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I woke up around lunchtime yesterday after drinking heavily on Christmas Eve.

“Ugh…”

As expected, the hangover was pounding my body from my head down to my stomach.

Thinking about my promises, I knew I should get up right away, but I didn’t want to leave my bed.

Why is the weather so cold? It’s like the heavy blanket was designed to keep me trapped.

“Ha!”

In the end, I summoned the strength to pull myself out of the blanket.

…It was a tough opponent.

What was yesterday like, anyway?

I went to Maho’s House and cracked open some beers, but I don’t think I made any major mistakes. Anyway, I made it home safely.

Stepping into the living room, I could see the yard’s view through the veranda.

It snowed lightly yesterday, but by nightfall, it had piled up thickly on the lawn.

I watched my white pet Bok-sil happily frolicking in the snowy field before heading to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, there was a bowl of dried pollack soup, presumably for a hangover cure.

Ah… Home is the best.

No wonder I have no intention of moving out.

I want to live my whole life being served meals in this house.

Thinking of how Mrs. Jang would be horrified if she heard this, I lightly finished my soup and got ready to head out.

Today, there’s a Christmas party at Hyeon-su’s Workshop, after all.

***

It didn’t take long to arrive at Hyeon-su’s Workshop.

The workshop was bustling with Hyeon-su and the band members, all of them moving busily around the kitchen.

“Did you come?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

I casually responded to Hyeon-su, who was lounging on the lobby sofa, completely unfazed by his siblings’ frantic activity, and then threw myself onto another sofa.

“Oof.”

I thought eating the soup would make me feel better, but the hangover still clung to my body.

What a crazy night… How much did I actually drink?

“Are you okay?”

As soon as I arrived, Hyeon-su asked, watching me groan on the sofa.

“Do you even know what a hangover is?”

“Huh? You must’ve drunk a lot yesterday.”

“Yeah, I really went overboard. But Hyeon-su, you’re an adult now, right?”

In just a few days, that high schooler would be old enough to buy alcohol and watch restricted movies without any issue.

Time really flies.

“Right?”

“Then you won’t need to drink anything during gatherings anymore.”

“Yes, soon enough, I’ll be able to drink with pride.”

Hmm…

But you should really learn to drink from the grown-ups, you know? Just because you’re twenty doesn’t mean you should hit the clubs and party like a fool.

“Hyeon-su, just drink responsibly.”

“Huh? Well… Drinking isn’t that great, I guess?”

“That’s the right mindset.”

Once you start enjoying alcohol, life just gets a bit wobbly.

If you cross over to dependence, then life gets twisted.

“Oh come on, what’s wrong with drinking?”

At that moment, the band members, the embodiment of trouble, quietly approached.

“Wow, this person is really on the verge of death.”

“Are you going to drink again today? Are you okay?”

Ay-young pointed towards the kitchen.

“They filled it to the brim.”

I wrinkled my face at that.

“Really, that’s a no-go.”

More?

Even though humans are creatures of forgetfulness, there’s no way I’m drinking more when I’m suffering this much.

“Hehe, if you don’t drink, that’s great for me.”

What does that even mean?

As I squinted at Ay-young’s meaningful smile, Kang-hyeok answered for her.

“We bought a fancy liquor since it’s Christmas.”

“Oh.”

Fancy liquor?

“Is it drinkable?”

“What? Soo-hyun hasn’t tried it?”

“Nope.”

I’ve had cocktails, but they’re probably talking about wine or whiskey, right?

I’m seriously interested.

In movies, don’t mob bosses drink it in glasses?

“You seem interested. Your eyes are sparkling!”

Seeing my reaction, Ay-young smiled and I awkwardly nodded.

“Um… a little?”

“Then get up and try some.”

“Sure.”

When would I ever get to try fancy liquor?

Jumping up right from my seat, I noticed Hyeon-su narrowing his eyes at me.

“Why?”

“Uh, nothing.”

“Oh, your eyes are mischievous. You really don’t respect your elders.”

This is just…

Does it look like I’m enjoying drinking?

It’s simply a curiosity naturally present in any human.

Following to the kitchen, preparations were underway for the food.

They’re actually cooking for a Christmas party?

“Do you cook here too?”

“Hyeok is good at it~”

“Oh…”

I looked again. He’s good at cooking?

Kang-hyeok, noticing my gaze, pointed to one side of the table.

“Soo-hyun, help set things up. We need to move the food.”

“Understood.”

I never intended to just sit back and do nothing.

I ought to help, but I wanted to try the liquor first.

However, instead of passing me the liquor, Ay-young just smiled and pointed at the kitchen and table.

“Help out right now.”

“Huh?”

“Do you think I’ll let you drink alone? We need to prepare the table first, then we all drink together.”

“Ah…”

Oh, I fell for it.

Now that I think about it, it would look strange to just sip liquor in the kitchen.

I first helped move the food with the other band members.

It was all Western-style dishes—seriously, they made this?

These aren’t exactly simple recipes.

Only after finishing the setup did I receive a glass filled with ice.

“Here, try this.”

Ay-young poured in what looked like an expensive whiskey, and after hesitating for a moment, I downed it.

“Ugh.”

Immediately after drinking, my face scrunched up.

What is this? It’s way different than what I expected!

It just feels like I’m drinking alcohol.

My throat is burning too much.

“Hahaha!”

“Seeing you like this, you totally look like a kid.”

“Drink some water!”

The band members laughed at my reaction, as it tasted so different from what I imagined.

It’s a bit wacky, isn’t it?

I’ve heard Russian people drink whiskey like water… Is that even possible?

“Drink this. This one’s tasty.”

Ay-young then handed me a glass of red wine.

“…I trust you.”

“Yeah, this one’s drinkable.”

Sipping the wine, while it was a bit bitter, it was at least drinkable.

Honestly, none of them tasted that great.

Maybe I just haven’t grown old enough to find alcohol tasty yet?

“Here—Hyeon-su has this.”

“Hahaha…”

Well, it’s better than watching Hyeon-su chugging cola.

Thus, we enjoyed the Christmas party at a table full of nicely arranged food.

***

“Sigh.”

While enjoying the party, I stepped outside for a moment to breathe in the fresh air and gazed at the darkened streets.

Surprisingly, the party had been fun. It was quite the ruckus.

Maybe it’s because they’re a band? They really know how to have a good time.

If they hadn’t gone easy on me because I’m younger, I might have already passed out from a drinking game.

Still, I ended up drinking again today.

But it’s less than yesterday, so it should be fine.

Well, it is Christmas after all. It doesn’t matter if I drink a bit. I’ll work hard from tomorrow.

After a brief moment of fresh air, I walked back inside and spotted Hyeon-su sitting near the lobby entrance.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m just hiding since I’m all drunk.”

“Hahaha, just kick them out, you’re the host.”

“Haha, what if I really did?”

That would be quite a sight.

Imagining the band members holding onto Hyeon-su’s pants while pleading not to be kicked out was amusing.

“By the way, are you sure you don’t want to stream?”

At that moment, Hyeon-su suddenly asked.

“Huh? Stream?”

“Yeah, don’t you have to stream on Christmas?”

Wait a minute, does he know about this?

I mean, it’s a known rule that female streamers stream on Christmas, but I don’t really care.

“Hahaha, no, it’s not like I have a schedule…”

Didn’t I… have one?

But why does it feel so unsettling all of a sudden?

“What’s wrong?”

“Wait a second…”

Fumbling through my mind for something I might have forgotten.

What am I missing…?

“Aha!”

“Whoa! What’s going on?”

“Uh, I need to go!”

What the heck…

Did I forget about this?

“Huh? Right now?”

“Uh, yeah! I’m going!”

Quickly grabbing my coat, I dashed out into the street.

Through the throngs of people, I squeezed my way and hurriedly waved down a taxi.

“Driver, please hurry!”

“Oh, is your boyfriend waiting?”

“Uh, yes, yes! He’s been waiting a while.”

About ten thousand people are probably waiting, right?

The driver, with a serious expression, drove forward as I quickly opened my phone to check the community.

[Miro, you idiot!]

[When are you coming? When are you coming?]

[The chicken is cold, damn it…]

[???: I’ll start tomorrow.]

[Right now, your boyfriend is with Miro at the hotel, that’s a major bummer LOL.]

[Oh crap!!]

[Celestial Realm <— World's worst group.]

…Wow.

Should I just not log in?

I passed out today.

Ah, wait.

Thinking about it, it’s not even past midnight yet.

I never specified when I would log in, so it’s fine as long as I start before Christmas ends, right?

After arriving home, I quickly washed my face and entered the soundproof booth.

Finishing the broadcast setup, I got ready to go live.

"Hah."

First, deep breath.

What matters is steeliness.

I didn’t forget the promise I made yesterday.

It's just that I was planning to log in all along; I just got a bit delayed.

[Christmas Broadcast]

And thus, I went live.

-Thank you.. Thank you.. Thank you..

-I knew you’d come back, damn it...

-Great Miro.

-I knew you’d be here.

Hmm… It seems like I haven't missed the golden time yet.

Letting out a sigh of relief inwardly, I continued speaking.

"Ah, nice to meet you all."

-Yes, haha.

-How was your day?

-But you were a bit late.

"Ah, yeah, a little late, huh? It’s snowing outside, you know?"

-The snow has stopped, you know?

-It's piled up quite a bit.

-It’s freezing.

The chat is mild, but looking at it, I can feel an underlying tension.

If I say, "Hahaha! I forgot my promise while drinking with my buddies!" it wouldn’t be surprising if people turned hostile.

Look at it now; I can see daggers hidden among the warm chat messages.

In moments like this, a little white lie comes in handy.

Honestly, I have to admit that I'm clean.

What? Did I meet a boyfriend? Nope, I just drank with some acquaintances and ended up late.

But our viewers could misunderstand for no reason.

Thus, the professional streamer Miro must navigate this situation while throwing in some little white lies for everyone's benefit.

"Okay, with the snow piling up, we can't skip this, right?"

As I said this, I played the globally famous Carol pop song.

-??

-Wow.

-Seriously??

-Great Miro.

"I have prepared a song."

I hadn’t prepared anything.

But since I heard it a lot at Hyeon-su's Workshop earlier, I should be good.

Ay-young played the carols on repeat all day.

Thus, just before Christmas ended, Miro's late broadcast started.

 

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