Chapter 8: Have you ever eaten a cookie soaked in tears…?

In the end, I bought the snacks.

Of course, I had to put the boxes down and go get a cart.

If I’d known it’d be like this, I would’ve just gotten a cart from the start.

I picked up a few other food items too.

Rice, gochujang, pickled veggies, canned spicy tuna—some seriously high-class ingredients for me.

Compared to the constant mung bean sprouts I’d been eating, this was practically a feast beyond imagination.

Thank you, Manager!

Now I don’t have to starve anymore!

No more smelly sprouts for every meal!

“So, when’s the delivery coming?”

I bought so much stuff that I had most of it shipped.

It cost a bit extra, but with this child-sized body, there was no way I could carry everything home.

Even the two boxes of Nunenune snacks I did carry were a struggle.

And they were a combined 5kg. Pretty hefty.

“Guess I’ll just snack on these for now.”

Rip!

I tore the tape off the box using a box cutter I found lying around the house.

Slipping my fingers into the opening, I popped it open to reveal a huge plastic bag inside.

It looked just like the kind used for giant puffed rice snacks, and inside were tons of individually wrapped snacks—about the size of a condom.

(TL Note: The size comparison is used comedically to emphasize how small each snack is; it’s a common joke format in Korean slang.)

“Whoaaa…”

My eyes sparkled like I’d just discovered treasure.

It had been so long since I’d seen real food.

And unlike those sprouts that barely fill your stomach, this was enough to last a whole week without running out.

Gulp.

My hand, trembling slightly, reached for one of the snacks.

I carefully opened my mouth…

Crunch!

And bit down.

The snack shattered into hundreds of pieces in my mouth.

Its layered texture crumbled with a crunch, and the syrup hidden inside melted into a sweet sugar glaze across my tongue.

“It’s… it’s delicious…”

It really was.

Better than mung beans with soy sauce.

Better than anything I’d eaten in the past month.

Crunch!

I threw another one into my mouth.

The sweetness hit instantly, coating my tongue.

The growing sense of fullness filled my belly as my hands kept reaching for more.

Like a person addicted to drugs, I stuffed the snacks into my mouth nonstop.

My cheeks puffed out like a hamster.

It got hard to breathe with so many snacks jammed in my throat.

Hiccup!

I started hiccupping.

But—

My hands didn’t stop.

I kept grabbing snacks and cramming them into my mouth.

I opened my mouth, crushed them with my teeth, and savored the sweetness.

But then—

“Hic…”

I realized.

Tears were falling from my eyes.

“It’s… so good…”

The first real meal I’d had in so long was just a bag of snacks.

And yet they were so good it made me feel… defeated, somehow.

Honestly, the real reason was probably that I hadn’t drunk any water.

My throat was so dry it brought tears to my eyes.

“Khrrgh…”

Crunch!!

Anyway—

That day, I ate snacks soaked in my own tears.

And for the first time in nearly a month, I felt satisfied with a meal.

---

When I came to my senses, I realized I’d eaten almost half the box.

Each box was 2.5kg, so I’d eaten over 1kg of it.

Honestly, I didn’t think I could eat that much.

Hard to believe that much food fit into a kid-sized body.

But judging by how swollen my stomach was, it clearly had.

“…Maybe I am possessed by a hungry ghost.”

(TL Note: “걸신” or “hungry ghost” is a Korean idiom referring to someone with an insatiable appetite, often used jokingly.)

I suddenly remembered a line from an old TV commercial:

“Can this child even understand what being full feels like?”

Pretty sure it was an ad for a charity sponsoring African kids.

That line didn’t feel out of place at all, considering how impoverished I’d been lately.

Anyway.

Now that I was fed, I was sitting at my computer watching NewTube.

[Yuki Yuki]

[145,000 subscribers]

My channel page was up on screen.

The profile and banner featured an illustration of a silver-haired anime girl smiling gently.

…Not that it fit my current concept at all, considering I broke character all the time.

At this point, it was basically false advertising. Like the difference between a light novel cover and its actual content.

Whatever.

“Subscriber count’s gone up again.”

I’d started with just over 120K, and now it had jumped by another 20K.

At this rate, monetization wouldn’t take long.

In Japan, where Lunaverse HQ is based, it took about two weeks. Korea probably won’t be much different.

/Yukigenyo!! Hello everyone! I’m Amano Yuki, your brand new VTuber!/

A bright voice rang from the speakers.

The silver-haired girl on-screen was beaming.

That model was the masterpiece my “mama” created with love and effort.

(TL Note: “Mama” refers to the artist or Live2D modeler who designed the VTuber avatar.)

It even looked kinda like my real face—since I’m a literal anime girl now.

“…I was so nervous here.”

Yukidan probably didn’t notice, but my voice had a faint tremble.

Well, the sensitive ones probably picked up on it.

Can’t be helped.

Debut streams are nerve-racking for everyone.

Even a world-famous celebrity would be nervous on their debut.

So I was rewatching my own debut stream, trying to spot things I could improve.

That’s when—

(TL note: The text in the image reads “Go, go away…”)

“Huh? What’s this…”

I spotted a familiar face in the corner of the screen.

My virtual model’s face, used in a video thumbnail.

“……”

Click!

I clicked the video without a word.

After a short loading screen, it began playing.

/Then I’m gonna squirt this white sticky stuff now…/

My face filled the screen as I delivered that line with suspicious energy.

After a brief close-up of my innocent smile, it cut back to the chat interactions.

“Phew…”

I thought it was a hit piece.

Turns out it was just a clip.

Wait, no—since I’m a VTuber, I guess the proper term is Kirinuki.

(TL Note: “Kirinuki” means “cut-out” in Japanese. It’s slang for fan-edited highlight clips of VTuber streams.)

Even though NewTube lets you stream and upload videos, most VTubers don’t upload many edited clips themselves.

So most of my channel content is just stream VODs.

That’s where the Kirinukers come in.

They clip the highlights of VTuber streams and turn them into short, bite-sized videos.

Technically, there are copyright issues, but Kirinuki are a huge help when it comes to promotion.

I mean, who’s really gonna scrub through a 4-hour stream? Especially impatient Korean viewers?

It’s practically a symbiotic relationship at this point.

/Haa… haa…/

On-screen me began panting as she shook a mayonnaise bottle.

The whole video got a trembling filter overlay with dramatic ゴゴゴゴ… effects popping up.

(TL Note: ゴゴゴゴ is an iconic Japanese onomatopoeia used in manga and anime to represent intense atmosphere.)

/I-It’s coming…!!/

Then came a shot of white, sticky liquid bursting out—

[This video has been removed by NewTube.]

A ‘:/’ emoji appeared with the takedown message.

Cue the outro, complete with a redirect to my main channel.

Honestly, it felt like a finished work of art.

When the video ended, I checked the uploader’s name—

“…Whaaat?!”

My eyes widened in shock.

[ThickNoodles]

(TL Note: “Ggoolgeun-jjolmyeon” is a playfully crude username, here translated as “ThickNoodles.”)

[114,000 subscribers]

ThickNoodles.

One of the most famous Kirinukers out there.

No wonder the editing was so damn good.

They picked all the best highlights for max comedy impact.

[542,000 views]

“Damn, that’s a lotta views.”

Guess that’s the power of a famous Kirinuker.

The view count was even higher than some of my full stream VODs.

Ironically, my first reaction wasn’t surprise—it was relief.

At least now I wasn’t fading into obscurity.

“…But of all the clips to blow up, that one?”

ThickNoodles, you perv.

Then again, all my fans are degenerates anyway.

Not surprising that a clip like that would go viral.

Ring ring~ ring ring~♬

Suddenly, my phone rang.

[Miho]

[Incoming Call…]

“Oh, Miho?”

She’s another 2nd gen member of Lunaverse KR—goes with the thousand-year-old kitsune priestess motif.

Also the biggest boobs of our group. By far.

Probably a G-cup?

…Damn it.

Why am I the only one flat?

If she’d just share half of that, I’d be happy.

Shaking off the pointless envy, I opened the messenger and answered.

“Hello?”

“H-hi…”

“Why the honorifics? We’re the same age. You can talk casually.”

“U-uh… it’s just more comfortable like this…”

A girl my age who uses honorifics with me…

That’s kinda hot.

Feels like she’s already been trained into submission.

“Well, whatever floats your boat. So, what’s up?”

“We’ve got our collab soon, right? I thought we could talk a bit before then.”

“Can’t we just meet up during the stream?”

“I-I’d probably be too nervous then…”

“Ohhh.”

Right, she’s still new.

Unlike me with a year of experience, she was a total civilian before becoming a VTuber.

“My bad. Didn’t even think of that.”

“It’s okay. I’m just not used to streaming yet…”

Her voice trailed off, sounding a little down.

I quickly changed the subject.

“Did you install the game we talked about yesterday?”

“Yeah, I just finished. I think it was called…”

“Craft.”

“Right! That one.”

A game called Craft!.

As the name suggests, it’s all about crafting tools and buildings. Super popular worldwide.

It’s better to go with something familiar for a first collab.

Even though my burger stream turned into a viral mess…

“You know how it works, right?”

“Of course. You break blocks and build houses, right?”

“Cool. Looks like I won’t have to explain anything.”

It’s not a hard game anyway.

Simple gameplay, cutesy block graphics—even elementary school kids play it.

I remember playing it as a kid myself after watching NewTube videos.

[7:50 PM]

While chatting with Miho, I noticed the time.

Only 10 minutes left until the stream.

Time to get ready.

“You all set?”

“Yup! I finished prepping before calling you. How about you?”

“Not much for me to prep. You’re the host this time.”

Since the collab was happening on Miho’s channel, I didn’t have much to do.

She’d already prepped most of it, and I just needed to send over my avatar data.

A link was enough.

“Phew… I’m getting nervous.”

She let out a sigh, tension building up as the stream neared.

For some reason, seeing her like that reminded me of my past self.

“You don’t need to be so nervous. Just try to relax.”

“E-easier said than done… I’m worried people won’t like me…”

I totally got what she meant.

Starting out is terrifying.

Your hands shake, your voice breaks.

You’re scared of being doxxed, and no one’s even watching you yet.

I’d endured all that for a year.

That’s why I could sit here calmly, no nerves at all.

Streaming had become my norm.

“Let’s get started.”

“Okay.”

And so—

The first official collab of Lunaverse KR 2nd gen began:

The Miho-Yuki Stream.