Chapter 26

Kind Old Maid

“Urgently? Why?”

“Not sure. Apparently she didn’t tell the museum what it was about.”

The number was already displayed on the phone Ms. Sejin held out to me. Probably Hwang Ara’s, that rainbow-haired old maid’s number.

An urgent call...?

It was not like I had no idea what this could be about. No, actually, there was only one possibility. There was only one thing connecting me and her side.

Did something become troublesome because of the collaboration? Or was she just calling to ask if I was okay?

“Shall I connect you?”

“...Yes. And could you give me some privacy—.”

“Ah. Yes. I’ll step away.”

Whatever it was, avoiding it would not make it go away.

Ring ring—.

The signal rang about twice, then click.

“Hello.”

My grip tightened on the phone held to my ear.

Honestly, I had been running about ten possible opening lines through my head. I’m sorry? Because of me? Or should I pretend I knew nothing?

“Lili! No, should I call you Princess now?”

“Yup?”

“Unnie saw everything. All of Vampire Lilith’s old streams.”

Kyaaagh—.

“Um, about that.”

“Hey, you even fell asleep with your stream on once? Unnie saw that clip and nearly died laughing. You were sleeping so peacefully while chat was going insane.”

“Yeah. I’m hanging up now.”

“Hey, wait! Wait! I haven’t even started yet!”

She had not even started? Then what else was there?

“And, uh, I saw the misunderstanding caused by those noises you made while exercising too.”

“Yeees—. I’m hanging up.”

“The clone! That clone joke, seriously, unnie spat out her food. Hey, where did you learn stuff like that? Teach unnie too.”

“...”

“‘A fragment of the truth.’ Kya. Unnie’s been using that line on the staff lately, you know? Whenever someone disagrees during a meeting, I go, ‘Ahem, you remain as foolish as ever.’”

“Please don’t use that. Please.”

“Whyyy. It’s convenient. Oh, and that historical-drama way of talking, calling your viewers subjects and all that, is that a character you made up, or do you normally talk like that?”

“It’s a concept, okay? Obviously it’s a concept. What else would it be?”

“Whyyy. It’s convenient. Oh, and I was curious, doesn’t that historical-drama speech stick around a little after the stream ends? If it were me, I feel like it’d slip out in everyday life.”

“It doesn’t, okay? I’m someone who keeps work and private life clearly separated.”

“Work and private life? Princess and private life?”

“...I’m hanging up. Seriously.”

I could hear the old maid cackling on the other end of the phone.

This crazy woman had binge-watched Lilith’s old streams from beginning to end after my identity was exposed.

It felt like someone I knew during the day had been shown every record of my nighttime cringe. Would anyone understand how I felt?

“Haa... so are you done laughing at someone else’s dark history now?”

“Yup! Thanks to you, I laughed my fill. Thanks, thanks.”

She was even shameless about it.

“But Lili, no, Lilith... Princess? No, what should I call you?”

“Just Lili. Please.”

“Okay, Lili.”

“What did you call about?”

“Do you know what people have been saying all over the internet lately?”

“Ah.”

“That there are adults behind you, that all your growth was planned, things like that.”

“Ah, that. I saw it. They said I’m a bubble.”

“Yeah. And did you know unnie is mixed up in that story too?”

“Huh?”

I did not know that.

“You didn’t know.”

“Why is... unnie involved?”

“Why else? Because I did a collab with you. They’re saying our meeting at the museum wasn’t a coincidence, that it was staged, and that the collab was planned viral marketing from the start. People are starting to ask about it in unnie’s stream chat too. Whether I knew beforehand. Some are even asking how much I got paid.”

“Huh...”

When I saw people talking about me being a bubble, I had not cared at all. Really. It was not exactly wrong, and no matter what people said about me, I had nothing to lose anyway.

Even if I ended up unable to stream, all that would happen was that I would lose one source of enjoyment in my daily life. It would not put my livelihood in danger or anything.

There were probably tens of billions of won sitting in bank accounts I had never even checked, and I could not even guess how much this house would be worth in money. Those tens of billions were not particularly meaningful to begin with, because if you included stocks and artwork and whatever else, the numbers would stop making sense.

But this Rainbow Hair—.

Because of me, some weird label was about to get attached to a career she had spent years diligently building.

“Um, unnie.”

“Yeah.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Huh? For what?”

“Because of me, even you—.”

“Hey, hey, hey. Stop.”

The old maid cut me off.

“Why are you apologizing? Did you write that post?”

“No.”

“Then that’s enough. The person who wrote it should apologize. Why would you?”

“Hmm, i-is that so?”

Now that she said it, maybe she had a point.

“And this isn’t unnie’s first time dealing with something like this. You think I got to 1.5 million for free? Hidden-ad accusations, manipulation accusations, I grew up going through all kinds of crap. This doesn’t even count as a crisis.”

“...Are you really okay?”

“Instead of worrying about unnie, worry about yourself. That’s why I called.”

“Worry about me?”

“Yeah. Unnie is an adult, I’ve been in this field for a while, and I don’t care what people say. But you’re fourteen.”

The old maid’s voice was still light, but genuine concern for me was mixed into it.

“Even adults can get mentally wrecked by this kind of public-opinion war. What worries unnie most is that you’ll read every single one of those posts and then lie awake at night unable to sleep.”

“I sleep fine. Nine hours.”

“Wow, look at you. Isn’t that too much?”

“Actually, that was a lie. Seven hours.”

“That’s about right.”

The old maid snickered.

“But unnie, can I ask you one thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Can’t we explain it on stream? I mean... tell the truth. We really did meet by chance at the museum, and the collab offer was just—.”

Huh.

The offer.

To explain the offer, I would have to say that contact went through the museum. Why would an invitation to appear on a personal stream go through an art museum? Who owns that museum?

...Ah.

“...It sounds even stranger if we explain it.”

“You noticed.”

“Hmm... yeah.”

The old maid gave a short laugh.

“Unnie came to the same conclusion. If I reveal how I contacted you, it would help prove unnie’s innocence. But then all the arrows would point at you. People would start asking what kind of backing you have.”

“Yup.”

“Isn’t it funny? There’s exactly one way to prove we’re innocent, but using it would make the problem even bigger.”

It certainly was funny, but I could not laugh.

Of course, all that stuff about some mysterious backing was nonsense. But to prove it was nonsense, we would have to reveal the thing that really did exist, and the problem was that the truth would sound even more absurd than the nonsense.

“So I’m not going to say anything about that. Unnie can roughly tell that you have circumstances you can’t talk about.”

This person.

Seriously, this person.

When I first met her at the museum, I thought she was just some noisy Rainbow Hair.

From now on, I shall call her the kind old maid. A promotion in status!

“...Thank you.”

“Oh my, what’s gotten into our Lili, thanking me so obediently?”

“Then I take it back.”

“Too late. Unnie saved it in her heart.”

“Not your head?”

“No romance in you at all. Things like this are supposed to be kept in the heart.”

“It’s not breast implants...”

“You little! I happen to have pretty big breasts, you know?”

After laughing together for a while, the kind old maid spoke as if wrapping things up.

“Anyway. Unnie will handle things on unnie’s side, so you don’t do anything. Don’t get angry and start explaining things on stream for no reason. Got it?”

“Yup.”

“Don’t think unnie doesn’t know you’re only good at answering. I mean it. Do nothing. Kids shouldn’t get mixed up in fights between adults.”

“I’m a vampire princess, though. Hundreds of years old.”

“Right, right, Princess. Then act composed like someone who’s hundreds of years old.”

Even after the call ended, I stared down at Ms. Sejin’s phone for quite a while.

How should I put it. It was a strange feeling.

“...She really is an adult.”

I should have been an adult in my previous life too. Did my mind turn into a brat because my body got younger?

Well, it does not feel bad.

When I went to return the phone to Ms. Sejin, she asked with her eyes.

“It was nothing. Just... internet stuff. Rainbow—. No, Ms. Hwang Ara said she’s fine, so she told me not to do anything.”

“She’s a wise person.”

“You knew about all those posts too, didn’t you, Ms. Sejin?”

“Yes. Young Master and I check them every day.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We were waiting until you brought it up first. There was no need for us to stir things up and make you worry before then.”

“...”

“You know how it is. If Shinil Group responded officially, it would only be worse for you. With things like this, the best thing is simply to ignore them and let them pass.”

Why is everyone in this house so adult?

It makes me look like the only kid. Well, I am a kid. Physically, anyway. Whatever.

After eating dinner, washing up, and returning to my room, I lay down on the bed.

The kind old maid was right. I did not need to do anything. I could stream like usual, chatter like usual, and sleep like usual. Rumors like that would burn for a few days, then die down once the people spreading them got tired.

Evidence? There is none. How could there be? It never happened.

Time is on my side. Like a vampire princess who has lived for hundreds of years, I shall remain composed and leisurely.

Steeling myself that way, I turned on the stream as usual.

“Have you been well, my subjects? Today, this body once again—.”

Before I could even finish my greeting, what caught my eye was the chatroom going completely insane.

-She’s here

-Princess, did you see that post

-Can we ask who’s behind you?

-Hey, why are you talking about some mastermind to a minor

-Just curious, what agency are you with?

-Why are you idiots believing a post with zero evidence

-Have Clone Unit One come out and explain lol

-No other clones?

-Is this that infamous rigged stream? Came to watch

-Ah, this is a total shitshow

-Fuck, all the trolls came flooding in

“...”

Indeed.

It was an absolute shitshow.