Chapter 181

Яҽаԁ ｏɴ​ ḰатṚеαⅾı​ոցСаſė

Has Something Changed? (6)

I continued the broadcast for a while, feeling a bit guilty about just chatting and then leaving, so I was trying to think if there was something else I could do.

“…Mmm.”
“…Huh?”
“…Natsu, are you streaming?”

A small voice from beside me caught my attention. I turned my head, and there was Koyuki, looking half-dead from exhaustion.
She must be really tired. Did she wake up because of me?

> –Yut-chan lolol
–Well, we did go for a long stream yesterday lol
–Have the others not woken up yet?
–Is TonaYui reuniting again the very next day lol
–Sleepy Yut-chan’s voice is so cute lol
–草 (haha)

“If you’re tired, you can sleep more.”
“…I’m not sleepy.”

But your eyes are basically shut, Koyuki. She kept rubbing them in an attempt to keep them open, but it wasn’t working. Toya and Inari were still asleep, so it wouldn’t make sense for Koyuki to be the only one fully awake. She probably just woke up because I did.

“Here, don’t push yourself. Come sit next to me and rest.”
“…I’m not sleeping.”
“I’m telling you it’s okay to rest.”

I dragged the chair next to me and patted it, and Koyuki wobbled over, climbing up onto it. Really, she can be stubborn in the weirdest ways. I get that she wants to be awake when I’m awake, and asleep when I’m asleep…

> –Yut-chan is adorable
–Nacchan’s husky morning voice and Yut-chan’s sleepy voice lol
–Put up Yut-chan’s avatar on screen, too
–Maybe let her sleep instead of forcing her to be on the broadcast lol
–Listening to that drowsy voice is making me sleepy too haha
–Well, we all stayed up almost the entire night because someone was late… lol

“Ugh… In that case, you guys should go get some sleep, too.”

[1000¥]

> –If Nacchan’s awake, there’s no way we’re going to sleep, right? lol

That was kind of touching, but I didn’t want to keep everyone up just because of me. So I was thinking maybe I should end the stream here…

> –Nacchan, you’re not seriously thinking of ending now, are you?
–What, after being so late, you’re just gonna stream for one hour and stop?
–We might be disappointed in you…
–Might as well go until lunchtime, Nacchan lol

“…I can’t keep going ’til lunchtime, but I’ll go for another hour or so.”

I mean, I don’t know what’s so fun about such a random, spontaneous stream… Even as I gave in to the pressure of the viewers, Koyuki started nodding off. I reached out on instinct—if she slumped forward, she’d hit her head on the desk.

“Uuuh…”
“See, I told you it’s okay to sleep more.”

I carefully caught her head and leaned it back against the chair. Now she’d given up trying to stay awake completely. I chuckled quietly at the sight of Koyuki losing her battle with sleep, and she pouted in her sleep. Well, if you hate it, you shouldn’t have lost to drowsiness.

> –I’m getting a sense of déjà vu from Nacchan lol
–It’s heartwarming, like watching an older sister caring for her younger sibling
–So that means Nacchan’s actually the older sister, right?
–Yut-chan’s sleepy babble is so cute

“Mm, guess that makes me the older sister, yeah?”

“…I’m the older sister…”
“So she says.”

All right, no more talking—just sleep. I went silent and gently stroked Koyuki’s hair. It was so soft that just touching it made me feel at peace.

“…Zzz.”
“She’s out.”

As I felt more relaxed, Koyuki must’ve felt it, too—like she no longer had to watch over me. I guess she woke up because she sensed I was anxious. You know, I’m an adult; she doesn’t really need to worry so much.

[1000¥]

> –So, what’s the deal with Yut-chan? You two seem way too close for having met so recently.

“Even if you haven’t known each other long, if you click, you can become close pretty fast, right?”

Technically, meeting Koyuki happened quite recently in my life—she’s a newly discovered blood relative, and not just any relative but a twin. Even if we haven’t spent years together, there’s no way we wouldn’t feel some sense of connection.

“It’s like making friends: sometimes you meet someone for the first time, but the conversation flows, and you just… exchange numbers because you really click.”

> –…Friends?
–Friends?
–Fr…iends?
–Friends?

“Oh, do Natsumin not have friends?”
…Wait, oh no. Did I really just say that out loud?
I slapped a hand over my mouth—too late. Guess I’m not fully awake yet. Great, I just made a slip of the tongue…

> –Even if it’s Nacchan, that’s not something you can just brush off…
–Nacchan literally said we have no friends… Nacchan literally said we have no friends…
–Sure, I’m a loser with no friends, staying up all night watching your streams…
–I hate you, Nacchan. I hate you, Nacchan. I hate you, Nacchan. I hate you, Nacchan…

“B-but you guys have me… Ehehe…”

Calming everyone down was harder than expected. R-right! At least you have me, right? In a way, all my viewers are my friends. That’s how it was back in my Han Yeoreum days, and it’s still the same now.

[1000¥]

> –So you’re saying only Nacchan would be our friend?

“N-no, I’m sure that’s not it! It’s just that other people haven’t noticed your hidden charms yet. Yeah, that’s it…”

> –So you already know all about our hidden charms, Nacchan?
–That’s our Nacchan lol
–Honestly, even if I have no other friends, just having Nacchan is enough to keep me going lol
–I’m so glad Nacchan’s our friend…
–Nacchan, I really love you… I really love you… I really love you… I really love you…

Maybe they were half-joking, but still, I sensed genuine relief in some of the comments.
Truth be told, I haven’t exactly led a life filled with friends either. If I’d never met Toya, I’d probably have stayed a shut-in forever.

“So, I hope we can keep getting along…!!”

> –Looking forward to it, Nacchan~
–Huh, just from that speech, she sounds like a newly debuted rookie lol
–Maybe it means she hasn’t lost her newbie spirit lol
–Let’s hear it for Nacchan who hasn’t lost her newbie innocence.
–Likewise, Nacchan~
–Thanks to you, I realized I can make friends even while being a shut-in…

Anyway, that’s how the conversation went. I’m not sure how it ended up there, but oh well.

—

[“If anyone looks at Yukitoki, it’s obvious she’s Han Yeoreum’s little sister” Meme
[(Clip: Yukitoki mumbling while Yeoreum tells her to sleep.MVI)
Come on, Yeoreum, if you had a little sister like this, you should’ve told us from the start!]

ㄴ[This is the best possible outcome for a separated-siblings reunion lol]
ㄴ[←”Separated-siblings reunion” haha]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “Maybe you saw me as Han Yeoreum?” emote)]
ㄴ[←But you ARE Han Yeoreum…]
ㄴ[Honestly, Yukitoki might be even cuter than our fave protag… tbh]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “What’d you say, you jerk?” emote)]
ㄴ[←(Toya: “I can’t accept that.” emote)]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “I’m the cutest in the world.” emote)]
ㄴ[Why has our protag been acting so sisterly these days?]
ㄴ[←Because she’s an actual older sister now.]
ㄴ[←Yep, a real older sister.]
ㄴ[←Crazy how quickly she adapted to being a big sis despite having been a guy for 20+ years lol]
ㄴ[←Means she was always destined to be female from the start…]
ㄴ[←That’s… kinda hot.]
ㄴ[←Off to jail you go…]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “I’ll sue you!” emote)]

[??? : “No friends?”]
[(Clip: Han Yeoreum asking Natsumin “You don’t have friends?” .MVI)
You piece of—!!!!!!!!
(Frog crying while drinking alcohol emote)
(Frog pressing a gun to their own head emote)
(Frog trying to hang themselves with a rope emote)]

ㄴ[So the day came when people would call our fave protag a “jerk.”]
ㄴ[←What the heck is this haha]
ㄴ[←Fact: She used to become female every April Fool’s Day—crazy story lol]
ㄴ[←A “veteran female,” I guess.]
ㄴ[←“Veteran female,” seriously? lolol]
ㄴ[So what’s with the “don’t you have friends?” question? I’m genuinely offended…]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “You upset?” emote)]
ㄴ[I do have friends, okay?]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “Imaginary friends, sure…” emote)]
ㄴ[Dude, I have real friends, ffs…]
ㄴ[←Well, that guy’s actually pissed haha]
ㄴ[←But what’s with these weird emotes…?]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “Why do these emotes exist…?” emote)]
ㄴ[←lololol]
ㄴ[←lolol]

[Indeed, I do have hidden charms]
[(Screenshot of all my posts on the forum.JPG)
My greatest charm (confirmed by Yeoreum) is that for a friend I like (Han Yeoreum), I can do “multiclone posting” and spam the forum.
I think I’ve posted like 4 threads today.]

ㄴ[Wow, big brag lol]
ㄴ[lololol]
ㄴ[lolololol]
ㄴ[Hello there, user “IWantToEatHanYeoreum”…?]
ㄴ[←Is that for real?]
ㄴ[←Nah, must be fake lol]
ㄴ[←Or maybe it’s real? lol]
ㄴ[←So which is it??]
ㄴ[That’s the same user who kept peddling the “Han Yeoreum TS” theory, right?]
ㄴ[←Well, it did come true… so maybe it’s moot now?]
ㄴ[←He used to talk about changing her back to a guy…]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “Has she lost her mind?” emote)]
ㄴ[←Aaah, please, no reverting back to Han Yeoreum as a guy, Protag!]
ㄴ[←FYI: That user had the “IWantToEatHanYeoreum” nickname even before Yeoreum was TS.]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “I can’t even describe this horror.” emote)]
ㄴ[←(Natsu: “Severe punishment.” emote)]

Fables