I Couldn’t Afford to Buy Mana, so I Started Streaming

In a bid to prepare well, I had spread out a blanket on the floor, but all the kids climbed onto my bed, and now there wasn’t even enough space to turn around.

Lying huddled together under one blanket made me feel like a neatly arranged fish in a mart.

The only source of light was the weak glow from a mood light, allowing us to barely see each other’s faces.

The kids’ breath brushing against my cheeks tickled me.

“Ugh, I’m suffocating! But what are we going to do now?”

Haru poked her head out from under the blanket and asked. Yuna, who already knew what we were going to do, was sporting a big grin.

I decided to answer her question.

“How about we play a truth game?”

“Truth game?”

“Yep! It’s a game where you can only tell the truth in response to questions from others.”

Originally, we had planned to play several board games, watch a movie, and save this game for just before bedtime.

I was secretly crafting a perfect plan to get Yuna and Haru closer, allowing them to reconcile while we had fun with the truth game.

But since they had already almost reconciled, I didn’t need to force it. Yet, Yuna kept insisting, so I reluctantly agreed to have a quick round.

“What happens if you lie…?”

Haru asked curiously.

“Well…”

I sneakily grabbed the mood light stationed by my head and shone it on my face.

“At midnight, a ghost will come and eat you!”

“Ahhh!”

“Hey, that scared me! What the heck!”

“Anyway, got it? So, do you want to play?”

“Yes! I really want to try it.”

“Alright, Na-me, you absolutely must not lie.”

“Of course. That’s the rule.”

Since I had to play along, I was intending to stick to the truth as much as possible.

“Then, does anyone have a question they want to ask first?”

“Hmm…”

Yuna and Haru fell deep into thought.

Seeing they were struggling to come up with a question, I decided to go first.

“Okay, Seo Yuna.”

“Yes?”

I turned my head to the right and locked eyes with Yuna.

“What’s your favorite anime?”

For reference, I’d visited her house once and had a decent grasp of her tastes.

I picked an appropriately tricky question, since the truth game usually involves asking uncomfortable questions.

As expected, Yuna’s face turned as red as her hair.

“Um… Do I have to answer that?”

“Why? Wasn’t Na-me’s question easy?”

“Uh, it’s not that…”

Haru leaned over my shoulder and threw a look at Yuna.

“Listen, you can’t mock me after this… There’s this thing called Winx Club…”

“…? What’s Winx Club?”

“I’ll explain. Winx Club is about an ordinary girl who realizes she has fairy powers and enrolls in a school for fairies, Alfea, to fight villains. It’s a magical girl series.”

“Hey, NoName! You knew all along, didn’t you?”

Yuna’s face became a bright shade of red. It seemed like she screamed loud enough to ring my ears.

“Ohh… I see. So Yuna likes that sort of thing.”

“Ugh, really… Just hurry up and ask Lee Ha-ru too.”

She wouldn’t stop whining, as if she couldn’t be the only one caught off guard.

Since I hadn’t interacted much with Haru, I knew far less about her than I did about Yuna, so I went with an easy question this time.

“Got it. Haru, if someone offered you and Yuna a hundred million won, how would you split it?”

“I’d just give it all to Yuna.”

“Really? You’d give it all to her?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the answer came right out. Yuna’s eyes sparkled as if touched by emotion.

“Our family’s rich anyway, so we don’t need it.”

Ah, right. Their family was wealthy.

I almost forgot they had been using a pure gold sheet mask they brought from home just a moment earlier.

Yuna added a lazy ‘well, that checks out,’ causing the previously heated atmosphere to deflate.

I had to step in to elevate the truth game’s climax.

“Yuna, Yuna. Is there a boy in class you like?”

“Huh? A boy I like?”

“Yup.”

Naturally, it’s common to ask who someone likes during a truth game.

“Oh, now I’m curious about this.”

“I feel like I’m the only one answering here.”

“Well, next time you can ask me. So?”

I’m curious, considering how she’s thinking hard about it. Do you really have someone in mind?

However, the answer we wanted was never returned.

“Um, I think not.”

“Why?”

“There’s just no one in particular.”

“Na-me, do you know anything?”

I spun around slightly and whispered to Haru.

“I think Si-hoo had a crush on Yuna.”

“Whoa… really?”

“Yup. It’s almost 99% certain.”

“What should we do about Yoon Si-hoo!? He’s so pitiful.”

Yuna absolutely couldn’t stand by as we whispered excitedly.

She threw off the blanket and jumped on us, determined to interrupt.

“Hey, Yuna, you’re heavy…!”

“What are you talking about without me? I want to know too!”

“Hehe, Seo Yuna, you’re surprisingly popular, huh?”

“Well, of course, Yuna is cute.”

“Now that I think about it, you’re quite athletic too. Remember when you played dodgeball with the boys, and you went solo against ten? That was pretty cool.”

The relentless barrage of compliments made her heart soften again, and she returned to her spot.

“So what were we talking about?”

“Hmm. Should I spill the beans or not?”

“I think it’d be fine to share?”

With Haru eagerly playing the role of an accomplice, I no longer felt the need to hide anything.

Indeed, Yoon Si-hoo has been getting bolder lately. He should bear his sentence!

“Yuna.”

I called her name in a somewhat serious tone.

I twirled her bright red hair around my finger. It felt strangely addictive, and I could see it becoming a habit whenever I talked to her.

“If there was a boy in our class who liked you, what would you think?”

She had always been a loner in the academy.

She probably thought everyone disliked her, but I wondered how she’d react if she knew someone had long wanted to get close to her.

“Who would like someone like me…”

“Our Yuna is cute, smart, and sharp.”

“Honestly, I haven’t been that friendly to the other kids.”

“What about Yoon Si-hoo?”

“Huh?”

“I think Si-hoo thinks well of you.”

“He’d definitely hate me…”

“But I’ve noticed something too. Si-hoo seems to laugh a lot more when he’s around you. He’s usually quiet and doesn’t talk much.”

“See? Haru feels that way too. So when Si-hoo talks to you later, don’t brush him off and hang out with him.”

“Na-me, this truth game is so fun. It’s late and I can’t sleep, what should I do!”

Yuna’s words had dropped dramatically, while Haru was chattering away.

Seemingly displeased with me talking to only Haru, Yuna seized the chance to take charge of the truth game.

“Okay, Haru. Was there someone you liked in the academy?”

“Uh… I liked someone before, but I don’t now.”

“Oh, who was it?”

“Kim Han-gyeol.”

“The girls don’t like him, do they? Didn’t you feel that way too?”

“Kim Han-gyeol and I have known each other since we were little.”

It still felt cute to hear kids reminiscing about their childhood.

“So you don’t like him that much anymore?”

“Nope. He took my ice cream after saying he wanted just one bite.”

“Haha…”

“So, we didn’t talk for a week? That ice cream was limited edition; I had wanted it so badly…!”

The reasons for disliking someone varied greatly and were fascinating.

Sharing their secrets was surprisingly both embarrassing and liberating for them.

Perhaps because of this, Haru, with a mischievous grin, turned to me and attacked.

“What about you, Na-me? Do you have someone you like?”

“Of course not.”

“Why not?”

“Because you guys are all too young.”

“You keep calling us kids. You’re the same!”

“Right, Lee Ha-ru, you’re not the only one feeling that way. Na-me keeps treating me like a kid.”

“But you are a kid, Seo Yuna.”

“No, I’m not! Teacher said that being in the 2nd Grade Elementary Division means I’m not a kid anymore.”

Quoting what Teacher Jackie occasionally said to manage the noisy class.

“Oh, that was what Teacher Jackie said! I can mimic that perfectly. Ahem. Second Grade A Class is not kids anymore, right? We have first graders below us, so you all need to set an example! Understand?”

“Whoa, that’s spot on!”

After listening to Haru’s excellent impersonation, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Especially for not missing the detail of adding English at the end—extra points for that!

*

The truth game slowly morphed into a vs game.

Getting to know each other’s tastes was one of the great joys for the kids.

Feeling that it was about time, Na-me called the girls back together.

“Actually, I called you all to this pajama party for a reason.”

“Huh, really?”

Haru quietly nodded her head.

“Shall we sit and talk for a moment?”

I held tightly onto the girls’ arms, as I believed it was right to apologize face to face.

After being in the same position for too long, we gave a little stretch and then clasped Yuna and Haru’s hands together.

“Do we really have to go this far…?”

“Yes, you promised me..”

“Alright… Hey Yuna.”

Haru began softly.

“Last year, I said some harsh words to you… Do you remember?”

“Uh-huh…”

“Back then, I said that thoughtlessly. I’m really sorry…”

“…”

“I had so much fun today. We played Jenga, had chicken and watched movies, went on a picnic with Niobe unnie, and played the truth game… Can I invite you again next time? I’m really sorry.”

The once noisy room fell into a sudden, thick silence.

Both Haru, with her head tilted back, and Yuna, biting her lips tightly, didn’t know what more to say.

Yuna’s hands trembled.

Thoughts of the hardships she’d experienced at the academy flickered through her mind. At the same time, the joyful moments from the pajama party intertwined with them.

Yuna gently turned her head to gaze at Na-me.

‘There’s really nothing to worry about.’

Na-me smiled brightly at Yuna, signaling that everything was okay.

After a long moment of contemplation, Yuna took a deep breath.

“I know that I treated class members badly last year… I wanted to play with everyone but acted more sulky because I wasn’t able to.”

“Then why…?”

“In the second semester, I knew you tried to take care of me. Ugh… When everyone was hating on me, saying, ‘Yuna virus,’ and they all didn’t want to touch me, it was you, Haru, who talked to me… But then I overheard you gossiping about me… I felt so betrayed…”

Yuna’s face quickly filled with tears.

No matter how hard she tried to hold them back, drops glistened and rolled down her flushed cheeks.

“That’s not true! I… I…”

Haru struggled to continue her words.

It was because the matter of whether what she had said was gossip or not was ambiguous.

Even if it was said for Yuna’s sake, there was paranoia that it could be perceived as gossip.

“Acting friendly in front of me and gossiping from behind, I hated you the most in Class 1-C, Lee Ha-ru. Seriously… And who knows, maybe Na-me forced you to do it.”

“No way…”

“I only need one friend, and that’s Na-me.”

That was like a thunderbolt—a shocking declaration to Haru.

Just when I thought the situation was spiraling down,

Haru, hanging her head low and mumbling, suddenly found herself hugged tightly by Yuna.

“Ugh… but you know what… I used to think that, but during the survey last time, I could only write Na-me’s name, which made me really sad. I went home and cried… no, I cried all day long…”

Even though she tried to keep her mouth shut, torrents of emotion burst forth between her lips.

Na-me gestured to Haru to gently pat her back, guiding her through the awkwardness.

The body vibrations translated to Haru, soothing her.

“I’ve been living so selfishly… I want to apologize to everyone in our class if I go back again. And for hitting you… I got so scared that night I couldn’t sleep. I really want to say I’m sorry, and… did it hurt a lot?”

“Yeah… a little…?”

“I’m so sorry! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”

Tasked with making Haru apologize, she somehow turned into the one flooded with apologies, showing her embarrassment.

Unaware that Haru was dazed, Yuna continued to repeat her apologies.

“So, will you come to the next pajama party with Na-me?”

“Sniff… yes!”

Only then did the expressions of the two girls brighten.

Fortunately, it seemed like the regrets and grievances they held towards each other melted away as they embraced.

As Haru discreetly wiped her tears, Na-me fetched tissues and approached her.

“Do you need to blow your nose too?”

“Oh no…! I can do that myself!”

As Haru flared up, Na-me simply placed a tissue to Yuna’s nose.

“Here, sniff.”

“Ugh…!”

“There we go. Why is everyone so teary today? Are you feeling better now?”

“Sniff… yeah…”

Na-me cradled the still-sniffling Yuna tenderly.

“How about it? Apologizing isn’t a big deal, right?”

Haru was her target for the question.

“Yeah… it’s not too bad.”

“Yuna said that you’re the second one she likes after me.”

“Hey, we agreed not to say that! Ugh…!”

“Shh, quiet now.”

Seeing Yuna frequently getting shut down by Na-me today made Haru snicker.

“You guys really look like a mother and daughter. It’s so funny!”

“Really? Then you come over and be the dad. That way, we’d all be one family.”

“Aah! I don’t want to be a guy!”

“I didn’t become a girl because I wanted to be!”

“Uh…? You are a girl, though?”

Na-me made a significant expression. Haru might never understand that meaning.

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