Chapter 58: Starlight (7)

“Phew.”

The air in the control room was chilly, but inside the suit, it was already getting hot.

The sparkling broadcast screen on the monitor felt like a story from another world.

Ajung, Rinne, Solar.

The three avatars stood perfectly under the dazzling lights.

“Wow, unnies, your avatars today are seriously insane!”

“Solar is literally a fairy! It’s amazing she doesn’t have wings!”

“Rinne unni is… hmm, well, she’s okay.”

“…Ajung-ah. Are you subtly dissing me right now?”

– Hmm.. Is it that good..?

– Rinne, you need to discipline Ajung ㅇㅇ

– Since Rinne is getting crushed, should we apologize?? << Don’t say things like that ㄴㄴㄴㄴ

– If Ajung and Rinne fight, I’m staying out of it. Can’t beat those Adoongis.

– They’re really scary, for real hahaha

The atmosphere was friendly from the start.

“Now, the reason we’ve gathered in this brilliant motion capture studio today is!”

Rinne set the mood with her characteristic booming voice.

“It’s none other than! Enjoying it with all you Star Cluster members! The 1st official Starlight group collaboration!”

Ajung jumped up and cheered.

Her avatar also hopping looked cute.

“I-I’m a little worried… but I’ll try my best!”

Yoon Sol looked slightly nervous, but her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Penalties! Of course, there are penalties! Today, there’s a very special and terrifying penalty…!”

Jungyeon continued, building up the atmosphere.

The chat window was already heating up with comments like ‘What’s the penalty?’, ‘Solar aegyo please’, and ‘Are they playing a horror game??’.

“Alright, shall we divide into teams then?”

Jungyeon pretended to ponder for a moment, looking around at the members.

“Huh? But since there are three of us, it’s a bit awkward to divide into teams, isn’t it? What should we do about this?”

It was the signal.

Now was my time to step in.

I turned on the microphone switch in the corner of the control room.

Chief Kang, standing beside me, still stared straight ahead without a flinch.

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat.

Not too conspicuously, but with presence.

“Since dividing into teams is awkward, I’ve decided to specially help with the proceedings.”

My slightly modulated voice echoed throughout the studio.

As my voice resonated in the studio, the movements of the three members’ avatars simultaneously paused.

I could actually feel their gazes turning towards me.

– ???

– Who are you???

– Oh my f*cking god, you scared me

– Seriously, what’s with the sudden manly voice??

– Ajung-ah.. I think my horn is going to break..

– Rinne, Rinne-ya.. It’s not him, right..?

– My horn hurts so much..

I slowly opened the control room door and walked out into the studio.

Remembering the painful lesson from the rehearsal, I tried to be as natural and ordinary as possible.

But the suit still felt unfamiliar, and the floor seemed slippery.

Why did the few steps to stand in front of the members feel so long?

Every single one of my movements was being reflected exactly by the avatar on the front monitor.

A black suit with purple and gold accents, a smooth mask.

The ‘Zelnaga Avatar’ I had ordered was definitely cool.

At least, when standing still.

The problem was my walk.

Why was I waddling like this?

“Huh? You really came?”

Ajung’s eyes widened as she looked up at me.

Her gaze alternated between my awkward suit attire and the avatar on the monitor.

“Th-that avatar, what is it, CEO-nim? Was this what you were talking about last time?”

Jungyeon’s voice was filled with anxiety.

She was already slowly massaging the back of her neck.

“Wow… it looks very… pointy?”

Yoon Sol offered an odd observation, looking at the avatar’s sleek design.

– CEO-nim??

– What, is it Naga-ham??????

– It was Naga-ham???????

– But seriously, what’s with his walk? Hahahahahahahahaha

– He looks like an idiot from the moment he appears hahahahahahaha

– He must love Starlight so much to make his avatar with their personal colors TT

– Get the fck away from the girls, you bstard

The chat window instantly blew up.

“I am ‘Overseer’ Zelnaga, here to ensure smooth proceedings.”

I tried my best to maintain a stern tone.

“Hey, what do you mean, overseer! You just came because you wanted to play games with us, didn’t you!”

Ajung teased, laughing.

“Quiet. Anyway, I’ll take one team. That’s only fair.”

“No, but CEO-nim! You said at first you’d just oversee the proceedings!”

Jungyeon said, bewildered.

“And if you join, the balance will be off! You don’t know how to do these things!”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve already practiced enough.”

I patted Jungyeon’s shoulder reassuringly.

“You’ll see how good I am. I’ll show you a demonstration first.”

I declared confidently and stepped into the center of the studio.

I lightly ignored the members’ anxious gazes.

Rehearsal is just rehearsal.

The real thing is different.

Besides, the prompt was a very easy ‘apple.’

[Prompt: Apple]

With my right hand, I formed the roundest and prettiest apple shape possible, and with my left index finger, I represented a fresh stem.

And then, as if making a crisp sound, I mimed taking a refreshing bite.

Perfect.

…Or so I thought.

My avatar on the monitor was telling a completely different story.

A hand shaped like a crumpled potato, a stem representation that looked like a spasm, and an awkward punch into thin air.

Silence.

A deeper, colder silence than before enveloped the studio.

“Pfft… Pffthahaha…! Pwa, pwahahahahahahaha!”

The first to burst out laughing was, as expected, Ajung.

She rolled on the floor, alternately pointing at my ridiculous gestures and the avatar on the screen.

“Ahahaha! C-CEO-nim! Is that an apple? Why does that apple look so angry, pfft! Ahahaha!”

“CEO-niiiiiiiiiiiiim! I knew you’d do this! Seriously!”

Jungyeon finally clutched her head and slumped down.

Her avatar bowed its head with a despairing expression.

And Yoon Sol.

She observed my actual movements intently with an expression of enlightenment, then delivered a bone-chillingly serious remark.

“CEO-nim, are you perhaps… clumsy?”

“Wh-what did you say? Cl-clumsy?”

I asked back, flustered, but the studio had already become an uncontrollable sea of laughter.

– What the fck is wrong with that guy hahahahahahahahahahaha

– Solar, don’t hit him where it hurts hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

– Is this guy a comedian or something?????? Hahahaha

– Seriously, if you’re on a team with this guy, isn’t it just a guaranteed penalty????

– How the fck is that an apple, you bstard?

– Naga-ham.. Just come back to the community.. This is where you belong..

– I get why they brought him lol He’s fcking hilarious hahaha

– He’s showing all sorts of embarrassing stuff on his first broadcast hahahahahahaha

The chat window was practically a festival.

Chats mocking me filled the screen, and donations poured down like a waterfall.

The viewer count was already skyrocketing beyond what I had imagined.

‘This isn’t right. I was definitely trying to show a cool and charismatic side, wasn’t I?’

But… it was funny.

Even I found it so absurd that I felt like bursting out laughing.

My pathetic gestures, the members dying of laughter watching it, the ecstatic fans.

This whole chaotic situation was one giant comedy.

‘Yes, maybe this is right after all.’

A mischievous smile formed on my face behind the mask.

Since it had come to this, I would go all out and make a fool of myself.

“Ahem. Clumsy, you say? It’s not that bad. This was… just… just a little prank. I’ll show you properly now. Alright, next question, please!”

I shouted as if nothing was wrong, moving even more boldly as if to show them properly this time.

When asked to express ‘airplane,’ I looked like a falling bird flapping its arms.

When asked to express ‘piano,’ I looked like an octopus having a seizure on the keyboard.

The members had now moved beyond shock to a state of enlightenment.

Jungyeon gave up nagging and started laughing and making witty remarks, while Ajung began to imitate my movements in an even funnier way, entertaining the fans.

Yoon Sol added to the chaos with her outlandish commentary from the side.

“Is the CEO-nim now… expressing his anger towards the world?”

The broadcast was no longer a ‘charades’ game.

It was my own one-man sh*tshow, with everyone watching as if to say, ‘Let’s see how long this bstard keeps this up.’

“Hah, hah.”

I moved my body, losing track of time.

The inside of the suit was drenched in sweat, and I was out of breath.

It was several times harder than the rehearsal, but strangely, I didn’t feel tired.

Making eye contact with the members, laughing together, feeling the fans’ reactions in real-time.

It was a living, breathing joy that money couldn’t buy.

The end of the broadcast time was approaching.

I took one last deep breath.

“Ahem. As the overseer today, I have observed your… well, your quick wit and entertainment sense. Your talents for flustering people are particularly outstanding. You still have a long way to go, but I look forward to your future growth.”

I tried to deliver the closing remarks as seriously as possible, but I could feel the members, and even the fans in the chat, snickering.

No one took my words at face value.

The chat window was filled with comments like ‘Just this once..’, ‘Let’s make him a regular’, and ‘From now on, have him MC every Starlight joint broadcast’.

“And the penalty!”

I exclaimed with a grin.

“The person who got the fewest answers right today… no, the person who made me laugh the least! For next week’s broadcast, you will broadcast for 24 hours with an avatar I personally drew!”

“No, that’s just you deciding the penalty recipient however you want!”

The members’ screams and the fans’ cheers mixed together, filling the studio.