Chapter 168: April Fools’ Day is Approaching!

Ｒｅａｄ ​ｏｎ​ ​Ｋ​ａｔＲｅａｄｉｎｇＣ​ａｆｅ

Was meeting the composer some kind of trigger?

After that, I spent my time writing lyrics smoothly without any blocks.

[Me]: How about this vibe?

[Me]: (Lyrics written in notebook)

[VN]: Oh, nice!

[VN]: If we keep this up, we might finish the lyrics within this week.

[Me]: Hehe.

[Me]: That’s a relief!

At home, I’d write lyrics whenever I had time and sent them to the composer for approval. Surprisingly, my ideas hadn’t been rejected even once yet.

Of course, for minor details like grammar or phrasing, I did get a little help from the composer. But seeing most of the core structure and flesh of the lyrics filled with my own work made me proud.

As days passed—one, then two—I felt a growing sense of accomplishment and excitement watching the song take shape.

***************

“Long time no see, everyone!”

“Hey, long time no see!”

“Wow, how long has it been since we all saw each other?”

“Hasn’t it been a while? At least over a month, I think.”

Before I knew it, March had passed, and with April just around the corner, we gathered at the company for the first time in a while.

It wasn’t for anything major—just to catch up, share a meal, and check on a small event planned for April.

And in the middle of all this, today, I was…

“Da-jeong, is that snack good? A company employee brought it back as a souvenir from their trip.”

“Yes, it’s delicious! It has a lot of jam inside, so it’s right up my alley.”

“Really? Have as much as you want.”

…Sitting on the CEO’s lap, munching on snacks.

By the way, which country is this snack from? Judging by the language on the packaging, it seems like it’s from Taiwan or China.

Anyway, it’s really tasty—stuffed with something like strawberry jam, and the outside has a texture similar to soboro bread. Best of all, the inside is moist, so it goes down easily.

“Da-jeong, would you like some black tea? Or juice?”

Noticing that I’d been eating snacks nonstop and might get thirsty, So-eun unnie offered me a drink.

Usually, whether it’s our members or the CEO, most of us drink coffee or tea when we meet up. But since I’m the only one who doesn’t have a taste for those, they always ask me separately.

“I-I’ll have orange juice, please…”

“Pfft, got it. Wait a sec.”

Feeling a little childish for being the only one not drinking tea, I answered in a small, embarrassed voice. So-eun unnie burst out laughing and headed to the break room.

Ugh. She definitely thought I was being childish just now. B-but it’s not like I dislike black tea or coffee because I’m a kid or anything!

Well, technically, I can drink sweet coffee, but I avoid it because I don’t like the slight jitteriness caffeine gives me.

In other words, it’s not that I avoid black tea or coffee because I’m a kid who hates bitter things—it’s just that I’m sensitive to caffeine!

Yeah, that’s it.

“Huh? Hey, Da-jeong.”

“Hm? Did you call me?”

As I happily munched on snacks again, now with the orange juice So-eun unnie brought me, Yuna blinked at me with a puzzled expression.

And then, out of nowhere, she dropped an atomic bomb of a question.

“Did you… get shorter recently?”

“Wha—? Wh-what are you talking about?! How could I get shorter?!”

I-I am the shortest in Blue LUV, and I am about 9 cm shorter than the average height for women, but saying I shrunk is going too far!

Growling (uncharacteristically for me), I protested. Yuna looked stunned for a moment before flusteredly elaborating.

“Ah, no, it’s just that when you sit there, the CEO’s face used to be a little less visible before.”

“Huh? Now that you mention it. Da-jeong, didn’t you usually only come up to here?”

Even the CEO chimed in, pointing to just below her neck. Startled, I whipped my head around to look.

R-really? I thought it was about the same as usual. There’s no way I could’ve suddenly gotten shorter—that’s impossible!

“N-no way! I-I must’ve just slouched a little! There’s no way I got shorter!”

“Hmm, true. It’s not like Da-jeong’s in her 70s—it’s too early for her to shrink.”

After my vehement denial, the CEO nodded as if convinced. The conversation ended there, less shocking than the initial bomb, but a strange unease settled in a corner of my heart.

Ugh, this won’t do. I should measure my height before going home later. There’s a height measurer in the company’s training room, after all.

“Anyway, I didn’t call you all here today for a meeting—just to catch up. So let’s keep the meeting short and go eat together, okay?”

As the chitchat died down, the CEO flicked her fingers to lighten the mood. Cheers erupted from all around.

“Woo-hoo! Food!”

“CEO Kang’s treating, right?!”

“Then I’ll have lobster.”

“Ra-hee, are you trying to bankrupt our CEO…?”

Yeah, at this point, it feels like everyone’s been starving for days. Just when I thought Jia unnie was the only sane one holding the line, she timidly raised her hand and said, “I’ll have pizza…”—staying true to her bread-fiend persona.

Now that I think about it, Jia unnie’s tastes are kinda childlike. Not that she’s picky, but when she mentions cravings, it’s usually pizza, hamburgers, etc.

Wait, is pizza considered bread? I’m not sure.

“Alright, decide what you want to eat among yourselves, but first, let’s get the meeting over with. Speaking of which, So-eun told me you’re planning a broadcast for April?”

As the CEO steered us toward the meeting, our eyes all lit up at once, already knowing what she was referring to.

We hadn’t mentioned it to the CEO yet, but it was an idea we’d discussed among ourselves a while ago—and it sounded so fun that we decided to go for it.

“Yes, that’s right! We talked about it, and this is guaranteed to be hilarious! You gotta trust us!”

“And we’ll need your help too!”

“Huh? My help?”

At Chae-yoon unnie’s words, CEO Kang tilted her head in confusion.

While we do sometimes ask for the company’s help when preparing content, Chae-yoon unnie’s phrasing made it clear—she meant streamer Haneulbom’s personal assistance.

“Actually, we need at least six people for this.”

“We’re splitting into teams of three for the content, so…”

“Teams of three? Ah, so that’s why you need me.”

As Ra-hee unnie and Jia unnie elaborated, CEO Kang finally nodded in understanding.

That’s right.

The small event we’d prepared required teams of three. We’d initially considered doing it all together, but it would’ve been too chaotic.

That’s not to say there won’t any group content—we’ll still gather at the end for April Fools’ wrap-up and a casual chat. That part should be fun on its own.

“So, what’s the content? Given it’s April, I’m guessing it’s for April Fools’?”

“Damnnit…! You’re too sharp!”

Thanks to her extensive broadcasting experience, the CEO immediately connected “April content” to April Fools’. And if she’d guessed that much, she’d probably figured out exactly what we were planning—it’s a staple for April Fools’ streams, after all.

“…Wait, you guys aren’t—”

“Hehe, bingo!”

“Ugh, I hate how quick you are to catch on!”

Horror flashed across CEO Kang’s face, while Yuna and Chae-yoon unnie grinned. Watching the contrast, I stifled a laugh and sneakily crumpled a snack wrapper.

“You’re insane! Nope, count me out! Why drag me into this?!”

“But, we went through all this effort to make it fun, and you won’t help?”

“So cruel!”

“Wuuu, come on, be the CEO who shows no mercy to her employees!”

“It’s only fun with you!”

Though the CEO resisted fiercely, even she couldn’t win a 5:1 battle. Besides, we had the ultimate justification: as a born entertainer, she had to embrace her “streaming instincts.”

“I’m not doing it! Handle it yourselves!”

But she dug in harder than expected. Normally, we’d compromise, but today? No half-measures. We had to pull out the last resort.

“Tch, fine… Da-jeong, grab her!”

“Hyah!”

“Da-jeong…?!”

At Yuna’s command, I pivoted and locked my arms around CEO Kang’s waist in a bear hug.

Sorry…! But the members’ happiness comes first! Besides, it’s for content—you’ll thank us later!

“Unnies, now!”

“Should’ve just agreed.”

“Sorry. This’ll only take a second.”

“You too…?!”

With Yuna’s orders, Ra-hee unnie and Jia unnie moved in, targeting the CEO’s armpits and sides.

Our seemingly flawless CEO has one weakness: she’s extremely ticklish.

And all of us know it.

“KYAHAHAHAHA!”

As her laughter erupted, we finally secured her surrender.

And after the team lottery? She ended up in my team—with Yuna.

***************

Four days later.

On April Fools’ Day, the cherries buzzed with excitement, waiting for Lulu’s stream.

When Lulu, who usually streams at 7 PM, suddenly announced a 5 PM start, they knew:

Ah, she’s definitely prepared something.

And it’s definitely a collab.

Because around the same time, Yukiko and their CEO, Haneulbom, had also posted notices about a 5 PM stream

• “CEO Lulu open the dooooor!!”
• “Brought my parents to watch—open up already…!”
• (Cherry shaking the doorknob emotes)
• (More doorknob shaking)

Everyone rushed to Lulu’s stream, eagerly rattling the “doorknob” in the waiting room—until…

Rolling sounds—

• ?
• ??????
• What’s this?
• Did I hallucinate?

A snowball rolled across the screen—Yukiko’s signature transition effect. But this was Lulu’s stream.

Then, from behind the avatar:

“H-Hello, kon-yuki! Kon-yuki! I’m Yukihara Yukiko, the snow woman of Blue LUV—cold hands but a warm heart… Uuu….”

The avatar was Yukiko’s, but the voice—stammering, shy, and adorably awkward—was unmistakably someone else’s.