Chapter 151

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Recovery. (2)

Despite the intense workout from the day before, today was a bit more relaxed.
Just enough exercise to keep my muscles from resting completely—something like that.
Of course, that didn’t mean I had the rest of the day off.
Since we shortened the workout, I had other things to do instead.

“You really do have a talent for singing, don’t you?”
“…Not really.”

Honestly, compared to the past, my singing was still far from good.
The only reason it felt like I was improving quickly was probably because I was getting back some of my old skills.
Sure, if someone who used to be completely tone-deaf and rhythm-challenged could now sing a full song, you might say their growth rate was impressive.
Nozomi probably said that to help build my confidence, too.

“Give me an honest evaluation, Nozomi. I don’t need compliments to boost my ego—I need the cold truth.”
“Cold truth? You’re singing well.”
“…Huh?”
“Seriously, Natsu-nee, your problem is that you have no confidence in yourself.”

With that, Nozomi started patting my head again.
It was nice that we’d grown closer, but since we had, she started doing this head-patting thing a lot, and it felt… a little weird.
Anyway, was she seriously saying I was singing well?
Not just saying that to cheer me up?

I was a little skeptical, but Nozomi wasn’t the type to lie, so I gave her a small nod.

“If you say so, then I guess it’s true.”
“I mean, even if I didn’t, I think anyone would say the same.”

Her evaluation was a little too generous, but hey… it still felt nice to hear.
They say praise makes even whales dance—so surely I could, too.
As proof, I was now singing with full enthusiasm.

“Right now, we’re just checking which songs you can handle—”

Creak—

“This is one of the recording booths used by the talents—oh!”
“…”
“…”

Just as I was singing, the door to the studio opened and a group of people came in.
Uh, excuse me… who are you?

There were five of them, staring at me in surprise, and my brain just blanked out.
Wait, is this… like a company tour or something?
It was pretty common for new employees to get a tour of the office.

“Whoa… it’s Nacchan…”
“…Eh?”
“Ah, hello!!”

One guide stared at me in a flustered panic. Three others stood frozen. And one person bowed deeply in greeting.
Honestly, I was really thrown off.
It was the first time someone outside had straight-up called me Ichinose Natsu out loud.

Uh, so… who?

“I-I’m a fan! I watch all your streams!”
“O-oh…”
“Ah, I’m Rin! I’m debuting as part of the 2nd generation!”
“Second gen…?”

Oh—right.
Now that she mentioned it, it clicked.
I’d heard they were recruiting for second gen, but I never imagined I’d run into them like this.

So… she’s Toya’s junior, huh?
In my case, I wasn’t officially part of first gen—I was in Gamers—so I wasn’t really a senior in the traditional sense.
“I mean, I don’t have a proper number tag or anything.”

Still, meeting new future colleagues made me feel unexpectedly happy.
They weren’t family, but they’d be sharing the same roof and eating at the same table, metaphorically speaking.
And even though I wasn’t great at socializing, having more people to connect with was definitely something to be happy about.

“Looks like Natsu-san is using the studio right now, so I’ll show you around properly later.”
“Natsu-san, huh…”

Isn’t that a bit too formal?

Anyway, the sudden encounter turned out to be more energizing than awkward.
I mean, if they were second gens about to debut, they’d probably attend Toya’s live concert.
And if they attended Toya’s live, they might see my performance too.
If I wanted to show Toya’s juniors a good performance, I’d have to give it my all.

“Looks like you’re super fired up now…”
“Yeah, I’ve decided to go all in.”
“I was actually talking about the second gen kids, but… if you’re fired up too, then that’s a win for everyone.”

After that, I practiced singing a ton.
And trying to stop Nozomi from recording my singing so she could “listen to it at home” was a whole separate battle.

—

“Yeoreum, you seem like you’re in a good mood lately.”
“Hmm? I guess you could say that?”

Koyuki also seemed to be in a good mood lately—something nice must’ve happened, right?
She giggled as she looked at me, and I tilted my head in confusion.

Ever since her surgery went well, Koyuki had always carried a smile full of warmth and happiness.
But her recent smiles felt a bit different.
They weren’t just happy to be alive—they were the kind of smiles people have when they’ve found something really fun.

“Ahh, I think I get it. Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t say anything?”
“…Yeah. Let’s keep it a secret for now.”
“Heh, then I’m the first person to figure out Yeoreum’s secret?”
“For now, I guess you are.”

The first person to know that I could sing again was Nozomi.
Well, she was my trainer and manager, so of course she’d be the first.
In that sense, Koyuki was the first person to notice it on her own.
If we’re talking about someone who figured it out, Koyuki was the first.

“So, what’s the reason you’re in such a good mood?”
“Wouldn’t it be boring if I told you now?”
“Don’t tell me it’s for the same reason as me?”
“Well, it’s the same as you, but not for the same reason.”

What the heck kind of riddle is that?
“It’s the same but not the same”?
What kind of mysterious logic is that?

I felt like I was almost catching on to what Koyuki was thinking… but not quite.
It was definitely something I hadn’t expected.

“If I told you, it’d ruin the surprise! And if you guessed it, that’d be no fun either!”

Koyuki gave me one of her mischievous smiles and let out a cheeky giggle.
Whatever she was plotting, she was clearly going to great lengths to hide it.
I was curious, of course—but knowing Koyuki, she’d much rather surprise me than have me figure it out.
So, for her sake, I decided not to pry.

…Though, in the end, I’d end up finding out whether I wanted to or not.

—

[Lately, Nacchan’s been smiling more—it’s really nice to see.]
[(Natsu giggling at a fan’s silly joke.MVI)
She finally seems like a kid. It’s so cute lol]
ㄴ She’s not supposed to be a kid though lolol
ㄴ Isn’t Nacchan the same age as Toya?
ㄴ Yeah, she is lol
ㄴ Did something good happen to Nacchan recently?
ㄴ Doesn’t seem like anything specific…
ㄴ Maybe something good we don’t know about happened lololol
ㄴ Nacchan’s smile is adorable.
ㄴ It’s the kind of laugh a high school girl would have.
ㄴ Like someone who finds falling leaves in the wind hilarious lol
ㄴ She’s way past that age though lolol
ㄴ I hope she keeps smiling like this.

[I usually watch indie VTubers more than corporate ones these days.]
[(A white-haired, red-eyed girl smiling brightly.MVI)
She debuted recently and is so cute I can’t handle it…]
ㄴ I think I’ve seen her before too.
ㄴ Aren’t debut streams usually super hyped? Maybe they couldn’t afford promo?
ㄴ Judging by the quality of the avatar, it looks expensive. Maybe they spent it all on that and skipped marketing lol
ㄴ She’s been popping up on my AI Tube recommendations nonstop lol
ㄴ Her smile is so warm and happy—love it.
ㄴ A smile almost on Nacchan’s level lol
ㄴ So what’s her name? I need a name if I’m gonna go check her out.
ㄴ I kinda don’t wanna say, she feels like my secret…
ㄴ It’s Yuki Toki-chan.
ㄴ She looks a lot like Nacchan.
ㄴ The color palette definitely gives off Nacchan vibes lol
ㄴ If it weren’t for the wings on her head, she’d be Nacchan Mk.2 lol
ㄴ More than that, the art style looks really familiar…
ㄴ Wait—what if Ragu-sensei is her mama?
ㄴ No way lolololol

[Toya’s live is coming up soon!!]
*[(Toya doing another singing stream.MVI)
She was always good, but she’s totally hit her stride lately—I’m so hyped lol]
ㄴ She’s so good at singing, why doesn’t she do it more often…?
ㄴ Maybe because she is so good—better to save it for the right moment lol
ㄴ If you’re good at something, don’t overuse it—that’s the rule lol
ㄴ What is she, the Joker? lololol
ㄴ Toya grinding out her singing reps—let’s go.
ㄴ Will we ever get to see her do a duet with Nacchan?
ㄴ They made a promise, didn’t they? It’ll probably happen. The only issue is Nacchan.
ㄴ Nacchan needs to focus on getting healthier first.
ㄴ She’s been looking a lot healthier lately—it’s really great to see lol
ㄴ We don’t know when, but I want to see Nacchan do a singing stream someday.
ㄴ Toya’s concert isn’t far off now.
ㄴ She said it’d be right before Christmas, so just a few months left.
ㄴ If we’re lucky, maybe it’ll happen on the first snowfall lololol

Fables