Chapter 53: Well, eating sweet snacks doesn’t make me a girl..!!

The morning after the Luna:verse gang beasts collab.

I was currently staring at a pink box on my desk, deep in thought.

‘Uh… sorry about yesterday. I just kept dying on stream…’

‘No, it’s fine. I should be the one apologizing… I teased you too much…’

‘It’s all good, it’s all good. It’s just streaming. And I never got to give you a debut gift, so think of this as making up for it.’

That was how I ended up receiving a gift from my senior before I could say no.

On the surface of the box, the word “Macaron” was scribbled in fancy gold cursive.

“Hmm…”

And now, I was seriously debating.

Whether or not to eat the macaron in front of me.

No, I get that it probably sounds like a weird dilemma to anyone else, but it’s actually more complicated than it looks.

Because when I was still a guy, I didn’t really like sweets.

I always went for salty stuff like potato chips, and when it came to coffee, it was always Americano or cold brew—no exceptions.

But ever since I became a girl…

I’ve been avoiding sweets on purpose, but I can’t deny there’s this strange craving for sugary things now.

“Feels like if I eat this now… there’s no turning back…”

Macarons.

A cute and dainty snack.

The kind of thing you’d only ever see frilly, pink-haired princess characters eat in anime or comics.

Honestly, I’m not even sure if I’m a guy or a girl anymore.

It feels like I’m tiptoeing on the edge of the last remaining line.

Like if I tied my hair up all pretty or put on cute clothes now, I’d really become a girl for good.

And eating this macaron feels like it’d be just the same kind of line-crossing moment.

Still…

growl…

“…Well, I am a little hungry.”

Since my senior showed up so early in the morning, I skipped breakfast, and the hunger hit me even harder today.

And aside from those macarons, the only food I had left in the house was some instant ramen.

If I ordered delivery or cooked the ramen, it’d definitely take quite a while.

So really, eating the macaron was the most reasonable choice here.

…It’s definitely not because I’ve turned into a full-on girly girl or anything!!

“Well then… Thanks for the food.”

I opened the box, revealing nine compartments, each with a macaron wrapped in its own little bag.

All nine of them were pink—every single one, no other colors.

Was it because Akari-senpai’s personal favorite color was pink?

Both the box and the macarons were pink, and they reminded me of cherry blossoms—just like her name.

Rustle.

I opened one of the macarons.

The plastic peeled away, revealing the pink pastry inside.

Two meringue cookies sandwiching a layer of cream—a very standard macaron, if you think about it.

“Hmm…”

But every time I see a macaron…

Doesn’t the side of a macaron kind of look like… that?

I mean, it’s not that I’m some kind of perv or anything, they really look alike.

And this one was pink all the way through—from the cream to the cookie—so it made the resemblance even stronger.

I almost reached out to poke the cream in the middle out of pure habit, but stopped myself at the last second as a wave of self-awareness hit me.

It reminded me of when I’d just turned into a girl and found myself doing the same kind of dumb thing in front of the mirror.

What the hell am I even doing.

No more fooling around with food—just eat the damn thing already.

“Farewell, my beautiful pink macaron…”

Crunch!

The cookie shattered between my teeth.

Then the creamy sweetness inside began to gently fill my mouth with its fluffy texture.

A soft base of rich milk, layered with a subtle sugary flavor.

Topped with the crunchiness of the cookie for texture.

And woven through it all, a burst of strawberry aroma danced on my tongue.

…What.

Hold up.

Since when were macarons this good?

I’m pretty sure they didn’t taste like this the last time I had one.

I devoured the first macaron in the blink of an eye, and my hand automatically reached for the next.

Just like that, the second one disappeared too.

It didn’t take long before I’d finished all nine.

Before I knew it, all that remained in front of me was an empty pink box and some plastic wrappers.

“…Uh. What the heck.”

How’d they disappear so fast?

That box definitely had a decent amount in it, right?

“A-hem! W-well… I mean, it was tasty, so who cares…”

Any more left?

It’s been a while since I had sweets, but now I’m really craving more.

I already ate all the Nune-Nunes I bought last time, too…

“…Maybe I should just order some stuff online while I’m at it.”

And just like that, I completely forgot about my whole vow not to become a girly girl.

Next thing I knew, I was browsing online shops for macarons and cakes.

---

[☆ Is this… Sakura?]

(A gif of a character with Akari’s face edited onto Agu as he checks the cards)

Is this Sakura Akari?

Is she actually coming back?

[Upvotes 38] [Downvotes 2]

ㄴ No words needed, instant upvote

ㄴ The rabbits are back from the dead lol

ㄴ LMAO

ㄴ Sakura Akari they said 😂

ㄴ Those bunny bastards really waited it out, huh

---

[☆ Why is Akari such a background character now?]

(A meme of a red-haired bob-cut anime girl in front of a house)

She kept getting bodied during the collab and ended up totally invisible…

Is the curse of being named Akari this strong!?

[Upvotes 17] [Downvotes 4]

ㄴ Akaring~

ㄴ All I can see is the background art

ㄴ

ㄴ lmfaooo

ㄴ Y’all are brutal

ㄴ 😂

ㄴ (Ghost Cloak Reaction Sticker)

ㄴ Yuriyeura~

---

[Today’s MihoRin combo was insane…]

Seriously, Miho and Rin’s chemistry was amazing.

If Yuki’s like dumping in ghost pepper extract, then MihoRin is more like a smooth green chili heat.

The way they bicker while fighting, ugh… I can’t—

Grrrgh. I can’t hold it anymore.

I’m gonna squeeze the life out of this ship ♡

[Upvotes 7] [Downvotes 0]

ㄴ Dude… chill

ㄴ Why do you sound so cursed 💀

ㄴ Everyone calls everything cursed these days

ㄴ It’s like Hali Gali—you just yell it first

ㄴ (Hali Gali Cringe Reaction Sticker)

ㄴ WHY does this even exist LOL

---

[☆ I’ll become… Fire Punch…]

(A meme of Fire Punch with Yuki’s face photoshopped in)

(A gif of Yuki’s Gang Burst combo: 64-hit Palgwae style)

FIRE PUNCH! FIRE PUNCH!!

[Upvotes 17] [Downvotes 1]

ㄴ She’s beating the senpai like a rented drum

ㄴ For real 😂

ㄴ Senpai got kiyul’d fr

ㄴ Aight say it—KIYUL!

ㄴ Ladies and gentlemen, behold the majesty of a senpai

ㄴ Don’t clown on Akari… She fed Luna:verse KR when things were rough…

ㄴ Grandpa, please…

ㄴ Sir, it’s cold out. Go warm up inside

ㄴ White Eyes!

ㄴ Swoosh, swoosh! That ain’t a sound effect—it’s a state of mind

---

After finishing all the macarons,

I felt a little down, worried about gaining weight,

but I still sat down in front of my computer as usual and opened Newtube.

“Not many clips got uploaded today…”

Even Thick Chewy Noodles, the cliptuber who always posted my clips, had taken a break today.

The other cliptubers didn’t seem much different either.

Was today some kind of collective day off?

“Hmm… Whatever. Maybe I’ll take a nap before stream time.”

I got up from my chair and headed to the bedroom.

Flop!

With a soft sound, my small body sank into the blankets.

Wrapped in my cloud-like bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling and started spacing out.

What should I stream today?

Maybe I should finally try one of those games I bought but never touched.

I did pick up a bunch during the New Year’s sale.

Since I don’t really play games outside of streaming, most of them were still untouched.

Oh, right. I need to play some Switch games too.

Like Golden Ring, or Black Asphalt.

I’d been meaning to give them a shot at least once,

but I completely forgot with all the collabs lately.

Ding!

Just as I was mulling over what to stream tonight,

a familiar notification sound chimed.

A message popped up on my phone — it was from Manager.

[Manager: Yuki.]

[Manager: By the way, what happened with the sponsorship thing?]

[Yuki: …Ah.]

A short, silent scream that practically jumped off the screen.

And that one little syllable meant only one thing.

“…I’m screwed.”

I said I’d do the ad, then totally forgot!

Between playing EDen with Rin and a first-gen senpai making her comeback,

I’d completely blanked on the fact that a sponsorship had even come in!

[Manager: Yuki…?]

[Yuki: N-no!!]

[Yuki: I totally didn’t forget!!]

[Yuki: I was gonna stream it today anyway!!]

[Manager: ……]

[Manager: It’s fine. There’s still plenty of time left.]

[Manager: And I just brought it up in case you forgot.]

[Yuki: Ahaha… Really?]

[Yuki: That’s a relief.]

If Manager hadn’t reminded me, I probably would’ve kept forgetting.

I still had another collab with Rin for EDen coming up —

I definitely would’ve put all my energy into that instead.

But now that I’d remembered the sponsorship, I couldn’t exactly ignore it.

I guess that settles it — tonight’s stream would have to be a sponsored one.

[Manager: Log into the channel account.]

[Manager: The game company topped up the account with some cash to make the ad smoother.]

[Yuki: Got it.]

[Yuki: So I just need to go live this evening, right?]

[Manager: Yup.]

[Manager: Do whatever works for you.]

“Whew… I guess I better start prepping now.”

I needed to study up on the game’s features before streaming, at the very least.

The devs had sent over some files last time, too.

“Oh right, it’s a huge update — better start downloading it early…”

Damn it.

Looks like my plan to rest before the stream just went out the window.