired woman.
And the curiosity about the user Lin, who was a hot topic in Another World.
The two feelings clashed fiercely, causing confusion within her.
That was the current state of Sua’s mind.
“What is it… Is she a celebrity?”
“I don’t think so? I’ve never seen her in celebrity-related articles.”
The conversations of the passing people occasionally reached Sua’s ears.
They whispered while turning their heads toward the area where the silver-haired woman was.
Certainly, that silver hair was not something one saw every day. Whether it was well-maintained or not, anyone who had cared for their hair could tell it was on another level compared to dye.
It felt as though it might be natural silver hair.
Thus, people passing by would naturally turn their heads for a fleeting glance at her as they walked by.
A cap, a black t-shirt, and jeans made up her ordinary outfit.
While it was a completely mundane fashion, the presence of the silver hair on top of the black t-shirt was overwhelmingly striking.
Carefully following behind Serin, Yoon Sua was again feeling that reality.
She followed because she had seen the woman’s face, but for others, it was that silver hair which caught their attention.
Even though part of her face was covered by the cap, Serin was drawing people’s gazes all the same.
Then suddenly, Serin turned.
“Ah?”
As it seemed like Serin’s figure had vanished among the crowd, Sua quickly quickened her pace.
Shuffling,
Avoiding the passing people, Sua rushed toward the last place she saw Serin.
Suddenly,
A force grabbed her hand and yanked her forward, causing Sua to gasp and scream upon seeing the face before her.
“Ahhh…!!”
The bustling city noise that resembled white noise vanished with Sua’s piercing scream. The people passing by stopped in their tracks, glancing over to see what was happening.
Ignoring the stares of onlookers, Serin spoke coldly while holding Sua’s arm.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes?”
Sua responded foolishly, trembling her hands at the cold tone of Serin’s voice.
Just hearing Serin’s cold voice was shaking Sua to her core.
“What on earth is going on?”
“Uh, um, that’s…”
Was this what it meant to have a mind go blank in such a situation? She truly couldn’t think of anything. The emotionless gaze looking at her was terrifying in and of itself.
So right now, she was acting.
The thought of that didn’t even occur to her.
The real Yoon Sua, who usually behaved like this at home, was now taking shape.
Right now, Sua’s mind felt shattered, devoid of thought, as feelings of wanting to escape swirled.
So there she was, just shaking her head in front of Serin, who was grasping her hand and questioning her.
“You were just following me, weren’t you?”
“Y-yes, but that’s not it! I swear I haven’t done anything yet. N-no! I didn’t mean to do anything!”
Serin sighed, seemingly confused by Sua’s words, and took a quick look at Sua’s appearance.
A neat blouse, straight hair tied in a ponytail. She looked frightened, yet had elegant features.
Everything matched the characteristics of the person who had stared at her in the café.
She looked like a college student, at most the age of her younger sister, Seoyoon.
But now, this woman was trembling as if she were facing a predator.
To Serin, it looked like someone gripped by extreme fear.
‘…What’s this?’
It would seem to anyone that she had done something to this woman.
Glancing around for a moment, Serin noticed that by now, a few groups had turned their gazes toward them.
“…Hah.”
With a quiet sigh, Serin pulled on the woman’s hand.
In fact, this woman posed no threat to her, and Serin didn’t even know who she was, but she had definitely been following her.
Not to mention that she had been staring at her so intently in the café, and then to top it off, following her too.
This was something Serin, who was normally indifferent to others, couldn’t overlook.
She sensed that conversing in this location wouldn’t yield proper answers, so she led the woman and spoke as if informing her.
“I don’t know who you are, but let’s talk for a moment.”
“Y-yes? Yes! Yes!”
Even while being led away in a daze, Sua just kept repeating her answers dumbly, trembling as she followed Serin’s lead.
“…Shouldn’t we call the police?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ve heard that it’s no big deal, though?”
The passersby who had been watching for a moment had uncertain expressions, but they quickly lost interest as they saw the two departing.
Step by step,
Shuffling sounds echoed as Serin, in plain black sneakers, and Sua, in stylish dress shoes, walked.
***
Ding!
With the sound of the café door opening, the two women entered.
“Welcome. Can I help you with your order…?”
Jinseong, working part-time at the café, turned from arranging things and habitually began to speak, only to blink in confusion.
‘What’s this? Are they models?’
The moment he laid eyes on them, he couldn’t help but think that.
“Two café mochas.”
The cold, melodic voice of the silver-haired woman had Jinseong nodding in a daze as he took the order.
His gaze was fixed solely on the silver-haired woman before him.
What it meant for someone not to seem like a person. Today was the first time Jinseong realized that.
They said when you actually meet celebrities, you can feel their aura.
Wow, that was for real.
“Um, is there anything else I can assist you with or any extra options you’d like to set…?”
He hurriedly tried to strike up more conversation as the silver-haired woman was about to head straight for a table.
“That’s enough.”
A cold, curt reply without even turning her head.
“Yes. Yes.”
In response to that, Jinseong could only nod vacantly, murmuring “two café mochas…”
Then Jinseong suddenly turned his head.
“Hey, Takjin.”
“Yes, hyung. What’s the order?”
“Can you take over here for a moment?”
“Huh? Why? You never let anyone switch shifts.”
With a bewildered expression, the man called Takjin replied, but Jinseong was already approaching to start making the café mochas himself.
“Enough chatting. Just do it.”
“Okay… I’m fine with that.”
Takjin lightly shifted seats.
……
As they reached the table and Serin was letting go of Sua’s hand, she briefly groaned.
“Ahh.”
The moment she did, realizing her gaze was being drawn, she quickly closed her mouth.
She thought she had released enough strength along the way, but perhaps she had squeezed too hard. But was that really important now?
“Have a seat.”
She said as she sat down.
“Y-yes…”
The woman took a seat across from her, looking like a captured criminal.
For a moment, Serin thought about just letting her go, but she wasn’t that merciful.
After all, this was someone who had been following her. She needed to thoroughly interrogate her.
“So, what’s your name?”
“Sua… Yoon Sua.”
“Sua, Ms. Sua. Alright then. I’m Han Serin.”
“Ah, ah! Yes. That’s a beautiful name.”
As she answered promptly, trying to force a smile, it made Serin wonder how someone’s expression could be so contorted.
Having exchanged names, Serin didn’t hesitate and went straight to the main topic.
“So, are you a stalker by any chance?”
This was her first time going out today. But to follow a stranger she just met?
Just with that, she could tell this wasn’t normal.
“Ah, no!!”
Sua exclaimed, startled, shaking her hands in denial.
Serin, seemingly baffled at the reaction, reopened her mouth.
“Then why were you following me?”
“Um, well, you see. S-sorry, I… play games…?”
Her stuttering was so pitiful it evoked sympathy in onlookers, but Serin didn’t blink.
Pausing for a moment to think about what that meant, Serin replied incredulously.
“Hah… Is that your reason for following me?”
At that moment, the even more startled Sua trembled, unable to respond, and just fiddled with her hands.
Jinseong came over to their table.
“Here are your two café mochas.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and these cookies are complimentary because you two are so beautiful…”
“Excuse me, could you leave, please?”
Serin spoke to Sua with an icy tone, without even turning her head.
“Yes, yes. Enjoy your time.”