I don’t take imnse pride in being one of the early mbers of Ifrit Gallery.
After all, it’s only natural for new users to join over ti.
However.
"The ones joining now are just trolls."
For a long while, there had been almost no influx of new users to Ifrit Gallery.
But now, suddenly, at this ti, a flood of newcors?
It had to be trolls.
And so, I took "action."
[Author: UnveilLondonSecrets]
[Title: Just joined the gallery—why are there so many newcors?]
[Content: Don’t newcors know they can’t earn fixed nicknas for a month?]
I made a subtle jab.
Of course, no such rule actually existed.
It wasn’t even in Red’s community guidelines.
I just invented it on the spot because I wanted to.
Shortly after posting:
L: ????
L: Is this for real??
L: Never heard of this in my life…
L Kang Hoo-min: Does that an I need to reset my fixed nickna after two weeks of gallery use? 😢
└ L: You’ve been in the gallery for over two years, what are you talking about?
└ L: Acting like a newbie, LOL.
└ L: Newbie (with 130,000 posts combined).
└ L: My concept of "newbie" has really changed.
L: Right! Fixed-nickna LondonSecrets is totally correct! LOL.
└ L: A jab disguised as flowery sarcasm, classic.
└ L: Jeez, look at this passive-aggressive tone, like Red. Just stop it.
The comnts started pouring in rapidly.
It seed like many people had been waiting for to post sothing.
As I scrolled through the gallery, the stillness in my room was broken by a voice.
“Oppa, what are you doing tomorrow?”
Yeram’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
Tomorrow…?
I didn’t have much planned aside from going to the café.
Lately, that’s all I’d been doing.
“I’ve got my shift at the café. Why?”
Hearing this, Yeram hesitated as though debating whether to say sothing, before finally speaking.
“Well… can you co with sowhere tomorrow?”
A completely unexpected request.
“Where?”
If it wasn’t too far, I could skip a day at the café, but if it was a significant distance, taking two days off would be tough.
“There’s a place in Seongsu-dong with good food. I did well on my mock exams, so… could you treat ?”
The ntion of Seongsu-dong gave a bad feeling.
The place was notorious for its high prices.
Everything sold there was expensive.
“Let check first.”
It was best to see what kind of restaurant it was before agreeing.
After all, the price would determine whether I could go or not.
“Oh, here.”
Yeram cautiously handed her phone, where she had saved the restaurant’s details.
The information caught my eye.
[ Braised Short Ribs (Small, 2-3 servings): 45,000 won ]
“...”
For a mont, I doubted my own eyes.
Forty-five thousand won for braised short ribs?
Sure, I knew braised short ribs were expensive, but I hadn’t imagined they’d be this pricey.
“Hold on.”
I needed to check my account balance before making a decision.
How much did I have left?
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I opened my banking app.
[ Balance: 43,302,130 won ]
It might seem like a lot, but it wasn’t.
This was all the money I had.
Living in a studio apartnt ant I had to stretch every penny.
If this money ran out, I had no backup.
Normally, I would’ve turned down such a request without hesitation, but…
"I’ve been getting donations from streaming."
The stream I’d started with Yeram’s help had earned a decent amount of support.
I hadn’t started streaming for money, but pocketing all the unexpected donations felt inhuman.
Sotis, you need to splurge a little to relieve stress.
“Alright.”
I decided to treat her to the braised short ribs.
The Next Day
It felt like a slightly nerve-wracking day.
While I was used to frequenting Sinchon because of school, Seongsu-dong was different.
I hadn’t seen it for myself, but from what I’d heard, Seongsu-dong had a more upscale vibe.
‘It might not be true, but that’s what I’ve heard.’
With that in mind, I picked out the cleanest outfit from my wardrobe.
While I wasn’t particularly handso, my proportions weren’t bad, so dressing decently made a difference.
As I was finishing up, I noticed Yeram rummaging through her own closet, likely searching for sothing nice to wear.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have many pretty clothes.
Most of the ti, she wore her school uniform or athletic wear on weekends.
‘I should buy her sothing nice to wear later.’
She was my one and only younger sister, after all. Seeing her live like this made feel a bit sorry for her.
“Oppa, I’m ready. Are you done?”
“Yeah.”
Yeram’s outfit was simple yet appropriate—typical for soone her age.
My own outfit was just as simple: jeans, a white T-shirt, and a cardigan.
The classic, clean-cut look.
“So, are we taking the subway or the bus?”
“Subway, obviously. Why would we take the bus?”
Taking the bus would destroy my back.
I’d tried saving money by taking the bus before, and my back had ached for days.
Besides, the subway was cheaper anyway.
‘It depends on the situation, but still.’
I found the subway more convenient and economical.
With that thought, I grabbed my phone.
It was about ti to leave.
“Let’s go. If we’re late, it’ll be a hassle.”
Although I wasn’t working today, I planned to stream in the afternoon, so leaving early seed wise.
“Well, thanks to your streaming, I get to eat braised short ribs.”
At least Yeram seed understanding.
‘She looks ridiculously excited.’
Yeram appeared thrilled.
Was the thought of eating braised short ribs that exciting?
I couldn’t relate since I didn’t particularly care about food, but if it lifted her spirits, it was worth it.
We took the subway and soon arrived at Seongsu-dong after a relatively smooth ride.
‘But it’d be a waste to just eat and leave.’
Surely, Yeram didn’t want to co all the way to Seongsu-dong just to eat.
It might be worth checking out what else the area had to offer.
For such occasions, there was one place to ask questions—
[ Ifrit Gallery ]
The gallery had plenty of knowledgeable people for this kind of random query.
[Author: UnveilLondonSecrets]
[Title: First ti in Seongsu-dong—any recomndations?]
[Content: Totally new here. What’s worth seeing?]
I posted the query and put my phone back in my pocket as we headed to the location Yeram had marked on the map.
When we arrived, a sleek-looking restaurant caught my eye.
“Oh, the exterior is really nice.”
“Well, it’d better be for the price.”
She wasn’t wrong.
If you’re paying that much for a al, the place should at least look presentable.
As we stepped inside—
“Welco!”
The staff greeted us warmly.
It had been a while since I experienced such hospitality, and it felt a bit overwhelming.
“Um, it’s just the two of us. Where should we sit?”
“I’ll show you to your table.”
With a slight bow, the staff guided us to our seats.
“Call when you’re ready to order.”
After another polite bow, they left.
“Just one order of braised short ribs?”
“Yeah, anything more would be a bit much.”
Given the steep prices, we opted for the small portion.
Rice would surely co with it, right?
“So, why did you suddenly want to co here?”
I still hadn’t heard the reason.
Sure, I knew Yeram loved food, but why travel all the way to Seongsu-dong?
“Oh… The strear I watch eats here often. It looked delicious, so I wanted to try it.”
“I thought you didn’t watch live streams.”
“I do sotis.”
“More like often.”
“Hey, stop exaggerating.”
I grew more suspicious, but there wasn’t much I could do.
It wasn’t my college entrance exam on the line—it was hers.
I could only hope she managed herself well.
Just then, I heard familiar voices from the restaurant entrance.
“Ugh, I’m so tired…”
“But it was fun, right?”
“Yeah, it was.”
Turning toward the source of the voices—
“Huh? What the…”
A blonde woman with strikingly foreign features stood at the entrance, looking exhausted.
‘Harin? Here?’
She wasn’t alone—another woman, unfamiliar to , stood beside her.
It was an odd coincidence to et her here.
As I reached for a piece of radish kimchi—
“Wow…”
I turned to see Yeram’s eyes sparkling.
She looked more excited than I’d ever seen her before.
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