Chapter 40: Huh….? 1st generation? Akari-senpai? Advertisement? What the heck is that story….?

January 1st, New Year’s Day.

Feeling a little excited for the New Year, I decided to go out for breakfast.

Well, the sun was already high in the sky to call it morning, but…

Since it was my first meal of the New Year, I wanted to eat something delicious.

A reward for myself for working hard on streaming every day, perhaps?

After searching for good restaurants on my phone for a bit, I found a place near my house known for its spaghetti.

The picture showed tomato spaghetti topped with a steak revealing its red flesh, looking so delicious it made my mouth water just looking at it.

‘…Should I try going here?’

‘Not bad.’

‘I can have spaghetti and steak at the same time.’

‘The price is a bit burdensome, but…’

‘Anyway, I can get paid in just 15 more days, so this much spending should be fine!’

‘I’m a streamer who earns 17 million won a month now!’

‘It’s called the Wol! Cheon! Kick!’

(TL Note: Wolcheon (월천) means “10 million a month.” This “kick” is an expression of achieving that level of income.)

‘…I said that, but my wallet situation is a bit yabe right now.’

(TL Note: Yabe is Japanese slang for ‘bad’ or ‘dangerous,’ often used in Korean internet slang.)

Compared to before, it was bourgeois level, but I still spent too much money building a new computer.

My goal was to get specs good enough to run AAA games like EDen, and a mediocre computer couldn’t handle both a virtual model and gaming simultaneously.

Ah, for reference, I’m using my old computer for broadcasting.

I also placed my old monitor next to the new one and am using it as a dual monitor setup.

Thanks to that, reading comments is much easier than before.

Clack, trrrrrring!

I opened the front door and stepped outside.

At the same time, the cold January wind brushed against both my cheeks.

Even though I was wearing thick outerwear, the wind seeped through.

‘Should I buy a padded jacket soon too…’

‘No, winter is almost over, what am I thinking, a padded jacket.’

‘I’ll buy it next year, next year.’

‘I’ll have earned more money by then too.’

With those thoughts, I took the elevator down to the first floor.

How long had it been since I left the apartment entrance and started walking?

A large commercial building came into view.

And among the many signs hanging there, one that read ‘spaghetti italiano’ caught my eye.

It was the restaurant I was looking for.

“Phew… It’s cold. Let’s go in quickly.”

Wrapping my arms around myself, I quickly walked into the restaurant.

There weren’t many tables inside the restaurant.

And those few tables were mostly filled with other customers.

‘Is it because it’s a popular place?’

‘Looks like there might be a bit of a wait.’

Just as I was thinking about giving up and eating something else.

Someone sitting at a table further inside started waving at me.

“Huh? Yuki!!”

A black-haired beauty calling me from afar.

Seeing the two prominent mounds on her chest, I instantly knew who she was.

It was Miho.

I immediately walked quickly towards her.

Then, I placed my hand on the table and started whispering in a low voice.

“Don’t call me by my streaming nickname outside. Someone might recognize me.”

“Huh? Ah… I see.”

“Yeah. I got scolded by the manager last time too.”

I got a bit of a scolding from the manager because of what happened at the bar during the company dinner.

Actually, the cause was the drunk manager shouting at the top of her lungs, but she wouldn’t admit it even if she died.

[Manager: Our basic policy is to use streaming nicknames in daily life so that real names aren’t used during broadcasts, but it seems we’ll have to change that policy.]

[Manager: Calling someone by their streaming nickname in a crowded place could cause controversy, after all.]

Well, she feigned ignorance about her own fault, but what the manager said wasn’t wrong.

Calling out streaming nicknames in such a crowded public place was like brewing a cauldron full of red pills and force-feeding them to the viewers.

(TL Note: “Red pill” in this context refers to revealing a VTuber’s real identity.)

Still, thankfully, most of the people here are older, like middle-aged women and men, so I don’t think I’ll be found out.

There weren’t many people around in the first place.

“From now on, just call me by my name.”

“Your name? Your name was, um…”

“Seoeun. Kim Seoeun.”

“Ah, right. Seoeun…”

“Come to think of it, Miho, your name was… Mina, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. Kang Mina.”

“Then I’ll call you Mina when we’re outside from now on.”

“Okay.”

After our second exchange of names, I joined Miho at her table, sitting opposite her.

It would be a bit weird to sit separately after acknowledging each other and talking like this.

Fortunately, seeing that Miho’s food hadn’t arrived yet, it seemed she hadn’t been here long either.

I immediately called a waiter and ordered a ribeye steak pasta and a Coke.

And not long after I ordered, bread appetizers arrived at our table.

Dipping the bread in balsamic vinegar, I spoke to Miho again.

“Haaum… So, did you come alone today?”

“Yes. Exploring good restaurants is my hobby.”

“Ooh! Exploring good restaurants!”

“Thanks to that, I’ve gained some weight though… haha.”

Miho laughed awkwardly.

To that, I asked back in a slightly puzzled voice.

“Weight? From what I can see, it seems to have only gone to a specific area…”

“…Huh?”

“Look. Your chest has gotten bigger again.”

I pointed at Miho’s enormous chest with my finger.

Miho’s chest, which had grown a bit larger than before.

‘Did all the food she bought with Super Chat money go to her chest?’

‘At this size, she could aim for not just a G-cup, but even an H-cup.’

“Can’t you give me just half of that chest?”

“If only wishes could make it so, I’d love to… but unfortunately.”

“Tsk. I was already worried because they got smaller since I’ve been losing weight lately…”

After the Ring Fit Adventure stream, I lost weight, and my chest got smaller again.

It was still an A-cup, but now it was barely even that.

‘Is there really no way to make my chest bigger…’

‘I think I heard that drinking a lot of strawberry milk helps.’

‘I should buy some strawberry milk on my way home later.’

‘…Though it’s questionable if my chest will grow at this point.’

“Your food is here~”

Then, the waiter served us, and Miho and I began our meal in earnest.

The taste of the steak was, unsurprisingly, exquisite.

It was so good, my tongue felt like it was melting from pure ecstasy.

‘It’s close to home, so I should come here often in the future.’

‘Next time, I should try the teppanyaki fillet steak.’

‘It looks thick and tempting.’

‘I’ll sink my teeth right into it.’

=============

After finishing our meal like that, Miho and I parted ways immediately.

Miho had to stop by the studio, and I was planning to go straight home.

Returning home, I immediately lay down on my bed to rest.

But there was someone who interrupted my rest…

It was none other than…

[Manager: Yuki-ssi. Are you free right now?]

The manager.

[Yuki: I am]

[Yuki: Why]

[Manager: I have two pieces of news to share with you.]

[Yuki: News?]

‘What news could it be?’

‘I thought I heard most of the announcements when we gathered at the headquarters last time?’

However, at the manager’s next words, I couldn’t help but express my surprise.

[Manager: Here is the first piece of news.]

[Manager: Akari-ssi, our first-generation senior, will be returning.]

[Yuki: What??????]

Sakura Akari.

A senior who debuted about a year before us, and who had been on hiatus for over half a year due to health issues.

That senior is apparently returning to streaming now.

[Manager: I’ll give you her contact information for now, so try contacting her when you have time.]

[Manager: And since you’re from the same agency, collaborations are also freely allowed.]

[Manager: Just… please refrain from anything too… sensitive.]

[Yuki: Don’t worry!]

[Yuki: When have I ever gotten a yellow tag?]

(TL Note: “Yellow tag” refers to Newtube demonetization or content restriction.)

[Manager: You got one recently.]

[Yuki: …Eh?]

[Manager: It was resolved by deleting the relevant part, but…]

[Yuki: What, then it doesn’t matter, right?]

‘I can just do that from now on then.’

‘Just delete the lewd parts and leave only the wholesome parts.’

‘I feel sorry for the viewers who rewatch the archives…’

(Archive: The VOD (Video On Demand) left after a live broadcast.)

(To rewatch: To watch a past broadcast via VOD.)

‘Well, it can’t be helped. If I get a yellow tag, my ad revenue will be cut off.’

[Manager: Still, it affects the algorithm.]

[Manager: Of course, since you’re famous and have clippers, the impact might be minimal, but…]

(TL Note: “Kirinuker” (키리누커) are fan clippers who make short highlight videos.)

[Manager: Please be careful from now on.]

[Yuki: Alright…]

‘Well, if that’s the case, it can’t be helped.’

‘What can I do if the manager tells me to cut it out?’

‘If I stubbornly resist and the manager gets p*ssed off and tells me to get on a call…’

‘Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.’

[Manager: And the second piece of news.]

[Manager: An advertisement offer has come in for you, Yuki-ssi.]

[Yuki: An ad?]

[Manager: Yes]

[Yuki: What game is it?]

[Manager: Another Phantasia.]

[Yuki: Ah… that one?]

[Yuki: Isn’t that the pretty girl gacha game?]

Another Phantasia.

A sequel to Epsilon Phantasia 2, it’s a game that mixes open-world RPG with pretty girl gacha elements.

For a jumbled-up combination like that, it seemed surprisingly popular, but…

(TL Note: Jjambbong, mentioned in the original, is a Korean spicy noodle soup with many ingredients, often used to describe a mix of things. “Jumbled-up” conveys this.)

‘Most games become trash games the moment gacha is introduced.’

I hadn’t actually played it.

[Manager: Ah… Do you dislike this game?]

[Manager: Then, should I decline the advertisement?]

[Yuki: No no no, there’s no need for that]

[Yuki: They’re offering money, so of course I should do it]

‘Still, I plan to do the ad.’

‘It’s a major game company, so they’ll probably pay a huge amount. Decline this?’

‘I’m not some rich person driving a Rolls-Royce right now, so there was no reason to refuse a chance to make a big score.’

[Manager: You just need to play for at least 1 hour.]

[Manager: Please try to play in a way that highlights the game’s features if possible.]

[Yuki: Yep yep, got i]

[Yuki: When should I do it?]

[Manager: The timing doesn’t matter.]

[Manager: You just need to do the promotional stream within a month.]

[Yuki: Got it!]

“An advertisement, huh… I’ve really grown a lot.”

‘To think the day would come when I’d receive an advertisement as a VTuber.’

‘I never imagined I’d become this big; I’m worried I’m doing too well.’

‘By this time next year, won’t I really be driving a Rolls-Royce or a Peridot Green car?’

‘Maybe I’ll even be able to enjoy the night view of Seoul with a glass of wine in a penthouse…’

“Heheh.”

‘Tonight’s dinner is chicken.’

‘I had meat for lunch too, but… who cares!’

‘It’s a joyful day since I got an ad, so I should enjoy today at least.’